It Starts with the Heart

I am quite confident that I am not the only one who finds talking about Jesus with non-Christians hard. I cannot be the only one who has sighed to themselves after an awkward conversation, “I wish I could be better at talking to people about Jesus. The words just don’t seem to come naturally to me.”

What is the solution? I could swat up on an outline of the gospel. I could spend time practicing clever answers to questions people ask. These are helpful and useful things to do. However, we need to start further back and deeper in than this.

We need to start with the heart.

We need to start here because our words flow out of our hearts. Jesus tells the Pharisees that “…out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34) The Pharisees have been spreading some nasty rumours about Jesus. They claim that He works by the power of the devil (verse 24). Jesus tells them that the reason they say such evil things is because their hearts are evil. They are like a diseased apple tree that will only produce rotten apples. The fruit of their mouths shows up the rot in their hearts.

What is in my heart will eventually bubble out through my lips. This means that what my heart delights in most, my lips speak about most. If my heart is in love with sport, then I am going to spend most of my time talking excitedly about the latest football scores. If I have a heart that is in love with something other than Jesus, then I’m going to struggle to speak naturally and excitedly about Him. However, if my heart is a heart that is beating with delight in the Lord Jesus, then this will bubble out through excited lips.

This means that when I want to get better at talking to my friend about Jesus, the first place I need to work on is my heart. I need to grow my heart in enjoying the truth of the gospel, and allow it to be shaped by the gospel. I need to take the truth of the Gospel and work it deep into the soil of my heart. As we do this we will slowly find the fruit of natural and excited gospel conversations begin to grow.

Here are some practical pointers to doing this heart work:

1) Pray, pray, pray. God is the heart surgeon. Changing our hearts from idol loving hearts to Jesus loving hearts is the work of His Spirit. Cry to Him to do this work because we cannot do it.

2) Feast yourself on the Word of God. The Bible is the surgical scalpel that God uses to do this heart work. It alone goes deep into the heart. The more deeply we soak ourselves in the Word, the more our hearts will be growing to delight in Jesus, and the more naturally we will speak about Him

3) Encourage one another regularly with Bible truth. God has given us one another as fellow labourers in this work.

Now, I need to warn you. Heart work is hard work. It’s a daily slog. Keep at it, because it is the best type of work.

Watch Me!

There Are Worse Things Than Dying

A helpful thought from Don Carson to put things into perspective:

I do not know how many times I have sung the words, “O let me never, never / Outlive my love for Thee,” but I mean them.

I would rather die than end up unfaithful to my wife; I would rather die than deny by a profligate life what I have taught in my books; I would rather die than deny or disown the gospel.

God knows there are many things in my past of which I am deeply ashamed; I would not want such shame to multiply and bring dishonor to Christ in years to come.

There are worse things than dying.

How Not to Read Your Bible in 2013

Over at the Gospel Coalition Matt Smethurst has written a helpful article on how not to read your Bible in 2013. Well worth reading, especially if you have just undertaken a new plan for personal Bible reading for a new year.

You can read the article by clicking here.

Why Memorise Scripture?

Good Habits or Legalism

Some challenging words from John Piper on one lie about prayer that we're prone to believe:

But the hard truth is that most Christians don’t pray very much. They pray at meals—unless they’re still stuck in the adolescent stage of calling good habits legalism. They whisper prayers before tough meetings. They say something brief as they crawl into bed. But very few set aside set times to pray alone—and fewer still think it is worth it to meet with others to pray. And we wonder why our faith is weak. And our hope is feeble. And our passion for Christ is small.

The Duty of Prayer

And meanwhile the devil is whispering all over this room: “The pastor is getting legalistic now. He’s starting to use guilt now. He’s getting out the law now.” To which I say, “To hell with the devil and all of his destructive lies. Be free!” Is it true that intentional, regular, disciplined, earnest, Christ-dependent, God-glorifying, joyful prayer is a duty? Do I go to pray with many of you on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m., and Wednesday at 5:45 p.m., and Friday at 6:30 a.m., and Saturday at 4:45 p.m., and Sunday at 8:15 a.m. out of duty? Is it a discipline?

You can call it that. It’s a duty the way it’s the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater. It’s a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers. It’s a duty the way soldiers in combat clean their rifles and load their guns. It’s a duty the way hungry people eat food. It’s a duty the way thirsty people drink water. It’s a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid. It’s a duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin. It’s a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey. It’s a duty the way pirates look for gold.

Means of Grace: Gift of God

I hate the devil, and the way he is killing some of you by persuading you it is legalistic to be as regular in your prayers as you are in your eating and sleeping and Internet use. Do you not see what a sucker he his making out of you? He is laughing up his sleeve at how easy it is to deceive Christians about the importance of prayer.

God has given us means of grace. If we do not use them to their fullest advantage, our complaints against him will not stick. If we don’t eat, we starve. If we don’t drink, we get dehydrated. If we don’t exercise a muscle, it atrophies. If we don’t breathe, we suffocate. And just as there are physical means of life, there are spiritual means of grace.

Memorising the Bible

Over at the Briefing, Jean Williams has a very helpful series of articles on memorising Scripture. You can read them by clicking the links below:

• Part 1: "Why you shouldn't memorise Bible verses."
• Part 2: "A three-course banquet of Bible memorisation."
• Part 3: "A smorgasboard of Bible memorisation methods."
• Part 4: "The delightful results of memorising the Bible."

A Praying Church?

Sinclair Ferguson was interviewed about what concerns him about churches today. What concerned him most was the lack of prayer and corporate prayer in the church. He says this:

Again there is the lack of prayer and of the Church praying. This is to me the most alarming, for this reason: we have built apparently strong, large, successful, active churches. But many of our churches never meet as a congregation for prayer. I mean never! What does that indicate we are saying about the life of the Church as a fellowship? By contrast, the mark of a truly apostolic spirit in the church is that that we give ourselves to prayer and the Word together (Acts 6:4). No wonder “the Word of God continued to increase and the number of the disciples multiplied” (Acts 6:7). If this is so, it should not surprise us that while many churches see growth, it is often simply reconfiguration of numbers, not of conversion. I greatly wish that our churches would learn to keep the main things central, that we would learn to be true Churches, vibrant fellowships of prayer, Gospel ministry and teaching, genuine mutual love. At the end of the day, such a Church simply needs to “be” for visitors who come to sense that this is a new order of reality altogether and are drawn to Christ.

 You can read the whole article here.

 

 

How do I decide what to read?

 The author of Ecclesiastes reminds us that "Of making many books there is no end.." (Ecclesiastes 12:12). Therefore, we need to be both discerning and selective about what we read. How then do we decide what to read? Here are some thoughts from John Piper on how he decides what to read. You can listen to the short interview, or read a transcript by clicking here.

Sitting Exams to the Glory of God

This week I sat my last exams at theological college. This has prompted me to think back over some of the key Bible truths that have sustained me through exams over the last 4 years of my time at college. Over a year ago I wrote a short piece called The Gospel and The Exam Hall, as a reminder of these important truths. Since it is again the season for exams, I thought I would post it again as an encouragement to others still in the midst of exams. Here is the article in full:

 

One of the experiences that comes with being at theological college is that of learning to sit exams all over again. The experience of sitting in the exam room is something I've not had since I've left school. Therefore, one of the challenges that this has given me is the opportunity to wrestle with the question: 'How do I sit exams to the glory of God?' What does it look like to sit exams as a Christian, and how ought the gospel shape the way we prepare for and participate in exams?

The following is not a 'How To...' guide for sitting exams. Rather, it is a reminder of some Bible truths that we need to remember as exams approach, either for those of us who are sitting exams, or for those of us seeking to encourage and minister to those preparing to sit exams (such as parents, youth workers, student workers etc.). They are truths that we ought to allow to shape us as we prepare to sit exams as a Christian.

Here are four truths for the Christian to remember in the exam hall:

1) Remember that the only exam that matters has already been passed for us
One of the great dangers the Christian faces in sitting exams is the temptation to seek acceptance from exam grades. We can be tempted to see good exam grades as the grounds for our standing before God and before others. In short we can be tempted to seek justification by exam grades.

However, the gospel reminds us that the only exam that truly matters has already been passed for us in our place. If we are a Christian, then we have full acceptance before God. This is not because of anything in ourselves, or anything that we have done. It is only because if the work of Christ on our behalf. He has lived the perfect life and died the perfect death, taking the punishment for our sin in our place, in obedience to the Father. It is through faith in Him that we are counted as perfectly righteous before God. (Romans 3:28). Everything needed for our acceptance before God has been accomplished in Christ. If we are trusting in Jesus alone we cannot be more accepted by God than we already are.

In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul says this: "For our sake [God] made made him [ie. Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus is the only one ever who "knew no sin", that is he never sinned. He perfectly obeyed His Father, even to the point of the most humiliating death, death on a cross taking upon Himself the just anger of God in the place of sinners (Philippians 2:8). Yet, at the cross our sin was counted as His and He took the punishment our sins deserve. This is why Paul says that God "made him to be sin". He was counted as the worst sinner as he bore our sins in our place on the cross. he did this "so that in him we might become the righteousness of God". That is, so that we might be counted as perfect before God. Our guilty record has been counted to Him, and His perfect record has been counted to us if we are "in him", if we are those who are united to Him by faith.

This means that, as we walk into the exam hall, we already have ultimate acceptance if we are a Christian. The ultimate exam has already been passed for us by Jesus. Therefore, it ultimately does not matter how well or how badly we do in the exam. We already have ultimate acceptance, and nothing that happens in the exam room (or in absolutely any other context) can change that.

This helps guard against two dangers for us in sitting exams: pride and despair. It guards against pride because the fact that all, regardless of their background, are justified by God's grace alone through faith in Christ alone puts us all on a level playing field. All are equally sinners and deserving of God's wrath (Romans 3:23), and all are declared to be in the right before God, not by anything we have done, but by coming to Jesus with empty hands and trusting in Him alone. It guards against despair because whatever happens in the exam, even if we fail miserably, we still have ultimate acceptance. That acceptance does not depend on anything in ourselves, in our performance or skills, but on God alone. It depends on the perfect finished work of Jesus. 

2) Remember that hard work glorifies God
Because we have been accepted by God through Jesus, this frees us up to work hard for His glory. We do not work in order to be accpted by Him, but precisely because we have been accepted by Him. We have been saved by Jesus in order to do good works, which He has prepared in advance for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10).

This means that wherever we find God has placed us in life we are to work hard for His glory. Paul calls the slaves in Colosse in whatever they do to "work heartily, as for the Lord and not to men." This is true of whatever work we find ourselves in (it obviously rules us out from certain jobs, since there are some occupations which we cannot do to God's glory, since they are inescapably sinful).

This means that when it comes to working for exams we are to be those who "work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." (Colossians 3:23). We are to give ourselves to working dilligently. This is not in order to look good in front of others, to please men. Rather, it is on order to bring glory to God. When we find ourselves tempted to cut corners or to take that easy route out, let us remind ourselves that hard work glorifies God. Therefore we are give ourselves to dilligent work in the position in life that God has placed us, and to do so in a way that brings glory and honour to God and not to ourselves.

3) Remember that taking time to rest glorifies God
As we saw above, hard work glorifies God. However, it is just as important to recognise that we also glorify God by resting. Our hard work can become an ungodly trusting in ourselves if we do not take the time to rest.

We need to recognise the truth that God is God and we are not. He is the one who is in absolute control of absolutely everything, not us. The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is sustaining the universe by His word (Hebrews 1:3). The only reason that the universe is still in existence is because He is sustaining it. The only reason that our heart is still beating is because He is sustaining it. Everything in this universe is fully under God's control from the largest to the smallest thing; from the revolving of the planets in the solar system, to the slightest stroke of a pen on the exam paper. Nothing is outside His control.

We need to acknowledge this. One of the ways in which we acknowledge this is by taking time out to rest. When we rest we are saying: "You are God and I am not, you are ultimately in control and I am not." The Psalm 127:1-2 tells us: 

Unless the LORD builds the house, 
those who build it labour in vain. 
Unless the LORD watches over the city, 
the watchman stays awake in vain. 
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, 
eating the bread of anxious toil; 
for he gives to his beloved sleep.

We can spend days doing "all-nighters", yet all this will make no difference unless God prospers what we do. He is in control we are not. Excessive hard work can be a sign that we are not trusting God, that we think that what we do relies solely on our strength. When we clock off to make sure we get a full nights sleep, or when we set aside that day off once a week, it is a way of reminding ourselves that He is in control and that we are trusting Him. He can be trusted. Whatever happens in our exams is under His sovereign control, and He is working all things for the good of His people to make them more like Jesus (Romans 8:28).

Therefore, we glorify Him, not by spending time worrying and fretting over our exams and working endlessly through the night. No, we glorify Him by trusting Him. Trusting Him that He has given us the time and resources for what we need. Inded He has given us all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). One of the ways that we show we trust Him is by taking time to rest (and to allow others to rest), showing that we recognise that He is in control not us.

4) Remember that exams are not an excuse to neglect godliness
In light of the abundant mercy that God has shown us in Christ, we are called present ourselves to God as living sacrifices, set apart for His service and pleasing to Him (Romans 12:1). This call to be living sacrifices is something that is to shape every area of our lives, and to do so all the time.

However, we still want to make excuses for neglecting to do this, and our sinful nature loves to take any opportunity to keep us from godliness. So often the exam season can be seen as a legitimate excuse for doing this. Instead of taking time to nourish ourselves by feeding from the Bible, we find ourselves thinking, "It doesn't really matter if I leave that to one side for a couple of weeks, I can survive without it." Instead of recognising that we are utterly dependant upon God for all things by pouring ourselves out before Him in prayer, we plough on in self-confidence thinking "I don't have time for that right now." Instead of giving ourselves to sacraficially serve others, we think that because I'm doing exams others are there to serve me. This is sin.

We must recognise that it is precisely during such pressured times that we need to be working hard at godliness. We need the word of God more than we need our food (Matthew 4:4), and we wouldn't stop eating for two weeks just because we're busy with study. We need to be constantly coming to God's throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), to "recieve mercy and find grace" to persevere in the Christian life, and live in such a way that exalts Jesus. We ought to be daily shaped by the gospel so that we are constantly laying down our lives in the service of others, which brings glory to Jesus as it reflects His unique and ultimate sacrifice at the cross (Philippians 2:1-11). As those who belong to Christ, we are called to have the same mindset as our King (Philippians 2:5), and therefore gladly lay down our lives in the service of others, seeking their good (Philippians 2:3-4; 1 John 3:16).

Therefore, when the pressure of exams starts to build, instead of seeing it as an opportunity to neglect godliness, we ought to be on our guard all the more. It is a time when neglecting godliness becomes much more attractive, and we might even find others encouraging us to do so. Thus, we need to work all the more at loving Jesus and loving others, of making godliness a priority and not letting it get lost among the revision notes.

Keeping these four truths in mind let us be those who use the exam hall as a place to magnify the supreme worth of the Lord Jesus. Whatever we do let us do it "all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Overcoming Temptation

Recently Don Carson discussed the Christian's personal holiness in an interview with David Mathis. In this short clip he gives his thoughts on how we battle sin and overcome temptation. Worth a watch to spur us on in the daily fight against the world, the flesh and the devil.

Interview with J. I. Packer

Recently Carl Trueman interviewed J.I. Packer. Packer gives a great testimony to God's grace in his own life, his reflections on the Puritans and on Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and gives advice to young ministers. Well worth a watch.

The Marriage of Ian and Larissa

John Piper:

Being satisfied in God (or anything) always seems easier when all is going well. But when things you love are being stripped out of your hands, then the test is real. If God remains precious in those moments, then his supreme worth shines more brightly. He is most glorified.

The most meaningful testimonies I receive are when people tell me that it was a vision of the sovereignty and goodness of God that got them through the most difficult times of their life.

Here is one of those testimonies. I tremble with the glad responsibility of introducing you to Ian & Larissa Murphy in this video. Tremble, because it is their story and so personal. So delicate. So easily abused. So unfinished. Glad, because Christ is exalted over all things.

The Fight

J.C.Ryle reminds us of the fight that every Christian must fight, and fight daily. The fight against the world, the flesh and the devil:

The principal fight of the Christian is with the world, the flesh, and the devil. This is their never-dying foes. These are the three chief enemies against whom they must wage war. Unless they get the victory over these three, all other victories are useless and vain. If they had a nature like an angel, and were not a fallen creature, the warfare would not be so essential. But with a corrupt heart, a busy devil, and an ensnaring world, they must either fight or be lost. 

The Christian must fight the flesh. Even after conversion they carry within them a nature prone to evil, and a heart weak and unstable as water. To keep that heart from going astray, there is need of a daily struggle and a daily wrestling in prayer. “I discipline my body,” cries Paul, “and bring it under subjection.” “I see a law in my members at war against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity.” “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?” “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts.” “Mortify your members which are upon the earth” (1 Cor. 9:27; Rom. 7:23, 24; Gal. 5:24; Col. 3:5). 

The Christian must fight the world. The subtle influence of that mighty enemy must be daily resisted, and without a daily battle can never be overcome. The love of the world’s good things, the fear of the world’s laughter or blame, the secret desire to keep in with the world, the secret wish to do as others in the world do, and not to run into extremes—all these are spiritual foes which beset the Christian continually on their way to heaven, and must be conquered. “The friendship of the world is enmity with God: whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God.” “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” “Whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world.” “Be not conformed to this world” (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15; 1 John 5:4; Rom. 12:2). 

The Christian must fight the devil. That old enemy of mankind is not dead. Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve he has been going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it, and striving to compass one great end—the ruin of a person’s soul. Never slumbering and never sleeping, he is always going about as a lion seeking whom he may devour. An unseen enemy, he is always near us, about our path and about our bed, and spying out all our ways. A murderer and a liar from the beginning, he labors night and day to cast us down to hell. Sometimes by leading into superstition, sometimes by suggesting infidelity, sometimes by one kind of tactics and sometimes by another, he is always carrying on a campaign against our souls. “Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.” This mighty adversary must be daily resisted if we wish to be saved. But “this kind does not come out” except by watching and praying, and putting on the whole armor of God. The strong man armed will never be kept out of our hearts without a daily battle. (Job 1:7; 1 Peter 5:8; John 8:44; Luke 22:31; Eph. 4:11). 

Reader, perhaps you think these statements too strong. You fancy that I am going too far, and laying on the colors too thickly. You are secretly saying to yourself, that men and women may surely get to heaven without all this trouble and warfare and fighting. Remember the maxim of the wisest general that ever lived in England: “In time of war it is the worst mistake to underrate your enemy, and try to make a little war.” This Christian warfare is no light matter.

John Stott, the Napper

I've just come across an interesting short article by Trevor McMacken on one particular lesson he's learnt from the life of John Stott. Of all the things he was struck by in reading about Stott's life and ministry he says that he was most impacted by his disciplined daily life, including his daily nap.

This is a worthwhile reminder of the importance of discipline in the daily Christian life, a discipline which includes both work and rest.

You can read the article by clicking here.

"Their best things are yet to come."

J. C. Ryle:

Let it be a settled principle in our minds that the true Christian must always enter the kingdom of God “through much tribulation” (Acts 14:22). Their best things are yet to come. This world is not our home. If we are faithful and decided servants of Christ, the world will certainly hate us, as it hated our Master. In one way or another grace will always be persecuted. No consistency of conduct, however faultless, no kindness and amiability of character, however striking, will exempt a believer from the world’s dislike, so long as they live. It is foolish to be surprised at this. It is mere waste of time to murmur at it. It is a part of the cross, and we must bear it patiently. “Marvel not, my brethren,” says John, “if the world hates you.” “If you were of the world,” says our Lord, “the world would love his own; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (1 John 3:13; John 15:18,19).