The Book of Jeremiah

Jeremiah 2:13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

For the last couple of weeks I have had my head buried in the O.T. scriptures trying to finish my reading assignment for O.T.2 at seminary. It has been some kind of undertaken, seeing how I put everything off until the last possible minute. I love the O.T. It is such a great picture of the coming of Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection. Tonight, I have finished the O.T. book of Jeremiah. I wanted to share some interesting facts about the book you might find useful as a student of God's Word.

1. The Book of Jeremiah is the second longest book in the Bible next to Psalms.
2. The copy of the Book of Jeremiah we have in our bibles, church historians say it is the second copy. According to Jere.36:1-26, Baruch had written a copy prior to the second copy.
3. The book of Jeremiah is not arranged in chronological order.
4. The Book of Jeremiah is made up of several different types of confessions made by Jeremiah.
5. Jeremiah stimulates the search for the will of god in moments when all the institutions and religious people normally in charge has been discredited.

Jeremiah is a great picture for the time and day we live in. We need modern day Jeremiah's who would thunder the word of God from the pulpits and God's people to be zealous to preach the gospel of repentance and faith to a dying world.

"Moving In the Right Direction For the Glory of God"

Phil.3:13) "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead..."

The Apostle Paul reminds the church here at Philippi, no matter what he or they might encounter they must "strain" forward. These instructions are easier said than done. As a pastor of a local church, you see people who do things out of habit instead out of "What saith the Lord." We must strain to move forward as God's elect, no matter the pain and suffering. The thought of "straining" is something which is not easy. Today we want relaxation and the easiest route to take.
The church at PHBC is "straining" in the right direction by God's grace. We are getting a website for the church to get the word out that there is still churches in this area who preach and teach God's grace. I know there will be alot of persecution ahead has God's Word goes forth. But as Paul said, "we are straining forward to what lies ahead."

"A Healthy Church'

Acts 2:42-47) And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

In these six verses of scriptures, portrays a beautiful picture for believers today of how the early church functioned. Peter had just finished preaching his sermon at Pentecost, calling for everyone to repent and believe the gospel. At the end of verse 41 there were about 3000 converted on that day.
The Bible however, does not end their. But this group of believers began functioning as a local assembly of Christ believers. In the text mentioned above there are several items mentioned that describes how the church functioned. To my regret, there are few attributes found in the early church that you can find in a church today. For the last few weeks I have been searching the scriptures looking how the early church functioned, operated, and carried out their mission.
In our text, we see about 12 attributes of the early church:
1.They held to the Apostle's teachings
2. They prayed together
3. They fellowshipped together
4. They broke bread together
5. They had a holy fear (reverence) of the Lord
6. The Apostles done wonder and signs
7. They had all things in common
8. They worshiped daily together
9. They had glad and generous hearts
10.They praised God
11. They knew about the grace of God
12. The Lord was adding to their number

May the Lord help us today to function as a N.T. church, to the glory of God.

"The Gift of Suffering for Christ Sake"

Phil.1:29) "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,..." (ESV)

The Apostle Paul reminds the believers in Philippi, there God giving duty as believers in Him, was"to suffer." Paul's message to the church at Philippi is in opposition to the culture we live in today. Most evangelicial churches today do not view "suffering for Christ" as a gift. Most Christians think if you suffer something must be wrong. We have replaced suffering for "Christ's sake" for the health and wealth gospel. In America today we want to be healthy, wealthy, and retire with a large amount of money so we can be happy. By the way do not forget to tag Jesus on the end, we do not want to go to HELL! (Blasphemy)!
How sad to see people fall for the lies of satan. We need to understand persecution is what fuels the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What happened when the early church was persecuted? The gospel started to spread throughout the world. In order for the church in America today to see true revival it will take soldiers coming in burning down our "pretty church buildings" and "cutting our tongues out" (quote from Paul Washer) so we might depned on the True God to bring life to His people.
As I read Paul's letter to the church at Philippi, I am reminded how weak I am. I get offended when someone rejects me or the gospel. May the Lord grant all of us repentance for being afraid to suffer for "His sake."Friends it should not be a surprise to us that if God has granted us the gift of believing in Him, He might grant us the gift of suffering as well. To God Be the Glory!

John 3:7 "Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again(born from above). The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (ESV)

Yesterday we feasted at the buffet of God's Word on the doctrine of salvation. Our text was from the gospel of John (2:23-3:16) on Biblical salvation. So many in our day boast they made a decision for Christ. People boast they helped their "poor little god" out by deciding to believe in Him. My friends the true and living "God is in heaven and He does whatever He pleases (Psalm 115:3)." We seem to forget the God who has created us and sustains us day to day, is a Sovereign God. Because He is Sovereign He can do whatever He wants to, whenever He wants to and He needs not to ask permission. Even in salvation! (Romans 9:18-20) "So then He has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, Why have you made me like this?"
Paul's theology was correct. He knew it was all of God and none of man.
Lenoard Ravenhill said it like this, "Nobody else can give you a clean heart but God."

To God Alone Be The Glory!

"Teaching Jesus From House to House"

Acts 5:40-42) and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

The apostles had been arrested and beaten for preaching Jesus, it seemed as a small thing to them. For, they had left the council in Jerusalem rejoicing and praising God they were counted worthy for the suffering. So much so, they continued going house to house preaching and teaching Jesus Christ.
This is my main thought, "is it necessary to have big buildings and major financial debt to be considered a church?" Well of course not. The early church meet in houses and was very much persecuted for Christ. I believe this is one reason for such "apathy" in the churches today is because we know little persecution.
Tonight our small group will meet in our home for a time of Christian fellowship. We will reflect on Sunday mornings message and apply practical application to our lives. Following with a time of seeking the Lord (through prayer) to help us in areas of our lives where we fall short.
The early church did not dress up and come to the neatly manicured multi-million dollar building with everything figured out. They were fearful for their lives and come together for edification and exhortation in the Word of God, namely learning about Jesus Christ.
Our direction in doing small groups at home is to be in unity as a church family and apart of one anothers lives. "Sharing our burdens with one another, loving one another, and praying for one another." By the way is all Biblical reasons.
So tonight, I pray our gathering together would not be one of just "fellowshipping." But it would be a honest time of being open with one another and asking the Lord to help us in our day to day lives. By the way the early church did this as well," from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."

James 1:5) If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (ESV)

In the world today wisdom is something which is rarely sought after. Wisdom is a gift from that is given to those who ask. I am afraid in the culture we live in, espeacially in the western world, we think we are to use our own wisdom and intellect. The Bible teaches us "God has made foolish the wisdom of the world." We have no wisdom outside of the Lord. It is my prayer the Lord would bless me with Biblical wisdom. What I need as a pastor is the wisdom of the Lord. There are so many decisions in which I stand to make as a pastor. These decisions must be made with wisdom of the Lord. I pray God would grant to each child of God wisdom that leads to eternal life in Christ Jesus.

"Go Make Disciples"

Matthew 28:19-20) "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Our thinking has been on discipleship of lately. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?
Disciples are people who have a deep, abiding commitment to a person (Jesus Christ), not simply a philosophy. They hold to Jesus' teaching (John 8:31-32); they love one another (John 13:35) and help each other (Matt.10:42); they bear fruit for Christ (John 15:8) and are partners with him in service (Luke 5:1-11).... putting him ahead of all other earthly commitments (Matt.8:21-22) to the extent that they are willing to suffer for the sake of the gospel (Matt.10:17-23)."

May we as a local church pastors, elders, and deacons; "make disciples" of people who the Lord places in our lives. Being a disciple is not an opposition when one is born again. They will follow after their Lord and Savior, they will be willing by the Holy Spirit.

Discipleship 101

2 Timothy 2:2) "and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."

One thing I have noticed in my early journey as a young pastor is the need for discipleship. When I say discipleship, I do not mean another class where we buy more LifeWay material. Discipleship is more than a class it is a life style.
The word disciple is found some 268 times in the scriptures. The Greek word (mathetes) has the meaning of a learner, a pupil, or a disciple. What I see in our churches are not learners or pupils after Christ. We have been programed to come and do our religious duty on Sunday morning and say we have been discipled. Wrong!!! In the Great Commission, Jesus tells His disciples, "to go and make disciples and then baptize them, and then teach them to obey."
I have failed miserably when it comes to disciplining. My heart is for the church to see her need for a heart felt passion in learning after Christ. I realize one must be converted and be drawn by the Holy Spirit to have the desire to learn after Christ. Often I thought if we just had another class for discipleship or another study on discipleship this would answer the question. We can have all the classes one can have but if a person has not "been born from above" (John 3:3) by the Holy Spirit it is all worthless. They will be trying in their own strength, which will only last for a little while.
One item I have learned from the scriptures, Jesus did not disciple the multitude, he discipled the twelve. He poured himself into twelve men who were faithful to go and to teach others. This is what the Lord's churches need today.
"Discipleship is about time more than anything else. How much time did Jesus spend with His disciples?" As born again Christians we must invest time with those God has entrusted us with. Think about it, how much time do we invest into others for the advancement of God's Kingdom and to strengthen His church? I believe this is where real discipleship begins. I pray the Lord will allow me to invest time into others that they will be able to instruct others, for the glory of God.

Availabiltiy Not Capability

Exodus 4:10) But Moses said to the Lord, "Oh my Lord, I am not eloquent in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but "I am slow of speech and of tongue."(ESV)
I have been reading a book for my Christian Missions class called, "Amazing Grace." In the book Dr.Bruce Carlton tells of his experience of being a missionary in Cambodia for twenty years. He speaks of a man who was regenerated by the grace of God and he had a heart for doing construction work and wanted serve God, some how. God used this man to help construct new buildings for the churches in Cambodia as the Lord saw fit to organize them.
The point behind this particular chapter of the book is being available for God to use us. I see so many professing Christians who are on the sidelines and not in the "fight of faith." I believe one of two things has happened, (1) they do not know Christ or (2) they have not been abiding in the vine (John 15:5). I am reminded of Moses in (Exodus 3) as God calls him to lead the children out of Egypt. Moses comes up with various reasons why he can not lead them. God tells him he is not concerned with his capability but his availability.
The Lord is not concern about our capabilities. Because He tells us "apart from me you can do nothing." We are not our own source of strength. We must rely upon the Holy Spirit of God to enable us to serve Him and to honor Him. Are you available for God or are you like Moses with the excuse "I am unable?" What do we spend our energy on, our time, and our money on. As the redeemed of God lets be available to serve Him knowing our capabilities will be given by Him.

Should I or Should I Not?

Should a pastor blog? This is the question I have wrestled with the last few weeks. My family and I have recently moved to northern Tennessee to pastor the Pleasant Hill Baptist church. I question myself with just getting settled in and taking a few classes at the Boyce College in Louisville, don't forget three boys who are very active as well, is there enough time to do everything. Well, Abraham Piper answered my question today. The Lord used Him to share alot of good thoughts and how blogging would be beneficial to the congregation and to others. Anyway I am going to give it a shot and see how well it works out. I pray it would be a blessing to me and not a burden and maybe a blessing to someone else.
1 Cor.10:31) Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.