Pray for your city and seek its welfare, but remember that the God who inspired Jeremiah 29 also inspired chapters 50 and 51. Be wise in how you relate to culture:
- Jeremiah 29:7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
- Jeremiah 51:6 “Flee from the midst of Babylon; let every one save his life! Be not cut off in her punishment, for this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance, the repayment he is rendering her.”
Work for gospel good, but don’t get too comfortable. Christ, the true Passover, is not only a Lamb, but a Judge. And so be prepared like the children of Israel:
- Exodus 12:11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.
And when it’s time to ‘flee from the midst,’ ‘remember Lot’s wife’ (Luke 17:32). Jesus said that, remember?
I sometimes wonder if those who bandy Jeremiah 29:7 about have read the rest of the book. But, then again, there are those ‘hellfire and brimstone’ sorts who have perhaps never noticed that verse at all. The Bible is balanced, always balanced. Let us live accordingly. Working for good and ready to run.
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Do you know much of the conflict arising between “the two tribes” in Christianity?
My question mostly has to do with John Macarthur’s strange fire conference….How do you see these charismatic teachings and the non charismatic? Ever since ive been a Christian there is always a battle or maybe that word is too strong but an on going discussion on certain doctrines….how do I or even yourself come to terms with all the voices in the Christian world? Love the unity and trust in God in the knots? A scripture comes to mind while typing this ..1 Corinthians 3:11″ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Also one of Jesus parables about the two kinds of houses ; one founded on the rock and the other on the sand. The reason why I quoted these scriptures because they lead to my questions .. are the concerns of speaking in tongues and the so called baptism with “fire” something essential? Another question is do you know anything about the assemblies of God? One of the elders at my church who teaches Bible study talks so much about Abraham and his faith but not very much about the merits of Jesus. I know we are to have faith in God and to have a balance but shouldn’t the are conversations in church be about Jesus Christ and him crucified or atleast use the old testament to highlight and raise up Jesus? I sometimes leave Wednesday night with a brief burden that speaks to my heart and say we really didn’t make much of Jesus or if his name was mentioned; he wasn’t the main subject. This may sound overdoing it a little and it probably is … I’m mostly concerned in how you yourself face times of Bible study and what topics you talk about?
“That in Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of God”
First, to your last point, I consider myself called to be a preacher of the gospel. I know of nothing else to preach other than Jesus Christ. Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 3, that Christians are changed (i.e. sanctified) by beholding the glory of Christ by the power of the Spirit. Telling me to believe is not enough. Telling me how to act is certainly not enough. I must see Jesus, especially as he is proclaimed in gospel preaching. I do not demand much of a preacher, but I demand that he give me the Bread of life every week, and Jesus is the only Bread. If Paul, that great Apostle, determined to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified, how much more should I?
You can read Spurgeon on this here: http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0242.htm
I’ve written about it here: http://tidesandturning.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/five-ways-preaching-and-preachers-changed-my-life-part-4/
And here is a great, brief example of how all the Scriptures point to Christ: http://tidesandturning.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/john-calvin-christ-in-all-the-scriptures-christ-for-all-our-needs/
And, just last week I posted a quote summarizing exactly how I feel about it: http://tidesandturning.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/a-motto-for-ministry/
You can listen to Tim Keller preach here: http://sermons2.redeemer.com/ He is a wonderful example of a modern preacher determined to preach Christ from every text of Scripture. And Edmund Clowney’s book, The Unfolding Mystery, is also very helpful.
I’ll try to make a post in the next week or two with some more resources.
To your first question: I would refer you to 1 Corinthians 3:22: “Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours.” We can reject what we believe to be errors and still learn from different traditions. In other words, I can reject some Charismatic teachings as false, realize that my own doctrine is not perfect, and realize that there are most likely things I can learn from them (my post on the Wizard of Oz relates to this directly). We can hold fast to what is good while rejecting what is false. I often say to people that you have to learn to eat the fish without swallowing the bones. This is the same for all of us, none of us has perfect doctrine. Tim Keller has a very solid talk on this here: https://soundcloud.com/covenant-worldwide/all-things-are-yours-by-tim
I am not a charismatic, but the first church I attended after becoming a believer was. That church was a part of the Church of God, which is very similar to the Assemblies of God. I found the teaching at the church to be very shallow. I was a hungry baby, ready to start getting some solid food, and they only offered milk. I did, however, take a lot from the music of the church, and so I look back on my year there with thankfulness.
The primary issue, for me, with the Charismatic movement in general, is the fact that it is so often tied to the health and wealth prosperity gospel, which is a bunch of garbage (for lack of a better term). And the fact that it is so overly concerned with the gifts of the Spirit that many within the movement attempt to manufacture miracles by the flesh. I’ve seen this happen myself, and experienced it. I once was brought to the altar during a so-called revival meeting at a Church of God so that a woman might pray for me concerning my inclination to be a preacher. Others were laying on the floor, ‘slain in the Spirit,’ all around me. She was determined to have me knocked down on the floor by laying her hands on me. I felt no move of the Spirit, but I felt her hand pressing against my forehead so hard that if I were a smaller person I would have been driven down to the floor. The Spirit wasn’t trying to make me go down, she was. I fear that things like this, combined with psychological shenanigans, often contribute to much of what is called being ‘slain in the Spirit.’ So, I personally have some issues with the movement, but also think that we should address the movement humbly, realizing that we can learn from them in some areas.
Thank you Heath! Did you just stand there or did you give in to “slaying of the Spirit ” and lay down until it was done haha?
I just stood there. Having done all, to stand!