The Priceless Gift of Proclaimed Truth

By: Erin Pearce

This morning I have been very encouraged by reading Ephesians 4:11-16 and by hearing Dr. Young's sermon yesterday.

"And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. " - Ephesians 4:11-16

I know sometimes I have read this passage and thought, "So if I don't have the teaching gifts listed above, does that mean I do not have an important part in the body?" This morning it has hit home again that we ALL NEED the gifts of teaching in our lives to equip us. Hearing truth should propel us to service and keep us from being deceived. This truth that we hear grounds us and guards us from trickery and deceitful schemes.

As I reflect this morning on the sound teaching we have at Grace Evan, I am so thankful that the Holy Spirit has appointed these men to encourage our souls and warn us of the lies that surround us daily. Although I am encouraged by these verses, I am also saddened that I don't hold this gift of truth with higher value. This truth helps us all to be used to our greatest capacity in the body through the Spirit. This truth is being poured into us week in and week out.

Since we all have a part in the body, how are we using this glorious truth we are receiving to glorify God in the spheres of influence He has specifically given to each of us?

Good Candy or Cheap Candy?

By: Johnathan Todd

What to do, what to do... Halloween is fast approaching, and a decision along with it - cheap candy or the good stuff?!

However, before that decision, another clamors for attention and confronts us everywhere - ought a Christian participate in Halloween? Signs announcing "Trunk or Treat" or "Fall Festival" can be seen regularly, and demonic creatures and emphasis on evil inhabit many aspects of Halloween. So before the candy decision, another demands attention. Here are three thoughts to help you decide.

1. Do not "cartoonize" evil. Evil is real and serious, and Satan utilizes a tactic of reducing our assessment of evil to produce a false mindset. Participating in Halloween by the Christian ought not deemphasize the Biblical warning against evil found in 1 Corinthians 14:20, "Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature."

2. Isolation is not Biblical. We are in but not of the world (John 17:14-15). We have a primary task of proclaiming the good news that through Jesus Christ, sinful humanity can possess full forgiveness. When we isolate ourselves, we reduce our ability to proclaim. Whether you "Trunk or Treat" or "Trick or Treat," make sure you are not isolating yourself from neighbors.

3. Having fun is acceptable. Laughing, enjoying, and being creative are all gifts from God. Costumes, candy, parties and traditions ought to be enjoyed and experienced and God should be thanked. Whatever you do this Halloween, thank God for his grace in our lives.

For the record, I'm buying the good candy... and enjoying any leftovers!

Jehoshaphat and the Fear of the Lord

By: Dr. Jimmy Young

Jehoshaphat is a funny name, but don’t let the name fool you. He was one of Judah’s best kings, if not the best. As good as he was, he had a couple of “bad moments.” But I don’t want us to concentrate on those.

There is much that he did that was laudable (II Chronicles 17-20). One thing in particular I want to draw your attention to. It’s in II Chronicles 19:4-11.

As king, Jehoshaphat was concerned about justice being administered in his kingdom. To that end he appointed judges in the land (vs.5). Notice the exhortation he gives to these appointees in verses 6 & 9. He tells them twice that their judgments should be given “in the fear of the Lord.”

He knew that the only thing that would steer men correctly was the knowledge that all of their private moments were being observed by a God who has an inflexible hatred of sin. So, in my judgments, in my decisions, in my choices, I must keep one eye cut toward heaven, knowing that although I may get away with things before men, there is a God before whom I must stand.

I bet you’ve heard of this definition of character: “character is who you are when no one is watching.” Dear ones, know this: There is a God in heaven, who scrutinizes our ways. That’s what I think the Bible means when it calls me to walk “in the fear of the Lord”: That God knows where real character can be found.

Do you know the way to San Jose? (How ‘bout Birmingham?)

By: John Ottley

Kathleen and I recently made our maiden voyage from Memphis to Atlanta for my Dad’s 80th birthday. We drove. When we mentioned this to our new friend, Beth Gurner, she offered to give us directions to Birmingham, including two shortcuts, that would save us a half hour or more. She’s got grandchildren in Birmingham so she drives there every chance she gets. As it turned out, she returned to Memphis the day we were leaving, made detailed notes of the route and emailed the directions to me.

We left at sundown and were going to get to Atlanta six hours later so we were glad for the shortcuts and did NOT want to waste any time getting lost. So, even with our GPS, we paid close attention to Beth’s directions-- even the right turn on the indiscrete road that was VERY EASY TO MISS just past the "Royal Church Chapel" just before a big green road sign… that says Corinth and Olive Branch on it, about 8.5 miles out Highway 72. We also drove the speed limit (on this stretch anyway) because she warned us: DURING THIS STRETCH, YOU WILL WANT TO WATCH THE SPEED LIMIT SIGNS CAREFULLY. CHANGES FROM 40 TO 50 TO 55… DO THE SAME WHEN YOU RETURN. LOTS OF TICKETS GIVEN HERE.

Someone who’d “been there and done that” countless times told us how to get where we wanted to go. We followed her directions closely and got to Birmingham with nary a wrong turn.

I know life doesn’t always work this way. I know we can learn good lessons from losing our way but… we have been given some very clear “directions” by One who claimed to be The Way. Who are we and what are we doing here? What really matters? Do we matter? Who’s really well off? What makes us happy? Who should we trust? How can we be “good”? How can we change?

We’ve been given directions. Are we paying attention?

The Most Intimate Relationship

By: Morgan Martin

Jonathan Edwards, from Miscellanies (#183):

Such was the love of the Son of God to the human nature, that he desired a most near and close union with it, something like the union in the persons of the Trinity, nearer than there can be between any two distinct [beings]. This moved him to make the human become one with him, and himself to be one of mankind that should represent all the rest, for Christ calls us brethren and is one of us.

How should [we] be encouraged, when we have such a Mediator! 'Tis one of us that is to plead for us, one that God from love to us has received into his own person from among us.

And 'tis so congruous that it should be so, and is also so agreeable to the Scripture, that it much confirms in me the truth of the Christian religion.

Come Let Us Reason

By: Jim Umlauf

In the book of Isaiah, God gives his prophet a vision concerning the downward moral spiral of Israel. In the first chapter, surrounded by warning and righteous accusation, God says something very interesting: “Come let us reason together…” Though the message is immediately to a rebellious nation Israel, that statement tells us something about redemption.

Though the Christian faith requires just that—faith—at the same time we do not suspend rational thought. While we do believe in an unseen God who is spirit, we can see some of his attributes in the world around us. Though we can’t see a giant courtroom in the sky, there is a pressing need for justice deep in our being. Though there is great beauty in life, love, family, country, and work, we know that all of the good has been somehow negatively affected, so that the world is a sad caricature of itself.

The virgin birth. Wow. That’s quite a thing to believe. Oh, and God coming to earth and taking on a human nature and body. Not to mention Jesus’ healings, control over the created order, and his resurrection from the dead. Yes, those are things that require faith (glad God gives it as a gift!). But come, let us reason together.

God’s nature is so pure that the sinless heavenly beings shield themselves in joyful wonder. They cheer his attributes when in his presence. Any impurity is instantly jettisoned from God because his eyes and nature cannot receive it. In fact, God—limited only by his own perfections—MUST judge sin, thus he is a consuming fire.

Why does he love sinners? I don’t know. They’re dirty, but he acts in love by sending Jesus, the very righteousness of God. Instead of pouring out consuming fire on sinners, he pours it out on Jesus, so that sinners may be as clean as Christ, and Christ would be as guilty as us. The wages of sin is death, and Jesus paid the wages. He then rose from the dead, victorious, exalted, and gloriously reigning over those he paid for forever.

So, come let us reason together. Though we do believe in that which is unseen, we can at least grasp the elements of justice, debt, and redemption.

Then again, why, oh why, does God love the sinner!?

God Doesn't Change with the Kaleidoscope of Your Life

By: Kim Killebrew

God’s immutability, unchangeableness... It is certainly not the characteristic I consider most often. Love, grace, kindness, justice, even wrath might come to mind before I contemplate his unchangeableness. However, the other day that changed for just a moment...

How often is life likened to a kaleidoscope? Probably a tiresome amount. However, it is a rather apt comparison. As the position of the tiny objects inside change even the most miniscule amount, the pictures change quite dramatically. A kaleidoscope is created to change, and sometimes change seems to be the one constant in life, too. Businesses rise and fall quarterly. The stock market soars and plummets hourly. My kids grow older and seem to enter new stages daily. And I keep waiting for the week when I will have that predictable schedule, but it never seems to come. Life moves so quickly and each of us must adapt and flex as the changes just keep on coming.

About two weeks ago, the kaleidoscope of our family life changed signifcantly. A bit of news, not bad news but certainly unexpected, suddenly brought our lives into a new focus. However, the very day we received this unexpected twist of life, I was teaching my kids about God’s unchangableness. If you didn’t know, this year’s crop of Scripture songs is focused on the attributes of God. And in God’s providence, as I was grieving this news, I was singing and putting dance steps to James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Oh how I praise him for that sweet promise! No variation or even a shadow of change. He is perfect and his perfection is unchanging! It is nearly incomprehensible. When it seems that life’s only constant is change, I am reminded that he NEVER changes. He is really the only constant. Is there any greater comfort in life?

It’s amazing, isn’t it, how only God can order our lives, turn our own kaleidoscopes and bring another picture into view? Just the tiniest changes can shift the position of an entire family. So, now with a new perspective, I begin to make plans and set schedules to order our new life. Yet, I know that it’s just for a little while. It won’t be long before another signifcant change comes and reshapes the order, the picture. But even when my view seems to go pear-shaped, I KNOW that God’s view is clear as a bell, and I can trust him. So, I choose to trust him. May he strengthen my faith - and yours - so that we will continue to trust him now and all the days of our lives.

Beauty Testifies to Truth

By: Johnny Coggin

This is such a fantastic illustration of why we as Christians must view everything we do as a testifying witness for or against the truth of the gospel of Christ.

From an interview with N.D. Wilson:

Trevin Wax: Why is it important that we seek to communicate truth in persuasive and artistically powerful ways?

Nate Wilson: It is important that we communicate well (in ways that resonate artistically as well as theologically) because it adds a great deal of persuasive force—a sort of aesthetic affirmation and enticement to believe what is being said.

As a simple example, imagine being taken over to some family’s home and being told in advance that this family had really tapped into a deeper and truer and more beautiful way of relating to each other. But then, when the front door opens, all you smell are stale socks and a little pyramid of cat poo that’s lurking in the corner. The smell itself is already an argument against everything you’ve been told about these people, and anything they might have to say to you. But imagine if that door opens and you get hit with the smell of baking bread—you are now prepared to react differently. This is not to say that the wonderful smell establishes truth all on its own, but it is a testifying witness.

And this issue goes a lot further than mere pragmatic examples of efficacy in persuasion. If we Christians have the truth, and that truth is beautiful—more beautiful than any other message or religion out there—and then we present it in stammering, clumsy, irreverent, or ugly ways, well, we’re hypocrites. We’re living unfaithfully to the Truth. But if we live in a state of celebration and joy and gratitude, and if our words and our art and our presentations of that truth hit people like the smell of baking bread, then we’re getting somewhere.

Let's bake some bread, y'all.

Fast & Slow

By: John Ottley

…my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger… - James 1:19

"Two ears are given to us, the rabbis observe, but only one tongue; the ears are open and exposed, whereas the tongue is walled in behind the teeth."

One of the things I love about Grace Evan is the privilege of working with people who inspire me. Here are a couple of examples…

Last week, Chris Leuck told me about a recent conversation. A

couple of minutes into the account he calmly said the person had “actually kinda irritated” him but that “just this morning” he’d read in 1 Timothy 5 about being respectful toward those who are older. Chris had been “quick to hear” Paul’s exhortation to young men. God’s Word had made an impression on him. This in turn made an impression on me. I was impressed with his restraint and respect—even when his toes had been stepped on.

Later that day, Johnny Coggin related a conversation in which somebody had come across as impatient and somewhat pushy. He wondered if his being much younger than that person had had something to do with it. I was impressed with the way he responded. Patient. Gentle. Self-controlled.

These guys weren’t ranting or blowing off steam. They’d both kept their cool during conversations that had pressed into their comfort zones. I revisited these interactions with both of them before writing this. The conversations they’d had weren’t easy for them. It wasn’t a case of “no big deal.” They’d been provoked but they were quick to hear and slow to anger rather than the other way round.

I admire this ability to stay cool when the heat’s on. I was impressed that they both chose a calm response rather than yield to the natural reaction to “give it right back” when they were with someone whose composure was leaking. I’m glad I get to work with guys with character like this.

When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. - Proverbs 10:19

Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. - Proverbs 14:29

A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. - Proverbs 15:18

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. - Proverbs 17:27

What Do You Desire?

By: Scott Elliott

I wake up every morning with a hidden agenda – or should I say a subconscious one. As soon as my feet hit the floor (and sometimes much earlier) my mind is already racing on the things I need, plan, and desire to do for that day. Whether I recognize it or not, every behavior (in thought or deed) that I perform is an attempt to obtain the things I desire or treasure.

If I don’t stop and ask God to direct my heart (and therefore my actions) my own sinful self will take over. As James reminds us, we are “dragged away and enticed” by our own sinful desires (James 1:14).

Paul Tripp in his book, Instruments In The Redeemer’s Hands, also makes note of three principles that sum up the battle between our heart and what we treasure:

1) Everyone seeks some kind of treasure.

2) Your treasure will control your heart.

3) What controls your heart will control your behavior.

Ok, so everyone seeks some kind of treasure – that is a given. Are you being careful in what you seek? Is your behavior being guided and filtered through God’s eyes and hands?

Do you let your treasure control your heart, or vice versa? “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

Does your behavior reflect your heart? I am a people watcher and I often ask the questions, “Why do people do the things they do? Why do they react the way they do? Why are they wearing that particular outfit? What is the desire in their heart to make them react and behave in that way?" Knowing that I should be asking myself the same questions!

The desires of our heart wage a war amongst each other and thus the battle begins. The desire soon becomes a demand – the demand becomes a need – the need leads to expectations – the expectations lead to disappointment - which leads to punishment.

Ask God to guard your heart today from the evil desires. Ask him to direct your path and your thoughts. He desires the best for you! What do you desire?

Stay Thirsty, My Friend

By: Dr. Jimmy Young

Surely you know that the first king of Israel was not David. It was Saul, and his story is one of “starting well, but…”

Early on, Saul appeared to be “just what the doctor ordered.” But it wasn’t long before Samuel was confronting Saul and informing him that his days were numbered (I Samuel 13:13-14). His replacement was a nobody from Bethlehem, whose name lives in infamy, David.

Recently, I was reading of the transition from Saul to David, and a statement was made in I Chronicles 10:13 that took me aback. The chronicler points to a “breach of faith” as the reason for Saul’s downfall. Think about that! A breach of faith. What is that? The details aren’t as scary as the possibility of my committing one of those myself.

I guess I could list some things that would constitute a “breach.” Better yet, stay thirsty my friend… thirsty for God and His Word… thirsty for obedience… thirsty for God’s glory. Oh, might it never be said of us that we were guilty of a “breach.”