Preaching to the Choir

Shestakov was tried in February and March 2007 – he was acquitted of inciting religious hatred but found guilty of organizing an “illegal” religious organization and distributing materials containing “religious extremism”. The judge sentenced him to four years in an open work camp. The verdict complained that “more than 100 individuals of various ethnicity not having an independent religious conviction from the ranks of inexperienced youth” attended his church and said his re-education is “impossible without isolation from society”. The prison authorities in Andijan confiscated his New Testament and banned him from praying.

In May 2007 Shestakov was transferred to a camp in Pskent near Tashkent, but the day after his arrival he was sent to the camp punishment cell for alleged “violation of camp regulations”. On May 25, 2007 a court changed his punishment to four years in a closed labor camp. “He does not repent for the crime he has committed,” the verdict complained. In June, 2007 Shestakov was transferred to a camp in Navoi with a reputation as a violent and unsanitary environment. There he was again pressured to renounce his faith and his Bible was taken from him. In December, 2007 Uzbek Protestants called for his release in the presidential amnesty the following month. “His wife is resolutely enduring all the difficulties and she and their three daughters are expecting his return home,” they wrote. “We find it sad that he is still being detained but our hearts are full of certainty that the Lord will give him strength and power.” However, Pastor Dmitry was not included in the amnesty.

Uzbekistan has the most repressive religious policy of all the former Soviet republics.  Any religious activity without state approval is illegal and subject to heavy penalties, including fines or imprisonment.  Similar penalties are imposed on those who share their faith with others.  Religious meetings in private homes are often raided by the police and secret police that threaten, beat and interrogate believers and confiscate any religious literature they can find.  Courts have ordered confiscated Bibles and other literature be burned.  Parents have been warned not to allow their children to attend mosques and churches. Television programmes and newspaper articles regularly brand religious communities as “dangerous” and a “threat”. More detailed information can be found on Forum 18’s Religious Freedom Survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1170.

What can you do?

1. Pastor Dmitry Shestakov has been in an Uzbekistan prison for more than two years. Pray for him and his suffering family.
2. We invite you to petition the President of Uzbekistan to release pastor Dmitry from labor camp. You may send your letter using one of the following options:
   1. To any Embassy of Republic of Uzbekistan in your country. Links to Uzbek Embassies: USA, UK, World-Wide. For your convenience an example letter to the Embassy is available here.
   2. Directly to the President: President of Uzbekistan, 100163 Tashkent, ul. Afrosiab-1. For your convenience an example letter to the President is available here.
3. Also you can send birthday cards and letters of encouragement to Pastor Shestakov as he celebrates his birthday in April: Dmitry Shestakov, 210100 g. Navoi-5, UYa-64/29 Uzbekistan
4. Send this information to all your Christian friends and ask them to help Vera see her father again.

“Remember them that are in bonds, as if bound with them; [and] them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” (Heb. 13:3)

Check out the below link for the full page:

http://freepastordmitry.com

We Were Created to Be, Not to Do.  Out of the Being Comes the Doing.

September 10, 2009

John15:1-11

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

The analogy of a fruit-bearing vine, like a grape vine, may be a little bit hazy for us.  We have enough of a knowledge of Botany that we can put together the idea that a branch which is cut off of the vine will wither and die, but we’re not around vineyards all the time; so we may have to use deductive reasoning a little bit to follow along with the full implication of Jesus’ words to us in the 15^th chapter of John.

Here’s what’s important about this analogy for today’s discussion:

• The people Jesus was talking to knew exactly what He was saying.

-This is an aside, but we should all labor to know our neighbors well enough to speak the Truth in a way they’ll understand.  That’s what all this talk about cultural relevance is about—saying things in a way that people will hear and understand.  You wouldn’t send a text message to your 100 year-old blind great-grandmother, would you?  We need to take the Gospel to people where they are, and cast aside this subcultural egocentrism that teaches us to wait for them to come to us!  We also need to start asking ourselves why they aren’t coming to us.  They should only hate us for the right reasons. (1 Peter 4:12-19)

• In order for fruit to grow, the branch has to draw energy from the sap that is supplied and replenished by the vine and distribute that energy, those life-giving nutrients that reside in the sap, into the fruit.

-The fruit grows on the branch, but the branch only supplies the place for fruit to grow and a pathway for the nutrients to get from the vine to the fruit.  All the power for creating the fruit rests in the plant as a whole.  Without the branch, the vine just grows another branch to produce fruit, because all the power and energy for creating fruit lies in the vine, not the branch.  We have to see that the branch is the disposable part of the equation.  Without the branch, another branch bears the fruit, in fact, pruning usually makes the healthier branches produce more plentifully; without the vine, though, there is not only no fruit, but no branches either.

• If a branch is cut off of the vine, not only can it not bear fruit, but the branch itself cannot live.  It will die without remaining connected to the vine.

-The branch needs to be supplied with life from the vine; it does not have the ability to create life on its own.

- Some plants can be transplanted simply by cutting off a branch and sticking it in water or soil.  The branch will grow roots and become its own trunk, eventually growing branches of its own.

-There are many who believe just that about spiritual life.  They think they can go their own way, and create their own version of spiritual living.  I’m not just talking about other religions, although that certainly applies to this point as well; I’m talking about so-called Christians who think they can divorce themselves from some, or in many cases most, of what the Bible says and still bear the same fruit.

-We’ll define the fruit in just a little bit, but remember that Jesus’ analogy is of a branch that can’t grow on its own.  It will die if it’s not connected to the vine.

• Vine branches don’t have to work at producing fruit; they just do.

-The word “abide” (Meno, pronounced “men-o”) isn’t a particularly spiritual or religious word.  It simply means “stay,” “continue,” “endure,” “dwell,” or “remain.”  Branches don’t work too hard at staying connected to the vine; they just are.  They’re still branches if you cut them off, but they don’t last long without the vine to keep them alive.

-The word meno when applied to spiritual life carries the idea of continual or perpetual living in a particular state, just like a branch continually lives in a state of connection to the vine.

-As long as the branch’s connection to the vine is a healthy one, the branch will bear fruit.

John 15:4-6 will be the main part of the text that we will discuss tonight:

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

By way of opening the topic, listen to what John Piper had to say about the subject from the introduction to the 7^th chapter of his book What Jesus Demands from the World:

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself,

unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in

Me.—John 15:4

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my

love.—John 15:9

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will

know the truth, and the truth will set you free.—John 8:31-32

Jesus’ demands are for a lifetime. He does not demand a single decision to repent or come or believe or love or listen. All these continue. The transformation of repentance continues. Coming to Jesus again and again continues. Believing in him hour by hour continues. Listening to his word as the daily source of spiritual life continues. Jesus demands the engagement of our minds and hearts every day of our lives.

A transaction with Jesus in the past that has no ongoing expression in our lives was a false transaction. When Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples” (John 8:31), he meant that if we don’t abide, we are not truly his disciples. And the opposite of true disciples is false disciples. That’s what we are if we count on past experiences without ongoing devotion to Jesus.

This picture helps us understand what Jesus meant by abiding in him. The main point of the analogy is that power to bear fruit—that is, power to live a fruitful life of Christ-like love (John 15:12)—flows from Jesus if we stay vitally connected to him. Then we are like a branch connected to the vine so that all the life-sustaining, fruit-producing sap can flow into it. Jesus is explicit in claiming to be the power that we need to live fruitful lives. He says, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” Abiding in Jesus means staying vitally connected to the life-giving, power-giving, fruit-producing branch, namely, Jesus.”

* Piper, John.  (2006).  What Jesus Demands from the World. pp. 62-63.  Wheaton, Illinois:  Crossway Books.

The idea of abiding in Christ encompasses two theological ideas:

1. Perseverance of the Saints
2. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers

1.  Perseverance: All those whom the Father has chosen, the Son has atoned for in His death, and the Spirit has called, will be saved. (This is a topic we’ll discuss at length some other time.)

The doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints can be subdivided into two areas:

Perseverance: Our salvation is secure, and Scripture teaches that, if we are to be saved, we will persevere in faith.  Another way to say it is that they will remain, or abide, in the faith—we will stay faithful to the end.

Jeremiah 32:40; John 10:28-29; Romans 8:29; Romans 11:29; Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 1:3-5; Jude 1:24

Preservation: It is by the power of God that we endure, or persevere.

John 6:39-40; John 10:27-29; Romans 8:35-39; 1 Corinthians 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12

2.  The indwelling of the Holy Spirit:

Acts 1:8  “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

See also: Romans 15:13&19; 1 Corinthians 12:11; Ephesians 3:16; 2 Timothy 1:7; 1 Peter 4:14

John 14:25-26

25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
In light of the overwhelming evidence in the New Testament that it is the Spirit of God who empowers believers to act according to His will, I interpret Jesus’ statement in John 15 as an exhortation to not only abide in what He has taught, but to abide in His Spirit, whom the Father has given us in Jesus’ stead.

The implication of that last statement is that Jesus’ demand that we “abide in Him” refers not only to obeying what Scripture teaches explicitly, but also to what the Spirit leads us to do, which includes what is explicit, but may often be implicit in Scriptures, as well.

Let’s make that a little more practical.

• The Bible doesn’t explicitly use the word “abortion,” but it gives us instructions about murder and about caring for children and the helpless.
• Scripture can’t tell us explicitly which jeans to buy, but it does state numerous times that God ought to be utmost in our affections, and that anything we value more than Him is an idol.

When we abide in Christ, His Spirit leads us in decisions like these.

• We may decide that abortion is wrong because of the Bible’s teaching on related issues, and we will also be compelled to help lovingly offer alternatives to women who may otherwise consider abortion.
• We may decide to buy the cheaper, non-designer jeans, and spend the money we would have spent on the jeans in a way that benefits the Kingdom, rather than our own egos.  Or, maybe the Spirit would lead us to buy the jeans that will last longer, with less consideration for the style than for the function, so that we won’t have to buy as many pairs of jeans, enabling us to afford to help others who actually need a new pair of pants.

The beautiful thing about Abiding in Christ is that, just as the branch does not labor to produce fruit but, instead, just does so, when we abide in Christ, bearing righteous fruit is the natural result.  The more we abide in Christ, the more we will find that we encounter fewer and fewer moral dilemmas over our outfits, the style of the house we want to live in, or the bridesmaids’ outfits in our wedding, because the fruits being produced in our lives are the fruits of the Spirit, and not the fruits of our flesh.

Galatians 5:16-17, 22-23
16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do… 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Let’s take a look back at Jesus’ analogy in John 15.

• In order for us to bear fruit, we need the Spirit to do it through us, just as the sap brought the energy to the branch from the vine.
  V4 “As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

• The branch can do nothing apart from the vine, and we can do nothing without Christ.
  V5 “apart from Me you can do nothing.”

• Branches that do not abide in the vine die.  Those who do not persevere to the end, will not be saved.  It is only those who remain in Christ, who abide in Him, who are truly His. Otherwise, we have given in to our pride and to Satan’s oldest lie:  “You will be like God.”  We want to grow roots of our own, and bear our own fruit.  We don’t want to be branches, we want to be our own vine!
  V6 “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

Last week, Nathan said he used to wish that God had given us the list:  “Do this.  Don’t do this,” but pointed out that, instead, God had given us the Spirit, which is far better!

Our Christian subculture for the past 2000 years has been looking for a list of do’s and don’ts.  For the Galatians, it was circumcision, and Paul said if they were going to cut off a little skin to make themselves holier, then they ought to go all the way to make it that much more effective of a conversion! (Galatians 5:12)

Today, we see the problem in all kinds of things.  The Pentecostals say you must speak in tongues; the Baptists say you can’t drink, cuss, or smoke; some Calvinists say that you have to believe all 5 points to be truly saved; for others it’s tattoos, or dressing up on Sundays, or which day you meet together to worship.  We could probably think of a lot more, too!
The bottom line when it comes to living by the Spirit is this:  We were created to be, not to do.  Out of the being comes the doing.
There are, in fact, rights and wrongs.  There are thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions that please God, and there are those that He abhors.  Our primary duty, as believers, though, is not to see to it that we simply adhere to a list of commands, but that we abide in Christ.  Out of this state of connection to Him will be produced the fruits, both those that are explicit in the Bible, and those that are implied.

God desires that we do everything to His glory. (1 Corinthians 10:31)  By abiding in Christ, we are enabled to please God in every action.  When we remain in Him, we see things from His perspective, we draw strength from His Spirit, and we produce His fruit.

In this way, the Christian life is simple (but of course, it’s not easy).  What I mean is that, while obedience is completely contrary to the desires of our flesh, we have only one thing, really, to do–Abide in Christ.  When we do this one thing, all other parts of the Christian experience become natural, viz. they just happen as the result of the fruit being produced in us.  I say that it’s simple, but not easy, because, unlike real branches, we’re always looking for opportunities to yank ourselves off of the vine and plant ourselves in our own piece of dirt.  Eventually, the Vinedresser picks us up and lovingly grafts us back into the vine–reconnects us to a relationship with Christ that was broken due to our own unfaithfulness.

If we can learn to Abide in Christ, the being, then all of the doing will take care of itself.
Some practical helps, in closing:

In order to learn to abide in Christ, or to remain in Him, we should

-Pray continually (Ephesians 6:18; Colossians 4:2)

-Read, memorize, and meditate on His word continually (Psalm 1; Joshua 1:8)
Soli Deo Gloria,
wes

Malachi Overview:

Background:
-Jews had returned from Babylonian captivity
-Temple had been rebuilt
-Territory 20 * 30mi; population 150,000
-Very little material prosperity
Religiously they were empty-hearted, apathetic, and legalistic.  The religious climate was much like our own.

Text is clear and straightforward.  Malachi did not use poetry, instead he used prose with very little symbolism.

Focus:
1.1-2.16 is focused on the Mosaic Law and covenant under that Law

2.17-4.3 is focused on the promise of Elijah before the coming of the great
day of the Lord

4.4-4.6 is a summary emphasizing the need to remember the Law and to     anticipate the day of the Lord

Themes:
1)  God’s love and justice
2)  Honoring God and reverencing His name
3)  Covenant fidelity and infidelity
4)  God’s glory among His people and the nations
5)  Christ’s coming

An issue:  Is it right to question God?
Yes and no.  Abraham questioned and even bargained with God for the sake of the life of his nephew, Lot, and was not rebuked.  Moses questioned God when God threatened, not promised, the utter destruction of Israel in the wilderness.  Moses was not rebuked and it was these questions that seemingly spared Israel.  However, here in Malachi the people are questioning God about numerous things and being so arrogant as to call God to give justification to His own actions.  God was not pleased with them for this arrogant attitude.  Nor is God pleased with us when we question His justice, sovereignty, and the goodness and perfection of His will.

Brief Commentary by sectional breakdown:

1.1-1.5
God’s love is elective.  The word loved could be read as the word chosen and the word hated may be read as rejected.  God’s does not always show His love through material prosperity or happy circumstances.  God’s love is often tough for the sake of purifying and strengthening His people and purging sin from their midst.  This section exposes the Jew’s misunderstanding of God’s covenant love and justice.  See Gen 25.19-27.46 and Rom 9 for better understanding of Jacob and Esau.  In brief, they were twin brothers, Esau being the eldest, yet before they were even born, God informed their mother that He had chosen the younger over the older.

1.6-1.14
Honor and fear.  God references Himself as a Father and instead of asking why they love Him not, He asks why they honor Him not.  This reminds us of the Law in Exo 20.12 where we are commanded to honor our father.

God charges they have despised and polluted His name in two ways:
1) The people do not offer God their best in worship, but rather they offer what     the world has rejected as being materially unprofitable.  And that is what we do     today as well.  We give our professors the best and majority of our time, yet     consign God to Sunday mornings when we are still tired from a late night of fun.

2)  The priests polluted the table of the Lord by permitting the faulty sacrifices     and they also complained about the Levitcal provision God had given to them.

2.1-2.9
The priests are highlighted here for dishonoring God by not taking His message to heart and by teaching the people to do the same.  They had failed to honor and fear His name, thus by word and deed they exemplified to the people a life of disdain towards God.

2.10-2.16
God calls out the faithlessness of the people towards God by their infidelity in all forms of covenant life.  God gives specific examples, yet the people attack God for not showing favor towards the gross heartlessness of their religious activity.

2.17
Again God’s goodness and justice is questioned because God is not prospering the people as they think He ought.  They claim that the evil prosper as if they are righteous martyrs.  This again shows their vast ignorance towards God’s elective love and His eternal justice.

3.1-3.5
The Lord will come not for the purpose of bestowing great material favor and prosperity, but rather to refine and purify His people and ridding them of their sin and sins.  In verse 5 we see a list of sins that have al been mentioned by previous Prophets.  We can note a relationship to the Sermon on the Mount where Christ exposes the sinfulness of sin in the fact that it is not merely outward and visible sin, but it is also the deeper sins of the mind and the sin that pollutes the heart which God was commanding against in the Law.  The heinous sins were not present in Malachi’s Israel because many religious reforms had cleaned the nation.  Now, God was calling out the hidden sins that religious people cover up and hide so well.  God hates religious lip service and praise that has not heart motivation.  He also comments on the lack of charity and mercy given to orphans, widows, and sojourners in the land.  God makes it clear throughout the entire Word that these people are elected to be the special recipients of merciful and charitable acts from His people.  This, like the picture we are given in marriage, is to show us a real picture of God’s electing kindness and mercy towards those who are unworthy and incapable of repaying Him.

3.6-3.15
Israel thinks they have returned to God in their empty religious motions, but God makes it clear they have not.  Their mistrust in God’s provision is also exposed in here because God actually challenges and commands them to test His faithfulness to provide.  And be clear on the fact that He promises to meet their needs when they tithe.  He does not promise to make them rich, to prosper them, nor does He promise to meet what they think are needful.  He will provide what He knows is good.  He withholds no good thing from the righteous who trust in Him (Psa 84.11).  And verse 15 again exposes their deep misunderstanding of God’s love and justice.

3.16-3.18
God hears what we say about Him to one another and His hot displeasure towards our dead-hearted religion is to fear and honor His great name.  Not only must we put away murder and adultery, we must also put away false religion and hypocrisy.  We must put away vain worship and take to heart the message of the Lord and trust Him for everything.

4.1-6
Malachi summarizes the prophecy and points us to the Lord.  We see the Old Testament close with words of hope in the coming day of the Lord.

More to come as I continue.

For His Glory!!

James B