Set Free, but on the Journey of Sanctification

John 8:36 "So if the son has set you free, you will be free indeed."  ...                                 Yes we are set free at the NEW BIRTH...the un-regenerated man is absolutely unable to do good, to free himself from sin.  Romans 3:11 There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God (NASB)    But if we are Born Again and Free from the control of sin...why do I still sin?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          God has consoled me with this scripture from Hebrews 12.                                               This is one of the ways we KNOW that we KNOW HIM. As long as I an in the flesh, I will sin. I will fall into sin...not make the pattern of my life to seek after sin.  But when I sin...I am broken...God disciplines the son He loves...                                  He doesn't chastise the sons of disobedience now, only at the judgement seat. The Un-Regenerated man isn't worried about how his sin has crushed the Lord -trampling under foot the grace of God...he may feel loss at the consequences his sin is bringing in his life, but it doesn't lead to repentance...the un-regenerated man doesn't have the Holy Spirit to remind him or correct him of his sin. I am reminded that I am on a journey of sanctification...Jesus is making me into what He wants me to be...to be MORE like my Savior.                                                                         I can best see this journey as a hiking trail up a mountain. I struggle along the trail...trip up and fall down, The LORD  picks me up and dusts me off as a Father picking up His son on a hiking trail. "Let's go on up the trail together."  Yes there are bumps and scrapes...but I never go off the trail - falling off the mountain side or turn back to go away...and it is the only hiking trail you never reach the top while wearing this Earthly "skin suit"...Only when we are Glorified.  But it is a journey with CHRIST...He is my guide on the trail and with me every step of the way. << Hebrews 12 >> New Living Translation

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God’s Discipline Proves His Love

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.^a Because of the joy^b awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;^c then you won’t become weary and give up. 4After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

5And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children?^d He said,

“My child,^e don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,

and don’t give up when he corrects you.

6For the Lord disciplines those he loves,

and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”^f

7As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?^g

10For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

12So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. 13Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.

John McArthur: Three Dangerous Gospel Appeals

 Here is a link to an 8 minute clip of Pastor John MacArthur...very conservative, mainstream preacher and one my favorite commentators on the scripture.
He is exposing 3 dangerous Gospel appeals which are grounded in manipulating people to get "decisions", which too often result in "stony ground hearers".

http://www.sermoncentral.com/pastors-preaching-articles/sermoncentral--john-mcarthur-three-dangerous-gospel-appeals-1591.asp?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=scnewsletter&utm_content=SC+Update+20130603

Sinner's Prayer - SBC Resolution June 2012 - David Platt

Link to SBC resolution on Sinner's Prayer June 2012

Below:
Pastor David Platt (author of the book RADICAL) remarking after the SBC Resolution.
David voted in favor of the Resolution. Sadly,  he was blamed as the main reason for the need for the resolution. He was deeply saddened by the rift in the SBC.

"...I believe without hesitation or equivocation that God loves all people in the world (John 3:16) and He desires all people’s salvation (2 Peter 3:9). As followers of Jesus saved by His matchless grace (Ephesians 2:1-10), we are compelled to go with urgency to all people to tell them compassionately of God’s love for them (2 Corinthians 4:5) and to call them clearly to repent and believe in Christ (Matthew 4:17; Acts 2:38). As we do this, I believe we simply need to be as biblical as possible (2 Timothy 2:15). Do I believe it is “wrong” for someone to pray a “prayer of salvation”? Certainly not. Calling out to God in prayer with repentant faith is fundamental to being saved (Romans 10:9-10). Yet as I pastor a local church and serve alongside pastors of other local churches, I sense reasonably serious concern about the relatively large number of baptisms in our churches that are “re-baptisms”—often representing people who thought they were saved because they prayed a certain prayer, but they lacked a biblical understanding of salvation and were in reality not saved. This, in addition to a rampant "easy believe-ism" that marks cultural Christianity in our context (and in other parts of the world), leads me to urge us, as we go to all people among all nations with the good news of God’s love, to be both evangelistically zealous and biblically clear at the same time (Matthew 28:18-20)...."  from Radical.net

http://www.radical.net/blog/2012/06/the-sinners-prayer-and-the-sbc-part-i/

JUNE 22, 2013 FIESTA FELLOWSHIP

SAVE THE DATE....June 22, 2013   5pm
Mexican Fiesta Fellowship at The Allender's Home
431 Westwood Dr., Maryville, TN 37803

Bring the WHOLE FAMILY!
Chicken Fajitas....More info upcoming.....

Salvation....stop, be still - be awed and rejoice!

When I say "salvation" what comes to mind?  Really...stop.... consider salvation for a minute or two....what is involved, why is it needed, what happens, what a miracle of God! 

If we have had the blessing of being involved in church for many years we have a tendency to not really think much about our salvation. 
I think we tend to hold our salvation as something that we have settled with God in the past and now we can focus on "living out the Christian life" (Of course, that just begs, "What does the Christian Life look like?",  but that is for another time.).

We almost dismiss a discussion of salvation as a silly question...so basic that discussing it is only for children or the new in Christ....."Everybody knows how salvation works." you might think.

Ok....stop and pretend you are telling the easiest person in the world to talk to (maybe your grandmother, for example)....
Just begin speaking aloud and explain how salvation works to an imaginary person. Act like your pretend person has NEVER heard of Jesus or the Bible and explain it. You can't say..."Just surrender to Christ" or "Call on Jesus". That is certainly a part of the process, but "churchy clichés" are not the GOSPEL.  I think you find the exercise revealing.

I would say that explaining salvation is inseparable from proclaiming the GOSPEL, the good news.  I heard someone say "We cannot give away what we do NOT possess."

We will be studying salvation for the next few weeks. 
We looked at Regeneration briefly last week in class.
Regeneration is a theological word....but don't dismiss REGENERATION as boring....it is an exciting MIRACULOUS word. 
God though His grace allows us to really hear the gospel message...the word of God suddenly penetrates through for us to finally hear.
We become ALIVE......it's like cotton balls suddenly fell out of our ears allowing you to hear the word of GOD.   The people around us might not have heard it...we may have been exposed to the Gospel message countless times before, but NOW...at this INSTANT, GOD, by His Grace, allows us to REALLY -REALLY hear for the first time about his LOVE.  We see HIS great sacrifice for us on the Cross and we GET IT! (that is a MIRACLE!) We may not have understood everything...but we are DRAWN to CHRIST.  It goes from obscurity or foolishness to suddenly the most PROFOUND thing we have ever heard.

"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:44 NASB

"A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul." Acts 16:14 NASB

If you have been BORN AGAIN...then God had to make himself known to you....YOU....GOD chose to allow YOU to HEAR the gospel. It is a miracle!
How does it work?
Nobody this side of heaven knows.....but regeneration happens EVERYTIME someone is saved - Born Again. 
What if regeneration doesn't happen...
We see it in the sower and seed parable...The stony ground hearer....The word is sown and the person merely made an emotional or moralistic decision to be a better person or to try out being a Christian...He rejoices for while, but as trials occur, temptation is faced with human effort, which only results in a life continuing in sinful behavior, tries reading the bible but it as boring as reading the dictionary, tries to pray but it bounces off the ceiling, falling away from fellowship or abandoning the faith altogether sometimes.  He or she sadly basically FAKES it..."I understand this is how a Christian is supposed to act, but I feel NOTHING"  Jesus warned that many would continue all the way to the end -even being active and serving in roles in the church  "un-regenerated" - never knowing Him, but pretending. (Matthew 7:21)

Regeneration is sometimes too simply equated with "Born Again", but there is also repentance and belief are also involved....we will discuss much more in class.

http://www.sbc.org/bfm/bfm2000.asp#iv see the SBC website for more info.

FLAPJACK FEST 2012! + CAMPOUT!

Our 4th annual FLAPJACK FEST date has been set....Friday August 31-Saturday Sep 1.

The actual morning of September 1st will be the time for the Flapjack Fest. 

Camping + Bicycles + Flapjacks + Fellowship = FUN! 

1) If you want to join us Group Campsite #3 Cades Cove Camp Ground GSMNP, come along on Friday evening.  I can taste the S'mores already!
We have already reserved a Tent Only site Group Site #3 for 30 people.( no water/ no power).   For those with campers ("Lucky!") Feel free to make your a reservation for your own individual campsite so you can bring your family's camper.  Of course, I assume you will  want to join us around the campfire in the Group Site.    
Please let me know via email if you are attending .

2) Saturday Morning we will ride bicycles around the Cades Cove Loop, leaving from the front gate of Cades Cove at 7:30.  It generally takes 2 hours to get around the 11 mile hilly loop.  Cades Cove is breath taking and we almost always see a bear or two early in the morning.  

Plan to arrive early if you are driving up in the morning...it is bit chaotic with all sorts of other groups trying to get organized for the trip. Chaos at the gate is the best word for it.

? Don't have bikes? You can rent bicycles from the camp store if you wish for around $12-18 each.  (rate is $6/Hour)   http://www.explorecadescove.com/hours-rates.shtml   

3) The 4th Annual Flapjack Fest 2012
For riders or non-riders....the FlapJacks (pancakes) and Fix'ns will be served at 10:00am Saturday Sep. 1st at  Group Campsite #3 Cades Cove Camp Ground GSMNP.  You will need to park at the campstore or perhaps along the road leading to the group site.  
The group site itself has only 4 spaces.  
CHEFS are WELCOME (come early at 7:30)....Gary Douglas is our Master Chef and he is always apprenticing those who wish to learn the "culinary woodsman arts". 
NEW this YEAR....We will have a large covered pavilion, so even if it rains, we will be covered.  We had over 60 people last year!  I think we can break the record.   
It would be so helpful if you can help us with planning by giving us a headcount....
Please attend, even if you decide to attend a the last moment...but letting us know ahead is so helpful.
Please Plan for $4.00 each if you are financially able and feel free to give more to the fund if feel like you can do so.

The GOSPEL of MARK

The GOSPEL of MARK....a power packed - 16 chapter book. 
Did you know that missionaries, when working with remote new people groups, first translate the book of Mark into the new language? So often new believers in a remote people group are given for their first glimpse of the bible, the book of Mark.  Isn't that interesting?  
They are only given one book to read and the Holy Spirit works in their lives because they read and meditate on it, put into practice the teaching and make it part of their life.

I want us to ask the following question:
What if I had never been in church or ever heard teaching or preaching on the book of Mark or the bible in general, how would I read the Gospel of Mark?  
What would jump out at me? 


An example :  When you read Mark chapter 1 you will be hit with supernatural events almost immediately.  Jesus is baptized and the heavens open! Not something any of us have ever witnessed, yet the scripture describes it.   Next we see demons cast out and Peter's mother in law healed by Jesus merely taking her by the hand....this is AMAZING stuff.

My point is consider the power Jesus possess....his compassion....how accessible he is to the people.  
You could also consider how the people reacted....how amazed they were...how the crowds gathered....how they wanted to be near Jesus.

I hope you see the treasure of God's word.

Ken 
 









The rest of this blog is from a earlier post back in August of 2008....further explaining the formal inductive method.  This is for you to read if you want more information of bible study...but for our study, the approach listed above is great.

Why an Inductive Bible Study?
A Chinese proverb says "If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime."
My wish for you is for you to learn how to "fish" - how to study God's word in your own quiet time. In this way the Holy Spirit will be your teacher - He is a perfect teacher and I know you will grow in Christ.

As a testimony - I grew up trying to be a "daily bible reader" out of sense of Southern Baptist Duty...not love for God or His word, but because you could raise your hand in Sunday School if you were a daily bible reader. Just before I dozed off to sleep I would flip open the bible and try to read something to say I had at least read the bible that day. I would read the bible ONLY if i was involved a formal book study...but it still was "How much do I HAVE to read to get through this?" I thought people who liked to read the bible also liked to read fine print on contracts and the phone book for fun. (maybe you have been there or you are there today...there is much better way to live in Christ.)
 

About 15 years ago I learned much better how to study the bible. It was over a period of time, but God began to call me to read his word. I was not satisfied with my walk with Christ and knew that God's word had to be part of becoming His disciple. I asked God in very simple prayers to understand the bible before I began to read each time. God answered those prayers and I received the Holy Spirit's guidance in understanding God's word. I may have heard but didn't fully understand  at the time, but John 16:8 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth..." - it clearly says one of the main purposes of the Holy Spirit is to help us to understand the bible. My walk with Christ began to grow and I gained a sincere desire to learn more and a love for God's amazing bible.

You can't learn all the Bible in a single day (I warn you because overreaching goals trip up so many). Pray asking for God's help and take small steps - His word will be come Fresh and Alive and Active. With God's help, the words will begin to almost leap off the page. By God's grace, you will become one of those "Jesus Freaks" who say..."I was reading this scripture the other day and WOW...God just showed me this!"

How do I begin?
First if you don't have a quiet time...Begin a quiet time today...God will honor your efforts.
Second - If you have a quiet time - Begin with PRAYER FIRST...then read smaller passages of the Bible, but study deeper.... ask questions.
For example:
What is the “big idea” of the passage?
Who is writing or speaking and to whom?
Click the link for a download of a PDF guide to the Inductive Bible Study Method.
Some people will ask every question and be very formal...while some will use 4-5 main questions to look at the text. Both are fine. The main point of the inductive method to bible study is to first seek God in prayer, read a small passage and allow the Holy Spirit to teach you God's word.

One word of caution - an attempt to find "hidden things" not present in the scripture is sometimes a fault of students using this bible study method. God's word is powerful as it is written ...just ask the questions and see what is written in God's word.

Also to add further depth to your study.... invest a few minutes to read the Book introduction and try studying the maps for the highlights will add a whole new element to bible study.

Call or email me if you have a question during the week.. I want to help you and see you grow in Christ.

In Him,

Ken