tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15927393522078534022024-03-18T20:39:59.078-07:00The Shepherd's DeskFeeding. Leading. Defending.The Shepherd's Deskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04749017451158827396noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592739352207853402.post-29661314819023292652013-12-03T08:54:00.002-08:002013-12-03T08:55:09.188-08:00A Desperate Longing<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRSrdZ1ZN31PLpPb7fuvLxyYyKH5HGUgYZjTVDt4NMdNEIkLzbvfpHkTAEcx-1Bv-RCSMy-gLHXnwC7ANIJ57EoEpH1rOHNAfnMOW4p42M3t7GaGPAc2hRzeEPcegzgHzX29bdOJmjEax/s1600/Nativity+Scene+Gerard_van_Honthorst_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRSrdZ1ZN31PLpPb7fuvLxyYyKH5HGUgYZjTVDt4NMdNEIkLzbvfpHkTAEcx-1Bv-RCSMy-gLHXnwC7ANIJ57EoEpH1rOHNAfnMOW4p42M3t7GaGPAc2hRzeEPcegzgHzX29bdOJmjEax/s200/Nativity+Scene+Gerard_van_Honthorst_001.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px; text-align: left;">"Adoration of the Shepherds" by </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_van_Honthorst" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" title="Gerard van Honthorst">Gerard van Honthorst</a><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px; text-align: left;">, 1622</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A Desperate Longing: <i>O Come, O Come Emmanuel<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Written
in a minor key, perhaps this 12<sup>th</sup> Century Latin hymn is not at the
forefront of our playlist when we think of Christmas carols. It is however, at the forefront of
human existence, human need, and the historical narrative of redemption. It echoes the cry of every human heart
whether they know or understand what it is they long for. But in context, it resounds with the
cry of God-fearing people who hunger for the appearance of Messiah,
particularly the Old Testament people of Israel. It was to them that the promise of Emmanuel was given, that
is to say, that God would come near.
That is the meaning of Emmanuel in Isaiah 7:14, “God is near”. Under the oppression of captivity the
people of Israel yearned to be free, to see the Anointed One from God come to
set them free in fulfillment of God’s promises. The weight of their sin was now a palpable weight of human
misery at the hands of their oppressors.
In their misery they cry, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”! Let the power of God come and end our
mourning!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
year is now 2013, and we are not under the bondage of a conquering nation. Indeed, we are free, prosperous, and in
the thinking of most Americans/westerners devoid of the mournful groveling that
this song seems to represent…or are we?
You see for us this song may actually be more appropriate that for any
other people. For we are people
who in reading the Old Testament Law understand that we are in bondage, cruel
bondage, to something far more problematic than a foreign invasion. We are under the bondage of our
sin. A problem that is
ever-present, internationally pervasive, and for which there is no human hope. So we sing. And we do not sing this song for the sake of singing, but
for the sake of souls yearning for a salvation that is both informed as to our
sinful condition, and infused with the hope of the promises of God. Namely that God will come near to
us. This is where all good
Christmas must originate from, an awareness of our miserable plight and trust
in the promises of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As
we sing this song we are thankful that we have a broader perspective that will
make the singing of other Christmas hymns more meaningful, for Christ has come,
and in Him God has come near.
Emmanuel has happened! The
Savior has ransomed the once captive Israel of God, and He has done so one life
at a time. No longer are we in
lonely exile, but in the warm confines of the King’s family palace! The Dayspring has ignited the fire of
life, love and adoration in the freeing work of the Gospel. Indeed our Heavenly home is now open
through Jesus Christ, God’s faithful work of becoming our Emmanuel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Yet
is appropriate to recall through this hymn the process and progress of our own
salvation. Recalling the misery of
life before and without Christ, so that the appearance of Christ might become
more precious to us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Oh, come,
oh, come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile
here Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to
you, O Israel!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Oh, come,
our Wisdom from on high, Who ordered all things mightily; To us the path of
knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Oh, come,
oh, come, our Lord of might, Who to your tribes on Sinai's height In ancient
times gave holy law, In cloud and majesty and awe. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Oh, come
O Rod of Jesse's stem, From ev'ry foe deliver them That trust your mighty
pow'r to save; Bring them in vict'ry through the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Oh, come,
O Key of David, come, And open wide our heav'nly home; Make safe the way that
leads on high, And close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Oh, come,
our Dayspring from on high, And cheer us by your drawing nigh, Disperse the
gloomy clouds of night, And death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice!
Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Oh, come,
Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind; Oh, bid our sad
divisions cease, And be yourself our King of Peace. Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<!--EndFragment-->The Shepherd's Deskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04749017451158827396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592739352207853402.post-19527070280607107552013-12-02T19:42:00.002-08:002013-12-02T19:44:13.259-08:00Hark! The Joyful Christians Sing!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b>Christmas Hymns: A Call for Deeper Reflection</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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With the Christmas season now in full bloom around us, it is
almost impossible to go anywhere where there are not Christmas carols
playing. While the familiar
refrains bring a certain joy and nostalgia they also bring with them the danger
of everything that is overly familiar: complacency. I often marvel during the Christmas season how people who’s
worldview and theology are so flagrantly non-Christians can sing such powerful
words. It is no less baffling that
Christians can sing the great Christmas hymns in such a routine manner as to be
unaffected by their message. From
one who is a lover of both theology and music, this ought not to be. So in the following days I hope to
remedy this complacency by rekindling your love for the hymns of Christ’s
Incarnation. Not to revive the
nostalgia, but to revive a working knowledge that God was manifest in the flesh
for us! This Christmas season I
will be posting reflections from Christmas hymns that provide for us perhaps
the most full-orbed theology in any one genre of music. For now consider why Christmas hymns
are important:</div>
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<i>1) They tell the story of the single most important event in
history.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Christmas hymns tell the story of God’s invasion of time and
space at the perfect time to redeem what is rightfully His. In contradiction to the mythical gods
of folk lore who risked nothing,
God put everything on the line in sending His Son and won the battle over sin,
death, and Hell. No other event in
history matters if this one event did not happen.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>2) They celebrate the miraculous.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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A virgin who gave birth to an infant who was literally the
Son of God, and yet her own flesh and blood by Divine conception! That above everything else in the world
qualifies as a miracle. Christmas
hymns celebrate God’s sovereignty over nature and the time God threw all the
rules of biology out the window to become what we are so that we might become
what He is and we are not.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>3) They join us to the activity of Heaven.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Have you ever wanted to sing like an angel? Then sing Christmas hymns! Both the account of Christ’s birth and
the glimpse into the future of Heaven provided in the Book of Revelation show
us that angels are engaged in the singing of hymns that magnify the work of God
in Christ. Is there any greater
song to join in? I think not! </div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>4) They infuse us with the hope of the Gospel.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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“<i>Joy to the
world! The Lord has come</i>!” If that does engender hope, I do not
what will. And yet it is not an
abstract hope, for it is fundamentally the hope that comes from knowing that
God has kept and will keep His promises.
The Gospel is God’s Good News, and there is not greater good news than
the reality that God has come near in His Son. He has made great promises, and greater than the promises is
His keeping of them.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>5) They link the pain of humanity to the exalted comfort of
Deity.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Jesus came not as an untouchable emanation of God, he came
as a human being made under the infirmities of a fallen world (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%204:4-5&version=ESV" target="_blank">Gal. 4:4-5</a>) so
that He would know every sting and temptation of human experience (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews%204:15-16&version=ESV" target="_blank">Heb.4:15-16</a>). We do not trust, serve
or worship a God Who does not relate, we have a God Who came precisely so that
He could relate and yet rise above for our comfort!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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And for many other reasons it is imperative that we not only
enjoy the hymns of Christmas, but that we understand them as well. Christmas will become a richer
experience for you and me if we will take the time to understand what it is
that we sing about.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->The Shepherd's Deskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04749017451158827396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592739352207853402.post-2848224366961769642013-04-25T09:20:00.002-07:002013-04-25T09:22:26.853-07:00The Consequence of Non-Expositional PreachingSeveral years ago I had the great privilege of gathering with a handful of other pastors to hear some of the greatest preachers of our time discuss expositional preaching with us, and further sharpen us for this high calling. Nothing has impacted my life and ministry, since coming to faith in Christ, more than grasping the importance of faithful, expositional preaching. If we as the people of God truly believe that God has given us everything we need for "life and godliness"<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=II%20Peter%201:3&version=ESV" target="_blank"> (II Pet. 1:3)</a> in His Word, then we must also have a burning desire, a driving commitment, to pursue the unpacking of every word, every line, every truth given in God's Divine Revelation. Whether the preacher, or the hearer, expositional ministry of the Word of God must be our highest ideal and desire. Without a thorough, and honest dispensing of God's Word we will perish. But when God's Truth, His whole Truth, is properly, faithfully, and regularly given to His people a wonderful work of life transformation into the likeness of Christ occurs. The following list, is a list of consequences given that morning by Dr. John MacArthur, (one of my heroes of preaching) warning of the consequences of non-expositional preaching. For my friends who shepherd God's flock, I pray that you will join me in heeding these warnings. For those who attend churches, I hope that you will pray for and encourage your pastor as they pursue a faithful ministry of the Word.<br />
<br />
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Consequences of Non-Expositional Preaching and Ministry<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">by Dr. John F. MacArthur<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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1) It usurps the Authority of God over the mind and soul</div>
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2) Usurps the headship of Christ over His church</div>
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3) Hinders and undermines the work of the Holy Spirit</div>
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4) Demonstrates pride</div>
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5) Severs the preacher personally from the regular,
sanctifying influence of the Word</div>
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6) Removes spiritual depth and transcendence from the soul</div>
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7) Prevents the preacher from fully developing the mind of
Christ</div>
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8) Depreciates by example the priority of Bible study</div>
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9) Prevents the preacher from being the voice of God on
every issue of his time</div>
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10) Breeds a congregation that is weak and indifferent to
the glory of God</div>
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11) Robs people of their only true source of help</div>
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12) Produces indifference toward Divine Authority and builds
confidence in man’s insight</div>
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13) Lies to people about what they really need</div>
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14) Trades power for popularity</div>
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15) Puts responsibility on the preacher to change people</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
16) Reduces the words spoken to human opinion</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
17) Produces self-love, not love for God with all the heart,
mind, and soul</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
18) Creates a destructive disconnect between sound doctrine
and life</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
19) Denigrates the person of God by removing those attributes
& characteristics which terrify lost men</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
20) Reduces the preacher to the level of every other rival
teacher</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
21) Emasculates the dominion of the pulpit</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
22) Disconnects people from the legacy of the past</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
23) Removes protection from error and carnality</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
24) Abandons the duty to guard the Truth, which is always
under assault</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
25) Creates a deception about spiritual life</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
26) Cheats people of the greatest riches God has dispensed
for their benefit</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
27) Blurs the line between human ideas and Divine Revelation</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
28) Replaces Holy Spirit conviction with manipulation</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
29) Fails to defend threatened Truths </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
30) Inevitably produces compromise</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
31) Takes the pulpit to the shallow end rather than the deep
end</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
32) Deceives people with the illusion they’ve heard from God
when they really haven’t</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
33) Makes a judgment on the obscurity of the Bible</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
34) Gives honor to independence, autonomy, and pride</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
35) Portrays a works mentality</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
36) Substitutes worldly fulfillment for Heavenly expectation</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
37) Fails to be Christo-centric</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
38) Generates selfish shallow prayer</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
39) Fails to lead people to cross-loving self-denial, and
sacrificial obedience</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
40) Cheats people of the means to know the Lord</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
41) Produces weak, cowardly, compromising professors</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
42) Disdains to engage in mortal combat with the devil and
all enemies of the Truth</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
43) Fails to recognize the dangers of false religions</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
44) Lack of general ruggedness of ministry that confronts/assaults the comfort of
sinners</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
45) Forfeits the true tenderness and compassion of God
because it never brings the Law down on people’s heads. Weak Law produces weak
Gospel</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
46) Loses the fervor of true passion</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
47) Turns evangelical camaraderie into chaos</div>
<!--EndFragment-->The Shepherd's Deskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04749017451158827396noreply@blogger.com0