2009: A Year of Discipline

One of the things I admire about the old masters of theology, Spurgeon, Baxter, and so forth, is their great personal resolve. These men strived to discipline every faucet of their being under the authority of the Father. Jonathan Edwards for example, one of the most resolved men in history, put forth 70 resolutions. He took almost a full year to carefully consider the areas of his heart and soul that needed to be rendered to God. In the end, his main goal was not to find satisfaction in himself, but in the glory of Christ. Consider his first resolution, “Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many soever, and how great soever.”

It is with this same passion that I desire to make the year 2009 a year of discipline. Discipline has been my biggest foe. It has kept from even getting a glimpse of some of my biggest aspirations. For example, all through high school I dreamed of making it to the state championship in wrestling. I had many obstacles to overcome. Some of them were out of my control. However, I never put myself in an opportunity to obtain the goal. I cannot say with absolute certainty that I left everything on the mat. A lack of discipline ate my dream piece by piece. Every time I chose to sit on the couch and watch T.V. instead of train, I told discipline to get lost. Every time I cut corners in practice or put menial treasures as priority over the dream, discipline began to wither like the pedal of a beautiful rose separated from its stem. That is what a lack of discipline does to our dreams. It creates a gulf between our vision and us. Moreover, if you let yourself go too far, the dream is so far away it may be unreachable; like my state championship.

Stephen Nichols, a professor at Lancaster Bible College in Lancaster Pennsylvania, wrote an article in TableTalk magazine on the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards. He commented on something I found peculiar. He wrote that at age nineteen, Edwards was the potential Jonathan Edwards. He goes on to say that, Aristotle had the idea that there was a difference between what is and what can be. “What is” is the actual being of something. What can be has the potential to be something. One is greater and one is less. Jonathan Edwards, at age nineteen, showed tremendous potential to be great. He had a natural gift in learning, especially in critical thinking and writing. He graduated from Yale and found himself in the pastorate at age eighteen. At age nineteen, Edwards was the “what can be” that Aristotle spoke of. What would drive him to accomplish works like “The Freedom of the Will” or “Religious Affections?” What would give him the ability to lead one of the greatest events in America’s history; The Great Awakening? Aside from the sovereign grace of God, I would argue his resolve. He was a resolute man, determined, much like Paul, to magnify Christ in his body, whether by life or death (Philippians 1:20). Moreover, this is not something he took for granted or did by mere will power.

The prelude to Edwards 70 resolutions is marked with humility. He simply states, “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will for Christ sake.” Edwards understood that he could only serve in the strength in which God provided (1 Peter 4:11). He could only keep up the stamina of his resolve through Christ who strengthens him (Philippians 4:19). It is with this same humility I embark to conquer discipline.

I have set forth ten resolutions to accomplish this year. I am praying that, like Edwards, these resolutions will become ingrained in my life. I ask that if Christ is your King that you would pray for me to holdfast. I will do the same for you. Anytime you need prayer, just leave a comment on the blog and I will pray for you there and then when I read it. Thanks ahead of time. Be good and God bless.

10 Resolutions (in no particular order)

1. Resolved: to discipline my health to God’s glory.

2. Resolved: to discipline my prayer in length, width, height, and depth.

3. Resolved: to discipline my study of God’s word to enlighten my soul.

4. Resolved: to discipline my reading in worthy endeavors.

5. Resolved: to discipline my pastoring in meeting the spiritual needs of my church.

6. Resolved: to discipline my service to my community.

7. Resolved: to discipline my finances to stewardship that glorifies God with every penny.

8. Resolved: to discipline my writing to encourage and to edify the world through Christ.

9. Resolved: to discipline the spiritual rearing of my children in personal and corporate worship.

10. Resolved: to discipline my love for my wife in not only in word, but also in deed.

These resolutions seem broad on the surface, and to some degree, they are. I have specific goals to reach for some of them. For others, I am still praying and seeking wisdom. Please pray that I will, with humility and dependency, seek God’s favor in these resolutions. Thank you
[All notes referring to Jonathon Edwards was taken from an article in TableTalk magazine (Resolved to Press on toward the Goal: January 2009) “The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards” written by Stephen Nichols.]

A Pauline Prayer Part 2

Provision through the Holy Spirit

The thesis of this essential is that God would lavish on His people the provision needed to exist in Christ. In our text, Paul speaks of the inner man as a reference to the human soul. Paul uses the same kind of language in 2 Corinthians 4:16, “The the outward man perishes, yet our inward man is renewed every day.” The Holy Spirit works to renew our souls to clearly behold and exemplify Christ. Paul, in Galatians 5: 16, tells the believer to walk by the Spirit, in doing so we will not gratify the flesh. He explains that the spirit and the flesh are against each other. In the flesh, we are sexually immoral, impure, sensual, idolaters, given to sorcery, at war with God, full of strife, jealous, angry, and prone to rivalry, full of dissension, divisive, envious, drunkards, and things like these. However, the Holy Spirit works to encourage the weary soul in which Christ beckons to come and find rest. The Holy Spirit works vigorously to mature, stabilize, and edify the Christian. The Holy Spirit wars against the flesh that we may have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and much more (Galatians 5:22-23).

In essence, the prayer is for Christians to live in spiritual power. The kind of power that says to pornography, “Your limited and shameful pleasure is not even on the same map as the gratification and satisfaction I have in Christ.” It is the kind of power that is able to say no the American Dream; the comfortable and cozy life with brand new iphones, inflated luxury cars, and a fat retirement spent on golfing and riding in the RV, and saying yes to the Kingdom Dream, living on half your income so that the rest can go to frontier missions. It is the kind of power that is intentional in boldly sharing Christ, even at the cost of your reputation. I think John Calvin got it right when he said, “ The prayer of Paul, that the saints be strengthened, does not mean that they may be eminent (well-known) and flourishing in the world, but that, with respect to the kingdom of God, their minds may be strong by Divine Power.” (calvin) The Holy Spirit strengthens the soul of the believer to stand and enjoy communion with Christ. The more we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit, the more we are like Christ. Therefore, the logical progression would be that the more we pray for one another to be strengthened by The Holy Spirit in our inner being, the more Christ centered we would become.

Communion with Christ

The whole idea of having the Holy Spirit strengthened the soul is to make the heart ready for Christ to dwell. In verse 17, Paul prays that Christ would dwell in their heart through faith. The idea in this text is not necessarily a new regeneration of the heart. For we know from John 14:23 that whoever loves Christ and keeps his word that the Father and the Son will make their home in them. Moreover, we know that Paul is writing to all the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:1). The real petition here is that Christ would fully dwell in their hearts. It is a request that Christ would have access to the deepest and most hidden depths of the human soul. Paul is praying for every one of the elect to have a sweet and savoring communion with Christ in every walk of their life. William McDonald puts it this way, “Christ is a permanent resident in every saved person, but this is a request that He might have full access to every room and closet; that he might not be grieved by sinful words, thoughts, motives, and deeds; that he might enjoy unbroken fellowship with the believer.” (MacDonald)

John Calvin points out that there is a difference between fellowship with Christ and believing in Christ. They are not one in the same. Belief in Christ requires faith in his birth, life, death, and resurrection. Fellowship is the fruit of the faith. Therefore, Paul prays that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith; the kind of faith that is not only saving, but also savoring. The kind of faith that keeps Christ at the center of our conversations, the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the time we spend in front of the T.V., our relationship with our wives and husbands and children; the relationship we have with one another as believers.

As Christ dwells unrestrictedly, we become more rooted and grounded in love. As we are more intimately acquainted with Christ, our roots deepen and our foundations become more durable. His kindness and selflessness begin to be naturally intertwined in our motives. His brokenness and meekness slay our self-ego and pride; where we would have the same mind and the same love doing nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility counting others greater than ourselves. We would put others interest in front of our own having the mind of Christ(Philippians 2:3-5). Our love for Christ, the church, and our neighbor becomes so established that Satan has no chance to come and steel it away, the trials that invade of lives will not scorch its fervor, the lustrous temptations of the world will not choke the life out of it. Instead, we will bear fruit a hundred fold. In addition, God will use the fruit of our communion to feed His people; those who are called and those whom He is calling. This kind of praying can only happen in Christ centered prayers; prayers yearning with the affections of Christ Jesus(Phil 1:8).

Making Comprehensible the Incomprehensible

When I read this text, my mind becomes a bit discombobulated. It is hard for me to even begin to bend my mind around the immeasurable knowledge and capacity of the love of Christ. Paul, I feel, is feeling the same way. He prays for the Ephesian church to know the breadth, length, height, and depth of Christ’s love. However, in the next breathe he says it surpasses knowledge. Paul recognizes he is trying to put parameters on something that cannot have parameters. So he still prays for them to have the strength to comprehend, or literally “grasp” the incomprehensible love of Christ.

It would be unworthy of me to try to over spiritualize the four dimensions that Paul uses here. St. Augustine, who I am a big fan of, tried to incorporate some reference to the cross by saying that the breadth was to be love, height was hope, length was patience, and depth was humility. I would have to disagree with him here because I see no connection to the context of the chapter or book to imply such a notion. I would have to agree with Wood that Paul is “simply telling us that the love of Christ, exemplified in his magnanimity (generosity of spirit) to the Gentiles, is too large to be confined by any geometrical measurements. It is wide enough to reach the whole world and beyond. It is long enough to stretch from eternity to eternity. It is high enough to raise both Gentiles and Jews to heavenly places. It is deep enough to rescue people from sin’s degradation and even form the grip of Satan himself.” Such love is hard to phantom. We are limited by such finality, yet as believers, we long for the infinite beauty of Christ. Trying to grasp or hold onto such truths are so high and wonderful that I cry out with David, “I cannot attain it!” (Psalm 139) God’s love has no boundaries. It is a river that has no beginning and no ending. It is an ocean without shores. (MacDonald) It is endless. We can never fully discover it. That is the reason why the Holy Spirit must be equipping our heart to have Christ dwell through faith. Christ will reveal to us these great mysteries as we deepen our fellowship with Him. This is what it means to be filled with the fullness of God; the climax of Paul’s prayer at the end.

When we pray for one another, we need to pray that God would give us the strength and wisdom to know Him. Our prayers help one another grasp the truths of God’s word, that in turn, stoke our spiritual fire for Christ, and keeps us in communion with our Lord. Every time we meet as a body, as his bride, our hearts should submit to his lordship, recognize his sovereignty, and validate his promises. We should not cease to pray that Bristol Missionary Baptist Church would be a people filled with the Holy Spirit, sweetly savoring Christ, and striving to comprehend the incomprehensible love of God; namely a people of God’s word.

A Pauline Prayer

This last Sunday, I was given the opportunity to preach at Bristol Missionary Baptist Church. For the last several weeks I have been praying and meditating on Ephesians 3:14-21. I have gleaned a tremendous amount of insight form Paul's prayer to the Ephesian church. It was hard for me to narrow down all that I wanted to say. The congregation would probably agree. However, there were a few things that I thought stood out as very practical and satisfying precepts in prayer. I will post two separate blogs highlighting the gist of what was said. I hope it helps you to pray with passion and effectiveness.

Paul's Prayer God Centered and Trinitarian

If you look closely at the text, you will notice two interesting things about Paul's prayer. First, it is Trinitarian. In verse 14 Paul prays to the Father. In verse 16, he asks that they be strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, in verse 17, he ask that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all called on here to do a work. The second thing to notice is that the prayer is God centered. Aside from Paul applying the the Trinity to work in the lives of the Ephesian believers, we also see that the climax of Paul's prayer is that the church in Ephesus would be filled withe fullness of God. He prays for them to be strengthened by His Spirit and according to His riches in glory. Paul prays God would ground them in His love by His knowledge. Paul's prayers for the church are God-centered prayers. He forces me to consider how I am praying for the church. Are my prayers God centered or man-centered?

Christ Centered Praying

In all of that, I am essentially praying that Christ would be at the very core of my praying. Praying God’s word keeps me in line in doing that. Because Christ is the word (pre-incarnate and incarnate), the gospel, the good news, and the radiance of Gods glory; keeping his words and deeds at the center of my communication with God forces the conversation to be God centered. This, in the end, is glorifying to Him and satisfying to me. Why would this be satisfying to me? Because praying God’s word also allows me to articulate the very cries of my heart. Many times, I approach God desiring to pray and have no idea where to begin or how to convey the needs that come with life. God’s word, in its entirety, not only has the power to work in and through prayer, but also the eloquence to express the inner longings of the human soul. His word also helps me to express my desires for Him. Therefore, keeping Christ at the center is God glorifying and soul satisfying because He receives all the glory for meeting my physical and spiritual needs through Christ.

Below are the requisite attitudes that Paul displays in his praying as seen in verse 14 & 15. I believe these attitudes help the Christian to approach God in a manner that is worthy of such a privilege. It also helps the heart to hear the affectionate yearning that Christ has for His church.

Three Requisites

Submission

The first requisite is submission. Paul says in verse 14, “I bow my knees…”. Kneeling represents an attitude of humility and compliance; a deflating of ego if you will. God does not mind his children standing and praying. However, though the legs may be extended, the soul must always be prostrate before God. A. Skevington Wood says that kneeling symbolizes submissiveness, solemnity, and adoration. Paul bows before his king in reverence and passion. He willingly kneels down with his hands extended before God as a servant and friend; not bound in shackles behind his back as an enemy (Philippians 2:9-11). With a willing heart, his attitude of submission resembles that of our Lord Jesus Christ.

King Jesus modeled this well for us when he states in the Lord’s Prayer with “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) He also prayed in Luke 22:42, in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but your will be done.” Before we pray, we must submit. We serve the lord with fear and rejoice with trembling and kiss the Son of God (Psalm 2:11-12). In doing so we acknowledge His lordship and right to rule; not only in the world, but in our little universe as well. A vital component to our praying is submission.

Recognition

The second requisite is recognition. Paul is not just praying to anybody. He is praying to the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth is named. Paul is praying to the Alpha and

Omega, the Beginning and the End, the great I AM, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Paul is pleading with the creator of the universe and all the fullness in it. He prays to the one who knows every star by name; who tells the sun to shine in the day and the moon to guide by night; who upholds the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3). Paul cries out to the one who brings the harvest, the cold and the heat, the summer and the winter, the day and the night, the rain and the sunshine (Gen 8:22). He converses with the One who knows our thoughts before we think them, our words before we say them, our comings, and goings, and all the days we will spend on this earth; which he wrote ahead of time in a book. Paul listens to the One who created us in the deepest and most secret place in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139) and knows every hair on our head. Paul recognizes the authenticity and authority of the Father. The Father is our creator and deserves our utmost respect and awe. He is our God in heaven, and He does all that He pleases (Psalm 115:3) Recognizing this constrains our ego and allows humility to lift our prayers to the ears of our Lord.

Validation

In verse sixteen, Paul gives the Ephesians a sense of validation when he prays “that according to the riches of his glory.” Paul understood the vastness of the resources and ability of our God. He was not praying in the restricted confines of our hearts, but according to the inexhaustible riches of an all-knowing and omnipotent God. William MacDonald says this about the text, “Preachers often point out that there is a difference between the expressions ‘out of the riches’ and ‘according to the riches’ of his perfections. A wealthy person may give a trifling amount out of his riches, not in proportion of them.” So in effect, if I have a million dollars and I give a person one hundred dollars, I have given out of my riches. If I give a person one hundred thousand dollars, I have given according to my riches. When we go to people and ask for our needs to be met, they can only provide out of their riches; which are borrowed and limited. When we come before God, his riches in glory are never fleeting.

He owns the entire world (Psalm 50:10-12; Psalm 24:1) Everything belongs to God. Every man, every woman, every child, every animal, every little fire ant that invades your porches and lawns, every annoying fly that gets in your face while you’re trying to talk, every ounce of wisdom you provide in counseling a friend, every act of grace you display to an enemy, your house and all your belongings, every American dollar (even the ones in your pocket right now) all belong to him. He needs nothing from us because he is self-sufficient. Acts 17:25, “He is not served with human hands as if He needs anything.” When Hebrews 4:16 says that we can approach the throne of grace with confidence it is because God has given himself to be our confidence. It is because the validity he brings in backing up every one of his promises one hundred percent of the time. MacDonald goes onto say, “Since the Lord is infinitely rich in glory, let the saints flood! Why should we ask so little of so great a king?” Paul assures the Ephesians that His prayers can be backed by the good faith and credit of God. The same giver; not the US government or its economy backs our prayers.

Before you come before our Lord in prayer, prostrate your heart in confession and submit your soul to the Lord. Recognize is inifnite power and authority over the universe and your life. Validate His ability and faithfulness by slaying unbelief with trust in his magnificent promises. Humility before God may be one of the lifting forces that bring our prayers into the ears of God.