There a paradox. The heart is more deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick; yet it is there that Christ is to dwell by faith. It is out of the heart that man is defiled; yet it is with the heart that man believes. Believers’ hearts can be filled by Satan to lie to the Holy Spirit; yet the word of faith can be found in the heart.
The heart is a garden; it will be what we make of it. If we neglect it, our heart will be filled with weeds that will choke out the word. If we tend it, our heart will produce a harvest far in excess of what was given to it.
The promise of the New Covenant is that He will give us a new heart and a new spirit; He will take out the heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh. He does not make our heart perfect; He makes it soft. We can hear His voice speaking to our heart. The word can grow in this heart of flesh.
But we can harden our hearts; we can refuse to listen. We can be hardened by sin. We are the gardeners of our heart.
It is the word that is sown in the heart; we have been born again by this word. But the word implanted in the ground must be received as it sends out roots. The doer of the word receives the word. The word can become rooted in him.
The garden must be watered; even a few days of neglect can kill much of what is growing. We must keep coming to Him and drinking; the heart needs the Holy Spirit.
The garden must be weeded. Weeds choke out the word; the sins and love of this world must be pulled out. Our heart can be cleansed. As we actively confess our sins, He forgives and cleanses us. The sins of our heart keep us from growing.
“…this mystery … which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ. And for this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” Colossians 1:27-29
The heart, which will grow only weeds if neglected, can grow Christ when kept. What we do makes a difference in our heart; our heart can be healed.
Gardening is hard work; it takes time every day. Much of it has to be done on our knees.
_Greg Whitten
August 25, 2009
August 12, 2009
SHEPHERDING
The Lord is my Shepherd; He is the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.
He is shepherd to us when He is first Lord to us. He is not shepherd to us if we are unwilling to listen to Him.
He gives His work of shepherding to His under-shepherds; He allots sheep to under-shepherds. It is His work; under-shepherds will give account for the sheep.
Sheep who are shepherded do not lack what they need; under-shepherds are tasked with the work of the Shepherd. All that the Lord would do, they are to do.
Sheep are to be made to lie down in green pastures; shepherding is teaching disciples to meditate in the Word. This can be taught.
Sheep are to be led gently to waters of rest; shepherding is guiding disciples to come to Jesus and drink. Disciples need rest; they need renewal. They need the work of the Spirit.
The souls of sheep are to be brought back from their wandering; shepherding is bringing disciples back from the love of the world. Sheep are near-sighted; they get lost easily. Disciples must be turned back from following their souls.
Sheep are to be guided in the well-worn paths of righteousness; shepherding is leading disciples in the Way. What His sheep do in their life matters to Him, His name is on them. If His sheep wander off, it is the Shepherd’s responsibility. If His sheep are eating a farmer’s grain, it is the Shepherd’s responsibility. There is a Way; shepherds should recognize when their sheep are not on it.
Sheep are not to be afraid of the dark; shepherding is being there with disciples in the darkness. It is the shepherd who carries a club; he can fight what threatens them. It is the shepherd who has a staff; he can take hold of his sheep. The under-shepherd must be there; through him Jesus shepherds.
Shepherding is oversight, not rule. The shepherd watches; he knows what is going on. He leads; he doesn’t drive. The sheep are not there to serve him; he is to serve them. He has a passion for them; he wants them to thrive.
What the under-shepherd does is significant to Jesus.
“And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” 1 Peter 5:4
-Greg Whitten
He is shepherd to us when He is first Lord to us. He is not shepherd to us if we are unwilling to listen to Him.
He gives His work of shepherding to His under-shepherds; He allots sheep to under-shepherds. It is His work; under-shepherds will give account for the sheep.
Sheep who are shepherded do not lack what they need; under-shepherds are tasked with the work of the Shepherd. All that the Lord would do, they are to do.
Sheep are to be made to lie down in green pastures; shepherding is teaching disciples to meditate in the Word. This can be taught.
Sheep are to be led gently to waters of rest; shepherding is guiding disciples to come to Jesus and drink. Disciples need rest; they need renewal. They need the work of the Spirit.
The souls of sheep are to be brought back from their wandering; shepherding is bringing disciples back from the love of the world. Sheep are near-sighted; they get lost easily. Disciples must be turned back from following their souls.
Sheep are to be guided in the well-worn paths of righteousness; shepherding is leading disciples in the Way. What His sheep do in their life matters to Him, His name is on them. If His sheep wander off, it is the Shepherd’s responsibility. If His sheep are eating a farmer’s grain, it is the Shepherd’s responsibility. There is a Way; shepherds should recognize when their sheep are not on it.
Sheep are not to be afraid of the dark; shepherding is being there with disciples in the darkness. It is the shepherd who carries a club; he can fight what threatens them. It is the shepherd who has a staff; he can take hold of his sheep. The under-shepherd must be there; through him Jesus shepherds.
Shepherding is oversight, not rule. The shepherd watches; he knows what is going on. He leads; he doesn’t drive. The sheep are not there to serve him; he is to serve them. He has a passion for them; he wants them to thrive.
What the under-shepherd does is significant to Jesus.
“And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” 1 Peter 5:4
-Greg Whitten
July 23, 2009
GIFTS
Spiritual gifts work through a person’s spirit. Our spirit within impels us, like a wind driving ships across the sea. A particular gift implants a drive within; but in order for that gift to be expressed, we must choose to act on what our spirit within impels.
If one is given a gift of teaching, he must work at teaching. The gift does not give him teaching, only the drive to teach. It takes ten years to become an expert at anything. If one is given a gift of service, he must work at what is necessary to serve. A medical degree takes years to earn. Gifts are not shortcuts; they are the drive to do what we are meant to do.
Spiritual gifts are given by God; but they can lie dormant within us because we have not acted upon them. Paul urged Timothy to stir up the spiritual gift within him. What is in our spirit may require years of work to express.
Tiger Woods is gifted; not because golf was easy for him, but because he was driven to practice more than anyone else. He is arguably the best player in the world because he has worked harder at it than anyone else.
Spiritual gifts require spiritual freedom. We cannot serve others effectively if we are slaves ourselves. We must be free to work out what He is working in us. We cannot prophesy if we do not listen to His voice. We cannot teach if we have not learned to follow. We cannot exhort if we have given in to sin.
Only disciples can find freedom.
“…If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32
Only disciples can realize the spiritual gift God gave them.
The fulness of what God intended is realized when a disciple fully acts upon what his spirit within impels him to do. It is then that the spiritual gift becomes a gift to the body of Christ.
“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ…” Ephesians 4:11-12
-Greg Whitten
If one is given a gift of teaching, he must work at teaching. The gift does not give him teaching, only the drive to teach. It takes ten years to become an expert at anything. If one is given a gift of service, he must work at what is necessary to serve. A medical degree takes years to earn. Gifts are not shortcuts; they are the drive to do what we are meant to do.
Spiritual gifts are given by God; but they can lie dormant within us because we have not acted upon them. Paul urged Timothy to stir up the spiritual gift within him. What is in our spirit may require years of work to express.
Tiger Woods is gifted; not because golf was easy for him, but because he was driven to practice more than anyone else. He is arguably the best player in the world because he has worked harder at it than anyone else.
Spiritual gifts require spiritual freedom. We cannot serve others effectively if we are slaves ourselves. We must be free to work out what He is working in us. We cannot prophesy if we do not listen to His voice. We cannot teach if we have not learned to follow. We cannot exhort if we have given in to sin.
Only disciples can find freedom.
“…If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32
Only disciples can realize the spiritual gift God gave them.
The fulness of what God intended is realized when a disciple fully acts upon what his spirit within impels him to do. It is then that the spiritual gift becomes a gift to the body of Christ.
“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ…” Ephesians 4:11-12
-Greg Whitten
July 15, 2009
CHURCH
Christianity has been largely defined by church for most of these two thousand years; Christianity has been understood primarily to be what happens inside a religious service. Our language has no other meaning for “church”.
Our English word “church” does not come from the Greek word it translates, but from a Greek phrase, “kyriakon doma”, meaning “the Lord’s house”. The essential thought in the English word “church” is that it is the Lord’s house.
But there is a true Tabernacle in heaven, which the Lord pitched, not man. This is the Lord’s house; this is the place of His throne, and the soles of His feet. For us to call something on earth the Lord’s house is like Aaron fashioning a golden calf, and saying this is the god who brought you out of Egypt.
His house is in heaven; it is there that we must direct our hearts. We must ascend the hill of the Lord; we must draw near to the throne of grace. Like priests we must enter alone into the holy place, to offer up what is acceptable to Him.
The word used in the Greek New Testament is “ekklesia”, meaning “assembly”. This is the word Jesus used; this is the word the apostles used. In Acts 19 this word is also used three times to refer to Greek citizens of Ephesus gathered together because of rumors about the apostle Paul. This is the primary meaning of this word. When the New Testament uses this word, it is using a non-religious word; ekklesia is an assembly of citizens. It does not imply house; it does not imply a religious service.
By turning ekklesia, assembly, into the Lord’s house, we have placed a graven image between believers and the throne of grace. The graven image can keep believers from a secret life. If “church” is the means to the throne of grace, then believers will not learn to seek Him in the wilderness. We will not learn to seek Him alone in the dawn.
Disciples should walk a narrow path. Disciples give in secret, pray in secret, fast in secret; what the Father rewards was not done to be seen. The riches of discipleship cannot be found by those who do not know how to walk with Him alone.
For us to gather as ekklesia on earth, we must first find grace in heaven. We bear fruit out of an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ; this fruit feeds others. Without this abiding relationship, we will have nothing significant to give others.
Ekklesia is a gathering of the citizens of the kingdom of God, who have walked in the City of God.
-Greg Whitten
Our English word “church” does not come from the Greek word it translates, but from a Greek phrase, “kyriakon doma”, meaning “the Lord’s house”. The essential thought in the English word “church” is that it is the Lord’s house.
But there is a true Tabernacle in heaven, which the Lord pitched, not man. This is the Lord’s house; this is the place of His throne, and the soles of His feet. For us to call something on earth the Lord’s house is like Aaron fashioning a golden calf, and saying this is the god who brought you out of Egypt.
His house is in heaven; it is there that we must direct our hearts. We must ascend the hill of the Lord; we must draw near to the throne of grace. Like priests we must enter alone into the holy place, to offer up what is acceptable to Him.
The word used in the Greek New Testament is “ekklesia”, meaning “assembly”. This is the word Jesus used; this is the word the apostles used. In Acts 19 this word is also used three times to refer to Greek citizens of Ephesus gathered together because of rumors about the apostle Paul. This is the primary meaning of this word. When the New Testament uses this word, it is using a non-religious word; ekklesia is an assembly of citizens. It does not imply house; it does not imply a religious service.
By turning ekklesia, assembly, into the Lord’s house, we have placed a graven image between believers and the throne of grace. The graven image can keep believers from a secret life. If “church” is the means to the throne of grace, then believers will not learn to seek Him in the wilderness. We will not learn to seek Him alone in the dawn.
Disciples should walk a narrow path. Disciples give in secret, pray in secret, fast in secret; what the Father rewards was not done to be seen. The riches of discipleship cannot be found by those who do not know how to walk with Him alone.
For us to gather as ekklesia on earth, we must first find grace in heaven. We bear fruit out of an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ; this fruit feeds others. Without this abiding relationship, we will have nothing significant to give others.
Ekklesia is a gathering of the citizens of the kingdom of God, who have walked in the City of God.
-Greg Whitten
July 06, 2009
PRAGMATISM
A disciple needs the power of the kingdom of God if he wants Jesus to rule in his life. The kingdom of God is near; we can find the power of the kingdom. If we have not found it, we need change. This is what Jesus preached; it is what John the Baptist had preached.
“From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Matthew 4:17
The imperative is to change the mind, metanoeo. But everyone thinks they are doing what they have to do; the mind maintains that illusion.
“There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12
The kingdom of God is near, we can take a very different path. We are not forced to live like victims of the twenty-first century. There is power to change the plagues of our heart.
This is basic to discipleship; discipleship is meaningless if there is no power. But if the kingdom of God is near, it is not here. The power of the kingdom cannot be found in our culture.
Pragmatism focuses on what is necessary. If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. Do whatever is necessary to find the kingdom of God. Like Pilgrim in Pilgrim’s Progress, we are on a journey looking for the City of God.
If whatever we thought would work doesn’t lead to life, keep searching. We cannot trust our mind to direct us; it can be deceived. There is no reason to listen to every myth in Christianity; if the myth didn’t work in others, it won’t work in you. There is no time to play other people’s games.
In this chaos there is a voice that is not part of the delusion.
“And your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:21
He wants to lead you in the way of a disciple; He wants to bring you into His kingdom. He knows what works; He is pragmatic.
Listen; it works.
-Greg Whitten
“From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Matthew 4:17
The imperative is to change the mind, metanoeo. But everyone thinks they are doing what they have to do; the mind maintains that illusion.
“There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12
The kingdom of God is near, we can take a very different path. We are not forced to live like victims of the twenty-first century. There is power to change the plagues of our heart.
This is basic to discipleship; discipleship is meaningless if there is no power. But if the kingdom of God is near, it is not here. The power of the kingdom cannot be found in our culture.
Pragmatism focuses on what is necessary. If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. Do whatever is necessary to find the kingdom of God. Like Pilgrim in Pilgrim’s Progress, we are on a journey looking for the City of God.
If whatever we thought would work doesn’t lead to life, keep searching. We cannot trust our mind to direct us; it can be deceived. There is no reason to listen to every myth in Christianity; if the myth didn’t work in others, it won’t work in you. There is no time to play other people’s games.
In this chaos there is a voice that is not part of the delusion.
“And your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:21
He wants to lead you in the way of a disciple; He wants to bring you into His kingdom. He knows what works; He is pragmatic.
Listen; it works.
-Greg Whitten
July 01, 2009
A TABLE FOR DISCIPLES
We have ignored the obvious for two thousand years; what we call “church” is the consequence.
Jesus made disciples face to face; He made disciples of those who ate with Him every night. It is at the table that disciples should gather now, in the same way that His disciples gathered two thousand years ago. Discipleship is based on friendship, not form.
The disciples of Jesus were actually following Jesus. Everyone gathered at His table had paid the price of discipleship. Discipleship is a simple choice; following requires leaving. There was no one at His table who had not left his life behind.
We have tried to build a church out of those who are not disciples; we have tried to use form to compensate for the lack of discipleship. What we call “church” abandoned discipleship a long time ago.
At times we have tried to fix the form of “church”. But we continue to return to the old pattern, honoring Him with our lips, while our heart is far from Him.
Two things are necessary to escape this strange attractor of deterministic chaos. We must gather as friends; we must only allow disciples at this table. What Jesus did, we must do.
Discipleship is about reality. Form cannot have a part in this; we can not allow anyone to play the part of a disciple. We must sit down at a real table in a real house, with real food and real noise. We must see each others eyes; we must speak real truth about real life.
We do not meet God here; disciples meet Him in secret. Those who gather must be those who have a secret life. They give alms in secret; they pray in secret; they fast in secret.
When we gather, we meet each other. We are to encourage one another; we are to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. We gather as friends who care about one another, not actors in a performance. We know that each is carrying a cross. No one is talking the talk, without walking the walk.
Twenty-first century Christianity has “church”; discipleship has a table.
-Greg Whitten
Jesus made disciples face to face; He made disciples of those who ate with Him every night. It is at the table that disciples should gather now, in the same way that His disciples gathered two thousand years ago. Discipleship is based on friendship, not form.
The disciples of Jesus were actually following Jesus. Everyone gathered at His table had paid the price of discipleship. Discipleship is a simple choice; following requires leaving. There was no one at His table who had not left his life behind.
We have tried to build a church out of those who are not disciples; we have tried to use form to compensate for the lack of discipleship. What we call “church” abandoned discipleship a long time ago.
At times we have tried to fix the form of “church”. But we continue to return to the old pattern, honoring Him with our lips, while our heart is far from Him.
Two things are necessary to escape this strange attractor of deterministic chaos. We must gather as friends; we must only allow disciples at this table. What Jesus did, we must do.
Discipleship is about reality. Form cannot have a part in this; we can not allow anyone to play the part of a disciple. We must sit down at a real table in a real house, with real food and real noise. We must see each others eyes; we must speak real truth about real life.
We do not meet God here; disciples meet Him in secret. Those who gather must be those who have a secret life. They give alms in secret; they pray in secret; they fast in secret.
When we gather, we meet each other. We are to encourage one another; we are to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. We gather as friends who care about one another, not actors in a performance. We know that each is carrying a cross. No one is talking the talk, without walking the walk.
Twenty-first century Christianity has “church”; discipleship has a table.
-Greg Whitten
A CURRICULUM FOR DISCIPLES
The original twelve apostles were discipled by Jesus in the course of the three years that He preached. What is written in the Gospels can be seen as a curriculum for disciples; this is what Jesus used to make disciples of those who were following Him.
This curriculum, however, looks nothing like any curriculum at any school we know. There was no academic program; there was no classroom.
This curriculum appears to lack any training in spiritual disciplines. At one point they even asked Jesus to teach them to pray, and only got a short prayer as an answer. These disciples of Jesus were questioned by the disciples of John the Baptist about their lack of fasting. In the Garden of Gethsemane, they were obviously unable to pray even for a short time.
His curriculum does not fit any expectation of what we think discipleship should be.
Yet what Jesus did was discipleship; what He did gives us the priorities of discipleship. What He did, we must do to make disciples.
In three years they had come to know Jesus. They knew who He was as a person, even if they knew little of the theology of incarnation and atonement. These men, upon whom the church would be built, knew how Jesus felt about people.
What they saw was that Jesus always put value on the individual; people were never just part of a herd. He always received anyone who came to Him; more than anything else He called individuals to come to Him. Jesus always sought to build faith; even in the midst of a crowd He verbally engaged individuals to trust Him. He was good; He did good. He taught a significant righteousness, one that was truly good. They did not learn a creed; they watched a person.
This is what discipleship must be. A disciple must first see that Jesus is good; the rest of discipleship follows. Without faith in the person of Jesus, all we have is a religious studies class. Spiritual disciplines can follow; obedience can follow. But Jesus must be first.
To make a disciple we must do what Jesus did. We must be imitators of Christ so that they can see Christ in us. We must teach them the words of Christ so they can hear what He said. We must help them to experience that He is good and does good.
The curriculum for disciples must start with the whole person of Jesus; dissection can wait.
-Greg Whitten
This curriculum, however, looks nothing like any curriculum at any school we know. There was no academic program; there was no classroom.
This curriculum appears to lack any training in spiritual disciplines. At one point they even asked Jesus to teach them to pray, and only got a short prayer as an answer. These disciples of Jesus were questioned by the disciples of John the Baptist about their lack of fasting. In the Garden of Gethsemane, they were obviously unable to pray even for a short time.
His curriculum does not fit any expectation of what we think discipleship should be.
Yet what Jesus did was discipleship; what He did gives us the priorities of discipleship. What He did, we must do to make disciples.
In three years they had come to know Jesus. They knew who He was as a person, even if they knew little of the theology of incarnation and atonement. These men, upon whom the church would be built, knew how Jesus felt about people.
What they saw was that Jesus always put value on the individual; people were never just part of a herd. He always received anyone who came to Him; more than anything else He called individuals to come to Him. Jesus always sought to build faith; even in the midst of a crowd He verbally engaged individuals to trust Him. He was good; He did good. He taught a significant righteousness, one that was truly good. They did not learn a creed; they watched a person.
This is what discipleship must be. A disciple must first see that Jesus is good; the rest of discipleship follows. Without faith in the person of Jesus, all we have is a religious studies class. Spiritual disciplines can follow; obedience can follow. But Jesus must be first.
To make a disciple we must do what Jesus did. We must be imitators of Christ so that they can see Christ in us. We must teach them the words of Christ so they can hear what He said. We must help them to experience that He is good and does good.
The curriculum for disciples must start with the whole person of Jesus; dissection can wait.
-Greg Whitten
A TEACHER FOR DISCIPLES
A disciple needs a teacher, but the teacher must teach process more than facts. If we are to keep all that He commanded, we must learn more than facts.
There is a place where He teaches us process.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
We learn from Him when we are shoulder to shoulder with Him, like two oxen yoked together to pull a plow. But it is His yoke alone that we must take. All that we think we have to do has to be set aside to learn from Him.
This is a place for two and two only. It is a time to walk quietly, to ask simply, and hear quickly. We come to Him, asking Him what He wants to do. Walking with Him, we can learn to work, at His pace, in His way. He is plowing a field; He wants us to join Him in it. It is simple work that requires steadfastness more that zeal; He will keep plowing in the same field until it is done.
Just as the oxen pull the plow in the hand of the farmer, we will be directed by the hand of God as we are yoked with Jesus. He is teaching us to be directed by God; He is teaching us to keep all that He commanded. He is teaching us process through shared work, not through the classroom.
We thought what we were struggling to do was necessary; we were exhausted trying to carry the burdens of life. We were doing the “right” thing; we thought we understood.
But He has a different way of teaching. What is hidden from the wise and intelligent He reveals to those who are simply yoked together with Him, learning to just work with Him in what He wants to do. The one in the yoke gets to hear Jesus explain what the theologian cannot figure out.
This is not an abstraction; this is a straightforward way to come to Jesus. Walk down a long path with Him, away from everything else. Ask Him what He wants to do working with you. Listen; ask simple real questions. This is the place to learn. He explained the whole Old Testament in a few miles on the road to Emmaus.
Then do what He says.
-Greg Whitten
There is a place where He teaches us process.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
We learn from Him when we are shoulder to shoulder with Him, like two oxen yoked together to pull a plow. But it is His yoke alone that we must take. All that we think we have to do has to be set aside to learn from Him.
This is a place for two and two only. It is a time to walk quietly, to ask simply, and hear quickly. We come to Him, asking Him what He wants to do. Walking with Him, we can learn to work, at His pace, in His way. He is plowing a field; He wants us to join Him in it. It is simple work that requires steadfastness more that zeal; He will keep plowing in the same field until it is done.
Just as the oxen pull the plow in the hand of the farmer, we will be directed by the hand of God as we are yoked with Jesus. He is teaching us to be directed by God; He is teaching us to keep all that He commanded. He is teaching us process through shared work, not through the classroom.
We thought what we were struggling to do was necessary; we were exhausted trying to carry the burdens of life. We were doing the “right” thing; we thought we understood.
But He has a different way of teaching. What is hidden from the wise and intelligent He reveals to those who are simply yoked together with Him, learning to just work with Him in what He wants to do. The one in the yoke gets to hear Jesus explain what the theologian cannot figure out.
This is not an abstraction; this is a straightforward way to come to Jesus. Walk down a long path with Him, away from everything else. Ask Him what He wants to do working with you. Listen; ask simple real questions. This is the place to learn. He explained the whole Old Testament in a few miles on the road to Emmaus.
Then do what He says.
-Greg Whitten
A TASK FOR DISCIPLES
A disciple is a fellow-worker with Christ; he is a significant part of the work of God.
The imagery of plowing in Matthew 11 ties in with the parables of Matthew 13; the seed that fell on good soil fell on plowed ground. The field is the heart of man; the heart of man needs to be cultivated.
The cycle of harvest is rain, plowing, sowing, growth, and harvest. The ground cannot be plowed where the rain has not fallen. Christ will only be plowing where the rain has fallen on the ground. We cannot break up what is dry.
But where the rain has fallen, the heart can be cultivated. This is the work that we share with Jesus Christ; He wants to sow the gospel in their hearts, but the heart must be broken up by the plow first.
The good works that come from Jesus working in us are the tools that Jesus uses to turn over the hearts of men. We are the light of the world. But the world that does not believe in Christ is convinced that we are deceived; it is convinced that we have nothing but an empty faith. Their heart has become hard; the gospel will not be able even to begin to grow in it.
These hardened hearts need what will turn their thoughts over; their assumptions need to be broken up by what they see. What we do as we are yoked with Jesus will break up the fallow ground of their hearts.
But what is important is the way in which the light shines; we are to let it shine in such a way that men give glory to the Father. They need to see the good works as the work of sons, not members of an organization. What an organization does, no matter how good it is, is not seen as personal. But what a person does from the heart is personal. Good works are meant to break up hard hearts; good works need to seen as coming from love. Those we help need to see that we value them.
If good works are to prepare a heart for the gospel, they must do more than scratch the surface. The work must dig down into the heart; good works must be significant. What is superficial is of little use, even if many are touched by it. What we do must have a profound effect; even if only one person is touched by it. If we have done significant good for one, we have entered into the work of Jesus.
“Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.” Jeremiah 4:3
-Greg Whitten
The imagery of plowing in Matthew 11 ties in with the parables of Matthew 13; the seed that fell on good soil fell on plowed ground. The field is the heart of man; the heart of man needs to be cultivated.
The cycle of harvest is rain, plowing, sowing, growth, and harvest. The ground cannot be plowed where the rain has not fallen. Christ will only be plowing where the rain has fallen on the ground. We cannot break up what is dry.
But where the rain has fallen, the heart can be cultivated. This is the work that we share with Jesus Christ; He wants to sow the gospel in their hearts, but the heart must be broken up by the plow first.
The good works that come from Jesus working in us are the tools that Jesus uses to turn over the hearts of men. We are the light of the world. But the world that does not believe in Christ is convinced that we are deceived; it is convinced that we have nothing but an empty faith. Their heart has become hard; the gospel will not be able even to begin to grow in it.
These hardened hearts need what will turn their thoughts over; their assumptions need to be broken up by what they see. What we do as we are yoked with Jesus will break up the fallow ground of their hearts.
But what is important is the way in which the light shines; we are to let it shine in such a way that men give glory to the Father. They need to see the good works as the work of sons, not members of an organization. What an organization does, no matter how good it is, is not seen as personal. But what a person does from the heart is personal. Good works are meant to break up hard hearts; good works need to seen as coming from love. Those we help need to see that we value them.
If good works are to prepare a heart for the gospel, they must do more than scratch the surface. The work must dig down into the heart; good works must be significant. What is superficial is of little use, even if many are touched by it. What we do must have a profound effect; even if only one person is touched by it. If we have done significant good for one, we have entered into the work of Jesus.
“Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.” Jeremiah 4:3
-Greg Whitten
May 18, 2009
Discipleship
A disciple is a copy.
Discipleship requires a decision.
Discipleship requires training.
A disciple is a copy of another person. The copy is to be made of one who is himself fully a disciple, keeping all that Jesus commanded. Good fruit alone gives evidence of discipleship; the lawless can have sheepskins and gifts. Disciples are the good trees; good trees come from the word. The word is the genetics of discipleship.
Those who disciple must make the choice clear: the gate is small, and the way is narrow. The soul must be lost in order to follow Jesus Christ. The beginning in baptism pictures death, burial, and resurrection, not joining a club. A living community of disciples can be built with disciples; but those who will not listen to Him cannot contribute to the life of this community.
Those who disciple must teach process not just facts. A disciple must learn how to keep all that Jesus commanded. He must be taught how to do what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. The foundation of discipleship is in what is done in secret; the word of the kingdom stands or falls by what is in secret. Those who have learned to keep all that Jesus commanded will then themselves make disciples, for that is part of what He commanded.
To be discipled we must listen, to God and to others. We need to build a connection between what is said to us and what we do. What may be a still, small voice in our thoughts or in our interactions with others may be the most significant next step that we need to take. We need to trust Him that He is working to disciple us; it should not take years to do what we are being told to do.
To be discipled we must make a place in our life at the cost of everything else. We must clear some ground in the midst of this world. This is the great struggle, keeping the darkness from swallowing up our one place of light.
To be discipled we must be a good place for the word to take root in. There is life in the word; disciples are gardeners of the word, each one in his heart. Christ must be formed in each disciple; there is no equivalent mechanism that will work.
-Greg Whitten-
March 24, 2009
Held Captive By The Devil
What would it be like to be held captive by the devil to do his will?
We might think of the demon possessed in Scripture who wandered among the tombs. Or, some sinister being lurking around in the darkness.
Sadly, this person is just as likely to be found in the church. Paul describes him to Timothy. He is a quarrelsome person. He (or she) stands in the way of ministry, through gossip, wronging others without merit. They are trapped in a snare of the devil, having been held captive by him, to do his will.
We never think of those in the church as doing the will of the devil. Yet, some do. They stand in opposition, not by dialoging with those with whom they disagree but rather by means of gossip. The opposed is not given an ability to defend himself, for gossip is done in secret and stimulates the sinful nature of man.
And the Lord's bond-servant must not strive but be kind (gentle) to all (Rom. 2:4), able to teach, patient when wronged (enduring evil), with gentleness correcting (to train or chastise, as a child) those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance (to rethink-this is granted by God) leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26
February 13, 2009
James, A Letter To The Twelve Tribes.
James writes to the "twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad" at a time when twelve tribes did not exist. The northern tribes had been carried away in 721 BC and lost as a distinct people. Some individuals may have existed at the time of James that claimed descent from some of the lost tribes, but the tribes had disappeared over 700 years before. The northern tribes were taken primarily to the area of what is now
some form of an idiom, he would need to distinguish Jews that believed in Jesus. It does not fit to assume that James was directing the letter only at Jews.
What is fitting with Scripture is that the twelve tribes of the old covenant were a picture of the people of God of the new covenant. James is using the expression to identify believers under the new covenant, since these believers are now the people of God. Paul says in Galatians that we are the Israel of God. It is the same idea as the expression "the twelve tribes". Paul and James were talking about the same thing.
The reason this identification is important is because it is central to understanding the Old Testament. In I Peter 1:10, the point is made that the prophets were prophesying of the grace that would come to us. Jesus on the road to Emmaeus explains the old testament Scriptures to two disciples. There is a key to understanding the Old Testament, and it is not in approaching Scripture as history or literature. The Holy Spirit is speaking of the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
Now go read the prophecies. You can see that they are all set in a historical context. When Isaiah makes a statement about a virgin conceiving, he was making a direct statement to a king that made sense in its context and came true in its context. There was an immediate meaning for the message. But we now know that there was a far more powerful meaning, that spoke of the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. So the need is to understand the message of the Holy Spirit
that is in the prophecies of the Old Testament.
What is the key is that we are the Israel of God. The message of the Old Testament is to us. It looks like Paul, James, and Peter all understood that, and could look at the prophecies in that way. (Written by Greg Whitten)
February 11, 2009
James, a Bond-Servant
James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings. James 1:1 (NASB)
James refers to himself as a bond-servant of God. To understand what a bond-servant is, we read Ex.21:1-6. Here, a bond-servant was one who, by his own choice, remained with his master. No matter what the reason for his servitude, during the year of jubilee, he was to be freed. Perhaps he learned a dependence on the master. Perhaps he was cared for and sincerely loved by the master. When you truly serve someone, a genuine love is formed between the two of you.
At the time, of the year of jubilee, the servant was a free man but if he loved his master and wanted to remain with him, if that was the case, he was brought to God (dedication) and taken to a door or post where his ear was pierced with an awl (this was no small hole). Most likely, an earring was inserted to keep the ear open and served as a visible sign to others that he served, not out of bondage, but rather through love and a relationship, the one who previously owned him.
James expresses his love for God in this way. Although he deserves to be a slave, he chooses rather to be a bond-servant.
How can people from afar see that you are a bond-servant of God? Have you been taken to the post and pierced with an awl? Do you wear the earring of a bond-servant, showing that you love the Master?
James refers to himself as a bond-servant of God. To understand what a bond-servant is, we read Ex.21:1-6. Here, a bond-servant was one who, by his own choice, remained with his master. No matter what the reason for his servitude, during the year of jubilee, he was to be freed. Perhaps he learned a dependence on the master. Perhaps he was cared for and sincerely loved by the master. When you truly serve someone, a genuine love is formed between the two of you.
At the time, of the year of jubilee, the servant was a free man but if he loved his master and wanted to remain with him, if that was the case, he was brought to God (dedication) and taken to a door or post where his ear was pierced with an awl (this was no small hole). Most likely, an earring was inserted to keep the ear open and served as a visible sign to others that he served, not out of bondage, but rather through love and a relationship, the one who previously owned him.
James expresses his love for God in this way. Although he deserves to be a slave, he chooses rather to be a bond-servant.
How can people from afar see that you are a bond-servant of God? Have you been taken to the post and pierced with an awl? Do you wear the earring of a bond-servant, showing that you love the Master?
January 19, 2009
January 12, 2009
Confession
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. James 5:16
The purpose of confession is to keep oneself aware of their true nature and in a state of humility as “God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble”.
Confession brings intimacy and fellowship.
People, who put themselves in a position higher than others, rarely confess to “one another” out of fear. However, “the fear of man brings a snare”.
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