Witnessing

How Does That Work? (part 2 of 3)

This is the second in a series of three Bible studies entitled, "How Does That Work?"  Our second installment delves into Witnessing.  

So, how does witnessing work?  Before we get into that, I can tell you how it doesn't work...by keeping your mouth shut.  This insight, unfortunately, comes from first-hand experience.  If I were a revisionist historian, I would say that my entire life has been characterized by this verse:

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”  (1Corinthians 2:2 ESV)

However, this would be a false characterization.  For the first 35 years of my life I virtually kept my mouth shut regarding Jesus, thus hiding the gospel under a bushel basket.  Oh, I occasionally talked about my religious experience, and even more about my church...but I did not openly, boldly, and regularly proclaim the truth of the gospel. Shame on me (or to quote the Apostle Paul, "Woe is me").  God created me and saved me for His purpose...to reflect the glorious light of the gospel of Jesus Christ to all.  So, what right did I have to say to God, "I'll decide if I will witness...I'll pick and choose the people to whom I'll share...I'll decide when the timing is right."  None whatsoever.

In 2005 God graciously sent James Engle into my life.  He has been my Senior Pastor (and boss) for the past three years, and in those three years he has taught the gospel, modeled the gospel, equipped me to share the gospel, and given me the privilege of training others to share the gospel.  Jim knows how the Gospel works, and he knows that it is work.  What he may never know is how much my life has been changed by his "gospel influence" on me.  This blog entry is dedicated to him, and it also serves as a blueprint for the kind of gospel-centered life I want to live.  By God's grace, may I have at least another 35 years to obey God's gospel call...for God's glory.

Most of the verses we'll be studying are not quoted here.  If you are going to follow along, you'll need to open your own Bible, or open a new tab or window in your browser and use the ESV Online Bible.   

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1.  The Preface

When God reveals Himself, it is always glorious (3:7-11)

• The glory of the law
  

- Characterized by death (v.7) and condemnation (v.9)

- Observed by looking upon Moses’s face (v.7)

- The law’s glory fades (v.11)

• The glory of righteousness (the gospel) - v.9
  

- Characterized by the life (“Spirit” vv.6, 8) and righteousness (v.9)

- Observed by looking upon Jesus’ face (v.16)

- Jesus’ glory endures forever (v.11)

When God reveals Himself, it usually involves the use of human instruments

• God does not need man’s help, but he chooses to use man’s obedience
  
• The source of power and effectiveness comes from God, not ourselves (3:4-6;
  

4:7-11)

• "Our Evangelistic work is the instrument that He uses for this purpose, but the power that saves is not in the instrument: it is in the hand of the one who uses the instrument."(J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, p. 27)

When God reveals Himself, it requires His leading and our obedience (2:14-17)

• Sincere representatives of God
  
• Commissioned by God
  
• Under the supervision of God
  
• Empowered by God (“in Christ)
  

2.  The Presentation

We must first understand “this ministry” (the gospel and witnessing)

What is the gospel?  (Best comprehensive description: 1 Corinthians 15)

• The problem is sin...“the veil” (3:14)
  
• The solution is Jesus (3:14-15)
  
• The conversion requires repentance...“turn to the Lord” (v.16)
  
• The source of salvation is the Spirit (3:17-18)
  
• The content is not open to change (4:2)
  

The message is this:

• Man is a sinner and cannot save himself (we stand condemned to Hell)
  
• God is just and must punish sin, but he is also merciful, offering salvation
  
• Jesus is God’s means of mercy and grace
  
• He is fully God and man
  
• He died on a cross to pay the penalty of our sin
  
• He rose from the grave to prove that He purchased our redemption
  
• Man receives this gift by faith...trusting in Jesus alone for salvation
  
• Man must repent (turn from sin) and submit to the Lord, Jesus
  

What is witnessing?  It is NOT... 

• Peddling or selling God’s word (2:17)
  
• Using disgraceful, underhanded ways (4:2)
  

        - Cunning 
        - Tampering with God’s Word  (The gospel is a message, a body of information; we’re not to dilute, weaken, or omit any part of it)

• Proclaiming ourselves (our testimony, our church, our man-made formulas)
  

Witnessing IS...openly stating the truth (the message of the gospel)

3.  The Process

• Man is blind and cannot see because of the veil/sin (3:14b; 4:4)
  

- God of this world (Satan) has blinded their eyes (4:4)
- Satan’s goal: keep people from “seeing” (hearing) the light of the gospel (Jesus)

• We preach/proclaim the truth of Jesus’s gospel (4:2, 5)
  
• The Spirit powerfully works, opening the eyes of the blind (3:17-18; cf. John 3:5-8)
  
• Man believes the message, turns from sin, and submits to God (3:16)
  
• Man receives the light to reflect the light (4:6)
  

3.  The Prescription

We have obstacles in our way, so we must overcome each one (1 Cor. 9:12, 15b)

“...but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ...For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting.”

• What are the obstacles you must overcome?  How will you overcome them?
  

We have an amazing hope, so we must be bold (3:12)

“...that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”  (Ephesians 6:19-20 ESV)

• Are you bold?  If not, could it be that you have lost the amazement of grace? 
  

We have received mercy, so we must not lose heart (4:1)

“But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”  (1Timothy 1:16 ESV)

• Do you lose heart?  Do you daily remind yourself of His mercy and why He gave it? 
  

We have a “winning vision”, so we must be sacrificial and disciplined (1 Cor. 9:19-27)

“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

• Are you aiming to win?  How will you discipline yourself, sacrifice, and be active?
  

We have a been given a specific message and means, so we must use them (2 Cor. 4:2)

“We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.”

• Do you resort to sales tactics, or do you openly state the truth of the gospel?   Can you articulate each essential part of the gospel?  If you can’t articulate the gospel, will you seek to be equipped for this task?  
  

We have seen that witnessing is a necessity, so we must be obedient (1 Cor. 9:16b)

“For necessity is laid upon me. Woe [grief] to me if I do not preach the gospel!”

• Do you want to bring grief upon yourself?  Will you proclaim the gospel to all?
  

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing...”   (2Corinthians 2:14-15 ESV)

Temptation

How Does That Work? (part 1 of 3)

This is the first in a series of three Bible studies entitled, "How Does That Work?"  Our first installment delves into Temptation.  In "The Process" portion of this post I incorporate several key ideas from Kris Lundgaardt's excellent book entitled  "The Enemy Within".  I highly recommend its purchase.

So, how does temptation work?  I recently posed this question to a friend and he replied, "very easily".  While his answer contains much truth, it makes for a short Bible study.  Therefore, we're going to try and get past the over-simplistic ways of thinking about this and other subjects.  In fact, I believe that once you have a better understanding of how each of these subject works, you'll be better equipped to live a life that honors God and leads to blessing in your life.

We begin by looking at James chapter 1:12

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”  (James 1:12-13 ESV)

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1.  The Preface

[vv.12-13] There is a difference between trials/testing (v. 12) and temptation (v.13).  Occasionally these three words are used interchangeably.  However, based on the context of this passage, we see two usages or definitions emerging:

Definition 1:  Prove that something is genuine; purge and strengthen it  (vv.2-12)

• Evidenced by outward adversity
  
• Its reward is blessing
  
• This will be referred as trials and testing during this study
  

Definition 2:  Lure something with (or to) evil to cause it to fail  (vv.13-16) 

• Evidenced by inward solicitation to evil
  
• Its reward is enslavement and death 
  
• This will be referred as temptation during this study
  

Based on this understanding, the next points make sense:

[v.13] God cannot be tempted (lured by an evil inward solicitation) .  Why not?  He does not possess a sin nature (or indwelling sin).

[v.13] God tempts no one (does not lure others by an evil inward solicitation).  Why not?  He is holy, and all His ways are just.

[v.13-16] We shouldn’t blame God for the kind of temptation spoken of here.  We can only blame our sin nature for this kind of temptation, and we can only blame ourselves for succumbing to it.  The Bible speaks of those who relented...and those who resisted.

Those who relented (gave in)

• Adam & Eve (Gen. 3…gave away their life for a bite of fruit)
  
• Esau (Gen. 25…gave away his birthright for a bowl of soup)
  
• Isaac (Gen. 27...gave away his blessing a for bite of meat)
  

Those who resisted

• Joseph (Genesis 39:6-10)
  
• Job (Job 27:2-6), esp. 4
  
• Christ (Matt. 4)
  

[16, 22, 26] “Temptation” is closely linked with “Deceit”.

• God cannot be deceived, and
  
• God Himself does not deceive, yet
  
• God allows deceit (see Matthew 4 and the devil’s temptation of Jesus)
  
• God owns the deceived and the ‘deceiver’ (Job 12:16) and therefore can use its existence for His glory
  

2.  The Process

Lure away (mind)

“The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.” 
(Proverbs 12:5 ESV)

“The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?””  

(Obadiah 1:3 ESV)

“And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.””

(Mark 4:13-20 ESV)

“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.””  

(1Corinthians 3:18-20 ESV)

“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

(2Corinthians 11:3 ESV)

Enticed (affections)

“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.””  (Matthew 26:41 ESV)

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1Corinthians 10:13 ESV)

“For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”  (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15 ESV)

Conceiving sin (in the will)

“If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.”  (Psalms 7:12-16 ESV)

Birth of sin (in actions, words, thoughts, etc.)

Death by sin (enslavement to it)

3.  The Prescription

• Prepare our minds for action
• Remember who is tempting and deceiving you (enemy & sin)
• Remember who it is you are offending (God) when you sin

“How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.”

(Genesis 39:9-10 ESV)

“Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God; the fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord GOD of hosts.”

(Jeremiah 2:19 ESV)

• Remember who brought you grace
  

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,”

(Titus 2:11-12 ESV)

• Remember who it is you will be seeing soon 
  

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””

(1Peter 1:13-16 ESV)

• Remember who is in you and with you - vv.18, 21; Psalm 118
  
• Remember your desperate need for the word and its application in your life:

1. Read:  It may seem obvious, but we must be in the Word everyday...no exceptions.  That’s because we need it.  Desperately.  When was the last time you skipped a day’s worth of meals?  Not recently?  Not often?  That's because food is a need.  The Word is also a need (not just a want).  I suggest a systematic Bible reading plan.  The one I’m using right now is borrowed from Donald Whitney’s “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life”.  It has me reading five chapters each day...one chapter from five different parts of the Bible beginning in Genesis (Law), Joshua (History), Job (Poetry), Isaiah (Prophets), and Matthew (New Testament).  However one should only read as much as one is able to soak up the Word.    

2. Meditate:  We’re not talking the Yoga variety here.  No, this isn’t an exercise in freeing the mind by emptying it of all thoughts and distractions.  Biblical meditation (the kind commanded and modeled in Scripture) is quite different.  It’s an unhurried  and focused concentration upon the verse(s) or passage(s) with which you just filled your mind...for the purpose of understanding, application, and prayer.  Your mind is like a cup of hot water and the Word is like the tea bag...the longer it stays immersed, the more if affects the water.  The goal isn’t consumption, but saturation.  Smaller doses of reading coupled with more meditation may actually serve you better if you find retention to be a struggle.

3. Memorize:  This idea is flat out scary to some and seemingly impossible to others.  God has also commanded memorization in order to help us avoid sin and enjoy more of His blessings.  The key here is creatively using your time, along with persistent practice, review, and recitation.  If you were told that you’d receive $1000 for every verse of Scripture you memorized, would you still struggle with motivation?  

“...the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”  (Psalm 19: 9b-10)

4. Quote:  By this I mean verbally, audibly, reciting verses and passages from the Bible.  When Satan confronted Christ in the wilderness, Jesus didn't simply think about the Scriptures.  He spoke them, and authoritatively.  Far too often we stop short of reciting verses out loud, opting to simply think about those verses during a moment of need.  And yet, God's Word is our primary weapon for fighting our sin nature (which confronts us internally) AND for fighting the enemy (who confronts us externally).  My wife participated in a Beth Moore Bible study last year in which Beth shared a powerful insight...and that is, “The enemy can’t read our minds”.   She's absolutely right.  Why would we expect the enemy to flee when we never unsheathe our weapon?  Ever since my wife and I began to implement this practice, we have noticed a positive and demonstrable change in our lives!

5. Obey:  This is an action word because it involves work...hard work.  Although it’s hard work, would we prefer the “fruits of laziness?”  If we don’t act upon the truth of the Word, we’re like a person who wakes up with bad breath, whacked-out hair, and dried drool on the cheek...then gleefully marching off to work like that.  

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.”  (James 1:22-24)

Kids

Kids bring such joy and laughter to our lives.  As if we needed further proof, here are a couple of great videos of kids being kids.  Thanks, Brian and Brenda, for sharing these with me.  Enjoy!

Monkey

My favorite Christian singer/songwriter is Andrew Peterson.  Not only has he recorded songs that appeal to me as an adult, he also teamed up with Randall Goodgame to create a family/children's project entitled "Slugs, Bugs and Lullabies".  Upon its first play in our house it became an instant hit.

Further broadening their public exposure, Peterson and Goodgame's work has been featured in some recent Big Idea productions (makers of Veggie Tales).  One of their songs entitled "Monkey" is currently playing on YouTube. Enjoy!  

Expelled

Last week I attending a showing of "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed", Ben Stein's new movie.  I thought it was very interesting, thought provoking, and informative.  As the movie transpired, I found myself wondering who would be attending this movie across the country and what they'd have to say about it after viewing it.  So, if you have seen the movie and want to share your thoughts, feel free to leave a comment below.  If you haven't seen it yet, the following video (below) might encourage you to see it.  The movie is only appearing in select theaters, but it would be worth your time to find one of them.

This video features R. C. Sproul (Acclaimed author of numerous books and founder of Ligonier Ministries) interviewing Ben Stein.  It is a very enlightening discussion...and one that makes me want to be more informed on history, science, and theology.

Quotes

A few original quotes:

Regarding love:

The passions of love ignite, the emotions of love kindle, but the actions of love set the heart ablaze.

Regarding corporate worship music preferences:

Anything that is corporate, by definition, involves sharing. Typically congregations share one room, one sermon, one bulletin design, one set of communion plates, etc. Corporate worship music, by definition, means that we also share a set of musical selections with each other. Others get some of our music (the kind we like), and we get some of their music. But in our day of "me-ology" (versus theology), we think that the church exists to make "me" happy...especially regarding music.  Should everybody get to pick which room of the church they'd like to worship in...or which sermon topic they would like that week...or whether the bulletin should be printed in color or black and white, etc. Of course, that would be ridiculous and unacceptable. When children repeatedly speak of what 'they want', we say they're being selfish and instruct them by saying, 'You can't always have things your way.' When children don't share their toys, we say that they are hoarding and instruct them by saying, 'You get to play with your toys most of the time, and now it's time to share them with your friends. Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that Sunday worship only represents one-seventh of your worship for the week? You (or your family) get to choose the Scriptures, prayers, and music used in your personal & family worship six-sevenths of the week. If you are having trouble sharing one-seventh of your worship music, you're either selfish, a hoarder, not worshipping throughout the week, or a combination of the three. Corporate worship necessitates a humble attitude of 'Share and share alike' not 'Share and share if I like'.

Regarding evaluating Sunday worship:

When most people say, 'I really liked worship on Sunday', or 'Worship was really great', what are they saying? Are they saying, 'The offering that I brought before the Lord was excellent?' Are they saying, 'God was honored by the integrity of my heart...the humility of my posture...the passion of my expression...and the gratitude of my lips?' Only God can know the heart of those who make such statements. However, based on my years of experience in worship ministry, I would guess that about 95% of those people are saying, 'The element(s) of the service really 'spoke to me, moved me, or brought joy to me.' In each of these latter statements the object of the comment was "me". Now, it's not wrong when congregational worship speaks to us, moves us, or brings joy to us. In fact, those are wonderful by-products of biblical worship...but they do not equate to God-worship. The definition of God-worship in the Bible is "to ascribe worth to God", "to bow down before God", "to kiss the hand of God", "to submit to God". According to the Bible, God-worship (what the congregation is to be engaged in on Sunday morning...and throughout the week) is all about ascribing worth to God...focusing attention on God...honoring God...bringing pleasure to God. If God is the object of our worship (and He should be), then we should let Him (and His Word) evaluate us. The real question each of us should be asking is, 'God, did you like worship on Sunday?' God (through His Word) can and does speak for Himself on this issue. Are we ready for His evaluation?

Regarding walking with God:

You just never know what is going to happen when you are walking with God...

“Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not,for God took him.” (Genesis 5:23-24 ESV)

Regarding choices:

He that simultaneously walketh in two directions rippeth his pants.