Worship for the Believer

“To worship God is to ascribe the proper worth to God, to magnify His worthiness of praise, or better, to approach and address God as He is Worthy.”
                                                                             Donald S. Whitney

What does God say about Worship?

          Old Testament

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself any idols.
3. You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
                                                (Exodus 20:1-11)

Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

          New Testament

Matthew 22:37-38 YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment.
                                                              

Worship is focusing on and responding to God

            His presence (John 20:28)
            In His creation (Romans 1:20)
      
Worship is about being God-centered, or preoccupied by God.

“The Glory of God is always the issue”

                                    Gordon L. Borror

Psalms 8:1 O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!

Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

“Your view of God is the most important view you have, and to the extent your view of God is distorted…to the extent, your life is out of focus.”

                                                     Gordon L. Borror

Worship is to be done in Spirit and in Truth

John 4:23-24 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

 

Worship in spirit

Only a person indwelt by the Holy Spirit can truly worship God (1 Corinthians 12:3).
The Spirit reveals God to us, and teaches the truth of Scripture.
Worshiping God in the spirit is to begin with the heart.
 

Worship in truth

Worship must be in accordance to the truth of who God is as revealed by Scripture

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

“Worship is from the heart and head, with both emotions and thought.”

                                                                                        Donald S. Whitney

Worship is to be expected both Publicly and Privately

                    Public Worship (Church)

Heb 10:24-25 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

                  
Believers are to meet as brothers and sisters as a body that they might worship God together.
            Praise in song and testimony
            Prayer
            Preaching and reading of God’s Word
            Response

                    Private Worship (Individual/Family/Home)

        
Matt 6:6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Believers are to spend private time alone with God.

            Reading, studying, and meditating upon God’s Word (devotions)

            Praise
            Prayer

Public worship does not excuse a believer from private worship;

and how effective can public worship be without private worship throughout the week.


            Sources

God, Creator and Redeemer.  The Holy Bible.  From the Heart of God: Through the Hands of Holy Men, From Before the Foundation of the World.

 

Borror, Gordon L. "Worship." Lecture, Southwestern Baptist theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX, 2006.

Whitney, Donald S.  Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.  Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1991.

Whitney, Donald S.  Spiritual Disciplines within the Church: Participating Fully in the Body of  Christ.  Chicago: Moody, 1996.

A Christmas Reading Challenge

The Season of Christmas is upon us once more.  As you prepare for the season may you forever remember the reason for the Season,…Jesus, the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary, laid in a manger and destined to die for our sins.  

       The Reading will help you to see the focus of God’s redemptive plan.  Salvation is not relegated to a select few who are pure in their genealogy and their religion, but is open to all humanity and you find no greater evidence of this than in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Himself. 

       Simple and short this plan may be but it is packed with great insight.  As always, let the Lord peak your curiosity read before and long after these passages. Enjoy the discovery of God’s Great Word.

Blessings,

Pastor Eric

1 Dec    Genesis 16	17 Dec   2 Kings 18
2 Dec    Genesis 27	18 Dec   2 Kings 21
3 Dec    Genesis 38	19 Dec   2 Kings 22:1-23:3
4 Dec    Joshua 2	20 Dec   Matthew 1:1-17
5 Dec    Joshua 6	21 Dec   Luke 1:1-25
6 Dec    Ruth 1	22 Dec   Luke 1:26-56
7 Dec    Ruth 2	23 Dec   Matthew 1:18-25
8 Dec    Ruth 3	24 Dec   Luke 1:57-80
9 Dec    Ruth 4	25 Dec   Luke 2:1-40
10 Dec   2 Samuel 11	26 Dec   Matthew 2
11 Dec   2 Samuel 12	27 Dec   Revelation 1:9-18
12 Dec   1 Kings 11	28 Dec   Colossians 1:13-22
13 Dec   1Kings 12	29 Dec   Hebrews 4:14-5:1-14
14 Dec   1 Kings 15	30 Dec   Romans 8
15 Dec    2 Kings 8:16-29	31 Dec   Ephesians 2
16 Dec    2 Kings 15:32-16:4	Happy New Year!

Defining Evangelism

I was blessed during my time at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) to sit under one of the preeminent Professors of Evangelism any seminary could hope to offer, Dr. Roy Fish (1930-2012).  Years prior to coming to Seminary I sat under Dr. Fish as he served as Interim Pastor at Cottage Hill Baptist Church, the very church I was baptized in and joined as a young believer in Christ.

This godly man made an immeasurable impact into the ministries of countless Pastors, Missionaries and Churches.  There is no doubt his evangelistic efforts and influence placed him among some of the greatest Evangelists such as Billy Graham and Manley Beasley.  My own ministry is forever changed because of the few years I sat under his Pastorate and the months I was able to glean under his teaching at Seminary.

            Below I have shared a few simple notes I had taken while sitting under Dr. Fish.  Many of my fellow Alum from SWBTS would easily testify to the great teaching they too received.  I hope and pray these notes will help you to better understand the role every Christian is to take to accomplish the Great Commission.

Defining Evangelism

What Evangelism is NOT

A) Evangelism is NOT telling people they are already saved

            “Love God and He will love you” or “God already loves you and forgives you”

The Bible teaches the present condition of people

                                              is determined by their response to Jesus Christ

B) Evangelism is NOT your presence with lost people

            A believer walking amongst lost people does not save them

C) Evangelism is NOT everything the church does

            Not everything the church does is evangelism

            Everything the church does should be related to evangelism

Evangelism is NOT an umbrella word for what the church does in the world,

                        perhaps ministry, and evangelism fall under ministry

D) Evangelism is NOT a believer living a godly life

            “I witness by my life”

            The New Testament never refers to lifestyle or quality of life as evangelism

New Testament:            See it

                                                     Know it
                                                     Accept it

 Tell it

Witnessing is verbalizing what we know to be true

It is not one or the other; you need the lifestyle, but you must tell why you live that lifestyle

Never let lifestyle be your only witness

E) Evangelism is NOT Social Reconstruction

            “We need political, economic, racial restructuring for change to take place in people’s lives”

            “Redeem from without then those in it will be redeemed”

            “We just want the world to be a better place”

Social Reconstruction rejects the biblical view of the sinfulness of humanity

                        Adam and Eve were sinless and still fell

Social Reconstruction rejects the biblical stance on personal response to the gospel (Rev 3:20)

Society will change only by God transforming the individual from the inside out

 

New Testament Words for Evangelism

Pre-Christian:

            Evangel (Latin) used by the Romans to describe victory in war; good news of victory in war

Christian-Church Era

            The New Testament authors adopted the Latin word and altered the intent of the good news in Greek

            1) Euangellion (Noun) meaning good news, good message

                        Eu- Good (feeling)

                        Angellion- Message

            The New Testament authors transformed the word into a verb

            2) Euangelidzo (Verb) meaning to tell good news

            The New Testament authors used the word to describe the one who tells good news

            3) Euangelistes (Noun) meaning Evangelist

 

Acts 21:8

⁸ On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. (See Acts 6:1-6)

Eph 4:11-12

¹¹ And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

2 Tim 4:1-5

¹ I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: ² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. ³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, ⁴ and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

What Evangelism Is

“Evangelism is the compassionate sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit with lost people for the purpose of leading them to Christ as Savior and Lord that they in turn would share Him with others.”

Dr. Roy Fish

1)     The Spirit of Evangelism--compassionate sharing

2)     The Content of Evangelism (message)--Good News of Jesus Christ

3)     The Power of Evangelism-- in the power of the Holy Spirit

4)     The Recipients of Evangelism-- lost people

5)     The Objective of Evangelism-- leading them to Christ as Savior and Lord

6)     The Perpetuation of Evangelism-- that they in turn would share Him with others

The Great Commission

Matt 28:19-20
¹⁹ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always , even to the end of the age."

 

God Bless and Get Busy,
Pastor Eric

 

A Biblical Look at Tithing

There is much misconception and varied opinions among Church goers regarding tithing.  Unfortunately in today’s Churches many believers have adopted a worldly view of money and possessions and have intentionally ignored the clear truth of God’s Word regarding the issue of tithing.  My position as a Pastor and as a follower of Jesus Christ is built upon the teachings of Scripture.

            First, it must be understood that tithing predates the Law (Laws of Moses) found in the Old Testament.  Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, the King Priest of God Most High, in Genesis 14:18-20.  The best interpreter of Scripture is Scripture.  Hebrews 7 affirms the Christian view of this event as tithing predating the Law and that the Levites who received tithes in fact gave a tithe through Abraham to one spiritually greater in Melchizedek, who is a Christophany (a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus before his birth) or the likeness of Christ in his position and order.  So any attempt by Christians to state we are not to tithe based upon a presumed idea that we have been released from tithing because the death of Christ released us from the Law, do not understand the simple fact that the principle of tithing began before the Law.

            Second, the word for tithe in both the Hebrew (maaser) and the Greek (dekate) of Scripture literally means “one tenth of” or “a tenth.”

            Third, God gives us His perspective of tithing in Malachi 3:8-12. In verse 8 God states when we do not tithe we are not robbing a man or a church, we are literally robbing God.  God states in verse 10 that we are to bring the whole tithe to the storehouse of God, in the Old Testament this would have been the Temple, in the New Testament it is the Local Church.  Your tithe belongs to the storehouse of God, any offerings above the tithe may be designated as the Lord leads you.  As verse 10 continues it states the tithe benefits others by providing “food,” or meeting the needs designated by God to accomplish His kingdom’s Work.  It is also the only place where God actually challenges a person to test Him to see if God is a liar or not.  God says He will open the windows of heaven and overflow you with blessings, to those who are obedient.  God states He will rebuke who devours and destroys and all the world will see the glory of God in how He blesses those who trust and obey His Word.  It is never an issue of whether one can afford to tithe, but an issue of how one can afford not to tithe.  Christians and Churches do not have financial problems they have spiritual problems.

            Fourth, tithing is an act of Worship and is to be given with a joyful heart. Second Corinthians 9:7 states, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”  Psalms 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.”  God does not need our money, He grows the trees we use to make the paper we print the value of money on, He created out of nothing the gold we think as most precious, He gave us the ground and the seed to plant and grow our food, and He blesses us by allowing us to give to His Work.  Consider this, God has given us all we have, then He asks us to give a tenth of what He gave us to invest in His kingdom’s work, and because we obeyed He blesses us because we gave to Him what He owned already.  There is no greater investment plan in the world that can give such a return.  The tithe is a reminder in our life that God owns it all.  A reminder that we are but stewards of God’s possessions and that He is just as concerned about what we do with the other 90% as He is over the 10%.  It is a reminder to every believer to recognize not only all that he owns belongs to God, but so does the believer.  This recognition is Worship. 

            There are many arguments brewing around the idea of tithing within the church today.  Most are unscriptural, sinful and based in man’s greed and spiritual incompetence.  The Scriptures must be the guide to a clear conscience before God.  As an act of Worship before a Holy God, a man giving grudgingly may find himself in the place of Cain, where his offering is unsatisfactory and unacceptable regardless of the value of the tithe, but the greed of men in gathering possessions in indebtedness as an excuse to disobey the Word of God is just as unacceptable and sinful. 

We worship God on His terms, not our own.

We must forever remember that our giving must be with a joyful heart “for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). The Christian has every right to rejoice in the privilege of being allowed to give to the work of God in and through His church.  Rejoice that God, who does not need our help, allows us to give to the furthering of His Kingdom.

Though this position statement is not all inclusive to every question or aspect that may revolve around the principle of tithing for the New Testament Church it gives a Scriptural foundation for my position as both a believer and as a Pastor. 

 

Philosophy of the Family in Ministry; Not just for Pastors.

            This post will focus upon how ministers should keep vigilant in guarding their time with family.  Far too many have allowed the ministry of the Church to become a mistress in the family.        

            Before we begin, we must understand the context of the passage of Scripture we will reference. It speaks of the Qualifications of the Pastor, but I believe the underlying principle does apply to every disciple of Christ, for we are all ministers.  The Pastor is a Minister to the Ministers (Ephesians 4:11-12).

1 Timothy 3:1-7

¹It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. ² An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. ⁴ He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity ⁵ (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), ⁶ and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. ⁷ And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

            Ministry of every kind and every nature is demanding when it comes to time especially when the minister of God has a family.  A minister must fulfill his assignment, but not at the expense of his/her family. Paul was well aware of the demands ministry would place upon believers and encouraged those who were not married to refrain from marriage so as to devote more time to the Lord’s work.  

1 Corinthians 7:32-33

³² But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; ³³ but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, ³⁴ and his interests are divided.

            Problems often arise when believers have little discipleship in regards to family and ministry.  Over the years I have witnessed persons struggling with the forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ.  Typically they are new converts to the Christian faith, but struggle with understanding how the Lord can be so forgiving and allow the devil a foothold in their conscience as he constantly bombards them with such statements as, “the Lord can’t forgive that,” or “He won’t forgive that one, it was so bad.”  The worst of the devil’s tactics is convincing believers that they have to work to make up for lost time or to pay back to God through works in the Church the forgiveness that was freely given through the Blood of Christ.  

            One example was a young husband and father that I met not long after my own conversion.  He struggled with the forgiveness of his past sins and believed he had to make up for them by working in the church.  He became involved in many ministries of the church, from helping park cars to showing up anytime work was being done around the Church property.  We had moved away and after a year we returned to visit our old friends and had discovered his wife had left the church, divorced her husband and left with their child, because she felt that the church had become a mistress in their marriage. 

This tragedy could have been prevented if someone had stepped up to disciple the young man and his wife and provided watchcare over the family and simply said “enough is enough, it’s time for ‘family time’.”  This particular church is what many would refer to as a “Mega-Church,” and such churches have much work to do.  When a Church begins to absorb all the time of an individual it risks destroying the very family relationships it hopes to build up. 

This problem is by no means a large-church problem, but an every-church problem when true biblical discipleship is lacking and the people give into the false conviction of others, “that if you don’t do it, it won’t get done, and what a shame that will be for the kingdom.”  Every believer is a minister and must have a philosophy regarding the family in ministry to protect their family from the pitfalls of overworked ministers.   

            I have been blessed with a woman called of God to be a pastor’s wife.  She understands the demands of ministry and knows that times come when I must go to the hospital or minister to people during our “normal” family-time.  She also knows that I am committed to my family and will make up time lost at a later time.  My wife also knows that if at any time she feels that the family is hurting due to ministry she has the right to look her husband in the eye and say, “time for ‘family time’.” 

            Every believer should have a place of ministry in the Kingdom’s Work. As a part of that ministry, one must have a philosophy of ministry regarding one’s family based upon the Scriptures to guide them in protecting their family.    

My Personal Philosophy of the Family in Ministry

As a minister of God’s Word I am obligated by God to care for my family, scripturally if I am found lacking as a husband and as a father I am unqualified to serve as a pastor of God’s Church.  As such, my Scriptural priorities are first my God, second my family and third my service to God’s Church.  Keeping these biblical priorities in their order allows me to serve the Lord’s church even better with full confidence in the blessing of the Lord and a clear conscience before God.  

What is your Philosophy of the Family in Ministry?

  

My Personal Mission Statement and Philosophy of Ministry

            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. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

As a Pastor my role is to minister to the ministers of the body of Christ; seeking their full maturity in Christ Jesus; that they may learn to love their God with all their heart, soul, and mind; that they may fulfill their mission to make disciples of a lost and dying World in need of a Savior; that they too may grow a disciple to full maturity.

            I believe the best way to accomplish this is through the expositional preaching of the full counsel of God’s Word. Expositional preaching is the preaching of a complete book of the Bible from beginning to end.  This type of preaching forces the pastor to preach topics that often make both the pastor and congregation uncomfortable due to the subject matter but necessary for personal growth in the Lord.  Expository preaching protects the congregation from missing the life transforming Word of God and protects the pastor from the accusation that he chose a topic to personally attack members of the congregation.

            The Great Commandment in Matthew 22:36-40 tells us what is most important and who we are to love, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 

            The Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20 tells us how we can fulfill that love, “they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.  And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

      
            We show our love to God through our Worship and our obedience to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a World in need of a Savior. We show our love to our neighbor by preaching and teaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified.