The Holy Spirit as a GPS?
December 20, 2010
Yesterday I quoted from J. I. Packer’s article, The Ministry of the Spirit in Discerning the Will of God in my sermon. The article is well worth the read. Packer’s article concludes with these words:
It needs to be said that the ultimate purpose of God for every Christian is character-transformation and growth into the full image of Jesus Christ; and therefore that the Holy Spirit’s work of imparting wisdom for the discerning of God’s will, case by case, is part of that larger enterprise for which our sanctification is the usual name. What God wants for us is not simply a flow of correct discernments in the choices we make, but that we become discerning persons in ourselves, as Christ was a discerning person before us.
In other words, God wants to make us wise Christians, able to discern God’s will, not from inner nudges or promptings, but from the wisdom that God imparts through his Spirit and Word.
I love the GPS in my car. It tells me exactly where to turn, exactly what roads to travel, and exactly when I will arrive. But, my GPS also makes me ignorant. Sometimes when I use my GPS someone will ask what route I traveled, and I will honestly have no idea. By simply following directions (turn right here… turn left there…) I become oblivious to the actual route, the actual roads, the actual way I travel.
The Holy Spirit is not a GPS for Christians (turn right here… take that job… marry that girl…), and to think of it in that way makes for ignorant Christians who are interested in guidance, but who have little use for wisdom. Instead, God has given us his Spirit that we might be sanctified and wise And, if Packer is right, that God intends for us to be discerning people as Christ himself was discerning, then we would do well to remember the Spirit’s role in Christ’s own life, “the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him; the Spirit of wisdom and understanding; the Spirit of counsel and might; the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord” (Is. 11:2).
So, instead of praying for signs, senses, urgings, promptings, open doors, and vague guidance, we should instead pray for “wisdom and understanding… counsel and might… knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”
Just Do Something
December 10, 2010
Often times our approach to discerning God’s will is all wrong. Instead of relying on the revealed will of God in his word (1 Thess. 4:3, for example), we rely on nudges, urgings, impressions, signs, fleeces, dreams, etc. It all sounds very spiritual, but at the end of the day these kinds of pursuits are unbiblical, at best.
Kevin DeYoung has an extremely helpful discussion on “finding God’s will” in his book, Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will.
Here are a couple of quotes:
Expecting God to reveal some hidden will of direction is an invitation to disappointment and indecision. Trusting in God’s will of decree is good. Following His will of desire is obedient. Waiting for God’s will of direction is a mess. It is bad for your life, harmful to your sanctification, and allows too many Christians to be passive tinkerers who strangely feel more spiritual the less they actually do (p. 26).
And…
The will of God isn’t a special direction here or a bit of secret knowledge there… God’s will for your life and my life is simpler, harder, and easier than that. Simpler, because there are no secrets we must discover. Harder, because denying ourselves, living for others, and obeying God is more difficult than taking a new job and moving to Fargo. Easier, because as Augustine said, God commands what He wills and grants what He commands. In other words, God gives His children the will to walk in His ways — not by revealing a series of next steps cloaked in shadows, but by giving us a heart to delight in His law. So the end of the matter is this: Live for God. Obey the Scriptures. Think of others before yourself. Be holy. Love Jesus. And as you do these things, do whatever else you like, with whomever you like, wherever you like, and you’ll be walking in the will of God (pp. 121-122).
If you get a chance, read it. This is one book not to be missed. It is whimsical in all the right ways, valuable for sanctification, and exceedingly helpful for the practical challenges every-day Christianity brings. And, it challenges the modern evangelical paradigm for “finding God’s will” with potency and much needed biblical correctives.
The Reformed Forum
December 3, 2010
In the vast sea of Christian resources on the internet, Reformed Forum stands out as one of the best websites available for Reformed Christians. Their audio programs cover a great deal of ground. From the faith of Johnny Cash, to Christianity and politics, to the metaphysics of Aristotle, there’s something for everyone.
I subscribe to the Christ the Center podcast and listen regularly. If somehow you’ve missed their extremely helpful website and resources, be sure to take some time to see everything they offer.
A Musician and a Football Player
December 2, 2010
Just this week I’ve been listening to a simple song from one of my favorite musicians, Jason Harrod.
Here are the lyrics:
Day and night, in my silence,
My body was wasting away.
My soul dried up in the desert sun.
Your hand was heavy on me.Your hand was heavy.
Your hand was heavy.
Your hand was heavy on me.Then I shouted in the night
I’m dirty, I want to be clean.
Your love broke through like daylight.
When You showered Your mercy on me.Shower Your mercy.
Shower Your mercy.
Shower Your mercy on me.You’re my refuge and my strength
In the hour when gray storms come.
Let the wind and rain come down.
I’m safe in my Father’s arms.The sky shouts out Your glory
In blue and marigold.
And I will praise You all my days,
Lover of my soul.I will praise You,
I will praise You,
Lover of my soul.
Here’s the video:
Jason Harrod – Day and Night from Nathan Clendenin on Vimeo.
It is a simple song, very Psalm-like, expressing repentance, trust in God, and praise to God in spite of the hardships of life and the reality of our own sin. I’ve been listening to this song this week thinking, yes, this is a good reflection of what the Christian life ought to be.
Then, this morning I read this blog post about what Steve Johnson tweeted (to God, presumably) when he dropped a game-winning touchdown pass last week. He said:
I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO…
So here we have two men, a musician and a football player, both facing “the hour when gray storms come,” and both responding to God in diametrically opposite ways. One repents and praises God (“I will praise you all of my days”), one boasts and curses God (“THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!!”).
Now, never mind the triviality of a dropped football pass. If there was ever a reason to curse God (and indeed there are none), this was not it.
The real issue for us is this, how will we respond in the midst of adversity, hardship, and affliction in this life… like the musician or the football player?
In Revelation 9, as God’s judgments descend upon the earth in the form of various horrific plagues, and many people die, we are told, “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands…” (v. 20). The lesson of Revelation 9 is quite significant. We must see every affliction in this life, from the dropping of a football, to even the loss of life, as an opportunity to repent, rest in Christ, and ultimately rejoice in God’s sovereign grace.
The good news of the gospel is not that we get what we deserve. The football player, wanting what he deserves (“I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!!!”), is tragically blind to the reality of his sin and the judgments of God necessitated by it. He understands self-righteousness. He understands tit-for-tat. But he does not understand the gospel.
Instead, the good news of the gospel is that we don’t get what we deserve! It is, “You were dead in trespasses and sins… but God made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:1-5).
So today may our prayers be gospel prayers, “Shower your mercy on me!”
There’s an app for that…
November 30, 2010
When Lacey went into labor with our last child, Jonathan, she faithfully started tracking the time between contractions so we would know when to go to the hospital. During this time I thought, I bet there’s an app for that – and sure enough, there was. So we downloaded the contraction master app and it worked beautifully!
All that to say, there is pretty much an app for everything, including our online sermons – and other sermonaudio.com sermons:
Enjoy!
On Exorcism and Eternal Security
November 23, 2010
Albert Mohler has posted some very thoughtful words at his blog about how Protestants ought to think about the rite of exorcism. He says:
The weapons of our warfare are spiritual, and the powers that the forces of darkness most fear are the name of Jesus, the authority of the Bible, and the power of his Gospel.
Evangelicals do not need a rite of exorcism, because to adopt such an invention would be to surrender the high ground of the Gospel. We are engaged in spiritual warfare every minute of every day, whether we recognize it or not. There is nothing the demons fear or hate more than evangelism and missions, where the Gospel pushes back with supernatural power against their possessions, rendering them impotent and powerless. Every time a believer shares the Gospel and declares the name of Jesus, the demons and the Devil lose their power.
Too often we forget that the Gospel really does render Satan and his minions “impotent and powerless.” While it is true that he does prowl around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Pet. 5:8), he has no ultimate power to defeat God’s elect. So, while we must remember to “resist him” (1 Pet. 5:9), we must surely also remember that “the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Pet. 5:10). Satan may wound Christians, but he cannot ultimately defeat them, for he is already disarmed and defeated (Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14).
In our evangelical culture that sometimes promotes the fear of all things Satanic, it is good to remember that Satan need not ultimately be feared. James puts it quite well when he says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Yes – Satan will flee from you! There is nothing more dreadful to Satan the accuser than a faithful Christian armed to the teeth with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Amillennialism
November 22, 2010
For all, but especially for those who have participated in our “Revelation” studies, Christ the Center has a wonderful podcast discussion on Amillennialism with Dr. Kim Riddlebarger this week.
Listen here.
I would also highly recommend Dr. Riddlebarger’s book, A Case for Amillenialism, a very clear, helpful guide through the often muddy waters of end-times studies.