A New Evangelism, A W Tozer

The NEW "EVANGELISM"

by A.W. Tozer

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic

approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old

life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts

but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing

that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers

the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever

the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment

is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the

religious product is better...

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways

of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the

souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world,

it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up

onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat

must fall into the ground and die.

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public

relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and

the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make

Christ acceptable to big business, the press, or the world of sports,

or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our

message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is

life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross.

Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must

repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who

would find life in Christ Jesus?... He must forsake his sins and

then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend

nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with

God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern

displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die... The cross

that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner;

and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to

a new life along with Christ.

To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and

private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of

approval upon this message from Paul's day to the present.

Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the

content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the

world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the

revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders

and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to

God's approval.

Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the

truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the

blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God

forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power.

Scottish Independence essay: Nordic model a fantasy, The Scotsman, Updated, SNP Government Oil and Gas Figures, spectacularly wrong

ADRIAN Wooldridge says there is no evidence the Nordic countries want to engage with Scotland

THE STORY is all too familiar. The marriage grows stale with the years. Those charming idiosyncrasies become intolerable irritations. The unhappy husband or wife catches the eye of a comely stranger. A glance turns into an affair. After a lot of rowing the unhappy couple finally divorces and life begins again.

This is half the story of the possible divorce between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom: a significant number of Scots think they would be much happier with the comely Nordics than with the dowdy English. But the other half of the story is more complicated. The Nordics show no sign of reciprocating the suitor’s affections. And the Nordic model that the nationalists have fallen in love with disappeared 25 years ago.

Evidence of the affair can be found all over the place. The Scottish National Party cannot get enough of the Nordic model. The Nordic model is not only vastly superior to the English model – it provides people with a higher standard of living while guaranteeing a safety net that is so generous that fathers get a year’s worth of paternity leave. It is also more in tune with Scotland’s collectivist and egalitarian tradition. The Jimmy Reid Foundation argues that the Scottish idea of the Common Wealth is the local equivalent of the Nordic ideal of the “folkhemmet” or People’s Home. Lesley Riddoch, a columnist on this paper, has established a thinktank, Nordic Horizons, to push for closer links between the Holyrood parliament and its northern neighbours. Angus Robertson, the SNP’s spokesman on foreign affairs and one of its leading Nordo-philes, says that one of the first things an independent Scotland will do will be to apply to join the Nordic Council, a steering group of Nordic countries.

Scotland’s infatuation with the Nordic model is not hard to understand. The Nordic countries routinely come at or close to the top of every official measure of success, from economic success to social wellbeing. It is common to argue that countries face a trade-off between economic growth and quality of life. The Nordic countries show that it is possible to have the best of both worlds.

Scotland and the Nordics are also drawn together by powerful ties of culture. Some ties are direct and genetic: the Viking raiders of the early Middle Ages left a profound mark on the country. The Shetland islanders still burn a Viking longboat every year. The language is littered with Scandinavian words. Other ties are cultural and geographic. Both Scotland and the Nordics are profoundly shaped by the Protestant religion and a frequently challenging climate and geography (asked to list his nearest railway station on a parliamentary expense form Jo Grimond replied “Bergen, Norway”).

Both the Scots and the Nordics lead the world in extracting natural resources. Both have a marked taste for the grain and the hop. And both excel in producing the modern equivalent of Viking sagas. Henning Mankel’s Inspector Wallender and Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus are cut from the same cloth: brooding individualists determined to get to the bottom of the blood-soaked story whatever the higher-ups tell them.

There are all sorts of obvious problems with this Scandimania. The Vikings left a more profound imprint on Northumbria, Cumbria and Yorkshire than on Scotland. Scotland’s west coast is more Irish than Scandinavian. Denmark and Southern Sweden look more like East Anglia than they do the Scottish Lowlands, let alone the Highlands.

Read more here:

Further Reading:

Alex Salmond’s currency dilemma: Climbdown or lose

Daily question: How big is Scotland’s economy and what's important to it?

Empire shadow still hangs heavy over Scotland

Scots Are Divided Over Independence, and Its Economic Costs

Oil forecast 'spectacularly wrong'

Beyond the Scottish Independence Question, Looking at a Greater Devolution in The United Kingdom, A Perspective

Amazing Grace Yet for this reason I found mercy, The Difference between Justification and Sanctification

Yet for this reason I found mercy, The Difference between Justification and Sanctification

1 Timothy 1:15-16

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those [a]who would believe in Him for eternal life.

The Justification and Sanctification of believers through the finished work of Christ, in my previous post we briefly examined the important doctrine of Justification, which in many ways is part of the bigger picture of Salvation and the Christian life and walk, today we will examine briefly the important doctrine of Sanctification which follows on from Justification.

1)   Now let us look at the differences between Justification and Sanctification

Justification

Sanctification

Legal Standing

Internal Condition

Once for all time

Continuous throughout life

Entirely God’s work

We co-operate with God

Perfect in this life

Not perfect in this life

The same in all Christians

Greater in some than in others

Sanctification differs from justification in several ways. Justification is a one-time work of God, resulting in a declaration of “not guilty” before Him because of the work of Christ on the cross. Sanctification is a process, beginning with justification and continuing throughout life. Justification is the starting point of the line that represents one’s Christian life; sanctification is the line itself

2)   Sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives

 Sanctification is the process of renewal and consecration by which believers are made holy through the work of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is the consequence of justification and is dependent upon a person being in a right relationship with God.

Sanctification is applied justification. By its very nature justification does not have a progressive character. It is God's declaration of righteousness. The focus of justification is the removal of the guilt of sin. The focus of sanctification is the healing of the dysfunctionality of sin. Since all spiritual blessings, justification and sanctification included, are the Christian's the moment he or she is "in Christ" sanctification is total and final in one sense Yet, unlike justification, sanctification also continues until it will be consummated when Jesus Christ returns. For then we will be like him, perfect and complete. Sanctification, therefore, has an initial, progressive, and final phase. A believer's present preoccupation is with progressive sanctification, by which the child of God lives out the implications of initial sanctification with an eye to the goal of final sanctification. The sanctified life is victorious, though it is lived out in the context of temptation and suffering. God promises the "overcomers" in Revelation 2 and 3 to restore all that was lost in the fall, in sanctification; the believer is simply applying the implications of his or her justification.

3)   A believer grows in sanctification by living according to his or her new identity

 Sanctification, defined broadly as the work of God’s grace in man’s perfection in righteousness, begins when he becomes a believer and hence is “in Christ.” It continues progressively until death brings him into Christ’s presence unless he “does despite to the Spirit of grace.” It is only as one by dedication and faith realizes in actuality what is provided in the atonement that this grace is experienced; it does not follow as a matter of course, as the exhortations in the NT imply. Parallel to the work of sanctification is the infilling of the Holy Spirit in the believer, perfection in love, having the “mind of Christ,” and “walking as he walked.”

There are many things that I can say about Sanctification but more importantly that I what I can stay about Sanctification is what the Bible says about Sanctification. 

Now let us look at some scriptures in regards to Sanctification

1)   Romans 6:15-19 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin [j]resulting in death, or of obedience [k]resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks are to God that [l]though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, [m]resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, [n]resulting in sanctification.

2)   1 Corinthians 1:30 30 But [u]by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, [v]and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.

3)   I Thessalonians 5:23-24 23 now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

4)   I Thessalonians 4:1-8 4 finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to [a]walk and please God (just as you actually do [b]walk), that you excel still more. 2 For you know what commandments we gave you [c]by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from [d]sexual immorality; 4 that each of you know how to [e]possess his own [f]vessel in sanctification and honour, 5 not in [g]lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but [h]in sanctification. 8 So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you

5)   2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you [o]from the beginning for salvation [p]through sanctification [q]by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, [r]that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter [s]from us.16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

Amazing Grace, Yet for this reason I found mercy The Justification of The Believer

Yet for this reason I found mercy The Justification of The Believer

1 Timothy 1:15-16

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those [a]who would believe in Him for eternal life.

The 19th Century American Hymn Writer, Fanny J Crosby wrote these wonderful words

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

O what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain:

This is my story, this is my song,

praising my Saviour all the day long;

this is my story, this is my song,

praising my Saviour all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight!

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

Angels descending bring from above

Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest!

I in my Saviour am happy and blest,

Watching and waiting, looking above,

Filled with his goodness, lost in His love

We have  looked at the phrase,  in 1 Tim 1:16, For this reason I found Mercy, today  we will start to look at the phrase The Justification and sanctification of believers through the finished work of Christ and  we will start to look at the doctrine of Justification and then next week we will follow on by looking at the doctrine of Sanctification. But what do we mean by Justification ?

Simply put, to justify is to declare righteous, to make one right with God. Justification is God’s declaring those who receive Christ to be righteous, based on Christ’s righteousness being imputed to the accounts of those who receive Christ

We are justified, declared righteous, at the moment of our salvation. Justification does not make us righteous, but rather pronounces us righteous. Our righteousness comes from placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice covers our sin, allowing God to see us as perfect and unblemished. Because as believers we are in Christ, God sees Christ's own righteousness when He looks at us. This meets God's demands for perfection; thus, He declares us righteous—He justifies us.

Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he a) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us and b) declares us to be righteous in his sight

Now let us examine the Scriptures in regards to Justification

1.   Romans 3:21-26 21 But now apart [k]from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those [l]who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all [m]have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a [n]propitiation [o]in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, [p]because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who [q]has faith in Jesus.

2.   Romans 5:1-11 Therefore, having been justified by faith, [a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and [b]we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but [c]we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

3.   6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; [d]though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified [e]by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved [f]by His life. 11 And not only this, [g]but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

4.   Romans 5:12-21 12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 for [h]until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a [i]type of Him who was to come15 But [j]the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. 16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression [k]resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions [l]resulting in justification. 17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.18 So then as through one transgression [m]there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness [n]there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. 20 [o]The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

5.   Galatians 2:16-21”nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of [n]the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of [o]the Law; since by the works of [p]the Law no [q]flesh will be justified. 17 But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! 18 For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.19 For through [r]the Law I died to [s]the Law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and [t]the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through[u]the Law, then Christ died needlessly

6.   Romans 8:29-35 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was [l]raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of [m]Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

'She wasn't prepared to give someone else a chance': Brother of woman who killed herself 'over bedroom tax' says other families needed house more than she did . Daily Mail

  Stephanie Bottrill, 52, walked in front of a lorry on a motorway 

  The grandmother lived alone in a three-bedroom house in Solihull 

  She blamed the Government's housing policy in her suicide note  

  Her brother Kevin Owens said she wouldn't 'give somebody else a chance' 

  Believes it wasn't 'bedroom tax' that drove her to kill herself
  Also disputed claims she was given half an hour to decide about her house

The brother of a woman who walked out in front of a lorry and killed herself because of 'bedroom tax' has said she wasn't willing to 'give somebody else a chance' in a housing system that requires people to 'take turns'. 

Grandmother Stephanie Bottrill, 52, walked across a motorway on May 4 last year after her local council allegedly told her she had to move out of her three-bedroom terrace house in Solihull, West Midlands, because of the spare room subsidy.

A coroner has today recorded a verdict of suicide saying the Government's housing policy had caused her 'considerable anxiety and stress'.

But after the inquest, her brother, Kevin Owens - joined by Ms Bottrill’s sister, Josephine Trueman - told reporters she 'wasn’t prepared to give somebody else a chance' of a larger home.

He said: 'For social housing to work it needs for everybody to take a turn.'

'When you’re adequately housed by successive governments, and your needs are met, you must give somebody else a turn.

'It’s terrible that people in this country are cramped into one and two-bedroom flats with children while other people sit on three-bedroom houses.

'Our thoughts go out to the lorry driver whose life has been blighted by this, and we just wanted to pass on our thoughts to him.'

Mr Owens also disputed the claim his sister had made about being given half an hour to 'make a decision' on a house.  

He added: 'Much has been written about "bedroom tax" pushing her - it wasn’t, because prior to that she’d attempted suicide before and that hadn’t been reported before.

'It might have been the catalyst to push her but was it just an excuse she was looking for? - That’s all I’ve got to say.' 

During a hearing at Birmingham Coroners Court today, the Black County coroner, Zafar Siddique, said: 'Given the evidence of notes left of her intention,

Read more here:

Depression, The Dark Fog of the Soul

Comment:

Whether or not you feel the so called “ Bedroom Tax” is unfair or fair, the tragic death of this lady, who suffered for a number of years from anxiety and depression felt no alternative but to take our own life,  however the so called “ Bedroom Tax” isn’t responsible for the tragic death of this person.

My Uttermost for His Highest, "Do not Quench the Spirit," Oswald Chambers Daily Devotionals

The voice of the Spirit of God is as gentle as a summer breeze— so gentle that unless you are living in complete fellowship and oneness with God, you will never hear it. The sense of warning and restraint that the Spirit gives comes to us in the most amazingly gentle ways. And if you are not sensitive enough to detect His voice, you will quench it, and your spiritual life will be impaired. This sense of restraint will always come as a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12), so faint that no one except a saint of God will notice it.

Read more here:

Go-it-alone Scotland ‘defenceless’: Nation will be left without any weapons if it votes for independence and refuses to take its share of UK debt, MP warns Daily Mail

  Chairman of Scottish affairs committee said Alex Salmond’s ‘cavalier’ plan to renege on Scotland’s debts would ‘poison’ negotiations with UK

  Mr Salmond has insisted monetary union with rest of UK would go ahead

Scotland  will be left without any weapons to defend itself if it votes for independence and refuses to take on its share of UK debt, an MP has warned.

Ian Davidson, the chairman of the influential Scottish affairs committee, said that Alex Salmond’s ‘cavalier’ plan to renege on Scotland’s debts if he does not get his way on the pound would ‘poison’ negotiations with the UK.

He warned that Scotland would be denied access to military equipment and could be left with ‘a navy with no ships, an air force with no planes and an army with no guns’.

Mr Salmond has been under intense pressure to give details of an alternative if Westminster does not agree to the share the pound, but he has said he has no intention of proposing a ‘plan B’.

All three main UK parties have promised to veto a currency union if Scotland votes for independence on 18 September.

But Mr Salmond has insisted that monetary union with the rest of the UK would go ahead and promised not to help repay British debt if it does not.

Read more here:

Further Reading

Treasury: Tenth of Scots jobs at risk after Yes

Labour question how an independent Scotland would fund state spending after 37% fall in revenue from North Sea tax

Beyond the Scottish Independence Question, Looking at a Greater Devolution in The United Kingdom, A Perspective

O'Captain my Captain

Food banks to offer finance advice, The Scotsman

Financial advice is to be offered to people being referred to food banks after new research showed an “alarming” increase in those suffering money problems.

Food bank charity the Trussell Trust is launching a pilot scheme to give instant financial help and debt advice.

The move follows a six-figure donation by money saving expert Martin Lewis and could lead to the biggest change in how the charity’s network of 400 food banks operate since the trust was launched in 2000.

A survey of 4,000 adults showed that more than one in 10 took out a payday loan last year.

Some 900,000 people received three days’ emergency food from Trussell Trust food banks in the last financial year, an increase of 163% over the previous 12 months.

Read more here:

For more on the Trussell Trust,  please  click here

Words for The Wise, No Eye has seen, 1 Corinthians 2 The Voice

1 Corinthians 2 The Voice (VOICE)

2 My brothers and sisters, I did not pose as an expert with all the answers. I did not pretend to explain the mystery of God with eloquent speech and human wisdom. 2 I claimed to know nothing with certainty other than the reality that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Liberating King, who was crucified on our behalf. 3 I was moved to utter despair during my time with you. I would find myself trembling in dread and fear. 4 The sermons I preached were not delivered with the kind of persuasive elegance some have come to expect, but they were effective because I relied on God’s Spirit to demonstrate God’s power. 5 If this were not so, your faith would be based on human wisdom and not the power of God.

Christianity is not merely a set of ideas and propositions. One can agree with all the truths in the Bible and still miss the power of God. Paul knows the brothers and sisters in Corinth might attempt to reduce Christianity to a new philosophy based on human understanding, but the power of God cannot be fully grasped by our eight-pound brains. We must approach God humbly as creations, not as those aspiring to fully explain the Creator of the universe.

6 However, in the presence of mature believers, we do impart true wisdom—not the phony wisdom typical of this rebellious age or of the hostile powers who rule this age. Despite what you may think, these ruling spirits are losing their grip on this world. 7 But we do impart God’s mysterious and hidden wisdom. Before the ages began, God graciously decided to use His wisdom for our glory. 8 This wisdom has not been grasped by the ruling powers of this age; if they had understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. 9 But as the Scriptures say,

No eye has ever seen and no ear has ever heard

    and it has never occurred to the human heart

All the things God prepared for those who love Him.[a]

10 God has shown us these profound and startling realities through His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep mysteries of God. 11 Who can see into a man’s heart and know his thoughts? Only the spirit that dwells within the man. In the same way, the thoughts of God are known only by His Spirit. 12 You must know that we have not received the spirit of this rebellious and broken world but the Spirit that comes from God, so that we may experience and comprehend the gifts that come from God. 13 We do not speak of these gifts of God in words shaped by human wisdom; we speak in words crafted by the Spirit because our collective judgment on spiritual matters is accessible to those who have the Spirit. 14 But a person who denies spiritual realities will not accept the things that come through the Spirit of God; they all sound like foolishness to him. He is incapable of grasping them because they are disseminated, discerned, and valued by the Spirit. 15 A person who walks by the Spirit examines everything, sizing it up and seeking out truth. But no one is able to examine or size up that kind of spiritual person, 16 for the Scripture asks, “Does anyone know the mind of the Lord well enough to become His advisor?”[b] But we do possess the mind of the Anointed One.

Dictionary of Bible Themes

7027 church, purpose and mission of

The church is called to praise and glorify God, to establish Jesus Christ’s kingdom, and to proclaim the gospel throughout the world.

God’s purposes for the church

To praise God 1Pe 2:9 See also Eph 1:5-6,11-12,14; Heb 13:15; 1Pe 2:5

To share God’s glory Ro 8:29-30 See also Mt 13:43; Jn 17:24; Ro 9:23; 1Co 2:7; Php 3:21; Col 3:4; 2Th 2:14; Rev 2:26-27; Rev 3:4-5,21

God will build his church Mt 16:18-19 See also Mt 27:40 pp Mk 15:29; Jn 2:19-22; 1Co 3:9; Eph 2:21-22; Eph 4:11-13; Heb 3:3-6; 1Pe 2:5

To challenge Satan’s dominion Eph 3:10-11 “rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” refers to the powers of evil. See also Mt 16:18; Eph 6:12; 1Jn 2:14

To go into the world in mission 2Co 5:18 See also Mt 5:13-16; Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15; Lk 24:48; Jn 20:21; Ac 1:8; Php 2:15-16; Col 1:27

The church’s mission

To preach the gospel to the world Mk 13:10 pp Mt 24:14 See also Mt 28:19; Lk 24:47; Jn 10:16; Ac 13:47

To do good to all Gal 6:10 See also Mt 25:37-40; Lk 6:35; Ac 9:36; Eph 2:10; 1Ti 6:18; Jas 1:27; 1Pe 2:12

Images of the church’s mission Mt 5:13-16; Jn 15:5-8 A fruitful plant in a fruitless world: Mt 7:18-19; Ro 7:4; Eph 5:9-10; Php 1:11; Col 1:6,10; Jas 3:17 Salt in an insipid world: Mk 9:50; Lk 14:34-35 Light in a dark world: Ro 13:12-14; Eph 5:8; Php 2:15; 1Th 5:5-6

The growth of the church

Numerical growth among the first Christians Ac 11:21 See also Ac 2:41,47; Ac 4:4; Ac 5:14; Ac 6:1,7; Ac 9:31,42; Ac 11:24; Ac 12:24; Ac 13:49; Ac 16:5; Ac 17:4; Ac 18:8; Ac 19:20

The church is to grow to maturity Eph 4:12-13 See also Php 1:6; Php 3:13-15; 2Th 1:3

Aspects of growth Growth in character: 2Co 9:10; 1Th 3:12 Growth into Christ: Eph 4:15; Col 1:10; 2Pe 3:18

Heb 6:1 growth in understanding

Prayers for the growth of the church Eph 3:14-19 See also Eph 1:17-19; Php 1:9-11; Col 1:9-12; 1Th 3:11-13; 2Th 1:11-12

Visions of the church’s final destiny

Rev 7:9-10 John’s vision of the church in glory. See also Mt 24:31; Jn 10:16; Eph 1:10; 1Th 4:16-17; Heb 12:22-23; Rev 21:2

The Bible Panorama

1 Corinthians 2

V 1–5: RESOLVE Paul’s determined resolve in preaching to the Corinthians is never to parade his excellent vocabulary or wisdom, but to concentrate solely on ‘Jesus Christ and Him crucified’. He admits that he feels his great weakness, fear, and trembling and that it is not human wisdom or persuasion that gives power to the message, but the Holy Spirit, as he concentrates on the message of the cross, the true preaching of which always is accompanied by God’s power to save.

V 6–10: REVELATION God’s revealed wisdom is shared with those who are spiritually mature. The world has rejected this wisdom and this is why ‘the Lord of glory’, the Lord Jesus Christ, was crucified. But, through His Spirit, God has revealed the truths of His word and the blessings He has prepared for His redeemed people. The same Holy Spirit, who reveals the word of God, is at work in the hearts of men to reveal to them their sin and need for this gospel of Christ crucified.

 V 11–15: RECEPTION The Christian has received ‘the Spirit who is from God’ who teaches him both the truth about God and the truth about himself, underlines his need, and intensifies his desire for God’s revelation through His word. The unconverted man (the ‘natural man’) cannot understand these things, because they are spiritually discerned and only become real to a person who has turned from sin and received the Holy Spirit by faith in Christ. God’s enlightenment follows the receiving of the Holy Spirit in conversion.

 V 16: RÉSUMÉ No one can have God’s mind unless he or she has been converted. The simplest person who trusts Christ, through grace, receives ‘the mind of Christ’ within through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

"Immeasurably More" from Rend Collective (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)

Mark Driscoll's Books Yanked From Baptist's LifeWay Stores, Charisma Magazine

The nation's second-largest Christian book retailer has pulled megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll's books from its website and 186 stores.

Leaders at the Southern Baptist Convention's LifeWay Christian Resources informed stores on Friday to stop selling books by the Seattle pastor who has been in hot water.

Last week, leaders of the church-planting network Acts 29 removed Driscoll and his churches from the group he helped found and asked that he "step down from ministry for an extended time and seek help."

Driscoll has been an influential but edgy pastor within conservative evangelical circles for several years. His Mars Hill Church, based in Seattle, attracts some 14,000 people at 15 locations across five states. He has been provocative, occasionally profane and has faced allegations of plagiarism and inflating book sales.

The mushrooming set of allegations led the publishing arm to suspend sales while it "monitors the developments of his ministry," said LifeWay media-relations manager Marty King.

"It was a cumulative effect," King said. "The Acts 29 leadership asking him to step down was certainly a part of that."

At the time of the decision, LifeWay's stores were selling just one of Driscoll's titles, A Call to Resurgence, King said.

A spokesperson for Mars Hill did not respond to LifeWay's decision

Read more here:

Elim Missions, Iraq Appeal

MANY WILL HAVE SEEN NEWS REPORTS ABOUT THE TREATMENT OF CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ BY THE MILITANT GROUP ISIS. WE STAND ALONGSIDE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN IRAQ, PRAYING FOR GOD’S PROTECTION AND STRENGTH TO BE WITH THEM.

A statement by CSW, our partners for persecuted Christians, says: “We are deeply saddened by the appalling treatment of the Christians in Mosul, which clearly constitutes religious cleansing. We are also concerned at news that Turkoman, Yazidi and Shabak Iraqis are facing abductions, murder and the destruction of property in areas controlled by IS. Despite its religious pretensions, the so called Caliphate is no different from the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. It has enacted its own “Year Zero” by erasing every ancient monument or community that predates its own. Whilst IS can destroy buildings, seize property and intimidate, humiliate, extort or even kill unarmed civilians, it will ultimately discover that it is impossible to extinguish faith from the human heart through the use of force.”

Join with us in praying and giving to those who are caught up in those horrendous situation.

Follow this Link to donate or for further information

http://www.elimmissions.co.uk/iraqappeal