Light of the World

Matthew 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Upon first reading these verses may look familiar and obvious, leading us to gloss right over them, but in fact these are profound words and their implications are weighty.

Light is a prominent theme throughout scripture. In Revelation 22 we are told there will be no need for a sun because God will be our illuminating source. Elsewhere we are called sons of light. God’s word is a light unto our path. John 8 refers to Jesus as the Light of the world. Since verse 14 declares that we are the light it brings us back to the reality that we share everything with Jesus, we are in Him and He is in us.

In verse 14 we see a declaration from Jesus “You are the light of the world.” He is telling us who and what we are and then follows with another declaration, “a city on a hill cannot be hidden.” Before moving on Jesus explains this declaration in effect saying, “you are the city on a city and God has given you this gift of faith. Because of it you will stand out, be different, and He didn’t cloak you or veil you but instead set you on a lamp stand for all to see.”

We often read verse 15 as though this were our responsibility. “Don’t put your lamp under a basket,” I can hear Sunday school teachers telling me. Jesus is merely explaining why we are in the world and integrated into society and not in some little garden of Eden with all other believers. So instead we should read verse 16 in light (no pun intended) of what God has done, and where He has put us, in verse 15.

Verse 16 describes both the means and the end of life, our purpose for being here. We are to use this gift of faith and all that the Father has given us to glorify Him. We are exhorted to regularly live in such a way that others may see our good works are a result of our faith in the one true risen and ascended Lord and praise Him alone. We see may examples of this in the Old Testament and in effect this is one reason why many people followed Jesus during His earthly ministry. This is now our ministry.

The Salt of the Earth

Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

In Jesus’ day salt was both a flavor enhancer and a preservative. Salt was used on food to add flavor to an otherwise bland meal and as a preservative when it was packed onto meat so that it wouldn’t dry out. In both cases what already existed had something else introduced to it in order to improve it. In the life of a sinful person who has fallen short of the glory of God and is headed toward eternity in hell in subjection to God’s wrath, what could improve or enhance better than the saving message of the gospel of Jesus the Christ?

Christians are different, unique, special, and serve a purpose in the same way. We are in the world and while here it’s our joy and duty to bring this message, even if it is irritating like salt in a wound or sweat in someone’s eyes. The Church, the Body of Christ, preserves and spreads the message of the great and glorious God we serve and who has saved us from the just punishment we deserve.

This verse does come with a clause, if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. This should be a somber warning to us. Imitation salt in Jesus’ day was used for one meal and after it lost it’s flavor it was thrown out onto the walking path to keep it clear of vegetation. Whether it be for a day, or for a period of time in our lives such as a year, may we participate with God the Holy Spirit in our sanctification in such a way that we never lose our effectiveness as ambassadors of the true and risen Lord Jesus. Amen.

The Christian's Scriptural Identity

Who am I?

I am the salt of the earth. Matthew 5:13

I am the light of the world. Matthew 5:14

I am a child of God. John 1:12

I am loved by God. John 3:16

I am part of the true vine, a channel of Christ's life. John 15:1 5

I am Christ's friend. John 15:15

I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit. John 15:16

I am a slave of righteousness. Romans 6:18

I am a slave to God. Romans 6:22

I am a son of God. God is spiritually my Father. Romans 8:14 15

I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him. Romans 8:17

I am a temple, a dwelling place, of God. His Spirit dwells within me. 1 Corinthians 3:16 6:19

I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17

I am a member of Christ's body. 1 Corinthians 12:27

I am who I am. 1 Corinthians 15:10

I am a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17

I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18 19

I am a son of God and one in Christ. I am adopted into God family. Galatians 3:26

I am an heir of God since I am a son of God. Galatians 4:6 7

I am a saint. Ephesians 1:1

I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now. Ephesians 2:6

I am God's workmanship, His handiwork, born anew in Christ to do His work. Ephesians 2:10

I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God's family. Ephesians 2:19

I am a prisoner of Christ. Ephesians 3:1 4:1

I am righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:24

I am a member of Christ's body/bride. Ephesians 5:30

I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now. Philippians 3:20

I am hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3

I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life. Colossians 3:4

I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved. Colossians 3:12

I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved. 1 Thessalonians 1:4

I am a son of light and not of darkness. 1 Thessalonians 5:5

I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling. Hebrews 3:1

I am a partaker of Christ; I share in His life. Hebrews 3:14

I am one of God's living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house. 1 Peter 2:5

I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. 1 Peter 2:9 10

I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live. 1 Peter 2:11

I am an enemy of the devil. 1 Peter 5:8

I am a child of God and I will resemble Christ when He returns. 1 John 3:1 2

I am born of God, and the evil one, the devil, cannot touch me. 1 John 5:18

Jesus, The Son of God

Last night I was praying for my Dad's salvation and for an opportunity to share the gospel with him. I then began praying about what it was that I would say to him. My mind drifted a bit as I thought of different lines of apologetic reasoning until I thought of forcing my Dad to respond to what Jesus has said about Himself, the classic Lord, Liar, or Lunatic example. I new that I could prove that what He said about Himself was true due to manuscript evidence, so my dad would have to come to a conclusion based on Scripture.

I thought of a few different verses like I am in the Father, and he who sees Me sees the One who sent Me, but then I though about Jesus referring to Himself as the Son of God (John 10). And I remembered how some people that I've spoken to don't think that those verses are sufficient evidence to prove Jesus' deity, and I thought to myself why is that? Well maybe they think like the Jehovah's Witnesses, that Jesus was born of the Father and therefore not as powerful and inferior. Normally at this point I would launch into an explanation of historical Jewish family tradition, but then I had a powerful thought.

Often times when children are growing up we have expectations for them based on their parents abilities, i.e. they should be a great artist or musician because their Father was. These expectations begin even before birth. People will regularly say when an attractive couple get together, "Oh you're going to have such beautiful children". And boy would they be surprised if they had some ugly kids. If the couple were accomplished athletes the tendency would be to assume their son is going to be a standout, and how many people are disappointed when little Johnny has asthma and a frail bone structure. The truth is that we expect children to have the same abilities as their parents have. The Truth is Jesus is exactly like the Father, they just differ in their roles and relationship with one another. God is perfect and therefore His only begotten Son is perfect and lacking in no way.

Doubt Your Perception of Suffering

The following is by Jon Bloom and can be viewed online at:http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/doubt-your-perception-of-suffering

There he sat, the scum of society, a sorry piece of work begging the condescending mercy of pious passersby going in and out of the temple. Enough mercy and he could eat.

The blind man in John 9 didn’t have many vocational options. He had been born blind. And it was his own fault. As a fetus this man sinned in the womb against the Almighty. Either that or his parents had sinned and cursed him. Whichever, he was suffering his just punishment. Those who had been righteous fetuses walked by and sometimes dropped a coin in his hand.

You see, in the law and prophets God had not explained exactly why one person suffers more than another. So theologians surmised that a person’s suffering must result from a specific offense against God. Oddly, this was what Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, had surmised about Job’s suffering. God’s word to them was, “you have not spoken of me what is right” (Job 42:8). Jesus was about to deliver a similar rebuke.

As Jesus and his disciples passed by this man, the disciples naturally wanted to know who was to blame, the man or his parents. That’s when Jesus threw another wrench into their theological system. He said, “It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (v. 3).

Can you hear the disciples catch their breath? Have you caught yours? Jesus said that God was to blame. The man was blind because God had a purpose in it that hadn’t entered anyone’s mind.

All those years the man and his parents labored under a perception of God’s judgment for an unknown reason. And they had born others’ disdain. Imagine what the man’s childhood must have been like. Imagine the insults, the indignities, the injuries, the poverty, the loneliness, and isolation from other children. No hope for marriage. No hope for education.

Why? Because God had something glorious to say through it. It’s just that up until this day no one saw it coming, least of all the blind man.

Jesus then spat on the ground, made mud with his saliva, put the mud on the man’s eyes, and said, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” So he went and washed and came back seeing!

In that moment everything changed. The man went from life-long blindness to seeing. But even more revolutionary in its repercussions, he went from being perceived as the object of God’s wrath to being the object of God’s mercy!

This is mind-blowing. God’s purposes in his blindness turned out to be exactly opposite of everyone’s perceptions. All along people believed the man was “born in utter sin” (v. 36). But in fact he was born blind in order that God might show mercy to him and pronounce judgment on the self-righteous religious people. “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind” (v. 39).

Caution: we must be very careful in assessing God’s purposes in suffering—our own or someone else’s. Often we cannot see any redeeming reason for it. The same would have been true of the blind man until the day Jesus passed by. Even here we might be tempted to say, “Well, yes, but how often does that happen?” I know. I have a sister who is severely developmentally disabled. I know very little of God’s purposes in it. He often does not make his purposes public knowledge.

This story reminds us that our perceptions and God’s purposes can be very different, even opposite. If we are going to be skeptical, it’s best to be skeptical of our perceptions.

Satisfied With Life

Eu sou satisfeito. This is one of the first phrases I learned in Portuguese when I went to Brasil in 2005, it means "I'm satisfied". Around meals people were constantly asking if I wanted something more to eat or drink and I would say, eu sou satisfeito. From now until the end of my life this is what I would like to say about the way I've lived.

Similarly we read in Genesis 25:8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life.

At 19 years of age Jonathan Edwards resolved to live his life if such a way that, at the end of his life, he could echo Abraham's sentiments. In his own words Edwards wrote, "I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age." July 8, 1723.

In my life there are already things that I wish I would have done or handled differently. Some of them are spiritual and others not. Some are realistic and others not. And I know that most likely this will always be the case, but I would like to say that regarding things of major consequence that I acknowledged Him in all of my ways, and He made straight my paths, to His glory (Pr. 3:6).

A few months ago I read John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life and was greatly inspired to do just that. Why reach the twilight of my life and be unsatisfied when I could be attaining the desires of my heart, in the Psalm 37:4 sense, while I still have time?

Whether you are pleased, now or in the future, with the choices you've made, ultimately we can all say with Paul, by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace towards me did not prove vain (1 Cor. 15:10). This is a truly profound statement and worth a moment of meditation before continuing.
All of the material things we have, and don't have, are gifts by the grace of God (clothes, electronics, shelter, transportation, etc.). All of the physical capabilities we do, and do not, posses are gifts by the grace of God (our mobility, organs, limbs, senses, etc.). All of our mental faculties, both used and unused, are gifts by the grace of God (conscience, logic, reason, intellect, etc.). All of our relationships are gifts by the grace of God (friendships, fellowship, romance, etc.). Most of all, by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8).

For me, in order to best participate in furthering His kingdom, I needed to make a list and establish short and long term goals both for motivation and to remember to do what I feel is tangibly most important, so that at the end of my days I can die an old man, satisfied with life.

Rooftop Ministries

We are all called to go therefore and make disciples . . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you (Mt. 28:19) though the way we teach may take many different forms (formally, in fellowship, prayer, correction, mentoring, evangelizing, theologically rich worship, blogs, etc).

As you take up your cross daily and follow (Lk. 9:23) God has promised that He will instruct and teach you in the way which you should go (Ps. 32:8) and God the Holy Spirit will guide you into all the truth (Jn. 16:13). So we should be constantly learning about God's character and the intricacies of the bible and being transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rm. 12:2)

Therefore it is my strong belief that we should be diligent about passing along what the Lord is showing us, not out of a sense of obligation but out of a desire to aid others to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pt. 3:18). It's only logical to think that if you are blessed when God opens your mind to understand the Scriptures (Lk. 24:45) that another member of the body of Christ will also benefit from what God has whispered in you ear (Mt. 10:27).

So if I'm ever blessed with a ministry I would love to call it Rooftop Ministries after Matthew 10:27 What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.

Death

Jonathan Edwards' 9th resolution. Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.

To be fair to Jonathan Edwards his resolution has more to do with the period of time surrounding death, but his resolution caused me to consider what death ushers in.

Consider:

2 Corinthians 5:6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord . . . and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

and again . . .

Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.

Paul had obviously thought a great deal about his own death and we should be imitators of him as he imitated Jesus. In death our individual redemption will be complete and we will be able to concentrate fully on glorifying God having conscious, intimate, unhindered fellowship with Him. Plus a pure Heaven is simply better than a decaying earth. Additionally, as I realized after a death of a friend last year, when a person dies it means that God has fulfilled His purposes for that person's life and the good works that He prepared for them to walk in were accomplished.

Imputation

I am reading The God Who Justifies by Dr. James White, and this past week I read a chapter entitled "Imputation: The Only Hope for the Sinful Soul". Imputation is the act of attributing (something to someone), in our case the righteousness of Jesus to sinners and in exchange the guilt of our sin to Jesus. This is aptly described "The Great Exchange". Because of this exchange The Accuser (Satan) has nothing to accuse a believer of, so we can say with Isaiah (50:8-9) He who vindicates me is near; Who will contend with me? Let us stand up to each other; who has a case against we? Let him draw near to me. 9 Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who is he who condemns me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them. And we can say with Paul (Romans 8:33) Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Because of this once and for all, final and complete, act by God of justification there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1) and so we are sealed, saved, and secure of our salvation for all time.

For some time this doctrine has captivated me but just last week was I able to illustrate it to myself so that I could better understand what Jesus did on my behalf. I imagined a friend of mine taking the punishment for some of the things I have done over the years, like getting fired for stealing, failing tests for cheating, fines for speeding, friendships lost for things I've said and done, etc. (In my mind I was more specific and I encourage you to do the same to fully understand my point). I was them able to better grasp the amazing truth that Jesus not only received the punishment for these sins but also for the ones I didn't get caught for, the ones that I didn't realize I committed (sins of omission and opposed to commission), and most of all, the sins of all who would believe. Selah.

Since God poured out His wrath onto Jesus (instead of us, though God's wrath still abides on unbelievers) as punishment for sins committed, the Father was propitiated (satisfied or appeased) and the believer, upon regeneration, is justified and can boldly go before the throne of grace.

Let Your Prayers Ruminate

A little over a month ago I had lunch with a very wise and experienced man. Near the end of our conversation I asked him what I could do to improve my prayer life. Me being me, I was hoping for a black and white answer like "pray for 20 before getting out of bed in the morning and again at night." Instead he retold a story of a man Asking D. Martyn Lloyd Jones when the Lord would bring revival to the Church. Dr. Jones replied, "not until the 'O' returns to mens prayers." Seeing the look on my face my friend must have seem that a further explanation was necessary. He went on to tell me that prayers should be said with great passion and feeling (i.e. O Lord how long until you return!).

We continued our conversation and for weeks I thought about what he had said. It seemed to me to almost be a catch 22. I wanted to pray with passion, but what would it take to develop this passion? Then after noticing a pattern in my own prayer life I began to understand what this dear brother had been trying to convey.

I noticed that I was praying through my "checklist" in rapid fire succession. I don't pray nearly as often as I would like so when I do I try to cover everything and everyone, this causes me to rush. However, a couple of weeks ago at a church prayer meeting before our service when most of the prayer requests had been prayed for I still felt like praying but there was only one thing on my mind so I prayed for a few minutes on one topic and felt invigorated afterwards. I noticed that the longer I spent on a single subject before moving on the more my heart was revealed and I hope transformed to the will of God.

In John 17 Jesus briefly prays for himself before praying for His disciples from verse 6 through 19, where as I probably would have spent only two or three verses equivalent on them. I haven't taken the time to see how many other passages support my ideas but this is just my personal experience and I hope that you may benefit from it to the glory of God.

Thank you Pastor Rob.

The Lord of Glory Revealed

Revelation 1:4-7 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood-- 6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father-- to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

1) The Faithful Witness - Jesus is the eternal eye witness of God and His glory. He is the accurate manifestation and representation of God's character. He is the Word become flesh. We should consider Him, listen to Him, obey Him, and point others to Him.

2) The First Born of the dead - Resurrection 1 Corinthians 15:12 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 Unshakable hope Romans 5

3) The Ruler of the kings of earth - He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. 1 Timothy 6:13-14. Turns hearts of kings. Trust Him and we shall persevere.

4) Who Loved us and washed us - Ephesians 5 Our faith is primarily a relationship , not a list of demands. Jesus died to save us from sin and it's penalty.

5) He Made us kings and priests - Exodus 19:5-6 1 Peter 2:9 We've been saved for good works. Ephesians 2

6) To Him be all glory and dominion is due - Because of what he did and his attributes. 1 Dt. 4:11 1 Corinthians 10:31

7) He is Coming again - Is. 55:6 To judge.

The Wrath of God!

Albert Martin

Uncertainty of life and God's wrath toward unbelievers

When I was saved in 2004 I realized that I did not know what I didn't know. Up until that point I had made two fundamental errors in my views of life and God.

1) I thought I was invincible, impervious to disease or accidents, and that I would certainly die of old age. I didn't realize the fragility of life until I received the news of my Grandpa's terminal case of cancer. It then occusrred to me that the few times I had been hit by a car while riding my bike could have resulted in death. I came to grips with the fact that at any moment I could have a stroke or brain aneurism. We are but a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. James 4:14

2) I didn't understand the necessary punishment for my sin in light of God's holiness, and so I did not see my need for a Savior. Because God is Perfect, Righteous, Just, and Holy Holy Holy anything that falls short of His glory cannot be accepted into His presence. And so all who have not had their sins forgiven and Jesus' righteousness imputed to them before they die will be cast into hell, eternal separation from the goodness of God.

Hell is described as an eternal (Matthew 25:46) lake of fire (Revelation 20:15), where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (a.k.a. inconsolable grief and unremitting torment) taking place in complete darkness (Matthew 22:13).

But God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross as a willing sacrifice for the sins of all who would believe. Jesus accomplished what you and I could never do, perfect obedience to God, thus becoming an appeasing sacrifice who took the wrath of God while on the cross in the place of you, if you would but repent and believe unto Jesus for eternal life. Turn from your life of self-service, in essence worshiping yourself, and worship the one true living God of the Bible. If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. Luke 9:23

Behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2

Continual Communion with God

Taken from John Piper's sermon Pray Like This: Hallowed By Your Name

"Prayer is intentionally conveying a message to God. And that message may be asking for something, praising God for something about him, thanking him for some gift, confessing your sins to him, or complaining to him. That is what I want you to do every day, all year long, in 2008. Be a praying people. Convey your heart to God over and over. Let it be the way you begin and end everything. Pray before every email, every TV show, every car ride, ever phone call, every conversation, every shower, every night’s rest, every meal, everything you read. Convey your heart’s longings to God before and after everything you do. Let it be the way you breathe. Be in communion with God continually. My wife complains to me that when I finish a cell phone call, I don’t turn my phone off, and so she can hear me going about my business. I can see why that bothers her. But it is certain that it does not bother God if you never hang up. Just leave it on. And I’ll do my best to help you keep your batteries charged."

Discipleship Part 2

(Continued from part 1)

Therefore a maturing walk with Jesus goes hand in hand with a growing understanding of His word. Now you'll see biblically brilliant Christians who do not have a healthy relationship with Christ, but I seriously doubt you'll meet a healthy God fearing Christian who does not treasure God's word and lead a lifestyle that reflects it.

So we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. J.I. Packer has famously said that head knowledge is the highway to heart knowledge. That is before our hearts are changed our understanding needs to change, and that happens primarily through God's word, the bible. Some might say that prayer changes our hearts, or fellowship, or service. Yes this is all true but you will never learn anything in prayer or fellowship that you cannot also find in Scripture. 2 Timothy 3:16 ll Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. Everything we seek to do God's word has sufficiently provided for us.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that all we need is the bible. God has given us many gifts for our growth and we would be naive to think we didn't need them. Colossians 3:10 may help drive my point across, put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.

This is a process. This is going to take the rest of our lives, but the completion is guaranteed. The final result is promised. We will be made Christlike. So if our transformation is guaranteed and promised why do I need to do anything? The simple answer, because you are commanded to. The truest answer, because God's glory in and through your life is worth it. You are privileged to participate in God's work in your life only because you are saved by the blood of the Lamb. You were once a slave to sin and are now a slave to righteousness because God has graced you with this free gift of salvation from eternal subjection to His wrath because of your sin. Without God's work in your life you could not be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Discipleship Part 1

Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things To Him be the glory forever. Amen. 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

What is a disciple? A disciple is simply a follower of Jesus. That's what Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and the rest of the gang were called. They followed Jesus around for three years during his earthly ministry. But so did other people, tens of thousands of people at times. So what separates the Apostles from the other "disciples"? Well we could say that many of the people who came to Jesus were experiential followers, they just want to see miracles and displays of His power. Other were hungry and just wanted to be fed. Some people probably just wanted to see what all the hype was about. But these people went away when Jesus refused to produce signs for them. They went away when He did not feed them and did not take back Israel by force. Others, once they saw what the hype was about, were satisfied and went on their way. And another group, we're told in John 6, departed when Jesus sayings became too difficult. Which leads us to my point. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is being a student of the Christian faith.

The Apostles followed Jesus around listening to and learning from His teachings. They saw Jesus practice what He preached. They tried to grasp His explanation of the Old Testament law and the coming judgement. Then they were expected to implement these teachings into their lives and to teach other to do the same. We commonly read the great commission in Matthew 28 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." and we often hear only the first part, go and make disciples, and often neglect the ending, teaching them, and many people don't grasp what Jesus is commanding us to do because we don't have a firm understanding of what it is to be a disciple of Jesus.

So a disciple is one who is not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Before we look at what it is to be transformed by the renewing of our mind let us first establish what conforming to the world is. We could spend a lot of time talking about fads and trends but basically one who conforms to the world is one who does not continue in their growth as a Christian. This is seen by flipping Romans 12:2 around and making it say the opposite of what it is saying. For example instead of saying do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, read it be conformed to this world by not being transformed by the renewing of your mind. This is the antithesis of what it is to be a Christian. We're called to be the salt and the light of the world. We're called not to love the world or look like the world, but to bear fruit and to stand out. We have already been set apart (sanctified) for this work.

A Holy Determination

Psalm 101 David's Resolutions

Determination - firmness of purpose. This was the same attitude displayed by our Lord in Luke 9:51 When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem.

1) David was determined to sing God's praises - Psalm 101:1 I will sing of lovingkindness and justice, to You, O LORD, I will sing praises.

Singing can be equated to meditating on God and to praise Him is to find joy in Him and His attributes.

2) David was committed to live a sincere and blameless life - Psalm 101:2 I will give heed to the blameless way. When will You come to me? I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.

To live blamelessly and with integrity is to think, speak, and act with care and thoughtfulness so as to build an honoring life, even when no one is around.

3) David was resolved to deal radically with sin - Psalm 101:4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil.

Just as Paul exhorted, Romans 8:13 For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

John Owen wrote, "Be killing sin or sin will be killing you." Sin is not to be met with apathy, downplayed, or ignored.

Psalm 101: 1 I will sing of lovingkindness and justice, to You, O LORD, I will sing praises. 2 I will give heed to the blameless way. When will You come to me? I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart. 3 I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me. 4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil. 5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; no one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure. 6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me. 7 He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me. 8 Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land, so as to cut off from the city of the LORD all those who do iniquity.

Determining to Grow in the New Year

Seven words of exhortation for the new year:

1) Commit yourself to daily intake of God's word.

Read - Nehemiah 8:18 He read from the book of the law of God daily, from the first day to the last day.

Meditate - Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.

Memorize - Psalm 119:52 I have remembered Your ordinances from of old, O LORD, and comfort myself.

2) Commit yourself to the meeting of the church.

Hebrews 10:24 Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some.

When you regularly attend your local fellowship, submit yourself to leadership, and commit to using your spiritual gifts you open yourself up to more opportunities to corporate worship, accountability with sins, transformation by the preaching of the word culminating in a lifestyle that is increasingly obedient to God's will for your life.

3) Commit yourself to mortifying sins.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

James 4:7 also says Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Prayer and communion with God is key to our battle against the flesh. We are never nearer to God than when we are kneeling at the cross. Sin will drive a wedge between you and the Lord and cause callousness in different areas of your life. The longer you go without waging war with your sin the more difficult it is to hear the Lord speaking in your life.

4) Commit yourself to hospitality.

1 Peter 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.

Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Without qualification the bible calls us to show Christ's love to the world by being hospitable to all by giving of our gifts and talents. We've been bought with a price therefore everything we have is a gift from God and should be freely surrendered for His glory.

5) Commit yourself to dealing with unnecessary distractions.

1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

1 Corinthians 10:23 All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable All things are lawful, but not all things edify.

We've been given the freedom to watch hours of T.V., eat junk food, drink alcohol, stay up al night, get tattoos, befriend all types of people, wear all kinds of clothing, but not all things profit our walk with the Lord. I encourage you to examine distractions that do not directly point you to the character of God. Consider cutting out one or two of these things so that you'll be found focusing on your relationship with the Lord a little more this year.

6) Commit yourself to study.

Hebrews 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.

When each of us began our Christian walk we were given the basics of Christianity. This was all that we could handle for a time but now we should press on to understand the more difficult yet glorious truths of the bible. Consider reading a biography of one of the heros of the faith (Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgen) or an over view of church history. Ask a friend to recommend a book about the attributes of God or one of the central doctrines of the bible such as R.C. Sproul's The Holiness of God, A.W. Pink's The Attributes of God, or D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Studies on the Sermon on the Mount. Or read a book on how we got the bible.

7) Enjoy the rich benefits of a sanctified Lord's day.

In creation God set aside one day in seven to rest as a pattern for us to follow. Our bodies need rest as do our souls and it is a beautiful thing to spend one day a week resting and enjoying our relationship with the Lord by attending a worship service and having rich fellowship with our congregation. The temptation is to be busy, or busy doing nothing, but I encourage you to spend time with your family, discuss the sermon over lunch, embark on a small service project, or have some unfamiliar friends over for dinner.