Yearn

Bipolarity Experts

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:55:00 +0000

Prophets are experts on bipolarity. They are also God's unwilling lightning rods. Those individuals who are wired (or miswired) along these lines get struck with jolts that can really be embarrassing if they hit during a date, a church service, a Bible conference, or some other venue that is public, calm, and civil. Prophets have a hard time with civility. They suffer from a polarity disorder which causes them to identify with God first and humans second. You can identify them pretty easily because their hair is usually singed. These types have what is known as a prophetic electrical system. Their God smokes, so they do too.(Timothy Stoner, The God Who Smokes)

The Outskirts Of His Ways

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:16:00 +0000

In case you have gotten comfortable with God, and think you somewhat have him figured out, I offer Job 26:6-14:

6 Sheol is naked before God,

and Abaddon has no covering.

7 He stretches out the north over the void

and hangs the earth on nothing.

8 He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,

and the cloud is not split open under them.

9 He covers the face of the full moon

and spreads over it his cloud.

10 He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters

at the boundary between light and darkness.

11 The pillars of heaven tremble

and are astounded at his rebuke.

12 By his power he stilled the sea;

by his understanding he shattered Rahab.

13 By his wind the heavens were made fair;

his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways,

and how small a whisper do we hear of him!

But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

Friday Is For Nausea

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:50:00 +0000

The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.

HT: Miscellanies

Sovereignty and Sluggards

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:17:00 +0000

If there is one thing the book of Proverbs affirms, it is the sovereignty of God. To the writer of Proverbs, likely Solomon, God is the ruler of all things in this life. Only a few examples are needed to show this.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (3:5)
The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. (10:3)
The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. (16:1)
Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble. (16:3-4)
The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. (16:33)
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. (19:21)
The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. (21:1)
The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord. (21:31)

But, perhaps as important to the book of Proverbs, is diligence. The sluggard and the lazy are constantly condemned.

How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? (6:9)
The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. (13:4)
The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing. (20:4)
The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!” (22:13)
As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. (26:14)
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. (24:33-34)

But when considered, isn't the sluggard justified in being a sluggard, since God is sovereign? If God works in all things to bring about his good purpose and plan, then why does anyone need to work? What is the point of planting and sowing; why not just sleep in? The answer is what raises the question, which is, God is sovereign. Since God is sovereign a person should rise early and work. Since God has determined the outcome of all things, we should be busy. Solomon had no problem affirming both of these truths, and neither should we. The higher your view of sovereignty, the busier you should be! So wake up sluggard! Get to work!

That's My Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:43:00 +0000

I did not rig these pictures! I put my son on the floor and on his own he managed to scoot toward a stack of books. And of course, he chose The Works of Jonathan Edwards! That's my boy!

Sweeter Than Sin

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:26:00 +0000

Let me not tire of thanking you for your mercy in rescuing me from all my wicked ways, so that you may be sweeter to me than all the joys which used to tempt me; so that I may love you most intensely and clasp your hand with all the power of my devotion; so that you may save me from all temptation until the end of my days" (Augustine, Confessions, 35).

How To Get Rid Of God

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:15:00 +0000

If it is right for man to have the glory of God as his goal, can it be wrong for God to have the same goal? If man can have no higher purpose than God’s glory, how can God? If it is wrong for man to seek a lesser end than this, it would be wrong for God, too. The reason it cannot be right for man to live for himself, as if he were God, is because he is not God. However, it cannot be wrong for God to seek His own glory, simply because He is God. Those who insist that God should not seek His glory in all things are really asking that He cease to be God. And there is no greater blasphemy than to will God out of existence. (J.I.Packer, Hot Tub Religion)

How To Make A Calvinist Angry

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:27:00 +0000

Killing Prayer

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:11:00 +0000

Nothing will kill our prayer life like comfort and security. The reason we don't pray in ways that make us delight in God deeply, is not lack of discipline. When prayer simply becomes a discipline, you can worship prayer more than you worship God. Your life will become a game of "cat and mouse," you will focus all your energy on getting to your prayer time and then waste the rest of the time by not praying!

The reason we don't pray as we should is because we don't see our need for God as we should. We fail to recognize how desperately we need Him and how our life really would be futile without Him. Dependence is what creates prayer, not discipline. I am a big fan of having a disciplined prayer life. I think you need to create space in your life to hear from God and commune with Him daily. But if this discipline is not fueled by a deep desire to know God and a recognition of how utterly helpless you are, it will turn to legalism and self-righteosness.

I am convinced that our struggle is not so much to keep believing in God as it is to keep needing God. Most of us do not have to worry about where our next meal will come from or whether or not we will have enough money for bills this month. Therefore, we must fight to not grow self-sufficient and believe the lie that we can sustain our own lives. Without Him we are nothing. We are poor and wretched and pitiful and blind and naked and helpless and weak and worthless without the life-giving power and grace of Jesus. The more you know this; the more you will pray!

"Here I Download!"

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:56:00 +0000

You can download Max McLean reciting Martin Luther's speech Here I Stand for free until Novmber 1. Go HERE quick!

Why I Preach Through Books Of The Bible

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:49:00 +0000

I have been preaching from the book of John for over a year now. So far we have only made it to chapter 13! Thus far at our church, I have preached through Ecclesiastes, James, and 1 Thessalonians. I make exceptions often, but this is the way I prefer to preach. I often get asked why I preach this way. Here are a few reasons why I preach through books of the Bible.

God Wrote A Book

OK, I know that is an over simplification. But God did indeed inspire the writings of the Bible. If this is true, then I must start with what God has already said (2Timothy 3:16).

I Must Deal With All The Issues

Preaching through books makes me deal with the hard verses and theological issues that my flesh does not always delight in dealing with. If election is there I must deal with it. If homosexuality is there, I must deal with it. If money is there, I must deal with it. Textual preaching forces me to do this.

I Submit To God And Not My Own Creativity

Preaching through books makes me submit my mind and thoughts and motives to God. I cannot make the text say what I want it to say. I am not able to go beyond what is written and make up my own ideas. It is arrogant for men who stand in the pulpit each week to think that what God has said is not relevant or sufficient for today.

It Keeps Me On Task

I don't have to wake up on Monday morning and wonder what I am preaching the next Sunday. Preaching a book helps with preparation.

I Can Rest At Night

What I say might be boring or hard or too short or too long, but at least I know that I have tried to present what God has said with all my might.

MetaNarrative

There is a theme woven throughout the Bible that includes far more than little nuggets of information to help with our lives. The Gospel is the theme of the Bible; God reconciling all things to Himself through Jesus Christ. Going through books reveals how the Bible really does have a consistent theme throughout.

Friday Is For Clive

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:53:00 +0000

He can't be used as a road. If you're approaching Him not as the goal but as a road, not as the end but as a means, you're not really approaching Him at all. (C.S.Lewis, A Grief Observed)

An Invitation To Mr. Science

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:38:00 +0000

Someone recently commented on my blog post Why I Quit Golf. They used some pretty strong language and said that science has eliminated the need for God. This person did not include their name or any other information. I would love to dialogue with this person and defend the fact that science has NOT eliminated the need for God. I invite you to leave a comment here with your blog information and perhaps we can dialogue back and forth, or perhaps we can pursue some other means to communicate. The ball is in your court.

Why I Quit Golf

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:11:00 +0000

I recently quit golf. I didn't quit because I don't like golf, in fact I really love golf. It's a great game and maybe one day I will pick it up again. But for now I am quitting and below are some reasons why. I am not suggesting you quit golf or whatever hobby you enjoy, but maybe if you are wrestling with a similar issue, I can be of some help.

#1 Time

Golf is time consuming. If you want to play well, you have to play! There is something in me that will not allow me to be mediocre at what I am doing, so I want to practice and play as much as I can. However, I have things that I don't want to look back on and realize that I have missed. I want to spend as much time with my wife as I can. I want to spend as much time with my son as I can. I want to write and pray and study and exhaust myself for the kingdom. Golf was not restful for me, it was tiring mentally and physically, so I quit.

#2Money

Golf is expensive and I don't like to spend money, even on food. Protein shakes cost less and go down much faster! Golf membership and green fees can get pretty high, and I want to be able to first of all provide for my family and be able to give as much as I can to whatever kingdom causes I can. If I have to make a decision between giving and golf, golf seems too much like storing treasures on earth, as opposed to racking up treasures in heaven. I don't want it to be a financial priority.

#3 Who Says I Need A Hobby

Why do we as Americans think we need hobbies? I find no verse in the Bible that says we should spend large amounts of time and money on something as trivial as golf. I am not saying that hobbies are bad, there are other things I love to do. But it's OK if you don't have six extra activities to fill your schedule. Aren't you busy enough?! I don't see how I can possibly relate well to my wife and my son if I am never around them. Now I certainly think that we should all have things that we enjoy doing that allow us to express ourselves, but at some point certain hobbies become self-centered and prideful. I know too many men who work all week and then hit the golf course or the woods or the ball field as soon as they get a free day. This cannot be the way to build a healthy marriage and lead a Christ exalting home.

#4 Drained Affections

I found that at times golf would stir my affections for Jesus and at times it would not. I would go four or five hours without thinking about God. When I played bad, which was often, I would go home distant and frustrated about a silly game! This cannot be pleasing to the Lord. If something causes you to forget about the glories of Christ on a regular basis, you might want to think about giving that thing up. For me, golf was doing that.

Not Against Hobbies

Let me say again, that I am not against hobbies. I am against whatever drains you of your love for Jesus and makes less of Him, thereby causing you to relate poorly to others. I am not suggesting you quit golf or hunting or whatever, I am suggesting that you place everything before the Lord and be willing to do what He wants. This might mean shunning certain things from your life, or quite possibly adding some things to your life. Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1Corinthians 10:31).

Friday Is For Clive

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:21:00 +0000

The Scotch catechism says that man's chief end is 'to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.' But we shall then know that these are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him. (CS Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms)

Swindoll's Leadership Lessons

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:33:00 +0000

Chuck Swindoll, at the recent Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, delivered these 10 leadership lessons learned over his 50 years of ministry:

1) It’s lonely to lead. Leadership involves tough decisions. The tougher the decision, the lonelier it is.
2) It’s dangerous to succeed. I’m most concerned for those who aren’t even 30 and are very gifted and successful. Sometimes God uses someone right out of youth, but usually he uses leaders who have been crushed
3) It’s hardest at home. No one ever told me this in Seminary.
4) It’s essential to be real. If there’s one realm where phoniness is common, it’s among leaders. Stay real.
5) It’s painful to obey. The Lord will direct you to do some things that won’t be your choice. Invariably you will give up what you want to do for the cross.
6) Brokenness and failure are necessary.
7) Attititude is more important than actions. Your family may not have told you: some of you are hard to be around. A bad attitude overshadows good actions.
8) Integrity eclipse image. Today we highlight image. But it’s what you’re doing behind the scenes.
9) God's way is better than my way.
10) Christlikeness begins and ends with humility.

HT: Between Two Worlds

That's My Boy!!

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:20:00 +0000

Wives Amplified

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:04:00 +0000

Check out how The Amplified Bible translates 1 Peter 3:2!

...When they observe the pure and modest way in which you conduct yourselves, together with your reverence [for your husband; you are to feel for him all that reverence includes: to respect, defer to, revere him--to honor, esteem, appreciate, prize, and, in the human sense, to adore him, that is, to admire, praise, be devoted to, deeply love, and enjoy your husband]...1Peter 3:2 The Amplified Bible

I promise I did not make this up!

What If...

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:20:00 +0000

What if all your sins, past, present, and future, were cleansed and forgiven and removed and forgotten, never to be brought up again? What if all the events in your life; failures, victories, defeats, losses and gains, were worked out for the good? What if you could go through life free from worry and anxiety and fear and dread because Someone was completely sovereign over every event in your life?

What if every trial and every bit of pain and suffering could be viewed from the perspective that Something bigger was going on behind the scenes? What if there were a way to be completely at peace with other people and with the Creator of the universe? What if there were something that was so good that it had to be true? What if one day every bit of pain and sorrow and suffering and evil and hurt could be removed from the world?

What if you could live a carefree, risky, passionate, hope-filled life without feeling like you were simply being optimistic? What if you could truly see the world as a safe place to exist? What if there was a kind of life offered to you that was so good, it made lying and lust and deceit and idolatry and greed and slander and gossip and materialism look pathetic? What if there were something that made you realize you were more sinful than you could imagine, yet more loved and cherished than you could imagine?

The good news is...there is the Good News! The Gospel assures all these things! There is no IF in the Gospel; only truth, certainty, hope, guarantee, security, promise, blessing! The Gospel is not the ABC's for getting into heaven, the Gospel is the A to Z of the Christian life. It IS the Christian life. So right now where you are, preach the Gospel to yourself and let is dwell richly in you.

Heaven Part 3: You Want To Be Left Behind

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:54:00 +0000

If you mention the word rapture to a group of Christians, you are likely to get a lot of different responses! Probably the most popular would be the Pre-tribulation Rapture view, which is the position held by the authors of the Left Behind series. This view states that there will be a moment when all the Christians on earth will be secretly snatched away and taken to heaven. Apparently we will leave behind all our clothes and watches and cars and unbelieving relatives resulting in widespread chaos and confusion for those remaining.

One of the main passages used to support the view is Matthew 24:40-41 which says, "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left." What could be clearer than this?

The immediate context reveals that being taken is not a good thing. Jesus just referred to the days of Noah when people were eating and drinking and suddenly the flood came and destroyed them (Matthew 24:39). The ones taken were the ones who died. Similarly those taken at the coming of the Son of Man are taken to be judged, not to a secret place of eternal bliss! Trust me, you want to be left behind!

As I said in previous posts, our hope is not to leave this world, but for God to redeem it, through His Son, for the glory of His Name!

To be continued...

Keller In The Blogosphere

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:21:00 +0000

Tim Keller is apparently doing some blogging now over at Redeemer's Church Planting Center. His first post on Willow Creek can be read HERE.

Friday Is For Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:09:00 +0000

God Exposed Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:57:00 +0000

The God Exposed Conference recently met at South Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Justin Taylor has linked the sermons over at his blog. The theme was Awkward Preaching In A Comfortable Age.

Heaven Part 2: Can We Really Know

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:38:00 +0000

Some of the objections raised when I have preached or taught on heaven have been that the Bible is silent on the nature of heaven. Can we really know that much about heaven? My answer is YES! We can know about Heaven, the problem is not the Bible, it's us. The reason we think we can't know about heaven is because there is so much baggage to work through. My hope in this little blog series is to throw off this baggage and we can begin with changing how we use the word heaven.

Many Christians think we are all looking forward to leaving earth and going to heaven one day. In one sense that is true because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2Cor. 5:8). However, the New Testament teaches that this is not our great hope. Our hope is for heaven to come down to earth or more accurately, a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1, 2Peter 3:13). Our final state is not to go to heaven, but to dwell on the new earth with God in resurrected bodies.

This is why I am convinced we can know about heaven, because we know about earth. When someone says they are going to get a new lawn mower, I am not puzzled as to what that means, I know what a lawn mower is like! When God says we are going to get a new earth, doesn't that imply some semblance to the old earth?

To be continued...

Heaven Part 1: Laboring For Vanity

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Breazeale) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:26:00 +0000

Jonathan Edwards said that we should labor to get a sense of the vanity of this life. The hope in doing so is that our affections for the next life would increase. I am pretty certain I do not long for Heaven like the authors of the New Testament did. There are chances you don't either! This is due to many things, some of which include what Christian subculture has done to the idea of heaven. For some reason the word heaven conjures up images of naked baby angels and clouds and really sunny weather! Is that what Paul was talking about when he said to depart and be with Christ would be far better than remaining in this life? (Phil. 1:23)

Furthermore, there is the saying that you can be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good. Really!? It seems when Paul talked about setting our minds on things above he saw doing so as the only way to mortify the flesh of sinful desires (Colossians 3:2-6). I would say that the only way to be of any earthly good is to attach your desires and affections and hopes on Heaven. Only then will your grip on earthly things be loosened, only then will your anxiety and fear of tomorrow be put to death, only then will you cherish the Gospel as newly discovered treasure.

So I thought I would do a brief blog series on Heaven and maybe clarify a few things about it and hopefully show you why setting our hope in the next life is the best way to live this life.

To be continued...