Predestination or Free Will?
“I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew”
I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew
He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me;
it was not I that found, O Savior true;
no, I was found of Thee.
Thou didst reach forth Thy hand and mine enfold;
I walked and sank not on the storm-vexed sea;
'twas not so much that I on Thee took hold,
as Thou, dear Lord, on me.
I find, I walk, I love, but oh, the whole
of love is but my answer, Lord, to Thee;
for Thou wert long beforehand with my soul,
always Thou lovedst me.
Words: Anonymous, ca. 1878
Friday, August 24, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
January 10, 2003 - written for the Long Hollow Youth
Jesus as our model for intimacy with the Father
Many of us equate quiet time with God as a systematic discipline that remains the same day after day (see Matthew 6:5-7). While discipline and consistency is important in spending time with God, Jesus gives us His earthly life to model our time with the Father. Intimacy with God cannot be a program that is ritualistic. It must be an earnest desire to meet and experience our Maker. Jesus gives us in His Word practical truths about spending time with Him.
The Bible’s Perspective
Location has always been a challenge for many Christians. Even in some denominations they believe that where you meet God must be within the walls of the church. Jesus was notorious for turning traditions upside down and revealing that intimacy is not a programmed activity.
The following verses teach us about where Jesus spent time with the Heavenly Father.
I. Location, Location, Location! (Wherever)
Matthew 14:13 Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.
Mark 6:46 After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.
Luke 5:16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
We see in the verses above that there are at least three locations where Jesus spent time with the Father.
1.) A Secluded Place – this could be anywhere
2.) The Mountain
3.) The Wilderness
In all three places we see seclusion (aloneness) as the key. Notice that this time was not in a church setting.
II. Time, Time, Time! (Whenever)
Next we see the times in which Jesus spent time with God.
Mark 1:35 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
What the Psalmist says:
Psalm 5:3In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.
Psalm 88:13But I, O LORD, have cried out to You for help, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
Psalm 90:14O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Matthew 14:23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.
Luke 5:16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
We see in these verses the times in which Jesus meditated and experienced intimacy with the Father.
1.) Morning
2.) Evening
3.) Often – Anytime
Again, the Psalmist says:
Psalm 55:16-18
As for me, I shall call upon God, And the LORD will save me. 17 Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, And He will hear my voice. 18He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me, For they are many who strive with me.
Psalm 92:1-3
It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; 2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night, 3 With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, With resounding music upon the lyre.
Spending time with God must take place often in order to experience intimacy with Him.
III. Steps to Intimacy
The last thing we see modeled by Jesus are the actions he took during His time with the Father.
Matthew 14:23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.
Mark 1:35 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
Mark 6:30-31 30 The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31 And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)
Mark 6:46 After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.
Luke 5:16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
Jesus modeled these two actions for intimacy with God:
1.) Pray
2.) Rest
- Quiet times with God include periods of resting
- Being “busy” for God can exclude time to rest and pray
Application
We see by Jesus’ own example that He intentionally secluded Himself from other people and activities to spend time with His Father. In the same way, our time with God must be intentional and done often. Otherwise we will miss the intimacy that God intends for us to have with Him.
Pray about new times and locations in which you can spend time with God this week. Remember, He anxiously awaits your fellowship “wherever & whenever.”
Jesus as our model for intimacy with the Father
Many of us equate quiet time with God as a systematic discipline that remains the same day after day (see Matthew 6:5-7). While discipline and consistency is important in spending time with God, Jesus gives us His earthly life to model our time with the Father. Intimacy with God cannot be a program that is ritualistic. It must be an earnest desire to meet and experience our Maker. Jesus gives us in His Word practical truths about spending time with Him.
The Bible’s Perspective
Location has always been a challenge for many Christians. Even in some denominations they believe that where you meet God must be within the walls of the church. Jesus was notorious for turning traditions upside down and revealing that intimacy is not a programmed activity.
The following verses teach us about where Jesus spent time with the Heavenly Father.
I. Location, Location, Location! (Wherever)
Matthew 14:13 Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.
Mark 6:46 After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.
Luke 5:16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
We see in the verses above that there are at least three locations where Jesus spent time with the Father.
1.) A Secluded Place – this could be anywhere
2.) The Mountain
3.) The Wilderness
In all three places we see seclusion (aloneness) as the key. Notice that this time was not in a church setting.
II. Time, Time, Time! (Whenever)
Next we see the times in which Jesus spent time with God.
Mark 1:35 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
What the Psalmist says:
Psalm 5:3In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.
Psalm 88:13But I, O LORD, have cried out to You for help, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
Psalm 90:14O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Matthew 14:23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.
Luke 5:16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
We see in these verses the times in which Jesus meditated and experienced intimacy with the Father.
1.) Morning
2.) Evening
3.) Often – Anytime
Again, the Psalmist says:
Psalm 55:16-18
As for me, I shall call upon God, And the LORD will save me. 17 Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, And He will hear my voice. 18He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me, For they are many who strive with me.
Psalm 92:1-3
It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; 2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night, 3 With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, With resounding music upon the lyre.
Spending time with God must take place often in order to experience intimacy with Him.
III. Steps to Intimacy
The last thing we see modeled by Jesus are the actions he took during His time with the Father.
Matthew 14:23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.
Mark 1:35 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.
Mark 6:30-31 30 The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31 And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)
Mark 6:46 After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.
Luke 5:16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
Jesus modeled these two actions for intimacy with God:
1.) Pray
2.) Rest
- Quiet times with God include periods of resting
- Being “busy” for God can exclude time to rest and pray
Application
We see by Jesus’ own example that He intentionally secluded Himself from other people and activities to spend time with His Father. In the same way, our time with God must be intentional and done often. Otherwise we will miss the intimacy that God intends for us to have with Him.
Pray about new times and locations in which you can spend time with God this week. Remember, He anxiously awaits your fellowship “wherever & whenever.”
Notes from Connect Group
07/22/07
“The Cross”
See “50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die” by John Piper
His Plan
- Jesus was delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God (Acts 2:23)
- We were strangers to the covenants of promise (Ephesians 2:11-16)
- We had a certificate of debt consisting of hostile decrees against us (Colossians 2:13-14)
Our Response
- Casual Spectator – Simon of Cyrene “a passer-by” (Mark 15:21)
- Cynical Spectator – those casting lots for Jesus’ tunic (John 19:25)
- Crumbling Worshiper – a worshiping participator (Galatians 6:14)
07/22/07
“The Cross”
See “50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die” by John Piper
His Plan
- Jesus was delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God (Acts 2:23)
- We were strangers to the covenants of promise (Ephesians 2:11-16)
- We had a certificate of debt consisting of hostile decrees against us (Colossians 2:13-14)
Our Response
- Casual Spectator – Simon of Cyrene “a passer-by” (Mark 15:21)
- Cynical Spectator – those casting lots for Jesus’ tunic (John 19:25)
- Crumbling Worshiper – a worshiping participator (Galatians 6:14)
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
history of the altar call...
"The Anxious Bench - Charles Finney"
What we have today is a form of evangelism that was really stylized and popularized by Charles G. Finney who developed the invitational system as we know it today, right about the same time that Eliott was writing Just as I am, the mid 1830's.
Charles G. Finney was an Upstate New York lawyer with no formal theological training of any kind. He had a skilled logical mind. He was converted in 1821. He became a popular evangelist and revivalist. He believed completely that salvation was a result of a human choice. He believed that man could make that human choice because he was not by nature depraved. He had a certain bent toward sin, but it was not his constitution and so he had the ability within him to choose what is right. And so Finney determined that since man could do what is right, since he was not innately depraved, that what you had to do was work on the will of man. And if you could activate the will of man, or motivate the will of man, he would make the right choice. And you could use almost any legitimate or even illegitimate means, including manipulation and emotion. He developed what came to be known as the "anxious bench" and began to call people forward. This is brand new. In the time before that, in the years of the great awakening of George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards, no such thing was ever done. But Finney began to call people forward to what he called the "anxious bench." It later became known in Methodism as the "altar," and people then became the objective. And as the preacher came to the conclusion, he began to call people forward because people wanted to see something visible since the invisible work of regeneration could not be seen.
The response to his ministry and his persuasive and logical powers was great. People came to the anxious bench. He was outwardly successful in getting them there. In fact he was so successful that people were reluctant to say anything against him fearing they might be saying something against the Holy Spirit of God. But as you went behind the scenes to check into what was left after Finney did his work, his fellow workers couldn't help realize the small number of converts who ever remained faithful. In a letter to Finney dated December 25, 1834, James Boyle asked these questions:
"Let us look over the fields where you and others and myself have labored as revival ministers and what is now their moral state? What was their state within three months after we left them? I have visited and revisited many of these fields and groaned in spirit to see the sad frigid carnal contentious state into which the churches had fallen and fallen very soon after we first departed from among them."
In fact, many who evaluated the ministry of Finney were convinced that sinners emotionally but not spiritually awakened became hardened and skeptical. The sinner, for example, who made an objective commitment to Christ in some emotional experience but soon found out that contrary to the revivalists' or the evangelists` promise, nothing changed, his heart was the same. And the wave of emotional release that he experienced made no change. That discovery that didn't solve anything in his life made the sinner more hardened in his sin, more skeptical of the gospel, more skeptical of other people's Christian profession, believing that he who had been deceived was a member of a group of others who had been and were being likewise deceived.
I don't want to discount totally the ministry of Finney. I'm sure people were saved. But coming to the end of his life himself and looking back over, he said if he had to do it all over again, he never would have preached the doctrine of salvation without the doctrines of sanctification.
"The Anxious Bench - Charles Finney"
What we have today is a form of evangelism that was really stylized and popularized by Charles G. Finney who developed the invitational system as we know it today, right about the same time that Eliott was writing Just as I am, the mid 1830's.
Charles G. Finney was an Upstate New York lawyer with no formal theological training of any kind. He had a skilled logical mind. He was converted in 1821. He became a popular evangelist and revivalist. He believed completely that salvation was a result of a human choice. He believed that man could make that human choice because he was not by nature depraved. He had a certain bent toward sin, but it was not his constitution and so he had the ability within him to choose what is right. And so Finney determined that since man could do what is right, since he was not innately depraved, that what you had to do was work on the will of man. And if you could activate the will of man, or motivate the will of man, he would make the right choice. And you could use almost any legitimate or even illegitimate means, including manipulation and emotion. He developed what came to be known as the "anxious bench" and began to call people forward. This is brand new. In the time before that, in the years of the great awakening of George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards, no such thing was ever done. But Finney began to call people forward to what he called the "anxious bench." It later became known in Methodism as the "altar," and people then became the objective. And as the preacher came to the conclusion, he began to call people forward because people wanted to see something visible since the invisible work of regeneration could not be seen.
The response to his ministry and his persuasive and logical powers was great. People came to the anxious bench. He was outwardly successful in getting them there. In fact he was so successful that people were reluctant to say anything against him fearing they might be saying something against the Holy Spirit of God. But as you went behind the scenes to check into what was left after Finney did his work, his fellow workers couldn't help realize the small number of converts who ever remained faithful. In a letter to Finney dated December 25, 1834, James Boyle asked these questions:
"Let us look over the fields where you and others and myself have labored as revival ministers and what is now their moral state? What was their state within three months after we left them? I have visited and revisited many of these fields and groaned in spirit to see the sad frigid carnal contentious state into which the churches had fallen and fallen very soon after we first departed from among them."
In fact, many who evaluated the ministry of Finney were convinced that sinners emotionally but not spiritually awakened became hardened and skeptical. The sinner, for example, who made an objective commitment to Christ in some emotional experience but soon found out that contrary to the revivalists' or the evangelists` promise, nothing changed, his heart was the same. And the wave of emotional release that he experienced made no change. That discovery that didn't solve anything in his life made the sinner more hardened in his sin, more skeptical of the gospel, more skeptical of other people's Christian profession, believing that he who had been deceived was a member of a group of others who had been and were being likewise deceived.
I don't want to discount totally the ministry of Finney. I'm sure people were saved. But coming to the end of his life himself and looking back over, he said if he had to do it all over again, he never would have preached the doctrine of salvation without the doctrines of sanctification.
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