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================================================== ==SUSCRIBETEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNpffyr-7_zP1x1lS89ByaQ?sub_confirmation=1================================================== == DEVOCIÓN MATUTINA PARA ADULTOS 2022“NUESTRO MARAVILLOSO DIOS”Narrado por: Roberto NavarroDesde: Chiapas, MéxicoUna cortesía de DR'Ministries y Canaan Seventh-Day Adventist Church 28 DE ABRILCUANDO LA VIDA SE DESMORONA«Me ha dicho: "Bástate mi gracia, porque mi poder se perfecciona en la debilidad"». 2 Corintios 12:9¿CÓMO DEBEMOS ORAR cuando la vida se desmorona? Esta pregunta se la hizo Warren W. Wiersbe cuando una amiga estaba atravesando por una prueba difícil. La señora se había tenido que retirar de su trabajo por enfermedad, ya su esposo se le había diagnosticado una enfermedad incurable. Entonces Wiersbe se acercó a ella para darle ánimo.-Quiero que sepas que estamos orando por ti _-le dijo. —Gracias —respondió ella—, pero ¿qué le estás pidiendo a Dios en oración?La pregunta que tomó por sorpresa a Wiersbe. Nadie le había hecho tal pregunta. Como pudo, se repuso y dijo que le estaba pidiendo a Dios que le diera fortaleza en medio de su prueba.Entonces vino la segunda sorpresa.—Por favor, pídele a Dios que me ayude para que yo no desperdicie todo este sufrimiento.¿«Para que no desperdicie todo este sufrimiento»? Por primera vez en su ministerio escribió luego Wiersbe, le asaltó la idea de que nuestros momentos de dolor pueden de alguna manera enriquecernos. *La verdad sea dicha: es muy difícil ver algún provecho en los sufrimientos, ¡especialmente cuando somos nosotros los que estamos afectados! Sin embargo, esto es precisamente lo que el apóstol Pablo nos está diciendo cuando escribe: «De buena gana me gloriaré más bien en mis debilidades» (2 Cor. 12: 9). ¿Por qué lo dice? Porque es justamente «en insultos, en necesidades, en persecuciones, en angustias» cuando en mayor medida reposa sobre los hijos de Dios el poder de Cristo (vers. 10). Todo lo cual, a su vez, armoniza con el tenor general de las Escrituras en el sentido de que Dios no nos ha prometido una vida libre de angustias, sino más bien que él estará con nosotros, en la angustia. «Me invocará y yo le responderé -escribió el salmista-; con él estaré yo en la angustia; lo bibliotecaré y lo glorificaré» (Sal. 91, 15).¿Está el dolor tocando a tu puerta? Según Wiersbe, hay a tu disposición tres opciones. Una, puedes intentar escapar de él. Esta es la actitud del que ve en el dolor un enemigo del que hay que huir a toda costa. Otra, puedes intentar soportarlo; es decir, aguantar hasta que pase. La tercera, pedirle a Dios que te ayude a «no desperdiciar todo ese sufrimiento». De esta manera, tu vida se enriquecerá con las lecciones que solo se pueden aprender en el horno de la aflicción y reposará sobre ti el poder de Cristo. Gracias, Padre, por las lecciones que aprendió en mis pruebas; y por la promesa de que tu poder se perfeccionará en mi debilidad. Por, sobre todo, gracias porque has prometido estar conmigo en medio de mis angustias. *Warren W. Wiersbe, Cuando la vida se desmorona, Fleming H. Revell, 1984, págs. 101-102.
The Perfect Adolescent Sermon by the Rev. Leigh DeVries ----------- Prelude - A Host of Carols © 1991 Lorenz Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Hymn - Angels We Have Heard on High Music © 1937, ren. 1965 H. Augustine Smith Jr. (admin. Fleming H. Revell Company, a div. of Baker Publishing Group). All rights reserved. Response - On Those Who Sit In Darkness Text © 1973 The Jubilate Group (admin. Hope Publishing Company). Reprinted and streamed with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-716211. All rights reserved. Music © 1983 Hope Publishing Company. Reprinted and streamed with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-716211. All rights reserved. Anthem - Carol of the Candle Music © 1977 Hinshaw Music, Inc. © reassigned to Stephen Paulus in 1998. All rights reserved. Hymn - The Snow Lay on the Ground Music Harm. © 1941 Leo Sowerby. All rights reserved. Offertory Anthem - Lullaby, My Lovely Child © 1988 Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. All rights reserved. Doxology Text © 1949 Church Pension Fund. Reprinted and streamed with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-716211. All rights reserved. Postlude - Joy to the World © 2009 Editions Leupold USA
Understanding Traditional Publishing – Publish. Promote. Profit. with Rob Kosberg Episode 078 Tom Freiling Tom Freiling has collaborated with, represented, and published multiple NY Times best-selling authors, professional athletes, celebrity musicians, journalists, political and faith influencers, and notable thought leaders. His expertise encompasses editorial, book production, marketing, and the distribution of books in the USA plus international markets. Tom's books have sold millions of copies. The industry-leading digital publishing company he founded earned revenues of more than $75M and was acquired by a NASDAQ-listed media company. He has been published by Thomas Nelson, Harper Collins, and Fleming H. Revell. Tom is also a member of The John Maxwell Team. Listen to this informative Publish. Promote. Profit. episode with Tom Freiling about traditional publishing. Here are some of the beneficial topics covered on this week's show: How Amazon and online publishing has evened out the playing field for all authors. Why social media is the most effective way for authors to gain a following. How giving your book away helps build your audience and helps with word of mouth advertising. Why you must find an expert who understands publishing if you want to write a book. How making one small error could potentially ruin an entire project. Connect with Tom: Links Mentioned: freiling.agency Guest Contact Info: Twitter @TomFreiling Instagram @freilingpublishing Facebook facebook.com/freilingpublishing LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/freiling-agency Connect with Rob: Website bestsellerpublishing.org Twitter @bspbooks Instagram @bspbooks Facebook facebook.com/bestsellerpub YouTube youtube.com/c/BestSellerPublishingOfficial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 25. Drill Sergeant Gods, Statue Gods, and Preoccupied Manager Gods, Oh My…July 13, 2020 Intro: Welcome to the podcast Coronavirus Crisis: Carpe Diem, where you and I rise up and embrace the possibilities and opportunities for spiritual and psychological growth in this time of crisis, all grounded in a Catholic worldview. We are going beyond mere resilience, to rising up to the challenges of this pandemic and becoming even healthier in the natural and the spiritual realms than we were before. I'm clinical psychologist Peter Malinoski your host and guide, with Souls and Hearts at soulsandhearts.com. Thank you for being here with me. This is episode 25, released on July 20, 2020 and it's called Drill Sergeant Gods, Statue Gods, and Preoccupied Manager Gods, Oh My… Self-concept: This what we intellectually believe about ourselves, who we profess ourselves to be, what we understand about ourselves, our mental construct of ourselves. The self-concept of a practicing Catholic, for example, may include being a beloved child of God. There's a link between God concepts and Self-concepts – they go together, they harmonize. Loving Shepherd, little sheep. Self-images on the other hand, are much more emotionally driven, much more intuitive, subjective, and they vary a lot more from moment to moment. These go together with God images – they impact each other My God image is my emotional and subjective experience of God, who I feel God to be in the moment. May or may not correspond to who God really is. Initially my God images are shaped by the relationship that I have with my parents. This is my experiential sense how my feelings and how my heart interpret God. My God images are heavily influenced by psychological factors, and different God images can be activated at different times, depending on my emotional states and what psychological mode I am in at a given time. God images are always formed experientially. God images flow from our relational experiences and how we construe and make sense of those images when we are very young. My God images can be and usually are radically different than my God concept. My God concept What I profess about God. It is my more intellectual understanding of God, based on what one has been taught, but also based on what I have explored through reading. I decide to believe in my God concept. Reflected in the Creed, expanded in the Catechism, formal teaching. So in the text exchange with a listener who I will call Beth, because that's her name, Beth told me that she was having a hard time figuring out her own God images. So I thought I would bring in the best resource Mistaken Identity William and Kristi Gaultiere 1989 Fleming H. Revell -- 3 decades ago. 14 Unloving God images – drawn from I Corinthians 13, 4-7. Preoccupied manager director GodStatue GodRobber GodVain Pharisee GodElitist aristocrat GodPushy salesman GodMagic Genie GodDemanding drill sergeant GodOuttogetcha Police Detective GodUnjust dictator God Marshmallow GodCritical Scrooge GodParty-pooper GodHeartbreaker God Preoccupied Managing Director God: God is busy running the world, but God doesn't take the initiative, time, or energy to really relate with me, to connect with me. God cares about me, but he is overtaxed. He is impatient, it is hard to get His attention. God may want to give more to everyone, but He has limited resources and has to allocate them carefully, to those who most deserve them. Comfort and help might come if I my situation is desperate enough. Bible verse: Psalm 13 opening: How long, Lord? Will you utterly forget me? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I carry sorrow in my soul, grief in my heart day after day? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Self-image: I am not important enough, not worthy enough for God's attention, for his care, for him to be concerned about me. The problems, cares, and concerns of my life are not significant enough to warrant his attention. God can't be disturbed with my relatively minor concerns and difficulties. God has little bandwidth for me, doesn't need to be saddled with my petty wishes and desired. Twisting in the wind. I am an unprofitable servant, so God leaves me to my own devices. Attachment History – over-parentified children of families with harried, distressed parents, often with financial concerns and time pressure. Children with a Preoccupied Managing Director God image learn that they are rewarded for being “low-maintenance” and not adding to their parents' troubles by voicing their concerns. Praised for how independent, mature, and responsible they are. Anxious-preoccupied attachment style – they want intimacy, connection with God, but they feel that have to go without it, because they just don't matter enough. They generally don't feel seen and known, and they don't believe that God cherishes them – rather God sees them as a burden. Coronavirus Crisis: Readily activated now – some are not feel much of God's presence. Lots more responsibilities, lots of decisions, lots of stress. Others, such as supervisors, superiors have more responsibilities, show less patience, more irritability. Aging parents, more self-absorbed. Loss of connection. Responsibilities piling on – decision fatigue – when to wear masks, what activities can we do, conflicting feedback from politicians, medical experts, government leaders. No help in sight. And you can see how Vignette: Paula – 17 year old, second oldest child of a family of 6, father was preoccupied with his business, not doing well with the coronavirus, Mom is stressed, working a part-time job and still wanting to homeschool, and her father is self-absorbed with some health issues. Her older brother escaped the household by enlisting in the Navy and the third oldest in the family, a 15 year old son, is rebellious, acting out by not completing his schoolwork, announcing that he is an atheist, and experimenting with alcohol. Paula doesn't feel like she can burden her mother with any of her issues, lest she become impatient and irritable and act in the role of a martyr. The 3 youngest children are emotionally and relationally draining for her mother who is strenuously trying to hold them to high standards. Paula has barely enough time to complete her studies to her mother's exacting principles, essentially teaching herself from a boxed curriculum. Paula's is trying to hold her family together, and feels like she is a fish in a puddle that is evaporating. She tries to rely on herself, but is developing and increasingly intense anger toward God and she is not aware of the anger. Prayer – another responsibility, another thing to check off her list, based off a sense of duty. Very dry, uncomfortable, sense of not mattering, not being cared for. Now she has lost some activities she enjoyed (ballroom dance class) because of the coronavirus, and she longs to escape like her older brother did, but she doesn't feel safe enough to launch into the world. Resilience Statue God: God seen as distant, remote, unfeeling, disengaged, leaves me to my own devices, doesn't help me when I am in need. Millions of miles away, on a distant quasar. Is not moved by my cries and pleas. Stony, cold indifference. Unlike the preoccupied managing director God who has limited resources and is overtaxed, this statue God doesn't care about me and I won't get his attention no matter what happens to me and no matter what I do. Bible Verse: Job 30:20 I cry to you, but you do not answer me; I stand, but you take no notice. Heresy: Deism is the belief in God's existence, but sees God only in the role of Creator who does not intervene in the world. Sometimes referred to as a watchmaker God, who set the universe in motion and then lets it run on its own. Image of Self: I won't be helped. God doesn't help me and doesn't want to help me. I have to manage on my own, my wants and needs are not important to him. He just doesn't care about me, he's not engaged. I'm not going to try to engage emotionally with God, because that would be fruitless. That would be pointless. Attachment History –children of parents who are so self-absorbed and wrapped up in their own concerns that they consistently offer little to their sons and daughters. Young children with a Statue God image know that they need their parents, but also know at some level that they will not have their needs met by their parents. As they grow older, they may reject their parents emotionally, and distance from them. They often have a dismissive-avoidant attachment style – desiring not to have to depend on anyone, and not have anyone depend on them either. They don't feel seen and known. Coronavirus Crisis: God is distant from all of us, and people need to pull together to create a good society. People with Statue God images are particularly concerned about societal norms breaking down. Seeing presumably holy people start to become unglued. Vignette: 45 year old Daryl – Paula's Father of six kids, ruggedly independent, priding himself on his individualism, his self-sufficiency. Wife is finding him more and more unavailable, and he is generally intolerant of the natural needs of his children, because those normal needs activate his own unmet needs for safety, security and dependency. Being a beloved child of God is an alien concept for Daryl. He is a man's man, and his particular creed is that God helps those who help themselves. By which he really means you have to be your own God and help yourself. He engages in very little meditative or personal prayer because what is the point? God is so distant, and he doesn't expect there to be much relations or emotional engagement with a Statue God. He prays the family Rosary daily and goes to Sunday Mass because he believes it is a good example for his children, and that they need strong moral education to become good citizens in the world. He secretly believes those that claim deep, emotional connection with God are deceiving themselves, and he is particularly contemptuous of Charismatic Catholics. Health issues now Crohn's disease, really dragging him down – physical limitations, worrying him and puncturing his self-sufficient image and now his business isn't making enough to support the family. If he stays on this unbending course, he will break. You can see how this Statue God image doesn't allow for resilience. Demanding Drill Sergeant God: the demanding drill sergeant God image always wants more and more from me. I never give him enough, and he is never satisfied with me. If I don't meet his expectations, he becomes frustrated and punitive. He has no tolerance for errors, weakness, or failures. He lacks mercy, gentleness, understanding, compassion. High standards. Heresy: Pelagianism Belief that our will can overcome the effects of original sin and still choose good without God's help. I can earn the love of God. I can perfect myself, I can make myself worthy of the love of God, I can earn my salvation, if I just try hard enough. Bible verse: Psalm 77 Will the Lord spurn for ever, and never again be favorable?Has his steadfast love for ever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time?Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”And I say, “It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.” Self-image: always a sense of inadequacy, shame, a sense of being defective and unable to earn God's love and respect. I must achieve, I must always be at my best, I can't make mistakes, if I take a break, a fall behind, I have to volunteer, I have to die to myself Attachment History – Parents who were attentive to the child, noticed the child, observe the child closely, and were invested in the child. These parents had very high standards for children's behavior. They were exacting with discipline, usually well-intentioned. The children saw such parents as right, and tried hard to please them, believing it to be the right thing to do. Child's attachment style was generally anxious-avoidant – working really hard to please the parent. Sometime the parents could be pleased, but there was a sense that this was temporary. There was little sense of being loved or valued simply because one was the parent's son or daughter. Sometimes, the parents unreasonably high expectations and standards are driven by the parents' own insecurities and sense of inadequacy. Coronavirus Crisis: people with this kind of God image particularly struggle when situational stresses rise. They already had a sense of struggling in failing when times were not as difficult. Their self-imposed standards don't readily yield, even when external factors make their achievement goals much more difficult, or even impossible to achieve. Thus, there likely to experience a greater sense of failure, and even despair at not measuring up to what they believe the expectations of God are. They also may look down on others who they don't believe are struggling as hard as they are to achieve. Vignette: Paula's 42 year old mother, Virginia. Left an accounting firm after marriage to be a model wife and mother, had six children, because she was open to life, that's what God wanted, as many children as she could have, homeschooling, volunteering because that's what God wants, if someone in the parish asks her to do something, that's God asking her to do it, can't say no, difficult with limits and boundaries, God is unreasonably demanding. And now her husband is not feeling well, she knows it, even though he's trying to hide it. He is so irritable and unpleasant. And she is so tired. Now considering part time work. She has to do it, she has to earn the love of God. Focused parents, driven for her to succeed. Exercise: Think of someone close to you – spouse, child, sibling, friend, coworker. Someone important to you. Think of that loved one in a dark place – when that person goes to his or her dark place. Consider – what God image is activated for your loved one then, in that dark place. What self-image is activated in that dark place. Put this possible God image for your loved one into words. Put the self – image of your loved one into words. Write it down, speak it aloud. Work with it. So when your loved one is in that dark place you can be an example that doesn't reinforce the negative God or self images, but rather gently challenges those heretical images. You can better be light and salt for your loved ones, if you can enter into their inner worlds and understand how they see God and see themselves when they are in their dark places. This is great practice for loving. Let me know how it goes: Crisis@soulsandhearts.com 317.567.9594 or if you are in the RCCD community, post it in the forums. Question for you – do you want more of these God images. Which ones? Robber GodVain Pharisee GodElitist aristocrat GodPushy salesman GodMagic Genie GodOuttogetcha Police Detective GodUnjust dictator God Marshmallow GodCritical Scrooge GodParty-pooper GodHeartbreaker GodCrisis@soulsandhearts.com 317.567.9594 Check out the RCCD Community. Contact information. Crisis@soulsandhearts.com 317.567.9594 Big news: Open Zoom meeting Wednesday, July 22 at 8:15 PM Eastern time – Wednesday Evening. Community Members. A second one on Monday, July 27 9:30 AM – in the morning – Eastern time. Open forum, we can discuss anything related to psychology and Catholicism. Bring your questions. Email me questions if you can't make it. Time to hang out together and be in community. Patron and Patronness.
This is a continuation of last weeks sermon and the notes are the same but they are included below. We have been physically born into a life that we cannot live because our only option in handling the problems of life is to do so sinfully. We must die to this life, and that is only possible by placing our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are born into this world, we are dead to the things of God (Eph 2:1-2). But God makes us alive to Him at the moment that we believe in Jesus (Eph 2:5). This means that we have, in turn, died to sin, and have been raised to a newness of life.The believer in Jesus Christ is placed “in Christ” at the moment of faith. This establishes the believer with a new identity, being a new creation, and now having a glorious standing of righteousness before a holy God. Jesus’ perfect provision is our distinct privilege.Do we reallybelieve this? Our answer is predicated on our belief in the truthfulness of God’s Word, for in it are the factsof all history, seen and unseen, natural and supernatural, past, present, and future. Reality finds its meaning and purpose only in God’s holy Word.Why are we Missing the Power to Live the Christian Life?For many, Scripture seems disconnected from the “reality” of our modern age causing us to reluctantly dismiss the biblical record of the Holy Spirit’s work as borderline fiction. Such unbelief in the Bible’s accuracy has robbed us of the Spirit’s power in our lives. If we are not believing in what God has already said, why would we believe that He would work gloriously among us? When we render the Word of theLord as being mundane and ordinary, the Lord passes us by, just as He did in Nazareth. We are told haunting words by Matthew, “And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief” (Matt 13:58). However, the Spirit’s power has been freely given to all who believe in Christ being freely available in abundance, and yet it lies dormant because of our unbelief, and more particularly our unbelief regarding what God has said in His holy Word. The believer in Christ is already “in Christ!” Thus, our position before God is one that is established in victory because Christ is victorious over sin, death, and the grave. His win is the provision for our lives to “win” also. Van Gelderen explains, “As children of God, Christ is living in each of us right now… Faith turns what is true provisionally into experience practically. We simply must choose to depend on the reality of the words declared by God in order to access the benefit of what God says is so.”[1]“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). Believing His Word, moment by moment, is what it means to “abide,” and abiding in Christ is the answer to our power problem. Jesus references His own abiding in the Father in John 15:10. He tells His disciples, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just asI have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (emphasis added). Just as Jesus’ life was a model of constant obedience to the Father, so our lives in abiding in Christ must be one of constant obedience to Him. This is not a “do more, try harder” approach, but a “trust Him fully” way of thinking. No one obeys a command without believing it to be true. So it is with the relationship of “believing” and “obeying” in the Christian Life. This means that His Word is paramount and there are no worthy competitors. With His Word being our chiefconviction, we find our lives full of the Spirit’s power because all has come under submission to His will.[2]R.A. Torrey brings understanding to Jesus’ words regarding the power that is available when the believer is abiding in Christ. He writes, “If we are to obtain from God all that we ask from Him, Christ’s words must abide or continue in us. We must study His words, fairly devour His words, let them sink into our thought and into our heart, keep them in our memory, obey them constantly in our life, let them shape and mold our daily life and our every act.This is really the method of abiding in Christ. It is through His words that Jesus imparts Himself to us. The words He speaks unto us, they are spirit and they are life (John 6:63). It is vain to expect power in prayer unless we meditate much upon the words of Christ, and let them sink deep and find a permanent abode in our hearts. There are many who wonder why they are so powerless in prayer, but the very simple explanation of it all is found in their neglect of the words of Christ.”[3] Power in the Christian Life is NEVER our power, but the power of the Spirit flowing through us because we are in full dependency of the Word of the indwelling Christ. We must well-remember that Truth is a Person, Jesus Christ, and this Person operates and is who He is in complete consistency with His Word. This is a sound and consistent factto rest ourselves upon.Factshave power, and those facts are found ONLY in God’s Word. When we speak of facts, we are speaking of authority. Understanding this, every situation, decision, and concern must have an authority in place. Therefore, it must be brought to the Word of God. It is the engine that provides the power for the F-Train to move forward. The remaining cars of faithand feelingshave no real power. Therefore,they only lead in wrong directions and to wrong responses. Their proper place is in submission to the authority (facts), for only the authority has power.Sadly, there are many instances in life where God’s Word is not the authority. This finds the other cars of faithand feelingscompeting for the lead position, and in turn, stalling all progression and growth in the Christian Life. Let’s look at the problems that are created when God’s Truth is removed from the forefront of our lives.When “Faith” is the Lead CarThis is a particularly sensitive area for many people because it strikes at the core convictions that one holds dear. Some have “grown up this way,” or “that’s just the way we do it,” or “It’s a Jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand.” You get the picture. Using the above rationales are really a defense mechanism to excuse sin. Some of the common phrases that are identifiers of this are:· I believe…· I think…· You ought to…· You shouldn’t…· Well, everybody does/believes/etc.· Well, they say… (who are “they”?)All of these have one thing in common: they are rooted in man’s opinion, having no foundation for their assertions, stemming from the biased minds and corrupted hearts of created, fallen beings. Each statement makes a man-centered assumption about how life should be or how situations and relationships should be handled, but fall seriously short when asked to provide a greater reason for these convictions other than, “Well, that’s just what I think ought to happen.” Life’s decisions should not be based on shaky ground.Only God is True. Only God is Eternal. Only God is the Creator. Therefore, His commentary and interpretation of existence, as foundin the Bible, is the final authority, telling us the Truth (facts) about everything.Though the person is obviously “believing” in something (faith), the object of their belief is not the Word of God. Therefore, it is considered unbelief, regardless of motives or heartfelt sincerity.Paul stresses the maturity that comes from a church body that is benefiting from the implementation of the Word of God as they are being taught it. He writes, “we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Eph 4:14). The “trickery of men” and “deceitful scheming” are the false convictions (faith) that stem from a sinful mindset. The Word of God must be at the forefront if we are to think correctly about life, existence, relationships, eternity, etc.“I’m Religious”Many people portray a sincere “faith” and they communicate this by stating, “I’m religious,” “well, my faith is my own,” or something like “you believe in your god and I will believe in mine.” Another favorite is, “I think that god would…” In each of these statements their convictions about deity are revealed, demonstrating a god who has been fashioned according to their personal expectations. The very idea of deity has been diluted seeing that man is really in control. This is exactly the type of deity that the human race clamors after… one that can do or not do, be or not be, everything that the person who worships it wishes that it would do or not do, be or not be. Who is REALLY superior in this relationship?The self-serving nature of such diminished faithhas shown itself in all religions, being nothing new. Looking at Acts 17:22-27, we find Paul’s words to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers at Mars Hill. He notes that they are “very religious” (17:22). Faithis not their problem. They very much believe in a whole lot of gods, beings, and deities (17:16b). But as stated before, because their belief was not placed in the Wordof God, it is actually unbelief. Paul also notes one altar that was “to an unknown god” (17:23). Notice that this was a place of “worship” (feeling) that had an ascribed object as its focus (“an unknown god”) who is without identity or substance, having no foundation (unlike the factsof God’s Word). Yet, they were “very religious” (faith). How does Paul correct the F-TRAINof the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers?Paul tells them the facts. Follow the train of thought (no pun intended): 1. God made the world (17:24a). He is the Creator of all things. 2. He is the “Lord (Master) of heaven and earth” (17:24b) who is beyond temples, structures, and altars (17:24c). 3. He is not served with human hands because He is self-sufficient and is in need of nothing (17:25a). 4. He is the one who gives the human race life and breath. He is the Life-Source (17:25b). 5. God created them, and every man who has ever lived (17:26a), and He alone determines the when and where of their existence (17:26b) so that every person would know Him personally (17:27). Paul gave these “very religious” people an engine (facts) to get their F-TRAIN moving. He immediately identified the problem that Athens was facing. They had faith, though it was faithin the wrong object (unbelief), and by worshiping these “unknown” gods and having an air of superiority (Acts 17:21), they had feelings(worship) that were being dictated by their misdirected faith/unbelief. What they needed was something worth believing in; something sure and certain; something worthy of devotion. So, Paul introduces to them their Creator (facts) so that they can believe in Him (faith) and worship (feelings) the right and true Object. It is essential for faithto always be found in the facts, for faithwill always have worshipas the primary feelingthat follows it. “Worship” (literally “worth-ship”) ascribes value to an object. If you are enthralled with a celebrity, it is because you believe (faith)that they have done well and you are ascribing a higher value to them. The feelingthat proceeds out from that conviction (faith)is elation, pride,or what have you, because worth has been ascribed to this object. Faith will always have worshipas the primary feelingthat follows it.Misplacingfaith in something other than God’s Word leads to worship being ascribed to something other than God. This is the fabrication of idolatry in the heart, leaving one’s affections unchecked with trust and worth being issued to an object of complete inferiority. All things are less than God. Jeremiah the prophet exclaims, “There is none like You, O Lord; You are great, and great is Your name in might” (Jer 10:6).Identity CrisisOne of the greatest cries among this current generation is “Who am I?” This question is a result of banning the Creator God from the education of children, and thus banning His given purpose for our identities. Today we are seeing a flesh-led quest for identity in YouTube videos, Facebook posts, Snapchat, Instagram, etc., as well as the gay, lesbian, and transgender movement. Shock and awe are the calling cards of the culture and conformity is demanded in the name of originality (notice the contradictions that these worldviews create).It was obvious that the Spirit wanted us to know our identities up front. Only twenty-six verses into the first chapter of the Bible we read, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Gen 1:26-28).With His Word, God established the unchanging factof our identity. Every person is made in His likeness and in His image. This Truth holds great weight and significance, showing the Creator to be full of care and creating us for a purpose. Yet, our nation’s suicide rate among young people is skyrocketing. Could it be that the quest for “Who am I?” has already been answered by God, but the problem is that many are led to believe (faith) something else, leading to feelingsof inferiority, insignificance, and marginalization?This is a factthat is true for the Christian as well as the non-Christian. For the believer, they have an extra advantage, with the Holy Spirit residing in them and leading them into all Truth (facts- John 16:13). These factskeep us grounded in trying times, for we have the risen Lord hiding us with Himself in the Father (Col 3:3). The believer has died to this life of sin and has been raised to a newness of life, being given a new identity by being “in Christ!” How helpful this is in such confusing and trying times. Handley Moule captures this, writing, “In temptation, in spiritual languor and decline, in care and perplexity and toil, let me draw upon the fact – not the feeling but the fact – of ‘Christ in me.’”[4]When “Feelings” are the Lead CarThe idea that “feelings” can be the lead car are more of an excuse than a reality. What is meant by this is that all feelingsare actually a result of what it is that we are truly believing (faith), or what we are valuing as the “most true” concept at any given time. By believing something other than God’s Word, we have settled for a lesser truth that is really no truth at all because it is not God’s Truth (facts). In a situation where a heinous crime is committed because of someone’s reaction to something that they were surprised with, we may describe such rash actions as a “blind rage” (feelings). However, if the police believe that the person had pondered this crime for some time before committing it, they would call this “premeditated,” meaning that they had been believing (faith) this to be the right response for some time.We often phrase the reasons for our beliefs about something as “well, I feelthat…” when feelings are actually the result of our faithin a matter. When a reason is asked for why we did something wrong, we usually respond with a feelingsanswer: “I felt like I had to…” Many times, we find that the only way that we can express ourselves is in terms of feelings.It would seem that the three most prominent feelingsthat we are faced with are doubt, anger, and revenge.DoubtInMatthew 11:2-6, we return to the moment where John the Baptist struggled with doubts (feelings) about Jesus being the Promised Messiah. Though he himself had been His forerunner, John’s present situation made his susceptible to doubts (feelings), finding himself in a prison at the order of King Herod, all because he stood up for the truth (facts). “Are You the Expected One,” he asked through his disciples, “or shall we look for someone else?” (Matt 11:3). John’s feelingsabout his current situation had taken the place of the lead car, causing unbelief (faith) in who Jesus is. When we find ourselves in difficult situations, and especially in situations that are going to go on for some time, we may be tempted to lose faithin the facts. As a model example, Jesus does not scold John for his doubt (feelings), but turns his attention to the factsof Scripture: “the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matt 11:5). All of this was happening in John’s day, yet, knowing the Scriptures, John would have understood that the prophecies of the Messiah as told by Isaiah were being fulfilled (Isa 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 61:1). Therefore, Jesus was placing the facts at the front of the conversation so that John would have faithin them, and in light of this new stability, his feelingswould change.AssuranceThis is true for those Christians who are struggling with an assurance of salvation. Whether it is where they are in life, their past sins creeping up to beat them down, or some ongoing sin in their lives that they just can’t shake, many Christians, who are eternally secure in Christ, frequently doubt their salvation. They feellike they are not saved. Because they are not willing to conclude that they are lost shows that they are not fully buying in (faith) to the idea, but they are struggling, nonetheless. In this case, feelingsare leading the train, faith is being placed in those feelings, which will ultimately cause a reinterpretation of the facts, concluding in something like “Jesus will only keep me saved if I am a good person who only commits little sins.” By letting their feelingstake the lead car, and by believing those feelingsas truth, the F-TRAINis now traveling backwards with the factsbeing reinterpreted by their feelings. Is this factual? What does the Truth (facts) say about this matter?There are many verses and whole passages that could be cited that speak to the eternal, forever security of the believer in Christ, but we will only choose two, and with minimal elaboration. First, Romans 8:38-39states, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing, not even ourselves, can separate us from the love of God. This is a fact; a Truth with power to propel us forward if we would only believe (faith) what God is telling us. If we do, we will not just feelsaved, we will feelblessed!Another good passage that needs little explanation is 2 Timothy 2:13. It reads, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” The word “faithless” here actually means, “to have nobelief, disbelieve.”[5]This means that even if we are unbelieving in our lives, the Lord remains faithful to His promise of eternal life to us. Lea and Griffin explain this writing, “Paul was asserting that despite human unfaithfulness God’s saving purpose has not retreated. Timothy and all those with him were to continue their endurance that they might experience God’s blessing. Paul did not state these words to open the door to apostasy and disobedience but to soothe a troubled conscience and to provide encouragement to return to God.”[6]God is always faithful to His promises (facts) and He has promised us eternal life.AngerAnger is a big one! Everyone struggles with getting mad, and sometimes at the littlest things. However, being angry is not the real issue. As stated above, anger is the result (feeling) of a conviction (faith) that we are holding tightly. For those who seem to have a habitual problem with anger, their ultimate issue is the need to have control in situations. This is derived from a pride problem that believes (faith) that they are right and everyone else is wrong. Only their way is the correct way, and everyone else is “ignorant, stupid, uneducated,” or “means well, but they really don’t know what they are talking about.” This is pride, and when pride does not get its way, and a situation is not able to be controlled in the manner that “we think” (faith) it should be controlled, we get angry (feeling).Pride is the exact same sin that the devil had/has (Isa 14:13-14). It is a natural conclusion to see that this should have no part in us. Pride asserts one’s rights and fosters entitlement (faith). We feellike we deserve something or should be listened to because of who we are or what we have done, but these are really the convictions that we hold dear (faith). None of this is acceptable before the eyes of the Father. Instead, we are to humble ourselves before Him. How do we correct the problem of our cars getting out of order when it comes to anger?James 1:19b-20states, “Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” Being rash (feelings) never works. What we should seek in every situation is for God’s righteousness to shine forth and be the center of attention. Only He is right (facts), we are not. Our anger (feelings) will not accomplish His righteousness in any situation. Therefore, anger must be abandoned as a suitable option in handling conflict. By holding fast to this Truth (fact) and believing (faith) that it is in fact true, our feelingswill come to a place of humility knowing that it is possible for God’s righteousness to be displayed in every trial. This is not a “maybe” situation, but a certainty that rests upon our submission to His Word (facts). Will He not do what He has said?Biblically speaking, it is not wrong to be angry if you are angry about the right things. Ephesians 4:26-27says, “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.” You can be angry about something and not sin. But the way to allow for anger to become sin is if you are not dealing with it properly. If it is prolonged, the devil will grab a foothold in your life. Being angry because of the abortion problem in the United States is a real and right reason to be angry. Being angry because you were lied to is a legitimate reason because truth (facts) has been bypassed for falsehood. But each of these situations needs to be addressed in the heart and brought before the Lord. They are not to fester and grow to an unhealthy dynamic. You see, feelingsare not bad when they are properly placed at the end of the train because of the faiththat you are exercising in the Truth of God’s Word (facts).RevengeWe’ve all been there. When someone has wronged us, they need to pay! So, we devise ways in our mind that they are going to pay, how we wish to see them pay, or how we are going to make them pay(feelings). The factis, we have been wronged and we will not allow ourselves to be treated in such a horrible fashion (feelings). So, obviously revenge is the best option… or is it?In Romans 12:19, Paul writes, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” This is Truth (fact). We may feeldisenfranchised in some way, but we must remember that the Lord knows all things and that He will bring all situations to justice. By claiming (faith) this Truth (fact), we can now rest (feeling) in God’s care, knowing that He will take care of what or who has wronged us with much greater precision than we would ever be able to muster in our sinful flesh.______________________________________Q: Do you believe what God has said about who you are, your current situation, the choices that you are making, or the handling of your future? If not, why not? Q: Where did God get it wrong? Where has His Word misspoken? How has He failed you in the past convincing you that you cannot trust Him anymore? Such questions should expose the root of the real reason why we are not trusting what He has already said in His Word. We are either convinced that there is a greater truth than what He has said about a particular matter (faith)or we know that His Word will keep us from the excitingly sinful situation that our flesh wants to participate in (feelings). Such conclusions dismiss the factsaltogether, exchanging God’s revealed Word for our sinful desires. ___________________________________It is possible to abide in Christ. We can experience the fullness of who He is because He is in us. In looking to Him as the Truth, and therefore looking to God’s Word as given through Him, we are submitted to His facts. He is so much more than many of us initially think or believe. Let’s close by illustrating this with a personal account of this grand realization. Charles Trumbull (1872-1941) was the editor of the Sunday School Times periodical. He was a committed and devout man, constantly championing the cause of Christ for some twenty years before He fully grasped the significance of Christ in him. He obviously knew the Word and all that it taught of Christ and the Christian Life, but he came to realize that he was not confidently convinced of what it was actually saying to him about the nature of Christ’s Life in relationship to his person. In the profound little booklet The Life That Wins, we find his personal testimony in coming to this profound realization. He writes, “I had always known that Christ was my Savior, but I had looked upon Him as an external Savior, one who did a saving work forme from outside, as it were; one who was ready to come close alongside and stay by me, helping me in all that I needed, giving me power and strength and salvation. But now I knew something better than that. At last I realized that Jesus Christ was actually and literally withinme and that He had constituted Himself my very life, taking me into union with Himself- my body, mind, and spirit- while I still had my own identity and free will and full moral responsibility. Was not this better than having Him as a helper or even than having Him as an external Savior? To have him, Jesus Christ, God the Son, as my own very life. It meant that I need never again ask Him to help me as though He were one and I another, but rather simply to do His work, His will in me and with me and through me. My body was His, my mind His, my will His, my spirit His- and not merely His but literally a part of Him. What He asked me to recognize was that ‘I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me.’ Jesus Christ had constituted Himself my life- not as a figure of speech, remember, but as a literal, actual fact, as literal as the fact that a certain tree has been made into this desk on which my hand rests. For ‘your bodies are members of Christ,’ and ‘ye are the body of Christ.’”[7]The F-TRAINis a simple illustration that points to this greater truth. Christ, the Word of God, is telling us the Truth (facts) about life, reality, and Himself. His Word is giving us the answers, the factsabout every situation. By believing (faith) upon what He has already told us, we find heights previously unknown and provision much deeper than first assumed. How can humility and gratitude (feelings) not be the result of such amazing grace? “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (1 John 5:11b). To live our lives in the light of His Truth (facts) is to have Him live His Life through us. This is most certainly a Life worth living![1]John Van Gelderen, Experiencing Jesus: Personal Revival Through the Spirit-Filled Life(Ann Arbor, MI: Revival Focus, 2017), p. 105-106.[2]See H.C.G. Moule, Practicing the Promises (Chicago: Moody Press, 1975), p. 65-71.[3]Reuben Archer Torrey, How to Pray(Chicago; New York: Fleming H. Revell company, 1900), p. 71–72.[4]H.C.G. Moule, Practicing the Promises (Chicago: Moody Press, 1975), p. 54.[5]Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon, p. 57.[6]Thomas D. Lea and Hayne P. Griffin, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, vol. 34, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), p. 211.[7]Charles G. Trumbull, The Life That Wins(Fort Washington, PA: CLC Publications, 2015), p. 20-21.
We have been physically born into a life that we cannot live because our only option in handling the problems of life is to do so sinfully. We must die to this life, and that is only possible by placing our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are born into this world, we are dead to the things of God (Eph 2:1-2). But God makes us alive to Him at the moment that we believe in Jesus (Eph 2:5). This means that we have, in turn, died to sin, and have been raised to a newness of life.The believer in Jesus Christ is placed “in Christ” at the moment of faith. This establishes the believer with a new identity, being a new creation, and now having a glorious standing of righteousness before a holy God. Jesus’ perfect provision is our distinct privilege.Do we reallybelieve this? Our answer is predicated on our belief in the truthfulness of God’s Word, for in it are the factsof all history, seen and unseen, natural and supernatural, past, present, and future. Reality finds its meaning and purpose only in God’s holy Word.Why are we Missing the Power to Live the Christian Life?For many, Scripture seems disconnected from the “reality” of our modern age causing us to reluctantly dismiss the biblical record of the Holy Spirit’s work as borderline fiction. Such unbelief in the Bible’s accuracy has robbed us of the Spirit’s power in our lives. If we are not believing in what God has already said, why would we believe that He would work gloriously among us? When we render the Word of theLord as being mundane and ordinary, the Lord passes us by, just as He did in Nazareth. We are told haunting words by Matthew, “And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief” (Matt 13:58). However, the Spirit’s power has been freely given to all who believe in Christ being freely available in abundance, and yet it lies dormant because of our unbelief, and more particularly our unbelief regarding what God has said in His holy Word. The believer in Christ is already “in Christ!” Thus, our position before God is one that is established in victory because Christ is victorious over sin, death, and the grave. His win is the provision for our lives to “win” also. Van Gelderen explains, “As children of God, Christ is living in each of us right now… Faith turns what is true provisionally into experience practically. We simply must choose to depend on the reality of the words declared by God in order to access the benefit of what God says is so.”[1]“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). Believing His Word, moment by moment, is what it means to “abide,” and abiding in Christ is the answer to our power problem. Jesus references His own abiding in the Father in John 15:10. He tells His disciples, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just asI have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (emphasis added). Just as Jesus’ life was a model of constant obedience to the Father, so our lives in abiding in Christ must be one of constant obedience to Him. This is not a “do more, try harder” approach, but a “trust Him fully” way of thinking. No one obeys a command without believing it to be true. So it is with the relationship of “believing” and “obeying” in the Christian Life. This means that His Word is paramount and there are no worthy competitors. With His Word being our chiefconviction, we find our lives full of the Spirit’s power because all has come under submission to His will.[2]R.A. Torrey brings understanding to Jesus’ words regarding the power that is available when the believer is abiding in Christ. He writes, “If we are to obtain from God all that we ask from Him, Christ’s words must abide or continue in us. We must study His words, fairly devour His words, let them sink into our thought and into our heart, keep them in our memory, obey them constantly in our life, let them shape and mold our daily life and our every act.This is really the method of abiding in Christ. It is through His words that Jesus imparts Himself to us. The words He speaks unto us, they are spirit and they are life (John 6:63). It is vain to expect power in prayer unless we meditate much upon the words of Christ, and let them sink deep and find a permanent abode in our hearts. There are many who wonder why they are so powerless in prayer, but the very simple explanation of it all is found in their neglect of the words of Christ.”[3]Power in the Christian Life is NEVER our power, but the power of the Spirit flowing through us because we are in full dependency of the Word of the indwelling Christ. We must well-remember that Truth is a Person, Jesus Christ, and this Person operates and is who He is in complete consistency with His Word. This is a sound and consistent fact to rest ourselves upon. Facts have power, and those facts are found ONLY in God’s Word. When we speak of facts, we are speaking of authority. Understanding this, every situation, decision, and concern must have an authority in place. Therefore, it must be brought to the Word of God. It is the engine that provides the power for the F-Train to move forward. The remaining cars of faithand feelingshave no real power. Therefore,they only lead in wrong directions and to wrong responses. Their proper place is in submission to the authority (facts), for only the authority has power.Sadly, there are many instances in life where God’s Word is not the authority. This finds the other cars of faithand feelingscompeting for the lead position, and in turn, stalling all progression and growth in the Christian Life. Let’s look at the problems that are created when God’s Truth is removed from the forefront of our lives.When “Faith” is the Lead CarThis is a particularly sensitive area for many people because it strikes at the core convictions that one holds dear. Some have “grown up this way,” or “that’s just the way we do it,” or “It’s a Jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand.” You get the picture. Using the above rationales are really a defense mechanism to excuse sin. Some of the common phrases that are identifiers of this are:· I believe…· I think…· You ought to…· You shouldn’t…· Well, everybody does/believes/etc.· Well, they say… (who are “they”?)All of these have one thing in common: they are rooted in man’s opinion, having no foundation for their assertions, stemming from the biased minds and corrupted hearts of created, fallen beings. Each statement makes a man-centered assumption about how life should be or how situations and relationships should be handled, but fall seriously short when asked to provide a greater reason for these convictions other than, “Well, that’s just what I think ought to happen.” Life’s decisions should not be based on shaky ground.Only God is True. Only God is Eternal. Only God is the Creator. Therefore, His commentary and interpretation of existence, as foundin the Bible, is the final authority, telling us the Truth (facts) about everything.Though the person is obviously “believing” in something (faith), the object of their belief is not the Word of God. Therefore, it is considered unbelief, regardless of motives or heartfelt sincerity.Paul stresses the maturity that comes from a church body that is benefiting from the implementation of the Word of God as they are being taught it. He writes, “we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Eph 4:14). The “trickery of men” and “deceitful scheming” are the false convictions (faith) that stem from a sinful mindset. The Word of God must be at the forefront if we are to think correctly about life, existence, relationships, eternity, etc.“I’m Religious”Many people portray a sincere “faith” and they communicate this by stating, “I’m religious,” “well, my faith is my own,” or something like “you believe in your god and I will believe in mine.” Another favorite is, “I think that god would…” In each of these statements their convictions about deity are revealed, demonstrating a god who has been fashioned according to their personal expectations. The very idea of deity has been diluted seeing that man is really in control. This is exactly the type of deity that the human race clamors after… one that can do or not do, be or not be, everything that the person who worships it wishes that it would do or not do, be or not be. Who is REALLY superior in this relationship?The self-serving nature of such diminished faithhas shown itself in all religions, being nothing new. Looking at Acts 17:22-27, we find Paul’s words to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers at Mars Hill. He notes that they are “very religious” (17:22). Faithis not their problem. They very much believe in a whole lot of gods, beings, and deities (17:16b). But as stated before, because their belief was not placed in the Wordof God, it is actually unbelief. Paul also notes one altar that was “to an unknown god” (17:23). Notice that this was a place of “worship” (feeling) that had an ascribed object as its focus (“an unknown god”) who is without identity or substance, having no foundation (unlike the factsof God’s Word). Yet, they were “very religious” (faith). How does Paul correct the F-TRAINof the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers?Paul tells them the facts. Follow the train of thought (no pun intended): 1. God made the world (17:24a). He is the Creator of all things. 2. He is the “Lord (Master) of heaven and earth” (17:24b) who is beyond temples, structures, and altars (17:24c). 3. He is not served with human hands because He is self-sufficient and is in need of nothing (17:25a). 4. He is the one who gives the human race life and breath. He is the Life-Source (17:25b). 5. God created them, and every man who has ever lived (17:26a), and He alone determines the when and where of their existence (17:26b) so that every person would know Him personally (17:27). Paul gave these “very religious” people an engine (facts) to get their F-TRAIN moving. He immediately identified the problem that Athens was facing. They had faith, though it was faithin the wrong object (unbelief), and by worshiping these “unknown” gods and having an air of superiority (Acts 17:21), they had feelings(worship) that were being dictated by their misdirected faith/unbelief. What they needed was something worth believing in; something sure and certain; something worthy of devotion. So, Paul introduces to them their Creator (facts) so that they can believe in Him (faith) and worship (feelings) the right and true Object. It is essential for faithto always be found in the facts, for faithwill always have worshipas the primary feelingthat follows it. “Worship” (literally “worth-ship”) ascribes value to an object. If you are enthralled with a celebrity, it is because you believe (faith)that they have done well and you are ascribing a higher value to them. The feelingthat proceeds out from that conviction (faith)is elation, pride,or what have you, because worth has been ascribed to this object. Faith will always have worshipas the primary feelingthat follows it.Misplacingfaith in something other than God’s Word leads to worship being ascribed to something other than God. This is the fabrication of idolatry in the heart, leaving one’s affections unchecked with trust and worth being issued to an object of complete inferiority. All things are less than God. Jeremiah the prophet exclaims, “There is none like You, O Lord; You are great, and great is Your name in might” (Jer 10:6).Identity CrisisOne of the greatest cries among this current generation is “Who am I?” This question is a result of banning the Creator God from the education of children, and thus banning His given purpose for our identities. Today we are seeing a flesh-led quest for identity in YouTube videos, Facebook posts, Snapchat, Instagram, etc., as well as the gay, lesbian, and transgender movement. Shock and awe are the calling cards of the culture and conformity is demanded in the name of originality (notice the contradictions that these worldviews create).It was obvious that the Spirit wanted us to know our identities up front. Only twenty-six verses into the first chapter of the Bible we read, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Gen 1:26-28).With His Word, God established the unchanging factof our identity. Every person is made in His likeness and in His image. This Truth holds great weight and significance, showing the Creator to be full of care and creating us for a purpose. Yet, our nation’s suicide rate among young people is skyrocketing. Could it be that the quest for “Who am I?” has already been answered by God, but the problem is that many are led to believe (faith) something else, leading to feelingsof inferiority, insignificance, and marginalization?This is a factthat is true for the Christian as well as the non-Christian. For the believer, they have an extra advantage, with the Holy Spirit residing in them and leading them into all Truth (facts- John 16:13). These factskeep us grounded in trying times, for we have the risen Lord hiding us with Himself in the Father (Col 3:3). The believer has died to this life of sin and has been raised to a newness of life, being given a new identity by being “in Christ!” How helpful this is in such confusing and trying times. Handley Moule captures this, writing, “In temptation, in spiritual languor and decline, in care and perplexity and toil, let me draw upon the fact – not the feeling but the fact – of ‘Christ in me.’”[4]When “Feelings” are the Lead CarThe idea that “feelings” can be the lead car are more of an excuse than a reality. What is meant by this is that all feelingsare actually a result of what it is that we are truly believing (faith), or what we are valuing as the “most true” concept at any given time. By believing something other than God’s Word, we have settled for a lesser truth that is really no truth at all because it is not God’s Truth (facts). In a situation where a heinous crime is committed because of someone’s reaction to something that they were surprised with, we may describe such rash actions as a “blind rage” (feelings). However, if the police believe that the person had pondered this crime for some time before committing it, they would call this “premeditated,” meaning that they had been believing (faith) this to be the right response for some time.We often phrase the reasons for our beliefs about something as “well, I feelthat…” when feelings are actually the result of our faithin a matter. When a reason is asked for why we did something wrong, we usually respond with a feelingsanswer: “I felt like I had to…” Many times, we find that the only way that we can express ourselves is in terms of feelings.It would seem that the three most prominent feelingsthat we are faced with are doubt, anger, and revenge.DoubtInMatthew 11:2-6, we return to the moment where John the Baptist struggled with doubts (feelings) about Jesus being the Promised Messiah. Though he himself had been His forerunner, John’s present situation made his susceptible to doubts (feelings), finding himself in a prison at the order of King Herod, all because he stood up for the truth (facts). “Are You the Expected One,” he asked through his disciples, “or shall we look for someone else?” (Matt 11:3). John’s feelingsabout his current situation had taken the place of the lead car, causing unbelief (faith) in who Jesus is. When we find ourselves in difficult situations, and especially in situations that are going to go on for some time, we may be tempted to lose faithin the facts. As a model example, Jesus does not scold John for his doubt (feelings), but turns his attention to the factsof Scripture: “the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matt 11:5). All of this was happening in John’s day, yet, knowing the Scriptures, John would have understood that the prophecies of the Messiah as told by Isaiah were being fulfilled (Isa 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 61:1). Therefore, Jesus was placing the facts at the front of the conversation so that John would have faithin them, and in light of this new stability, his feelingswould change.AssuranceThis is true for those Christians who are struggling with an assurance of salvation. Whether it is where they are in life, their past sins creeping up to beat them down, or some ongoing sin in their lives that they just can’t shake, many Christians, who are eternally secure in Christ, frequently doubt their salvation. They feellike they are not saved. Because they are not willing to conclude that they are lost shows that they are not fully buying in (faith) to the idea, but they are struggling, nonetheless. In this case, feelingsare leading the train, faith is being placed in those feelings, which will ultimately cause a reinterpretation of the facts, concluding in something like “Jesus will only keep me saved if I am a good person who only commits little sins.” By letting their feelingstake the lead car, and by believing those feelingsas truth, the F-TRAINis now traveling backwards with the factsbeing reinterpreted by their feelings. Is this factual? What does the Truth (facts) say about this matter?There are many verses and whole passages that could be cited that speak to the eternal, forever security of the believer in Christ, but we will only choose two, and with minimal elaboration. First, Romans 8:38-39states, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing, not even ourselves, can separate us from the love of God. This is a fact; a Truth with power to propel us forward if we would only believe (faith) what God is telling us. If we do, we will not just feelsaved, we will feelblessed!Another good passage that needs little explanation is 2 Timothy 2:13. It reads, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” The word “faithless” here actually means, “to have nobelief, disbelieve.”[5]This means that even if we are unbelieving in our lives, the Lord remains faithful to His promise of eternal life to us. Lea and Griffin explain this writing, “Paul was asserting that despite human unfaithfulness God’s saving purpose has not retreated. Timothy and all those with him were to continue their endurance that they might experience God’s blessing. Paul did not state these words to open the door to apostasy and disobedience but to soothe a troubled conscience and to provide encouragement to return to God.”[6]God is always faithful to His promises (facts) and He has promised us eternal life.AngerAnger is a big one! Everyone struggles with getting mad, and sometimes at the littlest things. However, being angry is not the real issue. As stated above, anger is the result (feeling) of a conviction (faith) that we are holding tightly. For those who seem to have a habitual problem with anger, their ultimate issue is the need to have control in situations. This is derived from a pride problem that believes (faith) that they are right and everyone else is wrong. Only their way is the correct way, and everyone else is “ignorant, stupid, uneducated,” or “means well, but they really don’t know what they are talking about.” This is pride, and when pride does not get its way, and a situation is not able to be controlled in the manner that “we think” (faith) it should be controlled, we get angry (feeling).Pride is the exact same sin that the devil had/has (Isa 14:13-14). It is a natural conclusion to see that this should have no part in us. Pride asserts one’s rights and fosters entitlement (faith). We feellike we deserve something or should be listened to because of who we are or what we have done, but these are really the convictions that we hold dear (faith). None of this is acceptable before the eyes of the Father. Instead, we are to humble ourselves before Him. How do we correct the problem of our cars getting out of order when it comes to anger?James 1:19b-20states, “Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” Being rash (feelings) never works. What we should seek in every situation is for God’s righteousness to shine forth and be the center of attention. Only He is right (facts), we are not. Our anger (feelings) will not accomplish His righteousness in any situation. Therefore, anger must be abandoned as a suitable option in handling conflict. By holding fast to this Truth (fact) and believing (faith) that it is in fact true, our feelingswill come to a place of humility knowing that it is possible for God’s righteousness to be displayed in every trial. This is not a “maybe” situation, but a certainty that rests upon our submission to His Word (facts). Will He not do what He has said?Biblically speaking, it is not wrong to be angry if you are angry about the right things. Ephesians 4:26-27says, “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.” You can be angry about something and not sin. But the way to allow for anger to become sin is if you are not dealing with it properly. If it is prolonged, the devil will grab a foothold in your life. Being angry because of the abortion problem in the United States is a real and right reason to be angry. Being angry because you were lied to is a legitimate reason because truth (facts) has been bypassed for falsehood. But each of these situations needs to be addressed in the heart and brought before the Lord. They are not to fester and grow to an unhealthy dynamic. You see, feelingsare not bad when they are properly placed at the end of the train because of the faiththat you are exercising in the Truth of God’s Word (facts).RevengeWe’ve all been there. When someone has wronged us, they need to pay! So, we devise ways in our mind that they are going to pay, how we wish to see them pay, or how we are going to make them pay(feelings). The factis, we have been wronged and we will not allow ourselves to be treated in such a horrible fashion (feelings). So, obviously revenge is the best option… or is it?In Romans 12:19, Paul writes, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” This is Truth (fact). We may feeldisenfranchised in some way, but we must remember that the Lord knows all things and that He will bring all situations to justice. By claiming (faith) this Truth (fact), we can now rest (feeling) in God’s care, knowing that He will take care of what or who has wronged us with much greater precision than we would ever be able to muster in our sinful flesh.______________________________________Q: Do you believe what God has said about who you are, your current situation, the choices that you are making, or the handling of your future? If not, why not? Q: Where did God get it wrong? Where has His Word misspoken? How has He failed you in the past convincing you that you cannot trust Him anymore? Such questions should expose the root of the real reason why we are not trusting what He has already said in His Word. We are either convinced that there is a greater truth than what He has said about a particular matter (faith)or we know that His Word will keep us from the excitingly sinful situation that our flesh wants to participate in (feelings). Such conclusions dismiss the factsaltogether, exchanging God’s revealed Word for our sinful desires. ___________________________________It is possible to abide in Christ. We can experience the fullness of who He is because He is in us. In looking to Him as the Truth, and therefore looking to God’s Word as given through Him, we are submitted to His facts. He is so much more than many of us initially think or believe. Let’s close by illustrating this with a personal account of this grand realization. Charles Trumbull (1872-1941) was the editor of the Sunday School Times periodical. He was a committed and devout man, constantly championing the cause of Christ for some twenty years before He fully grasped the significance of Christ in him. He obviously knew the Word and all that it taught of Christ and the Christian Life, but he came to realize that he was not confidently convinced of what it was actually saying to him about the nature of Christ’s Life in relationship to his person. In the profound little booklet The Life That Wins, we find his personal testimony in coming to this profound realization. He writes, “I had always known that Christ was my Savior, but I had looked upon Him as an external Savior, one who did a saving work forme from outside, as it were; one who was ready to come close alongside and stay by me, helping me in all that I needed, giving me power and strength and salvation. But now I knew something better than that. At last I realized that Jesus Christ was actually and literally withinme and that He had constituted Himself my very life, taking me into union with Himself- my body, mind, and spirit- while I still had my own identity and free will and full moral responsibility. Was not this better than having Him as a helper or even than having Him as an external Savior? To have him, Jesus Christ, God the Son, as my own very life. It meant that I need never again ask Him to help me as though He were one and I another, but rather simply to do His work, His will in me and with me and through me. My body was His, my mind His, my will His, my spirit His- and not merely His but literally a part of Him. What He asked me to recognize was that ‘I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me.’ Jesus Christ had constituted Himself my life- not as a figure of speech, remember, but as a literal, actual fact, as literal as the fact that a certain tree has been made into this desk on which my hand rests. For ‘your bodies are members of Christ,’ and ‘ye are the body of Christ.’”[7]The F-TRAINis a simple illustration that points to this greater truth. Christ, the Word of God, is telling us the Truth (facts) about life, reality, and Himself. His Word is giving us the answers, the factsabout every situation. By believing (faith) upon what He has already told us, we find heights previously unknown and provision much deeper than first assumed. How can humility and gratitude (feelings) not be the result of such amazing grace? “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (1 John 5:11b). To live our lives in the light of His Truth (facts) is to have Him live His Life through us. This is most certainly a Life worth living![1]John Van Gelderen, Experiencing Jesus: Personal Revival Through the Spirit-Filled Life(Ann Arbor, MI: Revival Focus, 2017), p. 105-106.[2]See H.C.G. Moule, Practicing the Promises (Chicago: Moody Press, 1975), p. 65-71.[3]Reuben Archer Torrey, How to Pray(Chicago; New York: Fleming H. Revell company, 1900), p. 71–72.[4]H.C.G. Moule, Practicing the Promises (Chicago: Moody Press, 1975), p. 54.[5]Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon, p. 57.[6]Thomas D. Lea and Hayne P. Griffin, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, vol. 34, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), p. 211.[7]Charles G. Trumbull, The Life That Wins(Fort Washington, PA: CLC Publications, 2015), p. 20-21.
Could it be the end???!?!? It is! .....of BB Warfield's essay, "Calvin's Doctrine of the Knowledge of God." We found the essay in Calvin and the Reformation: Four Studies, published by Fleming H. Revell Company in 1909. Next week sees part 1 of Martin Luther's "The Babylonian Captivity of the Church." Also! Our other podcast, "An Oral History of the Church," began a new volume on Friday on the Lutheran wing of the Protestant Reformation. Download it wherever you get this podcast! Would you like to request a specific book, sermon, or other Christian text? Please e-mail us atchurchhistorypodcast@gmail.com or tweet us @OralHistoryPod. Let us know how we’re doing, or what you’d like to hear more of! Reader: Adam Christman Created by: Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman Produced and edited by: Adam Christman
Presenting part 8 of BB Warfield's "Calvin's Doctrine of the Knowledge of God. Part 9 wraps us up next Monday! Announcement: Our other podcast, "An Oral History of the Church," returns on Friday! This volume will discuss the Lutheran wing of the Protestant Reformation. We're excited; we hope you enjoy it. The Warfield essay comes from Calvin and the Reformation: Four Studies, published by Fleming H. Revell Company in 1909. Would you like to request a specific book, sermon, or other Christian text? Please e-mail us atchurchhistorypodcast@gmail.com or tweet us @OralHistoryPod. Let us know how we’re doing, or what you’d like to hear more of! Reader: Adam Christman Created by: Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman Produced and edited by: Adam Christman
What does John Calvin think about how the Holy Spirit relates to the Bible, and to the revealing work of the Holy Spirit towards mankind? Warfield walks us through it in today's episode. Come back next week for part 7! The essay comes from Calvin and the Reformation: Four Studies, published by Fleming H. Revell Company in 1909. Would you like to request a specific book, sermon, or other Christian text? Please e-mail us at churchhistorypodcast@gmail.com or tweet us @OralHistoryPod. Let us know how we’re doing, or what you’d like to hear more of! Reader: Adam Christman Created by: Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman Produced and edited by: Adam Christman
Have you heard, man, about Herman? Bavinck, that is? This week's text is part 1 of an essay on John Calvin's thought regarding common grace by Dutch Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck. The essay comes from Calvin and the Reformation: Four Studies, published by Fleming H. Revell Company in 1909. Next week, The Bavinck Continues with part 2! Would you like to request a specific book, sermon, or other Christian text? Please e-mail us at churchhistorypodcast@gmail.com or tweet us @OralHistoryPod. Let us know how we’re doing, or what you’d like to hear more of! Reader: Jonathan McCormick Created by: Jonathan McCormick and Adam Christman Produced and edited by: Adam Christman
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