Becoming a Christian is very much like becoming a citizen of another country. The old government could conscript or try to levy taxes, but there are no longer any obligations. One still may retain his or her accent, but the citizenship has changed.

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly {places} in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:1-7)

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For those of you who possess Biblical discernment and who've known all along that there was some SERIOUS theological problems with The Shack, this audio clip interview with William Young will confirm your worse suspicions. In this sound bite, you will here William Young, author of The Shack, denying the Penal Substitutionary Atonement and

"Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet--not a promoter, not a religious manager, but a prophet. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity. Save me from bondage to things. Let me not waste my days puttering around the house. Lay Thy terror upon me, 0 God, and drive me to the place of prayer where I may wrestle with principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Deliver me from overeating and late sleeping. Teach me self-discipline that I may be a good soldier of Jesus Christ . . . . And now, 0 Lord of heaven and earth, I consecrate my remaining days to Thee; let them be many or few, as Thou wilt. Let me stand before the great or minister to the poor and lowly; that choice is not mine, and I would not influence it if I could. I am Thy servant to do Thy will, and that will is sweeter to me than position or riches or fame and I choose it above all things on earth or in heaven."

A.W. Tozer, "God Tells the Man Who Cares."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,508951,00.html

Talk about living above the law! EASTON, Pa. — A man accused of driving drunk said Pennsylvania courts have no jurisdiction over him because he's his own country. After seeing the paperwork that 44-year-old Scott Allan Witmer filed with the court claiming sovereignty, a Northampton County judge said Tuesday he cannot be released . . .

"Some years ago I read a magazine interview of a certain well-known pastor. The gist of his statement was:

'I decided that the pulpit was no longer to be a teaching platform but an instrument of spiritual therapy. I no longer preach sermons; I create experiences. I don’t have time to write a systematic theology to give a solid theological basis for what I intuitively know. What I intuitively believe is right. Every sermon has to begin with the heart. If you ever hear me preaching a sermon against adultery, you’ll know what my problem is. If you ever hear me preaching a sermon about the coming of Jesus Christ, you’ll know that’s where I am heart wise. It so happens I’m not hung up on either of those areas so I’ve never preached a sermon on either one. I could not in print or in public deny the virgin birth of Christ or the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ or the return of Christ. But when I have something I can’t comprehend, I just don’t deal with it.'

That is the description of a totally corrupted and perverted ministry. Those who listen to that man are not hearing all God has to say. Rather than bringing men to God, he is standing between men and God."

Dr. John MacArthur, "True Servants of Christ."

“Cursed be every preacher who aims at lofty topics in the church, looking for his own glory and selfishly desiring to please one individual or another. When I preach I adapt myself to the circumstances of the common people. I don’t look at the doctors and masters . . . but at the young people and children. It is to them that I devote myself. Take pains to be simple and direct.”

“If I profess with the loudest voice and the clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little portion which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle of truth rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proven.” (Martin Luther, 1483 - 1546)

“Even sermon making, incessant and taxing as an art, as a duty, as a work, or as a pleasure, will harden and estrange the heart by neglect of prayer from God. The scientist loses God in nature. The preacher may lose God in his sermon.” (E. M. Bounds)

“Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the Living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such a way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.” (A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God [1948])

“Where Christians live together the time must ultimately come when in some crisis one person will have to declare Gods Word and will to another. It is inconceivable that the things that are of utmost importance to each individual should not be spoken by one to another. It is unchristian consciously to deprive another of the one decisive service we can render to him . . . The more we learn to allow others to speak the Word to us, to accept humbly and gratefully even severe reproaches and admonitions, the more free and objective will we be in speaking ourselves. The humble person will stick to truth and love. He will stick to the Word of God and let it lead him to his brother . . . Reproof is unavoidable. Gods Word demands it when a brother falls into open sin. Where defection from God’s Word in doctrine or life imperils the fellowship. . . , the word of admonition and rebuke must be ventured. Nothing can be more cruel than the tenderness that consigns another to his sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe rebuke that calls a brother back from the path of sin. It is a ministry of mercy, an ultimate offer of genuine fellowship, when we allow nothing but God’s Word to stand between us, judging and succoring.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), Life Together)

“We languish for men who feel themselves expendable in the warfare of the soul, who cannot be frightened by threats of death because they have already died to the allurements of this world. Such men will be free from the compulsions that control weaker men. They will not be forced to do things by the squeeze of circumstances; their only compulsion will come from within--or from above. This kind of freedom is necessary if we are to have prophets in our pulpits again instead of mascots. These free men will serve God and mankind from motives too high to be understood by the rank and file of religious retainers who today shuttle in and out of the sanctuary. They will make no decisions out of fear. take no course out of a desire to please, accept no service for financial considerations, perform no religious act out of mere custom; nor will they allow themselves to be influenced by the love of publicity or the desire for reputation.” (A.W. Tozer, 1897 – 1963, Of God and Men)

“I preached as never to preach again; as a dying man to dying men.” (Robert Murray McCheyne)

“When I study a passage, I do not ever study a passage to make a sermon. Never! You know what I do when I study that passage? I study it so that I will get what it’s teaching. I’m very selfish, I just want to know. I’ll go on and on and my wife will say to me, “Why do you keep studying that same passage? You’ve got more material than you could ever give in a sermon.” But that isn’t the point. The point is that I want to know everything that’s there and when I’m fed, and when I’m fat, and when I’m loaded with the good things that are there, it will spill out on you on Sunday. It’s out of the overflow of my own life. I’m the guy out there harvesting the first fruits. You see? Leadership has to be that way. Any ministry of leadership you have, has to be feeding your life or you’re not going to do it for others. You’re not going to be any good at it unless there’s something there you’re feeding on.” (John MacArthur)

While discussing the need for clarity in writing and speaking, C.S. Lewis spoke about hearing a young parson preach. Very much in earnest, the young man ended his sermon like this, “And now, my friends, if you do not believe these truths, there may be for you grave eschatological consequences.” Dr. Lewis reports: “I went to him afterwards and asked, ‘Did you mean that they would be in danger of hell?’’Why, yes’, the parson said. ‘Then why in the world didn’t you say so?’” Lewis replied.

“The true function of a preacher is to disturb the comfortable and to comfort the disturbed.” (Chad Walsh, “Campus Gods on Trial,” 1963)

Three umpires were debating their philosophies of umpiring. "There's balls and there's strikes," says the first, "and I call 'em the way they are."

"No!" exclaimed the next. "That's arrogant! There's balls and there's strikes, and I call 'em the way I see 'em."

"That's no better," broke in the third. "Why beat around the bush? Why not be realistic about what we do? There's balls and there's strikes, and they ain't nothin' 'till I call 'em."

A couple of weeks have gone by since my last post with thoughts on John Eldridge's book "Wild At Heart," and as I've been reading and reflecting on the book, I was amazed at how much ground has already been covered in previous posts. As I've prepared to write yet another entry, I quickly discovered how much I would be repeating myself through interacting with this book. Much time and energy would be wasted with my writing and especially, with your reading. I will make this my final post concerning the book with these thoughts:

If it were true that the outdoorsy, bug-chomping, restless man is the one who seeks after God, then what would Eldridge do with Genesis 25:19-34? This is the record of Jacob and Esau. Esau was the hairy outdoorsy guy, the strong hunter. Esau won the heart of his father because hsi father liked to eat what his son brought in from the field--he loved through his stomach. But remember: Esau was not far from his father, for he lost his birthright for a bowl of stew. Then he wept because he lost his blessing and shed no tears for repentance (27:38); instead, he sought to kill his brother (27:41).

Let's look at Jacob, the tent-dweller. First, remember who it was that was striving in the womb--emotions were high between the brothers even before they were born (25:22-24). When the time for delivery came, it was no pansy that was holding onto the heel of his brother--that takes strength, even for a newborn (25:26)!

As a tent-dweller, in contrast to his brother the hunter, Jacob had a vantage point, because it was to the tent people came and from the tent people went. Even travelling great distances, the tent was always there. It was in the tent people ate, slept, conversed. One hears and sees much within the tent. I imagine as he cooked alongside his mother, they were both watching and listening. Jacob had the heart of his mother. We read twice that he was a good cook--such a good cook that his bowls of stew could make even the hunter drool on his own beard. Why, he could make goat taste like wild game! Jacob knew where people were weak and he knew how to get their attention.

Before we stray too far, draw attention to 25:27 once more, "When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents." Notice that Jacob was described as a "peaceful man." The word describing Jacob as "peaceful" is "tam," which in full translation means, "perfect; one who one who lacks nothing in physical strength, beauty, etc.; sound; wholesome; an ordinary, quiet sort of person; complete, morally innocent, having integrity; one who is morally and ethically pure." Esau could probably out-grunt Tim Allen, but Jacob was the man's man.

"But, didn't Jacob decieve his father? How could he be a man of integrity?" First, Jacob already had the birthright. Even if he had not disguised himself, God would have seen that Jacob had what was his. Second, God was very much at work in both Jacob and Esau's lives. Jacob came to a place where he submitted to God and walked in obedience. Esau, on the other hand, made certain he went out of his way to live against not only his father's wishes, but to privately and openly sin against God.

These are my thoughts.

"If Dr. [John A.T.] Robinson is right in saying that 'God is teaching us that we must live as men who can get on very well without him,' then the church has no need to say anything whatever to secularized man for that is precisely what secularized man already believes."

(E.L. Mascall, 1905 - 1993)

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"Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergymen or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven on earth." (John Wesley, 1703 - 1791)

Says Mr. Shelby to Mrs. Shelby in H.B. Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin.":

"I must say these ministers sometimes carry matters farther than we poor sinners would exactly care to do. We men of the world must wink pretty hard at various things, and get used to a deal that isn't the exact thing. But we don't quite fancy when women and ministers come out broad and square, and go beyond us in matters of either modesty or morals, that's a fact."

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"What makes teaching the Word of God difficult is that you have to say things that you know people aren't going to like. It is inevitable that people will be offended about some of the statements in the Bible. But I dare not neglect to teach passages that are confrontive. Some people say that they can't tolerate my preaching because I am opinionated about what I believe. I often receive criticism for my apparent lack of love. But I realize that I have to say things that can wound people. However, I'd rather stand before God and hear Him say, 'You said the truth, MacArthur,' than to have Him say, 'You made everybody happy, but you didn't tell the truth.' That's the only thing I can do to live with myself in peace and to honor the God that I love."

Dr. John MacArthur, "Beware The Pretenders: Twice Dead Men (part 2)"

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"What a great responsibility God has laid upon us preachers of His gospel and teachers of His Word. In that future day when God's wrath is poured out, how are we going to answer? How am I going to answer? I fear there is much we are doing in the name of the Christian church that is wood, hay and stubble destined to be burned up in God's refining fire. A day is coming when I and my fellow ministers must give account of our stewardship:

What kind of a gospel did we preach?
Did we make it plain that men and women who are apart from Christ Jesus are lost?
Did we counsel them to repent and believe?
Did we tell them of the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit?
Did we warn them of the wrath of the Lamb -- the crucified, resurrected, outraged Lamb of God?

With that kind of accounting yet to come, the question John hears from the human objects of God's wrath is especially significant: "Who can stand?" (6:17). Who indeed?

(A.W. Tozer, "Jesus Is Victor!")

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A preacher came into a city and delivered his message every day in the market-place. Soon everyone ignored his all-too-familiar message, and if they did notice him, people only laughed.

A small boy asked, "Sir, why do you keep crying aloud like this day after day? The people here will never listen to you."

"I gave up hope," the preacher replied, "that they would listen to me a long time ago. I go on crying lest I begin listening to them."