“Sinners need righteousness to stand before God. That is why it is being ‘pursued’ by Israel. That much they got right. But whose righteousness will suffice? The declaration of righteousness before God, called justification, does not rest on a fiction. There is real righteousness as the basis of it. But as sinners we will never be able to provide ‘our own righteousness (Phil. 3:9; Rom.10:3). We must ‘attain’ righteousness another way besides doing good works. No good works of any kind will make a fallen person righteous before God. The way appointed by God is ‘by faith,’ and what faith does is connect us to ‘Christ for righteousness. Christ became for us righteousness.” (John Piper, Counted Righteous in Christ, [Crossway Books, 2002] p.90) Today we have a plethora of programs and organizations designed to assist those that want to overcome all kinds of addictions. These programs offer and claim that real change can occur in the lives of those that are suffering from a number of addictions (i.e. alcohol abuse, overeating, drug abuse, etc.). Change in many ways does occur to these, who come out of these programs, and this cannot be denied; however, what change is critical for life? What change do we need that will make all other changes but insignificant? The change we all need is the life-transforming change of all times. It is a radical change. It is a change from within. It is a thorough and entire change. Anything we pursue in life that is noble, good, philanthropic, altruistic, generous, pious, right apart from the “justifying work of God through faith as the basis of our good works” falls woefully short from true righteousness. That’s the truth! Our good works are like filthy rags—menstrual rag! (Is. 64:6) We can never achieve or attain any level of righteousness with God (MT 19:16-26) on our own. In order for us to be accepted before a Holy God, we must obtain a righteousness that is not our own. This righteousness is an external and alien righteousness that comes from God and Christ. Therefore, when we are justified on the basis of faith and not works we now stand acquitted and righteous before a Holy god that demands nothing more or less than 100% righteousness. This righteousness is perfect obedience. This obedience Christ manifested and secured through his life, and his perfect obedience is imputed to our account on the basis of faith alone. You want change? You want real change? Come to Christ in genuine repentance and faith and you will begin to see a wellspring of new attitudes, thoughts, desires, and goals! Come to the Living Waters!
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
“The Fear of the Lord”(Understanding what A.W. Tozer called, “Astonished Reverence”)
Description:
As Christians, when we think of what the “fear of the Lord” is, what comes to your mind? Is the “fear of the Lord” something that only super-saints attain? Is it a mystical thing and something that reason cannot grasp? Is it a super-spiritual state that only monks and mystics attain? Can it be a super-meditative state of some sort? Or, can it be a state of ecstasy or an “out of body experience”? Or, is it much worse, dread or being afraid?
One pastor describes the “fear of the Lord” by comparing it with the way we respond to the awesomeness of the ocean/sea. We respond to the ocean in two very diverse ways when we come to think of it: On the one hand, the ocean is enchanting, beautiful, and mesmerizing. It evokes in us a breath-taking awe! Wonderful sounds of the waves as they smash or hit the rocks on the shore sink us into a trance of unspeakable serenity. The colorful corals and fish that we see either by direct scuba diving or by pictures never cease to cause in us wonderful feelings; on the other hand, the ocean can cause in us feelings of fear, dread, intimidation and threat. Just imagine for a moment being alone in the middle of the Atlantic with no one around and a vastness of incalculable miles between you and help or land.
Between these two extremes, the sight and presence of the ocean, allows for a divided evocation of emotions. In other words, the ocean or sea can cause in us a great deal of awe or dread; beauty or fear; aesthetics or sheer fright! In like manner, the “fear of the Lord” caused by God’s Holiness, evokes similar arrests and draws in us divided affections. God’s sheer and pure Holiness will cause in us this divided emotions. It is because His holiness is inimitable. Do you fear Him this way? When in His presence, does His holiness bring such an arrest? Pastor Jim Cater
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
“When we call things holy when they are not holy, we commit the sin of idolatry. We give to common things the respect, awe, worship, and adoration that belong only to God. To worship the creature instead of the Creator is the essence of idolatry.” (RC Sproul, “The Holiness of God,” p.55) Have you ever given it much thought as to how much you and your family watch TV? Have you ever given it much thought as to how much time you spend on the telephone/cell? Have you ever given it much thought as to much time you spend shopping? Have you ever given it much thought as to how much time your thoughts revolve around earthly things? Have you ever given it much thought as to how often you entertain yourself and your family? These are but a few time consuming activities that may define where your heart is. Do you love money and find yourself thinking about it often? Do you love your boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse, or relative so much that you find yourself absorbed by the thought of them often? Do you love your job/carreer so much that your hours and minutes are consumed by it? When was the last time you reviewed these things in your life in light of your spiritual growth? Have you done any spiritual inventory? Ask yourself these questions and if you answered “no” to any of these questions, then begin to pray as to what you are going to do about it. If you answered “no” on several questions, then your spiritual life is in need of an overhaul and maybe much more, it is in peril. Do you spend more than an hour in meaningful prayer in a week?Do you spend more than an hour reading your Bible in one week? Do you study God’s Word and meditate on what you study?Did you use your gift to serve the body at least once during the week?Did you go over the week’s sermon and searched the Scripture for comprehension?Do you write notes when listening to the sermon to assist you in understanding?Do you worship God through the week on your own? My beloved friend, if these things seem to elude you with a consistent pattern then ask God to help you make Him first in your life. TV, phone, and other sources may be squeezing your priorities out, therefore. Ask God for help to change this. May God bless you.
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
"For the church to evangelize the world without thinking of the Jews, is like a bird trying to fly with one broken wing." Franz Delitzsch
How many of you are like me that we want to be faithful and obedient to Jesus’ call to evangelize the whole world? How many of you would agree that sometimes our earnest and sincere desire outweighs our actual practice? I would say that many of us fall into the rut of doing a lot of thinking but not enough sinking into it. I would suggest that we re-look at the commands in Scripture to evangelize: Mat 9:36-38, Mat 28:18-20, Mk 16:15-16, Lk 24:46-49, John 4:34-38, Acts 1:8, 2 Timothy 2:2, Mt 5:13-16. These commands are not just for the professional clergy, pastor, leaders, evangelists, nor to the specialist. These are commands for every disciple to take seriously. We are not spectators but saints meant to be part of the harvest field.
We live in an evangelical milieu where the contemporary church has been obsessed now with “target-driven” evangelism for so long that the true contours of “biblical” evangelism are hardly or scarcely observable or discernible. What do I mean? I mean we as a church have been reaching out to select groups (Seeker-Sensitive philosophy) now for so long we’ve forgotten the statements of Scripture that send us out to “all creatures.” It’s no wonder the Jews have been left out!! Our churches depend on specialized ministries to do the work. We’ve become accustomed to special groups that we can use to do the work for us. This should not be the case. We are commanded to go to everyone (this includes the Jews). This includes people of all colors, nationalities, cultures, ages, and so forth. This means we learn and prepare ourselves to reach out to everyone. This spells out work. Are you ready? Are you willing to sacrifice? Then, I applaud you for joining the ranks of true evangelists. True evangelists see neither color nor race but see only a harvest of lost souls to proclaim the life-giving message of the gospel. Be a harvester, laborer, evangelist, soul-winner, discipler, and preacher of the kingdom!!!
Pastor Jim Cater
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
We just completed our Second Annual Youth/Family night. It has been an exciting time of encouragement, fellowship, gospel preaching, games, dramas, and fun. We have had many neighborhood visitors come and join us. Many new contacts with the neighborhood.
If you did not joined us this year, don't miss it, plan ahead for next year.
"Summer Slam 2009" is a three day family event to encourage your heart and soul Featuring the Youth Mission Team of Faith Evangelical Free Church of Spring Hill Florida (http://www.faithevfree.com/).
Each evening included...
-Exciting Activities
-Powerful Drama
-Live Music
-A Challenging Devotion
-Personal Testimonies
-and Refreshments
MEFC is greatfull that the Youth Mission Team of Faith Evangelical Free Church of Spring Hill Florida leaded the event.
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
“Mistaking the gospel for “right living” is one more common error. Sometimes people think that the news, the message of the Bible, is simply that we should live moral lives. Christianity is sometimes presented as nothing more than virtues—public and private...The gospel, you see, is not simply an additive that comes to make our already good lives better. No! The gospel is a message of wonderful good news that comes to those who realize their just desperation before God.” (Mark Dever, “The Gospel and Personal Evangelism,” Wheaton Illinois: Crossway Books; 2007, p.40) In this book mentioned above, Dr Dever tries to let us know that the gospel is sometimes mistaken for the wrong things. He says that the gospel is sometimes mistaken for personal testimonies and apologetics among other things. Indeed the gospel is not a message of “right living” as he rightly comments above. Some offer people the wrong gospel in theses instances. They suppose that our lives are in need of some minor tune-up in order to be improved. They wrongly suppose that the gospel is a message that helps with your broken marriage, wayward kids, alcoholism, etc, like some instant pill you can take. Albeit, God really wants you to be Christ-like in these areas, but we are not to mistaken this for the gospel. These are nothing but felt-needs. The needs are real but the answer is not only to get rid of the problem that is felt but to submit yourself to a Holy God and desire repentance, forgiveness, and turning to Him who can honestly lead you in the most important area of your life first. In fact, going for the felt-needs first only tries to allay the symptoms of a deeper disease—sin. Herein lays the counseling blunders that are caused daily by modern leaders. We are to be “root-cause analysts.” In other words, when we goepelize, we should always be clear about the gospel message. It should not be a “life-enhancement” message (Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort, “The School of Biblical Evangelism,” Gainesville, Florida, Bridge-Logos Publishers: 2004, p.26). The cause of any unsaved man, woman, and child’s distress in life is much more than their external disarray. It is an internal disruption, disintegration, and decadence. Their hearts are filled with callousness, enmity, and hostility toward God and, until they “realize their just desperation before God,” they will only try to alleviate the cancer with morphine and pain-killers and not with chemo-radiation therapy. They will only substitute a real cure for the superficial and temporary alleviation. They are therefore left powerless! The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. If it is the power of God, then we should let this be the instrument of real change and not our cheap substitutes. Beloved, let’s evangelize with this mind.
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
"At dawn of day, when you dislike being called, have this thought ready: 'I am called to man's labour; why then do I make a difficulty if I am going out to do what I was born to do and what I was brought into the world for?'" (Marcus Aurelius, “The Meditations,”5.1; both in Farquharson's translation)
Have you ever thought deeply of what you were called to do all your life? Have you given it any thought at all? Most of us, if we are honest, have not given it much deep consideration. To be sure, the extent of our query goes into the realm of career, education, marriage, and maybe wealth and health, even though these are not necessarily wrong as our journey into what do we do for the rest of our lives. However, how do we know if we are doing exactly what I “was brought into the world for?” Many will find hard-pressed to calculate with certainty the answer. Marcus Aurelius, Stoic philosopher and emperor of Rome 161-180 A.D., had one thing right: “at dawn of day, when you dislike being called.” Basically, many in this world hate waking up in the morning and going to work. Why: because, they don’t see enough eternal significance and dividends.
Let me suggest a few things: Why were humans made? In the garden Adam and Eve were made to enjoy the garden while having sweet fellowship and communion with God. In other words, 1).you were made to worship God. The story goes that they sinned and the sweet unadulterated worship and communion was broken. God then had to restore the relationship. Every human being that doesn’t see each waking day as an opportunity to worship the Creator is going to be forever missing the link to a fulfilled life. Nevertheless, a restored relationship with God must be the order of the day if you’re going to do what you were “brought into the world for.” 2).Your life begins to have meaning. You now find it necessary to be fishers of men. You now see your life as something with eternal impact. You now start “walking worthy of the vocation wherewith you were called.” This means, you start entertaining spiritual things, 3) You now see your life with a different perspective. Your job, education, career, and so forth, take new shape. Now your encounters, relationships, work, etc. take on a different shade of color. Therefore, my friend, seek God “at dawn of day” and “do what you were born to do.” That is, invite God into your life by repenting of your sins and turning to God as your only solution for your true calling. Then, and only then, will you find true fulfillment and satisfaction. Pastor Jim Cater
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
“Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. She can never escape the self-disclosure of her witness concerning God.” (A.W. Tozer, “The Knowledge of the Holy,” [Harper and Row Publishers, 1961] p.9) Today we find ourselves at best floundering about notions and thoughts about God that can be scarcely called fruitful. We vaccilate from God our buddy to God our adventurer. Gone are our days when a God-centered and high view of God was the norm. To think highly, lofty, majestically, and profoundly about God has long disappeared. Have you noticed lately where they place all the commentaries (if any can be found), theology books, and serious readings in our Christian bookstores? If you haven’t, I challenge you to ask where they can be found, if any are being stocked. Noticeably they are placed in the back, not in front of the store, away from the popular fiction, devotionals, contemporary biographies, pop-culture topics, etc. These popular staples of our Christian book stores rule the day. It is highly visible and blatant that the Church has fallen prey to oversimplification and bite-size pop-culture, God-stuff. No real or weighty books of theology or of any subsatnce is current. They’re too hard, too serious, too weighty, too much, too boring, too difficult, and of course, too irrelevant. We must recapture, rediscover, and refuel our passion for knowing God in a profound and intimate way. This always requires time, effort, sweat, reading, discipline, training, passion, and honest search of the lofty thoughts of God. All revivals and great transformations of Christians of the past were possible because of their deep earnest search, study, and stick-to-itness. Luther received fire and his heart was aflamed becasuse of his deep thoughts of God in the book of Romans. Calvin found great truths of the sovereignty of God through painstaking study. These and many others were totally and entirely absorbed with the great thoughts of God. Have you thought deeply about God lately? Have you ventured into a deep contemplation about God lately? Or, are your thoughts nothing but fleeting and so transient that are not worthy to be called thoughts at all? Ask God to give you the desire to read intently and deeply about Himself. (Ehesians 1:15-19, 3:18-19; 2 Peter 1:5-8; -1 Timothy 4:16)
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
“Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abiju took their censures, put fire in them and added incense: and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord...” “All Nadab and Abiju did was offer some ‘strange fire’ there...” “A censurable offense, perhaps, but the death penalty?...” “Without the benefit of a trial? Immediate, summary execution...?” “The instructions had been clear. The altar of incense was declared by God to be ‘most holy...’ When Nadab and Abiju offered strange or unauthorized fire on it, they were acting in clear defiance of God. Theirs was an act of blatant rebellion, inexcusable profaning of the Holy Place. They committed a sin of arrogance, an act of treason against God: They profaned a most holy place.” (RC Sproul, “The Holiness of God,” Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois. 1998, p.140, 143)This sample passage from Leviticus may seem harsh and almost ruthless, in fact, this pericope is what many students and scholars of the Bible have come to call “hard saying.” In other words, this is one of those “hard sayings” of the Bible. There are more, especially in the Old Testament. However, this passage sandwiched in the book of “holiness” is quite appropriate. Sometimes our cultural and societal sensibilities are challenged by such a capital punishment especially by a “loving God.” Nevertheless, God is Holy! He cannot look upon, taste, hear, nor tolerate any deviation from His standard of righteousness no matter what peccadillo it may be. As small as the violation may be, as the example of Nadab and Abiju, it still remains a breach, and therefore, an act of treason, rebellion, and defiance. We cannot become so insensitive to sin as to not pay attention to the smallest sin. Sin is sin. “The slightest sin is an act of defiance against cosmic authority.” (RC Sproul, “The Holiness of God,” p.164) Have you placed your life under the microscope of God’s Holiness? Or, have you tried to hide and secretly dismiss some small sin? Work diligently to uncover any secret sin! Pastor Jim Cater
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Dear everyone,
As you may already know, we just concluded our "Jewish Evangelism Seminar Weekend," May 17-19, here at Miramar church. I wanted to highlight some of the high points:
Friday night: This session was very informative esp. with the general details. The highlight for this night unfolded these important elements about witnessing to our Jewish neighbors:
1. Our Jewish neighbors have false ideas about the identity of the messiah. These false ideas ranged from a political deliverer to the messiah being the nation itself (this is based on their re-interpretation of Isaiah 53).
2. Our Jewish neighbors have false ideas of basic biblical doctrines. This ranged anywhere from believing that God is unknowable (many have become agnostics) to explaining away sin to mean bad choices. Even their belief in an afterlife is very contorted and they have consorted to wild beliefs including re-incarnation. In fact, many have converted to Buddhism. Furthermore, There are more converting to other philosophies than Christianity. This is because of their consistent consensus that Christians hate them! Ouch!!
3. Our Jewish neighbors need a consistent biblical approach to a true understanding of the messiah. Solid OT defense of the prophecies relating to Jesus is imperative for witnessing to be effective. We must learn them well. Present them knowledgeably, exegetically, and coherently. Beginning from Genesis 3:15 to Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, 53 to Daniel 7:13, 9:24-27. Present these passages and how they point to the declaration of a man that lived and was resurrected (since some Jews believe that one of their famous Rabbis who died is the messiah, in fact many, on a given date, go to his tomb and await his rising from the dead).
4. Our Jewish neighbors need to have consistent Christians who develop friendships that our genuine, relational, and real. We need to consider having steps in place to witness to them. We need to pray for them. Learn more about their OT. Maintain a true friendship. Prepare yourself for the tough questions regarding "anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. These questions will come.
Saturday seminar:
This seminar talked about the Mothers of the messiah. This session presented the important contribution the women made to the coming messiah. They (the ladies) also learned how to witness to the Jewish ladies. The Jewish ladies have special considerations that are critical to witnessing such as their continual second class citizenship in the synagogue, their relegation to small aspects in the ministry, and their sentiment is that they as a whole have little access to worship. Many Jewish ladies feel like outcasts still. Many want to know God and have access to Him but are prohibited.
Sunday session AM:
This session concentrated on the Holocaust and the church. In other words, what have Christians through the ages up to the Holocaust contributed to "anti-Semitism." This session was the most painful reality check we've encountered in a long time. The speaker was able to highlight some nuances of history that showed the painful sentiments from "Christians " about the Jews: anywhere from John Chrysostom to Martin Luther. This is why we have to be good students of history. All of us have painful weak and black spots on our characters.
Sunday session afternoon:
This session's foci was on Romans 1:16-17. This was an exegetical look at the possible interpretation of "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." As to what Paul meant by these phrases is debated by scholars, but the evangelistic priority to the Jew is one of the ones considered. Much comparing Scripture with Scripture is imperative here. Nevertheless, our evangelistic efforts toward the Jews certainly is in need of reevaluation regardless of the interpretation you concede with.
This and much more characterized our weekend. It was very informative, educational, edifying, and encouraging. If any of you would like a copy of the CD's, please feel free to call me or email me. I will gladly give copies. Thank you all for your prayers and support (esp IBB with your child care services).
My hopes and goal is to annex this seminar's training to our Door 2 door outreach and our "Way of the Master" training. As we meet more Jewish people, we hope to be better trained and skilled to open more dialogue and to present the gospel even more clearly. We hope we can begin to address this abandonment of the Jewish people in regard to befriending them in the hopes to "save some."
Blessings,
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5