Regarding the proclamation vs. demonstration struggle I kept thinking of Jesus’ statement at the beginning of His ministry in Mark.

“Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out. And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. (Mark 1:38-39)

It seems that this statement continued to define His ministry as well as the ministry in which He was training His disciples (and by extension us).

His mission was proclamation, not demonstration. His mission was to preach the good news (see also: Mark 1:14-15 “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”). And as he went about His mission of proclamation He demonstrated the power of the good news of the kingdom by casting out demons and other acts of power. The point is not the demonstration(the miracles), and in itself the demonstration is nothing. The demonstration simply points to the power of that which is proclaimed.

Therefore, we preach (share the good news even and especially in personal relationships) the good news of eternal life (and life abundantly) in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus our Lord. As we go about this daily proclamation we also demonstrate the power that this proclamation has had in our own life by demonstrating kindness to others (especially including our love of the body of believers). We also show the power of that which we proclaim to effect a community via food pantries, divorce ministries, prayer for healing, tutoring, crisis pregnancy love and care and so many more opportunities. As we do this we proclaim, “This is the power of the gospel that we proclaim! God has changed our hearts, paid for the debt of our sin, and is destroying our pride so that we therefore demonstrate this love as we endeavor to change the lives of our community in this life and for life eternal.”

Demonstration serves proclamation.
Proclamation serves the kingdom.
The kingdom is eternal life (even life abundantly) in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh would pay $7.

The eighth would pay $12.

The ninth would pay $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. ‘Since you are all such good customers, he said, ‘I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).

The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

‘I only got a dollar out of the $20′, declared the sixth man.

He pointed to the tenth man,’ but he got $10!’

‘Yeah, that’s right’, exclaimed the fifth man. ‘I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!’

‘That’s true!!’ shouted the seventh man. ‘Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!’

‘Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. ‘We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!’

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Please understand that a vote for almost any democrat candidate (with the blessed exception of a few) at every level of government including a vote for Barack Obama is almost guaranteed to lead to the greater availability and likelihood of the killing of unborn children.

Therefore, to vote for a pro-choice candidate and specifically for Barack Obama is to become complicit in the death of millions.  That is the nature of the democratic process.  When you and I vote it is a vote by the people for the people therefore we each share in any guilt brought upon our nations by our elected officials.  And make no mistake I am aware that there is plenty of guilt to go around.

Specifically as it relates to the election of Barack Obama there is no way to rationalize his promise to sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act with a desire to reduce the number of abortions.

“The FOCA establishes the right to an abortion as a fundamental right, ensuring that abortion rights would remain in force even if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned.  The act would also repeal provisions that limit federal funding of abortion, strip doctors of “conscience clauses” that allow them not to perform abortions, and nullify state provisions that allow for waiting periods, counseling, and parental notification when a minor is involved.”
– Albert Mohler –

Most of you, my friends, are fellow disciples of Jesus Christ.  I cannot make my conviction any more clear than this.  I cannot fathom that a vote for a candidate who wants to further codify into law the right to destroy the unborn is in any way faithful following of the way or the kingdom of Christ.  Is the a salvation issue?  No.  Is this an issue of faithful discipleship?  Absolutely.

Thank you for allowing me to speak.  May God have mercy upon the unborn in American and may God grant conviction within His people as we approach the end of this election season.

The Lord Bless You & Keep You,
Your friend, Jeremiah Fyffe

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DAVID POWLISON ON PERSONAL APPLICATION
Internet Monk has an interview with Dr. David Powlison where he speaks about “Reading the Bible For Personal Application”. Dr. Powlison wrote an article on this subject that will be included in the upcoming release of the ESV Study Bible.

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PREACHING TO THE HEART BEFORE THE WILL
Church Planting Novice has a quote and reflection of Jonathan Edwards about the dangers of application focused preaching.

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DRISCOLL ON THE EMERGENT CHURCH
Look for the audio of “A Pastoral Perspective on the Emergent Church” on this page where Mark Driscoll explains what he sees as the four streams of movement in the church today: Emergent Church (Village), Emerging Evangelicals, House Church Evangelicals, and Emerging Reformers.

It seems that by saying that we don’t want to go too deep with our youth group kids means that we are giving them just enough of the gospel to inoculate them. Rather we want to give them the fullness of the gospel so that they can see that they have been given a deep pool of grace, the depths of which will take them the rest of their lives (even eternity) to plumb. Even that in any and every circumstance they will be able to dive into grace and find genuine salve for every wound.

Ask a kid what it means to be saved and he will likely respond, “Jesus forgives me of my sins.” And yet the kid observes that church, and especially youth group, seems to be about what God says to do and what God says not to do. How are these two basic teachings of the church compatible? How is it that God seems to demand so much, but forgives so easily? It almost seems like two different religions are being taught. One says that if we follow God we will avoid destructive behaviors. The other says that it doesn’t matter what you do God will forgive you. All you have to do is ask.

The confusion and lack of depth leads to all kinds of mess for graduates. They realize that they just can’t keep up with all of God’s demands and it seems like everyone has a different take on what those demands are anyway. And God forgives in the end so what does it matter? Christianity as a practiced religion becomes irrelevant. In the end what the youth group has produced is a youth that is morally ambivalent and to whom God has become a contradictory side show. The youth may not be willing to become an atheist due to core convictions that there must be a God; therefore, God is placated by minor religious activity and the youth continues to live in a moral and spiritual tension that stands as wall barring genuine reconciliation and relationship with his creator.

It seems that greater depth of understanding and teaching by leaders among youth is the only antidote to the inoculation above. The leaders must ask questions not only of the morality and forgiven status of the youth, but also of his depth of understanding the workings of redemption. Redemption is purchase of pardon, reconciliation, the righteousness of Christ imputed to the believer, escape from wrath with Christ as the substitute, and so much more. Think of what happens to the tension above if the youth can see salvation does not mean sin is no big deal so God just forgives it, but rather that God has utter wrath and hatred of sin and that the cross is the perfect place to see God’s wrath upon sin.

We must guard against the shallow teaching that the gospel is the launch pad to a positive moral life. The gospel is basis of regeneration. The gospel is the sustenance of our daily life. The gospel our reconciliation to God. The gospel is the depth out of which flows our daily worship. Plumb the gospel for our youth. Plumb the gospel with our youth.

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The best way that I can think of to “plumb the gospel” is to find a passage of scripture that specifically summarizes some aspect of the work of Jesus in either His life, His death, or His reign (and they are all of the whole of scripture) and:

1) Read it
2) Dwell on it.
3) Sing songs that relate to it.
4) Ask questions about exactly how this redemption thing works.
5) Ask how this relates both to the beginning of the Christian life and the sustaining of the Christian life.
6) Let the youth ask questions of the text.
7) Begin to enjoy and appreciate all of what Christ has done.

Just a couple of scriptures: Philippians 2; The various divisions of Hebrews 9-10; John 3; Genesis 12 and many, many more.

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I’M BLIND AND YET I SEE?
I had no idea that I was blind in both eyes until I read saw this. God is awesome and His creation just makes that all the more clear.

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JOLLYBLOGGER ABOUT THE SPIRIT WORLD
I love it when I find that someone has written point for point things that I have already thought myself but didn’t have the discipline to write down.

Let me first say that in this clip that Mark Driscoll shows of Joel Osteen preaching is the first time that I seem to think that Joel Osteen is trying to point people to God. There is so much that is true about what Osteen preaches. If we are believers in Christ’s work on the cross we are genuinely “children of God”. “We have royal blood flowing through our veins.” But Osteen seems to be confused regarding both:

1) The Center of the Message - The glory of God in the faithful perseverance of His children in the midst of suffering as they are preserved by the power of the Spirit in the hope of the promise that they have received in the work of Jesus of an eternal inheritance.

and

2) His Sense of Timing - The blessing that we have received in the present age is surety of the promise of a future eternal inheritance of which the Holy Spirit is a deposit.

AND YET … Osteen describes “complete victory” as three things that simply are not the key items of the gospel.

1) Healthy Body
2) Good Relationships
3) No Anxiety (especially as it relates to finances)

I would like to mention a few core problems with these three components coming together to be what the gospel describes as complete victory.

1) What does sin have to do with any of this? If there is no discussion of sin when we talk about victory then there is no need for the cross. When Jesus cried out that “It is finished” it was a cry of victory over sin’s curse and a claim of reconciliation between the redeemed and God.

2) This description slanders the thousands of saints and martyrs throughout history that have cried out “How long, Oh Lord,” as they suffered in their body and in their relationships and in their livelihood even to the point of death. Christ’s vindication of their cause is yet to come at the end of time.

3) Where is the need to persevere under trial or to intentionally place ourselves in the way of persecution for the sake of the gospel? It sounds as though I should avoid situations of persecution because I’m royalty after all.

4) And how should I pray for those who face persecution in places like China? Should I pray as they have asked, that they would endure and that the Good News of Jesus’ cross would be held up before even the persecutors? Or should I pray that God would make their bodies healthy, help them to make better friends, and that God would send them money so they wouldn’t have anxiety?

Bottom-line … I pray that I would see in Christ my own joy so that I can wear a smile as genuine as the appearance of Osteen. And yet I pray that God would hold before Osteen and Osteen would begin to hold before his church and the world the only source of eternal hope and present joy; that is, the God’s reconciling with man in the person and work of Jesus Christ. May we all become more holy worshippers of the One True God.

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63-PART EXPOSITION HEBREWS
Monergism Books is offering a 63-part exposition of Hebrews on MP3 CD by Arturo G. Azurdia for just the cost of shipping and handling.

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TRULY REFORMED MEANS LOVING THE WHOLE CHURCH AS BLOOD BOUGHT PEOPLE
Ray Ortlund explains how being “Truly Reformed” effects how we humbly interact with those who are not.

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WALL-E AND SEX
Letters from Kamp Krusty has a very interesting take on that simple little robot, Wall-E.

Chapter 7 – The Suffering Servant

Isaiah 53:

• Isaiah – “We esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”
• “On the cross, God’s wrath was poured out on Christ. God did strike Him, smite Him, and afflict Him—but not for any evil in Christ. He was smitten in His role as the vicarious Substitute for the people of God.”

God is Satisfied;

• Isaiah – “He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.”
• “God the Father would look on the travail of His Son, and seeing His work on the cross, He would be satisfied. By His work as the Surety, the Mediator, the Substitute, the Redeemer, Christ would most certainly satisfy the Father’s justice.”