Christ Put On

Christ put on - Charles H. Spurgeon

www.spurgeongems.org/vols34-36/chs2132.pdf

Romans 13:14

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

What a joy it is to read the wise words of a man who genuinely loves God and understand's His truths.

In this sermon, Spurgeon illustrates the importance of putting on Christ in the same way we put on clothing. Having said that, we cannot merely put on Christ, we must also put off our old self. If we put on Christ's garment over the fleshly garment, we are still wearing the old man! Therefore it is imperative that we take off and put on.

This act of taking off and putting on is not a one time act. As Christians, we are commanded to put on Christ DAILY. Now only in this instance, may men take more than an hour to get dressed. Putting on Christ in the morning should take as much time as needed. This command is not a burden like many perceive it to be. Rather, God commands us to do so because it is for our own good, our own protection. Nothing can touch us when the full armor of the living God is worn. You see, when we wear Christ on our sleeve, He stands between us and the fiery darts of the evil one. He preserves us and sustains us. He starts to transform our motives and our inner being. He allows us to reflect Him all the more through the sway of the Holy Spirit.

Now where do we go for this daily garment? Jesus! He is our everything - our Priest, our Prophet, our Savior, our Coverer. Put him on continually, in every aspect of our lives. We put Him on not in order to impress others but out of the gratitude and desire to please Him. We go to Christ for changed motives!!!

Putting on Christ will display itself in our natural inclinations. Why will God show patience to us if we do not show patience to others? Is one who is angered easily wearing the robes of Christ? Putting on Christ changes our character. A heart of gratitude and love towards others are examples of the transformation of character.

Do not ever take off Christ. When Christ is not put on, we are giving a foothold to the devil, provision for the flesh. Therefore, we must labor daily and methodically to strap in our garments. We must have absolutely no tolerance for sin, not even a hint. Starve the desires of the flesh and ask Christ to take their place.

Now there is a sense of urgency in all of this because we don't know when Christ will be returning. We know something is wrong when we are scared of Christ return. We shouldn't be like the brides than ran out of oil, unprepared for the bridegrooms return. Rather, we ought to be diligently watching and wearing Christ on our backs as we wait for His final return. What great hope there is in Christ's return! When, finally, we will be completely transformed into Christ's likeness from the depths of our hearts into eternity!

butt bruises

So as most of you know, I live in the farthest outskirts of society, in Frederick county. It's a great place, it really is. There is plenty of scenery and fresh air out there. The only problem that I have to travel great lengths to get to shopping malls worth going to. The time it usually takes for me to get to Montgomery mall is 30 minutes. Today it took almost 2 hours! This was partially because of traffic and partially because of my impatience. While waiting to take exit 1, I couldn't stand the wait so I tried to bypass it by going to the next exit. Right after I passed the exit, my gps told me that it was 2 MILES until the next exit, IN BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC. It was crazy, the first time I had to endure such hopelessness and powerlessness. Yelling or throwing fits did no good.

Something good did come of it though!!!! This test of patience was very beneficial in teaching me to bear responsibility for wrong decisions and to see the positives in negative circumstances. I've never been so frustrated in my life (that may seem astounding) but somehow after talking to pops a peace came and comforted me. Then I turned on Christian radio which definitely helped too.

The pain of driving didn't end there as the way home took another 1 1/2 hours cause of crazy congestion.

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. when it snows, don't travel tremendous distances

2. hang out in Frederick even though it may be less attractive

3. PATIENCE is a fruit of the Spirit which i need more work on

Turkeys, Turkeys, Turkeys, Outreach?, Turkeys

Thanksgiving is here and it's time to reflect on the things that we are thankful for. I know God has blessed me in numerous ways through friends, family and physical needs but of these things, salvation is the most important. While all these blessings are great and need thankfulness, we tend to forget the most important person God has blessed us with: Jesus. Last Saturday I had to privilege of going to Turkey Outreach with a group from the Gathering and Frontline. Frontline has been doing this program where it hands out turkey dinners and share the Gospel to the less fortunate folks for a few years. Since I had football practice later that day, I could only stay for two hours, enough time to help unload turkeys from the truck.

While unloading the turkeys, one thing kept going through my mind. "Don't waste this time by talking to your friends from school who are always available, rather spend it sharing with someone you may not see on a regular basis." I was given this opportunity for a purpose and wasting it was not an option. I was convicted to go talk to someone with the purpose of sharing the Gospel. There was a group of dudes just hanging off by themselves in a corner. They didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the Frontliners so I approached them after taking a couple of deep breaths.

After a couple of preliminary questions, prepared myself for the awkward stage of turning the conversation into a spiritual one. To my surprise, there was no such stage. The individual that I ended up talking to was actually a believer from a drug rehab center. He has recently gotten himself clean and was a new believer. What was really amazing, was that he was struggling with the same thing as me, sharing our faiths to the ministry in which God has placed us. For me, I have difficulty sharing with my peers and with him, he has recognized that God wants him to reach his fellow rehab patients. What fueled the conversation was being thankful for salvation. Just talking to this guy was a continuation of what God has been trying to say to me. "When we are truly thankful for salvation, we can't help but talk about Jesus, we can't help but read about Jesus, we can't help but think about Him."

When I was driving back to football practice, I realized that though I didn't exactly share the Gospel to one who's never heard it, the Holy Spirit used that conversation to encourage an individual is able share the Gospel with even more people. It's awesome to see God's divine plan in work.

Now that's something to truly be thankful for, not only at one time a year, but rather all the time!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Ocean City Missions Trip

What a week it was in Ocean City. It was truly a blessed time full of stepping out of our comfort zone for God, preaching and dramaing on the boardwalk. I learned so much on this trip and I would like to share some of the happenings.

First of all, I am really thankful. Paul Adams and his crew of evangelists were so instrumental in preparing us for the boardwalk. They were kind and helpful, walking us through the ins and outs of the Open Air Campaigners (OAC). OAC uses a sketch board to convey the Gospel message.

They go to Ocean City and other various campuses to share the Gospel. I have a lot of respect for these men who sacrifice their entire lives to bring the good news to unbelievers. They taught us all the letters and the riddles that catch people's attention. They then showed us how to neatly transition int

o the Gospel message. Much thanks to Carmina as well for teaching us the skit. The skit was a tremendous success and attracted a lot of people.

Secondly I can see the power of the Lord. Throughout our missions trip, I continually prayed for God to give me the words to say, the courage to stand in front of unbelievers, and the strength to be bold. I truly felt no fear for my strength was grounded in the Lord and his saving work. I did not fear persecution for we should

count it as a privilege to suffer beside our Lord. When people attack you while you're giving the Gospel, they attack the author of the Gospel. I was truly able to see first hand how God can use a weak, needy servant for the furtherance of His kingdom. This week is probably my most meaningful week in terms of expanding God's Kingdom. The first week I preached the Gospel with no fear. I could feel the Holy Spirit give me clarity of speech. Every second that I spent sharing the Gospel was so joyous. I've never experienced such satisfaction in the Gospel and I pray that I continue to find joy in it. I pray that this evangelism thing wasn't just this week but the next chapter in my life where I look for opportunities to share.

Thirdly I was encouraged. Whenever I gave a message, I was blessed to have a lot of believers in the crowd that really encouraged me after the message was finished. I really get the "edification" of the body now. I want to be the same way, encouraging and spurring others on towards the Lord. I was also encouraged by the people I spoke to on the board walk. There was one person in particular and his name was Chris. He grew up in the Christian home just like me and really didn't have a relationship with Christ - basically not living out the Faith. He had fallen away for a couple years and the message on the boardwalk really hit him. It was as if God was continually pursuing him all these years. I pray that I can be faithful in encouraging him to live for Christ. What was also awesomely encouraging was seeing others step out in faith too. Watching Greyson and Mikie preach with conviction was amazing. It's really encouraging when you see people that love God preach God's love. Seeing Yolanda, Mary, and Alisa perform the drama and talk to people one-on-one about the Gospel really showed how each one of them have grown. How they were unafraid and unashamed of the Gospel. THIS IS HOW WE MUST LIVE!!!!! UNASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL!!!!!!!! We must find ultimate satisfaction in the Gospel and cling with all our might to it.

Application Time

So now that I'm home and back to into my normal environment, there are many things that I need to work on. First of all, I need to get into the Word more. When speaking to people on the boardwalk, I encountered a jehovah's witness. I must be able to defend the Bible and it's truths. I must also not be so naive in thinking everyone has a firm grasp of the Gospel and what it means to be saved. Given this, I need to preach the Gospel to Christians, my friends, non-believers, and also myself. The Gospel is the basis of our Christian faith. Therefore, we need to be living a Gospel-centered life, fueled by prayer.

So these are just a few tidbits from OC. If you would like to hear the details, just hit me up. I WOULD LOVE TO SHARE MORE!!!!

BTW...I haven't forgotten about my notes from WorshipGod. I shall be posting them up this coming week before school starts.

WorshipGod Conference Part 4

The Fourth Session was given by Thabiti Anyabwile and is titled: "The Church of Worship". This dude is an author and also the senior pastor of The First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman. The main focus of Anyabwile's was the church and how it is essential, critical, and central to your spiritual well-being. I am guilty of previously coming to church out of duty, going because I had to. Up until last summer, I viewed church as a chore. Now I realize how important the church is to my spiritual walk. How the brothers and sisters are there to encourage us and spur us on in Christ. Anyabwile presents this equation: church = people, community, body.

2 Corinthians 12:12-27 describes the church as a body with each individual being a member of the body. In this body, each member has a different part to play. The body cannot function without all the parts together. The well-being of the entire body depends on the spiritual health of the members. In vs 26 it says that if one member suffers, all of the members suffer. As members of the same body, we must take care and watch out for each other.

Anyabwile lists 5 reasons as to why we need the church:

1. Because it's God's workmanship

Christ is the one that joins us to His body. He elects each and every single one of us. Therefore we all have a purpose in being in the body.

2. Because we need to be cared for

Every member of the body cares for each other like I mentioned before. One of the challenges he gave us was to have a meaningful conversation with everyone in the church. I am definitely guilty of aimless conversations. We need to dwell on things of consequence, our spiritual health. Love in the church should abound out of our doors so that when strangers step into our church, they can experience the love of Christ through us. We were also warned about individualism in the church. It can be dangerous when people isolate themselves from the members of the body.

3. To be equipped and matured for the Christian life - Eph 4: 11-15

When we edify the body of Christ, we are encouraging others to pursue God. Worship at church should fulfill this purpose while being glorifying to God. Becoming spiritually mature and to be like Christ is the goal of the Christian faith. The church is instrumental for individual growth. Think about it, can an arm severed from the body continue to grow? No! It strivels up and rots! You see why we cannot mature in Christ independent of the local church?

An illustration he gave was this: We cannot cut out the body and just love the head, in the same way, we cannot cut out the church and love Christ.

4. We need God's grace

"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:"- 1 Peter 4:10

God's grace is channelled through God's people. God blesses us through His people.

5. We need God's love

"⁹Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. ¹⁰Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. ¹¹But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." - 1 John 2:9-11

Whoever loves God must love his brother. We are command to love the members of His body!

LISTEN TO THE SESSIONS ONLINE!!!!

http://purechurch.blogspot.com/

WorshipGod Conference Part 3

The 3rd main session at WorshipGod Conference was given by Jeff Purswell, a pastor at Covenant Life Church. His talk was titled, "The Leaders of Worship". The talk was focused on answering the question, "Why do we gather?" Scripture is taken from Hebrews 10:19-25.

Purswell starts of by saying doctrine must precede practice. We must have a firm grasp of Biblical doctrine in order to worship correctly. Theology has an enduring effect on how you worship. If you have convictions of what you are doing, faith will come.

He names a couple reasons as to why we gather for corporate worship.

1. To encounter God - Hebrews 12:22-24

The purpose and nature of the church is to gather in God's presence. We are able to gather in God's presence no matter what type of facility it is as long as we approach the Father through the Son. When we worship on Sundays or any other day, we are worshipping with the angels in heaven and entering the presence of our Heavenly Father. We cannot take this lightly for something of eternal consequence is occurring every Sunday.

2. To respond to God

We cannot by our own means draw near to God. Rather, Christ's redemption allows us to draw near. All true worship is a response to God, to how He has showed himself to us. When we are worshipping, we are not adding anything, giving anything, or offering anything to God. When I heard this, I was shocked. When I worship, I always think that I'm the one giving God the glory. But as sinful beings, our worship cannot be meaningful without God. Therefore, our worship is given on behalf of the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is then the mediator between us and God. The Gospel yet again!!!!

Something else that I never realized was that worship doesn't stop with the singing. Listening to the pastor give his sermon is also part of worship. Purswell put it this way, "In singing we are addressing God, in preaching God is addressing us." In fact, there's nothing more central to worship than preaching God's Word. This is why the pastor can technically be called the primary worship leaders since they are speaking the words of God to us. True worship is learning how to please God to the best of our ability as well as giving God all the glory by praising Him.

3. To strengthen each other for the glory of God

Gathering together in a corporate setting is for the purpose of building each other up in spirit and truth. We cannot run the race alone. As Christians we must pick each other up when one falls and rejoice when one triumphs. This past year, I have really been blessed with close brothers and sisters who are willing to fight this fight with me. It is even more refreshing to see God's kindness and care through them. As God's army, we our goal is to display God through revealed truth and to set forth His excellencies by deepening each other's knowledge of God.

Further God's Kingdom!

WorshipGod Conference Part 2

John Piper's second session was titled "The Heart of Worship". He starts off by reinforcing points he made the night before. John 17:1-5 describes Jesus praying right before He is arrested. In His prayer, he prays first for His glory, then for the disciples, and then for all believers. Jesus first and foremost prays for His own glory through the cross, so that people can see His glory forever before anything else. Through this we see that God's glory is of utmost importance to Jesus.

Piper goes on to talk about the relationship between the Gospel and His glory. 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 talks about the Gospel as light. God is the one that enables your heart to percieve light. The Gospel is revealed to the elect. Satan doesn't want you to see the Gospel which is also the glory of Christ. And only God can reveal His glory. How then are we suppose to join God by magnifying his glory? He must magnify the Gospel.

The way in which we bring the most glory to God is by being the most satisfied in Him. The basis of "Desiring God", one of Piper's books, is this phrase: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." He looks to Philippians 1:19-21 for Biblical support. Paul's goal was to magnify God in his body whether dead or alive. Christ is glorified if in death, all the satisfactions of this life is worth nothing compared to the pleasure of being with God. Though this is something that is out of our control, we must ask God to give us that satisfaction in Him. This is something that all Christians should strive for.

Now how do you have a heart of worship? Here are a couple of things to remember:

1. The pursuit of joy is not an option but mandated

If we aren't pursueing joy in Christ, corporate worship is dead. Let's then answer the question, "Why do you go to church?" Many pastors say, "You don't go to church to get something, but rather to give." In reality though, there's nothing that we as broken people can give to the church! Think about it this way. A deer panteths for the water of the stream. Can the deer offer anything to the stream? All the deer does is take satisfaction in Him. This is the manner in which we must go to church. Thirsty, empty, and desperate, craving God's fullness. Finding ultimate satisfaction in Him will then in turn spur you on to giving back into the body, to share the completeness God has given to you.

2. Pursueing satisfaction in God makes worship radically God-centered

Some people may say pursueing your own satisfaction in God is selfish. But this is not the case. We were made with an emptiness that only our Creator can fill. As Christians, this should be our mentality, "There's nothing I'd rather do than to give God glory." Though we say "I'd", it doesn't make the statement selfish because what is the end? Giving God the glory!!! Piper gave an awesome illustration. Imagine a bunch of thirsty puppies. A cup of water is placed on the floor amongst them. The puppies then gather around the cup and drink greedily. We are just like the puppies, crowding around God, a cup that is never empty. God is in the center when we all crowd around Him!!! We must be so into God that we forget ourselves.

3. Worship is only for glorifying God

The sad truth of today is that many pastors use worship for different purposes other than glorifying God. Some use it as vehicle to attract people, evangelize, raise church moral, and encourage monetary offerings. This shouldn't happen if we view God as the center of our lives. Piper gives an example in that you can't say, "I love to play ball with you son" so that he will cut the grass. If you delight in a person, it's an end. But if it's a means for something, it's not a delight anymore. But you'll also find that when you truly delight in the Lord, all of the other things come into place.

4. All of life is worship and all gatherings are corporate worship

How do we make our outward life make people admire God and not us like Matthew 5:16 tells us?

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

The answer is to rejoice in persecution for great is your reward in heaven. By rejoicing in our persecution, we become the saltiest and the brightest thing in the world. The world innately grumbles and asks, "Why me?" in the face of persecution. But by being satisfied in and rejoicing in our reward (which is Christ), people will start asking questions.

Do you magnify God's glory by being satisfied in Him alone?