TheVirtualWord

The death of Michael Foot this week definitely marks the end of an era in British politics. As I watched clips of his speeches from the 60-80s I was struck by the sense that here was a man who believed in something and was not ashamed to stand up for those things – even if they were unpopular.

At the risk of sounding unduly cynical, our current crop of politicians seem more motivated by what people want to hear, rather than what they actually believe/stand for. Perhaps this is the real reason for the increasing apathy amongst young voters.

It strikes me that the same tendency can easily slip into our pulpits today – the desire to say what people want to hear rather than what we actually believe. Ironically when we say what “itching ears” want to hear (cf. 2 Tim 4:3), we may reach a wider audience, but all power and authenticity is lost. Hence the historical decline in the liberal churches. This may parallel the disenfranchisement of many voters in the UK today.

I have just read a wonderful sermon by Tim Keller on the subject of Hell. In it he suggests that far from being a problem for those who believe in a loving God, the doctrine of Hell is actually a really helpful one. It helps us to understand our hearts, to live at peace in the world, and to know the love of God. Big claims? Have a read and come to your own conclusions…

And if you like Keller’s preaching, have a look at a wonderful resource of 150 free sermons from Redeemer Church.

I have just done a bit of fiddling with the old blog design, and added a couple of widgets which include content from other people’s blogs. Hope they will be of interest – they are both much better and wiser bloggers than I.

I also thought I’d add a ‘tag cloud’ – just because I like them – but a word of explanation is necessary. I have only fairly recently started tagging posts, so more recent posts are heavily biased in the cloud. Hence the enormous significance of Ajith Fernando and his book, on which I have been doing chapter by chapter reviews. Until I get round to either i) going back and tagging some older stuff or ii) writing some more stuff with tags, not related to Jesus Driven Ministry, then we’ll just have to put up with it…

We’ve just got back from a few days at the Living Leadership conference. What a blessing that has been to us. Some space, some fantastic reminders of God’s grace, great company and fellowship, wonderful food. Bring on next year, and many thanks to our generous church for enabling us to go.

It also brought the opportunity to finish reading Tim Chester’s excellent:

What is so special about this book, is that it looks to dealing with the underlying sinful tendencies, thoughts, and processes, rather than simply being a self-help book dealing with the externals. It is honest, Biblical and extremely challenging. And worth reading, and then reading again. Thanks Tim.

This isn’t new, but it is new to me and I wanted to share it. A beautiful visualisation of all the cross-references in the Bible.

I’m actually quite tempted to buy a print…

Many thanks to Mark Meynell for pointing me to it.

In some ways this is one of the hardest chapters to summarise because it ranges over several topics, yet I also found it one of the most challenging yet. The chapter is structured around the 3 temptations of Jesus after his baptism, and explores the idea of Affirming the Will of God.

I found the reminder of our Lord’s example when Satan tempted Him to feed Himself most helpful:

“Jesus knew that he could use his power to provide food. He would do that later on two occasions and feed five thousand and then four thousand hungry people. But he refused to use this ability for his own gratification, listening to Satan and missing God’s call. We too are called to a cross. Like Jesus, we also give up our rights for a greater ultimate good (Phil. 2:5-11). How many lose their spiritual credibility and authority by using the ministry and its privileges for temporary personal gain!” (p75)

As ever, Fernando provides some very helpful practical examples to bring all his teaching home and the chapter as a whole is a powerful call to Godly living and personal holiness – themes I repeatedly need to be reminded of in this world we live in.

There is a very helpful (and again challenging) discussion of our ‘uncrucified desires.’ But as ever, Fernando avoids the easy trap of legalism in his discussion, for which he is to be commended.

Here’s a big aspirational quote to end:

“When we habve a biblical vision of God, we will measure success not by earthly standards but by the extent to which we conformed to the principles and the will of God. This standard will deter us from trying to achieve ambitions with the wrong methods, but it will not discourage godly ambition. When we see that God is glorious, we are fired by an ambition to do great things that reflect his glory. So we too will dream big. But in achieving those ambitions, we will not do things that will diminish his glory. The vision of glory will give us the courage to pay the price on the path to victory. This price is the way of the cross, which Christ embraced at his tempation by refusing the crown Satan offered him.” (p87)

It has been a while since I have had time to do any non-essential reading, and so it is rather ironic that the title of this chapter is Retreating from Activity.

As ever, looking to the model of Jesus, Fernando points out how regularly Jesus took time out, especially before particularly significant moments in His ministry, to fast and pray and spend time with God. How I need repeatedly to be reminded of this. If my Lord took time out, how much more should I.

Fernando gives several personal examples of the benefits of mini or more extended ‘retreats’ and includes a brief and balanced discussion of fasting at the end of the chapter (encouraging Christian leaders to take advantage of this form of spiritual discipline, though helpfully showing it is not a command).

Top quote:

“Our ministry is not a reaction to people’s rejection of us but a response to God’s acceptance of us.
So in times of crisis, we should develop the discipline of retreating to God’s presence in order to get our strength from him. Then we can return to act as his representatives who have been called and strengthened by him.” (p68)

A friend of mine has recently produced an iPhone app which is a comic strip version of the life of Jesus. With it he aims to improve biblical literacy among visual learners. I don’t have an iPhone so haven’t been able to try it out, but you can find out more at theJesuscomic.com or just search for ‘Jesus comic’ on the iTunes store. Mark Meynell obviously does have an iPhone and has reviewed it briefly!

I read these words from Heinrich Bullinger, a 16th century (reformed) pastor to his son, and they continue to be excellent advice today:

1. Fear God at all times, and remember that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
2. Humble yourself before God, and pray to him alone through Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate.
3. Believe firmly that God has done all for our salvation through his Son.
4. Pray above all things for a strong faith active in love.
5. Pray that God may protect your good name and keep you from sin, sickness, and bad company.
6. Pray for the fatherland, for your dear parents … for the spread of the Word of God.
7. Be reticent, be always more willing to hear than to speak, and do not meddle with things you do not understand.
8. Study diligently. … Read daily three chapters of the Bible.
9. Keep your body clean and unspotted, be neat in your dress, and avoid above all things intemperance in eating and drinking.
10. Let your conversation be decent, cheerful, moderate.

This third chapter is called ‘Affirmed by God.’ Fernando argues that:
“The ministry is so challenging that when we think of it, the primary focus always needs to be on what God does for us. Otherwise when problems come and we are faced with our own inadequacy, we could react in harmful ways.”

I would characterise this chapter as ‘Biblical Common Sense.’ This is a category I sometimes use of preachers who teach truth, but where the truth they are teaching does not necessarily come from the particular Scriptures they are exegeting.

Fernando’s main model is the affirmation Jesus receives from His Father during His ministry. It is wonderful to reflect on this, but to my mind less easy to apply this directly to our own experience. He gives other OT and NT examples of cases where God graciously provides affirmation for one of His servants, but the lingering question as to whether these should be read normatively for us, or whether they are in themselves the means of our encouragement is not addressed in this brief chapter.

Nonetheless, there is much practical wisdom in the chapter. In particular there is a very helpful set of warnings about the dangers of ministering without a sense of our security in Christ – and I am sure every Christian minister can think of occasions where insecurity fuels unhealthy models of ministry.

Ultimately, Fernando’s encouragement to find our identity and encouragement in Christ is extremely timely, and his challenge to wrestle with God – in prayer, in the Scriptures, and in song – is Piper-esque in its Biblical and passionate wisdom.