Proclaim His Excellence

Lesson's Learned in Public Enemis: Radical Depravity

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:04:00 +0000

I mentioned in Yesterday's post that I would be drawing some spiritual applications from a secular, non-fiction book I recently read called Public Enemies by Bryan Burrough. I do not think that any of the conclusions I draw will be particularly new to anyone. The Bible is clear about most of these insights. You could read about anyone of them from the millions upon millions of Christian books available. Yet, I treasure my findings. The book made me think. Through real life examples, theological truths I know to be true came alive within the pages of a book. I learned something.

Let's get started.

Public Enemiesis is about 600 pages of the true-life account of America's first, and greatest, "war on crime." The Author strips away layers of myths and tells the full story of the birth J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. He describes the two year battle between Hoover's band of Special Agents and famous criminals such as John Dillinger, Machine gun Kelly, Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and the Barker Gang. Burrough tells this story in a way that is both intriguing and enlightening. It reads much like a fiction book, but is filled with the factual account of what actually happened. This book was given rave review, became a bestseller, and it was even made into a major motion picture.

I was surprised at how this book drew me in right from the start and kept my attention throughout. Along the way I learned about a subject that was originally completely foreign to me. In addition, I was able to draw many spiritual conclusions and applications from this book. It would be difficult for me to describe all of them, so I chose the three insights that were proven over and over again. I will be spreading these out over three blog posts.

The first conclusion that can be clearly seen throughout the book relates to the depravity of man. The Bible is absolutely clear on the condition of man. All people are born dead in their sins and under the wrath of God (Ephesians 2). In addition, there is not a single one who is righteous in the eyes of God (Romans 3). Even our best works are like filthy rags to Him (Isaiah 64:6). We do not even seek after God. We don't want anything to do with the True Creator God. This does not mean that we are all as bad as we can be, but it does mean that as far as God is concerned, we are not able to do anything that pleases God (Romans 7:18, Romans 8:8, Hebrews 11:6).

Public Enemies gave me a real, historical example of that. You do not have to read the book long, before you see examples of man's utter sinfulness. After all, the book is full of the accounts of some of the greatest criminal masterminds of the early 30's.

The Depravity of man is seen almost immediately with the criminals. Within the first chapter, the readers learn of the largest robbery of the 1920's: a mail train robbery. The train was passing through Roundout, Illinois when criminals made out with $2 million. In addition, one of Burrough's first points is that behind bars criminals are supposed to going through "rehabilitation," but they are actually learning how to become more skillful criminals. Soon, it was no longer robbing banks, but it was kidnapping and murder. Stolen and ransomed money would be used for prostitution, gambling, and partying.

Perhaps one of the most striking instances in the book is after John Dillinger kills someone for the first time. In the public's eye's, Dillinger was more of a Robin Hood figure than a criminal mastermind. The public loved Dillinger's charm and personality. In early 1934, Dillinger Robbed the First National Bank near Eastern Chicago. The robbery itself went well for Dillinger. Burrough comments that he, "performed like a hungry actor on a brightly lit stage." When Dillinger walked in and yelled, "This is a stick-up," the customers raised their hands and lined up against the wall. One forgot his cash on a counter and Dillinger said, "You go ahead and take your money. We don't want your money. Just the bank's." One can see why the public might view him favorably with lines like that! By the time Dillinger was ready to leave the bank, a group of police officers had formed outside. A forty-three year old detective named Patrick O'Malley shot Dillinger in his bulletproof vest. In a rare loss of temper, Dillinger fired back. The bullets from his submachine gun tore through the detective. The policemen fell dead on the side walk with eight bullet holes across his chest. He was a father of three.

The killing would weight on Dillinger's mind for the rest of his life. However, this had less to do with his guilt over murdering and more to do with his own sense of self and his public image. Dillinger would continue to deny the killing to lawyers, lawmen, and even friends. Several times, he volunteered his denial to complete strangers. Burrough comments, "At the heart of his appeal, Dillinger knew, was his joshing Robin Hood Spirit, the sense people had that he was a regular guy making the best of hard times. Dillinger didn't want to be the bad guy." This was an astounding statement for me to read. Dillinger didn't necessarily feel guilty over the murder. Rather, he wanted to protect his unique public image as a "friendly neighborhood bank robber."

One thing I know from evangelism is that everyone wants to answer, "Would you consider yourself a good person?" with a resounding, "YES!" Even for a murderous, bank robbing, kidnapper this was true. Dillinger cared more about glory, praise, and adoration than human life and perhaps even money. He was a depraved, radically sinful human being.

And he wasn't the only one. The "good guys" weren't as good as we would suspect. The FBI would be the heroes in the war on crime. But their own depravity was brought to light throughout the book. Whether it be the special agents use of torture to extract information from victims (some women, some who weren't even connected to the respective cases), Marvin Purvis' pride and glory-obsessed media exposures, or Herbert Hoover's lie-filled efforts to paint the Bureau in a favorable light, the FBI weren't the heroes they were cracked up to be. Let me give one example.

Herbert Hoover was the man behind the Bureau. He was the fearless leader. The FBI, in fact, was his baby. In many ways, he created it. One of the unfortunate myths that came from the War on Crime was started by none other than Hoover himself. The myth centered around a lonely lady named Ma Barker. She was the mother of several members of the Barker game. She was killed when a group of FBI agents fired guns at a house she was in for over an hour. Fred Barker and Ma Barker were killed sometime during the gun spraying. Fred Barker was a stone-cold killer and thief. His death would bring little criticism. Ma Barker, on the other hand, was an estranged and lonely lady who spent her last few years putting puzzles together. She had no criminal record. There is zero evidence she had anything to do with the Barker Gang's antics. How would the Bureau justify her killing? Soon after the killing, Hoover announced to the world that Ma Barker was the "brains" of the gang. She was the criminal mastermind behind all of the secret plans. Reporters were told that she was found dead with a machine gun in her hands. Hoover said that she was the smartest outlaw they had ever encountered. Reporters went with it, a legend was born, a lie was believed.

These claims are completely unfounded and deceitful. History is written by the victors remember? Burrough asks, "There was no one alive who would come forward to dispute Hoover's fabricated story." This is just one example of the lies, cover-ups, and great lengths Hoover went to in order to advance his precious Bureau. The fact of the matter is that even the good guys, the people we hold dear to our hearts as heroes, were radically depraved as well.

And they aren't the only one. One final example: Me. My sinfulness showed throughout this book. I realized about halfway through the book that I could not decide who to root for. When the good guys lost battles that led to Dillinger escapes because of mistakes the bureau had made, I cheered for Dillinger. I was rooting for the bad guy. I was rooting for a murderer and thief to escape justice. I had to really reevaluate my heart. This is a perfect example of how I can be unjust even while serving a perfectly just Lord.

But thanks be to God! I have Jesus Christ who covers my sinful past, present, and future. He bore my sins in His body. The wrath God has towards my sin was poured out on to Christ. Jesus died in my place. While justice was not always done to the criminals in Public Enemies, God's justice is always perfect. Justice was done for me because Jesus Christ paid my fine. Grace was given to me and I repented and trusted in the Savior. I was once dead in my sin, but God made me alive. You know, at the end of the day not a single one of us is any better off than Dillinger, Hoover, or even Ma Barker. We are radically depraved. Only when we trust in Jesus Christ will justice be met and we will be made alive. God will give us a new heart and we can begin growing to be more like Him. I pray that this is you. Glory to God alone!

Love God with Your Minds

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 03:34:00 +0000

I absolutely love to read. I cannot even begin to describe the importance of reading excellent books from great men of God. God has given us incredible wise teachers and we should take advantage of that. Millions of people have walked this earth before us. While here, they have learned powerful lessons. Here's the cool part: some wrote about those lessons.

Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Men can sharpen one another. Books are from men. Books can sharpen us.

I have read countless Christian books over the past several years. God has used those books to edify and grow me in ways that I cannot even begin to describe. However, a couple of months ago I needed a break. No, I did not need a break from edification and spiritual growth. God help me if I ever need a break from that. Rather, I needed a break from Christian books.

Let me explain so as not to be misunderstood. Since coming to college, I realized that I love to learn. I love it. In fact, it pleases God for us to learn. I believe we are disobedient when we are not learning. God gave us a brain for a specific reason. He gave us a brain so that we could glorify Him with that brain. Mark 12:29-30 tells us that one of the ways we love the Lord our God is with our minds. I think it is unfortunate that Christians do not realize that one of the ways in which we love God is by learning. Donald Whitney says, "God is glorified when we use the mind he made to learn of Him, His ways, His Word, and His world."

In our culture, we have unfortunately overemphasized experience, heart, and emotions and deemphasized learning. Think about it. The smart students in school have been thought of as "nerds." They are unpopular because they are intelligent. It's the underachievers and class clowns that get the attention.

This sort of thinking has played well with the postmodern church. Often the most popular Churches are the ones where the preacher has humor, stories, and "personality" (whatever that means). Rob Bell is the favorite among my generation. Because of his theology? No, it's because he dresses cool and his sermons tickle the ears. Miller's Blue Like Jazz is adored by many young emergent's, Young's The Shack tells a great story. The theology it teaches is adored because it is shallow and doesn't hurt anyone's feeligns. Grudem's Systematic Theology, though, is too rigid. I don't think I would compare Rob Bell to Joel Osteen, but he fits into this category as well. Joel Osteen certainly does not have good theology. He can tell a good joke at the beginning of his sermons and make you feel happy though.

Theology and doctrine are just not relevant to American "Christians." Do you really go to Church to learn? Even among those who would not follow Rob Bell's Postmodernism or Joel Osteen's Prosperity Gospel, many Church goers simply do not go to actually learn. They go to make sure the Pastor doesn't say anything that will upset them. They go to mark it off their check lists. They go because they have always gone. Richard Foster says: "[Christians] may be faithful in church attendance and earnest in fulfilling their religious duties and still they are not changed…. Why? Because they have never taken up one of the central ways God uses to change us: study."

What is the point I am making? Recall the quote I used from Whitney earlier. He also says, "A biblically balanced Christian has both a full head and a full heart, radiating both spiritual light and heat." In other words, heart is absolutely important within Christianity. But without the head, it is often dangerous and ignorant. If we want to be faithful followers of Christ, we must use the head that God has given us and learn. We need to learn about theology. We need to study the Bible. We need to know the proper way of interpreting it. We must understand the context in which it was written. We need to know how to fight off heresies and false teachers. Proverbs 18:15 says, "The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out." If we want to be discerning, we must have knowledge and we must be wise.

I believe with all my heart that Christians should be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). As a Christian, I want to read much about God, the Gospel, and the Bible. I want to read the Bible and know it with all my heart. It is, after all, God's Word. But I also want to know more about the World and history and science. I want to be able to have intelligent conversations with a wide range of people on a wide range of subjects. As a Christian, I view the world through a very specific lens. Everything- politics, history, science, math, ect.- I view through my Christian, Biblical worldview. I want to learn and apply my worldview to my newfound knowledge and see what God can teach me through that.

It is with that attitude that I took a few months off of reading Christian books in order to read secular books. I wanted to see what spiritual applications I could draw from a wide range of topics. A few days ago, I began reading Christian books again. I thoroughly missed them and have been devouring pages from Christian books since I took them up again. But I have a new desire to implement scheduled times within my calendar to read through various secular books. I just want to learn.

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With all of that said, I want to show how spiritual applications can be drawn from secular books. I would like to demonstrate how to read various books from a specific worldview. One of the books I read was a true story called, Public Enemies by Bryan Burrough. The book is about America's Greatest crime wave and the birth of the FBI in the early 1930's. Stay tuned for my next blog post to see how it will work.

My Testimony

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:59:00 +0000

Well, it has been an extremely busy summer thus far, but I think I am finally getting to a point where I have a bit of time. A couple of months ago, I was humbled and honored by my Church, First Baptist Buffalo, MO ordaining me into the ministry. As part of the service, they asked me to give my testimony. I thought I would post it in order to get it out on the internet in hope that God may use it to further His glory.

___

Introduction

I would like to express my great appreciation for all that are here today. A vast majority of you have played a significant role in my life and God has used you to shape and mold who I am today. Over the past four months I have worked hard preparing for tonight. It is honoring and humbling that you are here to play a part in this. I only have about 10 minutes to share with you a lifetime of God's providential hand intervening in my life and so graciously bringing me to a point where He saved me and has since been sanctifying me.

Recently, I read a biography of a man named Mosab Hasan Yosef. You may have heard of this guy. Mosab was born in Palestine to a Muslim family. His father was one of the primary leaders in Hamas, one of the most notorious terrorist cells today. In 1997, at the age of 18, Mosab became a double agent, working for Israel and feeding them massive amounts of information about his father and the terrorist cell he led. In 1999, Mosab had a chance encounter with a British man who invited him to a Bible study. Mosab went to this Bible study, which began a chain of events that over the course of many years that of much inner- turmoil and deep soul searching, he eventually became a Christian. This story, perhaps more than any other story that I have ever read, left me marveling at the great lengths God will go to in order to draw sinners to Himself and reconcile them through the blood of Christ.

I tell you that story for a couple of reasons. First, because Mosab's story, at the surface, is a lot more interesting than my own. The events that God used to draw Mosab to himself are not like mine. My father is an American. He certainly isn't a terrorist; He is a small business owner. And I have never been some double agent secretly feeding the inner workings of my dad's business to the other companies competing against him. So, to some my story might not be all that intriguing. In addition, and I say this hopefully without sounding prideful, I have not only never been drunk, but I haven't even tasted alcohol. By God's grace, I have a pure relationship with my girlfriend. So in the world's eyes, I would be considered, and have been considered for a while now, "a good kid."

But I know differently than the World. While Mosab's story perhaps demonstrates God's relentless pursuit of His elect much better than my own story does, I know that God, because of His satisfying, merciful love for us, went to great lengths to draw me to Himself as well. Just as I marveled at God when I read Mosab's story, I also marvel at the incredible things God has done in my life as well, especially when I think about how God has been providentially working in my life.

The Beginning Conversion

At 10 years old, I was attending an Awana service at First Baptist Church. On that night, I heard and believed I was a sinner. It was the first time I realized that Christianity was more than just going to church, I realized not everyone was automatically a Christian. I had always believed in Heaven, but that night I realized that Hell was real and sinners deserved to go there. So this was the first pivotal moment in God's pursuit of me. In fact, the date of this event was written in the Bible I used at the time, right next to a note about Pizza at Locomotion. I don't remember the pizza and locomotion, but I remember that night.

As I got older, I got involved in an incredible youth group. I did the Church camp thing and the mission trip thing. I loved church and my Youth Group. My Youth Pastor proclaimed Truth. By God's grace I stayed away from the quote-unquote "big sins" though my parents will be the first to tell you that I was disobedient, told lies, disrespected them, among other things. While I led Bible Studies, taught a Sunday school class and did many "churchy things," God was still pursuing me.

Growth

Perhaps the most significant thing happened in 9^th Grade when I began to realize that God didn't just want my trust, but he wanted my life. It was during this time that I surrendered to vocational ministry.

Over the next few years as I planned my steps, God directed my path as the Proverb says and God soveriegnly brought me to SBU. It was within my first year at SBU that my life began to dramatically change. During the past few years God's relentless pursuit has been most evident. Within my first year of college, God used an organization called the Way of the Master to show me that I wasn't just a generic "sinner." I realized that I was a wretched law breaker. I began to understand the magnitude of the countless lies I had spoken, the disobedience to my parents, even the few instances where I used God's name as a cuss word. It was during this time that I realized that Jesus saw lust as adultery in the heart and hatred as murder in the heart. I began to see myself as God saw me: A wretched lying, thieving, adulterous murderer….who disobeyed his parents.

While all of this was going on, I was sitting in Bible classes everyday where I was beginning to better understand God's Word on a personal and scholarly level. The Holy Spirit brought God's Words to life.

This was also the time I became a nerd and started playing sermons in my truck instead of music. I discovered men of God such as John MacArthur, John Piper, Paul Washer, Al Mohler and others, all of whom I thank God for. As a result of these things, I began to understand the true significance of the word "repentance." I realized that out of all the "Christian" things I did in High school, I forgot a big component of the Christians life- I had forgotten to repent! I cannot remember one time that I actually turned away from a habitual sin. Through these men, I learned that God commands us to repent, to turn from our sins and to turn to Christ because God hates sin.

Also, God brought an amazing lady into my life who is now my Girlfriend. God has given her a gift I hope to develop more fully in my life and that is a sensitivity to sin. The Holy Spirit used her as a means to show me that certain movies and television shows that I watched do not please God. So this began a long, sometimes difficult process, in which the Holy Spirit began purging my life of idols and filth, something that he continues to do.

To top it all off, my father and I began to grow closer together and I began to see an example of a hard working man whom God was graciously sanctifying. I saw a man who truly desires to glorify God with His life.

So through all of these things, and many more I have not described, I began to see that God was providentially causing all of this to happen for a purpose. And that purpose was to sanctify me to further His glory. He began to grow me. God's Word showed me the disgusting nature of sin and how much God detests it. Since then, the Holy Spirit has been continually growing me. For the first time in my life I am able to look back and see a bumpy yet progressively upward line in the sanctification process. I went from believing mere facts to actually being constrained by a sense of the love of God. For that reason I began to consecrate my life to Him.

Gospel

God gave me a new heart with new desires. My desire became to know His word and further His fame. My love for doctrine has grown and God has opened my eyes to amazing Truths in the bible that, at one point in my life, I would have been appalled at. The past year at Buffalo has been one of the most immensely beneficial years of my life as God has used the preaching of His Word from Tim to grow me in godliness. In addition, it is nearly impossible for me to teach those youth on Wednesday nights and Sunday morning and not learn and grow.

Now up to this point, I have mentioned a lot of names of people who have played significant roles in my life. But as a filthy wretched sinner who was previously dead in his sins, none of the people I have mentioned could have any eternal or spiritual impact on me at all, by themselves. Rather it is only be the grace of God that anybody could have any effect on my stony heart.

The only reason I stand up here tonight, the only reason I have seen any growth and sanctification at all is because 2000 years ago Jesus Christ, fully God fully man, loved mankind enough to come and live a perfect, sinless life. Yet he was hung on a cross where he bore our sins in His body. He took our sins upon Himself and took our punishment. God poured out His wrath upon Jesus even though it was us who deserved it. Jesus, to be obedient to the Father and because his love for us was great, absorbed the wrath for us. He died and paid the penalty of our sins. Three days later He rose from the dead, proving that all He said was true, defeating sin and death forever and guaranteeing the resurrection, sanctification, and glorification of all believers. Christ paid the debt that we owed to God because of our sin. And thus God demands our lives. He demands that we repent and trust in Jesus Christ alone. By God's grace, He regenerated me and I trusted in Him. He gave me a new heart, with new desires. Because of God's mercy in relentlessly pursuing me until I listened, I stand before you tonight realizing that this message should affect the entire World. And I want to play a role, however insignificant, in God's story to further His glory and share His love.

From Kevin DeYoung: Dealing with Disappointment In The Church

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 13:56:00 +0000

Due to an unexpected family emergency last week and, thus, an extremely busy schedule and workload this week, I am finding it hard to post anything. Therefore, I am posting these posts from Kevin DeYoungs blog called, "Dealing with Disappointment in the Church." It is well worth the read for Pastors, elders, leaders, and all church members. If I am caught up by next week, perhaps I will have a new post for you.

Dealing with Disappointment in the Church (1)

Dealing with Disappointment in the Church (2)

Dealing with Disappointment in the Church (3)

Is Good Friday Good?

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 11:00:00 +0000

By Matt Tyler

Earlier this week I got a call from a couple of my family members. These family members are on the side of my family who are not Christians. They had somehow gotten into a discussion about Easter, which ultimately led to Jesus' resurrection. Surprisingly one of them did not know the True meaning of Easter. This caused them to call me so that I could explain it to them. One of the questions that stuck out to me during this conversation had to do with Good Friday. The question was this: If Good Friday was the day that Jesus died, why do people call it "Good" Friday?

That was an excellent question and was a perfect opportunity for me to be able to share the Gospel. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus, experienced the most horrific death in the history of the World. He faced excruciating beatings and torture. A crown of long, thick, sharp thorns was thrust onto His skull. His legs and arms were nailed to a cross in which he faced painful hours of slow suffocation. We've all read the stories that attempt to give us a picture of the kind of death Jesus faced. And for those of us who have been Christians for any length of time we have heard Pastors, teachers, and fellow believers explain that the most difficult part wasn't necessarily the physical nature of Jesus' painful death. Rather, Jesus, the perfect lamb, bore our sins in His body and thus experienced broken fellowship from His Father. God the Father poured out the full fury of His wrath upon Jesus Christ as punishment for our sins.

So what is 'good' about that? Many in the world would not see this as good at all. In fact, many take the stance that this is a form of "cosmic child abuse," to quote Steve Chalke's famous line. Indeed, even among professed Christians, some would argue that this message of the Cross is "harsh" and, therefore, they choose to take the focus off of the cross altogether.

On one hand the message of the cross is very harsh. The Cross shows us how serious our sin is. Our sin results in death and hell. In order to be redeemed and have our sins forgiven, we need God to step in and take our place and punishment. We needed Jesus to be our ransom! Apparently, it was so harsh that it caused Jesus to be in such agony that He sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:44). Moreover, Jesus tells the disciples that this will be a time of great suffering for Him (Luke 22:15).

On the other hand the message of the cross is very good. In fact, it is the harshness of the cross, that makes Good Friday so good. It was Jesus Christ alone and the work that He alone did that bought us forgiveness of sins and Eternal life. No one else could have done this! Wayne Grudem explains the necessity of Jesus' suffering on the cross, "If Jesus was going to accomplish the work that the Father sent him to do, and if people were going to be redeemed for God, it was necessary for him to die on the cross." Luke says something similar in his Gospel: "was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory (Luke 24:26)?"

We take this for granted, so please understand this: There was no other way for God to save us than for Christ to die in our place. It is only the blood of Christ that would be able to really take away our sins (Hebrews 9:25-26). The harsh truth of the matter is that sin must be punished. One of the penalties for our sins is suffering. Christ took that suffering upon Himself. Think of the pain he must have felt from the pure agony of the cross. Now multiply that with the realization that Jesus was perfect and therefore hated sin with his entire being- and yet he bore our sins. Add to this the fact that He was abandoned by friends( Mathew 26:56) and even God (Matthew 27:46). Once again multiply this by the fact that He bore the wrath of God upon Himself. Grudem, again, helps explain this, "Jesus became the object of the intense hatred of sin and vengeance against sin that God had patiently stored up since the beginning of the World."

I could go on. The point is this: Good Friday is good because it is in the death of Christ that we find the only way to be reconciled to God, forgiven of our sins, and Eternal Life. We deserve eternal torment in Hell as penalty for our sins. But God has made the only way for us to be forgiven, when we repent and trust in Christ, and it is all because of that Friday 2,000 years ago. You've heard this before, but don't miss it. That is not good news. That is spectacular, wonderful, amazing (I don't have the words) news. Let's rename Good Friday. It is now called Spectacular, Wonderful, Amazing Friday.

I have posted this song on here before, but I am going to do it again. It is powerful.

The Power of the Cross
By Keith and Kristyn Getty

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev'ry bitter thought,
Ev'ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
"Finished!" the vict'ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

FINAL CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

___________________________________________________________

On a slightly different note: Preach the WORD this weekend. Tell people what Good Friday and Easter are truly about!

Hosanna in His Lowest

noreply@blogger.com (Mitch Lynn) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 06:20:00 +0000

By: Mitch Lynn

The phrase “Triumphal Entry” says it all. Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, just as the prophet Zechariah had predicted—“say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” I used to picture Jesus coming into Jerusalem like Prince Ali in Aladdin, with elephants dancing and monkeys breakdancing to ‘Party in the USA’ by Miley Cyrus. I mean, what isn’t great about the crowd laying down palm branches and even their garments as they shout “Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest”? So why on a day when I should be joyous and celebrating am I feeling sad, and a tad depressed? It is because this was NOT a high point for Jesus. In fact, Luke explains that this is one of the lowest points in Jesus’ life: ‘as He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it’. Take away the music, the elephants, and the pop-locking monkeys, and what do you have? Picture a Jewish carpenter sitting on a donkey, His worn feet dragging on dirt and rocks, weeping over an unrepentant city. As this man enters the city people are celebrating something, but not Him. ‘When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, Who is this? The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee’. 3 years of ministry and not even his disciples understood (John 12:16). Jesus entered the city distressed and upset. Those who screamed “Hosanna, hosanna!” cried out , “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”five days later. The disciples that followed Him 3 long years will soon betray Him. The ones that claim to have loved Him will deny they ever knew Him. As the crowd shouted “Hosanna in the highest,” I can imagine Jesus sitting on that smelly donkey, weeping over the sin of humanity.

So as we wave our palm branches and sing ‘Hosanna Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest’, remember that our sin is the reason He was put on that cross on that Good Friday, and it was our sin that struck the nails, and we are the reason he needed to die.

Father, thank you for your Son. Forgive us, for we know not what we do.
Amen

My Difficult Mission Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:23:00 +0000

"Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life." Mark 10:29-30

Jesus says that anyone who leaves his family behind for His sake and for the Gospel will receive a hundredfold now in this time and in eternity. But what of someone who goes to his family for Christ's sake and for the Gospel? I think the same principle holds true.

Without going into too much detail into my personal family life, I will soon be going to visit my mother, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and others for five days. This side of my family are unbelievers. This has been a huge burden for me growing up and, while I have had opportunities to share and have done so, this is the first time that I am going with an intent to share the Gospel.

The past two years have been a huge growing time for me. I have always had a realization that Christians MUST verbally share their faith, but only in the past couple of years have I truly come to understand that significance and applied it to my life.

Today I will be going on the single most difficult mission trip of my life. My intent is to verbally share the Gospel with my family as well as be a light with my actions. I ask for your prayers over the course of the next five days- that God would regenerate and awaken and break stony, hard hearts; that my family will repent of their sins and believe the Gospel of Christ; and that God would be glorified.

Please pray that I have courage to witness. I love sharing the Gospel. But sharing the Gospel with your family can be difficult, challenging, and complicated. However, souls are on the line and I can do nothing else but preach the Word in season and out of season.

Oh God, help me. Oh God, save them. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria.

My Thoughts on Soulforce

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:47:00 +0000

By Matt Tyler

Today, I was interviewed for my thoughts on Soulforce coming to SBU. For those who do not know, Soulforce is an organization that by "relentless nonviolent resistance, works to end the religious and political oppression of Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning people." Every year they go on an "Equality Ride" in order to visit campuses to promote Soulforce's cause and beliefs. Many of the colleges visited are members of the Counil for Christian colleges and Universities. In other words, they believe my university's policies are discriminatory against LGBTQ students.

Much can be said about this and I am quite certain that I will have future blog posts on this subject, especially as the day approaches. Today, however, I was interviewed about my thoughts on Soulforce coming to SBU. Once the article is written I will try and get permission to post it on the blog, but for now I will post some of my responses to these questions. I took with me some notes (okay, more like paragraphs) on the points I wanted to make sure to stay on. I did not say everything I wrote down and I said things I did not write down, but this is a general overview of my thoughts on the subject (I added a bit from the draft I took with me to clear some things up).

What are your personal beliefs on homosexuality?

I want to make sure that I go back to Scripture for everything. My Christianity affects my outlook on all aspects of life. So I want to see what the Word of God says about it. The Bible is God breathed and therefore my ultimate standard. My standard is not science, popular opinion, or the fear of hurting others' feelings. The Bible is clear in both Romans 1:26-27 and 1 Corinthians 6:9 that homosexuality is a sin. Those verses are clear. Romans 1 is clear that, when people continue in sin and unbelief, God "gives them over" to their wickedness in order to show the hopelessness of life apart from God. Of course, I also believe that all sinners, including myself, are deserving of God's wrath. Our sin is offensive to God and we deserve to be punished for them. The good news, though, is that all people, including homosexuals, can be forgiven, on the basis of God grace, if they turn from their sins and trust in Christ for salvation. And God promises victory over sin to those who trust in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11). However, the Bible is clear in Romans 6:11-14, Romans 8, and 1 John 1:5-7 that those who truly have repented and trusted in Christ will not continue in sin. While all Christians fight sin, and they will so until Heaven, true Christians will not live a lifestyle that is characterized by sin. Therefore a practicing homosexual, along with anyone who continues practicing willful known sin, is not a true believer. The difference is that a Christian fights, struggles, and falls into sin, while the unbeliever blatantly continues to sin refusing to acknowledge God. The normal pattern of life for the Christian is a progressive growth in sanctification.

How do you feel about Soulforce coming to SBU?

This is a question I want to be as clear as possible on. SBU has been working very hard since Soulforce announced they were coming. I know a lot of work has gone into this, a lot of things have been discussed; hopefully a lot of prayers have been prayed. There are factors that I am sure I do not know. In addition, I am a student with limited info. And so for those reasons I don't know if I have a right to speak definitively on this situation. I have sat in a few RA meetings with other students, as well as in a meeting with faculty and staff, and I have personally talked with Rob Harris. I have seen and heard things in those meetings that have both encouraged me and discouraged me. Overall, I think that SBU has handled this situation with care. I am certain that there are things that I probably would have handled differently. Perhaps there are things that should have been considered that were not. But let me put it this way: Whether or not it is appropriate that SBU is allowing Soulforce to come, at this point, isn't the point. SBU has made that decision. And whether that decision is right or wrong, they are allowing Soulforce on campus. So looking at it in that light I think they are and have handled the out workings of this process well and will hopefully continue to do so.

How do you hope for SBU's student body to respond to Soulforce?

I hope and urge every person who reads this to spend an extended time reading, meditating, and praying over 2 Timothy 2:14-4:5 and then responding appropriately by applying to their lives the Truths that those few chapters contain. Summarized, these verses say we are not to quarrel, babble irreverently and we are told to not have anything to do with foolish, ignorant controversies for several reasons, all of which can be read in that passage. Instead, Christians are told to present ourselves to God by handling the Bible rightly and unashamed about what the Bible says. We are to treat people with kindness, we are to teach patiently, correcting those who are wrong in hopes some will be saved from hell. We should remember the warning in 3:1-9. We should flee sin in our own lives and depart from iniquity and MOST IMPORTANTLY we are to preach the Word of God to all people at all times regardless of whether we think they have heard the Gospel or not. In other words, we are to do our Christian duty of verbally sharing the Gospel with all people. The Gospel being that men and women can be reconciled to God because of the work of Christ when they repent of their sins and trust in Christ for their salvation. Christ lived a perfect life when we could not, died on the Cross, bearing our sins in his body, and absorbing the wrath of God due to us. He arose three days later defeating sin and death. When we trust in Christ and turn from our sins we will be saved.

Stop Confessing and Start Walking

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:20:00 +0000

By: Matt Tyler

The title of this post is a bit deceiving. I sort of chose it to gather a little bit of attention. Let me make myself clear: I am not opposed to confessing our sins to one another. In fact, James 5:16 talks about confessing our sins to one another. Yet our culture's practice of confessing sin to one another is, I think, different than the Biblical model of confessing sins. In our culture, confessing sin usually turns into a pity party in which Person A confesses his sin to Person B, C, and D. Person A never makes a genuine commitment to change and usually falls deeper into sin. Failing to remind Person A of the Gospel, Persons B, C, and D never help A fight his sin. Furthermore, confession of sins is usually done with peers of the same age. I find this disturbing on a few different levels. As for myself, it is difficult to confess my sins to my peers. Many of them are more than willing to gossip about a wide range of issues, why should I entrust them with my secret sins? In addition, many of my peers struggle with the same sins that I struggle with. They cannot offer me any help or advice because they are struggling with these sins themselves. I find it much more beneficial and useful to go to my parents, an older person in my Church, or my Pastor. They have experience in mortifying the sins I have in my life because these wise people have already mortified them. Bottom line: I am not big on confessing sins with my peers.

I want to focus specifically though on something I said earlier. Often times I see professed believers enslaved to their own sin. Professed Christians are completely willing to whine (yes I used that word purposely) about their sin and never actually change. I know I have been guilty of this. The problem with this is that Christians do not live a lifestyle of sin. A Christian progressively grows in sanctification that results in greater maturity and conformity to God's moral law (thank you Tabletalk!). Romans 6:14 is very clear: "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." Go back and reread that verse. This does not mean that Christians do not sin. This means that Christians do not live lives that are characterized by sin. Christians fall into sin; they do not swim in it. When the Holy Spirit convicts a Christian with a sin, the Christian mortifies that sin (see John MacArthur's book: The Vanishing Conscience).

I find it sad that so many are willing to open up about their sin and yet never change. It shows a hardness of heart that would give Pharaoh a run for his money. It demonstrates a lack of maturity. Worse still, it gives evidence to the fact that post-modern American Christianity is not Biblical Christianity.

The solution to this problem is quite simple. When I mentioned it to a group of my friends one time, not only did they not believe me, they flat out denied it. Apparently they haven't been reading Romans: "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus(6:11)." Romans 6:15-20 basically says to become slaves to righteousness which leads to sanctification. Romans 8: 2 says, "For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:5 says that those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

The solution is the Gospel. Jesus lived a perfect life fulfilling all righteousness. We could not do that. He then died on a cross in order to pay for the sins of His elect. Three days later he arose demonstrating victory over sin and death. For those who turn from their sins and put their trust in Christ God will save them. This salvation will result in the Holy Spirit's process of sanctification. Christian, do you want to be free from sin? Walk in the Spirit! Walk in Victory! Unbeliever, do you want to be free from sin? Trust in Christ!

In John Bunyan's classic allegory, the Pilgrims Progress, Christian and Hopeful are walking towards the Celestial City. Somewhere along the way, they veer of course because they believe they have found a shorter path (this is sin). Veering off course brought them to Giant Despair who locked them up in Doubting Castle (this is where sin leads). Having been trapped and beaten for days, Christian and Hopeful find themselves wallowing in their sin fearing that there is no escape. Finally Christian makes a discovery:

'Now a little before it was day, Good Christian, as one half amazed, brake out in this passionate speech, "What a fool," quoth he," am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty? I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will (I am persuaded) open any lock in Doubting Castle." Then said Hopeful, "That's good news; good brother, pluck it out of they bosom and try." Then Christian pulled it out of his bosom and began to try at the dungeon door, whose bolt (as he turned the key) gave back, and the door flew open with ease, and Christian and Hopeful both came out….Then they went on and came to the King's highway again, and so were safe.'

My Thoughts on Doug Pagitt Coming to My School

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:00:00 +0000

By Matt Tyler

"You can't be content with people who have pieces of the Truth." John MacArthur

I can only imagine how unpopular this post will be. I am already wondering how many comments I will have either on this blog itself, Facebook, or in person. My only request is that all, and I mean ALL, who before reading will commit to doing the Biblical practice of examining oneself. I have had to think about whether my blog post is written in a Christ-like way (and I understand some will disagree with me on that). I ask that you do the same with your comments. I also ask that you read EVERY single Scripture that is referenced to in this post. Everything must go back to the Word. Read the verses. Please. And finally, make sure you read the whole post. Don't skip around. I realize this is an extremely long blog post. But read it all anyway, with the verses, while examining yourself! Please do not comment without doing that. And I promise to do the same.

Stop right here. Don't go any further until you go read Matthew 23 and Luke 20:45-47. Read these passages slowly. Take note of how Jesus confronted false teachers in his days. Examine the language that Jesus used. When I read these passages I see a Jesus that is much different from the Jesus taught about in much of our culture.

I have been familiar with the Emerging Church Movement for a few years now. I've read books and heard talks given about the movement and I believe that I can adequately critique the movement based on the Word of God and the research I have done. While I could spend several posts on the dangers, inadequacies and problems with the Emerging Church Movement, I don't see it as beneficial since others have done it much better than I ever could (see The Truth War by John MacArthur or Why We're Not Emergent by Deyoung and Kluck).

While much of the Emerging Church is crumbling and dying out, the "heroes" of the Emerging Church Movement are still around and they are having an impact on many people. One such leader is a man named Doug Pagitt. Doug Pagitt is the founding pastor of Solomon's Porch. It has been reported that he is the one who coined the phrase "Emergent Village." Having read some of Pagitt's work and listened to some of what he has said then, I had a lot of concern when I found out he would be speaking in Chapel at my university. I started posting videos on Facebook and encouraged some to write letters to one of our administrators questioning why Pagitt would be allowed to speak in our Chapel. It seems I was not the only one concerned.

After this particular administrator received letters and did some research on Pagitt, he decided that it would be better if Pagitt spoke in an evening session. Students were not required to attend. So on September 28^th and 29^th Pagitt came to SBU to speak. To be perfectly honest I use the word "speak" very lightly. Pagitt had several questions aimed at him. However, I am thoroughly convinced he did not answer one question while he was here. Oh, he talked. A lot. But he talked in circles.

I am not going to recount Doug Pagitt's talks on Monday and Tuesday night in much detail. Much of what he said can be found online or in his books. All I will say is that:

Doug Pagitt is wrong on his view of Hell. The Bible is clear: Hell is a literal place of eternal torment for sinners. We all deserve to go to Hell. Throwing Hell out cheapens the work my Savior did for me on the cross.
Here are just some of the verses..
Doug Pagitt is wrong on his view of the Gospel. It does not change depending on the person. Everyone needs to hear that we have sinned against a holy God. We deserve hell. However, God in his great love and kindness sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross. He bore our sins and died but rose three days later. We can be reconciled to God when we turn from our sins and put our trust in Jesus Christ. That is the message of the Bible.
Doug Pagitt is wrong when it comes to his "quasi"- Universalist stance. A Universalist, has many connotations, but let's just sum it up as someone who believes that all roads lead to Heaven. Doug has never given a clear statement on what happens to people who do not put their trust in Christ. His book, "An Emergent Manifesto of Hope" has statements that indicate that Christ is not the only way to Heaven.
Doug Pagitt is wrong about the Bible. It is God's Holy, inerrant, inspired Word. It is useful for teaching, rebuking, and training in righteousness. God is the center of our faith, but He has revealed himself in His Word and His Word is the Bible. We need the Bible.

There are other things, but that is enough for now. I really was not surprised by what he said at all. Instead of recounting all that Pagitt said, I want to focus on my reactions and thoughts about Doug Pagitt coming to SBU. I was against Pagitt coming to speak in Chapel from the beginning. I have read and heard many things from Pagitt. And I had come to a certain viewpoint about him before he came. Now that he has come and gone, my view is even stronger. It is with much caution that I type this and put it online, but I feel that I cannot remain faithful to the Word of God if I do not state what is truly in my heart. Doug Pagitt's beliefs are opposite of orthodox Christianity. I do not think it right to accept him into the fold when he believes things that are clearly heretical.

I can understand that, perhaps due to someone's lack of knowledge, Pagitt was scheduled to come to SBU. However, I cannot comprehend the fact that we allowed him to speak for two days without any sort of confrontation of the part of our professors and administration. I know some professors counseled with students after the sessions. I know some of the professors (hopefully) disagreed with Pagitt's talks. But no letter was sent out and no statement was made about the wrong things that were said. Indeed, not one of the blatantly unscriptural things that Pagitt said (and has said in the past) was brought to the attention of the students. In my opinion, students should have received either a letter or a public statement explaining the problems of Pagitt's view and the correct Biblical stance on those things.

I realize that people believe we should be willing to listen to other's beliefs. I realize that people believe we should be challenged in what we believe. But to invite a wolf into the fold of God to speak and to give him authority without any sort of reprimand is, to me, unthinkable! We are called to love Truth. Why would we want to invite someone in who errs in his "truth?" 2 Thessalonians 2:10 says, "They are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." So why invite him in? Is the answer 2 Timothy 4:3? Are we a people who do not want sound teaching? Are we a people who only want our ears itched? Are we accumulating for ourselves teachers to suit our own passion? To me, this is exactly what we did with Doug Pagitt. However, My Bible says, "but as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine (Titus 2:1)."

I admit that immediately after I heard Pagitt speak I spent a while trying to figure out what I could take away from Pagitt's talk. While I think I can take away things about Pagitt and the experience of hearing him, I am now under the persuasion that, as far as what Pagitt said, there is not one thing I can take away from it. If I believe someone is a wolf in sheep's clothing and if I believe this person's teaching is contradictory to the direct teachings of the Bible, then I cannot see what positive things I can take away from that person. Can I take anything positive away from what the Pharisees said? I do not think so. Can I take anything positive away from the Judaizers beliefs in Galatians? I do not think so. I base this on Ephesians 5:11-14, Romans 16:17-18, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, Titus 3:10-11. When confronting the false teacher's in his day, Jesus said to "Beware of the scribes and Pharisees.…" He did not say, have a discussion with them, look for the positives, have a conversation about your disagreements. No. He said to beware of them.

It greatly saddens me that so many within Christendom do not have discernment. So many are deceived. I do not say these things about Doug Pagitt just for the sake of saying thing. Trust me, it would be a lot easier to not say anything at all. If I felt I could go without saying anything, I would. Oh how I long, hope, and pray for the day when American Christianity looks like it is supposed to look. How much more beneficial would it be to get strong, Biblically-minded Christian speakers who preach the Word at SBU? Why do we need to get an "emergent and postmodern" outlook on engaging the culture? Why can we not get the Bible's outlook? IT ALONE is useful for teaching. We should be engaging the culture with the Word of God. It doesn't need our help to be relevant. It is relevant because it is from God.

I long to see God glorified through Christians hearing and proclaiming the Word. I want to be about the business of teaching people the True Gospel: that Jesus came to this earth as fully God and fully man; he died on the cross and bore the sins of those who deserve hell; three days later he rose from the dead, and whoever repents and trusts in Him will be saved. Oh what wonderful fellowship I would love to have with Doug Pagitt- if he would only preach that message. I am tired of people cheapening what my Savior did for me on the Cross. There is no room for that within Christianity. The Gospel message of the Bible is perfect. It does not need changing. It does not need anyone's help. No one can make it any more relevant than it already is. What we need to do, as faithful ambassadors of God, is to proclaim it every day to ourselves and to others.

Please join me in praying for Doug Pagitt and all leaders within the Emerging Church. Please pray for my school, SBU, and the students. Pray that we would all look to the Bible as God's ultimate Word to us to teach us and instruct us so that we can grown in our knowledge and understanding of Him

Evil Man and Gracious God

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:14:00 +0000

By Matt Tyler

"Matt is not righteous; Matt does not seek God. He has turned aside; he has become worthless; Matt Tyler does not do good. His throat is an open grave; He uses his tongue to deceive. The venom of asps is under his lips. Matt's mouth is full of curses and bitterness. His feet are swift to shed blood; in Matt's paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace He does not know. There is no fear of God before Matt's eyes." Romans 3:10-18

If I walked into a modern day physiologist's office and repeated this passage (with my name added of course) they would immediately prescribe that I come back every week until my self-esteem problem gets fixed. However, I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that this would not help me. If I said anything less than this passage of Romans about myself then I would be a liar. This passage, written about me, is completely and utterly true. I am not righteous. I do not seek God. I have turned away from God and do no good. I do not fear God. My ways are full of sin.

And this isn't even the half of it.

I have told so many lies. I have stolen so many things (and this includes more than just physical objects). I have blasphemed the name of the God who gave me life. I am an adulterer and a murderer at heart according to Jesus. I do not care about the things of God.

And this isn't even the half of it.

The point is: I am bad.

I don't know how to describe it any better than that.

Revelation 21:8 says this about me: "As for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, (in other words, as for Matt) their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

Here's an understatement: I am in trouble. And just to be clear: The Lake that burns with fire and sulfur is eternal punishment in Hell. And to say it would be anything less, as so many so often do, would not be justice. In other words, because of my sin, if I do not get eternal punishment in the lake of fire then I would not be getting what I deserved.

This stops me in my tracks. I am in a heap of trouble.

But praise the Lord that this passage was written about me too:

"Since Matt has been justified by faith, he has peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him he has obtained access by faith into this grace in which he stands, and Matt rejoices in hope of the glory of God. More than that, Matt rejoices in his sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put Matt to shame, because God's love has been poured into Matt's heart through the Holy Spirit who has been given to him. For while Matt was still weak, at the right time Christ died for him (the ungodly)… Since, therefore, Matt has been justified by His blood, much more shall he be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For while Matt was an enemy he has been reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that he is reconciled, shall Matt be saved by His life." Romans 5:1-11

My response to the first bit of news, as a Christian, is humility. I am humbled by the fact that I do not even seek God. I do not even fear God. I have rebelled and deserve Hell. And yet I know and trust that Jesus Christ has saved me. And this salvation gives me so much: peace, reconciliation, joy, eternal life, and so much more. So much can be written on this subject, but I would rather take the time to reflect for myself rather than write everything down.

What about you, though, fellow Christian? Does this humble you? Does this give you cause to rejoice?

And unbeliever who may be reading this: what is your response? There is only one appropriate response: Repent and trust the Savior and you will be saved from your sin and that lake that burns. You will be united with the Father. You will be free from sin. However, so many will continue in sin. I pray that you will be the former. And I pray that I will be humbled that I have received so much, so undeservingly.

Question about Jesus in Luke 22

noreply@blogger.com (Mitch Lynn) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:29:00 +0000

By Mitchell Lynn

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, with school and work it has been hard to find time to write, but I am working on a post about holding your tongue, and another about fear.

Knowing that we have some smart people reading this blog, I wanted to throw a question out there for debate: Recently Jesus' words in Luke 22:36-38 have caught me off guard. These words are often skimmed in Jesus' crucifixion story, but I think they have massive significance.

Right after Jesus tells Simon/Peter that He will be betrayed by him three times Jesus says: ""When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?"
"Nothing," they answered. He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment. "The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords."

"That is enough," he replied.

These words were hard to digest, yet I think I have come to a conclusion on what Jesus meant. However, I would like to hear your thoughts. Be sure to put his words in the context of what happens later. In Matthew's gospel, after cutting off the ear of the servant of the high priest, Jesus says to Peter:

Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"

Why did Jesus tell His disciples to get swords, and then disciplines them for using them?

Did Jesus know what his "mission" was at this point?

What was Jesus trying to accomplish here?

Comment and let me know what you think...

Holy, Holy, Holy

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:49:00 +0000

By Matt Tyler

"And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord
God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come." And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Worthy are You, Our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." Revelation 4:8-11

Isn't it always about God? Isn't that what it's all about? What is it? It is everything. Everything is about God. Always and forever. And the best thing about this Truth is that it's supposed to be; it should be.

So many amazing Truths about God can be pulled from these four verses. How does one write about such a loaded passage in a way that does justice to the passage? One cannot. However, by the mercy of God who gives us the Holy Spirit, perhaps a reader, or at least myself, will be encouraged.

This is such a marvelous picture of the worship of our God and Savior. In a world where worship is often seen as boring unless "I" get something out of it, this passage does a great job of showing a fearsome group offering up praise to the Lord. This worship is anything but boring. This worship is anything but selfish! Day and night the beings pictured in Revelation offer up praise to our Holy God.

And doesn't He deserve it? Think about all the God gives to those who love Him. Even the mercies He offers to unbelievers are an incredible thing. In view of God's love for us, our lives should be characterized by "day and night" worship (Romans 12:1-2 for example) of the Lord God. If we really believe He is holy, should not our lives portray complete obedience to the Father? Should not our days be dramatically affected because of the belief that God is the Almighty who sits on the throne forever and ever.

If the Lord really is worth to receive glory and honor and power then we need to be a people who daily, minute by minute, hour by hour, ascribe to Him glory and honor and power.

Why?

Because He Is. And if He really Is, then He deserves it. And if He really Is and really does deserve worship from Creation THEN worshipping God is the best thing for us. We do not worship God for us; we worship God because He is God. However, By His grace he allows us to worship Him and this is the best thing for us.

Everything is completely, utterly, amazingly for God's glory. Church is not necessarily about you or me. Worship is not about you or me. Heaven is not about you or me. Even Jesus' death, which was for you and me, was primarily to glorify God.

Today, fall before Him. And not because you want some emotional experience. Let's face it: even when we worship genuinely we do not always "feel" like God is there (sometimes there are desert periods). In addition, do not fall before Him because the posture is somehow "more Holy" or "magical." But fall before Him because of His great Worth, because of His great glory. Fall before the throne of God because He deserves to be honored. And do this realizing that you are able to do it only because He has had mercy upon you and allows you to. Do this realizing that only those whose sins have been covered by the blood of Christ (through repentance and faith) have access to God (Romans 5:2 is one proof of this).

Worship Him.

The Power of the Cross

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:17:00 +0000

By: Matt Tyler

"What is the Gospel?"

This has been a question that has been thrown around repeatedly over the past several years. While I believe there are certain contexts in which it is okay to ask this question, it is sad to realize that so many who profess Christianity do not know what the Gospel of Jesus Christ actually is. And if they cannot even answer the question that is the most basic to our Faith then how can they be genuine Christians? I think what Jesus said is true: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter (Matthew 7)."

I would love to spend an entire blog post on this subject expanding on it and looking for some of the sad reasons why this is. However, I want to focus much more narrowly today. Since so many who profess Christianity don't know what the Gospel is then one would think that this would be displayed in the types of songs that we sing. Indeed, this is exactly the case in today! So many contemporary songs (not all, mind you) are more about worshipping "me," "myself," "I," "we," and "us." The fact of the matter is so many Christian songs lack any real theology or even praise of the One True God.

While this is another subject for another day, I would like to post a song in which the Gospel is understood and proclaimed. "The Power of the Cross" by Kristyn and Kieth Getty is one of my favorite songs and truly captures the heart of the Gospel. The song is edifying to the worshipper, but more importantly, I believe, glorifying to the Creator. Let this be the song on your heart today:

(Click on the phrases to see Bible verses dealing with that line.)

The Power of the Cross

"The Power of the Cross"
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS: This, the pow'r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Every bitter thought,
Every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
"Finished!" the victory cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

FINAL CHORUS:
This, the power of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Preach The Word! Part Two

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:00:00 +0000

By Matt Tyler

I have a heart for people. But more than that, I have a heart for people to repent and trust in the God who gave them life. I don't want to see people go to Hell. I have been given so much and I just want to give back a portion of what Jesus has given me. The most loving thing I can do for someone is to proclaim the Message to them. Because of their sin, they are going to face something terrible: Judgment Day. And so am I.

I want to be able to tell God, who mercifully and graciously saved a wretched and disgusting sinner like me, that I followed his command to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-2). I want to tell Him that I preached to all the World that those who believe will be saved but those that do not will be condemned (Mark 16:15-16). I want to tell God that I preached the Gospel that he commanded us to preach (Luke 24:45-47). At the same time, I don't want to be responsible for someone not hearing the Gospel. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel

A person will have to face God whether I talk to him or not. His sins would send him to Hell whether I talked to Him or not. But I love people and I want to do everything I can to tell them about Jesus. The most loving thing I can do for them is to tell them that they have sinned against a Holy God and deserve to go to Hell, like me, but the good news is that God provided a way for them to be saved in His Son, Jesus Christ.

This is illustrated in this point: If someone was about to fall off of a cliff why in the world would I go up to them and say, "Hey! Here is some money for food tonight. Okay continue on your way?" I would not do that! I would run up to that person and say, "Hey you are about to fall of this cliff. Don't go that way!!" And, you know, in the process I just might take them out to dinner. Is that something I have to do to tell them not to fall off the cliff? No. I can tell them to turn around regardless of whether I feed them or not.

What are you going to do? Christian, when are you going to be concerned for the lost? When are you going to stand up and proclaim the Gospel?

It breaks my heart if you disagree with me because I really want to stand next to you and proclaim, with you, that the Gospel is the power of God to save people. And I know that God wants us to be proclaiming His Word. I know this because it's in the Bible.

Preach the Gospel. Period.

Live it out, but for crying out loud, preach it out.

On a positive note, there are those who are doing this. Everyday people are realizing the need to get out and preach the Gospel to people. I have heard of people who have been saved within the last month because someone cared enough about them to be one of those "crazy" Christians who go door to door. I've heard of people within the last month who have come to know Christ because they were handed a track. I've heard of people who were saved thirty years after hearing a street preacher. They were saved as a direct result of not being able to get that street preacher out of their head. People are Biblically living out their faith and proclaiming the Word of God. God is doing incredible things. In countries across the World Christians are being killed because they went out onto the streets and told people that Jesus was the only way. And people came to know Christ because of it. God is working. He will win- He has won. Will you be in on it? Will you be an agent for Him to accomplish this?

I pray that you will.

[For Your Consideration]

Act 2:14-41

1 Corinthians 1:17-29

1 Corinthians 2:1-13

And a word from the Prince of Preachers:

"If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned or unprayed for."
--Charles Spurgeon

Preach the Word! Part One

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:48:00 +0000

By Matt Tyler

Stick with me. I know this is another long post. In fact, it's even long after I broke it up into two parts. Bear with me. Shorter blog posts are coming.

I have a burden. This burden is for the lost. This burden is great because Jesus lives in me and He has a burden for the lost. I've always had a deep desire to proclaim the Gospel to people. However, within the last year, God has used some people to teach me that I have not loved nor been burdened enough for the Lost like God has been.

Charles Spurgeon said this: ""Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself, be sure of that."

There is a popular quote attributed to Francis of Assisi that goes like this, "Preach the Gospel and when necessary used words." I want to say two things about this quote.

Fact #1: Francis of Assisi NEVER said this quote. I do not know how it was falsely attributed to him, but he did not say it. In fact, Francis of Assisi was a street preacher (yes, he was one of those crazy, but completely Biblical, guys who went out on the streets and preached the Truth).

However fact #1 is not as close to the importance level as fact #2: This quote is a threat to evangelism and the Gospel. This is the truth I want to focus on and explain.

Interestingly, I do not know one single person who has come to know Jesus just because someone was "nice" to them. This I largely because there are many people who are 'nice.' In fact, atheists can be nice. Jews can be nice. Buddhists can be nice. Yet all of them lack a very important thing: They have not repented of their sins and put their trust in Jesus. Please do not misunderstand me. We MUST have Biblical Character in our daily lives. We must walk in obedience to God and much of that obedience is giving to others, talking politely to others, being self-controlled, and humble. But many people forget about the verses in the Bible that say things such as this:

"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." 2 Timothy 4:2.

Or even more relevant: "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?" Romans 10:14.

Many people forget that Jesus preached the Word with words. Jesus spoke the Truth. Do you really think that people wanted to stone and eventually crucify Jesus because he fed 5000 people and healed the lame? Absolutely not. They wanted to stone Him because He told them something extremely offensive. He told them that that they had sinned against a Holy God and were on their way to spend an eternity in Hell unless they believed on Him. Instead of skipping through the Gospels and reading only the parts about giving to the poor, eating dinner with sinners, and healing people, I challenge you to go read the whole Gospel. This includes the parts where Jesus' street preaching is so hardcore that people want to stone him. Go read in Acts where Peter stood up in the middle of the city and proclaimed the Gospel to people (three thousand people repented). Go read Paul's letters where he exhorts people to preach the Gospel.

Those most opposed to preaching the Gospel with words comes from the post-modern generation that we live in. They proclaim that words are meaningless. They claim that witnessing to people is "forcing Jesus on others" or "irrelevant" or "ineffective." The problem with this stance (besides the fact that it is completely contrary to the Bible) is that it is contradictory to what they are indeed saying. How can you proclaim that words are meaningless? Am I to believe that statement is meaningless? These people proclaim the problems of indoctrinating people. What they fail to realize is that they are indoctrinating people with that kind of rubbish. Do you, sir or madam, not realize that God communicated to us in words? Do you not realize that this is exactly what the Bible is? God's WORD. Do you not realize that Moses, who wrote Genesis, and John, who wrote Revelation, communicated their messages by PREACHING (out loud).

I've alluded to the fact that I completely agree that we must live clean lives and let our actions back up what we are saying. Preaching the Gospel is not an alternative to living a clean life, sharing lives with others, pouring into their life, giving and meeting their needs. Rather, they go hand in hand. You cannot effective preach the Gospel without living it out and you cannot effectively live it out without preaching the gospel! Now, allow me to be honest with you? Those of you who speak only of, "letting your actions speak" or relational evangelism, can I just be honest with you? You are the ones who are watching your R-rated movies, you are the ones who are into pornography, you are the ones who are using disgusting and dirty languages. I am not judging you, I am doing the Biblical practice of showing you that you are being hypocritical. In other words, you can go around proclaiming all you want to that your actions should be the things that leads people to Christ, but realize you, even you, are not buying into what you are saying. Your actions prove that.

Okay, I know that was a hard paragraph to read. Realize that I myself have struggled with some of those things in the past and there are some things that I still work on every day. I am not perfect. But I am trying. By the grace of God and with the help of the Holy Spirit I will overcome sin. Go read the book of 1 John, 1 Peter, and Jude; it will completely blow your mind when it comes to holiness.
Please don't just take my word for all of this though. The only way people can be changed is through the reading and hearing of God's Word. Look at just SOME of the MANY passages in the Bible that speak on this subject:

Psalm 40:9

Matthew 4:17

1 Peter 1:25

1 Corinthians 1:23

2 Corinthians 4:5

Read those passages and check back tomorrow for my conclusion.

Encouragement From the Life of Joseph

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:00:00 +0000

By: Matt Tyler

Recently, I read Joseph: A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness by Charles Swindoll. What a great book! I highly recommend it to people. True to the book's title, the basic topic of the book is a study on the life of Joseph. His story is recorded in Genesis 37-50. It is an awesome, true, and relevant story to study especially when thinking about trials, rejection, temptations, abandonment, and a whole range of other issues. However the book especially hits home when it comes to the issue of Faith. And that, among other reasons, is why I studied the life of Joseph recently.

Anyway, I wish I could type up the entire book on this note for you to read, but that isn't very plausible. I also wish I could review the book but time does not permit me to do so. Instead, I will type up a section I came across today that might be an encouragement for Christians. This encouragement is especially for those who wish their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ would live as God calls us to live- namely, a life of holiness.

Keep this verse in mind:
"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." (1 Peter 1:13-16)

Here is a section from Charles Swindoll's 'Joseph' as it relates to Genesis 39:

"You must not be confused by the immediate results. Again, remember Joseph. After doing what was right and resisting evil, he was falsely accused and dumped in prison. And if you take the time to read ahead, you'll see that he was later forgotten for an extended period of time.

Don't be confused by the immediate results. You may lose your job. You may lose your lover (if you want to call that person a lover). You may lose acceptance by the group. You may be ridiculed. You may be bumped out of the club. You may be the only one who's not "doing it (whatever it is)." Then be the only one! If you name the name of Jesus Christ, name it fully, name it completely, and keep yourself morally clean from this day forward. Even if it means demotion or loss of stature or loss of a job. Get out! You owe it to your character and to your family. Most of all, you owe it to your God.

...Whatever your situation, no matter how alluring or pleasurable or momentarily delightful the bait looks, don't linger. Claim the supernatural strength that comes from knowing Jesus Christ and, operating under the control of His power, stand strong in His might. Right now, this very moment, determine to be a Joseph. Make up your mind to join his ranks- and from this day forward, resist.

Otherwise, you will yield. It's only a matter of time."

Let this be an encouragement to you today. 'Stand strong in His might,' as Swindoll says. This is a great reminder to me as I go out and face the World. Joseph lived. And he faced huge challenges as he lived in and faced his world. But He stood strong in the mighty arms of God.

The World, and sadly many Christians, will yield. Sometimes we can get so discouraged by that fact that we end up doing the very things we do not want to do, as the Apostle Paul says. Resist. Fight. Life isn't peaches and cream (which sounds gross to me anyway) unlike some teachers will tell you. It is a struggle. But in the arms of our God we can face those trials. We will keep the Faith. And we can resist when we use the self-control the Holy Spirit gives us. And that, my friends, is the key. The believer get's the fruit of the Spirit, he receives the ability to apply the Truths of Scripture to his life.

When we put our trust in Christ and we begin to really know and understand our Lord and Savior then that becomes our strength! He is our Lord. He is over our lives. He is our King. The knowledge of this gives us strength because we know that Jesus Christ endured to the end and we our 'in' Christ. But interestingly enough and praise God for it this also gives us supernatural strength.

You have it. So, use it. Back to Joseph. The reason this is displayed so beautifully in Genesis 37-50 is because of what Joseph went through. We read the story with the ending in mind. And even when read for the first time the tension is released with the reading of the next verse. But this was Joseph's life. He spent years on a roller coaster of extreme, uh…excuse me, EXTREME
ups and downs. He did not know how it was going to end. He did not know why it was happening. His brothers turned against him. Your brothers in Christ may do the same. You will have ups and downs. You know what strategy Joseph used? The Lord was with Him and he lived with integrity (Genesis 39: 4, 8, 13). Are you a believer? Then the Lord is with you also. So live with integrity!

On a final note, view life in this manner: Genesis 50:19-20, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."

Pyromaniacs: Communicating better: what must I do?

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:32:00 +0000

Pyromaniacs: Communicating better: what must I do?

Truth, Forgiveness, and My First Blog Post

noreply@blogger.com (Mitch Lynn) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:43:00 +0000

By: Mitchell Lynn

Forgive me, I am new to this blogging thing, so if my thoughts are random, or boring, I apologize. I will work on presenting logical, entertaining blogs to you loyal followers. I was given the opportunity to intern this summer at Foothills Bible Church in Littleton, Colorado. Part of my duties for this job included preaching, hanging with students, and teaching Sunday school. A couple Sundays ago I taught on an often forgotten book in the Bible, Philemon. Wait… is that in the Old Testament or New? This tiny letter (only 25 verses) is found between the New Testament books of Titus and Hebrews. While studying this intimate letter, a few things stuck out to me.

One of the First things I noticed was the search for truth that Onesimus hungers for. See Onesimus was a slave, and while slavery then was a lot different than the slavery we understand in the United States, (in fact, freedom was a relative term in the Ancient Near East) he still had very limited rights. Onesimus leaves his owner, Philemon, and makes his way from Colosse to Rome (about 1,300 miles) in search of Paul. A lot of different ideas were going around Colosse about Jesus. In fact, this is why Colossians was written. But Onesimus wants to know the truth so he leaves all that he knows, and heads to the only reliable source that he knows, Paul.

Where is this kind of devotion to truth today? We question truth, ignore truth, and completely deny that any kind of truth exists. This epidemic is haunting our culture and is a threat to our youth. As Christians we need to search and dig for the truth of scripture, and proclaim that truth to a confused generation. 2nd Corinthians 4:2 says: “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God”.

Another thing that stuck out to me was the power of forgiveness. Paul’s thesis for writing the letter was to urge Philemon to forgive Onesimus. Pleading with Philemon to take him back. It doesn’t matter what he did, Paul sends the letter to Philemon saying that this man is now your brother in Christ, so do the right thing and forgive him. How hard is it for us to forgive those who hurt us? Gandhi once said: “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” Paul does not order Philemon to forgive him, he wants him to do the right thing on his own. He wants him to forgive Onesimus, just as Christ has forgiven him.

My fiancée Anna illustrates forgiveness almost every day. I have made huge mistakes in my life that have lasting consequences, yet without hesitation, she forgives me for those mistakes I have made. Anna sees the forgiveness that Jesus has given her on the cross, and she lives out that forgiveness every day. Colossians 3:13 tells us: “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you”.

Have you received the forgiveness that Jesus offered on the Cross? Christians, are you offering forgiveness to those who have wronged you?

“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”

—Martin Luther King Jr.

I Am Lacking.

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:30:00 +0000

By: Matt Tyler

Yes. It is true. I am. Often my notes are written to try and encourage people to evangelize more, live authentic Christian lives, or come to repentance and faith in Jesus. However, this note's focus is slightly different, yet the call is still the same. I messed up today. I mess up a lot. Everyday. My flesh is weak.

At the time of writing, I had read a little pamphlet by John MacArthur just a few hours before. This was not the first time that I had read this little pamphlet, but I decided to read it again. God has given Johnny Mac a lot of wisdom and I often learn from him by reading some of his material more than once. This pamphlet is called Found: God' Will. First of all, I highly recommend it, it provides the BIBLICAL way of discerning God's Will, which, by the way, is a lot less complicated then we make it.

Now, within the pages MacArthur talks about living a Spirit-filled life (here I am a Baptist, talking about being filled with the spirit ;) ). There are two significant things that John MacArthur says that are at the forefront of my mind: First of all, he says that the Spirit-filled life is yielding every decision to the control of the Spirit. He then goes on to ask what the spirit filled life actually is. What does it look like? According to MacArthur, it is being saturated with the things of Christ with His Word, His person.

Whew. I see that definition and I look at the Biblical characters that were great examples of this and I find I am truly lacking. For all of my talk on the importance of verbally sharing our faith and socially living it out, I often mess up in all areas of my life. I am not perfect. Far from it.

This was displayed beautifully (or not so beautifully) several weeks ago in the Wal-Mart parking lot. I was with a couple of friends and I was catching up on a few things. I was in a hurry to get back home but we still talked for a few minutes. All of a sudden, a man in a dark van pulled up next to us and started asking us for some money. Apparently, he had his daughter in the back seat and he had to make it back to Fayetteville. He needed gas. Well, we now live in a day and age where it is rare for people to carry cash on them. I am that type of person. Sure I had my debit card...but cash? Nope. I had none. The Wal-Mart gas station was less than a football field away and I could have easily driven over there and filled his van up with my debit card. I could have driven over there and spent a few minutes sharing the Good News with this man. But I didn't. I could have let God use me as His ambassador. But I did not. My excuse: I have no cash and therefore I cannot. Sorry sir, go on your way. Sorry sir, I have the greatest News in the whole world: You can escape punishment for your sin, but instead of meeting your needs and telling you about it, I need to go.

Now I could argue, and it may be true, that I just didn't think about pulling out my debit card for him. I could argue that I wanted to be wise with my money- heck, I didn't know anything about this guy! I could argue whatever I wanted to. What I can honestly say, though, is that sharing the love of Jesus with this guy was not on my mind. It hurt me to say no to him, that was probably the Holy Spirit, but sharing Jesus with Him was not on my mind. If it was, I probably would have remembered my debit card. I probably would have driven over there with him. If I was truly saturated with the things of Christ, while I was filling up his car I probably would have showed him that he had sin in his life and needed to get right with God.

Some will try and reassure me: Matt, don't be legalistic, you don't have to help everyone that comes your way. Matt, it's really okay that you forgot this one time. Matt, you didn't have cash on you. [Insert your reassurance remark here]. While I am reassuring myself, or you are, that man still has needs and he has met yet another Christian who didn't explain to him the Most Important News in the whole World. And there is a chance he NEEDED to hear that.

I serve a God who is in control. He is sovereign over all things. That alone gives me the reassurance that I need. And while I did mess up, my prayer is that next time I will be prepared.

Frankly, it takes work to "yield every decision to the control of the Spirit" as Macarthur said. It's not necessarily the easiest thing to do. However, for the believer it should be a somewhat natural response in view of all that God has given us. As Christians, the importance of craving the pure milk of the Word (1 Peter 2:3) is incalculable. After all, it is only through reading the Word of God daily that we can saturate ourselves with the things of Christ. And while it is true that you, and I, are lacking we cannot use that as an excuse to cover up our responsibility. Our lives need to be full of the Holy Spirit.

Lord, forgive me. My flesh is weak and I am lacking. I want to be saturated with the things of Christ. Guide me in that. Thank you for the blood of Jesus, which covers me when I am lacking.

______________________________________________________

This is a post that was first posted on Facebook on Tuesday, July 7^th2009. It has been slightly edited.

A Message of Truth…From an Atheist

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 11:00:00 +0000

The first half of this note comes from The Charles Darwin Bible which is a Bible that is used to answer the most common questions evolutionists have about Christianity. It can be found at www.wayofthemaster.com

Penn Jillette, the taller, louder half of the magic/comedy act "Penn and Teller," is a well-known atheist. He is so committed to atheism that he claims, "I cross the word 'God' off every dollar bill I touch."
However, late in 2008, Penn said that after one of his shows, a business approached him and gave him a Gideon New Testament. Pen noted, "It was really wonderful. I believe he new that I was an atheist, but he was not defensive, and he looked me right in the eyes...and then gave me this Bible. I've always said that I don't respect people who don't proselytize. I don't respect that at all. If you believe that there's a Heaven and Hell, and people could be going to Hell, or not getting eternal life, or whatever, and you think that, 'Well, it's not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward'... how much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? I mean if I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you and you didn't believe it, and that it was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you- and this is more important than that... He cared enough about me to proselytize and give me a Bible."

This is an incredible statement, especially when considering that it was an outspoken atheist who said it. In addition, it should convict us and spur us into action. If an unregenerate man can put the equation together shouldn't believers be able to see the simplicity? I would think so. However, this is so often not the case. How unfortunate!

I remember hearing this statement from Penn Jillette for the first time. I shared the quote with a fellow believer soon after hearing it. He didn't put the equation together. In more or less words he stated that I shouldn't be getting advice from an atheist.

Interesting point. To some it may seem like wise advice. So who is right?

I didn't continue on with the conversation to much after that but I had a particular question in mind: Can God use an atheist or a non-believer to communicate truth and messages to His people? The answer to that question is a resounding, YES! Let's look at the Bible for our authority.

What about Nebuchadnezzar? What about Balaam? He was a wicked man who blessed Israel! God used him! There are several occurrences within the Bible (which should be our main source) and history that speaks to the fact that God can use atheists and other non-believers to communicate Truth, especially when we live in a society where many people claiming to be Christians can't even stand up and communicate Truth (another topic for another day)!

Even when it comes to the government, whether Christian or not, God uses them for His pleasure. "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes." Proverbs 21:1

So, we can conclude that God can communicate His Truth through the unbeliever, if He wishes.

So, what can we learn from Jillette's statement? He quotes someone saying that they won't share because it may be socially awkward. I would add to that statement. Many times people use excuses such as, "It's not "relevant,'" "You can't force people," " I don't want to push people into/away from Christianity," "It's not my spiritual gift," "I'm not brave enough," "I don't have all the answers," "I'd rather be their friend first," "I'm more of a friendship evangelism kind of person," or whatever.

I have just one comment to such statements: it was Paul who said, "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel."

I challenge you to share the Gospel with someone before the week is through. And don't stop there. Share it with two people the next week!

_______________________________

This post was originially posted on Facebook on Friday May 1st, 2009

Jesus Died for a Child of Satan

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:35:00 +0000

When I think about all that God did for me-- that He would save a wretched, disgusting, sinner like myself; that He would die for the creation that turned their backs on Him-- I am at awe. But it is even more incredible to realize that, not only did Jesus died for wretched sinners, those wretched sinners happened to be children of Satan.

This is tied with the doctrine of Adoption. This is the doctrine I have been thinking about today. Before repenting of our sins and trusting in Christ we were enemies of God. We were the children of Satan. It is one thing for someone to die and save their friend, child, or ally. But God sent his Son to die for people who were His enemies, children of Satan, and people who had totally rejected him. When we trust in Christ, He adopts us into his family and we become Children of God. This has several implications. But, for the sake of time, I want to offer a closing thought that focuses on these two implications:

1. If you are a Christian: You have been saved from so much: hell, death, sin, sons and daughters of Satan. Rejoice in your adoption into God's family and tell others (verbally and with actions- that is the Biblical way) about Him. Rest assured in Him, have your peace, and know that you are now a child of God.

2. If you are not a Christian: Jesus died for sinners, for children of Satan. You are a child of Satan and you have lied, stolen, and blasphemed the name of the God who gave you life. Think about how bad you are and realize how much God must love you to die for you. Repent (turn from) your sins and trust in Jesus.

I hope you find encouragement in that today!

________________________________
This post was originally posted on Facebook on May 25, 2009

Burdens: Driving with the Lord

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:26:00 +0000

Sometimes it is hard for me to write notes (as hard as that is to believe) because I have so much I want to say. Many times I don't say as much as I want because I don't want the details to bog down what my ultimate message is. Such will probably be the case with this.

I went to camp with my youth group this past week. We got back on Friday. It was an awesome week. Many times you come back from camp on a spiritual high and then loose it a few days after you get back. That is the typical story for many people. The reason is usually because at camp a student gets to hear the Word of God preached every day, praise God every day, and avoid sin that so easily traps us. Sometimes when a student gets back he stops getting in the Word, forgets to praise God, and falls back into sin. Well, it's my prayer that, that does not happen with those that were at this camp. However, with all that said, I will say that I came back from camp excited about how it went, yet sad to leave, yet happy to be home. Lots of emotions there.

This weekend was a good one. I got to spend time with my girlfriend after not seeing her for two weeks. I got a new phone. I got to spend a little time with my family. I got to blow things up. However, this morning I had to drive back to Buffalo, MO for church. I've been driving back and forth a lot this summer (not as much as I would have to if I didn't have a job at SBU) between Missouri and Arkansas. Sometimes it can get discouraging to be torn between two places.

6AM Sunday Morning: This morning I woke up to drive back to Buffalo. I went to bed a little around 1 AM the night before. I had seen my girlfriend all day Saturday but that was it after not seeing her for two weeks. Part of me missed camp. Part of me missed being at home. Along with all of that I had several other things on my mind. Some of those things I could put my finger on. However, there were other things on my mind that I didn't even know about- I just knew they were there. For two hours I drove back with burdens on my heart.

Hour 1: The first hour I sat there in silence. Just thinking. Just sitting.

Hour 2: The second Hour I turned on some praise songs and listened to them. It's not normal for me to have a trip like that and not be listening to a Sermon on my Ipod or a segment of Wretched Radio (I know...I'm weird. But I love that stuff) SO I listend to songs such as : You never Let Go (two times!), Shine, Clear the Stage (three times!), and others.

God can use songs to speak to us (especially ones that are based on His Word). Sometimes, it is good to sing those songs. Always, it is good to ponder the Words. Many times they are describing the Awesome God. Those songs were good and they did speak to me. It is amazing how the Lord can show up in those songs, even after you have heard them time and time again and give you new insights. The God of the Bible is real. He is the only God. I know it. The proof is everywhere. The proof is plain. The Bible says that all men know that there is a God. Creation attests to it. Creation is all around us (Romans 1:20, among others). Well another proof is that God is there. He is just there. He opened my eyes to some things using these songs. I was able to worship God this morning within them.

Thirty minutes outside of Buffalo: I finally turn off my music. My heart is still heavy. I am still burdened. I am weary. I am discouraged. I start running through some verses I know. Why is the Word of God supposed to be Preached? Paul commands Timothy to do it. He commands us to do it. The WORD of GOD is to be preached because it alone is the Power of God unto Salvation. Only the Bible. It awakens us. It speaks to us. The Holy Spirit illuminates it for us and helps us to apply it. It reaches into our soul. Why? Because the Word of God is the Words of the living, real, powerful, magnificent (why are there not enough words to describe him? Why is there not a word that can describe Him) Lord of all Creation. Christian, that is why you should be in the Word everyday. Someone said that, Sin will keep you from this book, and this book will keep you from sin. You don't have a desire to read it? What sin is there in your life that is keeping you from having a desire to read it? You need to turn from that sin. As do I when sin keeps me from desiring the Word of God. It is the pure, spiritual milk (1 Peter 2:1-3) Nonbeliever, you don't believe it? What sin are you so in love with that it is keeping you from believing in God? Repent of it and turn to Jesus today. I struggle with memorizing Scripture. I need to more than I do. I used to when i was younger. Why did I stop? Thank you God for reviving my memory. God gave me a verse this morning. I didn't have it completely memorized but I knew it well enough for it to speak to me. Moreover, I had my Bible and was able to find it quickly without wrecking (I don't recommend opening your Bible while driving). It was this verse:

Jesus is speaking: "Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:28-29

So I did. And I did.

You may have burdens. You may need rest. Perhaps it is a sin. You can't get rid of it. Give it to Jesus. He died for you. He bore those sins and God's wrath was poured out on Him and thus your punishment is put upon Jesus if you would just turn to Him. Perhaps it is not a sin, just life. Turn to Him. He is the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1ish...?) He will provide you with comfort. Come to Him with trust and a repentant heart.

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This blog was originally written as a Facebook note. It was published Sunday, July 5th 2009.

My First Post

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Tyler) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:19:00 +0000

While I am new on blogger, I have been familiar with blogging for some time now. I subscribe to and read daily blogs from several different people. In addition, I have been using my Facebook as a blog for as long as I have had it.

Often I used my Facebook to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to my unsaved friends. Sometimes, I would write about what God was showing to me. And a few times I Would review books that I had read.

This blog will be used in much the same way. My desire is to glorify God. One of the ways to do that is to write blogs that will edify myself and other believers as well as proclaim the Gospel to unbelievers. This is what I wish to do in this blog.

Over the next several days I will take some of my favorite Facebook notes and post them on this blog. Once this job is complete I will start writing fresh blogs about, well- whatever comes out of my fingers. Enjoy- and get to work preaching!