Gospel Translations - User contributions [en]

Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety

Bpmoosie — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:38:58 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.org|partner=Desiring God|date=25 September 1988|other= |series= |categorytopic= Fear & Anxiety |mediatype= article|lang= English|editor=n/a|translator= n/a|levels=0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety}}'''Unbelief as the root and essense of all Sin'''

Let me hang a bridge between last Sunday's text and our concern today with the unbelief of anxiety. In Hebrews 3:12 it says, "Take care, brethren, lest their be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, leading you to fall away from the living God." And verse 14 says, "For we have shared in Christ, if we hold our first confidence firm to the end."

In other words the evidence that you have come to share in Christ—that you are united to him in saving faith—is that you hold that confidence firm to the end. Perseverance in faith is necessary for salvation. When a person is truly converted, the heart is changed so that now life is lived by faith (Galatians 2:20).

The new birth introduces a person into a life of warfare. That warfare is called the "fight of faith" in 2 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:12. And here in Hebrews 3:12 it is called the battle against unbelief. "Take care [that's the vigilance of battle], brethren, lest there be in you and evil heart of unbelief [there's the enemy in the warfare], leading you to fall away from the living God [there's the warning against not taking the warfare seriously]."

In other words the most basic battle of our life is the battle to believe in the living God, and not to allow our heart to become an evil heart of unbelief. Because if unbelief in the living God gets the upper hand in our life, then the result can be a hardening that makes us unwilling to repent and thus cuts us off from the grace of God.

Now this will not happen to those who are truly in Christ. Those who are truly born of God take the battle seriously, and draw on the power of God to fight it, and win it with persevering faith. That is what God promises. "He who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

'''Unbelief as the Root of Anxiety''' Now today's text illustrates this with a specific evil condition of heart, namely, anxiety.

Stop for a moment and think how many different sinful actions and attitudes come from anxiety. Anxiety about finances can give rise to coveting and greed and hoarding and stealing. Anxiety about succeeding at some task can make you irritable and abrupt and surly. Anxiety about relationships can make you withdrawn and indifferent and uncaring about other people. Anxiety about how someone will respond to you can make you cover over the truth and lie about things. So if anxiety could be conquered, a lot of sins would be overcome.

But what is the root of anxiety? And how can it be severed? To answer that we go to our text in Matthew 6. Four times in this text Jesus says that we should not be anxious.

#Verse 25: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life."
#Verse 27: "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?"
#Verse 31: "Therefore do not be anxious."
#Verse 34: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow."

The verse that makes the root of anxiety explicit is verse 30: "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothes you, O men of little faith?" In other words Jesus says that the root of anxiety is lack of faith in our heavenly Father. As unbelief gets the upper hand in our hearts, one of the results is anxiety.

So when Hebrews says, "Take heed lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief," it includes this meaning: "Take heed lest there be in you an ANXIOUS heart of unbelief." Anxiety is one of the evil conditions of the heart that comes from unbelief. Much anxiety, Jesus says, comes from little faith.

'''Two Kinds of Disturbed Responses to This Truth''' Now I can think of two kinds of disturbed responses to this truth. Let me tell you what they are and then give a biblical response before we go on to the battle against the unbelief of anxiety.

'''1. "This Is Not Good News!"''' One response would go like this: This is not good news! In fact it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is in fact a far deeper struggle with whether I believe God or not.

Now my response to this is to agree but then to disagree. Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you after a routine visit that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You say, emphatically not! And I agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Are you glad that the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? You say, yes, I am very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again I agree.

So the news that you have cancer is not good news because having cancer is good. It is good news because knowing what is really wrong is good news, especially when it can be treated successfully.

That's what it's like to learn that the real problem behind anxiety is unbelief in the promises of God. It's not good news because the cancer of unbelief is good. It's good because KNOWING WHAT IS REALLY WRONG is good, especially because unbelief can be treated so successfully by our great physician.

So I want to stress that finding out the connection between our anxiety and our unbelief is in fact very good news, because it is the only way to begin the battle with the real cause of our sin and get the victory that God can give us by the therapy of his Word and his Spirit. 

'''2. "How Can I Have Any Assurance at All?"''' There is another possible response to the truth that our anxiety is rooted in our unbelief in God's promises. It goes like this: I have to deal with feelings of anxiety almost every day; and so I feel like my belief in God must be totally inadequate. So I wonder if I can have any assurance of being saved at all.

'''Being Faithless Vs. Having Faith Attacked''' My answer to this concern goes like this: Suppose you are in a car race and your enemy who doesn't want you to finish the race throws mud on your windshield. The fact that you temporarily lose sight of your goal and start to swerve does not mean that you are going to quit the race. And it certainly doesn't mean that you are on the wrong racetrack. Otherwise the enemy wouldn't bother you at all. What it means is that you should turn on your windshield wipers and use your windshield washer.

'''The Testimony of Scripture''' Psalm 56:3 says, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee." Notice: it does not say, "I never struggle with fear." Fear strikes and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike.

For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you." It does NOT say, you will never feel any anxieties to cast onto God. It says, when the mud splatters your windshield and you lose temporary sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer.

'''To the One Who Struggles Daily with Anxiety''' So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that's more or less normal. The issue is how you deal with them.

And the answer to that is: you deal with anxieties by battling unbelief. And you battle unbelief by meditating on God's Word and asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief. And the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit.

Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit the wipers of the Word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief. Both are necessary—the Spirit and the Word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our belief grows strong and the swerving of anxiety smoothes out. 

'''Overcoming Anxiety by Battling Unbelief''' Let me close by using some illustrations how battling unbelief overcomes anxiety. 

'''The Pattern of Jesus and Paul''' Here in our text we have the illustration of anxiety over food and clothing. Even in our country with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing can be very intense. But Jesus says in verse 30 that this is owing to unbelief: "O you of little faith." And so this paragraph has at least half a dozen promises in it to battle that unbelief.

For example at the end of verse 32 he says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." That is a spectacular promise. In everything you do at home and at work, put God's purposes first, and he will provide all you need to live for his glory. Believe that promise, and financial anxiety will evaporate in the warmth of God's care.

Paul applied the promise to anxiety in Philippians like this. In 4:6 he says just like Jesus, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God." And then in 4:19 he gives the promise like Jesus, "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." 

'''Anxieties We May Face''' And so we follow today the pattern of Jesus and Paul. We battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of God.

*When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with the promise: "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).
*When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise, "So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not come back to me empty but accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
*When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9), and "As your days so shall your strength be" (Deuteronomy 33:25).
*When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8).
*When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, "If God is for us who can be against us!" (Romans 8:31).
*When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise that "tribulation works patience, and patience approvedness, and approvedness hope, and hope does not make us ashamed" (Romans 5:3–5).
*When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:4).
*When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that "none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9–11).
*When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promise, "He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6). "He who calls you is faithful. He will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). "He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).

And yesterday when Rob and Gail got married, they printed the promises of God in the wedding folder. With these they have and they will fight off the anxiety of all the unknowns of marriage: "And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; he will be with you. He will not fail your or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:8).

So I urge you in your warfare, take up the book of God, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and battle on. And remember the promise of Proverbs 21:31, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord."

Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety

Bpmoosie — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:34:38 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.org|partner=Desiring God|date=25 September 1988|other= |series= |categorytopic= Fear & Anxiety |mediatype= article|lang= English|editor=n/a|translator= n/a|levels=0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety}}'''Unbelief as the root and essense of all Sin'''

Let me hang a bridge between last Sunday's text and our concern today with the unbelief of anxiety. In Hebrews 3:12 it says, "Take care, brethren, lest their be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, leading you to fall away from the living God." And verse 14 says, "For we have shared in Christ, if we hold our first confidence firm to the end."

In other words the evidence that you have come to share in Christ—that you are united to him in saving faith—is that you hold that confidence firm to the end. Perseverance in faith is necessary for salvation. When a person is truly converted, the heart is changed so that now life is lived by faith (Galatians 2:20).

The new birth introduces a person into a life of warfare. That warfare is called the "fight of faith" in 2 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:12. And here in Hebrews 3:12 it is called the battle against unbelief. "Take care [that's the vigilance of battle], brethren, lest there be in you and evil heart of unbelief [there's the enemy in the warfare], leading you to fall away from the living God [there's the warning against not taking the warfare seriously]."

In other words the most basic battle of our life is the battle to believe in the living God, and not to allow our heart to become an evil heart of unbelief. Because if unbelief in the living God gets the upper hand in our life, then the result can be a hardening that makes us unwilling to repent and thus cuts us off from the grace of God.

Now this will not happen to those who are truly in Christ. Those who are truly born of God take the battle seriously, and draw on the power of God to fight it, and win it with persevering faith. That is what God promises. "He who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

The bridge, then, that I want to hang between last week's text and this week's text is the truth that beneath our battle against evil in our heart is the battle against unbelief. Unbelief is the root of evil and the essence of evil. All our sinning grows out of unbelief in the living God and what he has said to us in Scripture. 

'''Unbelief as the Root of Anxiety''' Now today's text illustrates this with a specific evil condition of heart, namely, anxiety.

Stop for a moment and think how many different sinful actions and attitudes come from anxiety. Anxiety about finances can give rise to coveting and greed and hoarding and stealing. Anxiety about succeeding at some task can make you irritable and abrupt and surly. Anxiety about relationships can make you withdrawn and indifferent and uncaring about other people. Anxiety about how someone will respond to you can make you cover over the truth and lie about things. So if anxiety could be conquered, a lot of sins would be overcome.

But what is the root of anxiety? And how can it be severed? To answer that we go to our text in Matthew 6. Four times in this text Jesus says that we should not be anxious.

#Verse 25: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life."
#Verse 27: "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?"
#Verse 31: "Therefore do not be anxious."
#Verse 34: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow."

The verse that makes the root of anxiety explicit is verse 30: "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothes you, O men of little faith?" In other words Jesus says that the root of anxiety is lack of faith in our heavenly Father. As unbelief gets the upper hand in our hearts, one of the results is anxiety.

So when Hebrews says, "Take heed lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief," it includes this meaning: "Take heed lest there be in you an ANXIOUS heart of unbelief." Anxiety is one of the evil conditions of the heart that comes from unbelief. Much anxiety, Jesus says, comes from little faith.

This is the kind of connection we are going to see again and again in the weeks to come. The root of a sinful condition of the heart is unbelief in the living God. 

'''Two Kinds of Disturbed Responses to This Truth''' Now I can think of two kinds of disturbed responses to this truth. Let me tell you what they are and then give a biblical response before we go on to the battle against the unbelief of anxiety. 

'''1. "This Is Not Good News!"''' One response would go like this: This is not good news! In fact it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is in fact a far deeper struggle with whether I believe God or not.

Now my response to this is to agree but then to disagree. Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you after a routine visit that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You say, emphatically not! And I agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Are you glad that the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? You say, yes, I am very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again I agree.

So the news that you have cancer is not good news because having cancer is good. It is good news because knowing what is really wrong is good news, especially when it can be treated successfully.

That's what it's like to learn that the real problem behind anxiety is unbelief in the promises of God. It's not good news because the cancer of unbelief is good. It's good because KNOWING WHAT IS REALLY WRONG is good, especially because unbelief can be treated so successfully by our great physician.

So I want to stress that finding out the connection between our anxiety and our unbelief is in fact very good news, because it is the only way to begin the battle with the real cause of our sin and get the victory that God can give us by the therapy of his Word and his Spirit. 

'''2. "How Can I Have Any Assurance at All?"''' There is another possible response to the truth that our anxiety is rooted in our unbelief in God's promises. It goes like this: I have to deal with feelings of anxiety almost every day; and so I feel like my belief in God must be totally inadequate. So I wonder if I can have any assurance of being saved at all. 

'''Being Faithless Vs. Having Faith Attacked''' My answer to this concern goes like this: Suppose you are in a car race and your enemy who doesn't want you to finish the race throws mud on your windshield. The fact that you temporarily lose sight of your goal and start to swerve does not mean that you are going to quit the race. And it certainly doesn't mean that you are on the wrong racetrack. Otherwise the enemy wouldn't bother you at all. What it means is that you should turn on your windshield wipers and use your windshield washer.

What I mean is this: when anxiety strikes and blurs our vision of God's glory and the greatness of the future that he plans for us, this does not mean that we are faithless, or that we will not make it to heaven. It means our faith is being attacked. At first blow our belief in God's promises may sputter and swerve. But whether we stay on track and make it to the finish line depends on whether we set in motion a process of resistance. Whether we fight back against anxiety. Will we turn on the windshield wipers and will we use our windshield washer? 

'''The Testimony of Scripture''' Psalm 56:3 says, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee." Notice: it does not say, "I never struggle with fear." Fear strikes and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike.

For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you." It does NOT say, you will never feel any anxieties to cast onto God. It says, when the mud splatters your windshield and you lose temporary sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer. 

'''To the One Who Struggles Daily with Anxiety''' So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that's more or less normal. The issue is how you deal with them.

And the answer to that is: you deal with anxieties by battling unbelief. And you battle unbelief by meditating on God's Word and asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief. And the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit.

Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit the wipers of the Word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief. Both are necessary—the Spirit and the Word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our belief grows strong and the swerving of anxiety smoothes out. 

'''Overcoming Anxiety by Battling Unbelief''' Let me close by using some illustrations how battling unbelief overcomes anxiety. 

'''The Pattern of Jesus and Paul''' Here in our text we have the illustration of anxiety over food and clothing. Even in our country with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing can be very intense. But Jesus says in verse 30 that this is owing to unbelief: "O you of little faith." And so this paragraph has at least half a dozen promises in it to battle that unbelief.

For example at the end of verse 32 he says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." That is a spectacular promise. In everything you do at home and at work, put God's purposes first, and he will provide all you need to live for his glory. Believe that promise, and financial anxiety will evaporate in the warmth of God's care.

Paul applied the promise to anxiety in Philippians like this. In 4:6 he says just like Jesus, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God." And then in 4:19 he gives the promise like Jesus, "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." 

'''Anxieties We May Face''' And so we follow today the pattern of Jesus and Paul. We battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of God.

*When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with the promise: "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).
*When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise, "So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not come back to me empty but accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
*When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9), and "As your days so shall your strength be" (Deuteronomy 33:25).
*When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8).
*When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, "If God is for us who can be against us!" (Romans 8:31).
*When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise that "tribulation works patience, and patience approvedness, and approvedness hope, and hope does not make us ashamed" (Romans 5:3–5).
*When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:4).
*When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that "none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9–11).
*When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promise, "He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6). "He who calls you is faithful. He will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). "He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).

And yesterday when Rob and Gail got married, they printed the promises of God in the wedding folder. With these they have and they will fight off the anxiety of all the unknowns of marriage: "And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; he will be with you. He will not fail your or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:8).

So I urge you in your warfare, take up the book of God, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and battle on. And remember the promise of Proverbs 21:31, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord."

Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety

Bpmoosie — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:33:48 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.org|partner=Desiring God|date=25 September 1988|other= |series= |categorytopic= Fear & Anxiety |mediatype= article|lang= English|editor=n/a|translator= n/a|levels=0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety}}Unbelief as the root and essense of all Sin Let me hang a bridge between last Sunday's text and our concern today with the unbelief of anxiety. In Hebrews 3:12 it says, "Take care, brethren, lest their be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, leading you to fall away from the living God." And verse 14 says, "For we have shared in Christ, if we hold our first confidence firm to the end."

In other words the evidence that you have come to share in Christ—that you are united to him in saving faith—is that you hold that confidence firm to the end. Perseverance in faith is necessary for salvation. When a person is truly converted, the heart is changed so that now life is lived by faith (Galatians 2:20).

The new birth introduces a person into a life of warfare. That warfare is called the "fight of faith" in 2 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:12. And here in Hebrews 3:12 it is called the battle against unbelief. "Take care [that's the vigilance of battle], brethren, lest there be in you and evil heart of unbelief [there's the enemy in the warfare], leading you to fall away from the living God [there's the warning against not taking the warfare seriously]."

In other words the most basic battle of our life is the battle to believe in the living God, and not to allow our heart to become an evil heart of unbelief. Because if unbelief in the living God gets the upper hand in our life, then the result can be a hardening that makes us unwilling to repent and thus cuts us off from the grace of God.

Now this will not happen to those who are truly in Christ. Those who are truly born of God take the battle seriously, and draw on the power of God to fight it, and win it with persevering faith. That is what God promises. "He who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

The bridge, then, that I want to hang between last week's text and this week's text is the truth that beneath our battle against evil in our heart is the battle against unbelief. Unbelief is the root of evil and the essence of evil. All our sinning grows out of unbelief in the living God and what he has said to us in Scripture. 

'''Unbelief as the Root of Anxiety''' Now today's text illustrates this with a specific evil condition of heart, namely, anxiety.

Stop for a moment and think how many different sinful actions and attitudes come from anxiety. Anxiety about finances can give rise to coveting and greed and hoarding and stealing. Anxiety about succeeding at some task can make you irritable and abrupt and surly. Anxiety about relationships can make you withdrawn and indifferent and uncaring about other people. Anxiety about how someone will respond to you can make you cover over the truth and lie about things. So if anxiety could be conquered, a lot of sins would be overcome.

But what is the root of anxiety? And how can it be severed? To answer that we go to our text in Matthew 6. Four times in this text Jesus says that we should not be anxious.

#Verse 25: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life."
#Verse 27: "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?"
#Verse 31: "Therefore do not be anxious."
#Verse 34: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow."

The verse that makes the root of anxiety explicit is verse 30: "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothes you, O men of little faith?" In other words Jesus says that the root of anxiety is lack of faith in our heavenly Father. As unbelief gets the upper hand in our hearts, one of the results is anxiety.

So when Hebrews says, "Take heed lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief," it includes this meaning: "Take heed lest there be in you an ANXIOUS heart of unbelief." Anxiety is one of the evil conditions of the heart that comes from unbelief. Much anxiety, Jesus says, comes from little faith.

This is the kind of connection we are going to see again and again in the weeks to come. The root of a sinful condition of the heart is unbelief in the living God. 

'''Two Kinds of Disturbed Responses to This Truth''' Now I can think of two kinds of disturbed responses to this truth. Let me tell you what they are and then give a biblical response before we go on to the battle against the unbelief of anxiety. 

'''1. "This Is Not Good News!"''' One response would go like this: This is not good news! In fact it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is in fact a far deeper struggle with whether I believe God or not.

Now my response to this is to agree but then to disagree. Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you after a routine visit that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You say, emphatically not! And I agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Are you glad that the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? You say, yes, I am very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again I agree.

So the news that you have cancer is not good news because having cancer is good. It is good news because knowing what is really wrong is good news, especially when it can be treated successfully.

That's what it's like to learn that the real problem behind anxiety is unbelief in the promises of God. It's not good news because the cancer of unbelief is good. It's good because KNOWING WHAT IS REALLY WRONG is good, especially because unbelief can be treated so successfully by our great physician.

So I want to stress that finding out the connection between our anxiety and our unbelief is in fact very good news, because it is the only way to begin the battle with the real cause of our sin and get the victory that God can give us by the therapy of his Word and his Spirit. 

'''2. "How Can I Have Any Assurance at All?"''' There is another possible response to the truth that our anxiety is rooted in our unbelief in God's promises. It goes like this: I have to deal with feelings of anxiety almost every day; and so I feel like my belief in God must be totally inadequate. So I wonder if I can have any assurance of being saved at all. 

'''Being Faithless Vs. Having Faith Attacked''' My answer to this concern goes like this: Suppose you are in a car race and your enemy who doesn't want you to finish the race throws mud on your windshield. The fact that you temporarily lose sight of your goal and start to swerve does not mean that you are going to quit the race. And it certainly doesn't mean that you are on the wrong racetrack. Otherwise the enemy wouldn't bother you at all. What it means is that you should turn on your windshield wipers and use your windshield washer.

What I mean is this: when anxiety strikes and blurs our vision of God's glory and the greatness of the future that he plans for us, this does not mean that we are faithless, or that we will not make it to heaven. It means our faith is being attacked. At first blow our belief in God's promises may sputter and swerve. But whether we stay on track and make it to the finish line depends on whether we set in motion a process of resistance. Whether we fight back against anxiety. Will we turn on the windshield wipers and will we use our windshield washer? 

'''The Testimony of Scripture''' Psalm 56:3 says, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee." Notice: it does not say, "I never struggle with fear." Fear strikes and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike.

For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you." It does NOT say, you will never feel any anxieties to cast onto God. It says, when the mud splatters your windshield and you lose temporary sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer. 

'''To the One Who Struggles Daily with Anxiety''' So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that's more or less normal. The issue is how you deal with them.

And the answer to that is: you deal with anxieties by battling unbelief. And you battle unbelief by meditating on God's Word and asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief. And the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit.

Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit the wipers of the Word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief. Both are necessary—the Spirit and the Word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our belief grows strong and the swerving of anxiety smoothes out. 

'''Overcoming Anxiety by Battling Unbelief''' Let me close by using some illustrations how battling unbelief overcomes anxiety. 

'''The Pattern of Jesus and Paul''' Here in our text we have the illustration of anxiety over food and clothing. Even in our country with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing can be very intense. But Jesus says in verse 30 that this is owing to unbelief: "O you of little faith." And so this paragraph has at least half a dozen promises in it to battle that unbelief.

For example at the end of verse 32 he says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." That is a spectacular promise. In everything you do at home and at work, put God's purposes first, and he will provide all you need to live for his glory. Believe that promise, and financial anxiety will evaporate in the warmth of God's care.

Paul applied the promise to anxiety in Philippians like this. In 4:6 he says just like Jesus, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God." And then in 4:19 he gives the promise like Jesus, "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." 

'''Anxieties We May Face''' And so we follow today the pattern of Jesus and Paul. We battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of God.

*When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with the promise: "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).
*When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise, "So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not come back to me empty but accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
*When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9), and "As your days so shall your strength be" (Deuteronomy 33:25).
*When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8).
*When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, "If God is for us who can be against us!" (Romans 8:31).
*When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise that "tribulation works patience, and patience approvedness, and approvedness hope, and hope does not make us ashamed" (Romans 5:3–5).
*When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:4).
*When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that "none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9–11).
*When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promise, "He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6). "He who calls you is faithful. He will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). "He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).

And yesterday when Rob and Gail got married, they printed the promises of God in the wedding folder. With these they have and they will fight off the anxiety of all the unknowns of marriage: "And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; he will be with you. He will not fail your or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:8).

So I urge you in your warfare, take up the book of God, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and battle on. And remember the promise of Proverbs 21:31, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord."

Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety

Bpmoosie — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:41:01 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.org|partner=Desiring God|date=25 September 1988|other= |series= |categorytopic= Fear & Anxiety |mediatype= article|lang= English|editor=n/a|translator= n/a|levels=0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety}}Let me hang a bridge between last Sunday's text and our concern today with the unbelief of anxiety. In Hebrews 3:12 it says, "Take care, brethren, lest their be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, leading you to fall away from the living God." And verse 14 says, "For we have shared in Christ, if we hold our first confidence firm to the end."

In other words the evidence that you have come to share in Christ—that you are united to him in saving faith—is that you hold that confidence firm to the end. Perseverance in faith is necessary for salvation. When a person is truly converted, the heart is changed so that now life is lived by faith (Galatians 2:20).

The new birth introduces a person into a life of warfare. That warfare is called the "fight of faith" in 2 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:12. And here in Hebrews 3:12 it is called the battle against unbelief. "Take care [that's the vigilance of battle], brethren, lest there be in you and evil heart of unbelief [there's the enemy in the warfare], leading you to fall away from the living God [there's the warning against not taking the warfare seriously]."

In other words the most basic battle of our life is the battle to believe in the living God, and not to allow our heart to become an evil heart of unbelief. Because if unbelief in the living God gets the upper hand in our life, then the result can be a hardening that makes us unwilling to repent and thus cuts us off from the grace of God.

Now this will not happen to those who are truly in Christ. Those who are truly born of God take the battle seriously, and draw on the power of God to fight it, and win it with persevering faith. That is what God promises. "He who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

The bridge, then, that I want to hang between last week's text and this week's text is the truth that beneath our battle against evil in our heart is the battle against unbelief. Unbelief is the root of evil and the essence of evil. All our sinning grows out of unbelief in the living God and what he has said to us in Scripture. 

'''Unbelief as the Root of Anxiety''' Now today's text illustrates this with a specific evil condition of heart, namely, anxiety.

Stop for a moment and think how many different sinful actions and attitudes come from anxiety. Anxiety about finances can give rise to coveting and greed and hoarding and stealing. Anxiety about succeeding at some task can make you irritable and abrupt and surly. Anxiety about relationships can make you withdrawn and indifferent and uncaring about other people. Anxiety about how someone will respond to you can make you cover over the truth and lie about things. So if anxiety could be conquered, a lot of sins would be overcome.

But what is the root of anxiety? And how can it be severed? To answer that we go to our text in Matthew 6. Four times in this text Jesus says that we should not be anxious.

#Verse 25: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life."
#Verse 27: "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?"
#Verse 31: "Therefore do not be anxious."
#Verse 34: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow."

The verse that makes the root of anxiety explicit is verse 30: "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothes you, O men of little faith?" In other words Jesus says that the root of anxiety is lack of faith in our heavenly Father. As unbelief gets the upper hand in our hearts, one of the results is anxiety.

So when Hebrews says, "Take heed lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief," it includes this meaning: "Take heed lest there be in you an ANXIOUS heart of unbelief." Anxiety is one of the evil conditions of the heart that comes from unbelief. Much anxiety, Jesus says, comes from little faith.

This is the kind of connection we are going to see again and again in the weeks to come. The root of a sinful condition of the heart is unbelief in the living God. 

'''Two Kinds of Disturbed Responses to This Truth''' Now I can think of two kinds of disturbed responses to this truth. Let me tell you what they are and then give a biblical response before we go on to the battle against the unbelief of anxiety. 

'''1. "This Is Not Good News!"''' One response would go like this: This is not good news! In fact it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is in fact a far deeper struggle with whether I believe God or not.

Now my response to this is to agree but then to disagree. Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you after a routine visit that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You say, emphatically not! And I agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Are you glad that the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? You say, yes, I am very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again I agree.

So the news that you have cancer is not good news because having cancer is good. It is good news because knowing what is really wrong is good news, especially when it can be treated successfully.

That's what it's like to learn that the real problem behind anxiety is unbelief in the promises of God. It's not good news because the cancer of unbelief is good. It's good because KNOWING WHAT IS REALLY WRONG is good, especially because unbelief can be treated so successfully by our great physician.

So I want to stress that finding out the connection between our anxiety and our unbelief is in fact very good news, because it is the only way to begin the battle with the real cause of our sin and get the victory that God can give us by the therapy of his Word and his Spirit. 

'''2. "How Can I Have Any Assurance at All?"''' There is another possible response to the truth that our anxiety is rooted in our unbelief in God's promises. It goes like this: I have to deal with feelings of anxiety almost every day; and so I feel like my belief in God must be totally inadequate. So I wonder if I can have any assurance of being saved at all. 

'''Being Faithless Vs. Having Faith Attacked''' My answer to this concern goes like this: Suppose you are in a car race and your enemy who doesn't want you to finish the race throws mud on your windshield. The fact that you temporarily lose sight of your goal and start to swerve does not mean that you are going to quit the race. And it certainly doesn't mean that you are on the wrong racetrack. Otherwise the enemy wouldn't bother you at all. What it means is that you should turn on your windshield wipers and use your windshield washer.

What I mean is this: when anxiety strikes and blurs our vision of God's glory and the greatness of the future that he plans for us, this does not mean that we are faithless, or that we will not make it to heaven. It means our faith is being attacked. At first blow our belief in God's promises may sputter and swerve. But whether we stay on track and make it to the finish line depends on whether we set in motion a process of resistance. Whether we fight back against anxiety. Will we turn on the windshield wipers and will we use our windshield washer? 

'''The Testimony of Scripture''' Psalm 56:3 says, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee." Notice: it does not say, "I never struggle with fear." Fear strikes and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike.

For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you." It does NOT say, you will never feel any anxieties to cast onto God. It says, when the mud splatters your windshield and you lose temporary sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer. 

'''To the One Who Struggles Daily with Anxiety''' So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that's more or less normal. The issue is how you deal with them.

And the answer to that is: you deal with anxieties by battling unbelief. And you battle unbelief by meditating on God's Word and asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief. And the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit.

Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit the wipers of the Word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief. Both are necessary—the Spirit and the Word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our belief grows strong and the swerving of anxiety smoothes out. 

'''Overcoming Anxiety by Battling Unbelief''' Let me close by using some illustrations how battling unbelief overcomes anxiety. 

'''The Pattern of Jesus and Paul''' Here in our text we have the illustration of anxiety over food and clothing. Even in our country with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing can be very intense. But Jesus says in verse 30 that this is owing to unbelief: "O you of little faith." And so this paragraph has at least half a dozen promises in it to battle that unbelief.

For example at the end of verse 32 he says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." That is a spectacular promise. In everything you do at home and at work, put God's purposes first, and he will provide all you need to live for his glory. Believe that promise, and financial anxiety will evaporate in the warmth of God's care.

Paul applied the promise to anxiety in Philippians like this. In 4:6 he says just like Jesus, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God." And then in 4:19 he gives the promise like Jesus, "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." 

'''Anxieties We May Face''' And so we follow today the pattern of Jesus and Paul. We battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of God.

*When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with the promise: "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).
*When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise, "So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not come back to me empty but accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).
*When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9), and "As your days so shall your strength be" (Deuteronomy 33:25).
*When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8).
*When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, "If God is for us who can be against us!" (Romans 8:31).
*When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise that "tribulation works patience, and patience approvedness, and approvedness hope, and hope does not make us ashamed" (Romans 5:3–5).
*When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:4).
*When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that "none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9–11).
*When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promise, "He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6). "He who calls you is faithful. He will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). "He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).

And yesterday when Rob and Gail got married, they printed the promises of God in the wedding folder. With these they have and they will fight off the anxiety of all the unknowns of marriage: "And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; he will be with you. He will not fail your or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:8).

So I urge you in your warfare, take up the book of God, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and battle on. And remember the promise of Proverbs 21:31, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord."

Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety

Bpmoosie — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:34:26 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.org|partner=Desiring God|date=25 September 1988|other= |series= |categorytopic= Fear & Anxiety |mediatype= article|lang= English|editor=n/a|translator= n/a|levels=0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety}}Let me hang a bridge between last Sunday's text and our concern today with the unbelief of anxiety. In Hebrews 3:12 it says, "Take care, brethren, lest their be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, leading you to fall away from the living God." And verse 14 says, "For we have shared in Christ, if we hold our first confidence firm to the end."

In other words the evidence that you have come to share in Christ—that you are united to him in saving faith—is that you hold that confidence firm to the end. Perseverance in faith is necessary for salvation. When a person is truly converted, the heart is changed so that now life is lived by faith (Galatians 2:20).

The new birth introduces a person into a life of warfare. That warfare is called the "fight of faith" in 2 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:12. And here in Hebrews 3:12 it is called the battle against unbelief. "Take care [that's the vigilance of battle], brethren, lest there be in you and evil heart of unbelief [there's the enemy in the warfare], leading you to fall away from the living God [there's the warning against not taking the warfare seriously]."

In other words the most basic battle of our life is the battle to believe in the living God, and not to allow our heart to become an evil heart of unbelief. Because if unbelief in the living God gets the upper hand in our life, then the result can be a hardening that makes us unwilling to repent and thus cuts us off from the grace of God.

Now this will not happen to those who are truly in Christ. Those who are truly born of God take the battle seriously, and draw on the power of God to fight it, and win it with persevering faith. That is what God promises. "He who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

The bridge, then, that I want to hang between last week's text and this week's text is the truth that beneath our battle against evil in our heart is the battle against unbelief. Unbelief is the root of evil and the essence of evil. All our sinning grows out of unbelief in the living God and what he has said to us in Scripture. 

===Unbelief as the Root of Anxiety=== Now today's text illustrates this with a specific evil condition of heart, namely, anxiety.

Stop for a moment and think how many different sinful actions and attitudes come from anxiety. Anxiety about finances can give rise to coveting and greed and hoarding and stealing. Anxiety about succeeding at some task can make you irritable and abrupt and surly. Anxiety about relationships can make you withdrawn and indifferent and uncaring about other people. Anxiety about how someone will respond to you can make you cover over the truth and lie about things. So if anxiety could be conquered, a lot of sins would be overcome.

But what is the root of anxiety? And how can it be severed? To answer that we go to our text in Matthew 6. Four times in this text Jesus says that we should not be anxious.

#Verse 25: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life."
#Verse 27: "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?"
#Verse 31: "Therefore do not be anxious."
#Verse 34: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow."

The verse that makes the root of anxiety explicit is verse 30: "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothes you, O men of little faith?" In other words Jesus says that the root of anxiety is lack of faith in our heavenly Father. As unbelief gets the upper hand in our hearts, one of the results is anxiety.

So when Hebrews says, "Take heed lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief," it includes this meaning: "Take heed lest there be in you an ANXIOUS heart of unbelief." Anxiety is one of the evil conditions of the heart that comes from unbelief. Much anxiety, Jesus says, comes from little faith.

This is the kind of connection we are going to see again and again in the weeks to come. The root of a sinful condition of the heart is unbelief in the living God. 

'''Two Kinds of Disturbed Responses to This Truth''' Now I can think of two kinds of disturbed responses to this truth. Let me tell you what they are and then give a biblical response before we go on to the battle against the unbelief of anxiety. 

'''1. "This Is Not Good News!"''' One response would go like this: This is not good news! In fact it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is in fact a far deeper struggle with whether I believe God or not.

Now my response to this is to agree but then to disagree. Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you after a routine visit that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You say, emphatically not! And I agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Are you glad that the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? You say, yes, I am very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again I agree.

So the news that you have cancer is not good news because having cancer is good. It is good news because knowing what is really wrong is good news, especially when it can be treated successfully.

That's what it's like to learn that the real problem behind anxiety is unbelief in the promises of God. It's not good news because the cancer of unbelief is good. It's good because KNOWING WHAT IS REALLY WRONG is good, especially because unbelief can be treated so successfully by our great physician.

So I want to stress that finding out the connection between our anxiety and our unbelief is in fact very good news, because it is the only way to begin the battle with the real cause of our sin and get the victory that God can give us by the therapy of his Word and his Spirit. 

'''2. "How Can I Have Any Assurance at All?"''' There is another possible response to the truth that our anxiety is rooted in our unbelief in God's promises. It goes like this: I have to deal with feelings of anxiety almost every day; and so I feel like my belief in God must be totally inadequate. So I wonder if I can have any assurance of being saved at all. 

'''Being Faithless Vs. Having Faith Attacked''' My answer to this concern goes like this: Suppose you are in a car race and your enemy who doesn't want you to finish the race throws mud on your windshield. The fact that you temporarily lose sight of your goal and start to swerve does not mean that you are going to quit the race. And it certainly doesn't mean that you are on the wrong racetrack. Otherwise the enemy wouldn't bother you at all. What it means is that you should turn on your windshield wipers and use your windshield washer.

What I mean is this: when anxiety strikes and blurs our vision of God's glory and the greatness of the future that he plans for us, this does not mean that we are faithless, or that we will not make it to heaven. It means our faith is being attacked. At first blow our belief in God's promises may sputter and swerve. But whether we stay on track and make it to the finish line depends on whether we set in motion a process of resistance. Whether we fight back against anxiety. Will we turn on the windshield wipers and will we use our windshield washer? 

'''The Testimony of Scripture''' Psalm 56:3 says, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee." Notice: it does not say, "I never struggle with fear." Fear strikes and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike.

For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you." It does NOT say, you will never feel any anxieties to cast onto God. It says, when the mud splatters your windshield and you lose temporary sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer. 

'''To the One Who Struggles Daily with Anxiety''' So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that's more or less normal. The issue is how you deal with them.

And the answer to that is: you deal with anxieties by battling unbelief. And you battle unbelief by meditating on God's Word and asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief. And the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit.

Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit the wipers of the Word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief. Both are necessary—the Spirit and the Word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our belief grows strong and the swerving of anxiety smoothes out. 

'''Overcoming Anxiety by Battling Unbelief''' Let me close by using some illustrations how battling unbelief overcomes anxiety. 

'''The Pattern of Jesus and Paul''' Here in our text we have the illustration of anxiety over food and clothing. Even in our country with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing can be very intense. But Jesus says in verse 30 that this is owing to unbelief: "O you of little faith." And so this paragraph has at least half a dozen promises in it to battle that unbelief.

For example at the end of verse 32 he says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." That is a spectacular promise. In everything you do at home and at work, put God's purposes first, and he will provide all you need to live for his glory. Believe that promise, and financial anxiety will evaporate in the warmth of God's care.

Paul applied the promise to anxiety in Philippians like this. In 4:6 he says just like Jesus, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God." And then in 4:19 he gives the promise like Jesus, "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." 

'''Anxieties We May Face''' And so we follow today the pattern of Jesus and Paul. We battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of God.

When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with the promise: "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise, "So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not come back to me empty but accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9), and "As your days so shall your strength be" (Deuteronomy 33:25). When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8). When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, "If God is for us who can be against us!" (Romans 8:31). When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise that "tribulation works patience, and patience approvedness, and approvedness hope, and hope does not make us ashamed" (Romans 5:3–5). When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:4). When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that "none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9–11). When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promise, "He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6). "He who calls you is faithful. He will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). "He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). And yesterday when Rob and Gail got married, they printed the promises of God in the wedding folder. With these they have and they will fight off the anxiety of all the unknowns of marriage: "And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; he will be with you. He will not fail your or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:8).

So I urge you in your warfare, take up the book of God, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and battle on. And remember the promise of Proverbs 21:31, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord."

Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety

Bpmoosie — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:46:28 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.org|partner=Desiring God|date=25 September 1988|other= |series= |categorytopic= Fear & Anxiety |mediatype= article|lang= English|editor=n/a|translator= n/a|levels=0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety}}Let me hang a bridge between last Sunday's text and our concern today with the unbelief of anxiety. In Hebrews 3:12 it says, "Take care, brethren, lest their be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, leading you to fall away from the living God." And verse 14 says, "For we have shared in Christ, if we hold our first confidence firm to the end."

In other words the evidence that you have come to share in Christ—that you are united to him in saving faith—is that you hold that confidence firm to the end. Perseverance in faith is necessary for salvation. When a person is truly converted, the heart is changed so that now life is lived by faith (Galatians 2:20).

The new birth introduces a person into a life of warfare. That warfare is called the "fight of faith" in 2 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:12. And here in Hebrews 3:12 it is called the battle against unbelief. "Take care [that's the vigilance of battle], brethren, lest there be in you and evil heart of unbelief [there's the enemy in the warfare], leading you to fall away from the living God [there's the warning against not taking the warfare seriously]."

In other words the most basic battle of our life is the battle to believe in the living God, and not to allow our heart to become an evil heart of unbelief. Because if unbelief in the living God gets the upper hand in our life, then the result can be a hardening that makes us unwilling to repent and thus cuts us off from the grace of God.

Now this will not happen to those who are truly in Christ. Those who are truly born of God take the battle seriously, and draw on the power of God to fight it, and win it with persevering faith. That is what God promises. "He who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

The bridge, then, that I want to hang between last week's text and this week's text is the truth that beneath our battle against evil in our heart is the battle against unbelief. Unbelief is the root of evil and the essence of evil. All our sinning grows out of unbelief in the living God and what he has said to us in Scripture. 

'''Unbelief as the Root of Anxiety''' Now today's text illustrates this with a specific evil condition of heart, namely, anxiety.

Stop for a moment and think how many different sinful actions and attitudes come from anxiety. Anxiety about finances can give rise to coveting and greed and hoarding and stealing. Anxiety about succeeding at some task can make you irritable and abrupt and surly. Anxiety about relationships can make you withdrawn and indifferent and uncaring about other people. Anxiety about how someone will respond to you can make you cover over the truth and lie about things. So if anxiety could be conquered, a lot of sins would be overcome.

But what is the root of anxiety? And how can it be severed? To answer that we go to our text in Matthew 6. Four times in this text Jesus says that we should not be anxious.

#Verse 25: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life."
#Verse 27: "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?"
#Verse 31: "Therefore do not be anxious."
#Verse 34: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow."

The verse that makes the root of anxiety explicit is verse 30: "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothes you, O men of little faith?" In other words Jesus says that the root of anxiety is lack of faith in our heavenly Father. As unbelief gets the upper hand in our hearts, one of the results is anxiety.

So when Hebrews says, "Take heed lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief," it includes this meaning: "Take heed lest there be in you an ANXIOUS heart of unbelief." Anxiety is one of the evil conditions of the heart that comes from unbelief. Much anxiety, Jesus says, comes from little faith.

This is the kind of connection we are going to see again and again in the weeks to come. The root of a sinful condition of the heart is unbelief in the living God. 

'''Two Kinds of Disturbed Responses to This Truth''' Now I can think of two kinds of disturbed responses to this truth. Let me tell you what they are and then give a biblical response before we go on to the battle against the unbelief of anxiety. 

'''1. "This Is Not Good News!"''' One response would go like this: This is not good news! In fact it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is in fact a far deeper struggle with whether I believe God or not.

Now my response to this is to agree but then to disagree. Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you after a routine visit that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You say, emphatically not! And I agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Are you glad that the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? You say, yes, I am very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again I agree.

So the news that you have cancer is not good news because having cancer is good. It is good news because knowing what is really wrong is good news, especially when it can be treated successfully.

That's what it's like to learn that the real problem behind anxiety is unbelief in the promises of God. It's not good news because the cancer of unbelief is good. It's good because KNOWING WHAT IS REALLY WRONG is good, especially because unbelief can be treated so successfully by our great physician.

So I want to stress that finding out the connection between our anxiety and our unbelief is in fact very good news, because it is the only way to begin the battle with the real cause of our sin and get the victory that God can give us by the therapy of his Word and his Spirit. 

'''2. "How Can I Have Any Assurance at All?"''' There is another possible response to the truth that our anxiety is rooted in our unbelief in God's promises. It goes like this: I have to deal with feelings of anxiety almost every day; and so I feel like my belief in God must be totally inadequate. So I wonder if I can have any assurance of being saved at all. 

'''Being Faithless Vs. Having Faith Attacked''' My answer to this concern goes like this: Suppose you are in a car race and your enemy who doesn't want you to finish the race throws mud on your windshield. The fact that you temporarily lose sight of your goal and start to swerve does not mean that you are going to quit the race. And it certainly doesn't mean that you are on the wrong racetrack. Otherwise the enemy wouldn't bother you at all. What it means is that you should turn on your windshield wipers and use your windshield washer.

What I mean is this: when anxiety strikes and blurs our vision of God's glory and the greatness of the future that he plans for us, this does not mean that we are faithless, or that we will not make it to heaven. It means our faith is being attacked. At first blow our belief in God's promises may sputter and swerve. But whether we stay on track and make it to the finish line depends on whether we set in motion a process of resistance. Whether we fight back against anxiety. Will we turn on the windshield wipers and will we use our windshield washer? 

'''The Testimony of Scripture''' Psalm 56:3 says, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee." Notice: it does not say, "I never struggle with fear." Fear strikes and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike.

For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you." It does NOT say, you will never feel any anxieties to cast onto God. It says, when the mud splatters your windshield and you lose temporary sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer. 

'''To the One Who Struggles Daily with Anxiety''' So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that's more or less normal. The issue is how you deal with them.

And the answer to that is: you deal with anxieties by battling unbelief. And you battle unbelief by meditating on God's Word and asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief. And the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit.

Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit the wipers of the Word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief. Both are necessary—the Spirit and the Word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our belief grows strong and the swerving of anxiety smoothes out. 

'''Overcoming Anxiety by Battling Unbelief''' Let me close by using some illustrations how battling unbelief overcomes anxiety. 

'''The Pattern of Jesus and Paul''' Here in our text we have the illustration of anxiety over food and clothing. Even in our country with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing can be very intense. But Jesus says in verse 30 that this is owing to unbelief: "O you of little faith." And so this paragraph has at least half a dozen promises in it to battle that unbelief.

For example at the end of verse 32 he says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." That is a spectacular promise. In everything you do at home and at work, put God's purposes first, and he will provide all you need to live for his glory. Believe that promise, and financial anxiety will evaporate in the warmth of God's care.

Paul applied the promise to anxiety in Philippians like this. In 4:6 he says just like Jesus, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God." And then in 4:19 he gives the promise like Jesus, "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." 

'''Anxieties We May Face''' And so we follow today the pattern of Jesus and Paul. We battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of God.

When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with the promise: "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise, "So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not come back to me empty but accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9), and "As your days so shall your strength be" (Deuteronomy 33:25). When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8). When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, "If God is for us who can be against us!" (Romans 8:31). When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise that "tribulation works patience, and patience approvedness, and approvedness hope, and hope does not make us ashamed" (Romans 5:3–5). When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:4). When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that "none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9–11). When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promise, "He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6). "He who calls you is faithful. He will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). "He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). And yesterday when Rob and Gail got married, they printed the promises of God in the wedding folder. With these they have and they will fight off the anxiety of all the unknowns of marriage: "And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; he will be with you. He will not fail your or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:8).

So I urge you in your warfare, take up the book of God, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and battle on. And remember the promise of Proverbs 21:31, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord."

Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety

Bpmoosie — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:45:40 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.org|partner=Desiring God|date=25 September 1988|other= |series= |categorytopic= Fear & Anxiety |mediatype= article|lang= English|editor=n/a|translator= n/a|levels=0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety}}Let me hang a bridge between last Sunday's text and our concern today with the unbelief of anxiety. In Hebrews 3:12 it says, "Take care, brethren, lest their be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, leading you to fall away from the living God." And verse 14 says, "For we have shared in Christ, if we hold our first confidence firm to the end."

In other words the evidence that you have come to share in Christ—that you are united to him in saving faith—is that you hold that confidence firm to the end. Perseverance in faith is necessary for salvation. When a person is truly converted, the heart is changed so that now life is lived by faith (Galatians 2:20).

The new birth introduces a person into a life of warfare. That warfare is called the "fight of faith" in 2 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:12. And here in Hebrews 3:12 it is called the battle against unbelief. "Take care [that's the vigilance of battle], brethren, lest there be in you and evil heart of unbelief [there's the enemy in the warfare], leading you to fall away from the living God [there's the warning against not taking the warfare seriously]."

In other words the most basic battle of our life is the battle to believe in the living God, and not to allow our heart to become an evil heart of unbelief. Because if unbelief in the living God gets the upper hand in our life, then the result can be a hardening that makes us unwilling to repent and thus cuts us off from the grace of God.

Now this will not happen to those who are truly in Christ. Those who are truly born of God take the battle seriously, and draw on the power of God to fight it, and win it with persevering faith. That is what God promises. "He who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

The bridge, then, that I want to hang between last week's text and this week's text is the truth that beneath our battle against evil in our heart is the battle against unbelief. Unbelief is the root of evil and the essence of evil. All our sinning grows out of unbelief in the living God and what he has said to us in Scripture. 

'''Unbelief as the Root of Anxiety''' Now today's text illustrates this with a specific evil condition of heart, namely, anxiety.

Stop for a moment and think how many different sinful actions and attitudes come from anxiety. Anxiety about finances can give rise to coveting and greed and hoarding and stealing. Anxiety about succeeding at some task can make you irritable and abrupt and surly. Anxiety about relationships can make you withdrawn and indifferent and uncaring about other people. Anxiety about how someone will respond to you can make you cover over the truth and lie about things. So if anxiety could be conquered, a lot of sins would be overcome.

But what is the root of anxiety? And how can it be severed? To answer that we go to our text in Matthew 6. Four times in this text Jesus says that we should not be anxious.

Verse 25: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life." Verse 27: "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?" Verse 31: "Therefore do not be anxious." Verse 34: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow." The verse that makes the root of anxiety explicit is verse 30: "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothes you, O men of little faith?" In other words Jesus says that the root of anxiety is lack of faith in our heavenly Father. As unbelief gets the upper hand in our hearts, one of the results is anxiety.

So when Hebrews says, "Take heed lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief," it includes this meaning: "Take heed lest there be in you an ANXIOUS heart of unbelief." Anxiety is one of the evil conditions of the heart that comes from unbelief. Much anxiety, Jesus says, comes from little faith.

This is the kind of connection we are going to see again and again in the weeks to come. The root of a sinful condition of the heart is unbelief in the living God. 

'''Two Kinds of Disturbed Responses to This Truth''' Now I can think of two kinds of disturbed responses to this truth. Let me tell you what they are and then give a biblical response before we go on to the battle against the unbelief of anxiety. 

'''1. "This Is Not Good News!"''' One response would go like this: This is not good news! In fact it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is in fact a far deeper struggle with whether I believe God or not.

Now my response to this is to agree but then to disagree. Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you after a routine visit that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You say, emphatically not! And I agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Are you glad that the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? You say, yes, I am very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again I agree.

So the news that you have cancer is not good news because having cancer is good. It is good news because knowing what is really wrong is good news, especially when it can be treated successfully.

That's what it's like to learn that the real problem behind anxiety is unbelief in the promises of God. It's not good news because the cancer of unbelief is good. It's good because KNOWING WHAT IS REALLY WRONG is good, especially because unbelief can be treated so successfully by our great physician.

So I want to stress that finding out the connection between our anxiety and our unbelief is in fact very good news, because it is the only way to begin the battle with the real cause of our sin and get the victory that God can give us by the therapy of his Word and his Spirit. 

'''2. "How Can I Have Any Assurance at All?"''' There is another possible response to the truth that our anxiety is rooted in our unbelief in God's promises. It goes like this: I have to deal with feelings of anxiety almost every day; and so I feel like my belief in God must be totally inadequate. So I wonder if I can have any assurance of being saved at all. 

'''Being Faithless Vs. Having Faith Attacked''' My answer to this concern goes like this: Suppose you are in a car race and your enemy who doesn't want you to finish the race throws mud on your windshield. The fact that you temporarily lose sight of your goal and start to swerve does not mean that you are going to quit the race. And it certainly doesn't mean that you are on the wrong racetrack. Otherwise the enemy wouldn't bother you at all. What it means is that you should turn on your windshield wipers and use your windshield washer.

What I mean is this: when anxiety strikes and blurs our vision of God's glory and the greatness of the future that he plans for us, this does not mean that we are faithless, or that we will not make it to heaven. It means our faith is being attacked. At first blow our belief in God's promises may sputter and swerve. But whether we stay on track and make it to the finish line depends on whether we set in motion a process of resistance. Whether we fight back against anxiety. Will we turn on the windshield wipers and will we use our windshield washer? 

'''The Testimony of Scripture''' Psalm 56:3 says, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee." Notice: it does not say, "I never struggle with fear." Fear strikes and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike.

For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you." It does NOT say, you will never feel any anxieties to cast onto God. It says, when the mud splatters your windshield and you lose temporary sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer. 

'''To the One Who Struggles Daily with Anxiety''' So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that's more or less normal. The issue is how you deal with them.

And the answer to that is: you deal with anxieties by battling unbelief. And you battle unbelief by meditating on God's Word and asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief. And the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit.

Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit the wipers of the Word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief. Both are necessary—the Spirit and the Word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our belief grows strong and the swerving of anxiety smoothes out. 

'''Overcoming Anxiety by Battling Unbelief''' Let me close by using some illustrations how battling unbelief overcomes anxiety. 

'''The Pattern of Jesus and Paul''' Here in our text we have the illustration of anxiety over food and clothing. Even in our country with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing can be very intense. But Jesus says in verse 30 that this is owing to unbelief: "O you of little faith." And so this paragraph has at least half a dozen promises in it to battle that unbelief.

For example at the end of verse 32 he says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." That is a spectacular promise. In everything you do at home and at work, put God's purposes first, and he will provide all you need to live for his glory. Believe that promise, and financial anxiety will evaporate in the warmth of God's care.

Paul applied the promise to anxiety in Philippians like this. In 4:6 he says just like Jesus, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God." And then in 4:19 he gives the promise like Jesus, "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." 

'''Anxieties We May Face''' And so we follow today the pattern of Jesus and Paul. We battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of God.

When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with the promise: "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise, "So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not come back to me empty but accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9), and "As your days so shall your strength be" (Deuteronomy 33:25). When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8). When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, "If God is for us who can be against us!" (Romans 8:31). When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise that "tribulation works patience, and patience approvedness, and approvedness hope, and hope does not make us ashamed" (Romans 5:3–5). When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:4). When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that "none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9–11). When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promise, "He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6). "He who calls you is faithful. He will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). "He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). And yesterday when Rob and Gail got married, they printed the promises of God in the wedding folder. With these they have and they will fight off the anxiety of all the unknowns of marriage: "And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; he will be with you. He will not fail your or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:8).

So I urge you in your warfare, take up the book of God, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and battle on. And remember the promise of Proverbs 21:31, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord."

A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 2

Bpmoosie — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:13:45 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.org|partner=Desiring God|date=19 Feburary 1995|other=|series=|categorytopic=No topic|mediatype=article|lang=English|editor=n/a|translator=n/a|levels=0|reviewed=Not Reviewed|newtitle=A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 2}}
<blockquote>'''Isaiah 58:1-12''' </blockquote><blockquote>1 Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done Thou righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 'Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? 7 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. </blockquote>
 '''Introduction and Review'''

What we saw last week from verses 1–5 was that how you treat people on Monday is the test of the authenticity of your fasting on Sunday. They cry out to God in verse 3, "Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see?" And God answers at the end of the verse, "Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers." And God asks in verse 5, "Is it a fast like this which I choose?" Meaning: such a fast is unacceptable. God even makes sport of such a fasting when he says in verse 5, "Is it for bowing one's head like a reed?" The gestures of this self-inflicted religion are no more spiritual than a bent reed in the swamp.

Why is this fasting unacceptable to God? What's wrong with it? What's wrong with it is that it left the sin in their lives untouched. The only authentic fasting is fasting that includes a spiritual attack against our own sin. Whatever else we fast for, we must fast for our own holiness. We cannot fast for ''anything ''with authenticity while living in known sin. The only authentic praying is praying that includes an attack against our own sin. The only authentic worship is worship that includes at least an implicit attack against our own sin.

And what this text emphasizes is that our action on Monday is the test of whether we really are intent on attacking the sin in our lives, and therefore whether our fasting and praying and worshiping on Sunday is authentic. If we are sincere on Sunday in our prayerful opposition to the sin of our lives, then we will fight it on Monday with action. We may not always succeed as fully as we would like, but we will fight our sin on Monday if our fasting was true on Sunday.

If there's an unresolved pocket of sin in your life and you are fasting about something else—some blessing, some healing—God's going to come to you and say, "The fast that I choose is for THAT sin to be dealt with." The way he does that here is very striking. Verse 5 says they were fasting and "humbling themselves." That word "humbling" also means "afflicting." So they were afflicting themselves with hunger. But God says that this is not the fast that he chooses. And in verse 10 he takes the very words "hungry" and "afflicted" and says that there are some hungry and afflicted people he is very concerned about, namely, the ones who are not choosing to be hungry and afflicted but are hungry and afflicted because the religious people oppress them instead of feeding them. Verse 10: "And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted . . . [instead of oppressing them]."

In other words, your fasting and self-affliction on Sunday is not really an attack on your own sin of injustice and hard-heartedness. Because if it were, your action on Monday would be to alleviate the hunger and affliction of the poor, especially your own workers. There is a great irony here that God wants us to see. The poor are hungry and afflicted, verse 10 says. These well-to-do religious people are also hungry and afflicted—with fasting. But what are they fasting for? Is their fasting first a battle against their own sin?—the sin of driving hard all their workers? The sin of putting a heavy yoke on the back of the poor? The sin of neglecting the needs of the poor for clothing and housing? No. That is not what they are fasting against. Their behavior—on Monday—proves it. So God comes to them and says, "The fast that I choose is not that you religiously make yourselves hungry and afflicted, but that you make the poor less hungry and afflicted. If you want to fight sin by taking your bread away from your own mouth, then put it in the mouth of the poor. Then we will see if you are really fasting for righteousness' sake.

When we are living in sin—say the sin of hard-heartedness or deceit or injustice—the fast which God chooses is not a religious covering of this sin, but a direct frontal assault against this sin. For these people fasting was not a fight against the besetting sin of their lives; it was a camouflage. If they make themselves hunger a little bit and afflict themselves, maybe it won't matter so much that they are indifferent to the hunger and the affliction of the poor. So God comes and says, "I test your hearts. Go without bread for the sake of the poor. Give it to them. That's the fast I choose."

'''God's Chosen Fast: A Doctor's Prescription not a Job Description'''

Then what God does in verses 6–12 is describe what is involved in living out this fast and what the spectacular rewards are for living this way. You recall that Jesus said, "Your heavenly Father who sees in secret will reward you." Well here are some of the kinds of things God promises to do for those who do this kind of fasting (cf. Psalm 41:1–3).

First, let's look at the description of the fasting itself, and then at the promises of God for those who live this way. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this is a job description that God had given his people to show them how to earn wages from him. There is no earning going on here. The God of Isaiah cannot be negotiated with. He is sovereign and free and gives graciously to those who trust him. Isaiah 30:15 says, "For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, 'In repentance and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.'" The strength to do the fast God calls us to do does not come from us. It comes from God. And it comes through trusting him.

What God calls the people to do is not a job ''description'', but a Doctor's ''prescription''. You can see that in verse 8 where it says that if you act this way—if you follow the Doctor's prescription of fasting—"Your recovery—your healing—will speedily spring forth." If you trust the Doctor, and show this by obeying his instructions, you will get well. So don't think that you are going to earn anything from God. Trust his sovereign grace and follow his prescription, and you will be mightily blessed. But it will never occur to you to think that you have earned or merited anything.

'''What the Doctor Prescribes'''

Let's look at the prescription—the fast that God chooses. Beginning in verse 6: "Is not this the fast I choose,

*To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
*To undo the bands of the yoke,
*And to let the oppressed go free,
*And break every yoke?
*Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry,
*And bring the homeless poor into the house;
*When you see the naked, to cover him;
*And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?"

Then in verses 8 and 9a come the promises of what will happen if you trust the Doctor's fasting directions. But skip over that for a moment and go to the rest of the prescription in verse 9b–10a.

*"If you remove the yoke from your midst,
*The pointing of the finger,
*And speaking wickedness
*And if you give yourself to the hungry,
*And satisfy the desire of the afflicted . . . "

That's the Doctor's prescription. That's the fast that the Doctor prescribes for the patient Israel who is sick with the disease of hypocrisy and hard-heartedness against the poor.

There are 13 components but they seem to fall into about seven categories. I give these as a call on the life of our church. We must discover how to join in this prescription of fasting.

'''1. Lift the Burden of Bondage'''

In this fasting, we are called to lift the burden of bondage.

Five of these components call for freedom. Verse 6:

*"To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
*To undo the bands of the yoke,
*And to let the oppressed go free,
*And break every yoke?"

Verse 9:

*"If you remove the yoke from your midst . . . "

Bonds, bands, yoke, oppression, yoke, yoke . . . The point here is: live to free people not burden them. Jesus said in Luke 11:46, "Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers." We are called to free people from burdens, not oppress them with burdens.

'''2. Feed the Hungry'''

In this fasting we are called to feed the hungry.

Verse 7: "Is [this fast] not to divide your bread with the hungry?"

'''3. House the Homeless''' In this fasting we are called to house the homeless.

Verse 7: "And bring the homeless poor into the house."

'''4. Clothe the Naked''' In this fasting we are called to clothe the naked.

Verse 7: "When you see the naked, to cover him."

'''5. Be Sympathetic''' In this fasting we are called to be sympathetic; to feel what others feel because we have the same flesh they do.

Verse 7: "And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" The thought may be the same as Hebrews 13:3, "Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body." You have the same flesh they do. So put yourself in their place and feel what they feel.

'''6. Put Away Contempt for Other People'''

In this fasting we are called to put away gestures and words that show raw contempt for other people.

Verse 9: "Remove . . . the pointing of the finger [literally, the "sending" of the finger, which may be a lot closer to our crude "giving someone the finger" than it is to merely pointing at someone]; and [remove] speaking wickedness." So don't speak and don't gesture in ways that show callous contempt for others.

'''7. Give Ourselves and Satisfy the Soul of the Afflicted'''

Finally, in this fasting we are called not just to give food, but to give ourselves—our souls—and not just to satisfy the stomach of the poor, but the soul of the afflicted.

Verse 10: "And if you give yourself [= soul] to the hungry, and satisfy the desire [literally: soul] of the afflicted . . . " This is one of the messages of this weekend with John Hayes: ministry to the poor is not merely giving things. It is giving self. It's not just relief. It's relationship.

'''The Promised Results of Following the Doctor's Prescription''' Now, if we trust God enough to follow him in this prescribed seven-point fast, what will happen in our lives and in our church? These promises are worthy of about seven sermons. But I will mention the categories and pray that God will give you a heart to meditate on them long enough to see the riches.

'''1. Darkness Will Become Light''' If we fast like this, the darkness in our life will become light:

Verse 8: "Then your light will break out like the dawn."

Verse 10 (at the end): "Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday."

Do you want light in your life instead of gloom? Look to the gracious resources of God—listen to your Doctor—and pour yourself out for another person in need.

'''2. Physical Strengthening''' If we follow this fasting, there will be physical strengthening.

Verse 8: "And your recovery will speedily spring forth . . . " Verse 11: "And [he will] give strength to your bones." Who knows how much weakness is in us because we may not be pouring our energy into the weakness of others?

'''3. God All Around Us with Righteousness and Glory''' If we follow this fasting, God will be in front of us and behind us and in the midst of us with righteousness and glory.

Verse 8, at the end: "And your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard." So God will be in front of you with righteousness and behind you with his glory. Verse 9: "Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'" Whenever the role is called, he always says, "Here!" When we are doing what his Son did—in the power that the Son gives—"becoming poor that others might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9), then God moves in on us and behind us and in front of us and surrounds us with omnipotent love and protection and care.

'''4. God Will Guide Us Continually''' If we follow this fasting, God promises to guide us continually.

Verse 11: "And the Lord will continually guide you." O what a precious promise that is for us now as a church and a Master Planning Team. I wonder how much confusion and uncertainty there may be in some of our lives that comes from the neglect of ministry to the poor? It seems the Lord gives his most intimate guidance to those bent on giving themselves to the needs of others—especially the poor.

'''5. God Will Satisfy Our Soul'''

If we follow this fasting, he will satisfy your soul.

Verse 11: "And [he will] satisfy your desire [literally: your soul] in scorched places." Our souls are meant to be satisfied in God. But we have learned again and again that this satisfaction in God comes to consummation when we extend our satisfaction in him to others. Pouring ourselves out for the poor is the path of deepest satisfaction.

'''6. God Will Make Us a Watered Garden''' If we follow this fasting, God will make you a watered garden with springs that do not fail.

Verse 11, at the end: "And you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail." It is a paradoxical spiritual principle in Scripture: as you pour yourself out, you become full. As you give away, you get more. When you are watered with God's grace you do not merely become a wet, moist, living garden; you also become a spring.

This promise comes to its fulfillment in the New Testament when Jesus used this verse in John 7:38, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water' [a spring of waters that does not fail]. 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive." So you can see that trusting Jesus is the issue: "He who believes in me . . . ' The Spirit bestirs himself most fully when we by faith give ourselves with Jesus in the path of love and mercy toward the destitute.

'''7. God Will Restore the Ruins of His City, and People'''

Finally, if we follow this fasting, that is, if we give ourselves to the poor, God will restore the ruins of his city—and his people.

Verse 12: "And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell."

Let's trust the Great Physician—the Lord, our healer. Let's accept the fast that he has prescribed for us. It will mean light and healing and guidance and refreshment and restoration and resourcefulness—and all this with God himself before us and behind us and in the midst of us. And it doesn't get any better than that.

=

A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 1

Bpmoosie — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:09:30 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.org|partner=Desiring God|date=19 Feburary 1995|other=|series=|categorytopic=No topic|mediatype=article|lang=English|editor=n/a|translator=n/a|levels=0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail,Part 1}}
<blockquote>'''Isaiah 58:1-12''' </blockquote><blockquote>1 Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done Thou righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 'Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? 7 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. </blockquote>
 '''John Chrysostom '''

One of the greatest preachers of the first thousand years of the Christian Church was John Chrysostom, the bishop of Constantinople in the fourth century. I mention him because he has left us one of the most sweeping statements about the value of fasting. He was known as an ascetic in an age of luxury in Constantinople and his lifestyle offended the emperor Arcadius and his wife Eudoxia so much that he was eventually banished and died in AD 407. Of fasting he said,

Fasting is, as much as lies in us, an imitation of the angels, a contemning of things present, a school of prayer, a nourishment of the soul, a bridle of the mouth, an abatement of concupiscence: it mollifies rage, it appeases anger, it calms the tempests of nature, it excites reason, it clears the mind, it disburdens the flesh, it chases away night-pollutions, it frees from head-ache. By fasting, a man gets composed behaviour, free utterance of his tongue, right apprehensions of his mind.

Not all of those accolades are true for everyone in every time of fasting. For example, for some fasting will cause a headache rather than take it away. But I want you to hear Chrysostom and the thousands of saints who have proved the value of the Lord's prophecy: when the Bridegroom is taken away, then the disciples will fast (Matthew 9:15).

But what we began to see last week is that there is danger in fasting. I don't mean physical danger—you can avoid that if you follow simple guidelines (see the sheet on the information table). What I mean is spiritual dangers. You can fast in a way that will be very displeasing to the Lord and spiritually destructive to yourself.

Last week we heard Jesus warn us that this was so. If you fast, for example, to be seen by other people, he said, you have your reward from them, and you will not be answered by the Father. To prove our hearts he said that we should take steps not to be seen by others, but only by God: comb your hair, wash your face, and do not put on a gloomy countenance. Then—if your motives are pure—your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

This week, and next week, we hear another warning, this time from the prophet Isaiah—or more precisely from God through Isaiah. This chapter is full of rich associations for me. I see it not just as a fitting conclusion to our series on fasting, but as a text associated with some very powerful experiences in certain people's lives; and I see it as having a very significant bearing on the Master Planning Team's wrestling with what our priorities and focuses should be as a church for the rest of this decade.

'''Bill Leslie'''''' '''One of the experiences I have in mind is the experience of Bill Leslie the former pastor of LaSalle Street Church in Chicago who died not too long ago after a long and remarkable ministry—like the one described in Isaiah 58. He came to the Twin Cities once and told of a near breakdown that he had and how a spiritual mentor directed him to this chapter. He said it was verses 10–11 that saved him from a dead end street of exhaustion and burnout.
<blockquote>And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places [like urban Chicago], and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. </blockquote>
What struck Pastor Leslie so powerfully was the fact that if we pour ourselves out for others, God promises to make us like a watered garden—that is, we will receive the water we need for refreshment. But even more: we will thus be a spring of water that does not fail—for others, for the demanding, exhausting, draining ministry of urban self-giving. This gave him a pattern of divine life that got him through his crisis and kept him going for years more. I want us to see this week and next week that this is a kind of fasting that the Lord wants to teach us.

'''Doug Nichols'''''' '''The other experience that makes the chapter rich for me right now is the connection that it has with Doug Nichols, the President of Action International Ministries. Doug is the man who wrote to Tom Steller last summer and suggested that our church get an airplane and take a couple hundred people to Rwanda to help bury the dead so that doctors and nurses could do what they were sent to do. He spoke at our Pastors' Conference a week or so ago, and gave one of the most stirring messages I have heard in a long time. Action International specializes in reaching street children around the world.

To show you the kind of person he is, he wrote me last week to thank me for the conference and put a PS at the bottom of his letter:
<blockquote>In the last 'one minute' that it possibly took you to read this letter, 28 children died of malnutrition and diseases that could have been easily prevented. 1,667 die every hour, 40,000 children die daily! Please pray with ACTION for more missionaries to take the Gospel to these children. </blockquote>
Doug was found to have colon cancer in April of 1993. They gave him a 30% chance of living after his surgery and colostomy and radiation treatments. Last fall he got on a plane and went to Rwanda with our Dr. Mike Anderson and some others. His non-Christian oncologist said he would die in Rwanda. Doug said that would be OK because he is going to heaven. The oncologist called his surgeon to solicit help in not letting Doug go to Rwanda. The surgeon is a Christian and said, "It's okay, Doug's ready to die and go to heaven."

We got word here that Doug was going—with his cancer and his colostomy—to Rwanda. I recall gathering in the prayer room with the staff and very specifically being led to Isaiah 58:7–8, which we prayed for Doug:
<blockquote>Is [the fast I choose] not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery [i.e., your healing] will speedily spring forth. </blockquote>
We prayed very specifically that the feeding of the hungry and the housing of the homeless in Rwanda would not kill but heal Doug Nichols.

From Rwanda Doug called his Jewish oncologist and said he was not dead. And when he got back, he had a battery of tests which resulted in the assessment NED: no evidence of disease. If he makes it to April—the two year mark—without recurrence of the cancer, doctors give him a good chance of living out his normal span of life. Doug is 53.

'''Isaiah 58: Close to the Heart of Jesus'''''' '''So you can see that Isaiah 58 has some very significant associations in my life. And I am praying that we will hear the message of this chapter for our church—our Master Planning Vision for the next five years and beyond. There is something very close to Jesus' heart in this chapter. You can hear it coming out in his words in Luke 4:18 ("The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden"). And in Matthew 25:35 ("I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me".) And John 7:38 ("He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water'"). A trusting relationship with Jesus is the way Isaiah 58 will be fulfilled in your life. The burden of this chapter pervades the ministry of Jesus—and more and more I believe it should pervade our ministry as well.

Let's get into it and go as far as we can today and then return next Sunday, Lord willing, and see what God has to say to us about how not to fast, and how to fast.

'''Fasting: The Danger of Substituting Religious Fervor for Righteous Living''' In the first three verses God brings an indictment against his people. He tells Isaiah to cry loudly and declare to the house of Jacob their sins. But their sin is cloaked with an amazing veneer of religious fervor. This is what is so stunning and sobering. Verse 2:
<blockquote>Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, as [i.e., as if they were] a nation that has done righteousness, and has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. </blockquote>
In other words they worship as if they are a righteous and obedient nation. And they have themselves persuaded that they really want God and his ways. This is a terrible kind of delusion to live in.

He goes on near the end of verse 2:
<blockquote>They ask Me for just decisions, they delight in the nearness of God. </blockquote>
So they want God to intervene for them with righteous judgments. Things are not going well—as we will see in a moment. But they do not see the real problem. They love to come to worship. They talk the language of the nearness of God. They may even have moving religious and esthetic experiences in their efforts to draw near to God. But something is wrong. They express the frustration in verse 3, but they don't know what it is.

In verse 3 they say to God,
<blockquote>Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled [or: afflicted] ourselves and Thou dost not notice? </blockquote>
So something is wrong and they are fasting to make it right and it isn't working, so something is doubly wrong. There is a total of five religious things mentioned in verses 2–3 that they are doing—all in vain. In verse 2 it says

#they are "seeking God;" and
#they delight to know God's ways; and
#"they ask God for just decisions;" and
#"they delight in the nearness of God;" and
#in verse 3 they are fasting and humbling or afflicting themselves.

All of that and God tells Isaiah, Cry loudly, not softly, not quietly, but loudly, and declare to my people their sins. So here is a fasting that is not pleasing the Lord. Here is worship that is not pleasing the Lord. It is the kind of worship we do not want to have at Bethlehem. And yet what is wrong with seeking God, and delighting to know his ways, and asking him for just decisions, and delighting in his nearness, and fasting and humbling ourselves before him? What is wrong with that? Why, that sounds like the very way we talk about worship! Isn't that sobering? Doesn't that make you tremble? Doesn't that make you want to get so real with God, you could never be surprised by the Lord in this way—with your most zealous religious practices and even desires exposed as sham.

'''What's Wrong with Their Worship?''' God answers in the middle of verse 3:
<blockquote>Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble [or: afflict] himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, and for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? </blockquote>
So here's the issue. The ethical, practical, relational accompaniments of fasting—or worship in general—are the real test of the authenticity of the fasting and the worship. Monday is the proof of Sunday. God lists the religious forms of their fasting: humbling or afflicting oneself (no food), bowing the head like a reed, spreading out our sackcloth and ashes (cf. Psalm 35:13). Then he lists the ethical accompaniments of this fasting: you go after your own pleasure (in some other way besides eating), you drive hard all your workers and become irritable or contentious and stir up strife and even go so far as to get into fights. And God asks, "Is this the fast that I choose?" The answer is No.

'''Another Test of Authenticity''' So here we have another test of authenticity. Jesus said, If you are fasting to be seen by others, you have your reward. That's it. Isaiah says, If your fasting leaves you self-indulgent in other areas, harsh toward your employees, irritable and contentious, then your fasting is not acceptable to God. It's not what he chooses. God is mercifully warning us against the danger of substituting religious fervor for righteous living.

Think and pray about it this week so that when we come back together next Sunday, you will be ready to hear God's beautiful and empowering and freeing alternative to this kind of hypocrisy. Think about it for the long-term implications for worship in your life and in this church. No worship—no preaching, no singing, no playing of instruments, no praying, no fasting, however intense or beautiful—that leaves us harsh with our workers on Monday, or contentious with our spouses at home, or self-indulgent in other areas of our lives, or angry enough to hit somebody—no worship or fasting that leaves us like that is true, God-pleasing worship.

Don't make a mistake here: true fasting may be a God-blessed means of overcoming harshness at work, and contentiousness at home, and self-indulgence, and anger. But if fasting ever becomes a religious cloak for minimizing or hiding those things and letting them go on and on, then it becomes hypocrisy and offensive to God.

Our prayer teams would love to pray with any of you this morning who feel a special burden to pray about anything that threatens to make your worship or your fasting inauthentic. And, of course the thing that would make it most inauthentic is unbelief itself. So I urge you to go hard after the authentic life this morning. And then come back next week and see what it looks like from this chapter.

Fasting for the King's Coming

Bpmoosie — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:05:22 GMT

Bpmoosie:

<blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.org|partner= Desiring God|date= 29 January 1995|other=|series=|categorytopic=No topic|mediatype=article|lang= English|editor=n/a|translator=n/a|levels=0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Fasting for the King's Coming}}</blockquote><blockquote>'''Luke 2:36-38''' </blockquote><blockquote>
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
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'''Introduction''' We come to the end of January and the call to fast for one day a week this month. I hope we can make time soon to tell each other what God has done this month. Just listening to the staff recount the surprising works of God last Tuesday in our prayer meeting gives me strong encouragement to press on in some kind of corporate fasting—which I will tell you about in a few moments.
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In this series of messages on biblical fasting we have seen from Acts 13:3 how God changed the course of history through the fasting of the leaders in Antioch.

We have seen from Matthew 9:15 that Jesus promised that when he had returned to his Father in heaven, then the church would fast.

We have seen from Matthew 4:4 that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God—that the nourishment of Jesus during his 40 day fast was the revelation of God through his Word. And that is what we want to feed on more and more.

And last week we saw from Ezra 8:21 that God rescues his people—including the little ones—through fasting.

'''"Thy Kingdom Come!"'''

Next week we are going to look at the Sermon on the Mount and notice that in Matthew 6 Jesus connects fasting with the prayer, and particularly the Lord's Prayer. The preeminent petitions of the Lord's Prayer are: Lord, let your name be hallowed, and, Lord, let your kingdom come. So Christian fasting is a fasting not just for immediate breakthroughs of faith and healing and righteousness, but also for the ultimate breakthrough—of the King's return in glory: "Thy kingdom come!" Or as the early church prayed it: "Maranatha!" = "Our Lord, come!"

This is exactly what we would expect in view of what we saw in Matthew 9:15. Recall that Jesus pictured himself as the bridegroom and said that his disciples don't fast because the bridegroom is present. But then he said, "The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." So Jesus connects Christian fasting with our longing for the return of the bridegroom.

The church of Christ is called to put the earnestness of fasting behind prayer, "Thy kingdom come." "''Bridegroom'', come!" Fasting is a ''physical expression of heart hunger for the second coming of Jesus.''

'''Fasting as the Counterpart to the Lord's Supper'''

I wonder if the Lord means for fasting to be a counterpart to the Lord's Supper. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me." By ''eating ''we remember that Jesus ''has'' come and died for our sins. But by not eating—by fasting—we say: yes, but the bridegroom is not here. He was here, and he loved us to the uttermost. And we can eat and even celebrate with feasting because he has come. But this we also know: he is not here as he once was. And his absence is painful. The sin and misery of the world is painful. The people of Christ are weak and despised—like sheep in the midst of wolves (Matthew 10:16). We long for him to come again and take up his throne and reign in our midst and vindicate his people and his truth and his glory. So the feasting of the Lord's Supper expresses what has happened; and our fasting expresses what has not yet happened.

'''Jesus' Appointed Way for Us to Prepare for His Coming'''

In Luke 18:7–8 Jesus says,
<blockquote>Will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? </blockquote>
Have you seriously considered that Jesus has appointed a way for us to prepare for his own second coming? God will send the Son of Man and vindicate his elect who "cry to him day and night." Cry what? Cry, "Thy kingdom come!" "Come back, O precious bridegroom. Come reign as King. Come, vindicate your people. Come, marry your bride."

And since the life of the church and the evangelization of the nations is part of that preparation we cry out for that too. "Lord, revive your people. Lord, cause your Word to run and triumph." If you have eyes to see the way the world is, in contrast to the way it is supposed to be under the Lordship of Christ, you will feel plenty to fast for.

'''Anna: Fasting for the First Coming of the King''' In calling for the church to fast for the coming King, we are not asking for something new. The morning's text shows us an old woman who gave almost her whole life to this sacred ministry before the King came the first time. Luke 2:36–38,
<blockquote>There was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. 38 ''And at that very moment ''she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. </blockquote>
Mary and Joseph had just brought the infant Jesus into the temple. Luke tells us about two very old people, Simeon and Anna, who recognize who the baby is. What marks both of these people is that they were yearning and longing for the coming of the Messiah. In verse 25 it says that Simeon was "looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him." Jesus, the Messiah, is the consolation of Israel (vv. 26, 30).

In verse 37 it says that Anna virtually never left the temple and was serving the Lord "with fastings and prayers." In other words, she was like Simeon—she was longing for the Messiah to come; she was fasting and praying ''night and day ''because she was looking for "the redemption of Jerusalem."

In verse 38 she comes at just the right moment to see the Messiah-child, and she gives thanks to God and speaks of him to all who were "looking for the redemption of Jerusalem." In other words God gave a special glimpse of the King's glory to those who were yearning and longing and looking for "the redemption of Jerusalem." For Anna that meant a life of fasting decade after decade—probably 60 years since her husband died—as she ministered in the temple.

I think one of the reasons Luke tells us about Simeon and Anna is to illustrate how holy and devout people respond to the promise of Christ's coming. And how God responds to their longings. They see more than others see. They may not understand fully all the details about how the Messiah is coming—Simeon and Anna surely didn't—but God mercifully gives them a glimpse before they die, of what they so passionately wanted to see.

'''Christians: Fasting for the Second Coming of the King'''''' '''Now here we are—we Christians—on the other side of the King's coming. He has come and gone away again. He has revealed his glory. He has shed his blood for sins. He has risen from the dead. He has ascended into heaven to sit at Father's right hand until he puts all his enemies under his feet. He has sent his Holy Spirit to regenerate us and sanctify us and indwell us. He has commissioned his church to disciple the nations. And he has promised in John 14:3, "I will come again."

'''How Does Our Situation Compare to Anna's?'''

Her hopes were based on the promises of God like ours are. But O how much more we have seen! How much more of the Messiah we know and can hope for! She had never seen the years of Jesus' compassion and power, as we have. She had never heard the words of authority and wisdom and love, as we have. She had never seen the blind receive their sight and the lame walk and the lepers cleansed and the deaf hear and the dead raised and the poor evangelized the way Jesus did it. She never saw him consecrate himself in Gethsemane, or crucified for our sakes on Golgotha. She never heard the merciful words, "Today you will be with me in Paradise," or the triumphant words, "It is finished." She never saw him risen from the dead triumphant over sin and death and hell.

But we have. And now this one, whom we know so well, is gone. We walk by faith and not by sight. The one whom we love was taken away. The wedding party was broken up. It is as though the wedding march had started and we were walking down the aisle to him, and at the last minute he disappeared.

'''Shall We Long for Christ Less Than Anna?'''

Shall we long for him less than Anna longed for him? Does the fact that we have had him with us for 30 years and have his Spirit now make you long less or more? O what an indictment of our blindness if the answer is: less.

I say, let us long for him and yearn for him and look for him with more intensity than Anna and Simeon. Shall we have less devotion than these pre-Christian saints? We have beheld his glory. Glory as of the only begotten of the Father. And shall we hunger less for his appearing? Paul said he was going to receive a crown of righteousness with all "who have loved his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).

'''Fasting for the King's Coming'''

Are we settled into the world so comfortably that the thought of fasting for the end of history, is almost unthinkable?

What about older people? Can you taste the glories of the presence of the King better because they are nearer? Do you turn that taste into fasting for the King's coming?

What about younger people? Do you love Jesus so much that his coming would be the greatest thing you can imagine? Or is he a kind of weekend topic of religious talk that sometimes helps you with a bad conscience but isn't someone you would want to interrupt your life?

What about those of us in the middle—or pushing the upper end of the middle? How do we feel about being told that fasting may reflect how much we want the bridegroom to come? Does Anna's passion for the Messiah appeal to us at all? Do we want the appearance of Jesus more than we want to finish our career plans?

I believe that my life will never be the same after the fasting focus of January 1995. I have seen too much now about fasting and the meaning of hunger for God, and hunger for his Word, and hunger for the children's safety, and hunger for world evangelization, and hunger for the Bridegroom, and the way Jesus speaks of expressing this hunger with fasting—I have seen too much now to go on with business as usual.

'''What Shall We Do as a Church?'''

*To keep the biblical discipline of fasting before us as a church . . .
*To give more people a chance to grow in this kind of prayer . . .
*To avail ourselves of all that God has ordained for the empowering of our intercession . . .
*To be unrelenting in our pursuit of revival and world evangelization . . .
*And to help us long for the Bridegroom night and day . . .

. . . I am proposing a simple ministry called the Fasting Forty.

The Fasting Forty is ''a group of 40 people who fast for one day a week in a given month of 1995.'' It may be different people from month to month. Or some people may want to do it more than one month.

At the end of each month I will print a card called the Fasting Forty card, and make 40 copies available after the morning service. When all the cards are taken, the Fasting Forty will be known—by God.

There is no plan to identify who the Fasting Forty are. This will accord with Jesus' teaching that we should beware of fasting to be seen by other people (Matthew 6:16–18).

Each month I will try to give some special Scripture and focus to the prayers of the Fasting Forty. This will be shared more widely so that any of you can join the 40 if you wish.

From what we have seen this morning, you don't need a crisis in your life to call for fasting. All you need is a longing for the Bridegroom to come. Lord, increase our love for your appearing!

Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety

Bpmoosie — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:00:04 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.org|partner=Desiring God|date=25 September 1988|other= |series= |categorytopic=No topic|mediatype= article|lang= English|editor=n/a|translator= n/a|levels=0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety}} '''Matthew 6:25-34'''

'''Unbelief as the Root and Essence of All Sin''' Let me hang a bridge between last Sunday's text and our concern today with the unbelief of anxiety. In Hebrews 3:12 it says, "Take care, brethren, lest their be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, leading you to fall away from the living God." And verse 14 says, "For we have shared in Christ, if we hold our first confidence firm to the end."

In other words the evidence that you have come to share in Christ—that you are united to him in saving faith—is that you hold that confidence firm to the end. Perseverance in faith is necessary for salvation. When a person is truly converted, the heart is changed so that now life is lived by faith (Galatians 2:20).

The new birth introduces a person into a life of warfare. That warfare is called the "fight of faith" in 2 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:12. And here in Hebrews 3:12 it is called the battle against unbelief. "Take care [that's the vigilance of battle], brethren, lest there be in you and evil heart of unbelief [there's the enemy in the warfare], leading you to fall away from the living God [there's the warning against not taking the warfare seriously]."

In other words the most basic battle of our life is the battle to believe in the living God, and not to allow our heart to become an evil heart of unbelief. Because if unbelief in the living God gets the upper hand in our life, then the result can be a hardening that makes us unwilling to repent and thus cuts us off from the grace of God.

Now this will not happen to those who are truly in Christ. Those who are truly born of God take the battle seriously, and draw on the power of God to fight it, and win it with persevering faith. That is what God promises. "He who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

The bridge, then, that I want to hang between last week's text and this week's text is the truth that beneath our battle against evil in our heart is the battle against unbelief. Unbelief is the root of evil and the essence of evil. All our sinning grows out of unbelief in the living God and what he has said to us in Scripture. 

'''Unbelief as the Root of Anxiety''' Now today's text illustrates this with a specific evil condition of heart, namely, anxiety.

Stop for a moment and think how many different sinful actions and attitudes come from anxiety. Anxiety about finances can give rise to coveting and greed and hoarding and stealing. Anxiety about succeeding at some task can make you irritable and abrupt and surly. Anxiety about relationships can make you withdrawn and indifferent and uncaring about other people. Anxiety about how someone will respond to you can make you cover over the truth and lie about things. So if anxiety could be conquered, a lot of sins would be overcome.

But what is the root of anxiety? And how can it be severed? To answer that we go to our text in Matthew 6. Four times in this text Jesus says that we should not be anxious.

Verse 25: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life." Verse 27: "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?" Verse 31: "Therefore do not be anxious." Verse 34: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow." The verse that makes the root of anxiety explicit is verse 30: "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothes you, O men of little faith?" In other words Jesus says that the root of anxiety is lack of faith in our heavenly Father. As unbelief gets the upper hand in our hearts, one of the results is anxiety.

So when Hebrews says, "Take heed lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief," it includes this meaning: "Take heed lest there be in you an ANXIOUS heart of unbelief." Anxiety is one of the evil conditions of the heart that comes from unbelief. Much anxiety, Jesus says, comes from little faith.

This is the kind of connection we are going to see again and again in the weeks to come. The root of a sinful condition of the heart is unbelief in the living God. 

'''Two Kinds of Disturbed Responses to This Truth''' Now I can think of two kinds of disturbed responses to this truth. Let me tell you what they are and then give a biblical response before we go on to the battle against the unbelief of anxiety. 

'''1. "This Is Not Good News!"''' One response would go like this: This is not good news! In fact it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is in fact a far deeper struggle with whether I believe God or not.

Now my response to this is to agree but then to disagree. Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you after a routine visit that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You say, emphatically not! And I agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Are you glad that the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? You say, yes, I am very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again I agree.

So the news that you have cancer is not good news because having cancer is good. It is good news because knowing what is really wrong is good news, especially when it can be treated successfully.

That's what it's like to learn that the real problem behind anxiety is unbelief in the promises of God. It's not good news because the cancer of unbelief is good. It's good because KNOWING WHAT IS REALLY WRONG is good, especially because unbelief can be treated so successfully by our great physician.

So I want to stress that finding out the connection between our anxiety and our unbelief is in fact very good news, because it is the only way to begin the battle with the real cause of our sin and get the victory that God can give us by the therapy of his Word and his Spirit. 

'''2. "How Can I Have Any Assurance at All?"''' There is another possible response to the truth that our anxiety is rooted in our unbelief in God's promises. It goes like this: I have to deal with feelings of anxiety almost every day; and so I feel like my belief in God must be totally inadequate. So I wonder if I can have any assurance of being saved at all. 

'''Being Faithless Vs. Having Faith Attacked''' My answer to this concern goes like this: Suppose you are in a car race and your enemy who doesn't want you to finish the race throws mud on your windshield. The fact that you temporarily lose sight of your goal and start to swerve does not mean that you are going to quit the race. And it certainly doesn't mean that you are on the wrong racetrack. Otherwise the enemy wouldn't bother you at all. What it means is that you should turn on your windshield wipers and use your windshield washer.

What I mean is this: when anxiety strikes and blurs our vision of God's glory and the greatness of the future that he plans for us, this does not mean that we are faithless, or that we will not make it to heaven. It means our faith is being attacked. At first blow our belief in God's promises may sputter and swerve. But whether we stay on track and make it to the finish line depends on whether we set in motion a process of resistance. Whether we fight back against anxiety. Will we turn on the windshield wipers and will we use our windshield washer? 

'''The Testimony of Scripture''' Psalm 56:3 says, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee." Notice: it does not say, "I never struggle with fear." Fear strikes and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike.

For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you." It does NOT say, you will never feel any anxieties to cast onto God. It says, when the mud splatters your windshield and you lose temporary sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer. 

'''To the One Who Struggles Daily with Anxiety''' So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that's more or less normal. The issue is how you deal with them.

And the answer to that is: you deal with anxieties by battling unbelief. And you battle unbelief by meditating on God's Word and asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief. And the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit.

Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit the wipers of the Word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief. Both are necessary—the Spirit and the Word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our belief grows strong and the swerving of anxiety smoothes out. 

'''Overcoming Anxiety by Battling Unbelief''' Let me close by using some illustrations how battling unbelief overcomes anxiety. 

'''The Pattern of Jesus and Paul''' Here in our text we have the illustration of anxiety over food and clothing. Even in our country with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing can be very intense. But Jesus says in verse 30 that this is owing to unbelief: "O you of little faith." And so this paragraph has at least half a dozen promises in it to battle that unbelief.

For example at the end of verse 32 he says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." That is a spectacular promise. In everything you do at home and at work, put God's purposes first, and he will provide all you need to live for his glory. Believe that promise, and financial anxiety will evaporate in the warmth of God's care.

Paul applied the promise to anxiety in Philippians like this. In 4:6 he says just like Jesus, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God." And then in 4:19 he gives the promise like Jesus, "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." 

'''Anxieties We May Face''' And so we follow today the pattern of Jesus and Paul. We battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of God.

When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with the promise: "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise, "So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not come back to me empty but accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9), and "As your days so shall your strength be" (Deuteronomy 33:25). When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8). When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, "If God is for us who can be against us!" (Romans 8:31). When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise that "tribulation works patience, and patience approvedness, and approvedness hope, and hope does not make us ashamed" (Romans 5:3–5). When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:4). When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that "none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9–11). When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promise, "He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6). "He who calls you is faithful. He will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). "He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). And yesterday when Rob and Gail got married, they printed the promises of God in the wedding folder. With these they have and they will fight off the anxiety of all the unknowns of marriage: "And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; he will be with you. He will not fail your or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:8).

So I urge you in your warfare, take up the book of God, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and battle on. And remember the promise of Proverbs 21:31, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord."

Battling the Unbelief of Misplaced Shame

Bpmoosie — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:57:52 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.com |partner=Desiring God|date=2 October 1988|other= |series= |categorytopic=No topic |mediatype=article|lang=English|editor=n/a|translator=n/a|levels=0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling the Unbelief of Misplaced Shame}}

 '''2 Timothy 1:6-12'''

Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; 7 for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control. 8 Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel in the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, 10 and now has manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 and therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. 

'''The Definition and Causes of Shame ''' Let's start with a dictionary definition of shame. Shame is the painful emotion caused by a consciousness of guilt or shortcoming or impropriety.

Let me illustrate each of those causes.

1.  First, the cause of guilt. Suppose you act against your conscience and withhold information on your tax returns. For a couple years you feel nothing because it has been put out of your mind, and you weren't caught. Then you are called to account by the IRS and it becomes public knowledge that you lied and you stole. Your guilt is known. Now in the light of public censure you feel the pain of shame. 2.  Or take the cause of shortcoming. In the Olympics suppose you come from a little country where you are quite good in the 3,000-meter race. Then you compete before thousands of people in Seoul, and the competition is so tough that by the time the last lap comes up, you are a whole lap behind everyone else, and you must keep running all by yourself while everyone watches. There's no guilt here. But the humiliation and shame could be intense. 3.  Or take the cause of impropriety. You are invited to a party and you find out when you get there that you dressed all wrong. Again, no evil or guilt. Just a social blunder, an impropriety that makes you feel foolish and embarrassed. '''Well-Placed Vs. Misplaced Shame'''

One of the things that jumps right out at you from this definition of shame is that there is some shame that is justified and some that isn't. There are some situations where shame is exactly what we should feel. And there are some situations where we shouldn't. Most people would say that the liar ought to be ashamed. And most people would probably say that the long distance runner who gave it his best shot ought not to feel ashamed. Disappointment would be healthy, but not shame.

Let me illustrate from Scripture these two kinds of shame. The Bible makes very clear that there is a shame we ought to have and a shame we ought not to have. I'm going to call the one kind, "misplaced shame" and the other kind "well-placed shame."

Misplaced shame (the kind we ought not to have) is the shame you feel when there is no good reason to feel it. Biblically that means the thing you feel ashamed of is not dishonoring to God; or that it IS dishonoring to God, but you didn't have a hand in it. In other words, misplaced shame is shame for something that's good—something that doesn't dishonor God. Or it's shame for something bad but which you didn't have any sinful hand in. That's the kind of shame we ought not have.

Well-placed shame (the kind you ought to have) is the shame you feel when there is good reason to feel it. Biblically that means we feel ashamed of something because our involvement in it was dishonoring to God. We ought to feel shame when we have a hand in bringing dishonor upon God by our attitudes or actions.

I want to be sure you see how important God is in this distinction between misplaced shame and well-placed shame. Whether we have a hand in honoring God or dishonoring God makes all the difference. If we want to battle shame at the root, we have to know how it relates to God. And we DO need to battle shame at the root—all shame. Because both misplaced shame and well-placed shame can cripple us if we don't know how to deal with them at the root.

So let's look at some Scriptures that illustrate misplaced shame and some that illustrate well-placed shame. 

'''Misplaced Shame''' '''2 Timothy 1:8'''

Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but take your share of suffering for the gospel in the power of God.

What this text says is that if you feel shame for testifying about Jesus, you have a misplaced shame. We ought not to feel shame for this. Christ is honored when we speak well of him. And he is dishonored by fearful silence. So it is not a shameful thing to testify, but a shameful thing not to.

Secondly the text says that if you feel shame that a friend of yours is in trouble (in this case: prison) for Jesus' sake, then your shame is misplaced. The world may see this as a sign of weakness and defeat. But Christians know better. God is honored by the courage of his servants to go to prison for his name. We ought not to feel shame that we are associated with something that honors God in this way, no matter how much scorn the world heaps on.

'''Mark 8:38'''

Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Shame is misplaced when we feel it because of the person or the words of Jesus. If Jesus says, "Love your enemies," and others laugh and call it unrealistic, we should not feel ashamed. If Jesus says, "Fornication is evil," and liberated yuppies label it out of date, we should not feel shame to stand with Jesus. That would be misplaced shame because the words of Jesus are true and God-honoring, no matter how foolish the world may try to make them look.

'''1 Peter 4:16'''

If one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God.

Suffering and being reproached and made fun of as a Christian is not an occasion for shame, because it is an occasion for glorifying God. In other words in the Bible the criterion for what is well-placed shame and what is misplaced shame is not how foolish or how bad you look to men, but whether you in fact bring honor to God.

This is so important to grasp! Because much of what makes us feel shame is not that we have brought dishonor on God by our actions, but that we have failed to give the appearance that other people admire. Much of our shame is not God-centered but self-centered. Until we get a good handle on this, we will not be able to battle the problem of shame at its root.

'''Romans 1:16'''

I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

The reason shame in the gospel would be a misplaced shame is that the gospel is the very power of God unto salvation. The gospel magnifies God and humbles man. And so to the world the gospel doesn't look like power at all. It looks like weakness (asking people to be like children and depend on Jesus, instead of standing on their own two feet). But for those who believe it is the power of almighty God to save sinners.

'''2 Corinthians 12:9–10'''

Jesus said (to Paul),

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I will all the more gladly exult in my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Now ordinarily weaknesses and insults are occasions for shame. But for Paul they are occasions for exultation. Paul thinks that shame in his weaknesses and shame at insults and persecutions would be misplaced shame. Why? Because the power of Christ is perfected in Paul's weakness.

I conclude from all these texts that the biblical criterion for misplaced shame is radically God-centered. The biblical criterion says, don't feel shame for something that honors God no matter how weak or foolish it makes you look in the eyes of unbelievers. 

'''Well-Placed Shame''' The same God-centeredness will be seen if we look at some texts that illustrate well-placed shame.

'''1 Corinthians 15:34'''

Come to your right mind, and sin no more. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

Here Paul says that these people ought to feel shame. "I say this to your shame." Their shame would be well-placed if they saw their deplorable ignorance of God and how it was leading to false doctrine (no resurrection) and sin in the church. In other words well-placed shame is shame for what dishonors God—ignorance of God, sin against God, false beliefs about God.

'''1 Corinthians 6:5'''

The Christians were going to secular courts to settle disputes among themselves. Paul rebukes them.

I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no man among you wise enough to decide between members of the brotherhood?

Again he says they should feel shame: "I say this to your shame." Their shame would be well-placed because their behavior is bringing such disrepute upon their God as they fight one another and seek help from the godless to settle their disputes. A well-placed shame is the shame you feel because you are involved in dishonoring God.

And let's not miss this implication: these people were trying their best to appear strong and right. They wanted to be vindicated by men. They wanted to be winners in court. They didn't want anyone to run over them as though they had no rights. That would look weak and shameful. So in the very act of wanting to avoid shame as the world sees it, they fell into the very behavior that God counts shameful.

The point is: when you are dishonoring God, you ought to feel shame, no matter how strong or wise or right you are in the eyes of men.

'''Ezekiel 43:10'''

And you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple and its appearance and plan, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities.

God says Israel ought to feel shame for its iniquities. Sin is always a proper cause for shame because sin is behavior that dishonors God.

(See also Romans 6:21; 2 Thessalonians 3:14 for more instances of well-placed shame.)

We can conclude from all these texts that the biblical criterion for misplaced shame and for well-placed shame is radically God-centered.

The biblical criterion for misplaced shame says, don't feel shame for something that honors God, no matter how weak or foolish or wrong it makes you look in the eyes of men. And don't feel shame for bad circumstances where you don't share in dishonoring God.

The biblical criterion for well-placed shame says, DO feel shame for having a hand in anything that dishonors God, no matter how strong or wise or right it makes you look in the eyes of men.

Now how do you battle this painful emotion called shame? The answer is that we battle it by battling the unbelief that feeds its life. And we fight for faith in the promises of God that overcome shame and relieve us from its pain. 

'''Three Instances of Battling Misplaced Shame''' Let me illustrate with three instances. 

'''1. When Well-Placed Shame Lingers Too Long'''

In the case of well-placed shame for sin the pain ought to be there but it ought not to stay there. If it does, it's owing to unbelief in the promises of God.

For example, a woman comes to Jesus in a Pharisee's house weeping and washing his feet. No doubt she felt shame as the eyes of Simon communicated to everyone present that this woman was a sinner and that Jesus had no business letting her touch him. Indeed she was a sinner. There was a place for true shame. But not for too long. Jesus said, "Your sins are forgiven" (Luke 7:48). And when the guests murmured about this, he helped her faith again by saying, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace" (v. 50).

How did Jesus help her battle the crippling effects of shame? He gave her a promise: "Your sins are forgiven! Your faith has saved you. Your future will be one of peace." So the issue for her was belief. Would she believe the glowering condemnation of the guests? Or would she believe the reassuring words of Jesus that her shame was enough? She's forgiven. She's saved. She may go in peace.

And that is the way every one of us must battle the effects of a well-placed shame that threatens to linger too long and cripple us. We must battle unbelief by taking hold of promises like,

There is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. (Psalm 130:4)

Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord that he may have mercy on him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6)

If we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15)

Every one who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (Acts 10:43; 13:39) 

'''2. Feeling Shame for Something That Glorifies God'''

The second instance of battling shame is the instance of feeling shame for something that is not even bad but in fact glorifies God—like Jesus or the gospel.

Our text shows how Paul battled against this misplaced shame. In verse 12 he says, "Therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me."

Paul makes very clear here that the battle against misplaced shame is a battle against unbelief. "I am not ashamed FOR I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED AND I AM SURE OF HIS KEEPING POWER." We fight against feelings of shame in Christ and the gospel and the Christian ethic by battling unbelief in the promises of God. Do we believe that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation? Do we believe that Christ's power is made perfect in our weakness? The battle against misplaced shame is the battle against unbelief in the promises of God. 

'''3. Feeling Shame for Something We Didn't Do'''

Finally, the last instance of battling shame is the instance where others try to load us with shame for evil circumstances when in fact we had no part in dishonoring God.

It happened to Jesus. They called him a winebibber and a glutton. They called him a temple destroyer. They called him a hypocrite: He healed others, but he can't heal himself. In all this the goal was to load Jesus with a shame that was not his to bear.

The same with Paul. They called him mad when he defended himself in court. They called him an enemy of the Jewish customs and a breaker of the Mosaic law. They said he taught that you should sin that grace may abound. All this to load him with a shame that it was not his to bear.

And it has happened to you. And will happen again. How do you battle this misplaced shame? By believing the promises of God that in the end all the efforts to put us to shame will fail. We may struggle now to know what is our shame to bear and what is not. But God has a promise for us in either case:

Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity. (Isaiah 45:17; 49:23)

No one who believes in the Lord will be put to shame. (Romans 10:11; 9:33)

In other words, for all the evil and deceit judgment and criticism that others may use to heap on us a shame that is not ours to bear, and for all the distress and spiritual warfare it brings, the promise stands sure that they will not succeed in the end. All the children of God will be vindicated. The truth will be known. And no one who banks his hope on the promises of God will be put to shame.

Battling Unbelief Together

Bpmoosie — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:54:57 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.org |partner=Desiring God|date=|other=|series=|categorytopic=No topic |mediatype= article|lang=English|editor=n/a |translator= n/a|levels= 0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling Unbelief Together}} '''         Hebrews 10:19-25; 3:12-14''' '''How I Thrive in the Ministry''' I survive and thrive in the ministry because God has surrounded me with people who pray for me and exhort me to press on in the fight of faith. If you don't feel supported like this in your faith and work, we want to help change that. The Bible teaches that surviving and thriving in a life of faith and love depends on Christians intentionally building each other in faith and stirring each other up to love. Without intentional faith-building togetherness we lose our zeal, drift from God, become hardened in the deceitfulness of sin, and if someone doesn't snatch us (James 5:19; Jude 23), we make shipwreck of our so-called faith and perish in unbelief.

I got a post card from a brother in the ministry a week or so ago that built my faith and gave me hope and encouragement to press on. It was not addressed to me. It was addressed to Christ. It was prayer.

Dear Lord,

Glorify yourself, our Savior, by moving us as a family of believers to pray as never before. May we find delight and enrichment in new intimacy of conversation with you. May our churches experience new health and vitality. And grant to us, by a fuller liberation of your power through mighty, multiplied intercession, to capture the strongholds of darkness in our country and around the world. That your name will everywhere be esteemed and revered. Give special guidance to your servant, John, as he wrestles with the discernment of urgent issues for Bethlehem's future. Even in uncertainty provide such inner confidence of your ultimate leading that his peace will be unshakable.

Your servant Bill

It can happen through the mail. God means it to happen in person even more often. That's what we want to look at this morning. 

'''Battling Unbelief and Fighting the Fight of Faith''' Last week we saw from Romans 4:20 that belief—belief that glorifies God—is future-oriented. It is a banking on the promises of God. All the promises of God were purchased for believing sinners by an act that happened in the past, namely, by the death and resurrection of Jesus. But God-glorifying BELIEF doesn't merely stare at those acts; it stands on them, and then looks forward to all the promises Jesus bought for us, and banks its hope on the promises, and moves out in a life of faith. Faith is future-oriented. It is heartfelt hope in the promises of God.

Then we saw that this kind of belief is the root of love and righteousness. Galatians 5:6, "Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love." The root of all love and goodness is belief in the promises of God.

And we saw the flip side of this truth: that UNBELIEF is the root of all sin.

Which led us to the conclusion that top priority in the Christian life is learning to battle unbelief and fight the fight of faith. We must be rid of the notion that before we were Christians, we were fighting for faith and battling unbelief, but now that we are Christians we can relax because the battle is over; I am a believer; I have won the battle. That's a wrong notion. It leaves you very vulnerable to the subtlety of unbelief. At the end of his life Paul looks back over several decades of being a Christian and says (in 2 Timothy 4:7), "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." He had fought the good fight to keep the faith all his Christian life. 

'''The Role of Other Believers in the Fight of Faith ''' And one of the ways he had fought it was to surround himself with believers who would pray for him and exhort him. Did you know that Paul always traveled in a team? He was not a loner. There was Barnabas and Silas and Timothy and Luke and Aristarchus and Mark and Epaphras and others. The one time he was forced to go off by himself to Athens his spirit was almost broken by the overwhelming evil there and he sent immediately for Timothy to join him.

You might get the idea that Paul's faith (and the faith of other ministers) was never in need of human reinforcement. But listen ot 2 Corinthians 7:5–7,

For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he told us of your longing.

Paul needed the partnership of close friends who could strengthen his faith when fear was beginning to get the upper hand in his life. We need that same partnership. That is what lies behind the 20:20 Vision. 

'''Five Points on Hebrews 10:24–25''' Now let's look at our text in Hebrews 10:24–25. I want to make five brief points from these two verses.

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 

'''1. Meeting Together'''

We are commanded to meet together.

The kind of meeting in view seems to be one that allows for some kind of mutual encouragement and stirring up of one another. It is not talking about merely sneaking into a big church service and sneaking out again. It's talking about the kind of meeting where you say something to someone that will help them be more loving and where someone can say something to you that will help you be more loving, and help you have strength to more good deeds.

This is why we believe so strongly in a ministry of small groups in the church. There is this "one another" principle that requires personal interaction with people at a pretty significant level. Coming to worship on Sunday morning—as important as that is—is not enough. God means for us to face each other so that we can exhort and encourage each other to press on.

The first point, then, is MEET together in smaller groups. '''2. Avoiding the Habit of Not Meeting'''

The second point is, don't get into the habit of not meeting.

This is almost the same as point #1, but verse 25 seems to give it a special stress. So I want to too. It says, "Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some." The warning here is that not meeting with other Christians in this way can become habitual. Ask yourself right now: Are you in the habit of only coming to more or less anonymous, bigger meetings of the church where there doesn't have to be much personal interaction or accountability? Does that pattern of life feel comfortable now?

Many of you would have to answer, Yes. Why? Because it is now a habit. It's what you are comfortable with. In fact it is so much your normal way of looking at the Christian life that what I am saying right now is threatening to you. You do not want to be told that the Bible insists that you are outside the Lord's will when you do not meet in some kind of smaller group intentionally designed to stir you up to love and good works.

So my second point is: Don't get into this habit of not meeting in this way. And if you are in that habit now, resolve to break it this year. We want to help you with the 20:20 Vision. 

'''3. Increasing Frequency and Seriousness'''

The third point is that the frequency and seriousness of your meetings should increase as the Day of Judgment draws near.

At the end of verse 25 it says, " . . . and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." That's the Day of Christ's coming and the end of the age. The stresses and troubles and dangers are going to increase as history comes to a close. There will be greater satanic activity, greater evil, greater threats to your faith and love.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:11–12, "Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold." That's why we better take this word of Hebrews 10:25 very seriously in our day. If your love is going to survive the onslaught of Satan and evil, you must meet with those who can stir you up to love and good works. Woe to the person who thinks they can be a lone wolf Christian as the last Day draws near.

Let's make our meeting for prayer and exhortation be more frequent and more serious and urgent as we see the gathering storm of tribulation and evil. 

'''4. Empowering to Love'''

Make your meeting together with believers a meeting specifically for the empowering to love. Empowering to love.

Don't be unintentional when you get together. Don't just say, Christian fellowship is good, so we are going to get together and talk. It is good. And talking is wonderful. But the stakes are too high these days to be that casual and lackadaisical about your gathering.

Verse 24 says, "Consider one another in order to stir each other up to love and good works" (literal translation). There is a clear goal. We are meeting so that when we leave, we will have more power to love, more resources to love, more motivation to love, more wisdom to love and do good works, so that people will see our good works, as Jesus said, and give glory to our Father in heaven. The visible glory of God is at stake.

And not only is there a clear goal, there is a kind of urgent intentionality. The word "Consider" suggests that we come on the look out for how we can specifically help other people get power to love. We don't just drift into a 20:20 meeting thinking about all kinds of worldly things. We come on a mission. We come "considering," on the look out, watching, listening. What does David need tonight? What would help Noël be stronger tonight?

So the fourth point is: Be intentional in your coming together. Aim at empowering each other to love and good works. 

'''5. Strengthening Faith in the Promises of God'''

The last point is in answer to the question: How do you empower another person to love and good works? What is the root of love? What is the root of all righteousness and truly good deeds? The answer is belief in the promises of God. So the fifth point is: Make the main basic goal of every small group to strengthen faith in the promises of God.

This is implied in verse 23: "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love . . . " So these two things are very closely related: stirring each other up to love, and helping each other hold on to hope in the promises of God.

How do you empower someone to love and good deeds in spite of all the obstacles they will run into at home and work? Answer: build their hope in the promises of God. Love grows on the taproot of BELIEF in the promises of God. 

'''The Target of Our Exhortation''' Look finally at 3:12–13.

Take care, brethren, lest there be in you an evil unbelieving heart [literally: "an evil heart of unbelief"] leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Notice carefully: the target of our exhorting one another is twofold. First, in verse 12 it is the evil heart of unbelief. We should do all we can to help each other battle unbelief in our heart. It is evil and it can lead us to fall away from the living God. Second, in verse 13 the target of our exhorting is the deceitfulness of sin: " . . . that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

The relationship between these two is plain. A heart of unbelief gives rise to sin. And sin is the opposite of love. So our basic agenda in small groups is clear. We must help each other BATTLE UNBELIEF. We must help each other fight the fight of faith. None of us is above this need. I certainly need it.

And I would ask you to bow your head now and ask the Lord to reveal your need of it too, and how you should go about meeting that need.

Battling Unbelief Together

Bpmoosie — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:53:40 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.org |partner=Desiring God|date= other= |series= |categorytopic=No topic |mediatype= article|lang=English|editor=n/a |translator= n/a|levels= 0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling Unbelief Together}} '''         Hebrews 10:19-25; 3:12-14''' '''How I Thrive in the Ministry''' I survive and thrive in the ministry because God has surrounded me with people who pray for me and exhort me to press on in the fight of faith. If you don't feel supported like this in your faith and work, we want to help change that. The Bible teaches that surviving and thriving in a life of faith and love depends on Christians intentionally building each other in faith and stirring each other up to love. Without intentional faith-building togetherness we lose our zeal, drift from God, become hardened in the deceitfulness of sin, and if someone doesn't snatch us (James 5:19; Jude 23), we make shipwreck of our so-called faith and perish in unbelief.

I got a post card from a brother in the ministry a week or so ago that built my faith and gave me hope and encouragement to press on. It was not addressed to me. It was addressed to Christ. It was prayer.

Dear Lord,

Glorify yourself, our Savior, by moving us as a family of believers to pray as never before. May we find delight and enrichment in new intimacy of conversation with you. May our churches experience new health and vitality. And grant to us, by a fuller liberation of your power through mighty, multiplied intercession, to capture the strongholds of darkness in our country and around the world. That your name will everywhere be esteemed and revered. Give special guidance to your servant, John, as he wrestles with the discernment of urgent issues for Bethlehem's future. Even in uncertainty provide such inner confidence of your ultimate leading that his peace will be unshakable.

Your servant Bill

It can happen through the mail. God means it to happen in person even more often. That's what we want to look at this morning. 

'''Battling Unbelief and Fighting the Fight of Faith''' Last week we saw from Romans 4:20 that belief—belief that glorifies God—is future-oriented. It is a banking on the promises of God. All the promises of God were purchased for believing sinners by an act that happened in the past, namely, by the death and resurrection of Jesus. But God-glorifying BELIEF doesn't merely stare at those acts; it stands on them, and then looks forward to all the promises Jesus bought for us, and banks its hope on the promises, and moves out in a life of faith. Faith is future-oriented. It is heartfelt hope in the promises of God.

Then we saw that this kind of belief is the root of love and righteousness. Galatians 5:6, "Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love." The root of all love and goodness is belief in the promises of God.

And we saw the flip side of this truth: that UNBELIEF is the root of all sin.

Which led us to the conclusion that top priority in the Christian life is learning to battle unbelief and fight the fight of faith. We must be rid of the notion that before we were Christians, we were fighting for faith and battling unbelief, but now that we are Christians we can relax because the battle is over; I am a believer; I have won the battle. That's a wrong notion. It leaves you very vulnerable to the subtlety of unbelief. At the end of his life Paul looks back over several decades of being a Christian and says (in 2 Timothy 4:7), "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." He had fought the good fight to keep the faith all his Christian life. 

'''The Role of Other Believers in the Fight of Faith ''' And one of the ways he had fought it was to surround himself with believers who would pray for him and exhort him. Did you know that Paul always traveled in a team? He was not a loner. There was Barnabas and Silas and Timothy and Luke and Aristarchus and Mark and Epaphras and others. The one time he was forced to go off by himself to Athens his spirit was almost broken by the overwhelming evil there and he sent immediately for Timothy to join him.

You might get the idea that Paul's faith (and the faith of other ministers) was never in need of human reinforcement. But listen ot 2 Corinthians 7:5–7,

For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he told us of your longing.

Paul needed the partnership of close friends who could strengthen his faith when fear was beginning to get the upper hand in his life. We need that same partnership. That is what lies behind the 20:20 Vision. 

'''Five Points on Hebrews 10:24–25''' Now let's look at our text in Hebrews 10:24–25. I want to make five brief points from these two verses.

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 

'''1. Meeting Together'''

We are commanded to meet together.

The kind of meeting in view seems to be one that allows for some kind of mutual encouragement and stirring up of one another. It is not talking about merely sneaking into a big church service and sneaking out again. It's talking about the kind of meeting where you say something to someone that will help them be more loving and where someone can say something to you that will help you be more loving, and help you have strength to more good deeds.

This is why we believe so strongly in a ministry of small groups in the church. There is this "one another" principle that requires personal interaction with people at a pretty significant level. Coming to worship on Sunday morning—as important as that is—is not enough. God means for us to face each other so that we can exhort and encourage each other to press on.

The first point, then, is MEET together in smaller groups. '''2. Avoiding the Habit of Not Meeting'''

The second point is, don't get into the habit of not meeting.

This is almost the same as point #1, but verse 25 seems to give it a special stress. So I want to too. It says, "Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some." The warning here is that not meeting with other Christians in this way can become habitual. Ask yourself right now: Are you in the habit of only coming to more or less anonymous, bigger meetings of the church where there doesn't have to be much personal interaction or accountability? Does that pattern of life feel comfortable now?

Many of you would have to answer, Yes. Why? Because it is now a habit. It's what you are comfortable with. In fact it is so much your normal way of looking at the Christian life that what I am saying right now is threatening to you. You do not want to be told that the Bible insists that you are outside the Lord's will when you do not meet in some kind of smaller group intentionally designed to stir you up to love and good works.

So my second point is: Don't get into this habit of not meeting in this way. And if you are in that habit now, resolve to break it this year. We want to help you with the 20:20 Vision. 

'''3. Increasing Frequency and Seriousness'''

The third point is that the frequency and seriousness of your meetings should increase as the Day of Judgment draws near.

At the end of verse 25 it says, " . . . and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." That's the Day of Christ's coming and the end of the age. The stresses and troubles and dangers are going to increase as history comes to a close. There will be greater satanic activity, greater evil, greater threats to your faith and love.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:11–12, "Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold." That's why we better take this word of Hebrews 10:25 very seriously in our day. If your love is going to survive the onslaught of Satan and evil, you must meet with those who can stir you up to love and good works. Woe to the person who thinks they can be a lone wolf Christian as the last Day draws near.

Let's make our meeting for prayer and exhortation be more frequent and more serious and urgent as we see the gathering storm of tribulation and evil. 

'''4. Empowering to Love'''

Make your meeting together with believers a meeting specifically for the empowering to love. Empowering to love.

Don't be unintentional when you get together. Don't just say, Christian fellowship is good, so we are going to get together and talk. It is good. And talking is wonderful. But the stakes are too high these days to be that casual and lackadaisical about your gathering.

Verse 24 says, "Consider one another in order to stir each other up to love and good works" (literal translation). There is a clear goal. We are meeting so that when we leave, we will have more power to love, more resources to love, more motivation to love, more wisdom to love and do good works, so that people will see our good works, as Jesus said, and give glory to our Father in heaven. The visible glory of God is at stake.

And not only is there a clear goal, there is a kind of urgent intentionality. The word "Consider" suggests that we come on the look out for how we can specifically help other people get power to love. We don't just drift into a 20:20 meeting thinking about all kinds of worldly things. We come on a mission. We come "considering," on the look out, watching, listening. What does David need tonight? What would help Noël be stronger tonight?

So the fourth point is: Be intentional in your coming together. Aim at empowering each other to love and good works. 

'''5. Strengthening Faith in the Promises of God'''

The last point is in answer to the question: How do you empower another person to love and good works? What is the root of love? What is the root of all righteousness and truly good deeds? The answer is belief in the promises of God. So the fifth point is: Make the main basic goal of every small group to strengthen faith in the promises of God.

This is implied in verse 23: "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love . . . " So these two things are very closely related: stirring each other up to love, and helping each other hold on to hope in the promises of God.

How do you empower someone to love and good deeds in spite of all the obstacles they will run into at home and work? Answer: build their hope in the promises of God. Love grows on the taproot of BELIEF in the promises of God. 

'''The Target of Our Exhortation''' Look finally at 3:12–13.

Take care, brethren, lest there be in you an evil unbelieving heart [literally: "an evil heart of unbelief"] leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Notice carefully: the target of our exhorting one another is twofold. First, in verse 12 it is the evil heart of unbelief. We should do all we can to help each other battle unbelief in our heart. It is evil and it can lead us to fall away from the living God. Second, in verse 13 the target of our exhorting is the deceitfulness of sin: " . . . that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

The relationship between these two is plain. A heart of unbelief gives rise to sin. And sin is the opposite of love. So our basic agenda in small groups is clear. We must help each other BATTLE UNBELIEF. We must help each other fight the fight of faith. None of us is above this need. I certainly need it.

And I would ask you to bow your head now and ask the Lord to reveal your need of it too, and how you should go about meeting that need.

Battling Unbelief at Bethlehem

Bpmoosie — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:51:29 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=http://www.desiringgod.com|partner=Desiring God|date= 11 September 1988|other=|series= |categorytopic=No topic |mediatype=article|lang=English|editor=n/a|translator=n/a|levels=0 reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling Unbelief at Bethlehem}}

'''Romans  4:20 '''No distrust made Abraham waver concerning the promises of God, but he grew strong in his faith giving glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. What I want to do today is lay the foundation for a series of messages called Battling Unbelief. I hope to clarify in these messages why we exist as a church and what it means at the most practical level to live by faith in the promises of God. 

'''All Sins Come from Unbelief in God's Promises''' The conviction behind this series is that all sins come from unbelief in the promises of God. All the sinful states of our hearts are owing to unbelief in God's super-abounding willingness and ability to work for us in every situation of life so that everything turns out for our good. Anxiety, misplaced shame, indifference, regret, covetousness, envy, lust, bitterness, impatience, despondency, pride—these are all sprouts from the root of unbelief in the promises of God. Let me illustrate from a familiar text that tends to puzzle us. 

'''The Love of Money''' 

When Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:10, "The love of money is the root of all evils," what did he mean? He didn't mean that there's a connection between every sinful attitude and money—that money is always in your mind when you sin. I think he meant that all the evils in the world come from a certain kind of heart, namely, the kind of heart that loves money.

Now what does it mean to love money? It doesn't mean to admire the green paper or the brown coins. To know what it means to love money you have to ask, What is money? I would answer that question like this: Money is simply a symbol that stands for human resources. Money stands for what you can get from man (not from God! "Ho everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. He who has NO MONEY come buy and eat!" Isaiah 55:1). Money is the currency of human resources.

So the heart that loves money is a heart that pins its hopes, and pursues its pleasures, and puts its trust in what human resources can offer. So the love of money is virtually the same as faith in money—belief (trust, confidence, assurance) that money will meet your needs and make you happy. 

'''Unbelief in the Promises of God''' Therefore the love of money, or belief in money, is the flip side of UNBELIEF in the promises of God. Just like Jesus said in Matthew 6:24—you cannot serve God and money. You can't trust or believe in God and money. Belief in one is unbelief in the other. A heart that loves money—banks on money for happiness, believes in money—is at the same time not banking on the promises of God for happiness.

So when Paul says that the love of money is the root of all evils, he implies that unbelief in the promises of God is the taproot of every sinful attitude in our heart. 

'''The Aim of This Series'''''' '''Every message this fall will aim to illustrate this truth and confirm it and provide practical help for battling the root of unbelief that threatens to grow in our hearts again and again every day. In a sense the main point of every message will be the same: Fight against sin by fighting against unbelief in the promises of God. Or to put it positively: Fight for righteousness and love in your life by fighting to maintain faith in the promises of God.

That's the gist of the series. But what I said I wanted to do today is lay a foundation for these messages and show you how it relates to why we exist as a church. So let me try to do that in the minutes we have left. 

'''Why We Exist''' Bethlehem Baptist Church exists for the glory of God. He created us for his glory (Isaiah 43:7). He predestined us to be his children for his glory (Ephesians 1:6). He appointed us to live for his glory (Ephesians 1:12). Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Whether we speak of Bethlehem worshiping, Bethlehem building up the body, Bethlehem evangelizing unbelievers, the final goal is the same at every point—that God be glorified. Bethlehem is a vision of a great, holy, free, and graciously sovereign God—a vision of GOD to be savored in worship, a vision of GOD to be strengthened in nurture, and a vision of GOD to be spread in evangelism and missions. "From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen" (Romans 11:36). 

'''How We Accomplish Our Reason for Existence''' Now to the text of the morning! Romans 4. If the goal of all we do is to glorify God—to magnify his worth, clarify his beauty, exalt his excellence, portray his perfections—if that is our goal, then Romans 4:19–21 gives us a very crucial insight into how we go about it. 

'''Abraham's Faith in God's Promise''' Abraham got the promise of God that he would have a son when he was 100 years old and Sarah was old and barren. His response, Paul says, glorified God.

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust [or: unbelief] made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 

'''Martin Luther's Insight''' I hope you agree that one thing this text teaches is that we glorify God by believing his promises. Listen to Martin Luther, who got a hold on this truth so firmly.

Faith . . . honors him whom it trusts with the most reverent and highest regard since it considers him truthful and trustworthy. There is no other honor equal to the estimate of truthfulness and righteousness with which we honor him whom we trust . . . On the other hand, there is no way in which we can show greater contempt for a man than to regard him as false and wicked and to be suspicious of him, as we do when we do not trust him. (''Selections'', p. 59)

Trusting God's promises is the most fundamental way that you can consciously glorify God. When you believe a promise of God, you honor God's ability to do what he promised and his willingness to do what he promised and his wisdom to know how to do it. '''An Illustration of Battling Unbelief''' Last night I had to battle the unbelief anxiety that this sermon would not take shape in time for this morning's service, because I got such a late start. The way I battled against this anxiety was to believe the promise of 2 Corinthians 12:8 ("My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness."). And when I believed that promise, God's ability to help me, his wisdom to help me and his willingness to help me were glorified. When you trust somebody, you honor them at the deepest level.

Therefore if the goal of our church is to glorify God in all that we do, we must make it our aim in all that we do to battle unbelief. Because nothing dishonors God more than not to believe what he says. Or to put it positively, if our goal is to glorify God in all that we do, then we must make it our aim in all that we do to believe the promises of God. Because it was when Abraham believed the promise of God that God was glorified.

So I hope you can see why I think this series of messages is so important for us. Unless we can learn to live by faith in the promises of God, we will fail in our goal as a church. Unless we can learn how to battle the ever-attacking unbelief of our hearts, we will constantly fall short of glorifying God. And our reason for being would be gone. 

'''Three Things About the Faith Which Glorifies God''' Now to set the stage for the rest of the messages, let me say three things about this belief that glorifies God. If this seems too brief, please know that each of these three things will be addressed in every sermon this fall. All I want to do now is introduce them and begin to shape the mindset of our church in a certain biblical direction. And hopefully, in doing so, stir you up to trust God in new ways. 

'''1. It Is Future Oriented'''

The first thing I want to say about this belief is this: Belief that honors God means banking our hope for happiness on the promises of God.

In other words belief is future oriented. It trusts God for something in the future, whether in eight hours or in 8,000 years. The function of past events (for example, the death and resurrection of Christ for our sins) is to support faith in the promises, which have to do with our future. Believing that Christ died for our sins once for all in the past and that he rose again is utterly crucial for salvation. But the reason it's crucial is because the death and resurrection of Christ are the guarantee of God's promises. People who say, "I believe that Christ died for my sins, and that he rose again from the dead," but then don't bank their hope on his promises day by day—those people don't have faith that honors the God who justifies sinners.

You can see this in our text. Right after extolling Abraham for believing the promises of God in verses 19–21, Paul says, "That is why his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness." So how did Abraham get justified in God's sight? Why did God look at this imperfect man and count him as righteous in his sight? Answer: because he believed the promises of God. It was future oriented faith that justified.

Now read on in the application to us. Verses 23–24,

But the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord.

Notice! It does not say, "It will be reckoned to us who believe the past historical fact that God raised Jesus from the dead." As utterly crucial as that is! It says, we will be reckoned righteous if we believe in God! Like Abraham believed in God! And this God is the kind of God who raised Jesus from the dead so that you can trust him! So that you will know that his Son ever lives to make intercession for you! So that you will know that he reigns in victory over all your enemies. So that you will know, as verse 17 says, that he gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. He can do anything! Nothing is impossible for God. Therefore he is absolutely trustworthy.

You don't get justified by believing that Jesus died for sinners and rose again. You get justified by banking your hope on the promises that God secured and guaranteed for you through the death and resurrection of his Son. The faith by which God justifies us, forgives all our sins, reckons us righteous, is the experience of being satisfied that God will come through for you according to all his promises.

That's the first thing I wanted to say about belief: it is future oriented; it means banking our hope for happiness on the promises of God secured by the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

'''2. It Produces Fruit'''

The second thing I want to say about belief in the promises of God is that it produces what Paul calls the "work of faith." Two times, once in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 and once in 2 Thessalonians 1:11 Paul refers to the "work of faith." What he means is that there is a dynamic to this kind of faith that always changes the heart (Acts 15:9) and produces the works of love.

The clearest statement of this is Galatians 5:6,

In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love.

Faith is a power. It never leaves the life unchanged. It can't, because what you bank your hope on always governs your life. If you bank your hope on money, if your bank your hope on prestige, if you bank your hope on leisure and comfort, if you bank your hope on power or success, it governs the choices you make and the attitudes you develop. And so does banking your hope on the promises of God day by day. Belief in the promises of God is the taproot of all righteousness and love.

Earlier in Galatians 2:20 Paul said,

I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Paul lived his life every day by faith. Jesus had loved him enough to die for him, and now Paul knew he could trust him, believe him, to take care of him and meet all his needs (Philippians 1:19). When you bank your hope on the promises of God and on the presence of Jesus, you live differently. You bear the fruit of righteousness (Philippians 1:11).

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is in the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.

That's the second thing to say about belief: it produces fruit in our lives. Belief in the promises of God is not a dead and fruitless thing. What you bank on for happiness controls your life. 

'''3. We Must Battle Unbelief Every Day'''

The last thing to say is just a sentence for now. In order to keep on believing in the promises of God and bearing the fruit of faith, we have to battle unbelief every day. Becoming a Christian is the beginning of the battle not the end. Paul said to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12, "Fight the good fight of faith; take hold on eternal life to which you were called."

In order to persevere to eternal life, we must fight the good fight of faith (1 Corinthians 15:2; Colossians 1:23; Hebrews 3:14). That's the battle we are going to study for the next 14 weeks.

And I believe that God has appointed this study for us because he loves us and because he aims to bring some great victories to our lives and to our church. The reason I believe this is because of the promise of 1 John 5:4, "This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith."

Let's bow for prayer. Every one of us in this room struggles with some sin. It may be a new thought to us that this sin is rooted in unbelief. But it is. And what I want us to do is pray silently that God would help you see the connection and then dedicate yourself to join me in the next 14 weeks in learning how to battle that unbelief and conquering sin.

Battling Unbelief at Bethlehem

Bpmoosie — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:09:03 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author= John piper|partnerurl=www.desiringgod.com|partner=Desiring God Ministries |date= 11 September 1988|other=|series= |categorytopic= |mediatype= article|lang= English|editor=n/a |translator=n/a|levels=0 reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling Unbelief at Bethlehem}}

'''Romans  4:20 '''No distrust made Abraham waver concerning the promises of God, but he grew strong in his faith giving glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. What I want to do today is lay the foundation for a series of messages called Battling Unbelief. I hope to clarify in these messages why we exist as a church and what it means at the most practical level to live by faith in the promises of God. 

'''All Sins Come from Unbelief in God's Promises''' The conviction behind this series is that all sins come from unbelief in the promises of God. All the sinful states of our hearts are owing to unbelief in God's super-abounding willingness and ability to work for us in every situation of life so that everything turns out for our good. Anxiety, misplaced shame, indifference, regret, covetousness, envy, lust, bitterness, impatience, despondency, pride—these are all sprouts from the root of unbelief in the promises of God. Let me illustrate from a familiar text that tends to puzzle us. 

'''The Love of Money''' 

When Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:10, "The love of money is the root of all evils," what did he mean? He didn't mean that there's a connection between every sinful attitude and money—that money is always in your mind when you sin. I think he meant that all the evils in the world come from a certain kind of heart, namely, the kind of heart that loves money.

Now what does it mean to love money? It doesn't mean to admire the green paper or the brown coins. To know what it means to love money you have to ask, What is money? I would answer that question like this: Money is simply a symbol that stands for human resources. Money stands for what you can get from man (not from God! "Ho everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. He who has NO MONEY come buy and eat!" Isaiah 55:1). Money is the currency of human resources.

So the heart that loves money is a heart that pins its hopes, and pursues its pleasures, and puts its trust in what human resources can offer. So the love of money is virtually the same as faith in money—belief (trust, confidence, assurance) that money will meet your needs and make you happy. 

'''Unbelief in the Promises of God''' Therefore the love of money, or belief in money, is the flip side of UNBELIEF in the promises of God. Just like Jesus said in Matthew 6:24—you cannot serve God and money. You can't trust or believe in God and money. Belief in one is unbelief in the other. A heart that loves money—banks on money for happiness, believes in money—is at the same time not banking on the promises of God for happiness.

So when Paul says that the love of money is the root of all evils, he implies that unbelief in the promises of God is the taproot of every sinful attitude in our heart. 

'''The Aim of This Series'''''' '''Every message this fall will aim to illustrate this truth and confirm it and provide practical help for battling the root of unbelief that threatens to grow in our hearts again and again every day. In a sense the main point of every message will be the same: Fight against sin by fighting against unbelief in the promises of God. Or to put it positively: Fight for righteousness and love in your life by fighting to maintain faith in the promises of God.

That's the gist of the series. But what I said I wanted to do today is lay a foundation for these messages and show you how it relates to why we exist as a church. So let me try to do that in the minutes we have left. 

'''Why We Exist''' Bethlehem Baptist Church exists for the glory of God. He created us for his glory (Isaiah 43:7). He predestined us to be his children for his glory (Ephesians 1:6). He appointed us to live for his glory (Ephesians 1:12). Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Whether we speak of Bethlehem worshiping, Bethlehem building up the body, Bethlehem evangelizing unbelievers, the final goal is the same at every point—that God be glorified. Bethlehem is a vision of a great, holy, free, and graciously sovereign God—a vision of GOD to be savored in worship, a vision of GOD to be strengthened in nurture, and a vision of GOD to be spread in evangelism and missions. "From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen" (Romans 11:36). 

'''How We Accomplish Our Reason for Existence''' Now to the text of the morning! Romans 4. If the goal of all we do is to glorify God—to magnify his worth, clarify his beauty, exalt his excellence, portray his perfections—if that is our goal, then Romans 4:19–21 gives us a very crucial insight into how we go about it. 

'''Abraham's Faith in God's Promise''' Abraham got the promise of God that he would have a son when he was 100 years old and Sarah was old and barren. His response, Paul says, glorified God.

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust [or: unbelief] made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 

'''Martin Luther's Insight''' I hope you agree that one thing this text teaches is that we glorify God by believing his promises. Listen to Martin Luther, who got a hold on this truth so firmly.

Faith . . . honors him whom it trusts with the most reverent and highest regard since it considers him truthful and trustworthy. There is no other honor equal to the estimate of truthfulness and righteousness with which we honor him whom we trust . . . On the other hand, there is no way in which we can show greater contempt for a man than to regard him as false and wicked and to be suspicious of him, as we do when we do not trust him. (''Selections'', p. 59)

Trusting God's promises is the most fundamental way that you can consciously glorify God. When you believe a promise of God, you honor God's ability to do what he promised and his willingness to do what he promised and his wisdom to know how to do it. '''An Illustration of Battling Unbelief''' Last night I had to battle the unbelief anxiety that this sermon would not take shape in time for this morning's service, because I got such a late start. The way I battled against this anxiety was to believe the promise of 2 Corinthians 12:8 ("My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness."). And when I believed that promise, God's ability to help me, his wisdom to help me and his willingness to help me were glorified. When you trust somebody, you honor them at the deepest level.

Therefore if the goal of our church is to glorify God in all that we do, we must make it our aim in all that we do to battle unbelief. Because nothing dishonors God more than not to believe what he says. Or to put it positively, if our goal is to glorify God in all that we do, then we must make it our aim in all that we do to believe the promises of God. Because it was when Abraham believed the promise of God that God was glorified.

So I hope you can see why I think this series of messages is so important for us. Unless we can learn to live by faith in the promises of God, we will fail in our goal as a church. Unless we can learn how to battle the ever-attacking unbelief of our hearts, we will constantly fall short of glorifying God. And our reason for being would be gone. 

'''Three Things About the Faith Which Glorifies God''' Now to set the stage for the rest of the messages, let me say three things about this belief that glorifies God. If this seems too brief, please know that each of these three things will be addressed in every sermon this fall. All I want to do now is introduce them and begin to shape the mindset of our church in a certain biblical direction. And hopefully, in doing so, stir you up to trust God in new ways. 

'''1. It Is Future Oriented'''

The first thing I want to say about this belief is this: Belief that honors God means banking our hope for happiness on the promises of God.

In other words belief is future oriented. It trusts God for something in the future, whether in eight hours or in 8,000 years. The function of past events (for example, the death and resurrection of Christ for our sins) is to support faith in the promises, which have to do with our future. Believing that Christ died for our sins once for all in the past and that he rose again is utterly crucial for salvation. But the reason it's crucial is because the death and resurrection of Christ are the guarantee of God's promises. People who say, "I believe that Christ died for my sins, and that he rose again from the dead," but then don't bank their hope on his promises day by day—those people don't have faith that honors the God who justifies sinners.

You can see this in our text. Right after extolling Abraham for believing the promises of God in verses 19–21, Paul says, "That is why his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness." So how did Abraham get justified in God's sight? Why did God look at this imperfect man and count him as righteous in his sight? Answer: because he believed the promises of God. It was future oriented faith that justified.

Now read on in the application to us. Verses 23–24,

But the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord.

Notice! It does not say, "It will be reckoned to us who believe the past historical fact that God raised Jesus from the dead." As utterly crucial as that is! It says, we will be reckoned righteous if we believe in God! Like Abraham believed in God! And this God is the kind of God who raised Jesus from the dead so that you can trust him! So that you will know that his Son ever lives to make intercession for you! So that you will know that he reigns in victory over all your enemies. So that you will know, as verse 17 says, that he gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. He can do anything! Nothing is impossible for God. Therefore he is absolutely trustworthy.

You don't get justified by believing that Jesus died for sinners and rose again. You get justified by banking your hope on the promises that God secured and guaranteed for you through the death and resurrection of his Son. The faith by which God justifies us, forgives all our sins, reckons us righteous, is the experience of being satisfied that God will come through for you according to all his promises.

That's the first thing I wanted to say about belief: it is future oriented; it means banking our hope for happiness on the promises of God secured by the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

'''2. It Produces Fruit'''

The second thing I want to say about belief in the promises of God is that it produces what Paul calls the "work of faith." Two times, once in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 and once in 2 Thessalonians 1:11 Paul refers to the "work of faith." What he means is that there is a dynamic to this kind of faith that always changes the heart (Acts 15:9) and produces the works of love.

The clearest statement of this is Galatians 5:6,

In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love.

Faith is a power. It never leaves the life unchanged. It can't, because what you bank your hope on always governs your life. If you bank your hope on money, if your bank your hope on prestige, if you bank your hope on leisure and comfort, if you bank your hope on power or success, it governs the choices you make and the attitudes you develop. And so does banking your hope on the promises of God day by day. Belief in the promises of God is the taproot of all righteousness and love.

Earlier in Galatians 2:20 Paul said,

I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Paul lived his life every day by faith. Jesus had loved him enough to die for him, and now Paul knew he could trust him, believe him, to take care of him and meet all his needs (Philippians 1:19). When you bank your hope on the promises of God and on the presence of Jesus, you live differently. You bear the fruit of righteousness (Philippians 1:11).

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is in the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.

That's the second thing to say about belief: it produces fruit in our lives. Belief in the promises of God is not a dead and fruitless thing. What you bank on for happiness controls your life. 

'''3. We Must Battle Unbelief Every Day'''

The last thing to say is just a sentence for now. In order to keep on believing in the promises of God and bearing the fruit of faith, we have to battle unbelief every day. Becoming a Christian is the beginning of the battle not the end. Paul said to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12, "Fight the good fight of faith; take hold on eternal life to which you were called."

In order to persevere to eternal life, we must fight the good fight of faith (1 Corinthians 15:2; Colossians 1:23; Hebrews 3:14). That's the battle we are going to study for the next 14 weeks.

And I believe that God has appointed this study for us because he loves us and because he aims to bring some great victories to our lives and to our church. The reason I believe this is because of the promise of 1 John 5:4, "This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith."

Let's bow for prayer. Every one of us in this room struggles with some sin. It may be a new thought to us that this sin is rooted in unbelief. But it is. And what I want us to do is pray silently that God would help you see the connection and then dedicate yourself to join me in the next 14 weeks in learning how to battle that unbelief and conquering sin.

Battling Unbelief Together

Bpmoosie — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:00:42 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author= John Piper|partnerurl=www.desiringgod.com |partner=Desiring God Ministries |date= other= |series= |categorytopic=  |mediatype= article|lang=English|editor=n/a |translator= n/a|levels= 0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling Unbelief Together}} '''         Hebrews 10:19-25; 3:12-14''' '''How I Thrive in the Ministry''' I survive and thrive in the ministry because God has surrounded me with people who pray for me and exhort me to press on in the fight of faith. If you don't feel supported like this in your faith and work, we want to help change that. The Bible teaches that surviving and thriving in a life of faith and love depends on Christians intentionally building each other in faith and stirring each other up to love. Without intentional faith-building togetherness we lose our zeal, drift from God, become hardened in the deceitfulness of sin, and if someone doesn't snatch us (James 5:19; Jude 23), we make shipwreck of our so-called faith and perish in unbelief.

I got a post card from a brother in the ministry a week or so ago that built my faith and gave me hope and encouragement to press on. It was not addressed to me. It was addressed to Christ. It was prayer.

Dear Lord,

Glorify yourself, our Savior, by moving us as a family of believers to pray as never before. May we find delight and enrichment in new intimacy of conversation with you. May our churches experience new health and vitality. And grant to us, by a fuller liberation of your power through mighty, multiplied intercession, to capture the strongholds of darkness in our country and around the world. That your name will everywhere be esteemed and revered. Give special guidance to your servant, John, as he wrestles with the discernment of urgent issues for Bethlehem's future. Even in uncertainty provide such inner confidence of your ultimate leading that his peace will be unshakable.

Your servant Bill

It can happen through the mail. God means it to happen in person even more often. That's what we want to look at this morning. 

'''Battling Unbelief and Fighting the Fight of Faith''' Last week we saw from Romans 4:20 that belief—belief that glorifies God—is future-oriented. It is a banking on the promises of God. All the promises of God were purchased for believing sinners by an act that happened in the past, namely, by the death and resurrection of Jesus. But God-glorifying BELIEF doesn't merely stare at those acts; it stands on them, and then looks forward to all the promises Jesus bought for us, and banks its hope on the promises, and moves out in a life of faith. Faith is future-oriented. It is heartfelt hope in the promises of God.

Then we saw that this kind of belief is the root of love and righteousness. Galatians 5:6, "Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love." The root of all love and goodness is belief in the promises of God.

And we saw the flip side of this truth: that UNBELIEF is the root of all sin.

Which led us to the conclusion that top priority in the Christian life is learning to battle unbelief and fight the fight of faith. We must be rid of the notion that before we were Christians, we were fighting for faith and battling unbelief, but now that we are Christians we can relax because the battle is over; I am a believer; I have won the battle. That's a wrong notion. It leaves you very vulnerable to the subtlety of unbelief. At the end of his life Paul looks back over several decades of being a Christian and says (in 2 Timothy 4:7), "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." He had fought the good fight to keep the faith all his Christian life. 

'''The Role of Other Believers in the Fight of Faith ''' And one of the ways he had fought it was to surround himself with believers who would pray for him and exhort him. Did you know that Paul always traveled in a team? He was not a loner. There was Barnabas and Silas and Timothy and Luke and Aristarchus and Mark and Epaphras and others. The one time he was forced to go off by himself to Athens his spirit was almost broken by the overwhelming evil there and he sent immediately for Timothy to join him.

You might get the idea that Paul's faith (and the faith of other ministers) was never in need of human reinforcement. But listen ot 2 Corinthians 7:5–7,

For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he told us of your longing.

Paul needed the partnership of close friends who could strengthen his faith when fear was beginning to get the upper hand in his life. We need that same partnership. That is what lies behind the 20:20 Vision. 

'''Five Points on Hebrews 10:24–25''' Now let's look at our text in Hebrews 10:24–25. I want to make five brief points from these two verses.

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 

'''1. Meeting Together'''

We are commanded to meet together.

The kind of meeting in view seems to be one that allows for some kind of mutual encouragement and stirring up of one another. It is not talking about merely sneaking into a big church service and sneaking out again. It's talking about the kind of meeting where you say something to someone that will help them be more loving and where someone can say something to you that will help you be more loving, and help you have strength to more good deeds.

This is why we believe so strongly in a ministry of small groups in the church. There is this "one another" principle that requires personal interaction with people at a pretty significant level. Coming to worship on Sunday morning—as important as that is—is not enough. God means for us to face each other so that we can exhort and encourage each other to press on.

The first point, then, is MEET together in smaller groups. '''2. Avoiding the Habit of Not Meeting'''

The second point is, don't get into the habit of not meeting.

This is almost the same as point #1, but verse 25 seems to give it a special stress. So I want to too. It says, "Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some." The warning here is that not meeting with other Christians in this way can become habitual. Ask yourself right now: Are you in the habit of only coming to more or less anonymous, bigger meetings of the church where there doesn't have to be much personal interaction or accountability? Does that pattern of life feel comfortable now?

Many of you would have to answer, Yes. Why? Because it is now a habit. It's what you are comfortable with. In fact it is so much your normal way of looking at the Christian life that what I am saying right now is threatening to you. You do not want to be told that the Bible insists that you are outside the Lord's will when you do not meet in some kind of smaller group intentionally designed to stir you up to love and good works.

So my second point is: Don't get into this habit of not meeting in this way. And if you are in that habit now, resolve to break it this year. We want to help you with the 20:20 Vision. 

'''3. Increasing Frequency and Seriousness'''

The third point is that the frequency and seriousness of your meetings should increase as the Day of Judgment draws near.

At the end of verse 25 it says, " . . . and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." That's the Day of Christ's coming and the end of the age. The stresses and troubles and dangers are going to increase as history comes to a close. There will be greater satanic activity, greater evil, greater threats to your faith and love.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:11–12, "Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold." That's why we better take this word of Hebrews 10:25 very seriously in our day. If your love is going to survive the onslaught of Satan and evil, you must meet with those who can stir you up to love and good works. Woe to the person who thinks they can be a lone wolf Christian as the last Day draws near.

Let's make our meeting for prayer and exhortation be more frequent and more serious and urgent as we see the gathering storm of tribulation and evil. 

'''4. Empowering to Love'''

Make your meeting together with believers a meeting specifically for the empowering to love. Empowering to love.

Don't be unintentional when you get together. Don't just say, Christian fellowship is good, so we are going to get together and talk. It is good. And talking is wonderful. But the stakes are too high these days to be that casual and lackadaisical about your gathering.

Verse 24 says, "Consider one another in order to stir each other up to love and good works" (literal translation). There is a clear goal. We are meeting so that when we leave, we will have more power to love, more resources to love, more motivation to love, more wisdom to love and do good works, so that people will see our good works, as Jesus said, and give glory to our Father in heaven. The visible glory of God is at stake.

And not only is there a clear goal, there is a kind of urgent intentionality. The word "Consider" suggests that we come on the look out for how we can specifically help other people get power to love. We don't just drift into a 20:20 meeting thinking about all kinds of worldly things. We come on a mission. We come "considering," on the look out, watching, listening. What does David need tonight? What would help Noël be stronger tonight?

So the fourth point is: Be intentional in your coming together. Aim at empowering each other to love and good works. 

'''5. Strengthening Faith in the Promises of God'''

The last point is in answer to the question: How do you empower another person to love and good works? What is the root of love? What is the root of all righteousness and truly good deeds? The answer is belief in the promises of God. So the fifth point is: Make the main basic goal of every small group to strengthen faith in the promises of God.

This is implied in verse 23: "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love . . . " So these two things are very closely related: stirring each other up to love, and helping each other hold on to hope in the promises of God.

How do you empower someone to love and good deeds in spite of all the obstacles they will run into at home and work? Answer: build their hope in the promises of God. Love grows on the taproot of BELIEF in the promises of God. 

'''The Target of Our Exhortation''' Look finally at 3:12–13.

Take care, brethren, lest there be in you an evil unbelieving heart [literally: "an evil heart of unbelief"] leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Notice carefully: the target of our exhorting one another is twofold. First, in verse 12 it is the evil heart of unbelief. We should do all we can to help each other battle unbelief in our heart. It is evil and it can lead us to fall away from the living God. Second, in verse 13 the target of our exhorting is the deceitfulness of sin: " . . . that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

The relationship between these two is plain. A heart of unbelief gives rise to sin. And sin is the opposite of love. So our basic agenda in small groups is clear. We must help each other BATTLE UNBELIEF. We must help each other fight the fight of faith. None of us is above this need. I certainly need it.

And I would ask you to bow your head now and ask the Lord to reveal your need of it too, and how you should go about meeting that need.

Battling the Unbelief of Misplaced Shame

Bpmoosie — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:52:34 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author=John Piper|partnerurl=www.desiringgod.com |partner=Desiring God Ministries|date=  2 October 1988|other= |series= |categorytopic= |mediatype=   article|lang= English|editor=n/a |translator=translators |levels=0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling the Unbelief of Misplaced Shame}}

 '''2 Timothy 1:6-12'''

Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; 7 for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control. 8 Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel in the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, 10 and now has manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 and therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. 

'''The Definition and Causes of Shame ''' Let's start with a dictionary definition of shame. Shame is the painful emotion caused by a consciousness of guilt or shortcoming or impropriety.

Let me illustrate each of those causes.

1.  First, the cause of guilt. Suppose you act against your conscience and withhold information on your tax returns. For a couple years you feel nothing because it has been put out of your mind, and you weren't caught. Then you are called to account by the IRS and it becomes public knowledge that you lied and you stole. Your guilt is known. Now in the light of public censure you feel the pain of shame. 2.  Or take the cause of shortcoming. In the Olympics suppose you come from a little country where you are quite good in the 3,000-meter race. Then you compete before thousands of people in Seoul, and the competition is so tough that by the time the last lap comes up, you are a whole lap behind everyone else, and you must keep running all by yourself while everyone watches. There's no guilt here. But the humiliation and shame could be intense. 3.  Or take the cause of impropriety. You are invited to a party and you find out when you get there that you dressed all wrong. Again, no evil or guilt. Just a social blunder, an impropriety that makes you feel foolish and embarrassed. '''Well-Placed Vs. Misplaced Shame'''

One of the things that jumps right out at you from this definition of shame is that there is some shame that is justified and some that isn't. There are some situations where shame is exactly what we should feel. And there are some situations where we shouldn't. Most people would say that the liar ought to be ashamed. And most people would probably say that the long distance runner who gave it his best shot ought not to feel ashamed. Disappointment would be healthy, but not shame.

Let me illustrate from Scripture these two kinds of shame. The Bible makes very clear that there is a shame we ought to have and a shame we ought not to have. I'm going to call the one kind, "misplaced shame" and the other kind "well-placed shame."

Misplaced shame (the kind we ought not to have) is the shame you feel when there is no good reason to feel it. Biblically that means the thing you feel ashamed of is not dishonoring to God; or that it IS dishonoring to God, but you didn't have a hand in it. In other words, misplaced shame is shame for something that's good—something that doesn't dishonor God. Or it's shame for something bad but which you didn't have any sinful hand in. That's the kind of shame we ought not have.

Well-placed shame (the kind you ought to have) is the shame you feel when there is good reason to feel it. Biblically that means we feel ashamed of something because our involvement in it was dishonoring to God. We ought to feel shame when we have a hand in bringing dishonor upon God by our attitudes or actions.

I want to be sure you see how important God is in this distinction between misplaced shame and well-placed shame. Whether we have a hand in honoring God or dishonoring God makes all the difference. If we want to battle shame at the root, we have to know how it relates to God. And we DO need to battle shame at the root—all shame. Because both misplaced shame and well-placed shame can cripple us if we don't know how to deal with them at the root.

So let's look at some Scriptures that illustrate misplaced shame and some that illustrate well-placed shame. 

'''Misplaced Shame''' '''2 Timothy 1:8'''

Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but take your share of suffering for the gospel in the power of God.

What this text says is that if you feel shame for testifying about Jesus, you have a misplaced shame. We ought not to feel shame for this. Christ is honored when we speak well of him. And he is dishonored by fearful silence. So it is not a shameful thing to testify, but a shameful thing not to.

Secondly the text says that if you feel shame that a friend of yours is in trouble (in this case: prison) for Jesus' sake, then your shame is misplaced. The world may see this as a sign of weakness and defeat. But Christians know better. God is honored by the courage of his servants to go to prison for his name. We ought not to feel shame that we are associated with something that honors God in this way, no matter how much scorn the world heaps on.

'''Mark 8:38'''

Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Shame is misplaced when we feel it because of the person or the words of Jesus. If Jesus says, "Love your enemies," and others laugh and call it unrealistic, we should not feel ashamed. If Jesus says, "Fornication is evil," and liberated yuppies label it out of date, we should not feel shame to stand with Jesus. That would be misplaced shame because the words of Jesus are true and God-honoring, no matter how foolish the world may try to make them look.

'''1 Peter 4:16'''

If one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God.

Suffering and being reproached and made fun of as a Christian is not an occasion for shame, because it is an occasion for glorifying God. In other words in the Bible the criterion for what is well-placed shame and what is misplaced shame is not how foolish or how bad you look to men, but whether you in fact bring honor to God.

This is so important to grasp! Because much of what makes us feel shame is not that we have brought dishonor on God by our actions, but that we have failed to give the appearance that other people admire. Much of our shame is not God-centered but self-centered. Until we get a good handle on this, we will not be able to battle the problem of shame at its root.

'''Romans 1:16'''

I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

The reason shame in the gospel would be a misplaced shame is that the gospel is the very power of God unto salvation. The gospel magnifies God and humbles man. And so to the world the gospel doesn't look like power at all. It looks like weakness (asking people to be like children and depend on Jesus, instead of standing on their own two feet). But for those who believe it is the power of almighty God to save sinners.

'''2 Corinthians 12:9–10'''

Jesus said (to Paul),

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I will all the more gladly exult in my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Now ordinarily weaknesses and insults are occasions for shame. But for Paul they are occasions for exultation. Paul thinks that shame in his weaknesses and shame at insults and persecutions would be misplaced shame. Why? Because the power of Christ is perfected in Paul's weakness.

I conclude from all these texts that the biblical criterion for misplaced shame is radically God-centered. The biblical criterion says, don't feel shame for something that honors God no matter how weak or foolish it makes you look in the eyes of unbelievers. 

'''Well-Placed Shame''' The same God-centeredness will be seen if we look at some texts that illustrate well-placed shame.

'''1 Corinthians 15:34'''

Come to your right mind, and sin no more. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

Here Paul says that these people ought to feel shame. "I say this to your shame." Their shame would be well-placed if they saw their deplorable ignorance of God and how it was leading to false doctrine (no resurrection) and sin in the church. In other words well-placed shame is shame for what dishonors God—ignorance of God, sin against God, false beliefs about God.

'''1 Corinthians 6:5'''

The Christians were going to secular courts to settle disputes among themselves. Paul rebukes them.

I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no man among you wise enough to decide between members of the brotherhood?

Again he says they should feel shame: "I say this to your shame." Their shame would be well-placed because their behavior is bringing such disrepute upon their God as they fight one another and seek help from the godless to settle their disputes. A well-placed shame is the shame you feel because you are involved in dishonoring God.

And let's not miss this implication: these people were trying their best to appear strong and right. They wanted to be vindicated by men. They wanted to be winners in court. They didn't want anyone to run over them as though they had no rights. That would look weak and shameful. So in the very act of wanting to avoid shame as the world sees it, they fell into the very behavior that God counts shameful.

The point is: when you are dishonoring God, you ought to feel shame, no matter how strong or wise or right you are in the eyes of men.

'''Ezekiel 43:10'''

And you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple and its appearance and plan, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities.

God says Israel ought to feel shame for its iniquities. Sin is always a proper cause for shame because sin is behavior that dishonors God.

(See also Romans 6:21; 2 Thessalonians 3:14 for more instances of well-placed shame.)

We can conclude from all these texts that the biblical criterion for misplaced shame and for well-placed shame is radically God-centered.

The biblical criterion for misplaced shame says, don't feel shame for something that honors God, no matter how weak or foolish or wrong it makes you look in the eyes of men. And don't feel shame for bad circumstances where you don't share in dishonoring God.

The biblical criterion for well-placed shame says, DO feel shame for having a hand in anything that dishonors God, no matter how strong or wise or right it makes you look in the eyes of men.

Now how do you battle this painful emotion called shame? The answer is that we battle it by battling the unbelief that feeds its life. And we fight for faith in the promises of God that overcome shame and relieve us from its pain. 

'''Three Instances of Battling Misplaced Shame''' Let me illustrate with three instances. 

'''1. When Well-Placed Shame Lingers Too Long'''

In the case of well-placed shame for sin the pain ought to be there but it ought not to stay there. If it does, it's owing to unbelief in the promises of God.

For example, a woman comes to Jesus in a Pharisee's house weeping and washing his feet. No doubt she felt shame as the eyes of Simon communicated to everyone present that this woman was a sinner and that Jesus had no business letting her touch him. Indeed she was a sinner. There was a place for true shame. But not for too long. Jesus said, "Your sins are forgiven" (Luke 7:48). And when the guests murmured about this, he helped her faith again by saying, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace" (v. 50).

How did Jesus help her battle the crippling effects of shame? He gave her a promise: "Your sins are forgiven! Your faith has saved you. Your future will be one of peace." So the issue for her was belief. Would she believe the glowering condemnation of the guests? Or would she believe the reassuring words of Jesus that her shame was enough? She's forgiven. She's saved. She may go in peace.

And that is the way every one of us must battle the effects of a well-placed shame that threatens to linger too long and cripple us. We must battle unbelief by taking hold of promises like,

There is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. (Psalm 130:4)

Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord that he may have mercy on him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6)

If we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15)

Every one who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (Acts 10:43; 13:39) 

'''2. Feeling Shame for Something That Glorifies God'''

The second instance of battling shame is the instance of feeling shame for something that is not even bad but in fact glorifies God—like Jesus or the gospel.

Our text shows how Paul battled against this misplaced shame. In verse 12 he says, "Therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me."

Paul makes very clear here that the battle against misplaced shame is a battle against unbelief. "I am not ashamed FOR I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED AND I AM SURE OF HIS KEEPING POWER." We fight against feelings of shame in Christ and the gospel and the Christian ethic by battling unbelief in the promises of God. Do we believe that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation? Do we believe that Christ's power is made perfect in our weakness? The battle against misplaced shame is the battle against unbelief in the promises of God. 

'''3. Feeling Shame for Something We Didn't Do'''

Finally, the last instance of battling shame is the instance where others try to load us with shame for evil circumstances when in fact we had no part in dishonoring God.

It happened to Jesus. They called him a winebibber and a glutton. They called him a temple destroyer. They called him a hypocrite: He healed others, but he can't heal himself. In all this the goal was to load Jesus with a shame that was not his to bear.

The same with Paul. They called him mad when he defended himself in court. They called him an enemy of the Jewish customs and a breaker of the Mosaic law. They said he taught that you should sin that grace may abound. All this to load him with a shame that it was not his to bear.

And it has happened to you. And will happen again. How do you battle this misplaced shame? By believing the promises of God that in the end all the efforts to put us to shame will fail. We may struggle now to know what is our shame to bear and what is not. But God has a promise for us in either case:

Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity. (Isaiah 45:17; 49:23)

No one who believes in the Lord will be put to shame. (Romans 10:11; 9:33)

In other words, for all the evil and deceit judgment and criticism that others may use to heap on us a shame that is not ours to bear, and for all the distress and spiritual warfare it brings, the promise stands sure that they will not succeed in the end. All the children of God will be vindicated. The truth will be known. And no one who banks his hope on the promises of God will be put to shame.

Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety

Bpmoosie — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:40:38 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author= John Piper|partnerurl=www.desiringgod.com  |partner=Desiring God Ministries |date= "25 September 1988"|other= |series= |categorytopic= |mediatype= article|lang= English|editor=n/a|translator= n/a |levels= |reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety}} '''Matthew 6:25-34'''

'''Unbelief as the Root and Essence of All Sin''' Let me hang a bridge between last Sunday's text and our concern today with the unbelief of anxiety. In Hebrews 3:12 it says, "Take care, brethren, lest their be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, leading you to fall away from the living God." And verse 14 says, "For we have shared in Christ, if we hold our first confidence firm to the end."

In other words the evidence that you have come to share in Christ—that you are united to him in saving faith—is that you hold that confidence firm to the end. Perseverance in faith is necessary for salvation. When a person is truly converted, the heart is changed so that now life is lived by faith (Galatians 2:20).

The new birth introduces a person into a life of warfare. That warfare is called the "fight of faith" in 2 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:12. And here in Hebrews 3:12 it is called the battle against unbelief. "Take care [that's the vigilance of battle], brethren, lest there be in you and evil heart of unbelief [there's the enemy in the warfare], leading you to fall away from the living God [there's the warning against not taking the warfare seriously]."

In other words the most basic battle of our life is the battle to believe in the living God, and not to allow our heart to become an evil heart of unbelief. Because if unbelief in the living God gets the upper hand in our life, then the result can be a hardening that makes us unwilling to repent and thus cuts us off from the grace of God.

Now this will not happen to those who are truly in Christ. Those who are truly born of God take the battle seriously, and draw on the power of God to fight it, and win it with persevering faith. That is what God promises. "He who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

The bridge, then, that I want to hang between last week's text and this week's text is the truth that beneath our battle against evil in our heart is the battle against unbelief. Unbelief is the root of evil and the essence of evil. All our sinning grows out of unbelief in the living God and what he has said to us in Scripture. 

'''Unbelief as the Root of Anxiety''' Now today's text illustrates this with a specific evil condition of heart, namely, anxiety.

Stop for a moment and think how many different sinful actions and attitudes come from anxiety. Anxiety about finances can give rise to coveting and greed and hoarding and stealing. Anxiety about succeeding at some task can make you irritable and abrupt and surly. Anxiety about relationships can make you withdrawn and indifferent and uncaring about other people. Anxiety about how someone will respond to you can make you cover over the truth and lie about things. So if anxiety could be conquered, a lot of sins would be overcome.

But what is the root of anxiety? And how can it be severed? To answer that we go to our text in Matthew 6. Four times in this text Jesus says that we should not be anxious.

Verse 25: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life." Verse 27: "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?" Verse 31: "Therefore do not be anxious." Verse 34: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow." The verse that makes the root of anxiety explicit is verse 30: "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothes you, O men of little faith?" In other words Jesus says that the root of anxiety is lack of faith in our heavenly Father. As unbelief gets the upper hand in our hearts, one of the results is anxiety.

So when Hebrews says, "Take heed lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief," it includes this meaning: "Take heed lest there be in you an ANXIOUS heart of unbelief." Anxiety is one of the evil conditions of the heart that comes from unbelief. Much anxiety, Jesus says, comes from little faith.

This is the kind of connection we are going to see again and again in the weeks to come. The root of a sinful condition of the heart is unbelief in the living God. 

'''Two Kinds of Disturbed Responses to This Truth''' Now I can think of two kinds of disturbed responses to this truth. Let me tell you what they are and then give a biblical response before we go on to the battle against the unbelief of anxiety. 

'''1. "This Is Not Good News!"''' One response would go like this: This is not good news! In fact it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is in fact a far deeper struggle with whether I believe God or not.

Now my response to this is to agree but then to disagree. Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you after a routine visit that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You say, emphatically not! And I agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Are you glad that the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? You say, yes, I am very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again I agree.

So the news that you have cancer is not good news because having cancer is good. It is good news because knowing what is really wrong is good news, especially when it can be treated successfully.

That's what it's like to learn that the real problem behind anxiety is unbelief in the promises of God. It's not good news because the cancer of unbelief is good. It's good because KNOWING WHAT IS REALLY WRONG is good, especially because unbelief can be treated so successfully by our great physician.

So I want to stress that finding out the connection between our anxiety and our unbelief is in fact very good news, because it is the only way to begin the battle with the real cause of our sin and get the victory that God can give us by the therapy of his Word and his Spirit. 

'''2. "How Can I Have Any Assurance at All?"''' There is another possible response to the truth that our anxiety is rooted in our unbelief in God's promises. It goes like this: I have to deal with feelings of anxiety almost every day; and so I feel like my belief in God must be totally inadequate. So I wonder if I can have any assurance of being saved at all. 

'''Being Faithless Vs. Having Faith Attacked''' My answer to this concern goes like this: Suppose you are in a car race and your enemy who doesn't want you to finish the race throws mud on your windshield. The fact that you temporarily lose sight of your goal and start to swerve does not mean that you are going to quit the race. And it certainly doesn't mean that you are on the wrong racetrack. Otherwise the enemy wouldn't bother you at all. What it means is that you should turn on your windshield wipers and use your windshield washer.

What I mean is this: when anxiety strikes and blurs our vision of God's glory and the greatness of the future that he plans for us, this does not mean that we are faithless, or that we will not make it to heaven. It means our faith is being attacked. At first blow our belief in God's promises may sputter and swerve. But whether we stay on track and make it to the finish line depends on whether we set in motion a process of resistance. Whether we fight back against anxiety. Will we turn on the windshield wipers and will we use our windshield washer? 

'''The Testimony of Scripture''' Psalm 56:3 says, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee." Notice: it does not say, "I never struggle with fear." Fear strikes and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike.

For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you." It does NOT say, you will never feel any anxieties to cast onto God. It says, when the mud splatters your windshield and you lose temporary sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer. 

'''To the One Who Struggles Daily with Anxiety''' So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that's more or less normal. The issue is how you deal with them.

And the answer to that is: you deal with anxieties by battling unbelief. And you battle unbelief by meditating on God's Word and asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief. And the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit.

Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit the wipers of the Word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief. Both are necessary—the Spirit and the Word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our belief grows strong and the swerving of anxiety smoothes out. 

'''Overcoming Anxiety by Battling Unbelief''' Let me close by using some illustrations how battling unbelief overcomes anxiety. 

'''The Pattern of Jesus and Paul''' Here in our text we have the illustration of anxiety over food and clothing. Even in our country with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing can be very intense. But Jesus says in verse 30 that this is owing to unbelief: "O you of little faith." And so this paragraph has at least half a dozen promises in it to battle that unbelief.

For example at the end of verse 32 he says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." That is a spectacular promise. In everything you do at home and at work, put God's purposes first, and he will provide all you need to live for his glory. Believe that promise, and financial anxiety will evaporate in the warmth of God's care.

Paul applied the promise to anxiety in Philippians like this. In 4:6 he says just like Jesus, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God." And then in 4:19 he gives the promise like Jesus, "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." 

'''Anxieties We May Face''' And so we follow today the pattern of Jesus and Paul. We battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of God.

When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with the promise: "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise, "So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not come back to me empty but accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9), and "As your days so shall your strength be" (Deuteronomy 33:25). When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8). When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, "If God is for us who can be against us!" (Romans 8:31). When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise that "tribulation works patience, and patience approvedness, and approvedness hope, and hope does not make us ashamed" (Romans 5:3–5). When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:4). When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that "none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9–11). When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promise, "He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6). "He who calls you is faithful. He will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). "He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). And yesterday when Rob and Gail got married, they printed the promises of God in the wedding folder. With these they have and they will fight off the anxiety of all the unknowns of marriage: "And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; he will be with you. He will not fail your or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:8).

So I urge you in your warfare, take up the book of God, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and battle on. And remember the promise of Proverbs 21:31, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord."

Fasting for the King's Coming

Bpmoosie — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:21:23 GMT

Bpmoosie:

<blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>{{MasterHeader|author= John Piper|partnerurl= [http://www.desiringgod.com|partner www.desiringgod.com|partner]= Desiring God Ministries|date= ("29 January 1995")|other= |series= |categorytopic= mediatype= article|lang= English |editor= n/a|translator=  n/a|levels= 0|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=Fasting for the King's Coming}}</blockquote><blockquote>'''Luke 2:36-38''' </blockquote><blockquote>
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
</blockquote>
'''Introduction''' We come to the end of January and the call to fast for one day a week this month. I hope we can make time soon to tell each other what God has done this month. Just listening to the staff recount the surprising works of God last Tuesday in our prayer meeting gives me strong encouragement to press on in some kind of corporate fasting—which I will tell you about in a few moments.
<blockquote></blockquote>
In this series of messages on biblical fasting we have seen from Acts 13:3 how God changed the course of history through the fasting of the leaders in Antioch.

We have seen from Matthew 9:15 that Jesus promised that when he had returned to his Father in heaven, then the church would fast.

We have seen from Matthew 4:4 that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God—that the nourishment of Jesus during his 40 day fast was the revelation of God through his Word. And that is what we want to feed on more and more.

And last week we saw from Ezra 8:21 that God rescues his people—including the little ones—through fasting.

'''"Thy Kingdom Come!"'''

Next week we are going to look at the Sermon on the Mount and notice that in Matthew 6 Jesus connects fasting with the prayer, and particularly the Lord's Prayer. The preeminent petitions of the Lord's Prayer are: Lord, let your name be hallowed, and, Lord, let your kingdom come. So Christian fasting is a fasting not just for immediate breakthroughs of faith and healing and righteousness, but also for the ultimate breakthrough—of the King's return in glory: "Thy kingdom come!" Or as the early church prayed it: "Maranatha!" = "Our Lord, come!"

This is exactly what we would expect in view of what we saw in Matthew 9:15. Recall that Jesus pictured himself as the bridegroom and said that his disciples don't fast because the bridegroom is present. But then he said, "The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." So Jesus connects Christian fasting with our longing for the return of the bridegroom.

The church of Christ is called to put the earnestness of fasting behind prayer, "Thy kingdom come." "''Bridegroom'', come!" Fasting is a ''physical expression of heart hunger for the second coming of Jesus.''

'''Fasting as the Counterpart to the Lord's Supper'''

I wonder if the Lord means for fasting to be a counterpart to the Lord's Supper. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me." By ''eating ''we remember that Jesus ''has'' come and died for our sins. But by not eating—by fasting—we say: yes, but the bridegroom is not here. He was here, and he loved us to the uttermost. And we can eat and even celebrate with feasting because he has come. But this we also know: he is not here as he once was. And his absence is painful. The sin and misery of the world is painful. The people of Christ are weak and despised—like sheep in the midst of wolves (Matthew 10:16). We long for him to come again and take up his throne and reign in our midst and vindicate his people and his truth and his glory. So the feasting of the Lord's Supper expresses what has happened; and our fasting expresses what has not yet happened.

'''Jesus' Appointed Way for Us to Prepare for His Coming'''

In Luke 18:7–8 Jesus says,
<blockquote>Will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? </blockquote>
Have you seriously considered that Jesus has appointed a way for us to prepare for his own second coming? God will send the Son of Man and vindicate his elect who "cry to him day and night." Cry what? Cry, "Thy kingdom come!" "Come back, O precious bridegroom. Come reign as King. Come, vindicate your people. Come, marry your bride."

And since the life of the church and the evangelization of the nations is part of that preparation we cry out for that too. "Lord, revive your people. Lord, cause your Word to run and triumph." If you have eyes to see the way the world is, in contrast to the way it is supposed to be under the Lordship of Christ, you will feel plenty to fast for.

'''Anna: Fasting for the First Coming of the King''' In calling for the church to fast for the coming King, we are not asking for something new. The morning's text shows us an old woman who gave almost her whole life to this sacred ministry before the King came the first time. Luke 2:36–38,
<blockquote>There was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. 38 ''And at that very moment ''she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. </blockquote>
Mary and Joseph had just brought the infant Jesus into the temple. Luke tells us about two very old people, Simeon and Anna, who recognize who the baby is. What marks both of these people is that they were yearning and longing for the coming of the Messiah. In verse 25 it says that Simeon was "looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him." Jesus, the Messiah, is the consolation of Israel (vv. 26, 30).

In verse 37 it says that Anna virtually never left the temple and was serving the Lord "with fastings and prayers." In other words, she was like Simeon—she was longing for the Messiah to come; she was fasting and praying ''night and day ''because she was looking for "the redemption of Jerusalem."

In verse 38 she comes at just the right moment to see the Messiah-child, and she gives thanks to God and speaks of him to all who were "looking for the redemption of Jerusalem." In other words God gave a special glimpse of the King's glory to those who were yearning and longing and looking for "the redemption of Jerusalem." For Anna that meant a life of fasting decade after decade—probably 60 years since her husband died—as she ministered in the temple.

I think one of the reasons Luke tells us about Simeon and Anna is to illustrate how holy and devout people respond to the promise of Christ's coming. And how God responds to their longings. They see more than others see. They may not understand fully all the details about how the Messiah is coming—Simeon and Anna surely didn't—but God mercifully gives them a glimpse before they die, of what they so passionately wanted to see.

'''Christians: Fasting for the Second Coming of the King'''''' '''Now here we are—we Christians—on the other side of the King's coming. He has come and gone away again. He has revealed his glory. He has shed his blood for sins. He has risen from the dead. He has ascended into heaven to sit at Father's right hand until he puts all his enemies under his feet. He has sent his Holy Spirit to regenerate us and sanctify us and indwell us. He has commissioned his church to disciple the nations. And he has promised in John 14:3, "I will come again."

'''How Does Our Situation Compare to Anna's?'''

Her hopes were based on the promises of God like ours are. But O how much more we have seen! How much more of the Messiah we know and can hope for! She had never seen the years of Jesus' compassion and power, as we have. She had never heard the words of authority and wisdom and love, as we have. She had never seen the blind receive their sight and the lame walk and the lepers cleansed and the deaf hear and the dead raised and the poor evangelized the way Jesus did it. She never saw him consecrate himself in Gethsemane, or crucified for our sakes on Golgotha. She never heard the merciful words, "Today you will be with me in Paradise," or the triumphant words, "It is finished." She never saw him risen from the dead triumphant over sin and death and hell.

But we have. And now this one, whom we know so well, is gone. We walk by faith and not by sight. The one whom we love was taken away. The wedding party was broken up. It is as though the wedding march had started and we were walking down the aisle to him, and at the last minute he disappeared.

'''Shall We Long for Christ Less Than Anna?'''

Shall we long for him less than Anna longed for him? Does the fact that we have had him with us for 30 years and have his Spirit now make you long less or more? O what an indictment of our blindness if the answer is: less.

I say, let us long for him and yearn for him and look for him with more intensity than Anna and Simeon. Shall we have less devotion than these pre-Christian saints? We have beheld his glory. Glory as of the only begotten of the Father. And shall we hunger less for his appearing? Paul said he was going to receive a crown of righteousness with all "who have loved his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).

'''Fasting for the King's Coming'''

Are we settled into the world so comfortably that the thought of fasting for the end of history, is almost unthinkable?

What about older people? Can you taste the glories of the presence of the King better because they are nearer? Do you turn that taste into fasting for the King's coming?

What about younger people? Do you love Jesus so much that his coming would be the greatest thing you can imagine? Or is he a kind of weekend topic of religious talk that sometimes helps you with a bad conscience but isn't someone you would want to interrupt your life?

What about those of us in the middle—or pushing the upper end of the middle? How do we feel about being told that fasting may reflect how much we want the bridegroom to come? Does Anna's passion for the Messiah appeal to us at all? Do we want the appearance of Jesus more than we want to finish our career plans?

I believe that my life will never be the same after the fasting focus of January 1995. I have seen too much now about fasting and the meaning of hunger for God, and hunger for his Word, and hunger for the children's safety, and hunger for world evangelization, and hunger for the Bridegroom, and the way Jesus speaks of expressing this hunger with fasting—I have seen too much now to go on with business as usual.

'''What Shall We Do as a Church?'''

*To keep the biblical discipline of fasting before us as a church . . .
*To give more people a chance to grow in this kind of prayer . . .
*To avail ourselves of all that God has ordained for the empowering of our intercession . . .
*To be unrelenting in our pursuit of revival and world evangelization . . .
*And to help us long for the Bridegroom night and day . . .

. . . I am proposing a simple ministry called the Fasting Forty.

The Fasting Forty is ''a group of 40 people who fast for one day a week in a given month of 1995.'' It may be different people from month to month. Or some people may want to do it more than one month.

At the end of each month I will print a card called the Fasting Forty card, and make 40 copies available after the morning service. When all the cards are taken, the Fasting Forty will be known—by God.

There is no plan to identify who the Fasting Forty are. This will accord with Jesus' teaching that we should beware of fasting to be seen by other people (Matthew 6:16–18).

Each month I will try to give some special Scripture and focus to the prayers of the Fasting Forty. This will be shared more widely so that any of you can join the 40 if you wish.

From what we have seen this morning, you don't need a crisis in your life to call for fasting. All you need is a longing for the Bridegroom to come. Lord, increase our love for your appearing!

A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 1

Bpmoosie — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:05:01 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author= (John Piper)|partnerurl= ([http://www.desiringgod.com)|partner www.desiringgod.com)|partner]= (Desiring God Ministries)|date= ( "19 Feburary1995")|other= ()|series= ()|categorytopic= ()|mediatype= (article)|lang= (English)|editor= (n/a)|translator= (n/a)|levels= ()|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=(A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 1)}}
<blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote>'''Isaiah 58:1-12''' </blockquote><blockquote>1 Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done Thou righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 'Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? 7 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. </blockquote>
 '''John Chrysostom '''

One of the greatest preachers of the first thousand years of the Christian Church was John Chrysostom, the bishop of Constantinople in the fourth century. I mention him because he has left us one of the most sweeping statements about the value of fasting. He was known as an ascetic in an age of luxury in Constantinople and his lifestyle offended the emperor Arcadius and his wife Eudoxia so much that he was eventually banished and died in AD 407. Of fasting he said,

Fasting is, as much as lies in us, an imitation of the angels, a contemning of things present, a school of prayer, a nourishment of the soul, a bridle of the mouth, an abatement of concupiscence: it mollifies rage, it appeases anger, it calms the tempests of nature, it excites reason, it clears the mind, it disburdens the flesh, it chases away night-pollutions, it frees from head-ache. By fasting, a man gets composed behaviour, free utterance of his tongue, right apprehensions of his mind.

Not all of those accolades are true for everyone in every time of fasting. For example, for some fasting will cause a headache rather than take it away. But I want you to hear Chrysostom and the thousands of saints who have proved the value of the Lord's prophecy: when the Bridegroom is taken away, then the disciples will fast (Matthew 9:15).

But what we began to see last week is that there is danger in fasting. I don't mean physical danger—you can avoid that if you follow simple guidelines (see the sheet on the information table). What I mean is spiritual dangers. You can fast in a way that will be very displeasing to the Lord and spiritually destructive to yourself.

Last week we heard Jesus warn us that this was so. If you fast, for example, to be seen by other people, he said, you have your reward from them, and you will not be answered by the Father. To prove our hearts he said that we should take steps not to be seen by others, but only by God: comb your hair, wash your face, and do not put on a gloomy countenance. Then—if your motives are pure—your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

This week, and next week, we hear another warning, this time from the prophet Isaiah—or more precisely from God through Isaiah. This chapter is full of rich associations for me. I see it not just as a fitting conclusion to our series on fasting, but as a text associated with some very powerful experiences in certain people's lives; and I see it as having a very significant bearing on the Master Planning Team's wrestling with what our priorities and focuses should be as a church for the rest of this decade.

'''Bill Leslie'''''' '''One of the experiences I have in mind is the experience of Bill Leslie the former pastor of LaSalle Street Church in Chicago who died not too long ago after a long and remarkable ministry—like the one described in Isaiah 58. He came to the Twin Cities once and told of a near breakdown that he had and how a spiritual mentor directed him to this chapter. He said it was verses 10–11 that saved him from a dead end street of exhaustion and burnout.
<blockquote>And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places [like urban Chicago], and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. </blockquote>
What struck Pastor Leslie so powerfully was the fact that if we pour ourselves out for others, God promises to make us like a watered garden—that is, we will receive the water we need for refreshment. But even more: we will thus be a spring of water that does not fail—for others, for the demanding, exhausting, draining ministry of urban self-giving. This gave him a pattern of divine life that got him through his crisis and kept him going for years more. I want us to see this week and next week that this is a kind of fasting that the Lord wants to teach us.

'''Doug Nichols'''''' '''The other experience that makes the chapter rich for me right now is the connection that it has with Doug Nichols, the President of Action International Ministries. Doug is the man who wrote to Tom Steller last summer and suggested that our church get an airplane and take a couple hundred people to Rwanda to help bury the dead so that doctors and nurses could do what they were sent to do. He spoke at our Pastors' Conference a week or so ago, and gave one of the most stirring messages I have heard in a long time. Action International specializes in reaching street children around the world.

To show you the kind of person he is, he wrote me last week to thank me for the conference and put a PS at the bottom of his letter:
<blockquote>In the last 'one minute' that it possibly took you to read this letter, 28 children died of malnutrition and diseases that could have been easily prevented. 1,667 die every hour, 40,000 children die daily! Please pray with ACTION for more missionaries to take the Gospel to these children. </blockquote>
Doug was found to have colon cancer in April of 1993. They gave him a 30% chance of living after his surgery and colostomy and radiation treatments. Last fall he got on a plane and went to Rwanda with our Dr. Mike Anderson and some others. His non-Christian oncologist said he would die in Rwanda. Doug said that would be OK because he is going to heaven. The oncologist called his surgeon to solicit help in not letting Doug go to Rwanda. The surgeon is a Christian and said, "It's okay, Doug's ready to die and go to heaven."

We got word here that Doug was going—with his cancer and his colostomy—to Rwanda. I recall gathering in the prayer room with the staff and very specifically being led to Isaiah 58:7–8, which we prayed for Doug:
<blockquote>Is [the fast I choose] not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery [i.e., your healing] will speedily spring forth. </blockquote>
We prayed very specifically that the feeding of the hungry and the housing of the homeless in Rwanda would not kill but heal Doug Nichols.

From Rwanda Doug called his Jewish oncologist and said he was not dead. And when he got back, he had a battery of tests which resulted in the assessment NED: no evidence of disease. If he makes it to April—the two year mark—without recurrence of the cancer, doctors give him a good chance of living out his normal span of life. Doug is 53.

'''Isaiah 58: Close to the Heart of Jesus'''''' '''So you can see that Isaiah 58 has some very significant associations in my life. And I am praying that we will hear the message of this chapter for our church—our Master Planning Vision for the next five years and beyond. There is something very close to Jesus' heart in this chapter. You can hear it coming out in his words in Luke 4:18 ("The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden"). And in Matthew 25:35 ("I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me".) And John 7:38 ("He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water'"). A trusting relationship with Jesus is the way Isaiah 58 will be fulfilled in your life. The burden of this chapter pervades the ministry of Jesus—and more and more I believe it should pervade our ministry as well.

Let's get into it and go as far as we can today and then return next Sunday, Lord willing, and see what God has to say to us about how not to fast, and how to fast.

'''Fasting: The Danger of Substituting Religious Fervor for Righteous Living''' In the first three verses God brings an indictment against his people. He tells Isaiah to cry loudly and declare to the house of Jacob their sins. But their sin is cloaked with an amazing veneer of religious fervor. This is what is so stunning and sobering. Verse 2:
<blockquote>Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, as [i.e., as if they were] a nation that has done righteousness, and has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. </blockquote>
In other words they worship as if they are a righteous and obedient nation. And they have themselves persuaded that they really want God and his ways. This is a terrible kind of delusion to live in.

He goes on near the end of verse 2:
<blockquote>They ask Me for just decisions, they delight in the nearness of God. </blockquote>
So they want God to intervene for them with righteous judgments. Things are not going well—as we will see in a moment. But they do not see the real problem. They love to come to worship. They talk the language of the nearness of God. They may even have moving religious and esthetic experiences in their efforts to draw near to God. But something is wrong. They express the frustration in verse 3, but they don't know what it is.

In verse 3 they say to God,
<blockquote>Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled [or: afflicted] ourselves and Thou dost not notice? </blockquote>
So something is wrong and they are fasting to make it right and it isn't working, so something is doubly wrong. There is a total of five religious things mentioned in verses 2–3 that they are doing—all in vain. In verse 2 it says

#they are "seeking God;" and
#they delight to know God's ways; and
#"they ask God for just decisions;" and
#"they delight in the nearness of God;" and
#in verse 3 they are fasting and humbling or afflicting themselves.

All of that and God tells Isaiah, Cry loudly, not softly, not quietly, but loudly, and declare to my people their sins. So here is a fasting that is not pleasing the Lord. Here is worship that is not pleasing the Lord. It is the kind of worship we do not want to have at Bethlehem. And yet what is wrong with seeking God, and delighting to know his ways, and asking him for just decisions, and delighting in his nearness, and fasting and humbling ourselves before him? What is wrong with that? Why, that sounds like the very way we talk about worship! Isn't that sobering? Doesn't that make you tremble? Doesn't that make you want to get so real with God, you could never be surprised by the Lord in this way—with your most zealous religious practices and even desires exposed as sham.

'''What's Wrong with Their Worship?''' God answers in the middle of verse 3:
<blockquote>Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble [or: afflict] himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, and for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? </blockquote>
So here's the issue. The ethical, practical, relational accompaniments of fasting—or worship in general—are the real test of the authenticity of the fasting and the worship. Monday is the proof of Sunday. God lists the religious forms of their fasting: humbling or afflicting oneself (no food), bowing the head like a reed, spreading out our sackcloth and ashes (cf. Psalm 35:13). Then he lists the ethical accompaniments of this fasting: you go after your own pleasure (in some other way besides eating), you drive hard all your workers and become irritable or contentious and stir up strife and even go so far as to get into fights. And God asks, "Is this the fast that I choose?" The answer is No.

'''Another Test of Authenticity''' So here we have another test of authenticity. Jesus said, If you are fasting to be seen by others, you have your reward. That's it. Isaiah says, If your fasting leaves you self-indulgent in other areas, harsh toward your employees, irritable and contentious, then your fasting is not acceptable to God. It's not what he chooses. God is mercifully warning us against the danger of substituting religious fervor for righteous living.

Think and pray about it this week so that when we come back together next Sunday, you will be ready to hear God's beautiful and empowering and freeing alternative to this kind of hypocrisy. Think about it for the long-term implications for worship in your life and in this church. No worship—no preaching, no singing, no playing of instruments, no praying, no fasting, however intense or beautiful—that leaves us harsh with our workers on Monday, or contentious with our spouses at home, or self-indulgent in other areas of our lives, or angry enough to hit somebody—no worship or fasting that leaves us like that is true, God-pleasing worship.

Don't make a mistake here: true fasting may be a God-blessed means of overcoming harshness at work, and contentiousness at home, and self-indulgence, and anger. But if fasting ever becomes a religious cloak for minimizing or hiding those things and letting them go on and on, then it becomes hypocrisy and offensive to God.

Our prayer teams would love to pray with any of you this morning who feel a special burden to pray about anything that threatens to make your worship or your fasting inauthentic. And, of course the thing that would make it most inauthentic is unbelief itself. So I urge you to go hard after the authentic life this morning. And then come back next week and see what it looks like from this chapter.

A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 2

Bpmoosie — Sun, 18 May 2008 19:56:05 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author= (John Piper)|partnerurl= ([http://www.desiringgod.com)|partner www.desiringgod.com)|partner]= (Desiring God Ministries)|date= ("19 Feburary,1995")|other= ()|series= ()|categorytopic= ()|mediatype= ( article)|lang= (Englisheditor= (n/a )|translator= (n/a)|levels= (0)|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=(A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 2)}}
<blockquote>'''Isaiah 58:1-12''' </blockquote><blockquote>1 Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done Thou righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 'Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? 7 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. </blockquote>
 '''Introduction and Review'''

What we saw last week from verses 1–5 was that how you treat people on Monday is the test of the authenticity of your fasting on Sunday. They cry out to God in verse 3, "Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see?" And God answers at the end of the verse, "Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers." And God asks in verse 5, "Is it a fast like this which I choose?" Meaning: such a fast is unacceptable. God even makes sport of such a fasting when he says in verse 5, "Is it for bowing one's head like a reed?" The gestures of this self-inflicted religion are no more spiritual than a bent reed in the swamp.

Why is this fasting unacceptable to God? What's wrong with it? What's wrong with it is that it left the sin in their lives untouched. The only authentic fasting is fasting that includes a spiritual attack against our own sin. Whatever else we fast for, we must fast for our own holiness. We cannot fast for ''anything ''with authenticity while living in known sin. The only authentic praying is praying that includes an attack against our own sin. The only authentic worship is worship that includes at least an implicit attack against our own sin.

And what this text emphasizes is that our action on Monday is the test of whether we really are intent on attacking the sin in our lives, and therefore whether our fasting and praying and worshiping on Sunday is authentic. If we are sincere on Sunday in our prayerful opposition to the sin of our lives, then we will fight it on Monday with action. We may not always succeed as fully as we would like, but we will fight our sin on Monday if our fasting was true on Sunday.

If there's an unresolved pocket of sin in your life and you are fasting about something else—some blessing, some healing—God's going to come to you and say, "The fast that I choose is for THAT sin to be dealt with." The way he does that here is very striking. Verse 5 says they were fasting and "humbling themselves." That word "humbling" also means "afflicting." So they were afflicting themselves with hunger. But God says that this is not the fast that he chooses. And in verse 10 he takes the very words "hungry" and "afflicted" and says that there are some hungry and afflicted people he is very concerned about, namely, the ones who are not choosing to be hungry and afflicted but are hungry and afflicted because the religious people oppress them instead of feeding them. Verse 10: "And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted . . . [instead of oppressing them]."

In other words, your fasting and self-affliction on Sunday is not really an attack on your own sin of injustice and hard-heartedness. Because if it were, your action on Monday would be to alleviate the hunger and affliction of the poor, especially your own workers. There is a great irony here that God wants us to see. The poor are hungry and afflicted, verse 10 says. These well-to-do religious people are also hungry and afflicted—with fasting. But what are they fasting for? Is their fasting first a battle against their own sin?—the sin of driving hard all their workers? The sin of putting a heavy yoke on the back of the poor? The sin of neglecting the needs of the poor for clothing and housing? No. That is not what they are fasting against. Their behavior—on Monday—proves it. So God comes to them and says, "The fast that I choose is not that you religiously make yourselves hungry and afflicted, but that you make the poor less hungry and afflicted. If you want to fight sin by taking your bread away from your own mouth, then put it in the mouth of the poor. Then we will see if you are really fasting for righteousness' sake.

When we are living in sin—say the sin of hard-heartedness or deceit or injustice—the fast which God chooses is not a religious covering of this sin, but a direct frontal assault against this sin. For these people fasting was not a fight against the besetting sin of their lives; it was a camouflage. If they make themselves hunger a little bit and afflict themselves, maybe it won't matter so much that they are indifferent to the hunger and the affliction of the poor. So God comes and says, "I test your hearts. Go without bread for the sake of the poor. Give it to them. That's the fast I choose."

'''God's Chosen Fast: A Doctor's Prescription not a Job Description'''

Then what God does in verses 6–12 is describe what is involved in living out this fast and what the spectacular rewards are for living this way. You recall that Jesus said, "Your heavenly Father who sees in secret will reward you." Well here are some of the kinds of things God promises to do for those who do this kind of fasting (cf. Psalm 41:1–3).

First, let's look at the description of the fasting itself, and then at the promises of God for those who live this way. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this is a job description that God had given his people to show them how to earn wages from him. There is no earning going on here. The God of Isaiah cannot be negotiated with. He is sovereign and free and gives graciously to those who trust him. Isaiah 30:15 says, "For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, 'In repentance and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.'" The strength to do the fast God calls us to do does not come from us. It comes from God. And it comes through trusting him.

What God calls the people to do is not a job ''description'', but a Doctor's ''prescription''. You can see that in verse 8 where it says that if you act this way—if you follow the Doctor's prescription of fasting—"Your recovery—your healing—will speedily spring forth." If you trust the Doctor, and show this by obeying his instructions, you will get well. So don't think that you are going to earn anything from God. Trust his sovereign grace and follow his prescription, and you will be mightily blessed. But it will never occur to you to think that you have earned or merited anything.

'''What the Doctor Prescribes'''

Let's look at the prescription—the fast that God chooses. Beginning in verse 6: "Is not this the fast I choose,

*To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
*To undo the bands of the yoke,
*And to let the oppressed go free,
*And break every yoke?
*Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry,
*And bring the homeless poor into the house;
*When you see the naked, to cover him;
*And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?"

Then in verses 8 and 9a come the promises of what will happen if you trust the Doctor's fasting directions. But skip over that for a moment and go to the rest of the prescription in verse 9b–10a.

*"If you remove the yoke from your midst,
*The pointing of the finger,
*And speaking wickedness
*And if you give yourself to the hungry,
*And satisfy the desire of the afflicted . . . "

That's the Doctor's prescription. That's the fast that the Doctor prescribes for the patient Israel who is sick with the disease of hypocrisy and hard-heartedness against the poor.

There are 13 components but they seem to fall into about seven categories. I give these as a call on the life of our church. We must discover how to join in this prescription of fasting.

'''1. Lift the Burden of Bondage'''

In this fasting, we are called to lift the burden of bondage.

Five of these components call for freedom. Verse 6:

*"To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
*To undo the bands of the yoke,
*And to let the oppressed go free,
*And break every yoke?"

Verse 9:

*"If you remove the yoke from your midst . . . "

Bonds, bands, yoke, oppression, yoke, yoke . . . The point here is: live to free people not burden them. Jesus said in Luke 11:46, "Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers." We are called to free people from burdens, not oppress them with burdens.

'''2. Feed the Hungry'''

In this fasting we are called to feed the hungry.

Verse 7: "Is [this fast] not to divide your bread with the hungry?"

'''3. House the Homeless''' In this fasting we are called to house the homeless.

Verse 7: "And bring the homeless poor into the house."

'''4. Clothe the Naked''' In this fasting we are called to clothe the naked.

Verse 7: "When you see the naked, to cover him."

'''5. Be Sympathetic''' In this fasting we are called to be sympathetic; to feel what others feel because we have the same flesh they do.

Verse 7: "And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" The thought may be the same as Hebrews 13:3, "Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body." You have the same flesh they do. So put yourself in their place and feel what they feel.

'''6. Put Away Contempt for Other People'''

In this fasting we are called to put away gestures and words that show raw contempt for other people.

Verse 9: "Remove . . . the pointing of the finger [literally, the "sending" of the finger, which may be a lot closer to our crude "giving someone the finger" than it is to merely pointing at someone]; and [remove] speaking wickedness." So don't speak and don't gesture in ways that show callous contempt for others.

'''7. Give Ourselves and Satisfy the Soul of the Afflicted'''

Finally, in this fasting we are called not just to give food, but to give ourselves—our souls—and not just to satisfy the stomach of the poor, but the soul of the afflicted.

Verse 10: "And if you give yourself [= soul] to the hungry, and satisfy the desire [literally: soul] of the afflicted . . . " This is one of the messages of this weekend with John Hayes: ministry to the poor is not merely giving things. It is giving self. It's not just relief. It's relationship.

'''The Promised Results of Following the Doctor's Prescription''' Now, if we trust God enough to follow him in this prescribed seven-point fast, what will happen in our lives and in our church? These promises are worthy of about seven sermons. But I will mention the categories and pray that God will give you a heart to meditate on them long enough to see the riches.

'''1. Darkness Will Become Light''' If we fast like this, the darkness in our life will become light:

Verse 8: "Then your light will break out like the dawn."

Verse 10 (at the end): "Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday."

Do you want light in your life instead of gloom? Look to the gracious resources of God—listen to your Doctor—and pour yourself out for another person in need.

'''2. Physical Strengthening''' If we follow this fasting, there will be physical strengthening.

Verse 8: "And your recovery will speedily spring forth . . . " Verse 11: "And [he will] give strength to your bones." Who knows how much weakness is in us because we may not be pouring our energy into the weakness of others?

'''3. God All Around Us with Righteousness and Glory''' If we follow this fasting, God will be in front of us and behind us and in the midst of us with righteousness and glory.

Verse 8, at the end: "And your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard." So God will be in front of you with righteousness and behind you with his glory. Verse 9: "Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'" Whenever the role is called, he always says, "Here!" When we are doing what his Son did—in the power that the Son gives—"becoming poor that others might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9), then God moves in on us and behind us and in front of us and surrounds us with omnipotent love and protection and care.

'''4. God Will Guide Us Continually''' If we follow this fasting, God promises to guide us continually.

Verse 11: "And the Lord will continually guide you." O what a precious promise that is for us now as a church and a Master Planning Team. I wonder how much confusion and uncertainty there may be in some of our lives that comes from the neglect of ministry to the poor? It seems the Lord gives his most intimate guidance to those bent on giving themselves to the needs of others—especially the poor.

'''5. God Will Satisfy Our Soul'''

If we follow this fasting, he will satisfy your soul.

Verse 11: "And [he will] satisfy your desire [literally: your soul] in scorched places." Our souls are meant to be satisfied in God. But we have learned again and again that this satisfaction in God comes to consummation when we extend our satisfaction in him to others. Pouring ourselves out for the poor is the path of deepest satisfaction.

'''6. God Will Make Us a Watered Garden''' If we follow this fasting, God will make you a watered garden with springs that do not fail.

Verse 11, at the end: "And you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail." It is a paradoxical spiritual principle in Scripture: as you pour yourself out, you become full. As you give away, you get more. When you are watered with God's grace you do not merely become a wet, moist, living garden; you also become a spring.

This promise comes to its fulfillment in the New Testament when Jesus used this verse in John 7:38, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water' [a spring of waters that does not fail]. 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive." So you can see that trusting Jesus is the issue: "He who believes in me . . . ' The Spirit bestirs himself most fully when we by faith give ourselves with Jesus in the path of love and mercy toward the destitute.

'''7. God Will Restore the Ruins of His City, and People'''

Finally, if we follow this fasting, that is, if we give ourselves to the poor, God will restore the ruins of his city—and his people.

Verse 12: "And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell."

Let's trust the Great Physician—the Lord, our healer. Let's accept the fast that he has prescribed for us. It will mean light and healing and guidance and refreshment and restoration and resourcefulness—and all this with God himself before us and behind us and in the midst of us. And it doesn't get any better than that.

=

A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 2

Bpmoosie — Sun, 18 May 2008 19:51:38 GMT

Bpmoosie:

{{MasterHeader|author= (John Piper)|partnerurl= ([http://www.desiringgod.com)|partner www.desiringgod.com)|partner]= (Desiring God Ministries)|date= ("19 Feburary,1995")|other= ()|series= ()|categorytopic= ()|mediatype= ( article)|lang= (Englisheditor= (n/a )|translator= (n/a)|levels= (0)|reviewed= Not Reviewed|newtitle=(A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 2)}}
<blockquote>'''Isaiah 58:1-12''' </blockquote><blockquote>1 Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done Thou righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 'Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? 7 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. </blockquote>
 '''Introduction and Review'''

 What we saw last week from verses 1–5 was that how you treat people on Monday is the test of the authenticity of your fasting on Sunday. They cry out to God in verse 3, "Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see?" And God answers at the end of the verse, "Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers." And God asks in verse 5, "Is it a fast like this which I choose?" Meaning: such a fast is unacceptable. God even makes sport of such a fasting when he says in verse 5, "Is it for bowing one's head like a reed?" The gestures of this self-inflicted religion are no more spiritual than a bent reed in the swamp.

Why is this fasting unacceptable to God? What's wrong with it? What's wrong with it is that it left the sin in their lives untouched. The only authentic fasting is fasting that includes a spiritual attack against our own sin. Whatever else we fast for, we must fast for our own holiness. We cannot fast for ''anything ''with authenticity while living in known sin. The only authentic praying is praying that includes an attack against our own sin. The only authentic worship is worship that includes at least an implicit attack against our own sin.

And what this text emphasizes is that our action on Monday is the test of whether we really are intent on attacking the sin in our lives, and therefore whether our fasting and praying and worshiping on Sunday is authentic. If we are sincere on Sunday in our prayerful opposition to the sin of our lives, then we will fight it on Monday with action. We may not always succeed as fully as we would like, but we will fight our sin on Monday if our fasting was true on Sunday.

If there's an unresolved pocket of sin in your life and you are fasting about something else—some blessing, some healing—God's going to come to you and say, "The fast that I choose is for THAT sin to be dealt with." The way he does that here is very striking. Verse 5 says they were fasting and "humbling themselves." That word "humbling" also means "afflicting." So they were afflicting themselves with hunger. But God says that this is not the fast that he chooses. And in verse 10 he takes the very words "hungry" and "afflicted" and says that there are some hungry and afflicted people he is very concerned about, namely, the ones who are not choosing to be hungry and afflicted but are hungry and afflicted because the religious people oppress them instead of feeding them. Verse 10: "And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted . . . [instead of oppressing them]."

In other words, your fasting and self-affliction on Sunday is not really an attack on your own sin of injustice and hard-heartedness. Because if it were, your action on Monday would be to alleviate the hunger and affliction of the poor, especially your own workers. There is a great irony here that God wants us to see. The poor are hungry and afflicted, verse 10 says. These well-to-do religious people are also hungry and afflicted—with fasting. But what are they fasting for? Is their fasting first a battle against their own sin?—the sin of driving hard all their workers? The sin of putting a heavy yoke on the back of the poor? The sin of neglecting the needs of the poor for clothing and housing? No. That is not what they are fasting against. Their behavior—on Monday—proves it. So God comes to them and says, "The fast that I choose is not that you religiously make yourselves hungry and afflicted, but that you make the poor less hungry and afflicted. If you want to fight sin by taking your bread away from your own mouth, then put it in the mouth of the poor. Then we will see if you are really fasting for righteousness' sake.

When we are living in sin—say the sin of hard-heartedness or deceit or injustice—the fast which God chooses is not a religious covering of this sin, but a direct frontal assault against this sin. For these people fasting was not a fight against the besetting sin of their lives; it was a camouflage. If they make themselves hunger a little bit and afflict themselves, maybe it won't matter so much that they are indifferent to the hunger and the affliction of the poor. So God comes and says, "I test your hearts. Go without bread for the sake of the poor. Give it to them. That's the fast I choose."

'''God's Chosen Fast: A Doctor's Prescription not a Job Description'''

 Then what God does in verses 6–12 is describe what is involved in living out this fast and what the spectacular rewards are for living this way. You recall that Jesus said, "Your heavenly Father who sees in secret will reward you." Well here are some of the kinds of things God promises to do for those who do this kind of fasting (cf. Psalm 41:1–3).

First, let's look at the description of the fasting itself, and then at the promises of God for those who live this way. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this is a job description that God had given his people to show them how to earn wages from him. There is no earning going on here. The God of Isaiah cannot be negotiated with. He is sovereign and free and gives graciously to those who trust him. Isaiah 30:15 says, "For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, 'In repentance and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.'" The strength to do the fast God calls us to do does not come from us. It comes from God. And it comes through trusting him.

What God calls the people to do is not a job ''description'', but a Doctor's ''prescription''. You can see that in verse 8 where it says that if you act this way—if you follow the Doctor's prescription of fasting—"Your recovery—your healing—will speedily spring forth." If you trust the Doctor, and show this by obeying his instructions, you will get well. So don't think that you are going to earn anything from God. Trust his sovereign grace and follow his prescription, and you will be mightily blessed. But it will never occur to you to think that you have earned or merited anything.

'''What the Doctor Prescribes'''

 Let's look at the prescription—the fast that God chooses. Beginning in verse 6: "Is not this the fast I choose,

*To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
*To undo the bands of the yoke,
*And to let the oppressed go free,
*And break every yoke?
*Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry,
*And bring the homeless poor into the house;
*When you see the naked, to cover him;
*And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?"

Then in verses 8 and 9a come the promises of what will happen if you trust the Doctor's fasting directions. But skip over that for a moment and go to the rest of the prescription in verse 9b–10a.

*"If you remove the yoke from your midst,
*The pointing of the finger,
*And speaking wickedness
*And if you give yourself to the hungry,
*And satisfy the desire of the afflicted . . . "

That's the Doctor's prescription. That's the fast that the Doctor prescribes for the patient Israel who is sick with the disease of hypocrisy and hard-heartedness against the poor.

There are 13 components but they seem to fall into about seven categories. I give these as a call on the life of our church. We must discover how to join in this prescription of fasting.

'''1. Lift the Burden of Bondage'''

In this fasting, we are called to lift the burden of bondage.

Five of these components call for freedom. Verse 6:

*"To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
*To undo the bands of the yoke,
*And to let the oppressed go free,
*And break every yoke?"

Verse 9:

*"If you remove the yoke from your midst . . . "

Bonds, bands, yoke, oppression, yoke, yoke . . . The point here is: live to free people not burden them. Jesus said in Luke 11:46, "Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers." We are called to free people from burdens, not oppress them with burdens.

'''2. Feed the Hungry'''

In this fasting we are called to feed the hungry.

Verse 7: "Is [this fast] not to divide your bread with the hungry?"

'''3. House the Homeless'''

 In this fasting we are called to house the homeless.

Verse 7: "And bring the homeless poor into the house."

'''4. Clothe the Naked'''

 In this fasting we are called to clothe the naked.

Verse 7: "When you see the naked, to cover him."

'''5. Be Sympathetic'''

 In this fasting we are called to be sympathetic; to feel what others feel because we have the same flesh they do.

Verse 7: "And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" The thought may be the same as Hebrews 13:3, "Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body." You have the same flesh they do. So put yourself in their place and feel what they feel.

'''6. Put Away Contempt for Other People'''

In this fasting we are called to put away gestures and words that show raw contempt for other people.

Verse 9: "Remove . . . the pointing of the finger [literally, the "sending" of the finger, which may be a lot closer to our crude "giving someone the finger" than it is to merely pointing at someone]; and [remove] speaking wickedness." So don't speak and don't gesture in ways that show callous contempt for others.

'''7. Give Ourselves and Satisfy the Soul of the Afflicted'''

Finally, in this fasting we are called not just to give food, but to give ourselves—our souls—and not just to satisfy the stomach of the poor, but the soul of the afflicted.

Verse 10: "And if you give yourself [= soul] to the hungry, and satisfy the desire [literally: soul] of the afflicted . . . " This is one of the messages of this weekend with John Hayes: ministry to the poor is not merely giving things. It is giving self. It's not just relief. It's relationship.

'''The Promised Results of Following the Doctor's Prescription'''

 Now, if we trust God enough to follow him in this prescribed seven-point fast, what will happen in our lives and in our church? These promises are worthy of about seven sermons. But I will mention the categories and pray that God will give you a heart to meditate on them long enough to see the riches.

'''1. Darkness Will Become Light'''

 If we fast like this, the darkness in our life will become light:

Verse 8: "Then your light will break out like the dawn."

Verse 10 (at the end): "Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday."

Do you want light in your life instead of gloom? Look to the gracious resources of God—listen to your Doctor—and pour yourself out for another person in need.

'''2. Physical Strengthening'''

 If we follow this fasting, there will be physical strengthening.

Verse 8: "And your recovery will speedily spring forth . . . " Verse 11: "And [he will] give strength to your bones." Who knows how much weakness is in us because we may not be pouring our energy into the weakness of others?

'''3. God All Around Us with Righteousness and Glory'''

 If we follow this fasting, God will be in front of us and behind us and in the midst of us with righteousness and glory.

Verse 8, at the end: "And your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard." So God will be in front of you with righteousness and behind you with his glory. Verse 9: "Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'" Whenever the role is called, he always says, "Here!" When we are doing what his Son did—in the power that the Son gives—"becoming poor that others might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9), then God moves in on us and behind us and in front of us and surrounds us with omnipotent love and protection and care.

'''4. God Will Guide Us Continually'''

 If we follow this fasting, God promises to guide us continually.

Verse 11: "And the Lord will continually guide you." O what a precious promise that is for us now as a church and a Master Planning Team. I wonder how much confusion and uncertainty there may be in some of our lives that comes from the neglect of ministry to the poor? It seems the Lord gives his most intimate guidance to those bent on giving themselves to the needs of others—especially the poor.

'''5. God Will Satisfy Our Soul'''

If we follow this fasting, he will satisfy your soul.

Verse 11: "And [he will] satisfy your desire [literally: your soul] in scorched places." Our souls are meant to be satisfied in God. But we have learned again and again that this satisfaction in God comes to consummation when we extend our satisfaction in him to others. Pouring ourselves out for the poor is the path of deepest satisfaction.

'''6. God Will Make Us a Watered Garden'''

 If we follow this fasting, God will make you a watered garden with springs that do not fail.

Verse 11, at the end: "And you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail." It is a paradoxical spiritual principle in Scripture: as you pour yourself out, you become full. As you give away, you get more. When you are watered with God's grace you do not merely become a wet, moist, living garden; you also become a spring.

This promise comes to its fulfillment in the New Testament when Jesus used this verse in John 7:38, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water' [a spring of waters that does not fail]. 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive." So you can see that trusting Jesus is the issue: "He who believes in me . . . ' The Spirit bestirs himself most fully when we by faith give ourselves with Jesus in the path of love and mercy toward the destitute.

'''7. God Will Restore the Ruins of His City, and People'''

Finally, if we follow this fasting, that is, if we give ourselves to the poor, God will restore the ruins of his city—and his people.

Verse 12: "And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell."

Let's trust the Great Physician—the Lord, our healer. Let's accept the fast that he has prescribed for us. It will mean light and healing and guidance and refreshment and restoration and resourcefulness—and all this with God himself before us and behind us and in the midst of us. And it doesn't get any better than that.

=

A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 2

Bpmoosie — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:14:05 GMT

Bpmoosie:

February 19, 1995

By '''John Piper'''
<blockquote>'''Isaiah 58:1-12''' </blockquote><blockquote>1 Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done Thou righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 'Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? 7 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. </blockquote>
 '''Introduction and Review'''

 What we saw last week from verses 1–5 was that how you treat people on Monday is the test of the authenticity of your fasting on Sunday. They cry out to God in verse 3, "Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see?" And God answers at the end of the verse, "Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers." And God asks in verse 5, "Is it a fast like this which I choose?" Meaning: such a fast is unacceptable. God even makes sport of such a fasting when he says in verse 5, "Is it for bowing one's head like a reed?" The gestures of this self-inflicted religion are no more spiritual than a bent reed in the swamp.

Why is this fasting unacceptable to God? What's wrong with it? What's wrong with it is that it left the sin in their lives untouched. The only authentic fasting is fasting that includes a spiritual attack against our own sin. Whatever else we fast for, we must fast for our own holiness. We cannot fast for ''anything ''with authenticity while living in known sin. The only authentic praying is praying that includes an attack against our own sin. The only authentic worship is worship that includes at least an implicit attack against our own sin.

And what this text emphasizes is that our action on Monday is the test of whether we really are intent on attacking the sin in our lives, and therefore whether our fasting and praying and worshiping on Sunday is authentic. If we are sincere on Sunday in our prayerful opposition to the sin of our lives, then we will fight it on Monday with action. We may not always succeed as fully as we would like, but we will fight our sin on Monday if our fasting was true on Sunday.

If there's an unresolved pocket of sin in your life and you are fasting about something else—some blessing, some healing—God's going to come to you and say, "The fast that I choose is for THAT sin to be dealt with." The way he does that here is very striking. Verse 5 says they were fasting and "humbling themselves." That word "humbling" also means "afflicting." So they were afflicting themselves with hunger. But God says that this is not the fast that he chooses. And in verse 10 he takes the very words "hungry" and "afflicted" and says that there are some hungry and afflicted people he is very concerned about, namely, the ones who are not choosing to be hungry and afflicted but are hungry and afflicted because the religious people oppress them instead of feeding them. Verse 10: "And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted . . . [instead of oppressing them]."

In other words, your fasting and self-affliction on Sunday is not really an attack on your own sin of injustice and hard-heartedness. Because if it were, your action on Monday would be to alleviate the hunger and affliction of the poor, especially your own workers. There is a great irony here that God wants us to see. The poor are hungry and afflicted, verse 10 says. These well-to-do religious people are also hungry and afflicted—with fasting. But what are they fasting for? Is their fasting first a battle against their own sin?—the sin of driving hard all their workers? The sin of putting a heavy yoke on the back of the poor? The sin of neglecting the needs of the poor for clothing and housing? No. That is not what they are fasting against. Their behavior—on Monday—proves it. So God comes to them and says, "The fast that I choose is not that you religiously make yourselves hungry and afflicted, but that you make the poor less hungry and afflicted. If you want to fight sin by taking your bread away from your own mouth, then put it in the mouth of the poor. Then we will see if you are really fasting for righteousness' sake.

When we are living in sin—say the sin of hard-heartedness or deceit or injustice—the fast which God chooses is not a religious covering of this sin, but a direct frontal assault against this sin. For these people fasting was not a fight against the besetting sin of their lives; it was a camouflage. If they make themselves hunger a little bit and afflict themselves, maybe it won't matter so much that they are indifferent to the hunger and the affliction of the poor. So God comes and says, "I test your hearts. Go without bread for the sake of the poor. Give it to them. That's the fast I choose."

'''God's Chosen Fast: A Doctor's Prescription not a Job Description'''

 Then what God does in verses 6–12 is describe what is involved in living out this fast and what the spectacular rewards are for living this way. You recall that Jesus said, "Your heavenly Father who sees in secret will reward you." Well here are some of the kinds of things God promises to do for those who do this kind of fasting (cf. Psalm 41:1–3).

First, let's look at the description of the fasting itself, and then at the promises of God for those who live this way. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this is a job description that God had given his people to show them how to earn wages from him. There is no earning going on here. The God of Isaiah cannot be negotiated with. He is sovereign and free and gives graciously to those who trust him. Isaiah 30:15 says, "For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, 'In repentance and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.'" The strength to do the fast God calls us to do does not come from us. It comes from God. And it comes through trusting him.

What God calls the people to do is not a job ''description'', but a Doctor's ''prescription''. You can see that in verse 8 where it says that if you act this way—if you follow the Doctor's prescription of fasting—"Your recovery—your healing—will speedily spring forth." If you trust the Doctor, and show this by obeying his instructions, you will get well. So don't think that you are going to earn anything from God. Trust his sovereign grace and follow his prescription, and you will be mightily blessed. But it will never occur to you to think that you have earned or merited anything.

'''What the Doctor Prescribes'''

 Let's look at the prescription—the fast that God chooses. Beginning in verse 6: "Is not this the fast I choose,

*To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
*To undo the bands of the yoke,
*And to let the oppressed go free,
*And break every yoke?
*Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry,
*And bring the homeless poor into the house;
*When you see the naked, to cover him;
*And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?"

Then in verses 8 and 9a come the promises of what will happen if you trust the Doctor's fasting directions. But skip over that for a moment and go to the rest of the prescription in verse 9b–10a.

*"If you remove the yoke from your midst,
*The pointing of the finger,
*And speaking wickedness
*And if you give yourself to the hungry,
*And satisfy the desire of the afflicted . . . "

That's the Doctor's prescription. That's the fast that the Doctor prescribes for the patient Israel who is sick with the disease of hypocrisy and hard-heartedness against the poor.

There are 13 components but they seem to fall into about seven categories. I give these as a call on the life of our church. We must discover how to join in this prescription of fasting.

'''1. Lift the Burden of Bondage'''

In this fasting, we are called to lift the burden of bondage.

Five of these components call for freedom. Verse 6:

*"To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
*To undo the bands of the yoke,
*And to let the oppressed go free,
*And break every yoke?"

Verse 9:

*"If you remove the yoke from your midst . . . "

Bonds, bands, yoke, oppression, yoke, yoke . . . The point here is: live to free people not burden them. Jesus said in Luke 11:46, "Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers." We are called to free people from burdens, not oppress them with burdens.

'''2. Feed the Hungry'''

In this fasting we are called to feed the hungry.

Verse 7: "Is [this fast] not to divide your bread with the hungry?"

'''3. House the Homeless'''

 In this fasting we are called to house the homeless.

Verse 7: "And bring the homeless poor into the house."

'''4. Clothe the Naked'''

 In this fasting we are called to clothe the naked.

Verse 7: "When you see the naked, to cover him."

'''5. Be Sympathetic'''

 In this fasting we are called to be sympathetic; to feel what others feel because we have the same flesh they do.

Verse 7: "And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" The thought may be the same as Hebrews 13:3, "Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body." You have the same flesh they do. So put yourself in their place and feel what they feel.

'''6. Put Away Contempt for Other People'''

In this fasting we are called to put away gestures and words that show raw contempt for other people.

Verse 9: "Remove . . . the pointing of the finger [literally, the "sending" of the finger, which may be a lot closer to our crude "giving someone the finger" than it is to merely pointing at someone]; and [remove] speaking wickedness." So don't speak and don't gesture in ways that show callous contempt for others.

'''7. Give Ourselves and Satisfy the Soul of the Afflicted'''

Finally, in this fasting we are called not just to give food, but to give ourselves—our souls—and not just to satisfy the stomach of the poor, but the soul of the afflicted.

Verse 10: "And if you give yourself [= soul] to the hungry, and satisfy the desire [literally: soul] of the afflicted . . . " This is one of the messages of this weekend with John Hayes: ministry to the poor is not merely giving things. It is giving self. It's not just relief. It's relationship.

'''The Promised Results of Following the Doctor's Prescription'''

 Now, if we trust God enough to follow him in this prescribed seven-point fast, what will happen in our lives and in our church? These promises are worthy of about seven sermons. But I will mention the categories and pray that God will give you a heart to meditate on them long enough to see the riches.

'''1. Darkness Will Become Light'''

 If we fast like this, the darkness in our life will become light:

Verse 8: "Then your light will break out like the dawn."

Verse 10 (at the end): "Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday."

Do you want light in your life instead of gloom? Look to the gracious resources of God—listen to your Doctor—and pour yourself out for another person in need.

'''2. Physical Strengthening'''

 If we follow this fasting, there will be physical strengthening.

Verse 8: "And your recovery will speedily spring forth . . . " Verse 11: "And [he will] give strength to your bones." Who knows how much weakness is in us because we may not be pouring our energy into the weakness of others?

'''3. God All Around Us with Righteousness and Glory'''

 If we follow this fasting, God will be in front of us and behind us and in the midst of us with righteousness and glory.

Verse 8, at the end: "And your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard." So God will be in front of you with righteousness and behind you with his glory. Verse 9: "Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'" Whenever the role is called, he always says, "Here!" When we are doing what his Son did—in the power that the Son gives—"becoming poor that others might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9), then God moves in on us and behind us and in front of us and surrounds us with omnipotent love and protection and care.

'''4. God Will Guide Us Continually'''

 If we follow this fasting, God promises to guide us continually.

Verse 11: "And the Lord will continually guide you." O what a precious promise that is for us now as a church and a Master Planning Team. I wonder how much confusion and uncertainty there may be in some of our lives that comes from the neglect of ministry to the poor? It seems the Lord gives his most intimate guidance to those bent on giving themselves to the needs of others—especially the poor.

'''5. God Will Satisfy Our Soul'''

If we follow this fasting, he will satisfy your soul.

Verse 11: "And [he will] satisfy your desire [literally: your soul] in scorched places." Our souls are meant to be satisfied in God. But we have learned again and again that this satisfaction in God comes to consummation when we extend our satisfaction in him to others. Pouring ourselves out for the poor is the path of deepest satisfaction.

'''6. God Will Make Us a Watered Garden'''

 If we follow this fasting, God will make you a watered garden with springs that do not fail.

Verse 11, at the end: "And you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail." It is a paradoxical spiritual principle in Scripture: as you pour yourself out, you become full. As you give away, you get more. When you are watered with God's grace you do not merely become a wet, moist, living garden; you also become a spring.

This promise comes to its fulfillment in the New Testament when Jesus used this verse in John 7:38, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water' [a spring of waters that does not fail]. 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive." So you can see that trusting Jesus is the issue: "He who believes in me . . . ' The Spirit bestirs himself most fully when we by faith give ourselves with Jesus in the path of love and mercy toward the destitute.

'''7. God Will Restore the Ruins of His City, and People'''

Finally, if we follow this fasting, that is, if we give ourselves to the poor, God will restore the ruins of his city—and his people.

Verse 12: "And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell."

Let's trust the Great Physician—the Lord, our healer. Let's accept the fast that he has prescribed for us. It will mean light and healing and guidance and refreshment and restoration and resourcefulness—and all this with God himself before us and behind us and in the midst of us. And it doesn't get any better than that.

=

A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 2

Bpmoosie — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:13:49 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 2 '''
February 19, 1995

By '''John Piper'''
<blockquote>'''Isaiah 58:1-12''' </blockquote><blockquote>1 Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done Thou righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 'Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? 7 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. </blockquote>
 '''Introduction and Review'''

 What we saw last week from verses 1–5 was that how you treat people on Monday is the test of the authenticity of your fasting on Sunday. They cry out to God in verse 3, "Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see?" And God answers at the end of the verse, "Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers." And God asks in verse 5, "Is it a fast like this which I choose?" Meaning: such a fast is unacceptable. God even makes sport of such a fasting when he says in verse 5, "Is it for bowing one's head like a reed?" The gestures of this self-inflicted religion are no more spiritual than a bent reed in the swamp.

Why is this fasting unacceptable to God? What's wrong with it? What's wrong with it is that it left the sin in their lives untouched. The only authentic fasting is fasting that includes a spiritual attack against our own sin. Whatever else we fast for, we must fast for our own holiness. We cannot fast for ''anything ''with authenticity while living in known sin. The only authentic praying is praying that includes an attack against our own sin. The only authentic worship is worship that includes at least an implicit attack against our own sin.

And what this text emphasizes is that our action on Monday is the test of whether we really are intent on attacking the sin in our lives, and therefore whether our fasting and praying and worshiping on Sunday is authentic. If we are sincere on Sunday in our prayerful opposition to the sin of our lives, then we will fight it on Monday with action. We may not always succeed as fully as we would like, but we will fight our sin on Monday if our fasting was true on Sunday.

If there's an unresolved pocket of sin in your life and you are fasting about something else—some blessing, some healing—God's going to come to you and say, "The fast that I choose is for THAT sin to be dealt with." The way he does that here is very striking. Verse 5 says they were fasting and "humbling themselves." That word "humbling" also means "afflicting." So they were afflicting themselves with hunger. But God says that this is not the fast that he chooses. And in verse 10 he takes the very words "hungry" and "afflicted" and says that there are some hungry and afflicted people he is very concerned about, namely, the ones who are not choosing to be hungry and afflicted but are hungry and afflicted because the religious people oppress them instead of feeding them. Verse 10: "And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted . . . [instead of oppressing them]."

In other words, your fasting and self-affliction on Sunday is not really an attack on your own sin of injustice and hard-heartedness. Because if it were, your action on Monday would be to alleviate the hunger and affliction of the poor, especially your own workers. There is a great irony here that God wants us to see. The poor are hungry and afflicted, verse 10 says. These well-to-do religious people are also hungry and afflicted—with fasting. But what are they fasting for? Is their fasting first a battle against their own sin?—the sin of driving hard all their workers? The sin of putting a heavy yoke on the back of the poor? The sin of neglecting the needs of the poor for clothing and housing? No. That is not what they are fasting against. Their behavior—on Monday—proves it. So God comes to them and says, "The fast that I choose is not that you religiously make yourselves hungry and afflicted, but that you make the poor less hungry and afflicted. If you want to fight sin by taking your bread away from your own mouth, then put it in the mouth of the poor. Then we will see if you are really fasting for righteousness' sake.

When we are living in sin—say the sin of hard-heartedness or deceit or injustice—the fast which God chooses is not a religious covering of this sin, but a direct frontal assault against this sin. For these people fasting was not a fight against the besetting sin of their lives; it was a camouflage. If they make themselves hunger a little bit and afflict themselves, maybe it won't matter so much that they are indifferent to the hunger and the affliction of the poor. So God comes and says, "I test your hearts. Go without bread for the sake of the poor. Give it to them. That's the fast I choose."

'''God's Chosen Fast: A Doctor's Prescription not a Job Description'''

 Then what God does in verses 6–12 is describe what is involved in living out this fast and what the spectacular rewards are for living this way. You recall that Jesus said, "Your heavenly Father who sees in secret will reward you." Well here are some of the kinds of things God promises to do for those who do this kind of fasting (cf. Psalm 41:1–3).

First, let's look at the description of the fasting itself, and then at the promises of God for those who live this way. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this is a job description that God had given his people to show them how to earn wages from him. There is no earning going on here. The God of Isaiah cannot be negotiated with. He is sovereign and free and gives graciously to those who trust him. Isaiah 30:15 says, "For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, 'In repentance and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.'" The strength to do the fast God calls us to do does not come from us. It comes from God. And it comes through trusting him.

What God calls the people to do is not a job ''description'', but a Doctor's ''prescription''. You can see that in verse 8 where it says that if you act this way—if you follow the Doctor's prescription of fasting—"Your recovery—your healing—will speedily spring forth." If you trust the Doctor, and show this by obeying his instructions, you will get well. So don't think that you are going to earn anything from God. Trust his sovereign grace and follow his prescription, and you will be mightily blessed. But it will never occur to you to think that you have earned or merited anything.

'''What the Doctor Prescribes'''

 Let's look at the prescription—the fast that God chooses. Beginning in verse 6: "Is not this the fast I choose,

*To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
*To undo the bands of the yoke,
*And to let the oppressed go free,
*And break every yoke?
*Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry,
*And bring the homeless poor into the house;
*When you see the naked, to cover him;
*And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?"

Then in verses 8 and 9a come the promises of what will happen if you trust the Doctor's fasting directions. But skip over that for a moment and go to the rest of the prescription in verse 9b–10a.

*"If you remove the yoke from your midst,
*The pointing of the finger,
*And speaking wickedness
*And if you give yourself to the hungry,
*And satisfy the desire of the afflicted . . . "

That's the Doctor's prescription. That's the fast that the Doctor prescribes for the patient Israel who is sick with the disease of hypocrisy and hard-heartedness against the poor.

There are 13 components but they seem to fall into about seven categories. I give these as a call on the life of our church. We must discover how to join in this prescription of fasting.

'''1. Lift the Burden of Bondage'''

In this fasting, we are called to lift the burden of bondage.

Five of these components call for freedom. Verse 6:

*"To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
*To undo the bands of the yoke,
*And to let the oppressed go free,
*And break every yoke?"

Verse 9:

*"If you remove the yoke from your midst . . . "

Bonds, bands, yoke, oppression, yoke, yoke . . . The point here is: live to free people not burden them. Jesus said in Luke 11:46, "Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers." We are called to free people from burdens, not oppress them with burdens.

'''2. Feed the Hungry'''

In this fasting we are called to feed the hungry.

Verse 7: "Is [this fast] not to divide your bread with the hungry?"

'''3. House the Homeless'''

 In this fasting we are called to house the homeless.

Verse 7: "And bring the homeless poor into the house."

'''4. Clothe the Naked'''

 In this fasting we are called to clothe the naked.

Verse 7: "When you see the naked, to cover him."

'''5. Be Sympathetic'''

 In this fasting we are called to be sympathetic; to feel what others feel because we have the same flesh they do.

Verse 7: "And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" The thought may be the same as Hebrews 13:3, "Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body." You have the same flesh they do. So put yourself in their place and feel what they feel.

'''6. Put Away Contempt for Other People'''

In this fasting we are called to put away gestures and words that show raw contempt for other people.

Verse 9: "Remove . . . the pointing of the finger [literally, the "sending" of the finger, which may be a lot closer to our crude "giving someone the finger" than it is to merely pointing at someone]; and [remove] speaking wickedness." So don't speak and don't gesture in ways that show callous contempt for others.

'''7. Give Ourselves and Satisfy the Soul of the Afflicted'''

Finally, in this fasting we are called not just to give food, but to give ourselves—our souls—and not just to satisfy the stomach of the poor, but the soul of the afflicted.

Verse 10: "And if you give yourself [= soul] to the hungry, and satisfy the desire [literally: soul] of the afflicted . . . " This is one of the messages of this weekend with John Hayes: ministry to the poor is not merely giving things. It is giving self. It's not just relief. It's relationship.

'''The Promised Results of Following the Doctor's Prescription'''

 Now, if we trust God enough to follow him in this prescribed seven-point fast, what will happen in our lives and in our church? These promises are worthy of about seven sermons. But I will mention the categories and pray that God will give you a heart to meditate on them long enough to see the riches.

'''1. Darkness Will Become Light'''

 If we fast like this, the darkness in our life will become light:

Verse 8: "Then your light will break out like the dawn."

Verse 10 (at the end): "Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday."

Do you want light in your life instead of gloom? Look to the gracious resources of God—listen to your Doctor—and pour yourself out for another person in need.

'''2. Physical Strengthening'''

 If we follow this fasting, there will be physical strengthening.

Verse 8: "And your recovery will speedily spring forth . . . " Verse 11: "And [he will] give strength to your bones." Who knows how much weakness is in us because we may not be pouring our energy into the weakness of others?

'''3. God All Around Us with Righteousness and Glory'''

 If we follow this fasting, God will be in front of us and behind us and in the midst of us with righteousness and glory.

Verse 8, at the end: "And your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard." So God will be in front of you with righteousness and behind you with his glory. Verse 9: "Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'" Whenever the role is called, he always says, "Here!" When we are doing what his Son did—in the power that the Son gives—"becoming poor that others might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9), then God moves in on us and behind us and in front of us and surrounds us with omnipotent love and protection and care.

'''4. God Will Guide Us Continually'''

 If we follow this fasting, God promises to guide us continually.

Verse 11: "And the Lord will continually guide you." O what a precious promise that is for us now as a church and a Master Planning Team. I wonder how much confusion and uncertainty there may be in some of our lives that comes from the neglect of ministry to the poor? It seems the Lord gives his most intimate guidance to those bent on giving themselves to the needs of others—especially the poor.

'''5. God Will Satisfy Our Soul'''

If we follow this fasting, he will satisfy your soul.

Verse 11: "And [he will] satisfy your desire [literally: your soul] in scorched places." Our souls are meant to be satisfied in God. But we have learned again and again that this satisfaction in God comes to consummation when we extend our satisfaction in him to others. Pouring ourselves out for the poor is the path of deepest satisfaction.

'''6. God Will Make Us a Watered Garden'''

 If we follow this fasting, God will make you a watered garden with springs that do not fail.

Verse 11, at the end: "And you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail." It is a paradoxical spiritual principle in Scripture: as you pour yourself out, you become full. As you give away, you get more. When you are watered with God's grace you do not merely become a wet, moist, living garden; you also become a spring.

This promise comes to its fulfillment in the New Testament when Jesus used this verse in John 7:38, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water' [a spring of waters that does not fail]. 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive." So you can see that trusting Jesus is the issue: "He who believes in me . . . ' The Spirit bestirs himself most fully when we by faith give ourselves with Jesus in the path of love and mercy toward the destitute.

'''7. God Will Restore the Ruins of His City, and People'''

Finally, if we follow this fasting, that is, if we give ourselves to the poor, God will restore the ruins of his city—and his people.

Verse 12: "And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell."

Let's trust the Great Physician—the Lord, our healer. Let's accept the fast that he has prescribed for us. It will mean light and healing and guidance and refreshment and restoration and resourcefulness—and all this with God himself before us and behind us and in the midst of us. And it doesn't get any better than that.
=

A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 2

Bpmoosie — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:13:33 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 2 =

February 19, 1995

By'''John Piper'''
<blockquote>
'''Isaiah 58:1-12'''

1 Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done Thou righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 'Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? 7 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.
</blockquote>
 '''Introduction and Review'''

 What we saw last week from verses 1–5 was that how you treat people on Monday is the test of the authenticity of your fasting on Sunday. They cry out to God in verse 3, "Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see?" And God answers at the end of the verse, "Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers." And God asks in verse 5, "Is it a fast like this which I choose?" Meaning: such a fast is unacceptable. God even makes sport of such a fasting when he says in verse 5, "Is it for bowing one's head like a reed?" The gestures of this self-inflicted religion are no more spiritual than a bent reed in the swamp.

Why is this fasting unacceptable to God? What's wrong with it? What's wrong with it is that it left the sin in their lives untouched. The only authentic fasting is fasting that includes a spiritual attack against our own sin. Whatever else we fast for, we must fast for our own holiness. We cannot fast for ''anything ''with authenticity while living in known sin. The only authentic praying is praying that includes an attack against our own sin. The only authentic worship is worship that includes at least an implicit attack against our own sin.

And what this text emphasizes is that our action on Monday is the test of whether we really are intent on attacking the sin in our lives, and therefore whether our fasting and praying and worshiping on Sunday is authentic. If we are sincere on Sunday in our prayerful opposition to the sin of our lives, then we will fight it on Monday with action. We may not always succeed as fully as we would like, but we will fight our sin on Monday if our fasting was true on Sunday.

If there's an unresolved pocket of sin in your life and you are fasting about something else—some blessing, some healing—God's going to come to you and say, "The fast that I choose is for THAT sin to be dealt with." The way he does that here is very striking. Verse 5 says they were fasting and "humbling themselves." That word "humbling" also means "afflicting." So they were afflicting themselves with hunger. But God says that this is not the fast that he chooses. And in verse 10 he takes the very words "hungry" and "afflicted" and says that there are some hungry and afflicted people he is very concerned about, namely, the ones who are not choosing to be hungry and afflicted but are hungry and afflicted because the religious people oppress them instead of feeding them. Verse 10: "And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted . . . [instead of oppressing them]."

In other words, your fasting and self-affliction on Sunday is not really an attack on your own sin of injustice and hard-heartedness. Because if it were, your action on Monday would be to alleviate the hunger and affliction of the poor, especially your own workers. There is a great irony here that God wants us to see. The poor are hungry and afflicted, verse 10 says. These well-to-do religious people are also hungry and afflicted—with fasting. But what are they fasting for? Is their fasting first a battle against their own sin?—the sin of driving hard all their workers? The sin of putting a heavy yoke on the back of the poor? The sin of neglecting the needs of the poor for clothing and housing? No. That is not what they are fasting against. Their behavior—on Monday—proves it. So God comes to them and says, "The fast that I choose is not that you religiously make yourselves hungry and afflicted, but that you make the poor less hungry and afflicted. If you want to fight sin by taking your bread away from your own mouth, then put it in the mouth of the poor. Then we will see if you are really fasting for righteousness' sake.

When we are living in sin—say the sin of hard-heartedness or deceit or injustice—the fast which God chooses is not a religious covering of this sin, but a direct frontal assault against this sin. For these people fasting was not a fight against the besetting sin of their lives; it was a camouflage. If they make themselves hunger a little bit and afflict themselves, maybe it won't matter so much that they are indifferent to the hunger and the affliction of the poor. So God comes and says, "I test your hearts. Go without bread for the sake of the poor. Give it to them. That's the fast I choose."

'''God's Chosen Fast: A Doctor's Prescription not a Job Description'''

 Then what God does in verses 6–12 is describe what is involved in living out this fast and what the spectacular rewards are for living this way. You recall that Jesus said, "Your heavenly Father who sees in secret will reward you." Well here are some of the kinds of things God promises to do for those who do this kind of fasting (cf. Psalm 41:1–3).

First, let's look at the description of the fasting itself, and then at the promises of God for those who live this way. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this is a job description that God had given his people to show them how to earn wages from him. There is no earning going on here. The God of Isaiah cannot be negotiated with. He is sovereign and free and gives graciously to those who trust him. Isaiah 30:15 says, "For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, 'In repentance and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength.'" The strength to do the fast God calls us to do does not come from us. It comes from God. And it comes through trusting him.

What God calls the people to do is not a job ''description'', but a Doctor's ''prescription''. You can see that in verse 8 where it says that if you act this way—if you follow the Doctor's prescription of fasting—"Your recovery—your healing—will speedily spring forth." If you trust the Doctor, and show this by obeying his instructions, you will get well. So don't think that you are going to earn anything from God. Trust his sovereign grace and follow his prescription, and you will be mightily blessed. But it will never occur to you to think that you have earned or merited anything.

'''What the Doctor Prescribes'''

 Let's look at the prescription—the fast that God chooses. Beginning in verse 6: "Is not this the fast I choose,

*To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
*To undo the bands of the yoke,
*And to let the oppressed go free,
*And break every yoke?
*Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry,
*And bring the homeless poor into the house;
*When you see the naked, to cover him;
*And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?"

Then in verses 8 and 9a come the promises of what will happen if you trust the Doctor's fasting directions. But skip over that for a moment and go to the rest of the prescription in verse 9b–10a.

*"If you remove the yoke from your midst,
*The pointing of the finger,
*And speaking wickedness
*And if you give yourself to the hungry,
*And satisfy the desire of the afflicted . . . "

That's the Doctor's prescription. That's the fast that the Doctor prescribes for the patient Israel who is sick with the disease of hypocrisy and hard-heartedness against the poor.

There are 13 components but they seem to fall into about seven categories. I give these as a call on the life of our church. We must discover how to join in this prescription of fasting.

'''1. Lift the Burden of Bondage'''

In this fasting, we are called to lift the burden of bondage.

Five of these components call for freedom. Verse 6:

*"To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
*To undo the bands of the yoke,
*And to let the oppressed go free,
*And break every yoke?"

Verse 9:

*"If you remove the yoke from your midst . . . "

Bonds, bands, yoke, oppression, yoke, yoke . . . The point here is: live to free people not burden them. Jesus said in Luke 11:46, "Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers." We are called to free people from burdens, not oppress them with burdens.

'''2. Feed the Hungry'''

In this fasting we are called to feed the hungry.

Verse 7: "Is [this fast] not to divide your bread with the hungry?"

'''3. House the Homeless'''

 In this fasting we are called to house the homeless.

Verse 7: "And bring the homeless poor into the house."

'''4. Clothe the Naked'''

 In this fasting we are called to clothe the naked.

Verse 7: "When you see the naked, to cover him."

'''5. Be Sympathetic'''

 In this fasting we are called to be sympathetic; to feel what others feel because we have the same flesh they do.

Verse 7: "And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" The thought may be the same as Hebrews 13:3, "Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body." You have the same flesh they do. So put yourself in their place and feel what they feel.

'''6. Put Away Contempt for Other People'''

In this fasting we are called to put away gestures and words that show raw contempt for other people.

Verse 9: "Remove . . . the pointing of the finger [literally, the "sending" of the finger, which may be a lot closer to our crude "giving someone the finger" than it is to merely pointing at someone]; and [remove] speaking wickedness." So don't speak and don't gesture in ways that show callous contempt for others.

'''7. Give Ourselves and Satisfy the Soul of the Afflicted'''

Finally, in this fasting we are called not just to give food, but to give ourselves—our souls—and not just to satisfy the stomach of the poor, but the soul of the afflicted.

Verse 10: "And if you give yourself [= soul] to the hungry, and satisfy the desire [literally: soul] of the afflicted . . . " This is one of the messages of this weekend with John Hayes: ministry to the poor is not merely giving things. It is giving self. It's not just relief. It's relationship.

'''The Promised Results of Following the Doctor's Prescription'''

 Now, if we trust God enough to follow him in this prescribed seven-point fast, what will happen in our lives and in our church? These promises are worthy of about seven sermons. But I will mention the categories and pray that God will give you a heart to meditate on them long enough to see the riches.

'''1. Darkness Will Become Light'''

 If we fast like this, the darkness in our life will become light:

Verse 8: "Then your light will break out like the dawn."

Verse 10 (at the end): "Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday."

Do you want light in your life instead of gloom? Look to the gracious resources of God—listen to your Doctor—and pour yourself out for another person in need.

'''2. Physical Strengthening'''

 If we follow this fasting, there will be physical strengthening.

Verse 8: "And your recovery will speedily spring forth . . . " Verse 11: "And [he will] give strength to your bones." Who knows how much weakness is in us because we may not be pouring our energy into the weakness of others?

'''3. God All Around Us with Righteousness and Glory'''

 If we follow this fasting, God will be in front of us and behind us and in the midst of us with righteousness and glory.

Verse 8, at the end: "And your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard." So God will be in front of you with righteousness and behind you with his glory. Verse 9: "Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'" Whenever the role is called, he always says, "Here!" When we are doing what his Son did—in the power that the Son gives—"becoming poor that others might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9), then God moves in on us and behind us and in front of us and surrounds us with omnipotent love and protection and care.

'''4. God Will Guide Us Continually'''

 If we follow this fasting, God promises to guide us continually.

Verse 11: "And the Lord will continually guide you." O what a precious promise that is for us now as a church and a Master Planning Team. I wonder how much confusion and uncertainty there may be in some of our lives that comes from the neglect of ministry to the poor? It seems the Lord gives his most intimate guidance to those bent on giving themselves to the needs of others—especially the poor.

'''5. God Will Satisfy Our Soul'''

If we follow this fasting, he will satisfy your soul.

Verse 11: "And [he will] satisfy your desire [literally: your soul] in scorched places." Our souls are meant to be satisfied in God. But we have learned again and again that this satisfaction in God comes to consummation when we extend our satisfaction in him to others. Pouring ourselves out for the poor is the path of deepest satisfaction.

'''6. God Will Make Us a Watered Garden'''

 If we follow this fasting, God will make you a watered garden with springs that do not fail.

Verse 11, at the end: "And you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail." It is a paradoxical spiritual principle in Scripture: as you pour yourself out, you become full. As you give away, you get more. When you are watered with God's grace you do not merely become a wet, moist, living garden; you also become a spring.

This promise comes to its fulfillment in the New Testament when Jesus used this verse in John 7:38, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water' [a spring of waters that does not fail]. 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive." So you can see that trusting Jesus is the issue: "He who believes in me . . . ' The Spirit bestirs himself most fully when we by faith give ourselves with Jesus in the path of love and mercy toward the destitute.

'''7. God Will Restore the Ruins of His City, and People'''

Finally, if we follow this fasting, that is, if we give ourselves to the poor, God will restore the ruins of his city—and his people.

Verse 12: "And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell."

Let's trust the Great Physician—the Lord, our healer. Let's accept the fast that he has prescribed for us. It will mean light and healing and guidance and refreshment and restoration and resourcefulness—and all this with God himself before us and behind us and in the midst of us. And it doesn't get any better than that.

A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 1

Bpmoosie — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:04:55 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 1''' =

February 12, 1995

By '''John Piper'''
<blockquote>'''Isaiah 58:1-12''' </blockquote><blockquote>1 Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done Thou righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 'Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? 7 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. </blockquote>
 '''John Chrysostom '''

One of the greatest preachers of the first thousand years of the Christian Church was John Chrysostom, the bishop of Constantinople in the fourth century. I mention him because he has left us one of the most sweeping statements about the value of fasting. He was known as an ascetic in an age of luxury in Constantinople and his lifestyle offended the emperor Arcadius and his wife Eudoxia so much that he was eventually banished and died in AD 407. Of fasting he said,
<blockquote>Fasting is, as much as lies in us, an imitation of the angels, a contemning of things present, a school of prayer, a nourishment of the soul, a bridle of the mouth, an abatement of concupiscence: it mollifies rage, it appeases anger, it calms the tempests of nature, it excites reason, it clears the mind, it disburdens the flesh, it chases away night-pollutions, it frees from head-ache. By fasting, a man gets composed behaviour, free utterance of his tongue, right apprehensions of his mind. </blockquote>
Not all of those accolades are true for everyone in every time of fasting. For example, for some fasting will cause a headache rather than take it away. But I want you to hear Chrysostom and the thousands of saints who have proved the value of the Lord's prophecy: when the Bridegroom is taken away, then the disciples will fast (Matthew 9:15).

But what we began to see last week is that there is danger in fasting. I don't mean physical danger—you can avoid that if you follow simple guidelines (see the sheet on the information table). What I mean is spiritual dangers. You can fast in a way that will be very displeasing to the Lord and spiritually destructive to yourself.

Last week we heard Jesus warn us that this was so. If you fast, for example, to be seen by other people, he said, you have your reward from them, and you will not be answered by the Father. To prove our hearts he said that we should take steps not to be seen by others, but only by God: comb your hair, wash your face, and do not put on a gloomy countenance. Then—if your motives are pure—your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

This week, and next week, we hear another warning, this time from the prophet Isaiah—or more precisely from God through Isaiah. This chapter is full of rich associations for me. I see it not just as a fitting conclusion to our series on fasting, but as a text associated with some very powerful experiences in certain people's lives; and I see it as having a very significant bearing on the Master Planning Team's wrestling with what our priorities and focuses should be as a church for the rest of this decade.

'''Bill Leslie'''

''' '''One of the experiences I have in mind is the experience of Bill Leslie the former pastor of LaSalle Street Church in Chicago who died not too long ago after a long and remarkable ministry—like the one described in Isaiah 58. He came to the Twin Cities once and told of a near breakdown that he had and how a spiritual mentor directed him to this chapter. He said it was verses 10–11 that saved him from a dead end street of exhaustion and burnout.
<blockquote>And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places [like urban Chicago], and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. </blockquote>
What struck Pastor Leslie so powerfully was the fact that if we pour ourselves out for others, God promises to make us like a watered garden—that is, we will receive the water we need for refreshment. But even more: we will thus be a spring of water that does not fail—for others, for the demanding, exhausting, draining ministry of urban self-giving. This gave him a pattern of divine life that got him through his crisis and kept him going for years more. I want us to see this week and next week that this is a kind of fasting that the Lord wants to teach us.

'''Doug Nichols'''

 ''' '''The other experience that makes the chapter rich for me right now is the connection that it has with Doug Nichols, the President of Action International Ministries. Doug is the man who wrote to Tom Steller last summer and suggested that our church get an airplane and take a couple hundred people to Rwanda to help bury the dead so that doctors and nurses could do what they were sent to do. He spoke at our Pastors' Conference a week or so ago, and gave one of the most stirring messages I have heard in a long time. Action International specializes in reaching street children around the world.

To show you the kind of person he is, he wrote me last week to thank me for the conference and put a PS at the bottom of his letter:
<blockquote>In the last 'one minute' that it possibly took you to read this letter, 28 children died of malnutrition and diseases that could have been easily prevented. 1,667 die every hour, 40,000 children die daily! Please pray with ACTION for more missionaries to take the Gospel to these children. </blockquote>
Doug was found to have colon cancer in April of 1993. They gave him a 30% chance of living after his surgery and colostomy and radiation treatments. Last fall he got on a plane and went to Rwanda with our Dr. Mike Anderson and some others. His non-Christian oncologist said he would die in Rwanda. Doug said that would be OK because he is going to heaven. The oncologist called his surgeon to solicit help in not letting Doug go to Rwanda. The surgeon is a Christian and said, "It's okay, Doug's ready to die and go to heaven."

We got word here that Doug was going—with his cancer and his colostomy—to Rwanda. I recall gathering in the prayer room with the staff and very specifically being led to Isaiah 58:7–8, which we prayed for Doug:
<blockquote>Is [the fast I choose] not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery [i.e., your healing] will speedily spring forth. </blockquote>
We prayed very specifically that the feeding of the hungry and the housing of the homeless in Rwanda would not kill but heal Doug Nichols.

From Rwanda Doug called his Jewish oncologist and said he was not dead. And when he got back, he had a battery of tests which resulted in the assessment NED: no evidence of disease. If he makes it to April—the two year mark—without recurrence of the cancer, doctors give him a good chance of living out his normal span of life. Doug is 53.

'''Isaiah 58: Close to the Heart of Jesus'''

''' '''So you can see that Isaiah 58 has some very significant associations in my life. And I am praying that we will hear the message of this chapter for our church—our Master Planning Vision for the next five years and beyond. There is something very close to Jesus' heart in this chapter. You can hear it coming out in his words in Luke 4:18 ("The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden"). And in Matthew 25:35 ("I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me".) And John 7:38 ("He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water'"). A trusting relationship with Jesus is the way Isaiah 58 will be fulfilled in your life. The burden of this chapter pervades the ministry of Jesus—and more and more I believe it should pervade our ministry as well.

Let's get into it and go as far as we can today and then return next Sunday, Lord willing, and see what God has to say to us about how not to fast, and how to fast.

'''Fasting: The Danger of Substituting Religious Fervor for Righteous Living'''

 In the first three verses God brings an indictment against his people. He tells Isaiah to cry loudly and declare to the house of Jacob their sins. But their sin is cloaked with an amazing veneer of religious fervor. This is what is so stunning and sobering. Verse 2:
<blockquote>Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, as [i.e., as if they were] a nation that has done righteousness, and has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. </blockquote>
In other words they worship as if they are a righteous and obedient nation. And they have themselves persuaded that they really want God and his ways. This is a terrible kind of delusion to live in.

He goes on near the end of verse 2:
<blockquote>They ask Me for just decisions, they delight in the nearness of God. </blockquote>
So they want God to intervene for them with righteous judgments. Things are not going well—as we will see in a moment. But they do not see the real problem. They love to come to worship. They talk the language of the nearness of God. They may even have moving religious and esthetic experiences in their efforts to draw near to God. But something is wrong. They express the frustration in verse 3, but they don't know what it is.

In verse 3 they say to God,
<blockquote>Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled [or: afflicted] ourselves and Thou dost not notice? </blockquote>
So something is wrong and they are fasting to make it right and it isn't working, so something is doubly wrong. There is a total of five religious things mentioned in verses 2–3 that they are doing—all in vain. In verse 2 it says

#they are "seeking God;" and
#they delight to know God's ways; and
#"they ask God for just decisions;" and
#"they delight in the nearness of God;" and
#in verse 3 they are fasting and humbling or afflicting themselves.

All of that and God tells Isaiah, Cry loudly, not softly, not quietly, but loudly, and declare to my people their sins. So here is a fasting that is not pleasing the Lord. Here is worship that is not pleasing the Lord. It is the kind of worship we do not want to have at Bethlehem. And yet what is wrong with seeking God, and delighting to know his ways, and asking him for just decisions, and delighting in his nearness, and fasting and humbling ourselves before him? What is wrong with that? Why, that sounds like the very way we talk about worship! Isn't that sobering? Doesn't that make you tremble? Doesn't that make you want to get so real with God, you could never be surprised by the Lord in this way—with your most zealous religious practices and even desires exposed as sham.

'''What's Wrong with Their Worship?'''

 God answers in the middle of verse 3:
<blockquote>Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble [or: afflict] himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, and for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? </blockquote>
So here's the issue. The ethical, practical, relational accompaniments of fasting—or worship in general—are the real test of the authenticity of the fasting and the worship. Monday is the proof of Sunday. God lists the religious forms of their fasting: humbling or afflicting oneself (no food), bowing the head like a reed, spreading out our sackcloth and ashes (cf. Psalm 35:13). Then he lists the ethical accompaniments of this fasting: you go after your own pleasure (in some other way besides eating), you drive hard all your workers and become irritable or contentious and stir up strife and even go so far as to get into fights. And God asks, "Is this the fast that I choose?" The answer is No.

'''Another Test of Authenticity'''

 So here we have another test of authenticity. Jesus said, If you are fasting to be seen by others, you have your reward. That's it. Isaiah says, If your fasting leaves you self-indulgent in other areas, harsh toward your employees, irritable and contentious, then your fasting is not acceptable to God. It's not what he chooses. God is mercifully warning us against the danger of substituting religious fervor for righteous living.

Think and pray about it this week so that when we come back together next Sunday, you will be ready to hear God's beautiful and empowering and freeing alternative to this kind of hypocrisy. Think about it for the long-term implications for worship in your life and in this church. No worship—no preaching, no singing, no playing of instruments, no praying, no fasting, however intense or beautiful—that leaves us harsh with our workers on Monday, or contentious with our spouses at home, or self-indulgent in other areas of our lives, or angry enough to hit somebody—no worship or fasting that leaves us like that is true, God-pleasing worship.

Don't make a mistake here: true fasting may be a God-blessed means of overcoming harshness at work, and contentiousness at home, and self-indulgence, and anger. But if fasting ever becomes a religious cloak for minimizing or hiding those things and letting them go on and on, then it becomes hypocrisy and offensive to God.

Our prayer teams would love to pray with any of you this morning who feel a special burden to pray about anything that threatens to make your worship or your fasting inauthentic. And, of course the thing that would make it most inauthentic is unbelief itself. So I urge you to go hard after the authentic life this morning. And then come back next week and see what it looks like from this chapter.

A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 1

Bpmoosie — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:04:42 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 1''' =

February 12, 1995

By '''John Piper'''
<blockquote>'''Isaiah 58:1-12''' 1 Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done Thou righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 'Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? 7 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. </blockquote>
 '''John Chrysostom '''

One of the greatest preachers of the first thousand years of the Christian Church was John Chrysostom, the bishop of Constantinople in the fourth century. I mention him because he has left us one of the most sweeping statements about the value of fasting. He was known as an ascetic in an age of luxury in Constantinople and his lifestyle offended the emperor Arcadius and his wife Eudoxia so much that he was eventually banished and died in AD 407. Of fasting he said,
<blockquote>Fasting is, as much as lies in us, an imitation of the angels, a contemning of things present, a school of prayer, a nourishment of the soul, a bridle of the mouth, an abatement of concupiscence: it mollifies rage, it appeases anger, it calms the tempests of nature, it excites reason, it clears the mind, it disburdens the flesh, it chases away night-pollutions, it frees from head-ache. By fasting, a man gets composed behaviour, free utterance of his tongue, right apprehensions of his mind. </blockquote>
Not all of those accolades are true for everyone in every time of fasting. For example, for some fasting will cause a headache rather than take it away. But I want you to hear Chrysostom and the thousands of saints who have proved the value of the Lord's prophecy: when the Bridegroom is taken away, then the disciples will fast (Matthew 9:15).

But what we began to see last week is that there is danger in fasting. I don't mean physical danger—you can avoid that if you follow simple guidelines (see the sheet on the information table). What I mean is spiritual dangers. You can fast in a way that will be very displeasing to the Lord and spiritually destructive to yourself.

Last week we heard Jesus warn us that this was so. If you fast, for example, to be seen by other people, he said, you have your reward from them, and you will not be answered by the Father. To prove our hearts he said that we should take steps not to be seen by others, but only by God: comb your hair, wash your face, and do not put on a gloomy countenance. Then—if your motives are pure—your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

This week, and next week, we hear another warning, this time from the prophet Isaiah—or more precisely from God through Isaiah. This chapter is full of rich associations for me. I see it not just as a fitting conclusion to our series on fasting, but as a text associated with some very powerful experiences in certain people's lives; and I see it as having a very significant bearing on the Master Planning Team's wrestling with what our priorities and focuses should be as a church for the rest of this decade.

'''Bill Leslie'''

''' '''One of the experiences I have in mind is the experience of Bill Leslie the former pastor of LaSalle Street Church in Chicago who died not too long ago after a long and remarkable ministry—like the one described in Isaiah 58. He came to the Twin Cities once and told of a near breakdown that he had and how a spiritual mentor directed him to this chapter. He said it was verses 10–11 that saved him from a dead end street of exhaustion and burnout.
<blockquote>And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places [like urban Chicago], and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. </blockquote>
What struck Pastor Leslie so powerfully was the fact that if we pour ourselves out for others, God promises to make us like a watered garden—that is, we will receive the water we need for refreshment. But even more: we will thus be a spring of water that does not fail—for others, for the demanding, exhausting, draining ministry of urban self-giving. This gave him a pattern of divine life that got him through his crisis and kept him going for years more. I want us to see this week and next week that this is a kind of fasting that the Lord wants to teach us.

'''Doug Nichols'''

 ''' '''The other experience that makes the chapter rich for me right now is the connection that it has with Doug Nichols, the President of Action International Ministries. Doug is the man who wrote to Tom Steller last summer and suggested that our church get an airplane and take a couple hundred people to Rwanda to help bury the dead so that doctors and nurses could do what they were sent to do. He spoke at our Pastors' Conference a week or so ago, and gave one of the most stirring messages I have heard in a long time. Action International specializes in reaching street children around the world.

To show you the kind of person he is, he wrote me last week to thank me for the conference and put a PS at the bottom of his letter:
<blockquote>In the last 'one minute' that it possibly took you to read this letter, 28 children died of malnutrition and diseases that could have been easily prevented. 1,667 die every hour, 40,000 children die daily! Please pray with ACTION for more missionaries to take the Gospel to these children. </blockquote>
Doug was found to have colon cancer in April of 1993. They gave him a 30% chance of living after his surgery and colostomy and radiation treatments. Last fall he got on a plane and went to Rwanda with our Dr. Mike Anderson and some others. His non-Christian oncologist said he would die in Rwanda. Doug said that would be OK because he is going to heaven. The oncologist called his surgeon to solicit help in not letting Doug go to Rwanda. The surgeon is a Christian and said, "It's okay, Doug's ready to die and go to heaven."

We got word here that Doug was going—with his cancer and his colostomy—to Rwanda. I recall gathering in the prayer room with the staff and very specifically being led to Isaiah 58:7–8, which we prayed for Doug:
<blockquote>Is [the fast I choose] not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery [i.e., your healing] will speedily spring forth. </blockquote>
We prayed very specifically that the feeding of the hungry and the housing of the homeless in Rwanda would not kill but heal Doug Nichols.

From Rwanda Doug called his Jewish oncologist and said he was not dead. And when he got back, he had a battery of tests which resulted in the assessment NED: no evidence of disease. If he makes it to April—the two year mark—without recurrence of the cancer, doctors give him a good chance of living out his normal span of life. Doug is 53.

'''Isaiah 58: Close to the Heart of Jesus'''

''' '''So you can see that Isaiah 58 has some very significant associations in my life. And I am praying that we will hear the message of this chapter for our church—our Master Planning Vision for the next five years and beyond. There is something very close to Jesus' heart in this chapter. You can hear it coming out in his words in Luke 4:18 ("The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden"). And in Matthew 25:35 ("I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me".) And John 7:38 ("He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water'"). A trusting relationship with Jesus is the way Isaiah 58 will be fulfilled in your life. The burden of this chapter pervades the ministry of Jesus—and more and more I believe it should pervade our ministry as well.

Let's get into it and go as far as we can today and then return next Sunday, Lord willing, and see what God has to say to us about how not to fast, and how to fast.

'''Fasting: The Danger of Substituting Religious Fervor for Righteous Living'''

 In the first three verses God brings an indictment against his people. He tells Isaiah to cry loudly and declare to the house of Jacob their sins. But their sin is cloaked with an amazing veneer of religious fervor. This is what is so stunning and sobering. Verse 2:
<blockquote>Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, as [i.e., as if they were] a nation that has done righteousness, and has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. </blockquote>
In other words they worship as if they are a righteous and obedient nation. And they have themselves persuaded that they really want God and his ways. This is a terrible kind of delusion to live in.

He goes on near the end of verse 2:
<blockquote>They ask Me for just decisions, they delight in the nearness of God. </blockquote>
So they want God to intervene for them with righteous judgments. Things are not going well—as we will see in a moment. But they do not see the real problem. They love to come to worship. They talk the language of the nearness of God. They may even have moving religious and esthetic experiences in their efforts to draw near to God. But something is wrong. They express the frustration in verse 3, but they don't know what it is.

In verse 3 they say to God,
<blockquote>Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled [or: afflicted] ourselves and Thou dost not notice? </blockquote>
So something is wrong and they are fasting to make it right and it isn't working, so something is doubly wrong. There is a total of five religious things mentioned in verses 2–3 that they are doing—all in vain. In verse 2 it says

#they are "seeking God;" and
#they delight to know God's ways; and
#"they ask God for just decisions;" and
#"they delight in the nearness of God;" and
#in verse 3 they are fasting and humbling or afflicting themselves.

All of that and God tells Isaiah, Cry loudly, not softly, not quietly, but loudly, and declare to my people their sins. So here is a fasting that is not pleasing the Lord. Here is worship that is not pleasing the Lord. It is the kind of worship we do not want to have at Bethlehem. And yet what is wrong with seeking God, and delighting to know his ways, and asking him for just decisions, and delighting in his nearness, and fasting and humbling ourselves before him? What is wrong with that? Why, that sounds like the very way we talk about worship! Isn't that sobering? Doesn't that make you tremble? Doesn't that make you want to get so real with God, you could never be surprised by the Lord in this way—with your most zealous religious practices and even desires exposed as sham.

'''What's Wrong with Their Worship?'''

 God answers in the middle of verse 3:
<blockquote>Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble [or: afflict] himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, and for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? </blockquote>
So here's the issue. The ethical, practical, relational accompaniments of fasting—or worship in general—are the real test of the authenticity of the fasting and the worship. Monday is the proof of Sunday. God lists the religious forms of their fasting: humbling or afflicting oneself (no food), bowing the head like a reed, spreading out our sackcloth and ashes (cf. Psalm 35:13). Then he lists the ethical accompaniments of this fasting: you go after your own pleasure (in some other way besides eating), you drive hard all your workers and become irritable or contentious and stir up strife and even go so far as to get into fights. And God asks, "Is this the fast that I choose?" The answer is No.

'''Another Test of Authenticity'''

 So here we have another test of authenticity. Jesus said, If you are fasting to be seen by others, you have your reward. That's it. Isaiah says, If your fasting leaves you self-indulgent in other areas, harsh toward your employees, irritable and contentious, then your fasting is not acceptable to God. It's not what he chooses. God is mercifully warning us against the danger of substituting religious fervor for righteous living.

Think and pray about it this week so that when we come back together next Sunday, you will be ready to hear God's beautiful and empowering and freeing alternative to this kind of hypocrisy. Think about it for the long-term implications for worship in your life and in this church. No worship—no preaching, no singing, no playing of instruments, no praying, no fasting, however intense or beautiful—that leaves us harsh with our workers on Monday, or contentious with our spouses at home, or self-indulgent in other areas of our lives, or angry enough to hit somebody—no worship or fasting that leaves us like that is true, God-pleasing worship.

Don't make a mistake here: true fasting may be a God-blessed means of overcoming harshness at work, and contentiousness at home, and self-indulgence, and anger. But if fasting ever becomes a religious cloak for minimizing or hiding those things and letting them go on and on, then it becomes hypocrisy and offensive to God.

Our prayer teams would love to pray with any of you this morning who feel a special burden to pray about anything that threatens to make your worship or your fasting inauthentic. And, of course the thing that would make it most inauthentic is unbelief itself. So I urge you to go hard after the authentic life this morning. And then come back next week and see what it looks like from this chapter.

A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 1

Bpmoosie — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:04:25 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail, Part 1''' =

February 12, 1995

By'''John Piper'''

<blockquote>
'''Isaiah 58:1-12'''

1 Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done Thou righteousness, And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 'Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? 6 Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? 7 Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.
</blockquote>
 '''John Chrysostom '''

One of the greatest preachers of the first thousand years of the Christian Church was John Chrysostom, the bishop of Constantinople in the fourth century. I mention him because he has left us one of the most sweeping statements about the value of fasting. He was known as an ascetic in an age of luxury in Constantinople and his lifestyle offended the emperor Arcadius and his wife Eudoxia so much that he was eventually banished and died in AD 407. Of fasting he said,
<blockquote>
Fasting is, as much as lies in us, an imitation of the angels, a contemning of things present, a school of prayer, a nourishment of the soul, a bridle of the mouth, an abatement of concupiscence: it mollifies rage, it appeases anger, it calms the tempests of nature, it excites reason, it clears the mind, it disburdens the flesh, it chases away night-pollutions, it frees from head-ache. By fasting, a man gets composed behaviour, free utterance of his tongue, right apprehensions of his mind.
</blockquote>
Not all of those accolades are true for everyone in every time of fasting. For example, for some fasting will cause a headache rather than take it away. But I want you to hear Chrysostom and the thousands of saints who have proved the value of the Lord's prophecy: when the Bridegroom is taken away, then the disciples will fast (Matthew 9:15).

But what we began to see last week is that there is danger in fasting. I don't mean physical danger—you can avoid that if you follow simple guidelines (see the sheet on the information table). What I mean is spiritual dangers. You can fast in a way that will be very displeasing to the Lord and spiritually destructive to yourself.

Last week we heard Jesus warn us that this was so. If you fast, for example, to be seen by other people, he said, you have your reward from them, and you will not be answered by the Father. To prove our hearts he said that we should take steps not to be seen by others, but only by God: comb your hair, wash your face, and do not put on a gloomy countenance. Then—if your motives are pure—your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

This week, and next week, we hear another warning, this time from the prophet Isaiah—or more precisely from God through Isaiah. This chapter is full of rich associations for me. I see it not just as a fitting conclusion to our series on fasting, but as a text associated with some very powerful experiences in certain people's lives; and I see it as having a very significant bearing on the Master Planning Team's wrestling with what our priorities and focuses should be as a church for the rest of this decade.

'''Bill Leslie'''

''' '''One of the experiences I have in mind is the experience of Bill Leslie the former pastor of LaSalle Street Church in Chicago who died not too long ago after a long and remarkable ministry—like the one described in Isaiah 58. He came to the Twin Cities once and told of a near breakdown that he had and how a spiritual mentor directed him to this chapter. He said it was verses 10–11 that saved him from a dead end street of exhaustion and burnout.
<blockquote>
And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places [like urban Chicago], and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
</blockquote>
What struck Pastor Leslie so powerfully was the fact that if we pour ourselves out for others, God promises to make us like a watered garden—that is, we will receive the water we need for refreshment. But even more: we will thus be a spring of water that does not fail—for others, for the demanding, exhausting, draining ministry of urban self-giving. This gave him a pattern of divine life that got him through his crisis and kept him going for years more. I want us to see this week and next week that this is a kind of fasting that the Lord wants to teach us.

'''Doug Nichols'''

''' '''The other experience that makes the chapter rich for me right now is the connection that it has with Doug Nichols, the President of Action International Ministries. Doug is the man who wrote to Tom Steller last summer and suggested that our church get an airplane and take a couple hundred people to Rwanda to help bury the dead so that doctors and nurses could do what they were sent to do. He spoke at our Pastors' Conference a week or so ago, and gave one of the most stirring messages I have heard in a long time. Action International specializes in reaching street children around the world.

To show you the kind of person he is, he wrote me last week to thank me for the conference and put a PS at the bottom of his letter:
<blockquote>
In the last 'one minute' that it possibly took you to read this letter, 28 children died of malnutrition and diseases that could have been easily prevented. 1,667 die every hour, 40,000 children die daily! Please pray with ACTION for more missionaries to take the Gospel to these children.
</blockquote>
Doug was found to have colon cancer in April of 1993. They gave him a 30% chance of living after his surgery and colostomy and radiation treatments. Last fall he got on a plane and went to Rwanda with our Dr. Mike Anderson and some others. His non-Christian oncologist said he would die in Rwanda. Doug said that would be OK because he is going to heaven. The oncologist called his surgeon to solicit help in not letting Doug go to Rwanda. The surgeon is a Christian and said, "It's okay, Doug's ready to die and go to heaven."

We got word here that Doug was going—with his cancer and his colostomy—to Rwanda. I recall gathering in the prayer room with the staff and very specifically being led to Isaiah 58:7–8, which we prayed for Doug:
<blockquote>
Is [the fast I choose] not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery [i.e., your healing] will speedily spring forth.
</blockquote>
We prayed very specifically that the feeding of the hungry and the housing of the homeless in Rwanda would not kill but heal Doug Nichols.

From Rwanda Doug called his Jewish oncologist and said he was not dead. And when he got back, he had a battery of tests which resulted in the assessment NED: no evidence of disease. If he makes it to April—the two year mark—without recurrence of the cancer, doctors give him a good chance of living out his normal span of life. Doug is 53.

'''Isaiah 58: Close to the Heart of Jesus'''

''' '''So you can see that Isaiah 58 has some very significant associations in my life. And I am praying that we will hear the message of this chapter for our church—our Master Planning Vision for the next five years and beyond. There is something very close to Jesus' heart in this chapter. You can hear it coming out in his words in Luke 4:18 ("The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden"). And in Matthew 25:35 ("I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me".) And John 7:38 ("He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water'"). A trusting relationship with Jesus is the way Isaiah 58 will be fulfilled in your life. The burden of this chapter pervades the ministry of Jesus—and more and more I believe it should pervade our ministry as well.

Let's get into it and go as far as we can today and then return next Sunday, Lord willing, and see what God has to say to us about how not to fast, and how to fast.

'''Fasting: The Danger of Substituting Religious Fervor for Righteous Living'''

 In the first three verses God brings an indictment against his people. He tells Isaiah to cry loudly and declare to the house of Jacob their sins. But their sin is cloaked with an amazing veneer of religious fervor. This is what is so stunning and sobering. Verse 2:
<blockquote>
Yet they seek Me day by day, and delight to know My ways, as [i.e., as if they were] a nation that has done righteousness, and has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
</blockquote>
In other words they worship as if they are a righteous and obedient nation. And they have themselves persuaded that they really want God and his ways. This is a terrible kind of delusion to live in.

He goes on near the end of verse 2:
<blockquote>
They ask Me for just decisions, they delight in the nearness of God.
</blockquote>
So they want God to intervene for them with righteous judgments. Things are not going well—as we will see in a moment. But they do not see the real problem. They love to come to worship. They talk the language of the nearness of God. They may even have moving religious and esthetic experiences in their efforts to draw near to God. But something is wrong. They express the frustration in verse 3, but they don't know what it is.

In verse 3 they say to God,
<blockquote>
Why have we fasted and Thou dost not see? Why have we humbled [or: afflicted] ourselves and Thou dost not notice?
</blockquote>
So something is wrong and they are fasting to make it right and it isn't working, so something is doubly wrong. There is a total of five religious things mentioned in verses 2–3 that they are doing—all in vain. In verse 2 it says

#they are "seeking God;" and
#they delight to know God's ways; and
#"they ask God for just decisions;" and
#"they delight in the nearness of God;" and
#in verse 3 they are fasting and humbling or afflicting themselves.

All of that and God tells Isaiah, Cry loudly, not softly, not quietly, but loudly, and declare to my people their sins. So here is a fasting that is not pleasing the Lord. Here is worship that is not pleasing the Lord. It is the kind of worship we do not want to have at Bethlehem. And yet what is wrong with seeking God, and delighting to know his ways, and asking him for just decisions, and delighting in his nearness, and fasting and humbling ourselves before him? What is wrong with that? Why, that sounds like the very way we talk about worship! Isn't that sobering? Doesn't that make you tremble? Doesn't that make you want to get so real with God, you could never be surprised by the Lord in this way—with your most zealous religious practices and even desires exposed as sham.

'''What's Wrong with Their Worship?'''

 God answers in the middle of verse 3:
<blockquote>
Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble [or: afflict] himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed, and for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?
</blockquote>
So here's the issue. The ethical, practical, relational accompaniments of fasting—or worship in general—are the real test of the authenticity of the fasting and the worship. Monday is the proof of Sunday. God lists the religious forms of their fasting: humbling or afflicting oneself (no food), bowing the head like a reed, spreading out our sackcloth and ashes (cf. Psalm 35:13). Then he lists the ethical accompaniments of this fasting: you go after your own pleasure (in some other way besides eating), you drive hard all your workers and become irritable or contentious and stir up strife and even go so far as to get into fights. And God asks, "Is this the fast that I choose?" The answer is No.

'''Another Test of Authenticity'''

 So here we have another test of authenticity. Jesus said, If you are fasting to be seen by others, you have your reward. That's it. Isaiah says, If your fasting leaves you self-indulgent in other areas, harsh toward your employees, irritable and contentious, then your fasting is not acceptable to God. It's not what he chooses. God is mercifully warning us against the danger of substituting religious fervor for righteous living.

Think and pray about it this week so that when we come back together next Sunday, you will be ready to hear God's beautiful and empowering and freeing alternative to this kind of hypocrisy. Think about it for the long-term implications for worship in your life and in this church. No worship—no preaching, no singing, no playing of instruments, no praying, no fasting, however intense or beautiful—that leaves us harsh with our workers on Monday, or contentious with our spouses at home, or self-indulgent in other areas of our lives, or angry enough to hit somebody—no worship or fasting that leaves us like that is true, God-pleasing worship.

Don't make a mistake here: true fasting may be a God-blessed means of overcoming harshness at work, and contentiousness at home, and self-indulgence, and anger. But if fasting ever becomes a religious cloak for minimizing or hiding those things and letting them go on and on, then it becomes hypocrisy and offensive to God.

Our prayer teams would love to pray with any of you this morning who feel a special burden to pray about anything that threatens to make your worship or your fasting inauthentic. And, of course the thing that would make it most inauthentic is unbelief itself. So I urge you to go hard after the authentic life this morning. And then come back next week and see what it looks like from this chapter.

Fasting for the Father's Reward

Bpmoosie — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:54:12 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''Fasting for the Father's Reward''' =

February 5, 1995

By '''John Piper'''
<blockquote>'''Matthew 6:16-18''' </blockquote><blockquote>And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face 18 so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. </blockquote>
 '''Introduction'''

 Carl Lundquist was the president of Bethel College and Seminary for almost 30 years. He died about four years ago from skin cancer. In the last decade of his life he devoted a lot of energy to studying and promoting personal spiritual devotion and the disciplines of the Christian life.
<blockquote></blockquote>
He even established what he called the "Evangelical Order of the Burning Heart" and began to send out a letter of inspiration and encouragement. In the September 1989 letter he told the story of how he first began to take fasting seriously.
<blockquote>My own serious consideration of fasting as a spiritual discipline began as a result of visiting Dr. Joon Gon Kim in Seoul, Korea. "Is it true," I asked him, "that you spent 40 days in fasting prior to the evangelism crusade in 1980?" "Yes, " he responded, "it is true." Dr. Kim was chairman of the crusade expected to bring a million people to Yoido Plaza. But six months before the meeting the police informed him they were revoking their permission for the crusade. Korea at that time was in political turmoil and Seoul was under martial law. The officers decided they could not take the risk of having so many people together in one place. So Dr. Kim and some associates went to a prayer mountain and there spent 40 days before God in prayer and fasting for the crusade. Then they returned and made their way to the police station. "Oh," said the officer when he saw Dr. Kim, "we have changed our mind and you can have your meeting!" </blockquote><blockquote>
As I went back to the hotel I reflected that I had never fasted like that. Perhaps I had never desired a work of God with the same intensity . . . His body is marked by many 40 day fasts during his long spiritual leadership of God's work in Asia. Also, however, I haven't seen the miracles Dr. Kim has.
</blockquote>
Dr. Lundquist went on to tell of one of the "Burning Heart" retreats that he was leading when he saw a seminary senior not eating. He asked him if he was all right and learned that the student was near the end of a 21 day total fast as part of seeking God's leading for the next chapter of his life.

Dr. Lundquist said that in the later years of his ministry he found a modified fast once a week very helpful in his life and work. He wrote in his letter,
<blockquote>Instead of taking an hour for lunch I use the time to go to a prayer room, usually the Flame Room in nearby Bethel Theological Seminary. There I spend my lunch break in fellowship with God and in prayer. And I have learned a very personal dimension to what Jesus declared, "I have had meat to eat ye know not of." </blockquote>
This is similar to what I have asked the "Fasting Forty" to do during the month of February—fast for a 24 hour period once a week.

'''"''When'' You Fast" not "''If'' You Fast"'''

One of the texts that moved Dr. Lundquist in those latter years of his life was the one we are looking at this morning—Matthew 6:16–18. The thing that gripped him from this text were the words in verse 16, "And whenever you fast . . . " Like so many others, Dr. Lundquist noticed that it does not say, "If you fast," but, "when you fast." He concluded, as I do, and as most commentators do, that Jesus assumed that fasting was a good thing and that it would be done by his disciples. This is what we saw in Matthew 9:15—When the bridegroom is taken away, then the disciples will fast.

So Jesus is not teaching on whether we should fast or not. He is assuming we will fast and teaching us how to do it and especially how not to do it.

'''Hypocrisy: A Danger in Fasting'''

''' '''If fasting is going to be built into our lives as a way of seeking all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19), we need to know how not to do it. That would include physical tips on how not to endanger our bodies, and spiritual teaching on how not to endanger our souls. On the physical side, I will be making available to you a short paper from a medical doctor who spoke to us when I was in Orlando last December.

'''"They Have Their Reward in Full"'''

But more important than that is the warning of Jesus about the spiritual danger of fasting in the wrong way. That's what this text is about. Jesus warns us what not to do and then tells us what to do instead.

He warns us in verse 16 not to be like the hypocrites: "Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men." So the hypocrites are folks who do their spiritual disciplines "to be seen by men." This is the reward the hypocrites are after. And who has not felt how rewarding indeed it is to be admired for our discipline or our zeal or our devotion. This is a great reward among men. Few things feel more gratifying to the heart of us fallen people than being made much of for our accomplishments—especially our religious accomplishments.

So Jesus says in the last part of verse 16, "Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full." In other words, if that is the reward you aim at in fasting, that is what you will get and that will be all you get. In other words the danger of hypocrisy is that it is so successful. It aims at the praise of men. And it succeeds. But that's all.

'''Why Is This Hypocrisy?'''

But let's ask why this is hypocrisy. Here you have religious people. They decide to fast. Instead of concealing that they are fasting they make it plain that they are fasting. Why is that hypocrisy? Why isn't it hypocrisy to fast, but to anoint your hair and wash your face and not let anybody know that you are fasting? Isn't the definition of hypocrisy trying to look on the outside different than you are on the inside? So these religious folks are letting reality show, right? They are the opposite of hypocrites. They fast, and they look like they fast. No sham. Be real. If you fast, look like you fast.

But Jesus calls them hypocrites. Why? Because the heart that motivates fasting is supposed to be a heart for God. That's what fasting means: a heart-hunger for God. But the heart motivating their fasting is a heart for human admiration. So they are being open and transparent about what they are doing, but that very openness is deceptive about what they're feeling. If they wanted to be really open, they would have to wear a sign about their necks that said, "The bottom line reward in my fasting is the praise of men." Then they would not be hypocrites. They would be openly and transparently vain.

So there are two dangers that these fasting folks have fallen into. One is that they are seeking the wrong reward in fasting, namely, the esteem of other people. They love the praise of men. And the other is that they hide this with a pretense of love for God. Fasting means love for God—hunger for God. So with their actions they are saying that they have a hunger for God. But on the inside they are hungry to be admired and approved by other people. That's the god that satisfies them.

'''An Alternative Way of Fasting'''

In verses 17 and 18 Jesus gives an alternative to this way of fasting—the way he wants it to be done. He says,
<blockquote>But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, 18 so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. </blockquote>
Now there are all kinds of public fasting in the Bible, including the New Testament, for example, in Acts 13:1–3 and 14:23. If someone finds out you are fasting, you haven't sinned. The value of your fast is not destroyed if someone notices that you have skipped lunch. It is possible to fast with other people—for example: our staff fasting together on a planning retreat to seek the Lord—it is possible to fast like that and NOT to fast "to be seen by men." Being ''seen fasting and fasting to be seen ''are not the same. Being seen fasting is a mere external event. Fasting TO BE SEEN is a self-exalting motive of the heart.

'''Jesus' Test of the Reality of God in Our Lives'''

So Jesus gives us instruction that will test our hearts. He says to us when we are fasting, don't make any effort to be seen. In fact, make efforts in the other direction—not to be seen. Fix your hair, wash your face so that as far as possible people will not even know that you are fasting.

But he goes beyond this and says, that your goal is to be seen by God not man. "But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, 18 so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret." Fast to be seen by God in secret.

What Jesus does here is test the reality of God in our lives. O, how easy it is to do religious things if other people are watching—preaching, praying, attending church, reading the Bible, acts of kindness and charity, etc. The reason for this is not only the commendation we might get, but more subtly the sense that the real effectiveness of our spiritual acts is on the horizontal axis among people, not the vertical axis with God. If the kids see me pray at meals, it will do them good. If the staff sees me fast, they may be inspired to fast. If my roommate sees me read my Bible, he may be inspired to read his. In other words, we feel that the value of our devotion is the horizontal effect it has on others as they see us.

Now that's not all bad. But the danger is that all of our life starts to be justified and understood simply on the horizontal level for the effects it can have because others see it happening. And so God can become a secondary Person in the living of our lives. We think that he is important because all these things are the kinds of things he wants us to do. But he himself is falling out of the picture as the focus of it all.

So Jesus tests our hearts to see if God himself will be our sufficiency—when nobody else knows what we are doing. When no one is saying, "How are you getting on with the fast?" No one even knows—no one but God! Jesus is calling for a radical orientation on God himself. He is pushing us to have a real, utterly authentic, personal relationship with God. If God is not real to you, it will be miserable to endure something difficult with God as the only one who knows. It will all seem very pointless, very inefficient because the whole range of horizontal possibilities will be nullified because no one knows what you are experiencing. All that matters is God and who he is and what he thinks and what he will do.

'''Jesus' Promise to Those Whose Focus Is God '''Which brings us to the last part of verse 18 and the promise Jesus makes about what God will do for those who focus vertically on him and do not need the praise of other people to make their devotion worthwhile. He says, "And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."

The word "repay" in the NASB (New American Standard Bible) is probably a little too mercenary. It seems to suggest a business deal: We do the work of fasting and God pays up with wages. That is not necessarily implied in the word that simply means "give back" or "make a return." In some places it may be money. In others it may be justice. In others it may be God's gracious response to an act of faith and prayer. That's what it is here, I believe.

God sees us fasting. He sees that we have a deep longing that is pulling us to fast. He sees that our heart is not seeking the ordinary pleasures of human admiration and applause. He sees that we are acting not out of strength to impress others with our discipline, but out of weakness to express to God our need and our great longing that he would act. And when he sees this, he responds. He acts. We have seen him acting in these last weeks of fasting in some remarkable ways. People who have been hard to the gospel opening up. People closed off to reconciliation opening up. People long lukewarm and indifferent awakening to the greatness of God and their salvation.

'''What Is the "Reward" Jesus Promises? ''' But what is the "repayment" or the "reward" that Jesus promises from the Father here? Might it be "the praise of men"? We would make a dupe out of God if we tried to use him in some roundabout way to get what we really want instead of him, the praise of men. That's not the reward he gives.

Might it be money? The very next verse (v. 19) warns against laying up treasures on earth (whether God gives them or not) and says to lay up treasures in heaven—where there is no earthly currency except faith and love.

No, the best place to find out the reward of our fasting is to look here in the Sermon on the Mount. For example, the prayer that Jesus just taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9–13 begins with three main longings: that God's name be hallowed or revered, that his kingdom come, that his will be done on earth the way it's done in heaven. That is the main reward God gives for our fasting. We fast out of longing for God's name to be known and cherished and honored, and longing for his rule to be extended and then consummated in history, and longing for his will to hold sway everywhere with the same devotion and energy that the inexhaustible angels show sleeplessly in heaven forever and ever.

For sure he gives us many, many specific things through fasting. And it is not wrong to seek specifically for his help in every area of our lives through fasting. But these three petitions: hallowing his name, seeking his kingdom, and doing his will—these give the test to see if all the other things we long for are expressions of these. Do we want our sons and daughters saved because this would hallow God's name? Do we want North Korea to open for the sake of the advance of the kingship of Jesus? Do we want upright leaders in government because God's holy, revealed will for his creation is at stake? Do we want Bethlehem revived and awakened with divine power and love and joy because it glorifies the name of God and advances his kingdom and brings about his will?

This is what Jesus is calling us to—a radically God-oriented fasting. So for the sake of your own soul, and in response to Jesus, and for the advancement of the kingdom of God's great saving purpose to glorify his name, join the "Fasting Forty" and fix your hair, and wash your face, and let the Father who sees in secret see you open your heart of yearning to him with fasting. The Father who sees in secret is brimming with rewards for your joy and for his glory.

Fasting for the Father's Reward

Bpmoosie — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:53:46 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''Fasting for the Father's Reward''' =

February 5, 1995

By '''John Piper'''
<blockquote>'''Matthew 6:16-18''' And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face 18 so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. </blockquote>
 '''Introduction'''

 Carl Lundquist was the president of Bethel College and Seminary for almost 30 years. He died about four years ago from skin cancer. In the last decade of his life he devoted a lot of energy to studying and promoting personal spiritual devotion and the disciplines of the Christian life.
<blockquote></blockquote>
He even established what he called the "Evangelical Order of the Burning Heart" and began to send out a letter of inspiration and encouragement. In the September 1989 letter he told the story of how he first began to take fasting seriously.
<blockquote>My own serious consideration of fasting as a spiritual discipline began as a result of visiting Dr. Joon Gon Kim in Seoul, Korea. "Is it true," I asked him, "that you spent 40 days in fasting prior to the evangelism crusade in 1980?" "Yes, " he responded, "it is true." Dr. Kim was chairman of the crusade expected to bring a million people to Yoido Plaza. But six months before the meeting the police informed him they were revoking their permission for the crusade. Korea at that time was in political turmoil and Seoul was under martial law. The officers decided they could not take the risk of having so many people together in one place. So Dr. Kim and some associates went to a prayer mountain and there spent 40 days before God in prayer and fasting for the crusade. Then they returned and made their way to the police station. "Oh," said the officer when he saw Dr. Kim, "we have changed our mind and you can have your meeting!" </blockquote><blockquote>
As I went back to the hotel I reflected that I had never fasted like that. Perhaps I had never desired a work of God with the same intensity . . . His body is marked by many 40 day fasts during his long spiritual leadership of God's work in Asia. Also, however, I haven't seen the miracles Dr. Kim has.
</blockquote>
Dr. Lundquist went on to tell of one of the "Burning Heart" retreats that he was leading when he saw a seminary senior not eating. He asked him if he was all right and learned that the student was near the end of a 21 day total fast as part of seeking God's leading for the next chapter of his life.

Dr. Lundquist said that in the later years of his ministry he found a modified fast once a week very helpful in his life and work. He wrote in his letter,
<blockquote>Instead of taking an hour for lunch I use the time to go to a prayer room, usually the Flame Room in nearby Bethel Theological Seminary. There I spend my lunch break in fellowship with God and in prayer. And I have learned a very personal dimension to what Jesus declared, "I have had meat to eat ye know not of." </blockquote>
This is similar to what I have asked the "Fasting Forty" to do during the month of February—fast for a 24 hour period once a week.

'''"''When'' You Fast" not "''If'' You Fast"'''

One of the texts that moved Dr. Lundquist in those latter years of his life was the one we are looking at this morning—Matthew 6:16–18. The thing that gripped him from this text were the words in verse 16, "And whenever you fast . . . " Like so many others, Dr. Lundquist noticed that it does not say, "If you fast," but, "when you fast." He concluded, as I do, and as most commentators do, that Jesus assumed that fasting was a good thing and that it would be done by his disciples. This is what we saw in Matthew 9:15—When the bridegroom is taken away, then the disciples will fast.

So Jesus is not teaching on whether we should fast or not. He is assuming we will fast and teaching us how to do it and especially how not to do it.

'''Hypocrisy: A Danger in Fasting'''

''' '''If fasting is going to be built into our lives as a way of seeking all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19), we need to know how not to do it. That would include physical tips on how not to endanger our bodies, and spiritual teaching on how not to endanger our souls. On the physical side, I will be making available to you a short paper from a medical doctor who spoke to us when I was in Orlando last December.

'''"They Have Their Reward in Full"'''

But more important than that is the warning of Jesus about the spiritual danger of fasting in the wrong way. That's what this text is about. Jesus warns us what not to do and then tells us what to do instead.

He warns us in verse 16 not to be like the hypocrites: "Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men." So the hypocrites are folks who do their spiritual disciplines "to be seen by men." This is the reward the hypocrites are after. And who has not felt how rewarding indeed it is to be admired for our discipline or our zeal or our devotion. This is a great reward among men. Few things feel more gratifying to the heart of us fallen people than being made much of for our accomplishments—especially our religious accomplishments.

So Jesus says in the last part of verse 16, "Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full." In other words, if that is the reward you aim at in fasting, that is what you will get and that will be all you get. In other words the danger of hypocrisy is that it is so successful. It aims at the praise of men. And it succeeds. But that's all.

'''Why Is This Hypocrisy?'''

But let's ask why this is hypocrisy. Here you have religious people. They decide to fast. Instead of concealing that they are fasting they make it plain that they are fasting. Why is that hypocrisy? Why isn't it hypocrisy to fast, but to anoint your hair and wash your face and not let anybody know that you are fasting? Isn't the definition of hypocrisy trying to look on the outside different than you are on the inside? So these religious folks are letting reality show, right? They are the opposite of hypocrites. They fast, and they look like they fast. No sham. Be real. If you fast, look like you fast.

But Jesus calls them hypocrites. Why? Because the heart that motivates fasting is supposed to be a heart for God. That's what fasting means: a heart-hunger for God. But the heart motivating their fasting is a heart for human admiration. So they are being open and transparent about what they are doing, but that very openness is deceptive about what they're feeling. If they wanted to be really open, they would have to wear a sign about their necks that said, "The bottom line reward in my fasting is the praise of men." Then they would not be hypocrites. They would be openly and transparently vain.

So there are two dangers that these fasting folks have fallen into. One is that they are seeking the wrong reward in fasting, namely, the esteem of other people. They love the praise of men. And the other is that they hide this with a pretense of love for God. Fasting means love for God—hunger for God. So with their actions they are saying that they have a hunger for God. But on the inside they are hungry to be admired and approved by other people. That's the god that satisfies them.

'''An Alternative Way of Fasting'''

In verses 17 and 18 Jesus gives an alternative to this way of fasting—the way he wants it to be done. He says,
<blockquote>But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, 18 so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. </blockquote>
Now there are all kinds of public fasting in the Bible, including the New Testament, for example, in Acts 13:1–3 and 14:23. If someone finds out you are fasting, you haven't sinned. The value of your fast is not destroyed if someone notices that you have skipped lunch. It is possible to fast with other people—for example: our staff fasting together on a planning retreat to seek the Lord—it is possible to fast like that and NOT to fast "to be seen by men." Being ''seen fasting and fasting to be seen ''are not the same. Being seen fasting is a mere external event. Fasting TO BE SEEN is a self-exalting motive of the heart.

'''Jesus' Test of the Reality of God in Our Lives'''

So Jesus gives us instruction that will test our hearts. He says to us when we are fasting, don't make any effort to be seen. In fact, make efforts in the other direction—not to be seen. Fix your hair, wash your face so that as far as possible people will not even know that you are fasting.

But he goes beyond this and says, that your goal is to be seen by God not man. "But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, 18 so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret." Fast to be seen by God in secret.

What Jesus does here is test the reality of God in our lives. O, how easy it is to do religious things if other people are watching—preaching, praying, attending church, reading the Bible, acts of kindness and charity, etc. The reason for this is not only the commendation we might get, but more subtly the sense that the real effectiveness of our spiritual acts is on the horizontal axis among people, not the vertical axis with God. If the kids see me pray at meals, it will do them good. If the staff sees me fast, they may be inspired to fast. If my roommate sees me read my Bible, he may be inspired to read his. In other words, we feel that the value of our devotion is the horizontal effect it has on others as they see us.

Now that's not all bad. But the danger is that all of our life starts to be justified and understood simply on the horizontal level for the effects it can have because others see it happening. And so God can become a secondary Person in the living of our lives. We think that he is important because all these things are the kinds of things he wants us to do. But he himself is falling out of the picture as the focus of it all.

So Jesus tests our hearts to see if God himself will be our sufficiency—when nobody else knows what we are doing. When no one is saying, "How are you getting on with the fast?" No one even knows—no one but God! Jesus is calling for a radical orientation on God himself. He is pushing us to have a real, utterly authentic, personal relationship with God. If God is not real to you, it will be miserable to endure something difficult with God as the only one who knows. It will all seem very pointless, very inefficient because the whole range of horizontal possibilities will be nullified because no one knows what you are experiencing. All that matters is God and who he is and what he thinks and what he will do.

'''Jesus' Promise to Those Whose Focus Is God '''Which brings us to the last part of verse 18 and the promise Jesus makes about what God will do for those who focus vertically on him and do not need the praise of other people to make their devotion worthwhile. He says, "And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."

The word "repay" in the NASB (New American Standard Bible) is probably a little too mercenary. It seems to suggest a business deal: We do the work of fasting and God pays up with wages. That is not necessarily implied in the word that simply means "give back" or "make a return." In some places it may be money. In others it may be justice. In others it may be God's gracious response to an act of faith and prayer. That's what it is here, I believe.

God sees us fasting. He sees that we have a deep longing that is pulling us to fast. He sees that our heart is not seeking the ordinary pleasures of human admiration and applause. He sees that we are acting not out of strength to impress others with our discipline, but out of weakness to express to God our need and our great longing that he would act. And when he sees this, he responds. He acts. We have seen him acting in these last weeks of fasting in some remarkable ways. People who have been hard to the gospel opening up. People closed off to reconciliation opening up. People long lukewarm and indifferent awakening to the greatness of God and their salvation.

'''What Is the "Reward" Jesus Promises? ''' But what is the "repayment" or the "reward" that Jesus promises from the Father here? Might it be "the praise of men"? We would make a dupe out of God if we tried to use him in some roundabout way to get what we really want instead of him, the praise of men. That's not the reward he gives.

Might it be money? The very next verse (v. 19) warns against laying up treasures on earth (whether God gives them or not) and says to lay up treasures in heaven—where there is no earthly currency except faith and love.

No, the best place to find out the reward of our fasting is to look here in the Sermon on the Mount. For example, the prayer that Jesus just taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9–13 begins with three main longings: that God's name be hallowed or revered, that his kingdom come, that his will be done on earth the way it's done in heaven. That is the main reward God gives for our fasting. We fast out of longing for God's name to be known and cherished and honored, and longing for his rule to be extended and then consummated in history, and longing for his will to hold sway everywhere with the same devotion and energy that the inexhaustible angels show sleeplessly in heaven forever and ever.

For sure he gives us many, many specific things through fasting. And it is not wrong to seek specifically for his help in every area of our lives through fasting. But these three petitions: hallowing his name, seeking his kingdom, and doing his will—these give the test to see if all the other things we long for are expressions of these. Do we want our sons and daughters saved because this would hallow God's name? Do we want North Korea to open for the sake of the advance of the kingship of Jesus? Do we want upright leaders in government because God's holy, revealed will for his creation is at stake? Do we want Bethlehem revived and awakened with divine power and love and joy because it glorifies the name of God and advances his kingdom and brings about his will?

This is what Jesus is calling us to—a radically God-oriented fasting. So for the sake of your own soul, and in response to Jesus, and for the advancement of the kingdom of God's great saving purpose to glorify his name, join the "Fasting Forty" and fix your hair, and wash your face, and let the Father who sees in secret see you open your heart of yearning to him with fasting. The Father who sees in secret is brimming with rewards for your joy and for his glory.

Fasting for the Father's Reward

Bpmoosie — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:53:32 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''Fasting for the Father's Reward''' =

February 5, 1995

By'''John Piper'''
<blockquote>
'''Matthew 6:16-18'''

And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face 18 so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
</blockquote>
 '''Introduction'''

 Carl Lundquist was the president of Bethel College and Seminary for almost 30 years. He died about four years ago from skin cancer. In the last decade of his life he devoted a lot of energy to studying and promoting personal spiritual devotion and the disciplines of the Christian life.
<blockquote></blockquote>
He even established what he called the "Evangelical Order of the Burning Heart" and began to send out a letter of inspiration and encouragement. In the September 1989 letter he told the story of how he first began to take fasting seriously.
<blockquote>
My own serious consideration of fasting as a spiritual discipline began as a result of visiting Dr. Joon Gon Kim in Seoul, Korea. "Is it true," I asked him, "that you spent 40 days in fasting prior to the evangelism crusade in 1980?" "Yes, " he responded, "it is true." Dr. Kim was chairman of the crusade expected to bring a million people to Yoido Plaza. But six months before the meeting the police informed him they were revoking their permission for the crusade. Korea at that time was in political turmoil and Seoul was under martial law. The officers decided they could not take the risk of having so many people together in one place. So Dr. Kim and some associates went to a prayer mountain and there spent 40 days before God in prayer and fasting for the crusade. Then they returned and made their way to the police station. "Oh," said the officer when he saw Dr. Kim, "we have changed our mind and you can have your meeting!"
</blockquote><blockquote>
As I went back to the hotel I reflected that I had never fasted like that. Perhaps I had never desired a work of God with the same intensity . . . His body is marked by many 40 day fasts during his long spiritual leadership of God's work in Asia. Also, however, I haven't seen the miracles Dr. Kim has.
</blockquote>
Dr. Lundquist went on to tell of one of the "Burning Heart" retreats that he was leading when he saw a seminary senior not eating. He asked him if he was all right and learned that the student was near the end of a 21 day total fast as part of seeking God's leading for the next chapter of his life.

Dr. Lundquist said that in the later years of his ministry he found a modified fast once a week very helpful in his life and work. He wrote in his letter,
<blockquote>
Instead of taking an hour for lunch I use the time to go to a prayer room, usually the Flame Room in nearby Bethel Theological Seminary. There I spend my lunch break in fellowship with God and in prayer. And I have learned a very personal dimension to what Jesus declared, "I have had meat to eat ye know not of."
</blockquote>
This is similar to what I have asked the "Fasting Forty" to do during the month of February—fast for a 24 hour period once a week.

'''"''When'' You Fast" not "''If'' You Fast"'''

One of the texts that moved Dr. Lundquist in those latter years of his life was the one we are looking at this morning—Matthew 6:16–18. The thing that gripped him from this text were the words in verse 16, "And whenever you fast . . . " Like so many others, Dr. Lundquist noticed that it does not say, "If you fast," but, "when you fast." He concluded, as I do, and as most commentators do, that Jesus assumed that fasting was a good thing and that it would be done by his disciples. This is what we saw in Matthew 9:15—When the bridegroom is taken away, then the disciples will fast.

So Jesus is not teaching on whether we should fast or not. He is assuming we will fast and teaching us how to do it and especially how not to do it.

'''Hypocrisy: A Danger in Fasting'''

''' '''If fasting is going to be built into our lives as a way of seeking all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19), we need to know how not to do it. That would include physical tips on how not to endanger our bodies, and spiritual teaching on how not to endanger our souls. On the physical side, I will be making available to you a short paper from a medical doctor who spoke to us when I was in Orlando last December.

'''"They Have Their Reward in Full"'''

But more important than that is the warning of Jesus about the spiritual danger of fasting in the wrong way. That's what this text is about. Jesus warns us what not to do and then tells us what to do instead.

He warns us in verse 16 not to be like the hypocrites: "Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men." So the hypocrites are folks who do their spiritual disciplines "to be seen by men." This is the reward the hypocrites are after. And who has not felt how rewarding indeed it is to be admired for our discipline or our zeal or our devotion. This is a great reward among men. Few things feel more gratifying to the heart of us fallen people than being made much of for our accomplishments—especially our religious accomplishments.

So Jesus says in the last part of verse 16, "Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full." In other words, if that is the reward you aim at in fasting, that is what you will get and that will be all you get. In other words the danger of hypocrisy is that it is so successful. It aims at the praise of men. And it succeeds. But that's all.

'''Why Is This Hypocrisy?'''

But let's ask why this is hypocrisy. Here you have religious people. They decide to fast. Instead of concealing that they are fasting they make it plain that they are fasting. Why is that hypocrisy? Why isn't it hypocrisy to fast, but to anoint your hair and wash your face and not let anybody know that you are fasting? Isn't the definition of hypocrisy trying to look on the outside different than you are on the inside? So these religious folks are letting reality show, right? They are the opposite of hypocrites. They fast, and they look like they fast. No sham. Be real. If you fast, look like you fast.

But Jesus calls them hypocrites. Why? Because the heart that motivates fasting is supposed to be a heart for God. That's what fasting means: a heart-hunger for God. But the heart motivating their fasting is a heart for human admiration. So they are being open and transparent about what they are doing, but that very openness is deceptive about what they're feeling. If they wanted to be really open, they would have to wear a sign about their necks that said, "The bottom line reward in my fasting is the praise of men." Then they would not be hypocrites. They would be openly and transparently vain.

So there are two dangers that these fasting folks have fallen into. One is that they are seeking the wrong reward in fasting, namely, the esteem of other people. They love the praise of men. And the other is that they hide this with a pretense of love for God. Fasting means love for God—hunger for God. So with their actions they are saying that they have a hunger for God. But on the inside they are hungry to be admired and approved by other people. That's the god that satisfies them.

'''An Alternative Way of Fasting'''

In verses 17 and 18 Jesus gives an alternative to this way of fasting—the way he wants it to be done. He says,
<blockquote>
But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, 18 so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
</blockquote>
Now there are all kinds of public fasting in the Bible, including the New Testament, for example, in Acts 13:1–3 and 14:23. If someone finds out you are fasting, you haven't sinned. The value of your fast is not destroyed if someone notices that you have skipped lunch. It is possible to fast with other people—for example: our staff fasting together on a planning retreat to seek the Lord—it is possible to fast like that and NOT to fast "to be seen by men." Being ''seen fasting and fasting to be seen ''are not the same. Being seen fasting is a mere external event. Fasting TO BE SEEN is a self-exalting motive of the heart.

'''Jesus' Test of the Reality of God in Our Lives'''

So Jesus gives us instruction that will test our hearts. He says to us when we are fasting, don't make any effort to be seen. In fact, make efforts in the other direction—not to be seen. Fix your hair, wash your face so that as far as possible people will not even know that you are fasting.

But he goes beyond this and says, that your goal is to be seen by God not man. "But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, 18 so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret." Fast to be seen by God in secret.

What Jesus does here is test the reality of God in our lives. O, how easy it is to do religious things if other people are watching—preaching, praying, attending church, reading the Bible, acts of kindness and charity, etc. The reason for this is not only the commendation we might get, but more subtly the sense that the real effectiveness of our spiritual acts is on the horizontal axis among people, not the vertical axis with God. If the kids see me pray at meals, it will do them good. If the staff sees me fast, they may be inspired to fast. If my roommate sees me read my Bible, he may be inspired to read his. In other words, we feel that the value of our devotion is the horizontal effect it has on others as they see us.

Now that's not all bad. But the danger is that all of our life starts to be justified and understood simply on the horizontal level for the effects it can have because others see it happening. And so God can become a secondary Person in the living of our lives. We think that he is important because all these things are the kinds of things he wants us to do. But he himself is falling out of the picture as the focus of it all.

So Jesus tests our hearts to see if God himself will be our sufficiency—when nobody else knows what we are doing. When no one is saying, "How are you getting on with the fast?" No one even knows—no one but God! Jesus is calling for a radical orientation on God himself. He is pushing us to have a real, utterly authentic, personal relationship with God. If God is not real to you, it will be miserable to endure something difficult with God as the only one who knows. It will all seem very pointless, very inefficient because the whole range of horizontal possibilities will be nullified because no one knows what you are experiencing. All that matters is God and who he is and what he thinks and what he will do.

'''Jesus' Promise to Those Whose Focus Is God '''Which brings us to the last part of verse 18 and the promise Jesus makes about what God will do for those who focus vertically on him and do not need the praise of other people to make their devotion worthwhile. He says, "And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."

The word "repay" in the NASB (New American Standard Bible) is probably a little too mercenary. It seems to suggest a business deal: We do the work of fasting and God pays up with wages. That is not necessarily implied in the word that simply means "give back" or "make a return." In some places it may be money. In others it may be justice. In others it may be God's gracious response to an act of faith and prayer. That's what it is here, I believe.

God sees us fasting. He sees that we have a deep longing that is pulling us to fast. He sees that our heart is not seeking the ordinary pleasures of human admiration and applause. He sees that we are acting not out of strength to impress others with our discipline, but out of weakness to express to God our need and our great longing that he would act. And when he sees this, he responds. He acts. We have seen him acting in these last weeks of fasting in some remarkable ways. People who have been hard to the gospel opening up. People closed off to reconciliation opening up. People long lukewarm and indifferent awakening to the greatness of God and their salvation.

'''What Is the "Reward" Jesus Promises? ''' But what is the "repayment" or the "reward" that Jesus promises from the Father here? Might it be "the praise of men"? We would make a dupe out of God if we tried to use him in some roundabout way to get what we really want instead of him, the praise of men. That's not the reward he gives.

Might it be money? The very next verse (v. 19) warns against laying up treasures on earth (whether God gives them or not) and says to lay up treasures in heaven—where there is no earthly currency except faith and love.

No, the best place to find out the reward of our fasting is to look here in the Sermon on the Mount. For example, the prayer that Jesus just taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9–13 begins with three main longings: that God's name be hallowed or revered, that his kingdom come, that his will be done on earth the way it's done in heaven. That is the main reward God gives for our fasting. We fast out of longing for God's name to be known and cherished and honored, and longing for his rule to be extended and then consummated in history, and longing for his will to hold sway everywhere with the same devotion and energy that the inexhaustible angels show sleeplessly in heaven forever and ever.

For sure he gives us many, many specific things through fasting. And it is not wrong to seek specifically for his help in every area of our lives through fasting. But these three petitions: hallowing his name, seeking his kingdom, and doing his will—these give the test to see if all the other things we long for are expressions of these. Do we want our sons and daughters saved because this would hallow God's name? Do we want North Korea to open for the sake of the advance of the kingship of Jesus? Do we want upright leaders in government because God's holy, revealed will for his creation is at stake? Do we want Bethlehem revived and awakened with divine power and love and joy because it glorifies the name of God and advances his kingdom and brings about his will?

This is what Jesus is calling us to—a radically God-oriented fasting. So for the sake of your own soul, and in response to Jesus, and for the advancement of the kingdom of God's great saving purpose to glorify his name, join the "Fasting Forty" and fix your hair, and wash your face, and let the Father who sees in secret see you open your heart of yearning to him with fasting. The Father who sees in secret is brimming with rewards for your joy and for his glory.

Fasting for the King's Coming

Bpmoosie — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:46:00 GMT

Bpmoosie:

<blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>January 29, 1995</blockquote><blockquote>By: '''John Piper'''</blockquote><blockquote>'''Luke 2:36-38''' </blockquote><blockquote>
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
</blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>
 '''Introduction'''

 We come to the end of January and the call to fast for one day a week this month. I hope we can make time soon to tell each other what God has done this month. Just listening to the staff recount the surprising works of God last Tuesday in our prayer meeting gives me strong encouragement to press on in some kind of corporate fasting—which I will tell you about in a few moments.
<blockquote></blockquote>
In this series of messages on biblical fasting we have seen from Acts 13:3 how God changed the course of history through the fasting of the leaders in Antioch.

We have seen from Matthew 9:15 that Jesus promised that when he had returned to his Father in heaven, then the church would fast.

We have seen from Matthew 4:4 that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God—that the nourishment of Jesus during his 40 day fast was the revelation of God through his Word. And that is what we want to feed on more and more.

And last week we saw from Ezra 8:21 that God rescues his people—including the little ones—through fasting.

'''"Thy Kingdom Come!"'''

Next week we are going to look at the Sermon on the Mount and notice that in Matthew 6 Jesus connects fasting with the prayer, and particularly the Lord's Prayer. The preeminent petitions of the Lord's Prayer are: Lord, let your name be hallowed, and, Lord, let your kingdom come. So Christian fasting is a fasting not just for immediate breakthroughs of faith and healing and righteousness, but also for the ultimate breakthrough—of the King's return in glory: "Thy kingdom come!" Or as the early church prayed it: "Maranatha!" = "Our Lord, come!"

This is exactly what we would expect in view of what we saw in Matthew 9:15. Recall that Jesus pictured himself as the bridegroom and said that his disciples don't fast because the bridegroom is present. But then he said, "The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." So Jesus connects Christian fasting with our longing for the return of the bridegroom.

The church of Christ is called to put the earnestness of fasting behind prayer, "Thy kingdom come." "''Bridegroom'', come!" Fasting is a ''physical expression of heart hunger for the second coming of Jesus.''

'''Fasting as the Counterpart to the Lord's Supper'''

I wonder if the Lord means for fasting to be a counterpart to the Lord's Supper. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me." By ''eating ''we remember that Jesus ''has'' come and died for our sins. But by not eating—by fasting—we say: yes, but the bridegroom is not here. He was here, and he loved us to the uttermost. And we can eat and even celebrate with feasting because he has come. But this we also know: he is not here as he once was. And his absence is painful. The sin and misery of the world is painful. The people of Christ are weak and despised—like sheep in the midst of wolves (Matthew 10:16). We long for him to come again and take up his throne and reign in our midst and vindicate his people and his truth and his glory. So the feasting of the Lord's Supper expresses what has happened; and our fasting expresses what has not yet happened.

'''Jesus' Appointed Way for Us to Prepare for His Coming'''

In Luke 18:7–8 Jesus says,
<blockquote>Will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? </blockquote>
Have you seriously considered that Jesus has appointed a way for us to prepare for his own second coming? God will send the Son of Man and vindicate his elect who "cry to him day and night." Cry what? Cry, "Thy kingdom come!" "Come back, O precious bridegroom. Come reign as King. Come, vindicate your people. Come, marry your bride."

And since the life of the church and the evangelization of the nations is part of that preparation we cry out for that too. "Lord, revive your people. Lord, cause your Word to run and triumph." If you have eyes to see the way the world is, in contrast to the way it is supposed to be under the Lordship of Christ, you will feel plenty to fast for.

'''Anna: Fasting for the First Coming of the King'''

 In calling for the church to fast for the coming King, we are not asking for something new. The morning's text shows us an old woman who gave almost her whole life to this sacred ministry before the King came the first time. Luke 2:36–38,
<blockquote>There was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. 38 ''And at that very moment ''she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. </blockquote>
Mary and Joseph had just brought the infant Jesus into the temple. Luke tells us about two very old people, Simeon and Anna, who recognize who the baby is. What marks both of these people is that they were yearning and longing for the coming of the Messiah. In verse 25 it says that Simeon was "looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him." Jesus, the Messiah, is the consolation of Israel (vv. 26, 30).

In verse 37 it says that Anna virtually never left the temple and was serving the Lord "with fastings and prayers." In other words, she was like Simeon—she was longing for the Messiah to come; she was fasting and praying ''night and day ''because she was looking for "the redemption of Jerusalem."

In verse 38 she comes at just the right moment to see the Messiah-child, and she gives thanks to God and speaks of him to all who were "looking for the redemption of Jerusalem." In other words God gave a special glimpse of the King's glory to those who were yearning and longing and looking for "the redemption of Jerusalem." For Anna that meant a life of fasting decade after decade—probably 60 years since her husband died—as she ministered in the temple.

I think one of the reasons Luke tells us about Simeon and Anna is to illustrate how holy and devout people respond to the promise of Christ's coming. And how God responds to their longings. They see more than others see. They may not understand fully all the details about how the Messiah is coming—Simeon and Anna surely didn't—but God mercifully gives them a glimpse before they die, of what they so passionately wanted to see.

'''Christians: Fasting for the Second Coming of the King'''

''' '''Now here we are—we Christians—on the other side of the King's coming. He has come and gone away again. He has revealed his glory. He has shed his blood for sins. He has risen from the dead. He has ascended into heaven to sit at Father's right hand until he puts all his enemies under his feet. He has sent his Holy Spirit to regenerate us and sanctify us and indwell us. He has commissioned his church to disciple the nations. And he has promised in John 14:3, "I will come again."

'''How Does Our Situation Compare to Anna's?'''

Her hopes were based on the promises of God like ours are. But O how much more we have seen! How much more of the Messiah we know and can hope for! She had never seen the years of Jesus' compassion and power, as we have. She had never heard the words of authority and wisdom and love, as we have. She had never seen the blind receive their sight and the lame walk and the lepers cleansed and the deaf hear and the dead raised and the poor evangelized the way Jesus did it. She never saw him consecrate himself in Gethsemane, or crucified for our sakes on Golgotha. She never heard the merciful words, "Today you will be with me in Paradise," or the triumphant words, "It is finished." She never saw him risen from the dead triumphant over sin and death and hell.

But we have. And now this one, whom we know so well, is gone. We walk by faith and not by sight. The one whom we love was taken away. The wedding party was broken up. It is as though the wedding march had started and we were walking down the aisle to him, and at the last minute he disappeared.

'''Shall We Long for Christ Less Than Anna?'''

Shall we long for him less than Anna longed for him? Does the fact that we have had him with us for 30 years and have his Spirit now make you long less or more? O what an indictment of our blindness if the answer is: less.

I say, let us long for him and yearn for him and look for him with more intensity than Anna and Simeon. Shall we have less devotion than these pre-Christian saints? We have beheld his glory. Glory as of the only begotten of the Father. And shall we hunger less for his appearing? Paul said he was going to receive a crown of righteousness with all "who have loved his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).

'''Fasting for the King's Coming'''

Are we settled into the world so comfortably that the thought of fasting for the end of history, is almost unthinkable?

What about older people? Can you taste the glories of the presence of the King better because they are nearer? Do you turn that taste into fasting for the King's coming?

What about younger people? Do you love Jesus so much that his coming would be the greatest thing you can imagine? Or is he a kind of weekend topic of religious talk that sometimes helps you with a bad conscience but isn't someone you would want to interrupt your life?

What about those of us in the middle—or pushing the upper end of the middle? How do we feel about being told that fasting may reflect how much we want the bridegroom to come? Does Anna's passion for the Messiah appeal to us at all? Do we want the appearance of Jesus more than we want to finish our career plans?

I believe that my life will never be the same after the fasting focus of January 1995. I have seen too much now about fasting and the meaning of hunger for God, and hunger for his Word, and hunger for the children's safety, and hunger for world evangelization, and hunger for the Bridegroom, and the way Jesus speaks of expressing this hunger with fasting—I have seen too much now to go on with business as usual.

'''What Shall We Do as a Church?'''

*To keep the biblical discipline of fasting before us as a church . . .
*To give more people a chance to grow in this kind of prayer . . .
*To avail ourselves of all that God has ordained for the empowering of our intercession . . .
*To be unrelenting in our pursuit of revival and world evangelization . . .
*And to help us long for the Bridegroom night and day . . .

. . . I am proposing a simple ministry called the Fasting Forty.

The Fasting Forty is ''a group of 40 people who fast for one day a week in a given month of 1995.'' It may be different people from month to month. Or some people may want to do it more than one month.

At the end of each month I will print a card called the Fasting Forty card, and make 40 copies available after the morning service. When all the cards are taken, the Fasting Forty will be known—by God.

There is no plan to identify who the Fasting Forty are. This will accord with Jesus' teaching that we should beware of fasting to be seen by other people (Matthew 6:16–18).

Each month I will try to give some special Scripture and focus to the prayers of the Fasting Forty. This will be shared more widely so that any of you can join the 40 if you wish.

From what we have seen this morning, you don't need a crisis in your life to call for fasting. All you need is a longing for the Bridegroom to come. Lord, increase our love for your appearing!

Fasting for the King's Coming

Bpmoosie — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:45:36 GMT

Bpmoosie:

<blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>January 29, 1995</blockquote><blockquote>By'''John Piper'''</blockquote><blockquote>'''Luke 2:36-38''' </blockquote><blockquote>
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
</blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>
 '''Introduction'''

 We come to the end of January and the call to fast for one day a week this month. I hope we can make time soon to tell each other what God has done this month. Just listening to the staff recount the surprising works of God last Tuesday in our prayer meeting gives me strong encouragement to press on in some kind of corporate fasting—which I will tell you about in a few moments.
<blockquote></blockquote>
In this series of messages on biblical fasting we have seen from Acts 13:3 how God changed the course of history through the fasting of the leaders in Antioch.

We have seen from Matthew 9:15 that Jesus promised that when he had returned to his Father in heaven, then the church would fast.

We have seen from Matthew 4:4 that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God—that the nourishment of Jesus during his 40 day fast was the revelation of God through his Word. And that is what we want to feed on more and more.

And last week we saw from Ezra 8:21 that God rescues his people—including the little ones—through fasting.

'''"Thy Kingdom Come!"'''

Next week we are going to look at the Sermon on the Mount and notice that in Matthew 6 Jesus connects fasting with the prayer, and particularly the Lord's Prayer. The preeminent petitions of the Lord's Prayer are: Lord, let your name be hallowed, and, Lord, let your kingdom come. So Christian fasting is a fasting not just for immediate breakthroughs of faith and healing and righteousness, but also for the ultimate breakthrough—of the King's return in glory: "Thy kingdom come!" Or as the early church prayed it: "Maranatha!" = "Our Lord, come!"

This is exactly what we would expect in view of what we saw in Matthew 9:15. Recall that Jesus pictured himself as the bridegroom and said that his disciples don't fast because the bridegroom is present. But then he said, "The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." So Jesus connects Christian fasting with our longing for the return of the bridegroom.

The church of Christ is called to put the earnestness of fasting behind prayer, "Thy kingdom come." "''Bridegroom'', come!" Fasting is a ''physical expression of heart hunger for the second coming of Jesus.''

'''Fasting as the Counterpart to the Lord's Supper'''

I wonder if the Lord means for fasting to be a counterpart to the Lord's Supper. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me." By ''eating ''we remember that Jesus ''has'' come and died for our sins. But by not eating—by fasting—we say: yes, but the bridegroom is not here. He was here, and he loved us to the uttermost. And we can eat and even celebrate with feasting because he has come. But this we also know: he is not here as he once was. And his absence is painful. The sin and misery of the world is painful. The people of Christ are weak and despised—like sheep in the midst of wolves (Matthew 10:16). We long for him to come again and take up his throne and reign in our midst and vindicate his people and his truth and his glory. So the feasting of the Lord's Supper expresses what has happened; and our fasting expresses what has not yet happened.

'''Jesus' Appointed Way for Us to Prepare for His Coming'''

In Luke 18:7–8 Jesus says,
<blockquote>Will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? </blockquote>
Have you seriously considered that Jesus has appointed a way for us to prepare for his own second coming? God will send the Son of Man and vindicate his elect who "cry to him day and night." Cry what? Cry, "Thy kingdom come!" "Come back, O precious bridegroom. Come reign as King. Come, vindicate your people. Come, marry your bride."

And since the life of the church and the evangelization of the nations is part of that preparation we cry out for that too. "Lord, revive your people. Lord, cause your Word to run and triumph." If you have eyes to see the way the world is, in contrast to the way it is supposed to be under the Lordship of Christ, you will feel plenty to fast for.

'''Anna: Fasting for the First Coming of the King'''

 In calling for the church to fast for the coming King, we are not asking for something new. The morning's text shows us an old woman who gave almost her whole life to this sacred ministry before the King came the first time. Luke 2:36–38,
<blockquote>There was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. 38 ''And at that very moment ''she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. </blockquote>
Mary and Joseph had just brought the infant Jesus into the temple. Luke tells us about two very old people, Simeon and Anna, who recognize who the baby is. What marks both of these people is that they were yearning and longing for the coming of the Messiah. In verse 25 it says that Simeon was "looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him." Jesus, the Messiah, is the consolation of Israel (vv. 26, 30).

In verse 37 it says that Anna virtually never left the temple and was serving the Lord "with fastings and prayers." In other words, she was like Simeon—she was longing for the Messiah to come; she was fasting and praying ''night and day ''because she was looking for "the redemption of Jerusalem."

In verse 38 she comes at just the right moment to see the Messiah-child, and she gives thanks to God and speaks of him to all who were "looking for the redemption of Jerusalem." In other words God gave a special glimpse of the King's glory to those who were yearning and longing and looking for "the redemption of Jerusalem." For Anna that meant a life of fasting decade after decade—probably 60 years since her husband died—as she ministered in the temple.

I think one of the reasons Luke tells us about Simeon and Anna is to illustrate how holy and devout people respond to the promise of Christ's coming. And how God responds to their longings. They see more than others see. They may not understand fully all the details about how the Messiah is coming—Simeon and Anna surely didn't—but God mercifully gives them a glimpse before they die, of what they so passionately wanted to see.

'''Christians: Fasting for the Second Coming of the King'''

''' '''Now here we are—we Christians—on the other side of the King's coming. He has come and gone away again. He has revealed his glory. He has shed his blood for sins. He has risen from the dead. He has ascended into heaven to sit at Father's right hand until he puts all his enemies under his feet. He has sent his Holy Spirit to regenerate us and sanctify us and indwell us. He has commissioned his church to disciple the nations. And he has promised in John 14:3, "I will come again."

'''How Does Our Situation Compare to Anna's?'''

Her hopes were based on the promises of God like ours are. But O how much more we have seen! How much more of the Messiah we know and can hope for! She had never seen the years of Jesus' compassion and power, as we have. She had never heard the words of authority and wisdom and love, as we have. She had never seen the blind receive their sight and the lame walk and the lepers cleansed and the deaf hear and the dead raised and the poor evangelized the way Jesus did it. She never saw him consecrate himself in Gethsemane, or crucified for our sakes on Golgotha. She never heard the merciful words, "Today you will be with me in Paradise," or the triumphant words, "It is finished." She never saw him risen from the dead triumphant over sin and death and hell.

But we have. And now this one, whom we know so well, is gone. We walk by faith and not by sight. The one whom we love was taken away. The wedding party was broken up. It is as though the wedding march had started and we were walking down the aisle to him, and at the last minute he disappeared.

'''Shall We Long for Christ Less Than Anna?'''

Shall we long for him less than Anna longed for him? Does the fact that we have had him with us for 30 years and have his Spirit now make you long less or more? O what an indictment of our blindness if the answer is: less.

I say, let us long for him and yearn for him and look for him with more intensity than Anna and Simeon. Shall we have less devotion than these pre-Christian saints? We have beheld his glory. Glory as of the only begotten of the Father. And shall we hunger less for his appearing? Paul said he was going to receive a crown of righteousness with all "who have loved his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).

'''Fasting for the King's Coming'''

Are we settled into the world so comfortably that the thought of fasting for the end of history, is almost unthinkable?

What about older people? Can you taste the glories of the presence of the King better because they are nearer? Do you turn that taste into fasting for the King's coming?

What about younger people? Do you love Jesus so much that his coming would be the greatest thing you can imagine? Or is he a kind of weekend topic of religious talk that sometimes helps you with a bad conscience but isn't someone you would want to interrupt your life?

What about those of us in the middle—or pushing the upper end of the middle? How do we feel about being told that fasting may reflect how much we want the bridegroom to come? Does Anna's passion for the Messiah appeal to us at all? Do we want the appearance of Jesus more than we want to finish our career plans?

I believe that my life will never be the same after the fasting focus of January 1995. I have seen too much now about fasting and the meaning of hunger for God, and hunger for his Word, and hunger for the children's safety, and hunger for world evangelization, and hunger for the Bridegroom, and the way Jesus speaks of expressing this hunger with fasting—I have seen too much now to go on with business as usual.

'''What Shall We Do as a Church?'''

*To keep the biblical discipline of fasting before us as a church . . .
*To give more people a chance to grow in this kind of prayer . . .
*To avail ourselves of all that God has ordained for the empowering of our intercession . . .
*To be unrelenting in our pursuit of revival and world evangelization . . .
*And to help us long for the Bridegroom night and day . . .

. . . I am proposing a simple ministry called the Fasting Forty.

The Fasting Forty is ''a group of 40 people who fast for one day a week in a given month of 1995.'' It may be different people from month to month. Or some people may want to do it more than one month.

At the end of each month I will print a card called the Fasting Forty card, and make 40 copies available after the morning service. When all the cards are taken, the Fasting Forty will be known—by God.

There is no plan to identify who the Fasting Forty are. This will accord with Jesus' teaching that we should beware of fasting to be seen by other people (Matthew 6:16–18).

Each month I will try to give some special Scripture and focus to the prayers of the Fasting Forty. This will be shared more widely so that any of you can join the 40 if you wish.

From what we have seen this morning, you don't need a crisis in your life to call for fasting. All you need is a longing for the Bridegroom to come. Lord, increase our love for your appearing!

Fasting for the King's Coming

Bpmoosie — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:45:00 GMT

Bpmoosie:

<blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote</blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><blockquoteJanuary 29, 1995</blockquote><blockquote>By'''John Piper'''</blockquote><blockquote>'''Luke 2:36-38''' </blockquote><blockquote>
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
</blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>
 '''Introduction'''

 We come to the end of January and the call to fast for one day a week this month. I hope we can make time soon to tell each other what God has done this month. Just listening to the staff recount the surprising works of God last Tuesday in our prayer meeting gives me strong encouragement to press on in some kind of corporate fasting—which I will tell you about in a few moments.
<blockquote></blockquote>
In this series of messages on biblical fasting we have seen from Acts 13:3 how God changed the course of history through the fasting of the leaders in Antioch.

We have seen from Matthew 9:15 that Jesus promised that when he had returned to his Father in heaven, then the church would fast.

We have seen from Matthew 4:4 that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God—that the nourishment of Jesus during his 40 day fast was the revelation of God through his Word. And that is what we want to feed on more and more.

And last week we saw from Ezra 8:21 that God rescues his people—including the little ones—through fasting.

'''"Thy Kingdom Come!"'''

Next week we are going to look at the Sermon on the Mount and notice that in Matthew 6 Jesus connects fasting with the prayer, and particularly the Lord's Prayer. The preeminent petitions of the Lord's Prayer are: Lord, let your name be hallowed, and, Lord, let your kingdom come. So Christian fasting is a fasting not just for immediate breakthroughs of faith and healing and righteousness, but also for the ultimate breakthrough—of the King's return in glory: "Thy kingdom come!" Or as the early church prayed it: "Maranatha!" = "Our Lord, come!"

This is exactly what we would expect in view of what we saw in Matthew 9:15. Recall that Jesus pictured himself as the bridegroom and said that his disciples don't fast because the bridegroom is present. But then he said, "The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." So Jesus connects Christian fasting with our longing for the return of the bridegroom.

The church of Christ is called to put the earnestness of fasting behind prayer, "Thy kingdom come." "''Bridegroom'', come!" Fasting is a ''physical expression of heart hunger for the second coming of Jesus.''

'''Fasting as the Counterpart to the Lord's Supper'''

I wonder if the Lord means for fasting to be a counterpart to the Lord's Supper. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me." By ''eating ''we remember that Jesus ''has'' come and died for our sins. But by not eating—by fasting—we say: yes, but the bridegroom is not here. He was here, and he loved us to the uttermost. And we can eat and even celebrate with feasting because he has come. But this we also know: he is not here as he once was. And his absence is painful. The sin and misery of the world is painful. The people of Christ are weak and despised—like sheep in the midst of wolves (Matthew 10:16). We long for him to come again and take up his throne and reign in our midst and vindicate his people and his truth and his glory. So the feasting of the Lord's Supper expresses what has happened; and our fasting expresses what has not yet happened.

'''Jesus' Appointed Way for Us to Prepare for His Coming'''

In Luke 18:7–8 Jesus says,
<blockquote>Will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? </blockquote>
Have you seriously considered that Jesus has appointed a way for us to prepare for his own second coming? God will send the Son of Man and vindicate his elect who "cry to him day and night." Cry what? Cry, "Thy kingdom come!" "Come back, O precious bridegroom. Come reign as King. Come, vindicate your people. Come, marry your bride."

And since the life of the church and the evangelization of the nations is part of that preparation we cry out for that too. "Lord, revive your people. Lord, cause your Word to run and triumph." If you have eyes to see the way the world is, in contrast to the way it is supposed to be under the Lordship of Christ, you will feel plenty to fast for.

'''Anna: Fasting for the First Coming of the King'''

 In calling for the church to fast for the coming King, we are not asking for something new. The morning's text shows us an old woman who gave almost her whole life to this sacred ministry before the King came the first time. Luke 2:36–38,
<blockquote>There was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. 38 ''And at that very moment ''she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. </blockquote>
Mary and Joseph had just brought the infant Jesus into the temple. Luke tells us about two very old people, Simeon and Anna, who recognize who the baby is. What marks both of these people is that they were yearning and longing for the coming of the Messiah. In verse 25 it says that Simeon was "looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him." Jesus, the Messiah, is the consolation of Israel (vv. 26, 30).

In verse 37 it says that Anna virtually never left the temple and was serving the Lord "with fastings and prayers." In other words, she was like Simeon—she was longing for the Messiah to come; she was fasting and praying ''night and day ''because she was looking for "the redemption of Jerusalem."

In verse 38 she comes at just the right moment to see the Messiah-child, and she gives thanks to God and speaks of him to all who were "looking for the redemption of Jerusalem." In other words God gave a special glimpse of the King's glory to those who were yearning and longing and looking for "the redemption of Jerusalem." For Anna that meant a life of fasting decade after decade—probably 60 years since her husband died—as she ministered in the temple.

I think one of the reasons Luke tells us about Simeon and Anna is to illustrate how holy and devout people respond to the promise of Christ's coming. And how God responds to their longings. They see more than others see. They may not understand fully all the details about how the Messiah is coming—Simeon and Anna surely didn't—but God mercifully gives them a glimpse before they die, of what they so passionately wanted to see.

'''Christians: Fasting for the Second Coming of the King'''

''' '''Now here we are—we Christians—on the other side of the King's coming. He has come and gone away again. He has revealed his glory. He has shed his blood for sins. He has risen from the dead. He has ascended into heaven to sit at Father's right hand until he puts all his enemies under his feet. He has sent his Holy Spirit to regenerate us and sanctify us and indwell us. He has commissioned his church to disciple the nations. And he has promised in John 14:3, "I will come again."

'''How Does Our Situation Compare to Anna's?'''

Her hopes were based on the promises of God like ours are. But O how much more we have seen! How much more of the Messiah we know and can hope for! She had never seen the years of Jesus' compassion and power, as we have. She had never heard the words of authority and wisdom and love, as we have. She had never seen the blind receive their sight and the lame walk and the lepers cleansed and the deaf hear and the dead raised and the poor evangelized the way Jesus did it. She never saw him consecrate himself in Gethsemane, or crucified for our sakes on Golgotha. She never heard the merciful words, "Today you will be with me in Paradise," or the triumphant words, "It is finished." She never saw him risen from the dead triumphant over sin and death and hell.

But we have. And now this one, whom we know so well, is gone. We walk by faith and not by sight. The one whom we love was taken away. The wedding party was broken up. It is as though the wedding march had started and we were walking down the aisle to him, and at the last minute he disappeared.

'''Shall We Long for Christ Less Than Anna?'''

Shall we long for him less than Anna longed for him? Does the fact that we have had him with us for 30 years and have his Spirit now make you long less or more? O what an indictment of our blindness if the answer is: less.

I say, let us long for him and yearn for him and look for him with more intensity than Anna and Simeon. Shall we have less devotion than these pre-Christian saints? We have beheld his glory. Glory as of the only begotten of the Father. And shall we hunger less for his appearing? Paul said he was going to receive a crown of righteousness with all "who have loved his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).

'''Fasting for the King's Coming'''

Are we settled into the world so comfortably that the thought of fasting for the end of history, is almost unthinkable?

What about older people? Can you taste the glories of the presence of the King better because they are nearer? Do you turn that taste into fasting for the King's coming?

What about younger people? Do you love Jesus so much that his coming would be the greatest thing you can imagine? Or is he a kind of weekend topic of religious talk that sometimes helps you with a bad conscience but isn't someone you would want to interrupt your life?

What about those of us in the middle—or pushing the upper end of the middle? How do we feel about being told that fasting may reflect how much we want the bridegroom to come? Does Anna's passion for the Messiah appeal to us at all? Do we want the appearance of Jesus more than we want to finish our career plans?

I believe that my life will never be the same after the fasting focus of January 1995. I have seen too much now about fasting and the meaning of hunger for God, and hunger for his Word, and hunger for the children's safety, and hunger for world evangelization, and hunger for the Bridegroom, and the way Jesus speaks of expressing this hunger with fasting—I have seen too much now to go on with business as usual.

'''What Shall We Do as a Church?'''

*To keep the biblical discipline of fasting before us as a church . . .
*To give more people a chance to grow in this kind of prayer . . .
*To avail ourselves of all that God has ordained for the empowering of our intercession . . .
*To be unrelenting in our pursuit of revival and world evangelization . . .
*And to help us long for the Bridegroom night and day . . .

. . . I am proposing a simple ministry called the Fasting Forty.

The Fasting Forty is ''a group of 40 people who fast for one day a week in a given month of 1995.'' It may be different people from month to month. Or some people may want to do it more than one month.

At the end of each month I will print a card called the Fasting Forty card, and make 40 copies available after the morning service. When all the cards are taken, the Fasting Forty will be known—by God.

There is no plan to identify who the Fasting Forty are. This will accord with Jesus' teaching that we should beware of fasting to be seen by other people (Matthew 6:16–18).

Each month I will try to give some special Scripture and focus to the prayers of the Fasting Forty. This will be shared more widely so that any of you can join the 40 if you wish.

From what we have seen this morning, you don't need a crisis in your life to call for fasting. All you need is a longing for the Bridegroom to come. Lord, increase our love for your appearing!

Fasting for the King's Coming

Bpmoosie — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:16:42 GMT

Bpmoosie:

<blockquote>
'''Luke 2:36-38'''
</blockquote><blockquote>
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
</blockquote>
 '''Introduction'''

 We come to the end of January and the call to fast for one day a week this month. I hope we can make time soon to tell each other what God has done this month. Just listening to the staff recount the surprising works of God last Tuesday in our prayer meeting gives me strong encouragement to press on in some kind of corporate fasting—which I will tell you about in a few moments.
<blockquote></blockquote>
In this series of messages on biblical fasting we have seen from Acts 13:3 how God changed the course of history through the fasting of the leaders in Antioch.

We have seen from Matthew 9:15 that Jesus promised that when he had returned to his Father in heaven, then the church would fast.

We have seen from Matthew 4:4 that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God—that the nourishment of Jesus during his 40 day fast was the revelation of God through his Word. And that is what we want to feed on more and more.

And last week we saw from Ezra 8:21 that God rescues his people—including the little ones—through fasting.

'''"Thy Kingdom Come!"'''

Next week we are going to look at the Sermon on the Mount and notice that in Matthew 6 Jesus connects fasting with the prayer, and particularly the Lord's Prayer. The preeminent petitions of the Lord's Prayer are: Lord, let your name be hallowed, and, Lord, let your kingdom come. So Christian fasting is a fasting not just for immediate breakthroughs of faith and healing and righteousness, but also for the ultimate breakthrough—of the King's return in glory: "Thy kingdom come!" Or as the early church prayed it: "Maranatha!" = "Our Lord, come!"

This is exactly what we would expect in view of what we saw in Matthew 9:15. Recall that Jesus pictured himself as the bridegroom and said that his disciples don't fast because the bridegroom is present. But then he said, "The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." So Jesus connects Christian fasting with our longing for the return of the bridegroom.

The church of Christ is called to put the earnestness of fasting behind prayer, "Thy kingdom come." "Bridegroom, come!" Fasting is a physical expression of heart hunger for the second coming of Jesus.

'''Fasting as the Counterpart to the Lord's Supper'''

I wonder if the Lord means for fasting to be a counterpart to the Lord's Supper. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me." By eating we remember that Jesus has come and died for our sins. But by not eating—by fasting—we say: yes, but the bridegroom is not here. He was here, and he loved us to the uttermost. And we can eat and even celebrate with feasting because he has come. But this we also know: he is not here as he once was. And his absence is painful. The sin and misery of the world is painful. The people of Christ are weak and despised—like sheep in the midst of wolves (Matthew 10:16). We long for him to come again and take up his throne and reign in our midst and vindicate his people and his truth and his glory. So the feasting of the Lord's Supper expresses what has happened; and our fasting expresses what has not yet happened.

'''Jesus' Appointed Way for Us to Prepare for His Coming'''

In Luke 18:7–8 Jesus says,
<blockquote>
Will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?
</blockquote>
Have you seriously considered that Jesus has appointed a way for us to prepare for his own second coming? God will send the Son of Man and vindicate his elect who "cry to him day and night." Cry what? Cry, "Thy kingdom come!" "Come back, O precious bridegroom. Come reign as King. Come, vindicate your people. Come, marry your bride."

And since the life of the church and the evangelization of the nations is part of that preparation we cry out for that too. "Lord, revive your people. Lord, cause your Word to run and triumph." If you have eyes to see the way the world is, in contrast to the way it is supposed to be under the Lordship of Christ, you will feel plenty to fast for.

'''Anna: Fasting for the First Coming of the King'''

 In calling for the church to fast for the coming King, we are not asking for something new. The morning's text shows us an old woman who gave almost her whole life to this sacred ministry before the King came the first time. Luke 2:36–38,
<blockquote>
There was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. 38 And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
</blockquote>
Mary and Joseph had just brought the infant Jesus into the temple. Luke tells us about two very old people, Simeon and Anna, who recognize who the baby is. What marks both of these people is that they were yearning and longing for the coming of the Messiah. In verse 25 it says that Simeon was "looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him." Jesus, the Messiah, is the consolation of Israel (vv. 26, 30).

In verse 37 it says that Anna virtually never left the temple and was serving the Lord "with fastings and prayers." In other words, she was like Simeon—she was longing for the Messiah to come; she was fasting and praying night and day because she was looking for "the redemption of Jerusalem."

In verse 38 she comes at just the right moment to see the Messiah-child, and she gives thanks to God and speaks of him to all who were "looking for the redemption of Jerusalem." In other words God gave a special glimpse of the King's glory to those who were yearning and longing and looking for "the redemption of Jerusalem." For Anna that meant a life of fasting decade after decade—probably 60 years since her husband died—as she ministered in the temple.

I think one of the reasons Luke tells us about Simeon and Anna is to illustrate how holy and devout people respond to the promise of Christ's coming. And how God responds to their longings. They see more than others see. They may not understand fully all the details about how the Messiah is coming—Simeon and Anna surely didn't—but God mercifully gives them a glimpse before they die, of what they so passionately wanted to see.

'''Christians: Fasting for the Second Coming of the King'''

''' '''Now here we are—we Christians—on the other side of the King's coming. He has come and gone away again. He has revealed his glory. He has shed his blood for sins. He has risen from the dead. He has ascended into heaven to sit at Father's right hand until he puts all his enemies under his feet. He has sent his Holy Spirit to regenerate us and sanctify us and indwell us. He has commissioned his church to disciple the nations. And he has promised in John 14:3, "I will come again."

'''How Does Our Situation Compare to Anna's?'''

Her hopes were based on the promises of God like ours are. But O how much more we have seen! How much more of the Messiah we know and can hope for! She had never seen the years of Jesus' compassion and power, as we have. She had never heard the words of authority and wisdom and love, as we have. She had never seen the blind receive their sight and the lame walk and the lepers cleansed and the deaf hear and the dead raised and the poor evangelized the way Jesus did it. She never saw him consecrate himself in Gethsemane, or crucified for our sakes on Golgotha. She never heard the merciful words, "Today you will be with me in Paradise," or the triumphant words, "It is finished." She never saw him risen from the dead triumphant over sin and death and hell.

But we have. And now this one, whom we know so well, is gone. We walk by faith and not by sight. The one whom we love was taken away. The wedding party was broken up. It is as though the wedding march had started and we were walking down the aisle to him, and at the last minute he disappeared.

Shall We Long for Christ Less Than Anna?

Shall we long for him less than Anna longed for him? Does the fact that we have had him with us for 30 years and have his Spirit now make you long less or more? O what an indictment of our blindness if the answer is: less.

I say, let us long for him and yearn for him and look for him with more intensity than Anna and Simeon. Shall we have less devotion than these pre-Christian saints? We have beheld his glory. Glory as of the only begotten of the Father. And shall we hunger less for his appearing? Paul said he was going to receive a crown of righteousness with all "who have loved his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).

Fasting for the King's Coming

Are we settled into the world so comfortably that the thought of fasting for the end of history, is almost unthinkable?

What about older people? Can you taste the glories of the presence of the King better because they are nearer? Do you turn that taste into fasting for the King's coming?

What about younger people? Do you love Jesus so much that his coming would be the greatest thing you can imagine? Or is he a kind of weekend topic of religious talk that sometimes helps you with a bad conscience but isn't someone you would want to interrupt your life?

What about those of us in the middle—or pushing the upper end of the middle? How do we feel about being told that fasting may reflect how much we want the bridegroom to come? Does Anna's passion for the Messiah appeal to us at all? Do we want the appearance of Jesus more than we want to finish our career plans?

I believe that my life will never be the same after the fasting focus of January 1995. I have seen too much now about fasting and the meaning of hunger for God, and hunger for his Word, and hunger for the children's safety, and hunger for world evangelization, and hunger for the Bridegroom, and the way Jesus speaks of expressing this hunger with fasting—I have seen too much now to go on with business as usual.

What Shall We Do as a Church?

To keep the biblical discipline of fasting before us as a church . . . To give more people a chance to grow in this kind of prayer . . . To avail ourselves of all that God has ordained for the empowering of our intercession . . . To be unrelenting in our pursuit of revival and world evangelization . . . And to help us long for the Bridegroom night and day . . . . . . I am proposing a simple ministry called the Fasting Forty.

The Fasting Forty is a group of 40 people who fast for one day a week in a given month of 1995. It may be different people from month to month. Or some people may want to do it more than one month.

At the end of each month I will print a card called the Fasting Forty card, and make 40 copies available after the morning service. When all the cards are taken, the Fasting Forty will be known—by God.

There is no plan to identify who the Fasting Forty are. This will accord with Jesus' teaching that we should beware of fasting to be seen by other people (Matthew 6:16–18).

Each month I will try to give some special Scripture and focus to the prayers of the Fasting Forty. This will be shared more widely so that any of you can join the 40 if you wish.

From what we have seen this morning, you don't need a crisis in your life to call for fasting. All you need is a longing for the Bridegroom to come. Lord, increase our love for your appearing!

The Bible: Kindling for Christian Hedonism

Bpmoosie — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:43:18 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= The Bible: Kindling for Christian Hedonism =

October 30, 1983

By '''John Piper'''
<blockquote>
 '''Psalm 19:7-11'''

 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 

Moreover by them is thy servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
</blockquote>
 Christian Hedonism is very much aware that every day with Jesus is ''not'' "sweeter than the day before." Some days with Jesus our disposition is as sour as raw persimmons. Some days with Jesus we are so sad we feel our heart will break open. Some days with Jesus fear turns us into a knot of nerve ends. Some days with Jesus we are so depressed and discouraged that between the garage and the house we just want to sit down on the grass and cry. Every day with Jesus is not sweeter than the day before. We know it from experience and we know it from Scripture. For the text says (Psalm 19:7), "The law of the Lord is perfect, ''reviving'' the soul." If every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before, we wouldn't need to be revived.

'''The Bible Kindles Joy'''

 The reason David praised God with the words, "He leads me beside still waters. He''restores my soul''," is because he had bad days. There were days when his soul needed to be restored. It's the same phrase used in Psalm 19:7—"the law of the Lord is perfect, ''reviving the soul''." Normal Christian life is a repeated process of restoration and renewal. Our joy is not static. It fluctuates with real life. It is as vulnerable to Satan's attacks as a Lebanese marine compound to a suicide bomber. When Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:24, "Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy," we should emphasize it this way: "We are ''workers'' with you for your joy." The preservation of our joy in God takes work. It is a fight. Our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, and he has an insatiable appetite to destroy one thing: the joy of faith. But the Holy Spirit has given us a shield called faith and a sword called the Word of God and a power called prayer to defend and extend our joy. Or, to change the image, when Satan huffs and puffs and tries to blow out the flame of your joy, you have an endless supply of kindling in the Word of God. And even though there are days when we feel that every cinder in our soul is cold, yet if we crawl to the Word of God and cry out for ears to hear, the cold ashes will be lifted and the tiny spark of life will be fanned, because, "The law of the Lord is perfect,''reviving ''the soul." The Bible is the kindling of Christian Hedonism.

My aim this morning is to motivate you to wear the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and to wield it for the preservation of your joy in God. There are three steps we need to climb together. First, we need to know why we accept the Bible as the word of God. Almost everybody in the world would agree that if the one and true God has spoken, then there will be no lasting happiness for people who ignore his word. But very few people really believe that the Bible is the word of the living God. Nor should they believe it without sufficient reasons. Second, we need to see some encouraging examples of how the Bible kindles and preserves our joy. Finally, we need to hear a practical challenge to renew our daily meditation in the Word of God, and to bind that sword so close around our waist that we are never without it.

'''Jesus—The Foundation for Confidence in the Bible'''

 1) In the limitations of time that we have, perhaps the best way to take the first step is for me to commend to you why I accept the Bible as the word of God. The foundation of my confidence is Jesus Christ. You don't need to believe first that the Bible is infallible in order to know that it presents you with a historical person of incomparable qualities. The possibility that the historical Jesus was a con artist or a lunatic is to me so remote that I am drawn to confess that he is true. His claims are not the propaganda of a deceiver or the presumption of a schizophrenic. He speaks with authority, forgives sin, heals the sick, casts out demons, penetrates the hearts of his opponents, loves his enemies, dies for sinners, and leaves behind an empty grave, not because he pulled the wool over the eyes of the world but because he is the ever-living Son of God who came to save the world. He has won my trust through his words and deeds.

From Jesus I move backward to the Old Testament and forward to the New Testament. All four gospels present different evidence that Jesus considered the Old Testament to be the word of God. In Matthew 5:17 Jesus says he came not to abolish but to fulfill the law and the prophets, and in Matthew 22:29 he says that the Sadducees err because they don't know the Scriptures. In Mark 7:8–9 Jesus contrasts man-made traditions with the commandment of God in the Old Testament. In Luke 24:44 he tells the disciples that everything written about him in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled. And in John 10:35 he said simply, "Scripture cannot be broken." Therefore, I read the Old Testament as the word of God because Jesus did.

'''Six Observations on the New Testament as God's Word'''

 But Jesus did not stay on earth to endorse the New Testament. My confidence in the New Testament as God's word rests on a group of observations which taken together provide a reasonable ground of confidence.

1) Jesus chose twelve apostles to be his authoritative representatives in founding the church. He promised them at the end of his life, "The Holy Spirit . . . will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said" (John 14:26; 16:13). 2) Then the apostle Paul, whose stunning conversion from a life of murdering Christians to making Christians demands some special explanation, explains that he (and the other apostles) have been commissioned by the risen Christ to preach "in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit" (1 Corinthians 2:13). Christ's prediction is being fulfilled through this inspiration. 3) Peter confirms this in 2 Peter 3:16 by putting Paul's writings in the same category with the inspired (2 Peter 1:21) Old Testament writings. 4) All the New Testament writings come from those earliest days of promised special revelation and were written by the apostles and their close associates. 5) The message of these books has the ring of truth because it makes sense out of so much reality. The message of God's holiness and our guilt on the one hand, and Christ's death and resurrection as our only hope on the other hand—that message fits the reality we see and the hope we long for and don't see. 6) Finally, as the Baptist Catechism says, "The Bible evidences itself to be God's word by . . . its ''power'' to convert sinners and edify saints."

For these reasons, when I read the Old and New Testaments, I read them as the word of God. God is not silent in my life. He is uncomfortably vocal and precise about all kinds of things. I count it as a singular act of grace on his part that he has appointed for me that my life work is to understand his word and teach his church. When the Bible speaks, God speaks. Which means that the things said about the word of God in the Bible apply to the Bible. And I have been simply overwhelmed in preparing for this message by how much the Bible has to say about the value of the word of God. What a treasure we have in the very words of God! "More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb" (Psalm 19:10).

'''The Word of God Is Your Life'''

 2) That leads us to the second step this morning, namely, some examples of how the Bible has so much value for us. Why is a life of meditation on Holy Scripture a life of joy? Most of the specifics I want to give you may soon be forgotten, but I hope the total impact of the Bible's value will make you want to read it more regularly, more deeply, and more joyfully. Consider these benefits.

In Deuteronomy 32:46–47 Moses says, "Lay to heart all the words which I enjoin upon you this day, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no trifle for you, but ''it is your life''." The Bible is not a trifle; it is a matter of life and death. If you treat the Word of God as a trifle, you forfeit life. Our physical life depends on God's Word because by his word we were created (Psalm 33:9; Hebrews 11:3), and "he upholds the universe by the word of his power" (Hebrews 1:3). Our spiritual life begins by the Word of God: James 1:18, "By his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth." "You have been born anew . . . through the living and abiding word of God" (1 Peter 1:23). And not only do we ''begin'' to live by God's Word, we ''go on ''living by God's Word: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3). Our physical life is created and upheld by the word of God, and our personal-spiritual life is born anew and lived by the word of God. Therefore, the Bible is "no trifle for you, it is your life!"

'''The Word of God Begets Faith and Hope'''

 The Word of Christ begets and sustains ''life'' because it begets and sustains ''faith''. "These things are written," John says, "that you might ''believe'' that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that ''believing ''you may have ''life'' in his name" (John 20:31). "Faith comes by hearing," writes the apostle Paul, "and hearing by the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). The faith that starts our life in Christ and the faith by which we go on living come from hearing the Word of God. If faith is of eternal importance for your daily life, so is the Bible.

Sometimes faith and ''hope'' are virtually synonyms in Scripture. "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1). Without this hope for the future we get discouraged and depressed and our joy drains away. Hope is absolutely essential to Christian joy (Romans 15:13). And how do we maintain hope? The psalmist puts it like this (78:5–7), "He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children . . . so that they might set their ''hope'' in God." Paul puts it so plainly: "Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by the steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have ''hope''" (Romans 15:4). The whole Bible has this aim and this power: to create''hope ''in the hearts of God's people.

'''The Word of God Sets Free and Provides Wisdom'''

 Another essential element of life is freedom. None of us would be happy if we were not free from what we hate and free for what we love. And where do we find true freedom? Psalm 119:45 says, "I shall walk in freedom, for I sought thy precepts." And Jesus says, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). And lest we miss the point, he says later in John 17:17, "Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth." The word of God is divine truth that frees us from deception. It breaks the power of counterfeit pleasures, and keeps us free from stumbling into the stupidity of sin. "Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). "I have laid up thy word in my heart that I might not sin against thee" (Psalm 119:11; cf. v. 9). The promises of God are the liberating, guiding power of godliness: "Through his precious and very great promises you escape from the corruption that is in the world . . . and become partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4; cf. John 15:3). Freedom, guidance, likeness to God—all these come to us as we meditate upon and trust the Word of God, the Bible.

Of course, the Bible does not answer every question about life. Every fork in the road does not have a biblical arrow. We have need of wisdom in ourselves. But that, too, is a gift of Scripture. As the text says, "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple . . . the commandment of the Lord is pure, ''enlightening the eyes''" (Psalm 19:7–8; cf. 119:98). People whose minds are saturated with God's Word and submissive to his thoughts have a wisdom that eternity will prove to be superior to all the secular wisdom in the world.

'''The Word of God Restores and Comforts'''

 Nevertheless, our bent will and imperfect perceptions lead us time and again into foolish acts and harmful situations. That day is not sweeter than the day before, and we need restoration and comfort. Where can we turn for comfort? We can follow the psalmist again: "This is my ''comfort'' in my affliction, that thy promise gives me life . . . When I think of thy ordinances from of old, I take ''comfort'', O Lord" (Psalm 119:50, 52). And when our failures and our afflictions threaten our assurance of faith, where do we turn to rebuild our confidence? John invites us to turn to the Word of God: "I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may ''know ''that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). The Bible is written to give us assurance of eternal life.

Satan's number one objective is to destroy your joy of faith. You have one offensive weapon: the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). But what many Christians fail to realize is that you can't draw the sword from someone else's scabbard. If you don't wear it, if the Word of God does not abide in you (John 15:7), you will reach for it in vain. If you don't wear it, you can't wield it. But if you do, what a mighty warrior you will be! "I write to you, young men, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have ''overcome the evil one''" (1 John 2:14).

'''Devote Yourselves to the Word of God'''

 3) So the Bible is the Word of God, and the Word of God is no trifle. It is the source of life and faith and hope and freedom and guidance and wisdom and comfort and assurance and victory over our greatest enemy. Is it any wonder, then, that those who knew best said, "The precepts of the Lord are right, ''rejoicing'' the heart" (Psalm 19:8)? "I will delight in thy statutes, I will not forget thy word" (Psalm 119:16). "Oh, how I love thy law, it is my meditation all the day" (Psalm 119:97). "Thy testimonies are my heritage for ever, yea, they are the joy of my heart" (Psalm 119:111). "Thy words were found, and I ate them, and thy words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I am called by thy name" (Jeremiah 15:16). But are we to pursue this joy like Christian Hedonists? Are we to throw the kindling of God's Word on the fire of joy? Are we to pursue our holy pleasure by meditating on the Word of Christ? Indeed, we are. For the Lord himself has said, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and your joy may be full" (John 15:11).

On this Reformation Sunday I beseech you not to let the blood of the martyrs be spilled in vain. Don't let the labors of Luther, Melanchthon, Calvin, and Zwingli be spent out in vain. God raised them up to free the Holy Scriptures for us. We despise God and insult his saints if we treat the Bible as a trifle in our lives. Martin Luther knew as well as any man who ever lived that every day with Jesus is not sweeter than the day before. And according to Roland Bainton, he wrote these words in the year of his deepest depression:
<blockquote>
And though this world with devils filled Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God has willed His ''truth'' to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, We tremble not for him— His rage we can endure, For lo, his doom is sure: One little word shall fell him. 
</blockquote>

Talk:Missions: The Battle Cry of Christian Hedonism

Bpmoosie — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:21:08 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''Missions: The Battle Cry of Christian Hedonism''' =

November 13, 1983  By'''John Piper'''

'' ''''''Mark 10:17-31'''
<blockquote>And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" 20 And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" 27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God." 28 Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you." 29 Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first." </blockquote>
Most people today do not believe in the cause of foreign missions. Walbert Buhlmann, a Catholic missions secretary in Rome, speaks for many mainline denominational leaders when he says, "In the past we had the so-called motive of saving souls. We were convinced that if not baptized, people in the masses would go to hell. Now, thanks be to God, we believe that all people and all religions are already living in the grace and love of God and will be saved by God's mercy" (''Time'', Dec. 27, 1982, p. 52). Sister Emmanuelle of Cairo, Egypt, says, "Today we don't talk about conversion any more. We talk about being friends. My job is to prove that God is love and to bring courage to these people" (''Time'', p. 56). Most people, like these two missionaries, do not submit themselves to the authority of God in the Bible, but instead create their own God according to what they would like him to say. And since they would like him to say that all men are saved whether they hear the gospel of Christ or not, therefore that is the kind of God they create.

'''Eternal Life at Stake in God's Commission'''

''' '''But essential teachings of Scripture have to be rejected in order to believe in such a God. Listen to the words of the Son of God which he spoke when he called the apostle Paul into his missionary service:
<blockquote>I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and bear witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles—to whom I send you to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:16–18) </blockquote>
That is a meaningless and empty commission that our Lord gave to Paul if in fact the eyes of the nations don't need to be opened, and they don't need to turn from darkness to light, and don't need to escape the power of Satan to come to God, and don't need the forgiveness of sins that comes only by faith in Christ who is preached by the Lord's ambassadors. Paul did not give his life as a missionary to Asia and Macedonia and Greece and Rome and Spain in order to inform people that they were already saved, but in order to proclaim that salvation had been accomplished in Jesus Christ for all who repent and render to him the obedience of faith. And so when his message about Christ was rejected (for example, at Antioch by the Jews), he said, "Since you thrust the word of God from you and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:46). What is at stake in missionary outreach to unreached peoples is eternal life. Conversion to Christ from any and every other allegiance is precisely the aim. "For there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

'''Salvation Only Comes Through the Gospel'''

''' '''God is not unjust. No one will be condemned for not believing a message they have never heard. Those who have never heard the gospel will be condemned for their failure to own up to the light of God's grace and power in nature and their own conscience. For as Romans 1:20, 21 says, "Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not glorify him as God or give thanks to him." Apart from the special, saving grace of God people are dead in sin, darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God, and hardened in heart (Ephesians 2:1; 4:18). And the means that God has ordained to administer that special, saving grace is the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. "I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish; so I am eager ''to preach the gospel ''to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who believes" (Romans 1:14–16).

The notion that people are saved without hearing the gospel has wreaked havoc in the mission effort of liberally oriented denominations. Between 1953 and 1980 the overseas missionary force of mainline Protestant churches decreased from 9,844 to 2,813, while the missionary force of evangelical Protestants who take the Bible more seriously increased by over 200%. The Christian Missionary Alliance, with its 200,000 members, supports 40% more missionaries than the United Methodist Church with its 9.5 million members. There is amazing missionary power in believing the Word of God.

'''Two Irresistible Incentives of Frontier Missions'''

''' '''Many of you are on the brink of setting a new course of commitment to missions: some a new commitment to go to a frontier people, others a new path of education, others a new use of your vocation in a culture less saturated by the church, others a new lifestyle and a new pattern of giving and praying and reading. I want to push you over the brink this morning. I want to make the cause of missions so attractive that you will no longer be able to resist its magnetism.

For the true Christian Hedonist our text contains at least two irresistible incentives to leave home for the sake of Christ and his gospel.

'''1. All Things Are Possible with God'''

First, notice Mark 10:25–27, "Jesus said, 'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' And they were exceedingly astonished and said to him, 'Then who can be saved?' Jesus looked at them and said, 'With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.'" This is one of the most encouraging missionary conversations in the Bible. What missionary has not looked on his work and said, "It's impossible"? To which Jesus agrees, "Yes, ''with men ''it is impossible." No mere man can liberate another man from the enslaving power of the love of money. The rich young ruler went away sorrowful because the bondage to things cannot be broken by any man. ''With man ''it is impossible. And therefore missionary work, which is simply liberating the human heart from bondage to allegiances other than Christ, is impossible—with men! "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." And therein lies an incomparable incentive for missionary service.

Noël and I went to Urbana '67. I recall how John Alexander, head of Inter-Varsity, said that when he was young he thought, "If predestination is true, I would never become a missionary." But then he added, "But now after years in the field I say, 'If predestination is not true, I could never be a missionary.'" If God were not in charge in this affair doing the humanly impossible, the missionary task would be hopeless. Who but God can raise the spiritually dead and give them an ear for the gospel (Acts 16:14)? The great biblical doctrines of unconditional election, and predestination unto sonship, and irresistible grace in the preaching of Christ are mighty incentives to venture forth into a Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist or tribal culture where people seem hard as nails against the preaching of the gospel.

Jesus said, "I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also and they will heed my voice" (John 10:16). Therefore, when Paul enters city after city on his missionary journeys, his aim is clear—to gather in the sheep. The Lord said to Paul in a vision when he entered Corinth (Acts 18:9–10), "Do not be afraid but speak and do not be silent . . . for I have many people in this city." And when Paul was finished preaching in the city of Antioch Luke describes the result like this, "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48). The missionary who goes armed with the great truths of predestination and irresistible grace goes with the confidence that God will do for others today what he did for Lydia—"The Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul " (Acts 16:14). When it comes to entering the kingdom, there are two truths. One is this: "''With men ''it is impossible," and no one will be saved. The other is this: "''With God ''all things are possible," therefore, those who are ordained to eternal life will give heed to the gospel and believe and be saved. David Brainerd, whose missionary journal and diary have probably done as much to fire the cause of missions as any book beside the Bible, said that he lived for two things: "my own sanctification and the ingathering of God's elect."

So the first incentive to missionary service is the great encouragement that when we leave home for Christ and the gospel, the conversions we seek will be the work of God in accord with his eternal plan. One plants, one waters, but God alone brings forth new life and gives the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6, 7). What is impossible for us is not impossible with God, and he will do it. What a thrill to walk with God into an unreached town dominated by sin and Satan and to hear God say, "Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent . . . for I have many people in this city! I must gather them also. The sheep will give heed to my voice."

'''2. Christ Himself Makes Up for Every Loss'''

The second incentive for becoming a missionary is seen in Mark 10:28–30. "Peter began to say to him, 'Lo, we have left everything and followed you.' Jesus said, 'Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, house and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.'" This text does not mean that you get materially rich by becoming a missionary—at least not in the sense that your own private possessions increase. It means mainly that if you are deprived of your earthly family in the service of Christ, it will be made up a hundredfold in your spiritual family, the church. But even this may be too limiting. What about the lonely missionaries who labor for years without being surrounded by hundreds of sisters and brothers and mothers and children in the faith? Is the promise not true for them? Surely it is.

Surely what Christ means is that he himself makes up for every loss. If you give up a mother's nearby affection and concern, you get back one hundred times the affection and concern from the ever-present Christ. If you give up the warm comradeship of a brother, you get back one hundred times the warmth and camaraderie from Christ. If you give up the sense of at-homeness you had in your house, you get back one hundred times the comfort and security of knowing that your Lord owns every house and land and stream and tree on earth. Isn't what Jesus is saying to prospective missionaries just this: I promise to work for you and be for you so much that you will not be able to speak of having sacrificed anything. That's the way Hudson Taylor took it, because at the end of his 50 years of missionary labor in China he said, "I never made a sacrifice."

Christ aims to be glorified in the great missionary enterprise. Therefore he intends to remain the benefactor and for us to remain the beneficiaries. Even when we were called to be missionaries, we remain invalids in Christ's sanitarium. We are still in need of a good physician. We are still poor in need of his wealth and welfare. So when he sends us to Liberia or Cameroon or Brazil or Japan or India or China, he sends us there as part of our therapy. He says, "Now I know that there are some negative side-effects to this prescribed therapy, for example, persecutions, but I promise as your doctor that if you follow this missionary health regime, your condition will improve one hundred times more than if you reject it." Missionaries are not heroes who can boast in great sacrifice for God. They are the true Christian Hedonists. They are the ones who know that the battle cry of Christian Hedonism is missions, and have discovered that there is one hundred times more joy and satisfaction in a life devoted to Christ and the gospel than a life devoted to frivolous comforts and pleasures and worldly advancements. As Ralph Winter says at the end of his booklet, "Say Yes to Mission," "Jesus, 'for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame . . . ' To follow ''him ''is your choice. You're warned! But don't forget the joy." Or as I. Cambell White said in 1909 when the Layman's Missionary Movement was at its peak, "Fame, pleasure, riches are but husks and ashes in contrast with the boundless and abiding joy of working with God for the fulfillment of his eternal plans."

I do not appeal to you to screw up your courage and sacrifice for Christ. I appeal to you to renounce all that you have in order to obtain the pearl of pearls. I appeal to you to count all things as rubbish for the surpassing value of standing in the service of the King of Kings. I appeal to you to take off your store-bought rags and to put on the garments of God's ambassadors. I promise you persecutions and privations, but "remember the joy": "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10).

Two incentives to become a missionary—straight from the mouth of Jesus Christ: 1) every impossibility with men is a snap for God; the conversions of hardened sinners will be the work of God and will accord with his sovereign plan. We need not fear or fret over our weakness. The battle is the Lord's and he will give us the victory. 2) Christ promises to work for us and to be for us so much that when our missionary life is over, we will not be able to say we've sacrificed anything. When we follow his missionary prescription, we discover that even in the negative side-effects the improvement of our condition—our growth, our spiritual health, our joy—improves one hundred-fold.

'''Two Reasons Why God Is Moving at Bethlehem'''

''' '''Now I want to give two additional reasons why I think God is going to do a surprising work in missions at Bethlehem in the near future.

'''1. New Promptings of the Spirit'''

One reason is that the breezes of his Spirit are already picking up. He called Glenn Ogren of our staff back into missions. Tonight we will commission David and Faith Jaeger who leave Tuesday for Liberia—the first new missionaries to be sent out from Bethlehem since Steve Nelson about ten years ago. The Frontier Missions Prayer and Study Group and Toshavim Missions Ministry Team are studying and praying and dreaming about how to make us a world church. The women's missionary circles continue a steady base of prayer and education. Tom Steller is weighing the possibility of taking a team of people next summer to the U.S. Center for World Mission for a course of study in the Institute of International Studies. And Ralph Winter, the founder of the U.S.C.W.M. and missionary statesman, has agreed to be our keynote speaker at next year's missionary conference. These developments at Bethlehem have not been engineered by any one person—they are evidences that something new from God's Spirit is in the wind. Many of you have been praying to the Lord of the harvest—and the first fruits of his answers are already visible.

'''2. New Understandings of the World's Overwhelming Need'''

The other reason I believe God is going to do a surprising work in missions at Bethlehem is that the extraordinary need of the world is becoming increasingly obvious and we are not the kind of people who can ignore it. Satan's great lie in the past generation has been that the Great Commission is completed, and so the church can forget her wartime mentality. People confused the "nations" of Matthew 28:19 ("Make disciples of all ''nations''") with political nations of our day and concluded that disciples have been made in every nation, so the end can come. But they forget the song of heaven in Revelation 5:9 where Christ is praised: "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every ''tribe'' and ''tongue'' and ''people'' and nation." When Jesus commissioned his church to disciple the peoples, he did not have in mind merely political boundaries. He had in mind the distant, distinct groups including tribes and tongues and peoples. And today there are over 16,000 such groups undiscipled. If every Christian in the world won all his neighbors to Christ, half the world would be unevangelized; because two billion people make up culturally distant people groups who do not have an indigenous witness. They are the "hidden peoples," the "frontier missions" of our day. The only way they can be reached is by cross-cultural missionaries. The day of foreign missions is not over. On the contrary, we stand on the brink of a new movement in the western and third-world churches to penetrate the last frontier.

One-hundred-fifty Protestant missionaries from North America serve among 733 million Muslims in 4,000 Muslim people groups; 100 missionaries among 537 million Hindus in 3,000 Hindu people groups; 200 missionaries among 405 million Han Chinese, and 200 missionaries among 255 million Buddhists, for a total of 650 Protestant North American missionaries among a little less than half the world's population who are basically unreached (1,930,000,000). And then we look at America. There are more churches in the Twin Cities than there are missionaries to almost two billion Muslim, Hindu, Chinese, and Buddhist people. Is that obedience? Americans give $700 million dollars a year to mission agencies—the same amount they spend on chewing gum. Every 52 days Americans spend as much on pet food as they do annually on foreign missions. And the reason for these things is not that we are living for pleasure, but that we do not believe Jesus when he says that a hundred times more pleasure can be had by forsaking everything for his sake and for the gospel.

'''Building a World Church'''

 I got a phone call Friday morning from a seminary in another part of the country asking if I would be willing to let my name be put on a list of candidates for a professorship in New Testament. It didn't take me five seconds to answer that question. I said no. I've got a great church. God is beginning to move. Don't even add my name to your list. I want to build a world church with you at Bethlehem. I want to see new missionaries go out from this body every year. I want to be here to welcome home David and Faith on their first furlough. I want to travel to some of our fields and minister to our missionaries and bring back reports of what God is doing. I want to preach and write in such a way that young and old and men and women cannot go on with business as usual while there are more churches in the Twin Cities than there are missionaries in half the world. The challenge is great. God is greater. The rewards are a hundred times better than anything the world can offer. The battle cry of Christian Hedonism is: Go! Double your joy in God by sharing it on the frontiers.

Talk:Missions: The Battle Cry of Christian Hedonism

Bpmoosie — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:20:14 GMT

Bpmoosie: New page: = '''Missions: The Battle Cry of Christian Hedonism''' = November 13, 1983  By'''John Piper''' ''' ''''''Mark 10:17-31''' <blockquote> And as he was setting out on his journey...

= '''Missions: The Battle Cry of Christian Hedonism''' =

November 13, 1983  By'''John Piper'''

''' ''''''Mark 10:17-31'''
<blockquote>
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" 20 And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" 27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God." 28 Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you." 29 Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
</blockquote>
Most people today do not believe in the cause of foreign missions. Walbert Buhlmann, a Catholic missions secretary in Rome, speaks for many mainline denominational leaders when he says, "In the past we had the so-called motive of saving souls. We were convinced that if not baptized, people in the masses would go to hell. Now, thanks be to God, we believe that all people and all religions are already living in the grace and love of God and will be saved by God's mercy" (''Time'', Dec. 27, 1982, p. 52). Sister Emmanuelle of Cairo, Egypt, says, "Today we don't talk about conversion any more. We talk about being friends. My job is to prove that God is love and to bring courage to these people" (''Time'', p. 56). Most people, like these two missionaries, do not submit themselves to the authority of God in the Bible, but instead create their own God according to what they would like him to say. And since they would like him to say that all men are saved whether they hear the gospel of Christ or not, therefore that is the kind of God they create.

'''Eternal Life at Stake in God's Commission'''

''' '''But essential teachings of Scripture have to be rejected in order to believe in such a God. Listen to the words of the Son of God which he spoke when he called the apostle Paul into his missionary service:
<blockquote>
I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and bear witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles—to whom I send you to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:16–18)
</blockquote>
That is a meaningless and empty commission that our Lord gave to Paul if in fact the eyes of the nations don't need to be opened, and they don't need to turn from darkness to light, and don't need to escape the power of Satan to come to God, and don't need the forgiveness of sins that comes only by faith in Christ who is preached by the Lord's ambassadors. Paul did not give his life as a missionary to Asia and Macedonia and Greece and Rome and Spain in order to inform people that they were already saved, but in order to proclaim that salvation had been accomplished in Jesus Christ for all who repent and render to him the obedience of faith. And so when his message about Christ was rejected (for example, at Antioch by the Jews), he said, "Since you thrust the word of God from you and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:46). What is at stake in missionary outreach to unreached peoples is eternal life. Conversion to Christ from any and every other allegiance is precisely the aim. "For there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

'''Salvation Only Comes Through the Gospel'''

''' '''God is not unjust. No one will be condemned for not believing a message they have never heard. Those who have never heard the gospel will be condemned for their failure to own up to the light of God's grace and power in nature and their own conscience. For as Romans 1:20, 21 says, "Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not glorify him as God or give thanks to him." Apart from the special, saving grace of God people are dead in sin, darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God, and hardened in heart (Ephesians 2:1; 4:18). And the means that God has ordained to administer that special, saving grace is the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. "I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish; so I am eager ''to preach the gospel ''to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who believes" (Romans 1:14–16).

The notion that people are saved without hearing the gospel has wreaked havoc in the mission effort of liberally oriented denominations. Between 1953 and 1980 the overseas missionary force of mainline Protestant churches decreased from 9,844 to 2,813, while the missionary force of evangelical Protestants who take the Bible more seriously increased by over 200%. The Christian Missionary Alliance, with its 200,000 members, supports 40% more missionaries than the United Methodist Church with its 9.5 million members. There is amazing missionary power in believing the Word of God.

'''Two Irresistible Incentives of Frontier Missions'''

''' '''Many of you are on the brink of setting a new course of commitment to missions: some a new commitment to go to a frontier people, others a new path of education, others a new use of your vocation in a culture less saturated by the church, others a new lifestyle and a new pattern of giving and praying and reading. I want to push you over the brink this morning. I want to make the cause of missions so attractive that you will no longer be able to resist its magnetism.

For the true Christian Hedonist our text contains at least two irresistible incentives to leave home for the sake of Christ and his gospel.

'''1. All Things Are Possible with God'''

First, notice Mark 10:25–27, "Jesus said, 'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' And they were exceedingly astonished and said to him, 'Then who can be saved?' Jesus looked at them and said, 'With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.'" This is one of the most encouraging missionary conversations in the Bible. What missionary has not looked on his work and said, "It's impossible"? To which Jesus agrees, "Yes, ''with men ''it is impossible." No mere man can liberate another man from the enslaving power of the love of money. The rich young ruler went away sorrowful because the bondage to things cannot be broken by any man. ''With man ''it is impossible. And therefore missionary work, which is simply liberating the human heart from bondage to allegiances other than Christ, is impossible—with men! "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." And therein lies an incomparable incentive for missionary service.

Noël and I went to Urbana '67. I recall how John Alexander, head of Inter-Varsity, said that when he was young he thought, "If predestination is true, I would never become a missionary." But then he added, "But now after years in the field I say, 'If predestination is not true, I could never be a missionary.'" If God were not in charge in this affair doing the humanly impossible, the missionary task would be hopeless. Who but God can raise the spiritually dead and give them an ear for the gospel (Acts 16:14)? The great biblical doctrines of unconditional election, and predestination unto sonship, and irresistible grace in the preaching of Christ are mighty incentives to venture forth into a Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist or tribal culture where people seem hard as nails against the preaching of the gospel.

Jesus said, "I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also and they will heed my voice" (John 10:16). Therefore, when Paul enters city after city on his missionary journeys, his aim is clear—to gather in the sheep. The Lord said to Paul in a vision when he entered Corinth (Acts 18:9–10), "Do not be afraid but speak and do not be silent . . . for I have many people in this city." And when Paul was finished preaching in the city of Antioch Luke describes the result like this, "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48). The missionary who goes armed with the great truths of predestination and irresistible grace goes with the confidence that God will do for others today what he did for Lydia—"The Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul " (Acts 16:14). When it comes to entering the kingdom, there are two truths. One is this: "''With men ''it is impossible," and no one will be saved. The other is this: "''With God ''all things are possible," therefore, those who are ordained to eternal life will give heed to the gospel and believe and be saved. David Brainerd, whose missionary journal and diary have probably done as much to fire the cause of missions as any book beside the Bible, said that he lived for two things: "my own sanctification and the ingathering of God's elect."

So the first incentive to missionary service is the great encouragement that when we leave home for Christ and the gospel, the conversions we seek will be the work of God in accord with his eternal plan. One plants, one waters, but God alone brings forth new life and gives the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6, 7). What is impossible for us is not impossible with God, and he will do it. What a thrill to walk with God into an unreached town dominated by sin and Satan and to hear God say, "Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent . . . for I have many people in this city! I must gather them also. The sheep will give heed to my voice."

'''2. Christ Himself Makes Up for Every Loss'''

The second incentive for becoming a missionary is seen in Mark 10:28–30. "Peter began to say to him, 'Lo, we have left everything and followed you.' Jesus said, 'Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, house and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.'" This text does not mean that you get materially rich by becoming a missionary—at least not in the sense that your own private possessions increase. It means mainly that if you are deprived of your earthly family in the service of Christ, it will be made up a hundredfold in your spiritual family, the church. But even this may be too limiting. What about the lonely missionaries who labor for years without being surrounded by hundreds of sisters and brothers and mothers and children in the faith? Is the promise not true for them? Surely it is.

Surely what Christ means is that he himself makes up for every loss. If you give up a mother's nearby affection and concern, you get back one hundred times the affection and concern from the ever-present Christ. If you give up the warm comradeship of a brother, you get back one hundred times the warmth and camaraderie from Christ. If you give up the sense of at-homeness you had in your house, you get back one hundred times the comfort and security of knowing that your Lord owns every house and land and stream and tree on earth. Isn't what Jesus is saying to prospective missionaries just this: I promise to work for you and be for you so much that you will not be able to speak of having sacrificed anything. That's the way Hudson Taylor took it, because at the end of his 50 years of missionary labor in China he said, "I never made a sacrifice."

Christ aims to be glorified in the great missionary enterprise. Therefore he intends to remain the benefactor and for us to remain the beneficiaries. Even when we were called to be missionaries, we remain invalids in Christ's sanitarium. We are still in need of a good physician. We are still poor in need of his wealth and welfare. So when he sends us to Liberia or Cameroon or Brazil or Japan or India or China, he sends us there as part of our therapy. He says, "Now I know that there are some negative side-effects to this prescribed therapy, for example, persecutions, but I promise as your doctor that if you follow this missionary health regime, your condition will improve one hundred times more than if you reject it." Missionaries are not heroes who can boast in great sacrifice for God. They are the true Christian Hedonists. They are the ones who know that the battle cry of Christian Hedonism is missions, and have discovered that there is one hundred times more joy and satisfaction in a life devoted to Christ and the gospel than a life devoted to frivolous comforts and pleasures and worldly advancements. As Ralph Winter says at the end of his booklet, "Say Yes to Mission," "Jesus, 'for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame . . . ' To follow ''him ''is your choice. You're warned! But don't forget the joy." Or as I. Cambell White said in 1909 when the Layman's Missionary Movement was at its peak, "Fame, pleasure, riches are but husks and ashes in contrast with the boundless and abiding joy of working with God for the fulfillment of his eternal plans."

I do not appeal to you to screw up your courage and sacrifice for Christ. I appeal to you to renounce all that you have in order to obtain the pearl of pearls. I appeal to you to count all things as rubbish for the surpassing value of standing in the service of the King of Kings. I appeal to you to take off your store-bought rags and to put on the garments of God's ambassadors. I promise you persecutions and privations, but "remember the joy": "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10).

Two incentives to become a missionary—straight from the mouth of Jesus Christ: 1) every impossibility with men is a snap for God; the conversions of hardened sinners will be the work of God and will accord with his sovereign plan. We need not fear or fret over our weakness. The battle is the Lord's and he will give us the victory. 2) Christ promises to work for us and to be for us so much that when our missionary life is over, we will not be able to say we've sacrificed anything. When we follow his missionary prescription, we discover that even in the negative side-effects the improvement of our condition—our growth, our spiritual health, our joy—improves one hundred-fold.

'''Two Reasons Why God Is Moving at Bethlehem'''

''' '''Now I want to give two additional reasons why I think God is going to do a surprising work in missions at Bethlehem in the near future.

'''1. New Promptings of the Spirit'''

One reason is that the breezes of his Spirit are already picking up. He called Glenn Ogren of our staff back into missions. Tonight we will commission David and Faith Jaeger who leave Tuesday for Liberia—the first new missionaries to be sent out from Bethlehem since Steve Nelson about ten years ago. The Frontier Missions Prayer and Study Group and Toshavim Missions Ministry Team are studying and praying and dreaming about how to make us a world church. The women's missionary circles continue a steady base of prayer and education. Tom Steller is weighing the possibility of taking a team of people next summer to the U.S. Center for World Mission for a course of study in the Institute of International Studies. And Ralph Winter, the founder of the U.S.C.W.M. and missionary statesman, has agreed to be our keynote speaker at next year's missionary conference. These developments at Bethlehem have not been engineered by any one person—they are evidences that something new from God's Spirit is in the wind. Many of you have been praying to the Lord of the harvest—and the first fruits of his answers are already visible.

'''2. New Understandings of the World's Overwhelming Need'''

The other reason I believe God is going to do a surprising work in missions at Bethlehem is that the extraordinary need of the world is becoming increasingly obvious and we are not the kind of people who can ignore it. Satan's great lie in the past generation has been that the Great Commission is completed, and so the church can forget her wartime mentality. People confused the "nations" of Matthew 28:19 ("Make disciples of all ''nations''") with political nations of our day and concluded that disciples have been made in every nation, so the end can come. But they forget the song of heaven in Revelation 5:9 where Christ is praised: "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every ''tribe'' and ''tongue'' and ''people'' and nation." When Jesus commissioned his church to disciple the peoples, he did not have in mind merely political boundaries. He had in mind the distant, distinct groups including tribes and tongues and peoples. And today there are over 16,000 such groups undiscipled. If every Christian in the world won all his neighbors to Christ, half the world would be unevangelized; because two billion people make up culturally distant people groups who do not have an indigenous witness. They are the "hidden peoples," the "frontier missions" of our day. The only way they can be reached is by cross-cultural missionaries. The day of foreign missions is not over. On the contrary, we stand on the brink of a new movement in the western and third-world churches to penetrate the last frontier.

One-hundred-fifty Protestant missionaries from North America serve among 733 million Muslims in 4,000 Muslim people groups; 100 missionaries among 537 million Hindus in 3,000 Hindu people groups; 200 missionaries among 405 million Han Chinese, and 200 missionaries among 255 million Buddhists, for a total of 650 Protestant North American missionaries among a little less than half the world's population who are basically unreached (1,930,000,000). And then we look at America. There are more churches in the Twin Cities than there are missionaries to almost two billion Muslim, Hindu, Chinese, and Buddhist people. Is that obedience? Americans give $700 million dollars a year to mission agencies—the same amount they spend on chewing gum. Every 52 days Americans spend as much on pet food as they do annually on foreign missions. And the reason for these things is not that we are living for pleasure, but that we do not believe Jesus when he says that a hundred times more pleasure can be had by forsaking everything for his sake and for the gospel.

'''Building a World Church'''

 I got a phone call Friday morning from a seminary in another part of the country asking if I would be willing to let my name be put on a list of candidates for a professorship in New Testament. It didn't take me five seconds to answer that question. I said no. I've got a great church. God is beginning to move. Don't even add my name to your list. I want to build a world church with you at Bethlehem. I want to see new missionaries go out from this body every year. I want to be here to welcome home David and Faith on their first furlough. I want to travel to some of our fields and minister to our missionaries and bring back reports of what God is doing. I want to preach and write in such a way that young and old and men and women cannot go on with business as usual while there are more churches in the Twin Cities than there are missionaries in half the world. The challenge is great. God is greater. The rewards are a hundred times better than anything the world can offer. The battle cry of Christian Hedonism is: Go! Double your joy in God by sharing it on the frontiers.

Battling the Unbelief of Misplaced Shame

Bpmoosie — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:30:41 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''Battling the Unbelief of Misplaced Shame''' =

October 2, 1988

By '''John Piper'''

'''2 Timothy 1:6-12

Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; 7 for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control. 8 Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel in the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, 10 and now has manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 and therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.

'''The Definition and Causes of Shame ''' 

Let's start with a dictionary definition of shame. Shame is the painful emotion caused by a consciousness of guilt or shortcoming or impropriety.

Let me illustrate each of those causes.

1.  First, the cause of guilt. Suppose you act against your conscience and withhold information on your tax returns. For a couple years you feel nothing because it has been put out of your mind, and you weren't caught. Then you are called to account by the IRS and it becomes public knowledge that you lied and you stole. Your guilt is known. Now in the light of public censure you feel the pain of shame. 2.  Or take the cause of shortcoming. In the Olympics suppose you come from a little country where you are quite good in the 3,000-meter race. Then you compete before thousands of people in Seoul, and the competition is so tough that by the time the last lap comes up, you are a whole lap behind everyone else, and you must keep running all by yourself while everyone watches. There's no guilt here. But the humiliation and shame could be intense. 3.  Or take the cause of impropriety. You are invited to a party and you find out when you get there that you dressed all wrong. Again, no evil or guilt. Just a social blunder, an impropriety that makes you feel foolish and embarrassed.

 '''Well-Placed Vs. Misplaced Shame'''

One of the things that jumps right out at you from this definition of shame is that there is some shame that is justified and some that isn't. There are some situations where shame is exactly what we should feel. And there are some situations where we shouldn't. Most people would say that the liar ought to be ashamed. And most people would probably say that the long distance runner who gave it his best shot ought not to feel ashamed. Disappointment would be healthy, but not shame.

Let me illustrate from Scripture these two kinds of shame. The Bible makes very clear that there is a shame we ought to have and a shame we ought not to have. I'm going to call the one kind, "misplaced shame" and the other kind "well-placed shame."

Misplaced shame (the kind we ought not to have) is the shame you feel when there is no good reason to feel it. Biblically that means the thing you feel ashamed of is not dishonoring to God; or that it IS dishonoring to God, but you didn't have a hand in it. In other words, misplaced shame is shame for something that's good—something that doesn't dishonor God. Or it's shame for something bad but which you didn't have any sinful hand in. That's the kind of shame we ought not have.

Well-placed shame (the kind you ought to have) is the shame you feel when there is good reason to feel it. Biblically that means we feel ashamed of something because our involvement in it was dishonoring to God. We ought to feel shame when we have a hand in bringing dishonor upon God by our attitudes or actions.

I want to be sure you see how important God is in this distinction between misplaced shame and well-placed shame. Whether we have a hand in honoring God or dishonoring God makes all the difference. If we want to battle shame at the root, we have to know how it relates to God. And we DO need to battle shame at the root—all shame. Because both misplaced shame and well-placed shame can cripple us if we don't know how to deal with them at the root.

So let's look at some Scriptures that illustrate misplaced shame and some that illustrate well-placed shame.

'''Misplaced Shame'''

 '''2 Timothy 1:8'''

Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but take your share of suffering for the gospel in the power of God.

What this text says is that if you feel shame for testifying about Jesus, you have a misplaced shame. We ought not to feel shame for this. Christ is honored when we speak well of him. And he is dishonored by fearful silence. So it is not a shameful thing to testify, but a shameful thing not to.

Secondly the text says that if you feel shame that a friend of yours is in trouble (in this case: prison) for Jesus' sake, then your shame is misplaced. The world may see this as a sign of weakness and defeat. But Christians know better. God is honored by the courage of his servants to go to prison for his name. We ought not to feel shame that we are associated with something that honors God in this way, no matter how much scorn the world heaps on.

'''Mark 8:38'''

Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Shame is misplaced when we feel it because of the person or the words of Jesus. If Jesus says, "Love your enemies," and others laugh and call it unrealistic, we should not feel ashamed. If Jesus says, "Fornication is evil," and liberated yuppies label it out of date, we should not feel shame to stand with Jesus. That would be misplaced shame because the words of Jesus are true and God-honoring, no matter how foolish the world may try to make them look.

'''1 Peter 4:16'''

If one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God.

Suffering and being reproached and made fun of as a Christian is not an occasion for shame, because it is an occasion for glorifying God. In other words in the Bible the criterion for what is well-placed shame and what is misplaced shame is not how foolish or how bad you look to men, but whether you in fact bring honor to God.

This is so important to grasp! Because much of what makes us feel shame is not that we have brought dishonor on God by our actions, but that we have failed to give the appearance that other people admire. Much of our shame is not God-centered but self-centered. Until we get a good handle on this, we will not be able to battle the problem of shame at its root.

'''Romans 1:16'''

I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

The reason shame in the gospel would be a misplaced shame is that the gospel is the very power of God unto salvation. The gospel magnifies God and humbles man. And so to the world the gospel doesn't look like power at all. It looks like weakness (asking people to be like children and depend on Jesus, instead of standing on their own two feet). But for those who believe it is the power of almighty God to save sinners.

'''2 Corinthians 12:9–10'''

Jesus said (to Paul),

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I will all the more gladly exult in my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Now ordinarily weaknesses and insults are occasions for shame. But for Paul they are occasions for exultation. Paul thinks that shame in his weaknesses and shame at insults and persecutions would be misplaced shame. Why? Because the power of Christ is perfected in Paul's weakness.

I conclude from all these texts that the biblical criterion for misplaced shame is radically God-centered. The biblical criterion says, don't feel shame for something that honors God no matter how weak or foolish it makes you look in the eyes of unbelievers.

'''Well-Placed Shame'''

 The same God-centeredness will be seen if we look at some texts that illustrate well-placed shame.

'''1 Corinthians 15:34'''

Come to your right mind, and sin no more. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

Here Paul says that these people ought to feel shame. "I say this to your shame." Their shame would be well-placed if they saw their deplorable ignorance of God and how it was leading to false doctrine (no resurrection) and sin in the church. In other words well-placed shame is shame for what dishonors God—ignorance of God, sin against God, false beliefs about God.

'''1 Corinthians 6:5'''

The Christians were going to secular courts to settle disputes among themselves. Paul rebukes them.

I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no man among you wise enough to decide between members of the brotherhood?

Again he says they should feel shame: "I say this to your shame." Their shame would be well-placed because their behavior is bringing such disrepute upon their God as they fight one another and seek help from the godless to settle their disputes. A well-placed shame is the shame you feel because you are involved in dishonoring God.

And let's not miss this implication: these people were trying their best to appear strong and right. They wanted to be vindicated by men. They wanted to be winners in court. They didn't want anyone to run over them as though they had no rights. That would look weak and shameful. So in the very act of wanting to avoid shame as the world sees it, they fell into the very behavior that God counts shameful.

The point is: when you are dishonoring God, you ought to feel shame, no matter how strong or wise or right you are in the eyes of men.

'''Ezekiel 43:10'''

And you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple and its appearance and plan, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities.

God says Israel ought to feel shame for its iniquities. Sin is always a proper cause for shame because sin is behavior that dishonors God.

(See also Romans 6:21; 2 Thessalonians 3:14 for more instances of well-placed shame.)

We can conclude from all these texts that the biblical criterion for misplaced shame and for well-placed shame is radically God-centered.

The biblical criterion for misplaced shame says, don't feel shame for something that honors God, no matter how weak or foolish or wrong it makes you look in the eyes of men. And don't feel shame for bad circumstances where you don't share in dishonoring God.

The biblical criterion for well-placed shame says, DO feel shame for having a hand in anything that dishonors God, no matter how strong or wise or right it makes you look in the eyes of men.

Now how do you battle this painful emotion called shame? The answer is that we battle it by battling the unbelief that feeds its life. And we fight for faith in the promises of God that overcome shame and relieve us from its pain.

'''Three Instances of Battling Misplaced Shame'''

 Let me illustrate with three instances.

'''1. When Well-Placed Shame Lingers Too Long'''

In the case of well-placed shame for sin the pain ought to be there but it ought not to stay there. If it does, it's owing to unbelief in the promises of God.

For example, a woman comes to Jesus in a Pharisee's house weeping and washing his feet. No doubt she felt shame as the eyes of Simon communicated to everyone present that this woman was a sinner and that Jesus had no business letting her touch him. Indeed she was a sinner. There was a place for true shame. But not for too long. Jesus said, "Your sins are forgiven" (Luke 7:48). And when the guests murmured about this, he helped her faith again by saying, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace" (v. 50).

How did Jesus help her battle the crippling effects of shame? He gave her a promise: "Your sins are forgiven! Your faith has saved you. Your future will be one of peace." So the issue for her was belief. Would she believe the glowering condemnation of the guests? Or would she believe the reassuring words of Jesus that her shame was enough? She's forgiven. She's saved. She may go in peace.

And that is the way every one of us must battle the effects of a well-placed shame that threatens to linger too long and cripple us. We must battle unbelief by taking hold of promises like,

There is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. (Psalm 130:4)

Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord that he may have mercy on him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6)

If we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:15)

Every one who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (Acts 10:43; 13:39)

'''2. Feeling Shame for Something That Glorifies God'''

The second instance of battling shame is the instance of feeling shame for something that is not even bad but in fact glorifies God—like Jesus or the gospel.

Our text shows how Paul battled against this misplaced shame. In verse 12 he says, "Therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me."

Paul makes very clear here that the battle against misplaced shame is a battle against unbelief. "I am not ashamed FOR I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED AND I AM SURE OF HIS KEEPING POWER." We fight against feelings of shame in Christ and the gospel and the Christian ethic by battling unbelief in the promises of God. Do we believe that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation? Do we believe that Christ's power is made perfect in our weakness? The battle against misplaced shame is the battle against unbelief in the promises of God.

'''3. Feeling Shame for Something We Didn't Do'''

Finally, the last instance of battling shame is the instance where others try to load us with shame for evil circumstances when in fact we had no part in dishonoring God.

It happened to Jesus. They called him a winebibber and a glutton. They called him a temple destroyer. They called him a hypocrite: He healed others, but he can't heal himself. In all this the goal was to load Jesus with a shame that was not his to bear.

The same with Paul. They called him mad when he defended himself in court. They called him an enemy of the Jewish customs and a breaker of the Mosaic law. They said he taught that you should sin that grace may abound. All this to load him with a shame that it was not his to bear.

And it has happened to you. And will happen again. How do you battle this misplaced shame? By believing the promises of God that in the end all the efforts to put us to shame will fail. We may struggle now to know what is our shame to bear and what is not. But God has a promise for us in either case:

Israel is saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity. (Isaiah 45:17; 49:23)

No one who believes in the Lord will be put to shame. (Romans 10:11; 9:33)

In other words, for all the evil and deceit judgment and criticism that others may use to heap on us a shame that is not ours to bear, and for all the distress and spiritual warfare it brings, the promise stands sure that they will not succeed in the end. All the children of God will be vindicated. The truth will be known. And no one who banks his hope on the promises of God will be put to shame.

Battling Unbelief Together

Bpmoosie — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:24:32 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''Battling Unbelief Together''' =

September 18, 1988

By '''John Piper'''

 '''         Hebrews 10:19-25; 3:12-14'''

'''How I Thrive in the Ministry'''

 I survive and thrive in the ministry because God has surrounded me with people who pray for me and exhort me to press on in the fight of faith. If you don't feel supported like this in your faith and work, we want to help change that. The Bible teaches that surviving and thriving in a life of faith and love depends on Christians intentionally building each other in faith and stirring each other up to love. Without intentional faith-building togetherness we lose our zeal, drift from God, become hardened in the deceitfulness of sin, and if someone doesn't snatch us (James 5:19; Jude 23), we make shipwreck of our so-called faith and perish in unbelief.

I got a post card from a brother in the ministry a week or so ago that built my faith and gave me hope and encouragement to press on. It was not addressed to me. It was addressed to Christ. It was prayer.

Dear Lord,

Glorify yourself, our Savior, by moving us as a family of believers to pray as never before. May we find delight and enrichment in new intimacy of conversation with you. May our churches experience new health and vitality. And grant to us, by a fuller liberation of your power through mighty, multiplied intercession, to capture the strongholds of darkness in our country and around the world. That your name will everywhere be esteemed and revered. Give special guidance to your servant, John, as he wrestles with the discernment of urgent issues for Bethlehem's future. Even in uncertainty provide such inner confidence of your ultimate leading that his peace will be unshakable.

Your servant Bill

It can happen through the mail. God means it to happen in person even more often. That's what we want to look at this morning.

 

'''Battling Unbelief and Fighting the Fight of Faith'''

 Last week we saw from Romans 4:20 that belief—belief that glorifies God—is future-oriented. It is a banking on the promises of God. All the promises of God were purchased for believing sinners by an act that happened in the past, namely, by the death and resurrection of Jesus. But God-glorifying BELIEF doesn't merely stare at those acts; it stands on them, and then looks forward to all the promises Jesus bought for us, and banks its hope on the promises, and moves out in a life of faith. Faith is future-oriented. It is heartfelt hope in the promises of God.

Then we saw that this kind of belief is the root of love and righteousness. Galatians 5:6, "Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love." The root of all love and goodness is belief in the promises of God.

And we saw the flip side of this truth: that UNBELIEF is the root of all sin.

Which led us to the conclusion that top priority in the Christian life is learning to battle unbelief and fight the fight of faith. We must be rid of the notion that before we were Christians, we were fighting for faith and battling unbelief, but now that we are Christians we can relax because the battle is over; I am a believer; I have won the battle. That's a wrong notion. It leaves you very vulnerable to the subtlety of unbelief. At the end of his life Paul looks back over several decades of being a Christian and says (in 2 Timothy 4:7), "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." He had fought the good fight to keep the faith all his Christian life.

 

'''The Role of Other Believers in the Fight of Faith '''

 And one of the ways he had fought it was to surround himself with believers who would pray for him and exhort him. Did you know that Paul always traveled in a team? He was not a loner. There was Barnabas and Silas and Timothy and Luke and Aristarchus and Mark and Epaphras and others. The one time he was forced to go off by himself to Athens his spirit was almost broken by the overwhelming evil there and he sent immediately for Timothy to join him.

You might get the idea that Paul's faith (and the faith of other ministers) was never in need of human reinforcement. But listen ot 2 Corinthians 7:5–7,

For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he told us of your longing.

Paul needed the partnership of close friends who could strengthen his faith when fear was beginning to get the upper hand in his life. We need that same partnership. That is what lies behind the 20:20 Vision.

 

'''Five Points on Hebrews 10:24–25'''

 Now let's look at our text in Hebrews 10:24–25. I want to make five brief points from these two verses.

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

 

'''1. Meeting Together'''

We are commanded to meet together.

The kind of meeting in view seems to be one that allows for some kind of mutual encouragement and stirring up of one another. It is not talking about merely sneaking into a big church service and sneaking out again. It's talking about the kind of meeting where you say something to someone that will help them be more loving and where someone can say something to you that will help you be more loving, and help you have strength to more good deeds.

This is why we believe so strongly in a ministry of small groups in the church. There is this "one another" principle that requires personal interaction with people at a pretty significant level. Coming to worship on Sunday morning—as important as that is—is not enough. God means for us to face each other so that we can exhort and encourage each other to press on.

The first point, then, is MEET together in smaller groups.

 

'''2. Avoiding the Habit of Not Meeting'''

The second point is, don't get into the habit of not meeting.

This is almost the same as point #1, but verse 25 seems to give it a special stress. So I want to too. It says, "Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some." The warning here is that not meeting with other Christians in this way can become habitual. Ask yourself right now: Are you in the habit of only coming to more or less anonymous, bigger meetings of the church where there doesn't have to be much personal interaction or accountability? Does that pattern of life feel comfortable now?

Many of you would have to answer, Yes. Why? Because it is now a habit. It's what you are comfortable with. In fact it is so much your normal way of looking at the Christian life that what I am saying right now is threatening to you. You do not want to be told that the Bible insists that you are outside the Lord's will when you do not meet in some kind of smaller group intentionally designed to stir you up to love and good works.

So my second point is: Don't get into this habit of not meeting in this way. And if you are in that habit now, resolve to break it this year. We want to help you with the 20:20 Vision.

 

'''3. Increasing Frequency and Seriousness'''

The third point is that the frequency and seriousness of your meetings should increase as the Day of Judgment draws near.

At the end of verse 25 it says, " . . . and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." That's the Day of Christ's coming and the end of the age. The stresses and troubles and dangers are going to increase as history comes to a close. There will be greater satanic activity, greater evil, greater threats to your faith and love.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:11–12, "Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold." That's why we better take this word of Hebrews 10:25 very seriously in our day. If your love is going to survive the onslaught of Satan and evil, you must meet with those who can stir you up to love and good works. Woe to the person who thinks they can be a lone wolf Christian as the last Day draws near.

Let's make our meeting for prayer and exhortation be more frequent and more serious and urgent as we see the gathering storm of tribulation and evil.

 

'''4. Empowering to Love'''

Make your meeting together with believers a meeting specifically for the empowering to love. Empowering to love.

Don't be unintentional when you get together. Don't just say, Christian fellowship is good, so we are going to get together and talk. It is good. And talking is wonderful. But the stakes are too high these days to be that casual and lackadaisical about your gathering.

Verse 24 says, "Consider one another in order to stir each other up to love and good works" (literal translation). There is a clear goal. We are meeting so that when we leave, we will have more power to love, more resources to love, more motivation to love, more wisdom to love and do good works, so that people will see our good works, as Jesus said, and give glory to our Father in heaven. The visible glory of God is at stake.

And not only is there a clear goal, there is a kind of urgent intentionality. The word "Consider" suggests that we come on the look out for how we can specifically help other people get power to love. We don't just drift into a 20:20 meeting thinking about all kinds of worldly things. We come on a mission. We come "considering," on the look out, watching, listening. What does David need tonight? What would help Noël be stronger tonight?

So the fourth point is: Be intentional in your coming together. Aim at empowering each other to love and good works.

 

'''5. Strengthening Faith in the Promises of God'''

The last point is in answer to the question: How do you empower another person to love and good works? What is the root of love? What is the root of all righteousness and truly good deeds? The answer is belief in the promises of God. So the fifth point is: Make the main basic goal of every small group to strengthen faith in the promises of God.

This is implied in verse 23: "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love . . . " So these two things are very closely related: stirring each other up to love, and helping each other hold on to hope in the promises of God.

How do you empower someone to love and good deeds in spite of all the obstacles they will run into at home and work? Answer: build their hope in the promises of God. Love grows on the taproot of BELIEF in the promises of God.

 

'''The Target of Our Exhortation'''

 Look finally at 3:12–13.

Take care, brethren, lest there be in you an evil unbelieving heart [literally: "an evil heart of unbelief"] leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Notice carefully: the target of our exhorting one another is twofold. First, in verse 12 it is the evil heart of unbelief. We should do all we can to help each other battle unbelief in our heart. It is evil and it can lead us to fall away from the living God. Second, in verse 13 the target of our exhorting is the deceitfulness of sin: " . . . that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

The relationship between these two is plain. A heart of unbelief gives rise to sin. And sin is the opposite of love. So our basic agenda in small groups is clear. We must help each other BATTLE UNBELIEF. We must help each other fight the fight of faith. None of us is above this need. I certainly need it.

And I would ask you to bow your head now and ask the Lord to reveal your need of it too, and how you should go about meeting that need.

Battling Unbelief Together

Bpmoosie — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:24:08 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''Battling Unbelief Together''' =

September 18, 1988

By '''John Piper'''

'''         Hebrews 10:19-25; 3:12-14'''

'''How I Thrive in the Ministry'''

 I survive and thrive in the ministry because God has surrounded me with people who pray for me and exhort me to press on in the fight of faith. If you don't feel supported like this in your faith and work, we want to help change that. The Bible teaches that surviving and thriving in a life of faith and love depends on Christians intentionally building each other in faith and stirring each other up to love. Without intentional faith-building togetherness we lose our zeal, drift from God, become hardened in the deceitfulness of sin, and if someone doesn't snatch us (James 5:19; Jude 23), we make shipwreck of our so-called faith and perish in unbelief.

I got a post card from a brother in the ministry a week or so ago that built my faith and gave me hope and encouragement to press on. It was not addressed to me. It was addressed to Christ. It was prayer.

Dear Lord,

Glorify yourself, our Savior, by moving us as a family of believers to pray as never before. May we find delight and enrichment in new intimacy of conversation with you. May our churches experience new health and vitality. And grant to us, by a fuller liberation of your power through mighty, multiplied intercession, to capture the strongholds of darkness in our country and around the world. That your name will everywhere be esteemed and revered. Give special guidance to your servant, John, as he wrestles with the discernment of urgent issues for Bethlehem's future. Even in uncertainty provide such inner confidence of your ultimate leading that his peace will be unshakable.

Your servant Bill

It can happen through the mail. God means it to happen in person even more often. That's what we want to look at this morning.

'''Battling Unbelief and Fighting the Fight of Faith'''

 Last week we saw from Romans 4:20 that belief—belief that glorifies God—is future-oriented. It is a banking on the promises of God. All the promises of God were purchased for believing sinners by an act that happened in the past, namely, by the death and resurrection of Jesus. But God-glorifying BELIEF doesn't merely stare at those acts; it stands on them, and then looks forward to all the promises Jesus bought for us, and banks its hope on the promises, and moves out in a life of faith. Faith is future-oriented. It is heartfelt hope in the promises of God.

Then we saw that this kind of belief is the root of love and righteousness. Galatians 5:6, "Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love." The root of all love and goodness is belief in the promises of God.

And we saw the flip side of this truth: that UNBELIEF is the root of all sin.

Which led us to the conclusion that top priority in the Christian life is learning to battle unbelief and fight the fight of faith. We must be rid of the notion that before we were Christians, we were fighting for faith and battling unbelief, but now that we are Christians we can relax because the battle is over; I am a believer; I have won the battle. That's a wrong notion. It leaves you very vulnerable to the subtlety of unbelief. At the end of his life Paul looks back over several decades of being a Christian and says (in 2 Timothy 4:7), "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." He had fought the good fight to keep the faith all his Christian life.

'''The Role of Other Believers in the Fight of Faith '''

And one of the ways he had fought it was to surround himself with believers who would pray for him and exhort him. Did you know that Paul always traveled in a team? He was not a loner. There was Barnabas and Silas and Timothy and Luke and Aristarchus and Mark and Epaphras and others. The one time he was forced to go off by himself to Athens his spirit was almost broken by the overwhelming evil there and he sent immediately for Timothy to join him.

You might get the idea that Paul's faith (and the faith of other ministers) was never in need of human reinforcement. But listen ot 2 Corinthians 7:5–7,

For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he told us of your longing.

Paul needed the partnership of close friends who could strengthen his faith when fear was beginning to get the upper hand in his life. We need that same partnership. That is what lies behind the 20:20 Vision.

'''Five Points on Hebrews 10:24–25'''

Now let's look at our text in Hebrews 10:24–25. I want to make five brief points from these two verses.

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

'''1. Meeting Together'''

We are commanded to meet together.

The kind of meeting in view seems to be one that allows for some kind of mutual encouragement and stirring up of one another. It is not talking about merely sneaking into a big church service and sneaking out again. It's talking about the kind of meeting where you say something to someone that will help them be more loving and where someone can say something to you that will help you be more loving, and help you have strength to more good deeds.

This is why we believe so strongly in a ministry of small groups in the church. There is this "one another" principle that requires personal interaction with people at a pretty significant level. Coming to worship on Sunday morning—as important as that is—is not enough. God means for us to face each other so that we can exhort and encourage each other to press on.

The first point, then, is MEET together in smaller groups.

'''2. Avoiding the Habit of Not Meeting'''

The second point is, don't get into the habit of not meeting.

This is almost the same as point #1, but verse 25 seems to give it a special stress. So I want to too. It says, "Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some." The warning here is that not meeting with other Christians in this way can become habitual. Ask yourself right now: Are you in the habit of only coming to more or less anonymous, bigger meetings of the church where there doesn't have to be much personal interaction or accountability? Does that pattern of life feel comfortable now?

Many of you would have to answer, Yes. Why? Because it is now a habit. It's what you are comfortable with. In fact it is so much your normal way of looking at the Christian life that what I am saying right now is threatening to you. You do not want to be told that the Bible insists that you are outside the Lord's will when you do not meet in some kind of smaller group intentionally designed to stir you up to love and good works.

So my second point is: Don't get into this habit of not meeting in this way. And if you are in that habit now, resolve to break it this year. We want to help you with the 20:20 Vision.

'''3. Increasing Frequency and Seriousness'''

The third point is that the frequency and seriousness of your meetings should increase as the Day of Judgment draws near.

At the end of verse 25 it says, " . . . and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." That's the Day of Christ's coming and the end of the age. The stresses and troubles and dangers are going to increase as history comes to a close. There will be greater satanic activity, greater evil, greater threats to your faith and love.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:11–12, "Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold." That's why we better take this word of Hebrews 10:25 very seriously in our day. If your love is going to survive the onslaught of Satan and evil, you must meet with those who can stir you up to love and good works. Woe to the person who thinks they can be a lone wolf Christian as the last Day draws near.

Let's make our meeting for prayer and exhortation be more frequent and more serious and urgent as we see the gathering storm of tribulation and evil.

'''4. Empowering to Love'''

Make your meeting together with believers a meeting specifically for the empowering to love. Empowering to love.

Don't be unintentional when you get together. Don't just say, Christian fellowship is good, so we are going to get together and talk. It is good. And talking is wonderful. But the stakes are too high these days to be that casual and lackadaisical about your gathering.

Verse 24 says, "Consider one another in order to stir each other up to love and good works" (literal translation). There is a clear goal. We are meeting so that when we leave, we will have more power to love, more resources to love, more motivation to love, more wisdom to love and do good works, so that people will see our good works, as Jesus said, and give glory to our Father in heaven. The visible glory of God is at stake.

And not only is there a clear goal, there is a kind of urgent intentionality. The word "Consider" suggests that we come on the look out for how we can specifically help other people get power to love. We don't just drift into a 20:20 meeting thinking about all kinds of worldly things. We come on a mission. We come "considering," on the look out, watching, listening. What does David need tonight? What would help Noël be stronger tonight?

So the fourth point is: Be intentional in your coming together. Aim at empowering each other to love and good works.

'''5. Strengthening Faith in the Promises of God'''

The last point is in answer to the question: How do you empower another person to love and good works? What is the root of love? What is the root of all righteousness and truly good deeds? The answer is belief in the promises of God. So the fifth point is: Make the main basic goal of every small group to strengthen faith in the promises of God.

This is implied in verse 23: "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love . . . " So these two things are very closely related: stirring each other up to love, and helping each other hold on to hope in the promises of God.

How do you empower someone to love and good deeds in spite of all the obstacles they will run into at home and work? Answer: build their hope in the promises of God. Love grows on the taproot of BELIEF in the promises of God.

'''The Target of Our Exhortation'''

 Look finally at 3:12–13.

Take care, brethren, lest there be in you an evil unbelieving heart [literally: "an evil heart of unbelief"] leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Notice carefully: the target of our exhorting one another is twofold. First, in verse 12 it is the evil heart of unbelief. We should do all we can to help each other battle unbelief in our heart. It is evil and it can lead us to fall away from the living God. Second, in verse 13 the target of our exhorting is the deceitfulness of sin: " . . . that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

The relationship between these two is plain. A heart of unbelief gives rise to sin. And sin is the opposite of love. So our basic agenda in small groups is clear. We must help each other BATTLE UNBELIEF. We must help each other fight the fight of faith. None of us is above this need. I certainly need it.

And I would ask you to bow your head now and ask the Lord to reveal your need of it too, and how you should go about meeting that need.

Battling Unbelief at Bethlehem

Bpmoosie — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:17:34 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''Battling Unbelief at Bethlehem''' =

September 11, 1988  By '''John Piper'''

'''Romans 4:20'''

No distrust made Abraham waver concerning the promises of God, but he grew strong in his faith giving glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. What I want to do today is lay the foundation for a series of messages called Battling Unbelief. I hope to clarify in these messages why we exist as a church and what it means at the most practical level to live by faith in the promises of God.

'''All Sins Come from Unbelief in God's Promises'''

 The conviction behind this series is that all sins come from unbelief in the promises of God. All the sinful states of our hearts are owing to unbelief in God's super-abounding willingness and ability to work for us in every situation of life so that everything turns out for our good. Anxiety, misplaced shame, indifference, regret, covetousness, envy, lust, bitterness, impatience, despondency, pride—these are all sprouts from the root of unbelief in the promises of God. Let me illustrate from a familiar text that tends to puzzle us.

'''The Love of Money'''

When Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:10, "The love of money is the root of all evils," what did he mean? He didn't mean that there's a connection between every sinful attitude and money—that money is always in your mind when you sin. I think he meant that all the evils in the world come from a certain kind of heart, namely, the kind of heart that loves money.

Now what does it mean to love money? It doesn't mean to admire the green paper or the brown coins. To know what it means to love money you have to ask, What is money? I would answer that question like this: Money is simply a symbol that stands for human resources. Money stands for what you can get from man (not from God! "Ho everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. He who has NO MONEY come buy and eat!" Isaiah 55:1). Money is the currency of human resources.

So the heart that loves money is a heart that pins its hopes, and pursues its pleasures, and puts its trust in what human resources can offer. So the love of money is virtually the same as faith in money—belief (trust, confidence, assurance) that money will meet your needs and make you happy.

'''Unbelief in the Promises of God'''

Therefore the love of money, or belief in money, is the flip side of UNBELIEF in the promises of God. Just like Jesus said in Matthew 6:24—you cannot serve God and money. You can't trust or believe in God and money. Belief in one is unbelief in the other. A heart that loves money—banks on money for happiness, believes in money—is at the same time not banking on the promises of God for happiness.

So when Paul says that the love of money is the root of all evils, he implies that unbelief in the promises of God is the taproot of every sinful attitude in our heart.

'''The Aim of This Series'''

''' '''Every message this fall will aim to illustrate this truth and confirm it and provide practical help for battling the root of unbelief that threatens to grow in our hearts again and again every day. In a sense the main point of every message will be the same: Fight against sin by fighting against unbelief in the promises of God. Or to put it positively: Fight for righteousness and love in your life by fighting to maintain faith in the promises of God.

That's the gist of the series. But what I said I wanted to do today is lay a foundation for these messages and show you how it relates to why we exist as a church. So let me try to do that in the minutes we have left.

'''Why We Exist'''

 Bethlehem Baptist Church exists for the glory of God. He created us for his glory (Isaiah 43:7). He predestined us to be his children for his glory (Ephesians 1:6). He appointed us to live for his glory (Ephesians 1:12). Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Whether we speak of Bethlehem worshiping, Bethlehem building up the body, Bethlehem evangelizing unbelievers, the final goal is the same at every point—that God be glorified. Bethlehem is a vision of a great, holy, free, and graciously sovereign God—a vision of GOD to be savored in worship, a vision of GOD to be strengthened in nurture, and a vision of GOD to be spread in evangelism and missions. "From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen" (Romans 11:36).

'''How We Accomplish Our Reason for Existence'''

 Now to the text of the morning! Romans 4. If the goal of all we do is to glorify God—to magnify his worth, clarify his beauty, exalt his excellence, portray his perfections—if that is our goal, then Romans 4:19–21 gives us a very crucial insight into how we go about it.

'''Abraham's Faith in God's Promise'''

Abraham got the promise of God that he would have a son when he was 100 years old and Sarah was old and barren. His response, Paul says, glorified God.

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust [or: unbelief] made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

'''Martin Luther's Insight'''

I hope you agree that one thing this text teaches is that we glorify God by believing his promises. Listen to Martin Luther, who got a hold on this truth so firmly.

Faith . . . honors him whom it trusts with the most reverent and highest regard since it considers him truthful and trustworthy. There is no other honor equal to the estimate of truthfulness and righteousness with which we honor him whom we trust . . . On the other hand, there is no way in which we can show greater contempt for a man than to regard him as false and wicked and to be suspicious of him, as we do when we do not trust him. (''Selections'', p. 59)

Trusting God's promises is the most fundamental way that you can consciously glorify God. When you believe a promise of God, you honor God's ability to do what he promised and his willingness to do what he promised and his wisdom to know how to do it.

'''An Illustration of Battling Unbelief'''

Last night I had to battle the unbelief anxiety that this sermon would not take shape in time for this morning's service, because I got such a late start. The way I battled against this anxiety was to believe the promise of 2 Corinthians 12:8 ("My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness."). And when I believed that promise, God's ability to help me, his wisdom to help me and his willingness to help me were glorified. When you trust somebody, you honor them at the deepest level.

Therefore if the goal of our church is to glorify God in all that we do, we must make it our aim in all that we do to battle unbelief. Because nothing dishonors God more than not to believe what he says. Or to put it positively, if our goal is to glorify God in all that we do, then we must make it our aim in all that we do to believe the promises of God. Because it was when Abraham believed the promise of God that God was glorified.

So I hope you can see why I think this series of messages is so important for us. Unless we can learn to live by faith in the promises of God, we will fail in our goal as a church. Unless we can learn how to battle the ever-attacking unbelief of our hearts, we will constantly fall short of glorifying God. And our reason for being would be gone.

'''Three Things About the Faith Which Glorifies God'''

 Now to set the stage for the rest of the messages, let me say three things about this belief that glorifies God. If this seems too brief, please know that each of these three things will be addressed in every sermon this fall. All I want to do now is introduce them and begin to shape the mindset of our church in a certain biblical direction. And hopefully, in doing so, stir you up to trust God in new ways.

'''1. It Is Future Oriented'''

The first thing I want to say about this belief is this: Belief that honors God means banking our hope for happiness on the promises of God.

In other words belief is future oriented. It trusts God for something in the future, whether in eight hours or in 8,000 years. The function of past events (for example, the death and resurrection of Christ for our sins) is to support faith in the promises, which have to do with our future. Believing that Christ died for our sins once for all in the past and that he rose again is utterly crucial for salvation. But the reason it's crucial is because the death and resurrection of Christ are the guarantee of God's promises. People who say, "I believe that Christ died for my sins, and that he rose again from the dead," but then don't bank their hope on his promises day by day—those people don't have faith that honors the God who justifies sinners.

You can see this in our text. Right after extolling Abraham for believing the promises of God in verses 19–21, Paul says, "That is why his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness." So how did Abraham get justified in God's sight? Why did God look at this imperfect man and count him as righteous in his sight? Answer: because he believed the promises of God. It was future oriented faith that justified.

Now read on in the application to us. Verses 23–24,

But the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord.

Notice! It does not say, "It will be reckoned to us who believe the past historical fact that God raised Jesus from the dead." As utterly crucial as that is! It says, we will be reckoned righteous if we believe in God! Like Abraham believed in God! And this God is the kind of God who raised Jesus from the dead so that you can trust him! So that you will know that his Son ever lives to make intercession for you! So that you will know that he reigns in victory over all your enemies. So that you will know, as verse 17 says, that he gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. He can do anything! Nothing is impossible for God. Therefore he is absolutely trustworthy.

You don't get justified by believing that Jesus died for sinners and rose again. You get justified by banking your hope on the promises that God secured and guaranteed for you through the death and resurrection of his Son. The faith by which God justifies us, forgives all our sins, reckons us righteous, is the experience of being satisfied that God will come through for you according to all his promises.

That's the first thing I wanted to say about belief: it is future oriented; it means banking our hope for happiness on the promises of God secured by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

'''2. It Produces Fruit'''

The second thing I want to say about belief in the promises of God is that it produces what Paul calls the "work of faith." Two times, once in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 and once in 2 Thessalonians 1:11 Paul refers to the "work of faith." What he means is that there is a dynamic to this kind of faith that always changes the heart (Acts 15:9) and produces the works of love.

The clearest statement of this is Galatians 5:6,

In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love.

Faith is a power. It never leaves the life unchanged. It can't, because what you bank your hope on always governs your life. If you bank your hope on money, if your bank your hope on prestige, if you bank your hope on leisure and comfort, if you bank your hope on power or success, it governs the choices you make and the attitudes you develop. And so does banking your hope on the promises of God day by day. Belief in the promises of God is the taproot of all righteousness and love.

Earlier in Galatians 2:20 Paul said,

I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Paul lived his life every day by faith. Jesus had loved him enough to die for him, and now Paul knew he could trust him, believe him, to take care of him and meet all his needs (Philippians 1:19). When you bank your hope on the promises of God and on the presence of Jesus, you live differently. You bear the fruit of righteousness (Philippians 1:11).

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is in the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.

That's the second thing to say about belief: it produces fruit in our lives. Belief in the promises of God is not a dead and fruitless thing. What you bank on for happiness controls your life.

'''3. We Must Battle Unbelief Every Day'''

The last thing to say is just a sentence for now. In order to keep on believing in the promises of God and bearing the fruit of faith, we have to battle unbelief every day. Becoming a Christian is the beginning of the battle not the end. Paul said to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:12, "Fight the good fight of faith; take hold on eternal life to which you were called."

In order to persevere to eternal life, we must fight the good fight of faith (1 Corinthians 15:2; Colossians 1:23; Hebrews 3:14). That's the battle we are going to study for the next 14 weeks.

And I believe that God has appointed this study for us because he loves us and because he aims to bring some great victories to our lives and to our church. The reason I believe this is because of the promise of 1 John 5:4, "This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith."

Let's bow for prayer. Every one of us in this room struggles with some sin. It may be a new thought to us that this sin is rooted in unbelief. But it is. And what I want us to do is pray silently that God would help you see the connection and then dedicate yourself to join me in the next 14 weeks in learning how to battle that unbelief and conquering sin.

Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety

Bpmoosie — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:09:30 GMT

Bpmoosie:

= '''Battling the Unbelief of Anxiety''' =

September 25, 1988

By '''John Piper'''

'''Matthew 6:25-34'''

'''Unbelief as the Root and Essence of All Sin'''

 Let me hang a bridge between last Sunday's text and our concern today with the unbelief of anxiety. In Hebrews 3:12 it says, "Take care, brethren, lest their be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, leading you to fall away from the living God." And verse 14 says, "For we have shared in Christ, if we hold our first confidence firm to the end."

In other words the evidence that you have come to share in Christ—that you are united to him in saving faith—is that you hold that confidence firm to the end. Perseverance in faith is necessary for salvation. When a person is truly converted, the heart is changed so that now life is lived by faith (Galatians 2:20).

The new birth introduces a person into a life of warfare. That warfare is called the "fight of faith" in 2 Timothy 4:7; 1 Timothy 6:12. And here in Hebrews 3:12 it is called the battle against unbelief. "Take care [that's the vigilance of battle], brethren, lest there be in you and evil heart of unbelief [there's the enemy in the warfare], leading you to fall away from the living God [there's the warning against not taking the warfare seriously]."

In other words the most basic battle of our life is the battle to believe in the living God, and not to allow our heart to become an evil heart of unbelief. Because if unbelief in the living God gets the upper hand in our life, then the result can be a hardening that makes us unwilling to repent and thus cuts us off from the grace of God.

Now this will not happen to those who are truly in Christ. Those who are truly born of God take the battle seriously, and draw on the power of God to fight it, and win it with persevering faith. That is what God promises. "He who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

The bridge, then, that I want to hang between last week's text and this week's text is the truth that beneath our battle against evil in our heart is the battle against unbelief. Unbelief is the root of evil and the essence of evil. All our sinning grows out of unbelief in the living God and what he has said to us in Scripture.

'''Unbelief as the Root of Anxiety'''

 Now today's text illustrates this with a specific evil condition of heart, namely, anxiety.

Stop for a moment and think how many different sinful actions and attitudes come from anxiety. Anxiety about finances can give rise to coveting and greed and hoarding and stealing. Anxiety about succeeding at some task can make you irritable and abrupt and surly. Anxiety about relationships can make you withdrawn and indifferent and uncaring about other people. Anxiety about how someone will respond to you can make you cover over the truth and lie about things. So if anxiety could be conquered, a lot of sins would be overcome.

But what is the root of anxiety? And how can it be severed? To answer that we go to our text in Matthew 6. Four times in this text Jesus says that we should not be anxious.

Verse 25: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life." Verse 27: "And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?" Verse 31: "Therefore do not be anxious." Verse 34: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow." The verse that makes the root of anxiety explicit is verse 30: "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothes you, O men of little faith?" In other words Jesus says that the root of anxiety is lack of faith in our heavenly Father. As unbelief gets the upper hand in our hearts, one of the results is anxiety.

So when Hebrews says, "Take heed lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief," it includes this meaning: "Take heed lest there be in you an ANXIOUS heart of unbelief." Anxiety is one of the evil conditions of the heart that comes from unbelief. Much anxiety, Jesus says, comes from little faith.

This is the kind of connection we are going to see again and again in the weeks to come. The root of a sinful condition of the heart is unbelief in the living God.

'''Two Kinds of Disturbed Responses to This Truth'''

 Now I can think of two kinds of disturbed responses to this truth. Let me tell you what they are and then give a biblical response before we go on to the battle against the unbelief of anxiety.

'''1. "This Is Not Good News!"''' One response would go like this: This is not good news! In fact it is very discouraging to learn that what I thought was a mere struggle with an anxious disposition is in fact a far deeper struggle with whether I believe God or not.

Now my response to this is to agree but then to disagree. Suppose you had been having pain in your stomach and had been struggling with medicines and diets of all kinds to no avail. And then suppose that your doctor tells you after a routine visit that you have cancer in your small intestine. Would that be good news? You say, emphatically not! And I agree.

But let me ask the question another way: Are you glad that the doctor discovered the cancer while it is still treatable, and that indeed it can be very successfully treated? You say, yes, I am very glad that the doctor found the real problem. Again I agree.

So the news that you have cancer is not good news because having cancer is good. It is good news because knowing what is really wrong is good news, especially when it can be treated successfully.

That's what it's like to learn that the real problem behind anxiety is unbelief in the promises of God. It's not good news because the cancer of unbelief is good. It's good because KNOWING WHAT IS REALLY WRONG is good, especially because unbelief can be treated so successfully by our great physician.

So I want to stress that finding out the connection between our anxiety and our unbelief is in fact very good news, because it is the only way to begin the battle with the real cause of our sin and get the victory that God can give us by the therapy of his Word and his Spirit.

'''2. "How Can I Have Any Assurance at All?"''' There is another possible response to the truth that our anxiety is rooted in our unbelief in God's promises. It goes like this: I have to deal with feelings of anxiety almost every day; and so I feel like my belief in God must be totally inadequate. So I wonder if I can have any assurance of being saved at all.

'''Being Faithless Vs. Having Faith Attacked'''

My answer to this concern goes like this: Suppose you are in a car race and your enemy who doesn't want you to finish the race throws mud on your windshield. The fact that you temporarily lose sight of your goal and start to swerve does not mean that you are going to quit the race. And it certainly doesn't mean that you are on the wrong racetrack. Otherwise the enemy wouldn't bother you at all. What it means is that you should turn on your windshield wipers and use your windshield washer.

What I mean is this: when anxiety strikes and blurs our vision of God's glory and the greatness of the future that he plans for us, this does not mean that we are faithless, or that we will not make it to heaven. It means our faith is being attacked. At first blow our belief in God's promises may sputter and swerve. But whether we stay on track and make it to the finish line depends on whether we set in motion a process of resistance. Whether we fight back against anxiety. Will we turn on the windshield wipers and will we use our windshield washer?

'''The Testimony of Scripture'''

Psalm 56:3 says, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee." Notice: it does not say, "I never struggle with fear." Fear strikes and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike.

For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you." It does NOT say, you will never feel any anxieties to cast onto God. It says, when the mud splatters your windshield and you lose temporary sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer.

'''To the One Who Struggles Daily with Anxiety'''

So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that's more or less normal. The issue is how you deal with them.

And the answer to that is: you deal with anxieties by battling unbelief. And you battle unbelief by meditating on God's Word and asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief. And the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit.

Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit the wipers of the Word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief. Both are necessary—the Spirit and the Word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our belief grows strong and the swerving of anxiety smoothes out.

'''Overcoming Anxiety by Battling Unbelief'''

Let me close by using some illustrations how battling unbelief overcomes anxiety.

'''The Pattern of Jesus and Paul'''

Here in our text we have the illustration of anxiety over food and clothing. Even in our country with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing can be very intense. But Jesus says in verse 30 that this is owing to unbelief: "O you of little faith." And so this paragraph has at least half a dozen promises in it to battle that unbelief.

For example at the end of verse 32 he says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." That is a spectacular promise. In everything you do at home and at work, put God's purposes first, and he will provide all you need to live for his glory. Believe that promise, and financial anxiety will evaporate in the warmth of God's care.

Paul applied the promise to anxiety in Philippians like this. In 4:6 he says just like Jesus, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God." And then in 4:19 he gives the promise like Jesus, "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

'''Anxieties We May Face'''

And so we follow today the pattern of Jesus and Paul. We battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of God.

When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with the promise: "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise, "So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not come back to me empty but accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9), and "As your days so shall your strength be" (Deuteronomy 33:25). When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8). When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, "If God is for us who can be against us!" (Romans 8:31). When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise that "tribulation works patience, and patience approvedness, and approvedness hope, and hope does not make us ashamed" (Romans 5:3–5). When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:4). When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that "none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9–11). When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promise, "He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6). "He who calls you is faithful. He will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). "He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). And yesterday when Rob and Gail got married, they printed the promises of God in the wedding folder. With these they have and they will fight off the anxiety of all the unknowns of marriage: "And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; he will be with you. He will not fail your or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:8).

So I urge you in your warfare, take up the book of God, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and battle on. And remember the promise of Proverbs 21:31, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord."