The Gift of Tongues as a Glorious Display of the Gospel (Part 7)

Part Seven: Counsel

For those desiring the gift of tongues, I'd give you two pieces of counsel. These comes from the Bible and from my own experience (which I measure against the experiences of others whom I have come to trust).

First, believe it's okay to seek the experience. There's nothing wrong with seeking this kind of experience, because it comes from the Lord. Some Christians will tell you that it is wrong to seek after experiences. The Bible says otherwise. "...earnestly desire the spiritual gifts...Now I want you all to speak in tongues..." (1 Cor. 14:1, 5).

Second, to seek after it, begin first seeking liberty. That's where the joy you are looking for is rooted in. And that joy-producing liberty is itself rooted in grace. The grace of God brings liberty. That grace removes condemnation, fear, doubt, and confusion. Grace liberates you to see beyond your current horizons to new possibilities and experiences you've yet to encounter. Jesus told his disciples that they would do greater works than His when the Spirit came (John 14:12). These greater works are only possible when you embrace and walk in the liberty of the Spirit that the Father gave you.

Third, expect it to receive it. Yes, I know what 1 Corinthians 12 says. And I've repeated this point in another post on this series. God is sovereign, and He gives His spiritual gifts to those whom He desires, when He desires. But some Christians seem to lean too far to the negative side, assuming God will probably not give it to them. For those like me who watched Winnie the Pooh when they were younger (or those who may watch it now with their kids), you'll be familiar with the character named Eyore, the pessimistic, always negative stuffed donkey. Everything is always wrong in Eyore's mind, and nothing will ever go right. In fact, if you even try, it will probably fail. And so there's this sort of "Eyore spirit" that can pervade Christians who pray to a good God not expecting Him to be good in His answer.


This must end! Once and for all. God is a good God...all the time...no matter what. And He desires to give good gifts to His children (Luke 11:12-13). Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights in whom there is no deceitfulness or changing of mind (James 1:17). So if He is this good God the Bible talks about, then He desires to be good to His children.

The point here is simple: if He is sovereign, then let HIM decide when He wants to sovereignly give you the gift of tongues. Your responsibility is to keep asking! Stop worrying about whether or not God will give it to you, and believe He is a good God and wants to give it to you. Let your requests be made known to God! And the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:6-7).

He wants you to be filled with joy. Remember His name, Jesus, means, He will save, rescue, and deliver His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21)! He is a liberator! If you are not a Christian, He wants to liberate you! And if you are a Christian, He already HAS liberated you. So dwell on that. Meditate on that. Eat, sleep, and drink the liberty you have been given in Jesus Christ. That is where He has expressed and reflected His goodness toward you the most. And that is where the Spirit is going to point your attention night and day...upon the goodness of God shown to you in Christ Jesus living, dying, rising again, ascending to heaven, and praying right now...all for you!

Oh, how He loves you!


Oh, how He loves you!


Oh, how He loves you!


Oh, how He loves you!


Oh, how He loves YOU!


Do not doubt His goodness toward you in this area of tongues, when God has already displayed His greatest goodness toward you in the area of liberation in and through Jesus. And conversely, if God should sovereignly determine to not bless you with this gift, then He has still already displayed that greatest goodness toward you, and you have all you need in Christ Jesus.

But continue to ask, seek, and knock!

It's a paradox, this continually asking for something that God alone will or will not sovereignly give. But God wants you to keep on asking and not worry about whether or not He's going to give it to you. That's why Jesus taught His disciples this invaluable lesson in Luke 11:5-13. Persistence in prayer is the key to prayer, according to Jesus.

You must believe that He desires for you to experience in deeper and more profound, impacting ways His goodness, His joy, His ecstasy and excitement...all through the liberty He has gained for you and given to you.

Handling Other People with the Gospel of Jesus - Part Two

Too many Christian relationships enter the boxing ring. And it's usually over something petty, like a misunderstanding, a misperception...or just a plain ole' mistake. I don't know why many Christians, particularly in America, are so touchy and sensitive. I don't know why I, specifically, used to be this way. Perhaps it's pride...whispering in the ear of my heart...

"pssst...hey Rob, what do you think he meant by that? What was he really trying to say? Sounded to me like he was implying that you........."

You know how it goes. You've been there too, haven't you? And what happens next? That's right...we put on the Holy Spirit boxing gloves and get ready to "thow down," as they say here in the hood.

Our church plant got started this way, with well-meaning Christians disagreeing over normal stuff. But their disagreements went too far to the point where they were in serious conflict with one another. Each person seemed to have on a pair of Christian boxing gloves, going at it with each other...everyone professing to be motivated by the glory of God.

While meeting together with this small group two years ago, we blew through the breakfast and lunch buffet of the local Shoney's discussing how the gospel drives our relationships. I shared with the group that day what was a rather startling yet obvious teaching: gospel-driven Christians wear the gloves of forgiveness and forbearance. Forgiveness is like a work-glove, and forbearance like a velvet-glove. And that brings me to the second means of how to handle other people with the gospel of Jesus in this post.

2. Use the Two Gloves of Forgiveness and Forbearance

As I just stated, the gospel glove of forgiveness is like a work-glove. It is rough and tough. It is caloused. It can handle anything, take anything, receive anything. Forgiveness is that leather palm that covers the heart protecting it from resentment, bitterness, and malice. When the Christian is wearing this, he can handle even the most prickly and barbed person around. Paul ended the fourth chapter of Ephesians this way.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

The other glove is a velvet glove. It is the gospel glove of forbearance. It is tender and soft with those who are different from us...those we normally reserve adjectives like "strange" and "wierd" for. But they're just different...from us. Normally it's things like personality conflicts that get in the way in these cases. Other people just rub us the wrong way. And with these folks, we must handle them gently, humbly, and patiently. Here's the way Paul began this same chapter.

1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

Someone might easily mistake that the gloves ought to be reversed...that the gospel glove of forbearance is like the work-glove, and forgiveness like the velvet glove. Though that is normally how we see it, that's not the way of the cross.

Forbearance is not rough and tough, simply "putting up" with somebody cause we have to. And forgiveness is not smooth and soft because that would deny the intense pains and hurts we cause each other in our relationships.

No, the Christian must forbear patiently with gentleness, and forgive each other with diligent hard work. That's the real work of Christian unity. And that's why Paul began the statement in Eph. 4:3 with the Greek word, spoudazo, which means "to spare no effort, to hold nothing back." Unity is something every Christian must give their all to...all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. And that unity is obtained and maintained by forgiving each others' sins, and by forbearing with each others' differences.

Handling Other People with the Gospel of Jesus - Part 1

Whether it's our kids, our wife or husband, our neighbors, fellow workers, church members, etc. we're always going to be dealing with other people. We interact with them every day, even if we don't speak to them. Life has always contained the ripple effects that occur in the daily habit of bumping into each other: that single interaction or interchange, no matter what size, shape, flavor, or color, will have some sort of impact on both of us, for the better or for the worse.

So how's a Christian supposed to handle other people? Especially when those other people have so many problems! "I mean, come on! What's wrong with them! If they'd just watch us a little more closely (but not too closely, cause then you're in my personal space), they'd probably see how to get it right!" If you're giving a hearty "amen" to that statement, then here's how you can help those other people who so badly need it.

1. Keep a mirror in front of yourself at all times.

• Remember the tax collector and the pharisee (Luke 18:9-14). It appears, "Jesus told this story to some who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone else" (v. 9, NLT). Pay careful attention to what Jesus taught here. The tax collector had a spiritual mirror in front of him...the pharisee did not.
  
• Remember Paul's testimony. 3x in Acts he referred to himself as the persecutor of the church. 3x in his letters he refers to himself with increasing degredation in light of who he was before Jesus met him (and who he would have been if Jesus hadn't have met him). Trace your own spiritual journey and see how it measures up to that of Paul's in 1 Corinthians 15:9, Ephesians 3:8, 1 Timothy 1:12-17 (focusing on verse 15).
  
• Get the telephone pole out of your own eye before attempting to get the speck of dust out of the other person's eye. Jesus taught this to us in Matthew 7:1-5. This means that Jesus wants you to view your problem as bigger and more important than the other person's problem. And if you do this, then your hands will be splintered with the pain and suffering of repenting from your own sins when you go to help someone else repent from theirs.


• Do the Word of God rather than just reading it. James teaches us to do this in 1:22 of his letter. No one respects or listens to a person who doesn't practice what they preach. That was the problem with the Pharisees in Jesus day (Matt. 23:3).

I think you see the key here, don't you? It's called humility. I sin just as much as the other person does.

Here's an exercise toward this goal of getting humility.

1. Write out your perspective of the other person's sin problem and why they are the way they are.

2. Then for each point you list about that person, write a comparative statement about yourself, making comparisons with the same analyses and perspectives about yourself whether present or past sin issues in your own life.

The point is compare how you are and what you've done to what they've done. Do you see the same sin issues in your life? Right now? Recently?

Oh...and here's some more homework. Take two and call me in the morning. This series of two messages changed my life, my marriage, my parenting, my thinking, my perspective...basically everything. Download and listen to "The Surgeon, the Scalpel, the Saint in Sin" by Dave Harvey.

• Download Message 1 for FREE
• Download Message 2 for FREE
• Download Both Messages as a FREE Set
• Download the FREE PDF Outline
• Order the CD's for ten bucks
  

Until next post, keep the mirror in front of your face.

Joe Thorn on Gospel-Centeredness

Joe Thorn is a fellow I haven't communicated with in several years. We swapped some e-correspondence back in 04-05 about various topics relating to reformed theology, emergent church stuff, and church planting, church leadership, etc....mostly by various blog posts we'd each done.

I haven't tracked his blog for a while, but whenever I spot a post, I'm always encouraged. This includes his hair-do, as well...or hair-don't, depending on your perspective. An example of a great post is the one published on August 11, just two days ago, on being "Gospel-Centered." I took the liberty of posting the entire thing here, but be sure to click on the title to get directly to his post.

At Redeemer Fellowship we talk a lot about being gospel-centered as a church, and we encourage gospel-centered living among our people. From time to time we get asked by our newcomers, “What exactly does that mean? What does it look like?” Here is a brief explanation.

The Gospel

Before we jump into gospel-centeredness we need to be clear about the gospel itself. In the simplest of terms the gospel is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that accomplishes redemption and restoration for all who believe and all of creation. In his life Jesus fulfilled the law and accomplished all righteousness on behalf of sinners who have broken God’s law at every point. In his death Jesus atones for our sins, satisfying the wrath of God and obtaining forgiveness for all who believe. In his resurrection Jesus’ victory over sin and death is the guarantee of our victory over the same in and through him. Jesus’ saving work not only redeems sinners, uniting them to God, but also assures the future restoration of all creation. This is the gospel, the “good news,” that God redeems a fallen world by his grace.

Gospel-Centered: The Big Picture

Therefore, to be gospel-centered means that that the gospel – and Jesus himself – is our greatest hope and boast, our deepest longing and joy, and our most passionate song and message. It means that the gospel is what defines us as Christians, unites us as brothers and sisters, changes us as sinner/saints and sends us as God’s people on mission. When we are gospel-centered the gospel is exalted above every other good thing in our lives and triumphs over every bad thing set against it.

The Gospel-Centered Life

More specifically, the gospel-centered life is a life where a Christian experiences a growing personal reliance on the gospel that protects him from depending on his own religious performance and being seduced and overwhelmed by idols. The gospel centered life produces:

Confidence (Heb. 3:14; 4:16)

When the gospel is central in our lives we have confidence before God – not because of our achievements, but because of Christ’s atonement. We can approach God knowing that he receives us as his children. We do not allow our sins to anchor us to guilt and despair, but their very presence in our lives compels us to flee again and again to Christ for grace that restores our spirits and gives us strength.

Intimacy (Heb. 7:25; 10:22; James 4:8)

When the gospel is central in our lives we have and maintain intimacy with God, not because of our religious performance, but because of Jesus’ priestly ministry. We know that Jesus is our mediator with God the Father and that he has made perfect peace for us through his sacrifice allowing us to draw near to God with the eager expectation of receiving grace, not judgment.

Transformation (2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:13)

When the gospel is central in our lives we experience spiritual transformation, not just moral improvement, and this change does not come about by our willpower, but by the power of the resurrection. Our hope for becoming what God designed and desires for us is not trying harder, but trusting more – relying on his truth and Spirit to sanctify us.

Community (Heb. 3:12, 13; 10:25; 2 Tim 3:16, 17)

When the gospel is central in our lives we long for and discover unity with other believers in the local church, not because of any cultural commonality, but because of our common faith and Savior. It is within this covenant community, if the community itself is gospel-centered, that we experience the kind of fellowship that comforts the afflicted, corrects the wayward, strengthens the weak, and encourages the disheartened.

The Gospel-Centered Church

A gospel-centered church is a church that is about Jesus above everything else. That sounds a little obvious, but when we talk about striving to be and maintain gospel-centrality as a church we are recognizing our tendency to focus on many other things (often good and important things) instead of Jesus. There are really only two options for local churches; they will be gospel-centered, or issue driven.

Issue-driven churches can be conservative or liberal, and come from any denominational tribe. A church can get the gospel “right” on paper and still not be gospel-centered in practice.
Some churches are driven by doctrinal purity. In the pursuit of the truth it is not uncommon for a church to be more about their theological heritage than the founder and perfecter of our faith. Some churches are driven by numbers. The desire to see as many people as possible trust in Christ can lead to a pragmatism that gives the nod to anything that results in more people in the front door. Some churches are driven by a desire to be culturally relevant, while other churches are focused on how culturally distinct they can remain. In both cases something other than the cross is capturing the attention of the congregation. Some churches are driven by social or spiritual works that, while good, begin to eclipse the point of all good works.

Gospel-centered churches do not forsake these things, but they are not driven by them. They are driven by a love for Jesus and his work on our behalf. Therefore gospel-centered churches are so focused on Jesus and the hope of redemption that they are passionate and articulate about their theology. Their desire to know and make known Jesus demands doctrinal precision and leads them to want and work toward as many people as possible repenting of sin and trusting in Christ. When the gospel is central in a church it leads them out into the world on mission, while preserving their counter-cultural character as the people of God. The gospel-centered church is driven by love (for God and others) and this leads to joyful obedience that points back to God.

In saying this I don’t want to suggest that we at Redeemer do not struggle with being issue driven. That temptation is always present, and it is why we work hard to maintain gospel-centrality by keeping the gospel always before us in our work and worship.

Helpful reading on maintaining gospel-centrality.

• Gospel-Centered Life Curriculum by Bob Thune


• Gospel-Centered Discipleship (Fight Clubs) by Jonathan Dodson


• The Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney


• The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges


• A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent

The Gospel for Sickness and Death

There are two realities on which the gospel exists and operates in all of human life.

1. The Reality of Decay. People and planet alike are decaying.

2. The Reality of Redemption. People and planet alike will one day be redeemed; people through the resurrection, and the planet through re-creation.

Consider the first, the Reality of Decay. People and planet alike are dying, decaying, and fading away. John foretold it in 1 John 2:17. The world and its lusts are dying away, but the one who does God's will will live forever, a promise carrying one past the decay of both body and planet.

Then there's Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 4:16. There's this outward wasting away of the body as we grow older, suffering the punches life throws.

And how about Romans 8:20-24? There is this constant frustration of bondage to decay and groaning through all of it.

But consider second, the Reality of Redemption. Christians praise God for the eager expectation of this promise (see v. 19) glorious freedom (v. 21) and adoption (v. 23) as sons and daughters of the King (v. 23), through the redemption of our decaying and dying bodies (v. 23). "In THIS hope we were saved" (v. 24).

And THERE IT IS!!! It is in the hope of redemption, the eager expectation of freedom, that we were saved. The confident expectation of resurrection and re-creation is our promise.

The doctrines of redemption and resurrectin are promises that make for certainty, which in turns makes for good news! (See Acts 24:15; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 6:18-19).

We were saved in the certainty that we WILL be adopted as sons and have our bodies redeemed. I believe too many Christians underemphasize the significance of the resurrection of our bodies as a foundation of the gospel, for salvation.

Our salvation is rooted in the certainty that we WILL ultimately be redeemed, both body and soul. Therefore, salvation MUST of necessity consummate with resurrection and redemption, or else it is a half-way salvation, which is really no salvation at all.

Social Welfare and Christian Welfare: The Gospel Dissolves Laziness

Our governmental welfare system today in the US is largely built off of laziness. No doubt, this will anger some. But it is the truth. In 1 Timothy 5, the Christian who doesn't provide for the needs of his own family is said to be worse than an unbeliever, or as one who has denied the faith. This must mean, therefore, that those who don't provide for the needs of their family members are just plain unbelievers. This is not a statement of anger but of truth: when a segment of society determines that they are not responsible to provide for their own well being, they are behaving as those who have no faith.

What I gather from Paul on this point is that laziness and not providing for personal needs of yourself and your family members is equal to a denial of the faith, or of the gospel. Unbelief says, "I can't do anything. I can't do anything right. I can't do anything at all. So I'll let someone else care for me. Better yet, because I can't do anything, it is someone else's responsibility to take care of me." And so our welfare system is maintained, those not working, profiting from those who do work, the harvest of the responsible being mandatorily converted into a harvest for the irresponsible.

And please note here, that if you, dear reader, are on welfare of any kind, and you are a responsible Christian who has simply fallen on hard times and is unable to find work of any kind, and who has a church family who does not take care of you in your needs, then you have the unlimited grace and favor of God upon you. Use it. Enjoy it. But have a seriously short relationship with it. God will give you greater favor for using the talents, skills, giftings, visions, and burdens HE has put within you to bless you and give you a harvest big enough to feed yourself and those you love.

The reason for the post here, however, is not to bash the welfare system of our federal government, nor to discuss the truth that social welfare is the responsibility of the local churches. Rather, it is to compare something interesting, namely, that there is also a segment of Christian society who have fallen to laziness, who do not think it is their personal responsibility to provide for the needs of the kingdom of God, and thereby be an integral part of its expansion.

I speak primarily of the kind of Christian I used to be. You would know the old me well. Just trying to get by, pay my bills, watch a little T.V., enjoy a good weekend, and go to church with my family. Oh yeah. And give a little bit to the church...if I had anything left over. I was subsisting. When our car broke down it was the end of the world. And we used our credit cards...again...and again...and again. I would talk often of big dreams and visions, preach about my burdens. But I did little if anything to actually use the giftings, talents, and skills God has wired within me to actually do anything with those dreams and visions, much less anything to get me closer to them. I was all talk.

Do you know why? Because my theology was jacked. I had some wierd theology of God and blessing...and I don't know where I got it...that told me that all I had to do was just be faithful in my walk with Jesus and all the blessings would come to me. And oh, how gracious God was to me in those ignorant times, because He did bless me and provide for me. But it was not without painful lessons....ones that I seemed to have to learn over and over again.

Today, life is different. The gospel is more clear to me. And do you know what it implies? I've been delivered from laziness. I've been delivered into the kingdom of God, by the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, by the God who has promised to provide all my needs by His riches in glory through Christ Jesus, by the God who didn't hold back His own Son for my salvation as a downpayment on everything else He'll give me too. The gospel dissolves laziness into the pitiful puddle of sadness it really is.

So Christian welfare must die a quick death. You've envisioned what God might do with you in the kingdom, right? So make a way to do it. Find a way. Pray a way. Create a way. Entrepreneur your way, if necessary. God has freed you from the provisions of this world so that you are not owned by defeat, debt, discouragement...or the ultimate end of these paths which all lead to laziness and complacency. He has defeated everything which holds you...His beloved child...back from using all that He has put within you to expand His kingdom and do what He saved you to do. No more laziness, dear Christian. No more.

Find every jar in the house you can find, like the widow of Zarephath in Elisha's day, and bring them to the Lord to be filled (1 Kings 17). Then search for every other jar you can possibly find, and bring those to Him too. Bring as many baskets as you can, for the leftovers the Lord will provide when His miraculous, exponential, replicating work of your last little bit of supply is worked right before your eyes (Matthew 14). Take the arrows God has given you and beat the ground with them over, and over, and over, and over again and again and again and again until you are too tired to stand up straight, and then wait for the promised blessing from the Lord (2 Kings 13). Use every net you can muster to haul in the fish the Lord will give you when you follow the lead of His voice in prayer, waiting on a word of knowledge on where to find the resources you need (Luke 5, John 21).

The gospel is a promise. It is God's guarantee that everything you put your hand to will be blessed. But you must believe. And believing means acting like these promise, this amazing guarantee is true about you. That's why those who don't work are called unbelievers in 1 Timothy 5:8. They don't live like they believe in the promise of the gospel. Christians LIVE like they believe in the gospel. They WORK like it. They GIVE like it. They SPEND like it. They PLANT like it. They HARVEST like it. They CREATE BUSINESSES like they believe in the gospel. They MULTIPLY MONEY like they believe in it.

If you are a saint, this is what God has called you to do. Leave any reflections of laziness behind you. You have the promise, guarantee, and in fact, the very person of God not just behind your efforts, but within your efforts. It is God who works within you to do what you do, for His glory, and for the provision of your needs and most importantly the expansion of the kingdom of God.

A Downside of Good Christian Books: A Bunch of Stressed-Out Christians

I really like to read. No. I love to read. I like books, but I love to read. It's been a passion since eighteen years old to build a solid library for my personal use in study, as well as the body of Christ with whom I'm serving wherever that might be. A huge amount of money has been expended to build it to where it is right now. I have a 5,000 volume personal library, and it grows monthly. A modest $50 a month book allowance helps that, especially when used with the anointed Amazon.Com used book section. Over the years I've culled my library, trading in books I don't like so much for books I need...handing over the unuseful books to Goodwill or Salvation Army...and involuntarily culling by folks who inadvertently lose the books they borrow from me.

A massive upside to this side of my life has been tremendous growth intellectually, mentally, emotionally, and most of all, spiritually. My family as benefited from this, my wife and four children. The churches I've led have benefited from this. My soul especially benefits from all of it. God, His character, love, forgiveness, justice, mercy, grace, etc. are all displayed by a thousand pens of many glorious colors. Truth is unfolded. Sound doctrine is revealed. Maturity is promoted. The church is stimulated. It's awesome. Though the making of many books has no end, as Solomon says, I'm not sure it can be any other way. That's because everybody's different and books represent our struggle to say what we believe in a way that connects with people. It is precisely because truth is significant, then, that we must continue to write, refining what we say, how we say it, when we say it, to whom we say it, how often we say it, etc.

There is a downside to good Christian books, however. And there are several, but this post simply addresses the one that jumped out at me earlier today around lunch time. In short, good Christian books create a bunch of Christians who are stressed-out. Here's what I mean. Don't know if you're like me or not. Hopefully you're not! But if you are, then you can relate to what I'm going to reveal about myself.

First, I used to read the people I agree with. The reformers, Great Awakening preachers, Piper, MacArthur, Sproul, Bridges, LOTS of Puritans...calvinistic anything really were my staple diet. Never did it occur to me that reading what I disagree with could actually be helpful to me. I always thought it was stupid, and only opening up yourself to heresy. I suppose that's obviously true...if you're an immature Christian who knows little Bible and sound doctrine.

Second, I unwittingly embraced or swallowed everything I read. Because I was reading what my mind was telling was already true, I embraced it all. I ate it up, read it over and over again, meditated on what was said, and recycled the information as often as I could. Again, how undiscerning? The men I love to read are still just that. They're men. They are fallible. They could be wrong. They could be saying it wrong. They could be saying it in the wrong way. They could be saying it at the wrong time in my life.

Third, the things I read began to be woven into the fabric of my thinking. Because I read only those with whom I agreed, and because I embraced it all, it is inevitable that what I read began to grow a root system, unbeknownst to me, beneath my heart and life, slowly morphing and changing my thinking patterns.

Fourth, that fabric formed the standard or measure by which I lived. Likewise, it is inevitable that the slow morph in my thinking patterns eventually produced standards or measures that my heart and soul would use to begin to judge me by. If I'm assenting to it as truth, and if I'm incorporating that truth into my thinking, then that truth becomes of necessity a standard by which everything else I read is judged, especially including my life.

Fifth, with each book read, that fabric began to grow heavier and weightier to the point where I was suffocating spiritually. It began to feel like a two thousand pound tent that I couldn't seem to find my way out of. You see, it was because I like everything I read from only the people I agreed with, that this distortion in my thinking, or mutation...whatever you want to call it...began working in reverse for me spiritually. Rather than growing up, I was mutating. The intake of truth was so massive, that my young, immature, not-discerning-enough mind was enraptured by it all, and eventually captured so that I was actually dying inside.

Sixth, this mutating effect revealed itself in constant stress, anxiety, worry, discouragement, depression, constant drama, etc. The more I read, the guiltier I felt. This produced stress. And stress comes from a lack of security, from not knowing something. And for me it was not knowing whether or not I would ever be as godly as that dude I was reading about. (And whether I wanted to admit it or not, there was some serious man-worship going on in my heart, as I measure my walk with God by the guy whose writing, and not by God Himself).

I've now met many a Christian, usually of the reformed stripe (no offense, it's just true in my own ministry), who seem to struggle with this. What they read, as good as it is, gets turned into legalism. And they lived stressed-out lives, like I did. The ones I've counseled with find it hard to explain why they feel the way they do, and suffer with severe bouts of discouragement and depression. But when I inspect the intake valve on their heart, I discover what they are reading and listening to. And the sheer amount of truth being read and embraced by an undiscerning heart, not thinking with the gospel, becomes suffocating, leaving them feeling like they never measure up. They live in a tension between knowing what these godly men say and how they lived, and also knowing that they'll never live up to that or be like that...ever.

The result in my life personally, as well as those whom I've counseled is STRESS!!!! Massive amounts of stress...and anxiety...and fretting...and worrying. And do you know why? Because I felt like I was never living up to everything I was learning about in all my reading. All of the great examples of godly men's lives in prayer, preaching, pastoring, husbanding, fathering, working, etc. were so woven into the fabric of my mind, and forming such a weight of standards and measures that I felt I could never live up to it all. And so I lived in secret stress pretty much all the time. My wife was able to see it, and some other friends too. But most friends just thought I was so "godly" because I read so much good stuff.

I'm here to tell you, things have changed radically. And so have I in the mean time. I do two things differently now. First, I read mostly my Bible now. I kind of figured that if what I read weaves itself into the fabric of my thinking, forming standards and measures by which my conscience and heart judge my life, I should read more of the Bible. And that leads me to my second difference. I read mostly the gospels...at least right now. I also kind of figured that if what I read forms a standard and measure my heart uses to judge my life, I should read more on how Jesus feels about me, what HE thinks about me, how HE judges and measures me. And it's by His life and ministry on the cross and the empty tomb, of course.

Do you see what was happening to me then? Whether by my innate wiring and personality, or just plain being born a sinner, I was living as a legalist. The stuff...the good stuff...I was reading in good books fast became the information my heart used to weave together a man-made standard of righteousness, rather than the one I already had in Jesus Christ. Good stuff upon good stuff was being added to my mind so that I lived as if I had to measure up to what I was reading, with little if any thought on the truth that I already measure up because of what God did for me in Christ.

Reduce the stress in your life then, if you're like me. Always be on the look out for legalism. And one of the ways to stop its inroads in my life was the reduce my reading to a minimum, reading mostly my Bible, and mostly the gospels, and only reading other books outside of that which aim my mind and heart to apply the gospel to myself as well as books that aim my life to tell others about it.

The Gospel is the Fuel for Prayer

The number one reason why I don't pray as often as I wish is unbelief. It's so subtle. And unbelief is empowered by rationality. I rationalize so quickly, so immediately, within nanoseconds, that I should get on with the work. Accompanied by that are presumptions like, "God will bless what you're doing," or "You already know what the right thing to do is." And off I go...sometimes (perhaps more than I'm willing to admit) as lost and turned around as a duck in a tornado.

The reason I don't pray as much as I wish is because in an instant, almost second nature, I don't believe that seeking to hear from God on something is the wisest course of action. At the root of this rationalization is the belief that He probably doesn't care about it, won't answer me, or will take too long to tell me what I already know I want to hear. It's so frustrating! I can sit here and think through the issue pretty clearly right now, analyzing...resolving...figuring...fixing. And preaching! But why won't that work as well when the need to pray about something suddenly siezes my mind and heart!

There's a slow, steady, necessary process of reversal on this matter. It doesn't happen overnight. It happens by continuing what I know I am already doing: eating and drinking the gospel. The gospel, you see, is all about promises. It is the Good News that God has promised to do something specatular for me in my deepest, darkest need. Oh sure, that need is to be made right with Him. But that need simply gives birth to a magnificent promise, which is like a fruit that produces a thousand other seeds inside for the same fruit.

The Gospel tells me that God has promised to make me an heir with His Son Jesus Christ, if I repent from my sins and believe that His righteousness, and not my self-righteousness, is the only way to enjoy that. But that one promise is a fruit filled with a thousand other seeds of promise that...

• My God will supply all my needs through His riches in glory by Christ Jesus
• If God didn't spare His own Son, but gave Him up for me, then how much more will God give me everything else I need in Christ Jesus.
• If I lack wisdom, I can ask God who promises to give it to me liberally, abundantly, and without finding any fault in me.
• I can draw near to God and He promises to draw near to Me.
• Jesus will come back and take me to Himself so that where He is right now, I will be also.
• Jesus is praying for me that I will not ultimately fail in my walk with Him...and He always gets what He prayed for.
• If I abide in Him, and His words abide in me, I can ask whatever I want to and He'll give it to me.
• I will bear much fruit.
• I can say to a mountain, "be removed and throw yourself into the ocean!" and it will obey me.
• Together with God's people, I can do greater things than Jesus did.
• I have the Holy Spirit as a comforter, counselor, and convictor.
• I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me.
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Fill in the rest of the blanks with your own. I trust you get the point by now. And when applied to prayer, James teaches me that the prayers of a righteous man get a lot accomplished. I am righteous in Jesus Christ. I am that righteous man. My prayers will get a lot accomplished. BUT I'VE GOT TO PRAY!!!

James uses the example of Elijah who prayed for rain after three years of not getting any (as a sign of God's displeasure with Ahab, Jezebel, and Israel in general). So Elijah prayed, and rain returned. Why? Because Elijah knew the secret of the gospel. The God who made Elijah right with Himself, would also give Elijah whatever he needed to sustain the needs of God's people and to make God's name famous.

At the root of Elijah's prayer life was belief. Did he ever not believe? You bet! Remember when he was under the tree wanting to die, asking God to kill him? That seems very much to me to be unbelief. But what did God do? He kept His promise, fed Elijah by means of a few birds, and sustained him in the process. Why? Because God loved Elijah.

And He loves me too. And He loves you too. He wants to act in you and through you. He wants to answer your prayers. He wants to make Himself famous and you satisfied in the process. Will I believe this when a torrent of to-do's suddenly siezes my schedule? Will you believe it when the tyranny of the urgent grabs you by the collar, and lifts you off the ground, putting your back the wall, yelling at you?

Or will we, like Jesus who departed to a quiet place to pray, do the same? Will we, like Elijah, have faith that God will answer our prayers, hear what we ask for in His name, for His glory, and take as much time as the need requires to pray.

Toward this end, I've been reading Terry Virgo's book, God Knows You're Human: Good News for People Who Slip and Fall - Lessons on Weakness and Strength. I bought it at the recent New Frontiers Midwest Celebration conference. In God's providence, John Lamferman was sick, so Terry Virgo took to the pulpit reminding us of God's greatness through Elijah. I was privileged to hear two sermons from the series in the book, based on 1 Kings 18. (These are a fresh presentation of these older sermons.)

• Part 1: If the Lord is God, then Follow Him.


• Part 2: Gunfight at the OK Corral

Toward the end of last weekend, my friend Scott Anderson at Desiring God forwarded me what John Piper's assistant forwarded him, originally Tweeted by Piper last week. I believe the quote from my email was, "I have just watched a sermon on prayer by Terry Virgo that will alter my year. I recommend it. http://ow.ly/hB55" That's a powerful statement from a man like Piper about a sermon by a man like Virgo. The link came from a post by my friend Adrian Warnock, whose blog I don't read often enough. In Adrian's post is a link to the sermons by Virgo that I didn't know existed. Here they are, including several video sermons available for download also.

The Full Series On Elijah By Terry Virgo

#1 - The Voice Of God 1 Kings 17:1 Download

#2 - A Man Who Stood Before God 1 Kings 17:1 Download

#3 - A Man of Personal Obedience 1 Kings 17:1-17 Download

#4 - I Have Commanded a Widow to Provide For You 1 Kings 17:7-16 Download

#5 - Trusting Through a Trial 1 Kings 17:8-24 Download - Download video

#6 - If the Lord is God follow Him 1 Kings 18 Download - Download video

#7 - Mount Carmel - Gunfight at the O.K. Corral 1 Kings 18 Download - Download video

#8 - Elijah Prays for Rain 1 Kings 18:41-46 Download - Download video