Jesus Christ

DiM | “Come as You Are” by Crowder

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Presentation1Today is “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

There has been a lot of movement in the Top 20 Charts. Today we will be taking a look at the #8 song “Come As You Are” by Crowder. I’m not sure who his target audience was, but this song is for the Christian who has lost sight of the Grace of God and is being crushed by a burden he could never bear. For the Christian who has been led astray into works-based false theology (purpose driven, word of faith, prosperity, or graceless legalism), this is the call to return to the Only Gospel of the Jesus Christ, to the Grace of God. To the prodigal son and the foolish Galatians alike… come as you are.

VEVO Music Video

Lyrics (via KLove Website)

Crowder from the album Neon Steeple

Come out of sadness from wherever you’ve been
Come broken hearted let rescue begin
Come find your mercy
Oh sinner, come kneel

Earth has no sorrow
That Heaven can’t heal

So, lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer, come home
You’re not too far
So, lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are

There’s hope for the hopeless
And all those who’ve strayed
Come sit at the table
Come taste the grace
There’s rest for the weary
Rest that endures

Earth has no sorrow
That Heaven can’t cure

Come as you are
Fall in His arms
Come as you are

There’s joy for the morning
Oh sinner, be still

Earth has no sorrow
That Heaven can’t heal

Publishing: © 2014 sixsteps Music / worshiptogether.com Songs / Inot Music / 9T One Songs / Ariose Music (ASCAP) / Valley Of Songs Music (BMI) (Admin. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) / Thankyou Music (admin. worldwide at EMICMGPublishing.com, excluding Europe, which is admin. by Kingswaysongs) (PRS)
Writer(s): David Crowder, Matt Maher and Ben Glover

Positive Elements

I listened to this song about fifteen times this morning. The message of this song is one that every Believer needs to hear as often as they find themselves in need of forgiveness and restoration (that should be daily). Yes, we need to hear Law and repent of sin, but we also need to hear “you’re forgiven” and “come as you are”. As I listened to the song, I couldn’t help but think of the Prodigal Son.

Luke 15:11-24 (ESV) | The Parable of the Prodigal Son
11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. 17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

My mind also went to Galatians 3, where Paul is urging the Galatians to guard against false doctrine.

Galatians 3:1-14 (ESV) | By Faith, or by Works of the Law?
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? 7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written,“Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Dear Christian, come out of sadness from wherever you’ve been, come brokenhearted let rescue begin, come find your mercy, Oh sinner, come kneel. Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can’t heal. So, lay down your burdens lay down your shame. All who are broken lift up your face. Oh wanderer, come home, you’re not too far. So, lay down your hurt… lay down your heart… come as you are. Focus on the picture Jesus painted of Our Heavenly Father. Come as you are, come home, you’re not too far. Have you been worn down with graceless law (asceticism, Dominion theology, Hebrew roots, etc.) or other false theology of works (word of faith, soul ties, purpose-driven-seeker), or you simply aren’t being fed the Gospel on a regular basis. “Being Saved” isn’t the just a one-time deal that happened a long time ago when you first believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ… The Gospel is home, it’s where the Father’s table is set, where we live and breath, and where we find rest. We live in the “already” and the “not yet”, where we are simultaneously “justified” and “sinner”… until the last Day, when Jesus Christ will come for His bride…

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 (ESV) 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

While the Lord, Jesus Christ, tarries… we must remain hidden within Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church. The Gospel is the bread and water of Jesus Christ, the Promise. Jesus Christ is the mana from heaven in the wilderness, the rock from whom water flowed… He taught us the Law more perfectly, and He IS the Gospel. So come home, lay down your burdens, and enter into His rest.

Hebrews 4:11-16 (ESV) 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Concerns

This song might be dismissed as an evangelistic song for unbelievers… that would be a mistake. The song doesn’t preach Law and Gospel, it doesn’t call the unbeliever to repentance, it doesn’t declare the message of the Gospel, because without the Law the Gospel resolves a problem the unbeliever doesn’t acknowledge. This song is for the believer who has succumbed to condemnation, shame, or false doctrine. While all of the promises in this song are available for the unbeliever if he would believe, repent, and be saved by the Gospel of Jesus Christ… the problem of unbelief is that they don’t believe they are sinners, or that they need Jesus. This song is calling to the individual who knows they need Jesus but have bought into the lie that they have to first earn the Grace of God by some work. The call of salvation is the call out of the kingdom of darkness… a call that can only be made by the Word of God, not the will of man.

The song isn’t specifically Christian, in that it doesn’t name Jesus outright, so it could be easily hijacked by any false religion. That always seems to be a concern here, in that there is an assumption that everything played on a “Christian Station” must be Christian. That isn’t always the case, so this concern bears mentioning.

Conclusion

I love this song. I cannot get enough of it. I know so many hurting Christians who suffer from malnutrition.  They attend church week after week hearing only Law (and mostly man-made law at that) and aren’t faithfully reminded, grounded, and restored in the Gospel of Grace.  Worse yet, there are so many who’ve been led astray after false doctrines and false teachers selling empty promises blaspheming the Name of Jesus. Pray for them, reach out to them, remind them to “come home” to the Gospel of Grace, Jesus Christ. This isn’t a song for the unbeliever… though the unbeliever might actually really like it. It doesn’t preach Law and repentance.

To God be the glory, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Friday Sermon | Reformation Montana 2014 (Sye Ten Bruggencate )

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refmt-logoLast week we watched session 2 of the Reformation Montana 2014 Conference held this past June 19th. We listened to Justin Peters give a condensed version of his Clouds without Waters presentation.

This week we’ll take a look at the topic of Apologetics from a believer’s position, one that every Christian can embrace. Sye Ten Bruggencate is a lay minister whose ministry practices presuppositional Apologetics. The approach he uses and teaches differs from what the world wants in apologetics (which tends to begin with an “all views are equal and respected before we debate them) by pre-supposing that our Christian worldview is foundationally True. Namely, we don’t need to prove the Bible is true, nor do we need to prove the God of the Bible is real. According to Romans 1, the world already knows God and has rejected to worship Him as God; therefore any attempt by man to claim to be an atheist is lying about his atheism. Therefore, from a Christian perspective, we do not put our God on trial; rather, we put the lying “atheist” on trial. If the atheist asserts that there is no God, then we ask them “then how do you measure ‘truth’ and how do you define ‘knowledge’ ?” The point of this apologetic is to preach Law and Gospel without putting God on trial, because He is the Judge. This apologetic isn’t about making an unbeliever feel comfortable in his unbelief; rather, it is to expose the futility in pretending there is some philosophical alternative, there is none. There are only 2 positions, belief in Him, or unbelief. Let’s look at some of the key scriptures and then watch the video.

Romans 1:16-32 (ESV)

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another,men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

They know. There are no true atheists, only fools.

Romans 11:33-36 (ESV)

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

I hope you enjoy this presentation as much as I did.

If you’d rather have an audio-only version, you can access them from the Reformation Montana 2014 website.

If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback please feel free to share.

If you’d like to read/hear more of what Sye Ten Bruggencate teaches, check out these sites:

Let us close with Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3.

Ephesians 3 (ESV)

The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed

3 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Amen, indeed. May God bless you and keep you until the Day of Christ’s Return,
In Him,
Jorge

Gospel Wednesday | Colossians 3-4

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bibleAs we continue working through the fundamentals of the Gospel as explained in the New Testament, it is our hope that you will also explore our Old Testament (OT) studies and see how the Bible truly is one complete document, the very Word of God.

Last week we started in Colossians 2. We looked at what it means to be made alive in Christ and how important it is that we not allow false teaching lead us away from Christ and His Gospel. We see Paul progressing in his letter to the church he hadn’t visited in person from the Person of Jesus and the truth of His Gospel as the central focus of the Christian Life. Brothers and sisters, there will be many false teacher majoring in the minor things of life, seeking to profit from you while getting you off-track from the central focus of Christianity… the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is so much we can dive into in these last two chapters of Colossians, but for now let’s do a high-altitude flyover of the text to see how the Christian life should look. So, without further adieu, let’s continue in our study of Colossians.

Living the Christian Life

Colossians 3 (ESV)

Put On the New Self

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Seek the things that are above. This utterly destroys any so-called “prosperity gospel”. Paul isn’t inventing this teaching, either… Jesus taught us to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:20)” The Truth of the Gospel is that in Christ we are over-comers… but not as the world defines over-comer with untouchable health, wealth, and prosperity… those are earthy treasures where moth and rust destroy, and thieves steal.

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

This is the hard part, this is where the Law of God continues to work in us. The purpose of the Law is to convict us of sin… and the wages of sin is death. Now, Christ died as a substitutionary atonement for our sin so that we needn’t fear eternal death, Christ paid that price. However, Jesus told us that to follow him we’ll have to take up our cross (Luke 9:23-27) … we are to die to our sinful natures daily. Notice the wording of the first list “what is earthly in you”. These are the sins of the heart that we’ve inherited in our flesh, born of the seed of Adam. Sexual Immorality is a broad sin… it covers everything that isn’t within God’s design for sexual intimacy which is the union of one man and one woman for life. Any and all deviation from this design is Sexual Immorality. Homosexuality, pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, rape, incest, adultery… all of it. That’s the first item… impurity, passion, and evil desire are next in the same list… lust, fantasizing of sexual immorality, pornography, emotional intimacy with someone other than your spouse… these are all bad copies/replacements for God’s love for us, how He designed us to love our spouses and how we are to love our brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. And your flesh craves it all. Paul is urging/reminding his readers that we must put to death that which is sin in our flesh. We do not have the strength (or even the will) to do this apart from faith in Jesus Christ. For in Him we have forgiveness and the hope of resurrection in Christ at the last day. In Him we the genuine article… Love. The second list refers to the corruption of sin in our emotions. Anger for the wrong reasons (sinful selfishness) is a fallen version of righteous anger against sin and unrighteousness. Wrath… it’s not our place. We deserve, have earned, the wrath of God… and Jesus bore the full brunt of God’s Wrath in our stead. Slander has no place in our dealings with brothers and sisters in Christ, they are His children. Slander is pointless with the lost… for they are condemned by their unbelief and destined for destruction. They don’t need slander, they need the Gospel of Jesus Christ… they need Grace… they need Faith. There is no Greek or Jew, there are no haves and have-nots within the Church… we are all equally free in Christ for He is in all who have been Saved by Him.

But the Christian life isn’t just about “thou shalt not”. The Law has both prohibitions and commandments… and in Christ all have been fulfilled. In Christ we are made free to do the works of God. So, while we put to death the sin of our flesh, we should also seek to put on the righteousness of Christ.

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The world specializing in lies. The world will tell you, that you should keep silent regarding their sin or their need for a Savior because in their eyes that’s unloving. They are lying. Some of our Christian brothers and sisters will try to tell you that rebuke for sinful living or false doctrine is unloving, that’s also a lie. Silence in the face of sin is unloving. People don’t stay silent in the face of sin for the sake of the sinner, but for their own sake. Have compassion on those who are trapped in sin, and also for the lowly and the downtrodden, and for those being persecuted for the sake of the Gospel. Speak and walk in kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Remember, there is forgiveness available for us when we fail (and we will fail) and if we keep that in the forefront of our mind then we should also extend forgiveness for others who have wronged us.

This is tough, and it cannot be done out of pride or effort, but only by faith in Christ. The take overall can be quite daunting and if you lose sight of the core of the Gospel, and start buying into false notions of “inner purpose” or “the champion within you” discouragement is inevitable. It’s not about you, it’s about Christ. Start small, start with your family. God instituted the family as a picture of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Rules for Christian Households

18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

The first relationship in the family that needs to be set straight is that of husband and wives. It points to the relationship between Christ (husband) and the Church (wife). Children are to obey their parents, fathers are not to provoke their children. Here we have bonservants and masters all included in the household. What took place in the U.S. under slavery was sinful in the sight of the Lord. Don’t let anyone get away with twisting this scripture. The better picture of what this bondservant thing would look like (when done scripturally) would be like Alfred serving Bruce Wayne, or Higgens serving Magnum P.I., or Baileywick serving King Roland. If I’ve managed to miss every pop culture reference that matters to you, then I suppose it would be best to think of this proper bondservant would be a live-in nanny or house keeper. It would also be wise to extend the rules of the master-servant relationship found in the New Testament to the Employer-Employee relationships in business.

Colossians 4 (ESV)

1 Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Further Instructions

2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Notice that this is the first time we have a direct command regarding outsiders or unbelievers. The purpose of the Church is to grow in Christ, to mature the saints. There is a lot of bad theology out there, particularly with a complete misunderstanding of the role of the Church. The purpose of the Church is to mature the saints so they can be edified and grow in the fullness of Christ. We are all called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost, but the role of the Church is to nurture the infants in the faith into men and women of God. The role of the pastor isn’t just to preach the Gospel to the lost… it’s to feed Christ’s sheep… to tend His flock. In his closing remarks, Paul names his fellow workers in Christ… the elders and pastors/teachers. Quite the list of names, because Paul wants this church to know who is faithfully working on their behalf, for the edification of the Church.

Final Greetings

7 Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.

10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”

18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

Such great love, to take the time to write to this young church whose congregation he never met. Paul loves them, and they are also loved by several other servants of God. This is the role of the pastor/elder. This letter isn’t a long one… and yes, there is more to learn of the mystery of God… but this letter covers the essentials, the supremacy of Christ and the need to guard your doctrine and love your family and the Family of Jesus Christ. In closing, let’s turn to the Apostle Peter’s prayer in his first letter.

1 Peter 4:7-11 (ESV) 7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Amen, indeed.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM (Bonus) | Leaven in Camp at Ignite Church

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Presentation1Today is “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship. We have a bonus submission brought to our attention by the Facebook status of Chris Rosebrough (FightingfortheFaith).

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

There is no place in the Church for this kind of behavior, much less from those who would presume to lead the people of God. Pray for repentance, and for deliverance for all who attend this “church”. I am deeply grieved by this.

Performed by the Ignite Band on August 10, 2014

Lyrics (via MetroLyrics)

Fuel Lyrics

“Fuel” is track #2 on the album S & M. It was written by Stewart, Tommy / Murray, Pete / Godfrey, Neil Matthew / Fahnestock, John L..

Gimme fuel, gimme fire
Gimme that which I desire
Ooh

Turn on, I see red
Adrenaline crash and crack my head
Nitro junkie, paint me dead
And I see red

A hundred plus through black and whites, ha, ha
War horse, warhead
F— ’em man, white knuckle tight (Ignite Band sang “Forget’em”)
Through black and white

Ooh, and I burn
Fuel is pumping engines
Burnin’ hard, loose and clean

And I burn
Turning my direction
Quench my thirst with gasoline

So gimme fuel, gimme fire
Gimme that which I desire, hey
Yeah

Hey, turn on beyond the bone
Swallow future, spit out hope
Burn your face upon that chrome
Yeah

Take the corner, going to crash
Headlights, head on, headlines
Another junkie lives too fast
Yeah, lives way too fast, fast, fast, woh

Ooh, and I burn
Fuel is pumping engines
Burnin’ hard, loose and clean

Ooh, and I burn
Churning my direction
Quench my thirst with gasoline

So gimme fuel, gimme fire
Gimme that which I desire

Ooh, yeah, hey

Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey
Feel it burning
Burn my f—-n’ pain

(Ignite band skipped this refrain via guitar solo)

Ooh, I burn
Fuel is pumping engines
Burnin’ hard, loose and clean

Then I burn
Turning my direction
Quench my thirst with gasoline

Gimme fuel, gimme fire
Gimme that which I desire, yeah

That burn, yeah
Songwriters
STEWART, TOMMY / MURRAY, PETE / GODFREY, NEIL MATTHEW / FAHNESTOCK, JOHN L. Published by Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Concerns

August 10th was a Sunday. This was performed by the Church band. Was it performed as worship for their main service or for the youth or just to be shocking? Not sure. Regardless, this should never be presented as something fitting for church. If you visit their website, they do lots of covers of worldly music… horrible. None of it honors God, nor does it build up the saints. This is Babylon in a place that calls itself a church. Pray for repentance and for deliverance for all those who have been mislead by this “ministry”.

1 Corinthians 5  (ESV) | Sexual Immorality Defiles the Church
5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters,since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

Where are the Elders? Where are the Men of God? Where are the Women of God? This is taking place in their church, and is posted on their church website. They will have to give an account.

Hebrews 4:9-13 (ESV)

9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

God forgive us.

Jude 1:24-25 (ESV) | Doxology

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “How Can It Be” by Lauren Daigle

Faithful Stewardship 3 Comments

Presentation1Today is “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

There has been a lot of movement in the Top 20 Charts. Today we will be taking a look at the #7 song “How Can It Be” by Lauren Daigle. Overall I think the song is okay for Christians with solid Biblical foundation but it is sufficiently vague in all the right places to be dangerous for one whose doctrine is incomplete or shaky.

VEVO Lyric Music Video

Lyrics (via KLove Website)

How Can It Be

Lauren Daigle from the album How Can It Be (Single)

I am guilty
Ashamed of what I’ve done, what I’ve become
These hands are dirty
I dare not lift them up to the Holy one

Chorus
You plead my cause
You right my wrongs
You break my chains
You overcome
You gave Your life
To give me mine
You say that I am free
How can it be
How can it be

I’ve been hiding
Afraid I’ve let you down, inside I doubt
That You could love me
But in Your eyes there’s only grace now

Chorus
You plead my cause
You right my wrongs
You break my chains
You overcome
You gave Your life
To give me mine
You say that I am free
How can it be
How can it be

Bridge
Though I fall, You can make me new
From this death I will rise with You
Oh the grace reaching out for me
How can it be
How can it be

Chorus
You plead my cause
You right my wrongs
You break my chains
You overcome
You gave Your life
To give me mine
You say that I am free
How can it be
How can it be

Publishing: © 2014 Sony ATV Timber Publishing (SESAC) / Sony ATV Timber Publishing & Open Hands Music (SESAC) / Ponies Riding Shotgun (ASCAP
Writer(s): Words and Music by Paul Mabury, Jason Ingram and Jeff Johnson

Positive Elements

Okay, so for the Christian with solid Biblical foundation, this song points to a lot of Truth. If your doctrine is flawed, you’ll still find it very comforting but the “why” might be askew (I’ll expand on that later). For now, let us look at all of the great inferences that can be made by those who know what Scriptures say.

I am guilty. Confession. We are guilty. This guilt isn’t limited to what we’ve done, but extends to who we are as descendants of Adam, born into his sin. We are fallen, born dead in sins and trespasses.

Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV) 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,like the rest of mankind.

Romans 3:20-25 (ESV)20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

I dare not lift [these dirty hands] up to the Holy One. This line is more of a lie the enemy tells us, the condemnation he tries to lock us down in. As we saw in Romans 3:20, through the law comes knowledge of sin. There is a portion of scripture that the enemy might use to levy his condemnation on Christians, “I desire that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands”, thus blocking Christians from praying due to their unholy hands. But remember, the enemy is a liar and he twists scripture. Let’s turn to 1 Timothy 2.

1 Timothy 2:1-10 (ESV) | Pray for All People
1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; 9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.

Chorus. This is a positive because the song moves from this condemnation from the enemy right into the chorus where the singer is declaring the Truth of the Gospel (if we are assuming the “You” is Jesus Christ). I highlighted the Gospel portion in the passage above. You plead my cause (…there is one mediator between God and men), You gave your life (who gave himself as a ransom for all). The message of the Gospel is that Christ paid the penalty of our sin, and He who had no sin became sin in our place.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 (ESV) 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The second verse falls back into sharing some of the shared struggles we have with condemnation again, for the sins we commit. Again, the enemy seeks to break our worship and prayer by keeping us in despair thinking we’ve let God down. God knows our hearts… and His Word makes clear that He loved us even when we were lost sinners. Since our salvation is not a result of our works, it cannot be undone by our lack of perfection… it wasn’t our doing to begin with.

John 3:16-18 (ESV) | For God So Loved the World
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

By Grace we are saved, through faith. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ is not condemned. The bridge reflects back the availability of forgiveness and restoration when we fall. The “How Can it Be” reflects the Mystery of the Gospel.

1 John 1 (ESV) | The Word of Life
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Colossians 1:24-29 (ESV) | Paul’s Ministry to the Church
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

For the Christian who is firmly planted in the Word of God, this song brings to mind many a great promise of the work of Christ on the cross. However… for the one who lacks knowledge found only in the Scriptures…

Concerns

This song is vague. The Name of Jesus isn’t named. The only non-pronoun reference is “the Holy One”. Now, the line “you gave your life” helps narrow it down to a Christian message, for only Christianity grants the message of God laying down His life to save creation. While we pointed to several Gospel texts and asserted that various lines in the song made inferences to them, the song itself doesn’t explain any of it.

There is no repentance. The only hard claim is the first line I am guilty. Any subsequent reference to sin is emotive (a feeling of dirty, disappointment, shame) or softened (I fall, let you down). The only reference to the Holiness of God is couched in a sense of condemnation. In fact, if you throw out the sound doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement, you lose sight of the fact that Jesus took the full brunt of the Wrath of God as payment for our sin. What remains is a language of sin as though it is a person and our enemy directly, apart from the Holiness of God. You get a Joel Osteen-esque language of sin being a system of “mistakes” or “blemishes” that Christ died to clean up for us. An improper view of sin (Law) undermines the Mystery of the Grace of God in the Gospel.

Conclusion

I wish the song had been written more explicitly, naming the Name of Jesus and calling for repentance. The song is written vaguely enough to suggest that everyone is forgiven already because of Christ, and that our biggest problem is the feeling of guilt/condemnation. It is so close to the Truth… but not quite there. For the Christian, particularly the one with sound doctrine filling in the blanks, this song is great. I believe it only needed some minor additions or adjustments to stand on its own. The problem comes when we encourage Christians (and unbelievers) declaring them forgiven without calling them to repentance. This is a major problem in the visible church and a common issue with these top-20 songs.

To God be the glory, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge