Celebrities Vs. Refuse

My friend Erik Raymond (The Irish Calvinist) tweeted this:

"True gospel ministry does NOT produce celebrities 4 the world, rather men who are seen as useless & offensive, refuse"

1 Corinthians 4:13

"when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things."

photo credit: carissa gallo

A call for character

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper. Romans 1:30

There were times where I could remember honoring Presidents due to their character. Abraham Lincoln was a known for a man of integrity. George Washington was praised for his courage and hard work. But…. In the 90’s, we as a nation for the first ever, gave a rise in popular vote to president Bill Clinton for admitting to have an affair with another woman.

He was just ummmm….errr “keeping it real” so they say.

In society we put people who are unrighteous, arrogant, slanderers, adulterous, and greedy on the covers of magazine as if these characters were virtues.





Well, unrighteousness is great at making money.

Sex sells! Gossip sells! And so does Vanity!

C’mon. How much money could these magazines make if you they started advertising the fruit of the spirit? (Galatians 5: 22-23)
People would exercise self-control. Stop buying things and in fact, start putting their money towards ministry.

Dona Karan would be so mad!

It does not take much to convince even an unregenerate that we are living in a time and society in which the …end is near. And as a result God calls us to be lights in these dark times. He calls us to excellent moral character.

The Bible is very clear on what Godly character looks like. We are to be loving, long-suffering, merciful, pure, meek, humble, and peaceful.

These may not necessarily the easiest or the best at making money but…

…..they are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Psalm 19:10

Things to have...

1 Peter 3:8-12

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days,let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

3 questions.

1 Corinthians 4:7
"For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?"

(Thank you Phil Johnson for a great sermon, expositing this verse)

Paul asks the Corinthian church 3 questions.

1. Who is the one who makes you unique and different than others? (answer: God)

2. Is there anything that you have that was not given to you by God? (answer: No)

3. Why do you act as if you have attained anything on your own? (answer: pride)

There is both great theology and great application in this verse.

Theology:

God is sovereign. He is the giver of everything we have (salvation, the faith/repentence/belief, the obedience, the wisdom, the understanding of scripture).

Application

Your life should reflect an attitude of gratitude and humility. Even the fact that you can understand any scripture or doctrine is a gift of God... so why be arrogant or proud as if you earned the WWE title by athletic ability, when you know that the whole thing is scripted and planned out ahead of time?

Thats why it's so ridiculous that the most arrogant are the ones who believe in God's sovereignty. It doesn't make sense. Shouldn't we be the most humble? God sovereignly gave us the ability to understand that doctrine.

Truth AND LOVE in Action.

blinded.

Psalm 139:23-24

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting."

"The heart of man is full of sin and corruption, and that corruption is of an exceedingly darkening, blinding nature. Sin always carries a degree of darkness with it. And the more it prevails, the more it darkens and deludes the mind."

-Jonathan Edwards

Usually the first thing I pray in the morning, as soon as I wake up, is a prayer of praise and magnification to God. I think my second prayer immediately following that prayer will now be for God to reveal sin in my life that I am blinded to.

anti-growth.

It's ironic to think that some of the greatest spiritual growth is anti-growth.

"The right manner of growth is to grow less in one's own eyes."

—Thomas Watson

John 3:30

"He must increase, but I must decrease."

We fall down... Chris Tomlin

We fall down
We lay our crowns
At the feet of Jesus

The greatness of mercy and love
At the feet of Jesus

And we cry, "Holy, Holy, Holy"
And we cry, "Holy, Holy, Holy"
And we cry, "Holy, Holy, Holy"
Is the Lamb

The humbleness of this song is amazing. The image of falling down at the feet of Jesus and laying our crowns at the feet of Jesus is one that should break our hearts. To be able to act out humility and cast the crowns that we don't deserve at the feet of the one who is all deserving is what we should live for, to give everything back to Jesus.

The way this song ends is awesome as well, it ends by praising God, and crying out "Holy, Holy, Holy" to the pure lamb of God, Jesus Christ. How amazing will it be when the day comes that we will have the opportunity to cast our crowns, fall at the feet of Jesus, and praise the Lamb for eternity!

This Kind of Humilty

Philippians 2:1-8

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Everything

Mark 12:41-44

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

We should give like the widow. We should give God all of our lives, not just a portion of the huge pie. We must give him all that we have. When we remember that God chose us before we were born and remember what Christ did for us, how can we not give Christ everything? Lets not give our lives to things that fade away, lets give our lives to the kingdom of God which will last for all of eternity.

The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:2-12

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

We should all memorize this.

prayer focus.

Matthew 6:9-10

"Pray then like this:Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as it is in heaven."

this is a quote from my text book from EBC for missions class:

"could it be that some of [our] prayers express a bid for control, but lack a fundamental focus on the centrality and supremacy of God?"

Often times I find my prayers leaning to the side of "bidding for control" and away from an expression of my focus on almighty God.

Im also thankful for B.J.'s post about humility in prayer. It is something that God is changing in me.

Seek Righteousness and Humility

Zephaniah 2:3

Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,
who do his just commands;
seek righteousness; seek humility;
perhaps you may be hidden
on the day of the anger of the LORD.

humility

"Humility is to make a right estimate of one's self."
-Charles Spurgeon

i pray that this idea of viewing ourselves in a humble way would penitrate our daily desires. that we would seek God's will instead of our own. that we would be given the ability by God to show other people their sin in a way that is not only real but in a way that enables them to make a right estimate of their need for a savior.

humble orthodoxy

joshua harris preached this sermon on humble orthodoxy that is awesome.
i really believe it captures the heart of what talia is about.

you can download it here: