Tag Archives: Worship

Gospel Centrality, Growth/Pursuit

Putting off involves fostering a new affection

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“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:1–3 ESV)

Because our souls have been transformed and our hearts regenerated, we should experience a growing love for those in the community of faith.  This is now further manifested by a “putting away” of old attitudes & behaviors like malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy (jealousy) & slander (unkind speech).  It is interesting that Peter lists these instead of sins like murder, stealing or adultery.  These are relationally intensive sins that destroy community.  When we deceive or conceal the truth we are protecting ourselves or desiring to paint someone else in a bad light.  We think we are better than others, have our own standards, believe that we are superior to others and yet we don’t live up to that which we profess to believe.  We envy someone else’s family, relationships, power, possessions or place in life.  These are destructive things for our own souls and for the community of faith that need to be put off.  This involves intentionality, accountability and reminding that we have been cleansed from such things as these.  As we further understand & experience our adopted nature, we experience a growing supernatural power to put off these things.

Peter encourages not just a putting off, but to crave (instead of other things which produces the attitudes & actions previously listed) pure spiritual milk.  This is how we put off – we foster a new desire, a new want, a new appetite, a new affection.  Peter’s reference to milk does not necessarily indicate that they are immature, but rather that they are to long for, yearn for & lust after God’s word which is the primary way that we come to know God more deeply.  This is so we can grow up into our salvation – we nurture a craving for God.  This craving & longing for God’s word will be present in those who are truly His (ie tasted that the Lord is good [Psalm 34:8]; it started at salvation & continues throughout our lives.

Craving only comes when we have tasted something and find it desirable.  The same is true with God.  If you have never personally tasted the goodness of God then this craving will be impossible to develop.  If you have been satisfied to sit on the periphery and participate in spiritual things on the surface only, then this will be a foreign concept.  You cannot put off envy, jealousy & other relational sins on your own – they must be replaced with something else.  We must crave pure & spiritual milk which changes our behavior.  We must aggressively root out those things (even morally neutral or good things) which produce competing affections for Jesus in our heart.  He is to be uttermost in our affections, when He is not then the fruit of our idolatry presents itself.  The way to kill this fruit is to right our worship which takes intentionality on our part.  Often times we say we are working hard at it, but what we really want is freedom from sin’s entanglements – we don’t really want Jesus alone.

Meditations

Be Still & Behold

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah” (Psalms 46:1–11 ESV)

God is the only source of security & strength for our soul when we are hard pressed on every side.  Regardless of whether the world is falling apart due to calamities, natural disasters or man made atrocities, God is the Christian’s refuge & strength, a very present help in trouble.  Instead of the tumulus seas and uncertainty of mountains being tossed into the sea, God’s presence is calming.  Despite kingdoms that rise & fall the grace and goodness of God surpasses them all.

In verse 8, the Psalmist invites the singer to behold the works of the LORD.  Recall and know that God will bring an eternal peace to the earth – a peace that squashes all evil, hardship and rebellion.  A peace that will reign forever.  Peace with God & peace with man.  To understand and experience this power and peace you have to do one thing.  You have to be still and know that He is God.  In the midst of hardships and turmoil and relational strife the world clamors for your attention, you have to be still and know that He is God.  You have to be still & behold His majesty.  It is only in stilling one’s soul that the presence of the Almighty will drown out all of the things of this world.  There is coming a day when there will be no fighting, no crying, no hurt, no pain.  God will be exalted, He will rule & reign, He will make all things new.  There is coming a day that He will make everything right so be still, get in the presence of the Almighty and think on these things.  Let them wash over you and fuel your worship.  God, gives us eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to believe!

Gospel Centrality, Growth/Pursuit

Need is all that you need

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“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”(Deuteronomy 30:11–20 ESV)

If you have been in the church for a while, then you have likely heard this passage used as a charge for you to walk in obedience.  It certainly is that!  It certainly is a call to obey the Lord’s commands, but what is in view is not some white knuckled, hard fought self reliant form of sanctification.  NO!  Obedience is only possible with new hearts.  It is only by trusting in God’s grace that you will find the fuel to obey His commands.  It is not too hard if the heart has been regenerated.  This text looks forward to a day when the word is in their hearts & mouths so that they would obey (14).  The circumcised heart enables obedience (30:6).  Paul quotes this passage in Romans 10:6-8 to distinguish between a righteousness that comes by faith versus dutiful obedience to the law.  God’s requirement is not superhero like works, but faith in the gospel.  Dependence is all you need; need is all that you need.  Joyful obedience flows from hearts that have been made new.

The options before them were clear and the consequences of their actions were clear, but they didn’t obey – they couldn’t obey rightly.  They did not have believing hearts.  God is not after just any type of obedience, He is after a certain kind of obedience.  God is after loving hearts that overflow in joyful obedience (v16).  Obedience without love is not real obedience – it is external compliance, which does not glorify God.  Moses gives them a choice at the summit of His preaching – it really is about trusting in the goodness, sovereignty & grace of God and walking in glad submission to the Lord of the universe (15-16).

If, however, your heart turns away & your ears become hard of hearing and you worship other gods then you will perish (17-18).  Love, affection & desire are at the heart of man; the very essence of a man is what he decides is worthy of his worship.  We become like that which we worship (Psalm 63:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18).  Moses says that life & death was before them and he implored them to choose life (19-20)!  Life consists of loving God, trusting God & obeying God.  Life comes from Christ and Christ alone (John 10:10).  Jesus is the One that perfectly obeyed the law as a result of His perfect love for God.  He then gave us His perfect obedience and took our sinful rebellion upon Himself in what has been called the “Great Exchange.”  If you are a Christian, then striving to please God is done – God is pleased with you because of the perfect obedience that Jesus gave to you.  You can stop striving and begin walking in joyful submission to the commands of God because you no longer have to earn or prove anything because Jesus victoriously proclaimed, “It is Finished!” (John 19:30)

Gospel Centrality, Growth/Pursuit, Meditations

Chosen to be trophies of His grace

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15:16 ESV)

“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19 ESV)

In case you have forgotten, the bible explicitly proclaims from Genesis to Revelation that He chose us, we did not choose Him.  He was the initiator, He was the one that sought us – we did not seek Him.  No one seeks God (Romans 3:11), we were spiritually dead (Genesis 2:17, Ephesians 2:1-10).  This means that if you are a Christian, then you were chosen according to God’s sovereign electing purposes which are mysterious to us.  You were not chosen because you were more spiritually attuned, more moral, had the right upbringing or because of what you would become after God saved you.  You were chosen to be a trophy of His grace.  You were (and still are) undeserving.  When you present yourself as worthy before God, He finds it disgusting (Isaiah 64:6) because you are not and the fact that you are trying to present yourself that way indicates that you have a fundamental misunderstanding of grace.

He foreknew you and predestined (determined before He created anything) you to be conformed into the image of His Son.  He predestined, He called, He justified and He will be faithful to glorify (Romans 8:29-30).  There is nothing about you doing anything in Romans 8:29-30, the emphasis is upon a gracious, saving, adopting God who redeems enemies and adopts them as family.  The more we understand this, the more that we worship God with hearts of gratitude.

A few passages to consider:

  • Deuteronomy 4:37-39 (God loved & chose Abraham & his offspring), 7:6-9 (it is not because we are awesome that He set His saving affections upon us, but because of His love & sovereign choosing), 10:14-15 (God owns everything and yet, He set His heart upon us), 14:2 (the Lord chose you as His treasured possession out of all of the people of the earth)
  • Isaiah 41:8-10, 44:18-20 (God blinds those who worship idols), 48 (God uses Cyrus, a pagan king), 57:18-19 (God creates repentant hearts), 65:1 (sought by those who did not ask for God)
  • Ezekiel 33:11 (God desires that all be saved and finds no joy in those who reject the Gospel)
  • Luke 24:31 (their eyes were opened, and they recognized him)
  • John 3:27 (A person cannot receive one thing unless it is given to him from heaven), 8:47 (those of God hear God), 10:26 (you don’t believe because you aren’t part of Jesus’ flock), 13:18, 15:16 (You did not choose me, I chose you), 15:19 (I chose you out of the world), 18:37
  • Romans 10:20 (Gentiles, who did not seek God found Him)
  • Ephesians 1:4-11, Ephesians 2:1-9 (But God, being rich in mercy, made you alive)
  • Colossians 2:11-15 (He made you alive)
  • 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14 (God chose you to be first fruits)
  • 1 Peter 1:3-5 (He has caused us to be born again)
  • 1 Timothy 2:4 (God desires that all be saved and finds no joy in those who reject the Gospel)
  • 1 John 4:6
Gospel Centrality, Growth/Pursuit

Singular devotion, first affection

““If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.” (Deuteronomy 13:6–11 ESV)

Loving God with our whole heart precedes the closest of human relationships (siblings, children, spouse or friend).  In this passage, if someone close tries to draw their affections & obedience after a false god then they were not to follow them, listen to them, pity them, spare them or conceal them.  This is radical in a culture where high value was placed upon family.  Singular devotion to God comes before family.

Radical measures are again called for when they are called to stone the tempter, and they are called to be the first one to cast the stone!  Imagine casting a stone against your sister, husband, child or best friend.  The standard of God’s holiness is HIGH.  Do we pursue holiness with this fervor today?  Do we aggressively eradicate the idols in our midst today?  

Singular devotion is of such importance that He instructs the people to completely destroy  one of their own cities if it is given over to following other gods (v 12-15).  Are we this violent with the competing affections in our hearts?  Probably not!  God longs to bless His people by showing them His mercy & grace (v 17-18).  But, the people must obey God – obedience starts with loving the Lord with all of our hearts and not having any other gods. 

They were never able to obey out of a heart of love and we persistently fail also.  Thankfully Someone did obey perfectly out of a heart of love.  He not only took our sin, but also gave us His perfect obedience so God continually showers us with mercy & grace.  Thank God for a substitute.  Be thankful that His grip on & delight in you is not contingent upon your grip on & delight in Him.  Your spiritual performance does not direct His love, approval & affection for you; Jesus imputed that to you so you can stop striving!

Growth/Pursuit, Meditations, Mortification

Cooling affections

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““If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.” (Deuteronomy 13:1–5 ESV)

This section warns the Israelites not to listen to or follow prophets who do miracles and tells them to follow & serve other gods!  This seems easy and straight forward to us, but at this point in history the scriptures had not been fully given to the people so prophets played a major role in God revealing His will to His people.  The Israelites were called to follow God (who was familiar), to fear God, to obey God and to hold fast to God.  In the western world, there is little cost to count for this, but for the Israelites it would be their lives and their very existence.

God calls them to take radical steps to purge the evil in their midst, in this case a false prophet.  That false prophet shall be put to death!  Scripture always paints the removal of evil & the killing of sin (mortification) in violent ways.  It paints pictures and uses words like murder, annihilation, mutilation & amputation (Colossians 3:1-11, Matthew 5:29-30 & 26:41).  This was physical for the Israelites – a picture of what we should pursue in our walk with the Lord.

We tend to minimize our sins & idols as “not being that big of a deal.”  But, God’s standard is holiness and He is completely devoted to conforming His children into the image of His Son.  Far too often we are content to bring our sins & idols into our hearts (Ezekiel 14:3) where we dream about them, place our trust in them & rely upon them for our well being in life.  In short, we worship them.  Killing sin always starts in our hearts and is aimed at ripping out the things that we have come to rely upon for our identity, safety, well being (emotional, physical or spiritual) – the things that we have placed our hope for deliverance in.  When things get ripped out of our hearts, pain is involved because a part of us is dying.  Dying is painful.  But the person who is willing to endure the pain will find true life, abiding joy & deep satisfaction (Psalm 16:11, Matthew 16:25, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24).

What tugs at your hearts affections?  Do you find your affection for the Lord cooling, while your affections for other things warming?  We must flee those things that create competing affections in our hearts.  This is done practically by removing ourselves from the situation & exposure, and by cultivating a deeper love for God.  The answer is to see God more clearly (sovereign, holy, merciful, good, gracious) so that the things that vie for our affections become less attractive because they pale in comparison.

Growth/Pursuit

The outward expression of an inward reality

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“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:5–9 ESV)

The laws, statues & commandments of Deuteronomy 6-11 should be viewed as the outward expression of the ultimate command:  to love God with all of your heart, soul & strength.  Obedience to the commands demonstrated that the people loved God.  The law was not given to save.  In the same way, we should strive to obey out of love rather than duty or obligation.  Jesus said the same thing – if you love me, you will obey what I command (John 14:15).  This is not a way of earning Jesus’ blessing – this is an increasingly natural outflow of a heart that has a growing love for God.  “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”” (John 14:21 ESV)

Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 in Matthew 22:37-38, Mark 12:30, and Luke 10:27 and summarizes it by saying that to love God is the great and first commandment (Matthew 22:38).  The thought is completed by indicating that this is not some cognitive, head knowledge, but is to penetrate all the way to the heart.  We are to love God with every fiber of our being – all of our obedience was designed to flow out of a heart that loves God.  The work is to love God and the scripture addresses this from different angles – abide in Christ (John 15), our work is one of belief (John 6:29), as we behold Him we become more like Him (2 Corinthians 3:18).  These are ways in which we grow in our love for God.  Loving God is not produced by our hard fought, white knuckled discipline – it is a Spirit wrought, utterly dependent, monergistic endeavor that glorifies God because we can’t produce it on our own.  Loving God involves our begging Him to produce in us that which we can not produce on our own.

God’s requirement for a heart that fully loves Him is seen throughout Deuteronomy as it is looking forward to a day when God will write His laws on the hearts of His people and they will worship Him with their new hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:25-27, Romans 2:25-29, 8:14; Galatians 5:16, 18, 25; Colossians 2:11; Hebrews 7:18-19, 8:8-12, 9:9, 14 (purify our conscience), 10:1, 15-18, 10:22 (draw near with a true heart); Deuteronomy 6:5, 10:16, 29:4, 30:6-8).  Jesus fulfills this promise as He makes our dead hearts alive to God – He regenerates us.  We are not only to have these commands on our own hearts, but are to teach our children and those around us the same thing.  This is the foundation of discipleship.  Many of the Jews did this externally, but missed it internally.  How often do we pass down a code of moral conduct to our children that is void of a passionate love for God?  The thing(s) that we love, we talk about.  What do you love, really?

Growth/Pursuit

The awe of the Almighty

“Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29 ESV).

God knows the open rebellion that His people (and all people) will continue to walk in and the cost to buy back this rebellious lot.  The awe of the Almighty should leave an imprint on our souls that we fear and revere Him.  There should be a  growing awareness of the chasm between the eternally, holy, transcendent Creator and us which produces awe, admiration, reverence and obedience that flows out of a place of gratitude that He would make a way for us, not that He will “get us” if we don’t obey.  Please reveal your glory so that we may fear and follow.

Growth/Pursuit

I worship what I want

“‘And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’” (Deuteronomy 5:21 ESV).

Coveting is a deep-seated longing to possess something that is not yours.  Purity of heart is in focus here because to covet your neighbor’s wife is to lust after her – to want her instead of whom you are in a covenant relationship with (see here).  Likewise to desire what your neighbor has as better than what you have is the first step towards breaking the 8th commandment of not stealing (here).

God is after the heart (Matthew 5:21-30) and always has been!  When we covet something else, we bring it in to our hearts and tell ourselves, “if only I had this then life would be worth living, I would be happy, fulfilled, significant or worthwhile.”  This comes back to the first commandment of not having any other gods before the one true God.  Coveting leads to idolatry which leads to all sorts of behavioral problems because what is in our heart is what drives our thoughts, motivations, emotions and actions; we are defiled not because of what we put into us, but because of what comes out of us (Mark 7:20-23).  Whatever is on the throne of our heart is what we worship.