“The Bible’s purpose is not so much to show you how to live a good life. The Bible’s purpose is to show you how God’s grace breaks into your life against your will and saves you from the sin and brokenness otherwise you would never be able to overcome… religion is ‘if you obey, then you will be accepted’. But the Gospel is, ‘if you are absolutely accepted, and sure you’re accepted, only then will you ever begin to obey’. Those are two utterly different things. Every page of the Bible shows the difference.” – Timothy Keller

Quoted at “Of First Importance”

Today, I am sharing with you an update on my friend, Peggy, first in Peggy’s words and then in a blog written by one of Peggy’s other friends:  

It’s way past time I updated my page. When last I updated, I was choosing to continue on a drug called Yondelis, though it was causing problems with my liver. But after another round, my liver numbers continued a dangerous climb and I was taken off the drug. 

We knew what that meant. No more chemo. No more drugs. No more putting purposeful toxins in my body. Oh did I mention? No more controlling the cancer. Tumors on the liver continue to grow. Doctors say I have two to six months. So what does that change? Does it change God’s plan for me? Is God taken by surprise? Of course not. I know I’m still in God’s hands. I’ve always known my days were numbered. I may be finding out that final number is coming soon. I recently read this passage. 

Psalms 39:4 – 7
“LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is.
5 You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
at best, each of us is but a breath.”
Interlude
6 We are merely moving shadows,
and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
not knowing who will spend it.
7 And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?
My only hope is in you.

How’s that for an ending. My only hope is in you! 

In our last meeting with our doctor, we discussed hospice. We discussed advanced directives. And we discussed keeping me comfortable. The thing making me most uncomfortable was a large tumor on my arm that has been growing rapidly. Our doctor thought it would be major surgery and that we should wait until it was absolutely necessary. He really felt it may involve complete amputation of the arm, so you may know I was in no hurry to push it. But it got bigger and uglier and last week it pushed through the skin and started bleeding heavily. Dave would bandage it but the bandage was bulky and as soon as it came off it would bleed like crazy. So we went back to the doctor. It was time. He called in a surgeon and we really liked the surgeon. He was committed to do anything he could to save my arm. Surgery was on the 20th. I don’t remember this part, but the doctor said when I first woke up in recovery, I looked over at my arm and smiled. It was good to know my “friend” was still there. I face some challenges in my recovery, but it feels so good to have the tumor gone, and have my arm not gone. A tumor in my right hip is starting to cause some discomfort. It’s possible that some radiation might help control that pain. So after I recover from this, we may visit our radiation oncologist. Of course, these are just things to make my days comfortable. There is nothing that can be done with what is happening on my liver. Funny. The tumor that is killing me doesn’t hurt and the tumors that hurt aren’t the ones killing me. 

We owe a ton of people a billion thanks for so many acts of kindness done for us during these days. From meals to house cleaning to washing my windows, to financial gifts to ease some of our extra burdens, and many more things, we appreciate all the acts of service and gifts of kindness that have encouraged us through these days. 

Recently, Peg spoke in front of about 125 women at a Bible Study here, and following her message, one of Calvary’s resident authors wrote a beautiful blog in her honor. Here is a link that will get you there. http://www.joydekok.com/wordpress/2008/11/07/a-grace-filled-life

A Grace-filled Life

Joy on 07 Nov 2008

Today at Bible Study, my friend Peg shared the next stage in her earthly journey. Peg has battled cancer for 11 years and without a miracle she is entering her last phase of this life. It took a lot of courage for her to stand in front of over 100 women who love her. We sniffed out loud as she spoke. Our Peg has a lot of courage.

The thing that gets to me about Peg is her grace-filled life. She’s not perfect…but grace isn’t about us being perfect because Jesus already is. She spreads that grace around everywhere she goes. Bald and sick my friend sparkles. I sometimes wonder if it’s because she’s down to what matters most in life. Him. The love of her life. Jesus. Faith is not religion with Peg…it’s real life living. Jesus shines from her all over anyone standing in her sight.Then there’s the way she loves us…the way Jesus loves her. You gotta love that about a friend. A friend who knows I’m not perfect and loves me anyway. A friend who lavishes me with grace I don’t always deserve. She stands close to the Grace-giver – in fact I can say with great confidence…she is constantly in His presence and as He fills up her cup she splashes the abundance on us.

So what does a grace-filled life look like? A lot like Jesus when He walked this earth. I mean think of it…the baby born in the manger also hung on the cross…and asked God to forgive those who beat Him bloody, mocked Him, and then…killed Him. Not one of them deserved His favor but He gave it anyway. Really. He PRAYED for them. How many of us would do that or would we be more likely to curse them?

Peg lives like Jesus died…and you know what is absolutely amazing? In this grace-filled living my friend is free. I’m not talking about the kind of liberty we enjoy here in America. I mean the kind that shows she is free in every nook and cranny of her heart. She lives in total forgiveness and this leads to the freedom that is eternal and not based on a political party or a vote (although I so appreciate our freedoms and rights in this country!). She is free from regret, anger, malice, manipulation, or any other thing we humans can throw at each other. She knows the favor/merit/salvation she received from Jesus Christ is undeserved. She gave up on thinking she “deserved” anything long ago. In fact, she counts her suffering as a privilege – man…I am so not there!

And, she is forgiving. When I make a mistake, she isn’t quick to correct me…but she has this wonderful smile…that’s what she gives me knowing the Holy Spirit will be leading me to right behavior and until then, I’m okay with her!

We’re both ragamuffins…saved by a ragamuffin Gospel. (Check out author Brennan Manning and you’ll see what I mean)

Even though my friend’s illness is weakening her body…Peg is one powerful woman. You can feel it when she sits next to you and sometimes after a hug I feel like a tiny bit is transferred from her to me somehow. Her power is not of this world.

This time of farewell is the hardest thing her family may ever face and although her destination is heaven, she is glad for every day she can be with her precious ones. She told us today she lives in the now with her hands wide open. We knew that. We are eyewitnesses to this most wonderful woman and her grace-filled life.   While her life here may be winding down…it is not ending. Because she has accepted the Grace-gift of God, Jesus Christ, she is going to live forever…but it’s even more than that…she’s going to live in the presence of her Grace-giver while we wait to join her.  When that day arrives, we will mourn but I think it will be tinged with wonder…I will wonder…what is Peg up to with Jesus today? I’ll have no idea but I know it will be good. I know there are 4 things I will feel: 

 

-I will grieve for her family

-I will be homesick for my friend

-I will be glad for my friend

-I will be glad for Jesus…His good friend will be with Him… I know she is delighting Him here so how much more will He enjoy her there?! Peg…I love you so much my grace-filled sparkling for Jesus friend!

 

 

As one of my readers pointed out this week, we in America know little of persecution as believers. We have not experienced the reality of counting the cost of following Jesus.  Can we encourage a Muslim to follow Christ, knowing the cost will  be so high?  Here is a quote from Ziya Meral, a Turkish Christian:  

“For persecuted Christians, suffering turns into affliction when they internalize the horrible feeling that they are alone. When the persecuted Christian begins to believe that most of the global church does not care and will not be there to share his pain, loneliness moves from the physical dimension to an inner anguish.

In fact, even my faith hero, Luther, found himself in the gray zone between suffering and affliction the night before his famous defense, as we see in his prayer: “O Almighty and Everlasting God! How terrible is this world! Behold, it openeth its mouth to swallow me up, and I have so little trust in thee!”

This raises significant questions: Where is God when millions of his children are being persecuted in the most brutal ways? Why does he keep silent in the middle of persecution but speak loudly in the middle of conferences with famous speakers and worship bands? I have prayed many times like Luther: “Bless us, Lord, even curse us! But don’t remain silent!”

Brother Yun, author of the international best-selling book, “Heavenly Man” , has an incredibly powerful testimony of God’s presence with him during times of persecution in China. He has a new book just published, which contain reflections and sermons.  The following is an excerpt from, “Living Water.”

“…After my first arrest, I was thrown in prison and treated very cruelly by the guards and my cellmates. At the beginning, I didn’t understand what was going on. I was confused and cried out to God, as though there had been some kind of mistake. ‘Oh, Lord,’ I cried, ‘do You realize I am in sitting here in prison? Have You forsaken me?’ Soon the Lord showed me that He had certainly not forsaken me, but that my arrest and imprisonment were His will for my life and His calling for me at that time. The Bible declares that God loves the entire world, and Jesus commanded His followers to take the good news into the entire world. The world includes Chinese prisons, where there are thousands of desperate men who need to know Jesus. That is where the Lord chose to send me so that I could be a witness to His truth and grace.

When this understanding became a reality in my life, my whole attitude and perspective was completely transformed. Now, instead of feeling resentment for my situation, I was joyful and thankful! Instead of being depressed and confused, I was full of praise to the Lord….

…When the Lord showed me all these things, I made a steadfast commitment that I would always praise Jesus, regardless of my cirucmstances or situation…King David also learned the power of praise during his darkest moments. The Psalms record how David worshipped the Lord even though people were plotting to murder him. David understood the power of praising God, even while under tremendous pressure and danger. He was able to declare, ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth’ (Ps 34:1). Later in the same psalm, he dips into his personal experience and shares, ‘A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken’ (Ps. 34:19-20)……

… The challenges in your life are real, but Jesus is the truth! If you will learn to praise Jesus Christ regardless of your circumstances, you will find inner freedom and joy, and you will have the strength to overcome whatever you are faced with….”.

The “Back to Jerusalem” movement is a vision of the underground church in China. They feel a remarkable challenge to take the Gospel along the Silk Road system, through the 10/40 Window and all the way Back To Jerusalem. The territory is very unfriendly to the Gospel, to put it nicely.

From the BTJ Website, their vision: (http://www.backtojerusalem.com/pages/vision.php)

The Back to Jerusalem vision is something that thousands of Chinese Christians are willing to die for. Why? When many people first hear about “Back to Jerusalem” they misinterpret from the name of the movement that the Chinese Church wants to evangelize Jerusalem. 
The first thing to understand was that ‘Back to Jerusalem’ does not at all mean the Chinese want to rush to Jerusalem with the Gospel. The vision is much larger than that. 

The BTJ vision is a passion for the house churches of China. We pray about it daily, dream about it, and talk about it over breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Back to Jerusalem vision is not some small trivial matter for us, but the driving force of our lives and ministries. Many feel it is God’s ultimate call and destiny for the Chinese Church, the very reason they exist! 

Back to Jerusalem is not some kind of end times theory. We have no plans to rush to Israel. Rather, BTJ refers to a call from God for the Chinese Church to preach the Gospel and establish fellowships of believers in all the countries, cities, towns, and ethnic groups between China and Jerusalem. This vision is no small task, for within those nations lay the three largest spiritual strongholds in the world today that have yet to be conquered by the Gospel: the giants of Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. 

The 10/40 Window
More than 90% of the unreached people groups in the world today are located within the 10/40 window – more than 5,100 tribes and ethno-linguistic groups with little or no Gospel witness. Of the world’s 50 least-Christian and least-evangelized countries, all 50 are located within this region!

This map shows the “10/40 window.” 
Within the red lines live more than 90% of the world’s remaining unreached people groups, 
and all 50 of the world’s least evangelized countries. These countries are the focus of the Back to Jerusalem movement.

As you read these pages, please remember that the Back to Jerusalem movement is not a crazy pipe-dream of a few fanatical Christians that may or may not happen. It is something that is already happening! Right now there are already hundreds of Chinese missionaries working outside China in the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, and Southeast Asia. Thousands more are in training, learning languages such as Arabic and English that will be put to use on the mission field.

Chinese Missionaries Team
A team of thirty-six Chinese missionaries departed China in March 2000 for a neighboring Buddhist country. They were the first contemporary team of Back to Jerusalem missionaries, the first-fruits of a great flood to come. Few people around the world knew of this event, but their going was the result of years of prayer and planning. On that day China once again became an active participant in worldwide mission.

During the training and orientation for those 36 pioneers, each one was asked to give their testimony. Many tears flowed as they told their stories. All of them had suffered much for the Gospel in China. Most had been arrested, imprisoned, beaten and tortured because of their testimony for Jesus Christ. They had all faced extreme hardship, separation from family, forced starvation, sleepless nights and perils on every side.

Despite tremendous opposition, all 36 of these house church missionaries had faithfully preached the Gospel throughout China for years, establishing churches and seeing more of God’s power manifested through their ministries each month than most Christians see during their lifetimes.

Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists 
As the Back to Jerusalem vision unfolds, you may start to hear reports of Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists coming to Christ in places where the Gospel has long struggled to make an impact. When this happens, don’t be amazed at the Chinese Christians, we are just sinners saved by grace and undeserving of any attention. Rather, be amazed at the wisdom and manifest beauty of God’s plan. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”, 1 Corinthians 1:25

We hope you will be encouraged and challenged by the Back to Jerusalem vision, and moved to prayer and involvement in the fulfillment of the Great Commission in these last days, until “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”, Revelation 11:15Back To Jerusalem, Inc. is a registered 501c3 non-profit entity in the United States. The contact information is:

Back To Jerusalem, Inc.
PO Box 7129
Naples, FL 34101
Phone: 239-514-7202
Fax: 239-514-7204

From their website:

We stand to serve the Chinese house-churches in their unique calling within the Great Commission. As our Statement of Faith reads, “our aim is to inform and challenge Christians around the world to prayer and involvement with the Chinese Church as they take the Gospel to the Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu nations of the world.”

Danny, you are asking some great questions!  Jesus never promised that it would be easy to follow Him.  In fact, He said we should count the cost of being a disciple.  There will be radical change in our lives when Jesus is our Lord and Savior.  All the issues of tradition and culture are not easy.  I suppose a Muslim could follow Jesus secretly (like Nicodemas…coming to Jesus at night and keeping his day job) but I would think that would be extremely difficult given the vast differences between Islam and a true, biblical faith.  

Where to worship and pray?  The woman at the well asked a similar question….and Jesus’ response  was “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”   So could a Muslim attend a Mosque, and actually worship the One, True God instead of Allah?  I suppose that is a matter of the heart.  God is not restricted by any physical buildings. But WHY would a true believer in the One, True God go to worship with those who do NOT believe in Him, but in a false god? What gain is there, except for outward acceptance by one’s cultural community?  

Jesus told us to expect suffering and persecution.  We will experience trials and hardships as a result of our faith.  In fact 2 Tim 3:12 says, “Indeed, ALL who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus WILL be persecuted,” and John 15:18-21  “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.  and Romans 8:18 says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Is there a painful, heart-wrenching choice to be made?  Will there be tears?  Yes.  Will a decisions be made lightly? No.  But the Apostle Paul tells us that there is no comparison between our temporary, light “hell on earth” and the eternal joy we will experience with Jesus!  I’m banking on Jesus to be with me through whatever I face here, and enjoy HIM forever!

May I suggest another John Piper article?  Obstacles to the Eternal Life of Muslims

John Piper says, “The most loving thing we can do for Muslims, or anyone else, is to tell them the whole truth about Jesus Christ…..”  Read on-

How Shall We Love Our Muslim Neighbor?

There are as many answers to this question as there are ways to do good and not wrong. “Love does no wrong to a neighbor” (Romans 13:10). “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4). Here are some things that, it seems to me, need to be emphasized in our day.

[Update: The mention of loving our enemies is not meant to imply that all Muslims feel or act with enmity toward Christians. They don’t. They are often hospitable and kind and caring. The point is that even when someone treats us with enmity (of whatever religion or non-religion), we should continue loving.

Another clarification is needed in our context today. When I say that love calls us to do good in practical ways that meet physical needs I do not mean that this help is offered contingent on Muslim’s becoming Christians. Practical love is a witness to the love of Christ. Witness is not withheld where it is needed most. Conversions coerced by force or finances contradicts the very nature of saving faith. Saving faith is a free embrace of Jesus as our Savior, Lord, and highest Treasure. He is not a means to treasure. He is the Treasure.]

1. Pray the fullest blessing of Christ on them whether they love you or not.

• Luke 6:28 – Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
• Romans 12:14 – Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
• 1 Corinthians 4:12 – When reviled, we bless.

2. Do good to them in practical ways that meet physical needs.

• Luke 6:27 – Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.
• Luke 6:31 – As you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:15 – See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
• Romans 12:20 – If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.

3. Do not retaliate when personally wronged.

• 1 Peter 3:9 – Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
• Romans 12:17, 19 – Repay no one evil for evil … Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

4. Live peaceably with them as much as it depends on you.

• Romans 12:18 – If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

5. Pursue their joyful freedom from sin and from condemnation by telling them the truth of Christ.

• John 8:31-32 – Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

6. Earnestly desire that they join you in heaven with the Father by showing them the way, Jesus Christ.

• Romans 10:1 – Brothers, my heart’s desire . . . for them is that they may be saved.
• John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
• John 3:16 – “Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

7. Seek to comprehend the meaning of what they say, so that your affirmations or criticisms are based on true understanding, not distortion or caricature.

• 1 Corinthians 13:6 – Love does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices with the truth.

8. Warn them with tears that those who do not receive Jesus Christ as the crucified and risen Savior who takes away the sins of the world will perish under the wrath of God.

• John 1:12 – But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
• Romans 10:9 – If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
• Philippians 3:18 – For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.

9. Don’t mislead them or give them false hope by saying, “Muslims worship the true God.”

This statement communicates to almost everybody a positive picture of the Muslim heart knowing, loving, and honoring the true God. But Jesus makes a person’s response to himself the litmus test of the authenticity of a person’s response to God. And he is explicit that if a person rejects him as the Divine One who gives his life as a ransom for sins and rises again—that person does not know, love, or honor the true God.

• John 8:19 – They said to [Jesus] therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
• John 5:23 – Whoever does not honor the Son does not honorthe Father who sent him.
• John 5:42-43 – [Jesus said,] “I know that you do not have thelove of God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me.”

Love will not mislead Muslims, or those who care about Muslims, by saying that they “know” or “honor” and “love” the true God when they do not receive Jesus for who he really is. We cannot see people’s hearts. How do we know if they know and honor and love the true God? We lay down our lives to offer them Jesus. If they receive him, they know and love and honor God. If they don’t, they don’t. Jesus is the test.

That is the point of Jesus’ words in Luke 10:16, “The one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” And in Matthew 10:40, “Whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” And in John 5:46, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me.”

The most loving thing we can do for Muslims, or anyone else, is to tell them the whole truth about Jesus Christ, in the context of sacrificial care for them and willingness to suffer for them rather than abandon them, and then plead with them to turn away from “vain worship” (Mark 7:7) and receive Christ as the crucified and risen Savior for the forgiveness of their sins and the hope of eternal life. This would be our great joy—to have brothers and sisters from all the Muslim peoples of the world.

Mark Driscoll’s sermon, TRINITY: God IS, will be the starting point.  The following notes are from the first half of that sermon:

Augustine of Hippo once said:  If you deny the Trinity, you lose your soul.  If you try to explain it, you lose your mind!

People want love and relationships.  Look at the explosion of communication in our age.  Deep desire for peace and unity within our culture.  Rooted in our being created in the image of God. 

If we have a faulty view of God, we suffer in very way!  This discussion of God and the Trinity is very important.  Who is my God?  Who will I see when I die?  What is the Trinity?

While the word trinity does not appear in Scripture, the concept very clearly does. ONE GOD-  He eternally exists as THREE persons.

THREE PERSONS- not “its”.  God thinks, acts, feels, speaks. Father, Son , Holy Spirit.  Equal. They are each fully and equally GOD!

The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) summarizes the doctrine by saying “In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.” Wayne Grudem defines the doctrine of the Trinity as follows: “God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God” (Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 226). Bruce Ware provides another helpful definition: “The doctrine of the Trinity affirms that God’s whole and undivided essence belongs equally, eternally, simultaneously, and fully to each of the three distinct Persons of the Godhead.” (Ware, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, p. 41). Louis Berkhof explained the doctrine of the Trinity under these headings:

1. There is in the Divine Being but one indivisible essence.
2. In this one Divine Being there are three Persons or individual subsistences: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
3. The whole undivided essence of God belongs equally to each of the three persons.
4. The subsistence and operation of the three persons in the divine Being is marked by a certain definite order.
5. There are certain personal attributes by which the three persons are distinguished.
6. The Church confesses the Trinity to be a mystery beyond the comprehension of man. (Berkhof, Systematic Theology, pp. 87–89)

The Trinity is ONE God who eternally exists as THREE distinct persons—Father, Son, and Spirit—who are each fully and equally God.

“Person” does not mean that God the Father or God the Spirit became human beings. Rather, it means that each member of the Trinity thinks, acts, feels, speaks, and relates because they are persons and not impersonal forces. Further, each member of the Trinity is equally God, which means that they share the divine attributes, such as eternality, omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence.

The doctrine of the Trinity seeks to hold all of the truth that God says about himself in Scripture, such as the following truths, without dismissing or diminishing any truth.

There is only One God.

• “ . . . the LORD is God; there is no other besides him” (Deut. 4:35).
• “ . . . there is no god beside me” (Deut. 32:39).
• “ . . . you alone are God” (Ps 86:10).
• “Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me” (Isa. 43:10).
• “I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God” (Isa. 45:5).
• “ . . . the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God” (1 Tim. 1:17).
• “ . . . there is one God” (1 Tim. 2:5).

All other gods are demonic false gods.

• Jesus says……“… the only true God” (John 17:3).
• This was true in OT as well……“They sacrificed to demons that were no gods” (Deut. 32:17).
• Also in NT, Paul says…”… what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons” (1 Cor. 10:20).
• Counterfeit deities…false signs and miracles….
• Allah….a demon.  Not God.  Not Yaweh, true God of the Bible.
• Mother Earth…a demon.  Not God.
• Test the spirits! (1John 4:1-6)

The Father is God.

• “God, the Father” (John 6:27).
• “ . . . there is one God, the Father” (1 Cor. 8:6).
• Virtually EVERYONE agrees with this doctrine.  NO heresies exist that deny that God the Father is GOD.  Even the heretics get this doctrine right.

The Son is God.

• Heavily debated, and many heresies arise from not believing this.
• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14).
• “Truly, truly, I [Jesus] say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). (and religious leader wanted to stone Him, for He claimed to be GOD(blasphemy)! Ex 3:14) The reason Jesus was killed was because of claims to be God.
• “Thomas answered him [Jesus], ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:28).
• “ . . . Christ who is God over all” (Rom. 9:5).
• “ . . . our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
• “ . . . Jesus Christ. He is the true God” (1 John 5:20).

The Spirit is God.

Note: It must be stressed that the Spirit is a “he” and not an “it.” The Spirit is not an impersonal force, but rather a person who can be grieved (Eph. 4:30), resisted (Acts 7:51), and insulted, outraged (Heb. 10:29).

• “Now the Lord (a title for God) is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:17–18).
• “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? . . . You have not lied to men but to God’” (Acts 5:3–4).

The statement “God is love” in 1 John 4:8 only makes sense in light of the fact that God is a perfectly loving Trinitarian community.  Like saying, “God is TRINITY.”  God lacks nothing.  He doesn’t need us!  This insight also helps illuminate what Jesus said in John 3:35, “The Father loves the Son,” and in John 14:31, “I love the Father.”

Does the “Trinity” appear in the OT?  Yes, the echoes of the Trinity in the early pages of Genesis also make sense:

• “In the beginning, God (Elohim, plural…)  created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:1–2).
• Targum…an accepted Jewish reading of the OT.  200 years before Jesus was born,  there were Jewish scholars who believed in the Trinity!
• “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’” (Gen. 1:26). This makes NO sense without the doctrine of the Trinity.
• “Then the LORD God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of us” (Gen. 3:22).
• “And the LORD said . . . ‘Come, let us . . .’” (Gen. 11:6–7).

Lastly, two more verses on the Trinity in the Old Testament apply directly to the incarnation of Jesus:

• “And now the Lord GOD [Father] has sent me [Jesus], and his Spirit” (Isa. 48:16). (written hundreds of years before Jesus was born…) Jesus says this repeatedly.
• “The Spirit of the Lord GOD [Father] is upon me [Jesus], because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor” (Isa. 61:1).

As an insightful aside, Jesus began his public ministry by reading Isaiah 61:1, according to Luke 4.  (“Today, this is fulfilled in ME!”)

We also examined a few places in the New Testament where the Trinity appears, including the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:35), the baptism of Jesus (Matt. 3:16–17), and the Great Commission of Jesus (Matt. 28:19–20). (THE singular NAME of the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit –3 persons!)

This morning at Bible study, we began talking about the different meanings of the term “God’s will”, especially as it relates to Acts 4.  The following message by John Piper is very helpful in understanding these “two wills.”  He said,

“There are two clear and very different meanings for the term “will of God” in the Bible. We need to know them and decide which one is being used here in Romans 12:2. In fact, knowing the difference between these two meanings of “the will of God” is crucial to understanding one of the biggest and most perplexing things in all the Bible, namely, that God is sovereign over all things and yet disapproves of many things. Which means that God disapproves of some of what he ordains to happen. That is, he forbids some of the things he brings about. And he commands some of the things he hinders. Or to put it most paradoxically: God wills some events in one sense that he does not will in another sense.

What Is the Will of God and How Do We Know It?

Here’s the lyrics:

Verse 1: God eternally exists/ as being three in His personages/ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and each person is/ fully God and there is only one God who subsists/ so chew on this/ cause this is meat and I’m certain of this/ His prerogative could have been to conceal Himself/ but we serve a God who has chose to reveal Himself/ to be certain of who we servin’ let’s search the text/ because it’s urgent that we worship Him for who He is/ the topic of the Trinity should evoke some emotion/ for those who are chosen/ and also for those who oppose it/ examine close He’s distinctive in His entities/ that’s why we contend for the Trinity in serenity/ we have no Christianity if God is not triune/ in that case we are were saved by whom/ then creation was made by whom/ then redemption was made by whom/ the consummation will take place by whom

Hook: Pastor Joe speaking/T-R-I-N-I-T-Y/ It’s the trinity/ it’s the trinity/ oh blessed trinity

Verse 2: If we could peer in the past and see a system called dynamic monarchianism/ another system modalistic monarchianism/ before the session we gone focus on one of the isms/ modalistic monarchianism/ get to the core or the center where the belly is/ popularized by a guy named Sabellius/ trying to fight for the position of monotheism/ traditionally held by Jewish in they religion/ and that’s true but he started trippin’ in his position/ and said that God manifested Himself in different/ modes at different times this is real twisted/ that’s why a bishop named Athanasisus had resided/ in a meeting in Nicea in 325/ A.D. where they debated was Jesus God/ and if He was, was He the Father the first time/ Jesus the second/ and Holy Spirit the third time/ while affirmed that the Father is God/ that the Son is God/ and the Holy Spirit is God/ good that ain’t gone solve it/ cause the problem is this/ it’s the simultaneousness/ that he denied

Verse 3: Modalism is back and its now packaged as Oneness Pentecostalism/ and its growing in numbers now like the cost of living/ and when they hear this I’ll be labeled a Pharisee/ but the Assemblies of God already labeled it heresy/ in the 20th century when it first emerged/ and ever since its birth its been hurting the church/ in conclusion a myriad of questions I ask/ cause its confusing and steering away at the masses/ I pose to you question number 1/ you mean to tell me that the Father is the Son/ well who was He praying to in the garden of Gethsemane/ I guess you’ll say He was prayin’ to His deity/ so you sayin’ that His human side/ is prayin’ to His divine side/ that is Father/ In that case then there are two beings/ in the person of Christ is that what you are seeing/ no that’s not the scriptures that’s confusion/ and it takes stabs at the hypostatic union/ and that’s that the one Jesus/ is 100% man and 100% God/ not 100% Father and 100% Son

From the DVD:

The core of the Christian message is captured by one simple, yet profound word- grace.  This little word sets Christainity apart and fuels our cause.  Grace is God’s unmerited and undeserved favor, poured out through His Son Jesus Christ.  It is His grace that saves us, not because we are worthy of it, but because He knows we cannot rescue ourselves.

Through grace, God cancelled the penalty of sin and death, yet grace was never meant to cancel a life that seeks to honor and serve the One who set us free.  In fact, the opposite is true.  The sign of true grace is a greater desire to serve and work in His story, not so that we can gain His approval…but out of the joy that comes from knowing we’ve already been approved.

Grace and works, intimacy and fear…both sides of the same truth.  Find the wonder of living in the balance, where God’s freeing grace compels and empowers us to live a life that reflects His glory.