I recently posted information about a TV show, 20/20, featuring Nick Vujicic. On the same night, last Friday March 28th, MSNBC aired a two-hour special about two young girls that were in a tragic car accident involving students from Taylor University (a Christian college). Laura Van Ryn was thought to be in a coma and Whitney Cerak was thought to be dead. Yet in a strange twist of fate, after the young girl came out of her coma 5 weeks later it was discovered that it wasn’t Laura, but rather Whitney.

After 5 long weeks, a family that thought their daughter and sister was dead learned that she was living and coming out of a coma. The other family who had spent 5 weeks by the bedside of a young woman they thought was their daughter and sister, learned she had actually died in the accident. How could two families handle such an emotional roller-coaster? Only through the strength and comfort of Christ. The families’ faith brought them through this horrible ordeal and is displayed throughout the entire interview. The accident and subsequent amazing events drew these two families, that were once strangers, into a new bond and they have now written a book together, Mistaken Identities. This TV show is available online, divided into separate video clips, all worth seeing. All the videos together are 130 minutes.

Go here to see part one and then each additional section of the story is listed at left and will continue playing automatically when you click on the link below:
A Horrible Accident

David Wheaton, a good friend of mine since childhood and host of a new national radio show, The Christian Worldview, asked me to write a brief article for his weekly eNewsletter. This Saturday, March 29th he is interviewing Dr. David Noebel, founder of Summit Ministries a youth Christian worldview camp held in Manitou Springs, CO. I attended Summit 20 years ago and it greatly impacted my life! If you know of a high school or college student who would benefit from a 2-week worldview training camp, contact Summit.

Be sure to add David’s show to your podcasting favorites or tune in for live streaming on KKMS AM980 Saturday mornings at 8am CT.
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What causes Frank Schaeffer, former professing Evangelical and son of the highly-respected Christian author and apologist Francis Schaeffer, to turn against his own father and upbringing and become an antagonist to conservative Evangelicalism? Here’s a man who went from working closely with his now-deceased father to produce a popular Christian film series like How Should We Then Live to writing a recent column equating his father’s ministry with the racist, America-hating statements of Barack Obama’s pastor, “Reverend” Jeremiah Wright. Huh?! How could Frank (or any other professing Christian) go from believer to skeptic?

Was he spoiled, as Christian philosopher Os Guiness claims in this week’s “Need to Read” article from World Net Daily?

Was it his education? After all, the college campus is a bastion for atheistic and humanistic thought and far too many Christian young people are unprepared to face the onslaught of teacher bias.

Was it hypocrisy he saw in the Evangelical church that caused him to jump ship to the Eastern Orthodox Church?

Was it his fleshly desire to be the master of his own ship?

Perhaps the most important question is, “What can Christian parents can do to help their professing Christian son or daughter grow in their faith rather than plummet to unbelief?” Young people are now facing not only the secular battle on the college campus, but uncertainty in the church with the rise of the post-modern or emerging church.

This week on The Christian Worldview, David will speak with Dr. David Noebel, founder and president of Summit Ministries. Summit.org says, “Summit views its role in God’s kingdom as a catalyst to counteract this alarming trend. However, our ultimate goal supersedes simply training. As Christians are challenged to stand strong in their faith and defend truth, they will also be equipped to have a positive influence on the society in which they live.”

As a 15-year-old in 1987, I arrived at Summit Ministries hoping to enjoy Colorado Springs for its hikes, river-rafting, picnics and new friends…and maybe learn a thing or two. In just two short weeks, Doc Noebel had more influence on my thinking than any other teacher in high school or college combined. I grew up with a mother who did everything she could to teach me the Bible, play tapes of Francis Schaeffer and other Bible teachers, attend church and develop a Christian outlook on life. She did a wonderful job, but then the Summit took my understanding to another level. When I left Summit two weeks later I might not have been ready to take on an atheist professor, or remember every aspect of Marxism, but I was convinced that Christianity was the truth, unlike any other worldview. The resources that Summit gave me and the beginnings of a deep conviction in my faith carried me through the onslaught at college and on into adult life and it continues to drive me today, to make an impact on this world for Christ.

Tune in this weekend to find out how “professors become digressors” and what Christian parents can do to help their children stay strong in this “age of uncertainty”.

“The basic problem of the Christians in this country…is that they have seen things in bits and pieces instead of totals. They have very gradually become disturbed over permissiveness, pornography, the public school, the breakdown of the family, and finally abortion…They have failed to see that all of this has come about due to a shift in a world view—that is, through a fundamental change in the overall way people think and view the world and life as a whole.
— Francis Schaeffer, A Christian Manifesto, p. 19

I just saw this week’s TV show for the Joni and Friends ministry and the feature this week was Nick Vujicic. Nick was born without limbs and has become a living testimony to the power of hope in the midst of a difficult life.

Nick is now 25 and is traveling the world to tell others about Christ. He says “Traveling extensively to over 19 nations, I’ve been extremely humbled by the continuous opportunities that the Lord has given me to share my testimony along with the hope that I have in Jesus with people in so many nations and situations. My greatest joy in this life is to introduce Jesus to those I meet and tell them of His great desire to get to know them personally by allowing Him to become their Lord and Savior. One of my favorite scriptures from the Bible is Psalm 139:17-18 that says, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.”

Be sure an watch the video below and visit his website www.lifewithoutlimbs.org. Nick is also going to be featured on ABC’s 20/20 this coming Friday, March 28th at 10pm ET, be sure to tune in and tell others that need to hear of the power of Christ. Pray that his message would reach to the heart of those that are considering aborting a baby diagnosed with a disability, those that are struggling with disabilities of all kinds, and those that don’t value the precious disabled people in this world. They are truly God’s gift to us to inspire us and encourage us by their faith and strength in Christ alone.

You can see more of Nick’s daily life through the lens of a home video camera….

Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

As regular readers know, I haven’t been able to write a blog entry for a little while as life has been hectic. Amidst work and family, church and volunteer opportunities it is easy to get caught up in a busy life. Recently, I encountered a difficult time at church and was disappointed in a decision by certain individuals and the resulting effect on the ministry of the church and those involved. I struggled for a while with anger at the way things happened and the way things were handled and found myself struggling to worship God in the midst of this situation. An older, godly woman wisely told me “Brodie, people will always disappoint you, circumstances will often arise that are difficult - just keep your eyes on Christ”. It was excellent advice and isn’t that what Hebrews 12 tells us, too: “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” - “Only Jesus”!

That same theme was repeated this last Thursday at our church’s Maunday Thursday service. Our pastor started by talking about all the people surrounding Jesus and their responses to him; their denial or hatred, their love or fear…and then he turned the message around and pointed out that all that mattered was Jesus - again the theme, “Only Jesus”! During this service we usually take communion, and again the pastor pointed us to Jesus. I don’t know about you, but when I come to communion I’m grateful for the cross, for His shed blood and His broken body, but often my quiet prayer turns to me - how I’ve failed Him yet again, how I live selfishly, or about sinful habits I desire to break…it ends up becoming about me. I’m not minimizing the importance of confession of sin and making your life right with Christ during communion, that is important and right, but don’t stop there…take it always to the level of gratitude for all He has done for you and me, take time to reflect on His great love to endure such suffering and separation from God, focus on His holiness and righteousness and our great unworthiness…take time to remember “Only Jesus”. I always love this Maunday Thursday service because we finish the service with an acapella hymn and then everyone walks out of church in silence, focusing on what has been said, focusing on the communion we have just taken, and focusing on “Only Jesus”.

During that walk out of church and my drive home I resolved to spend this weekend thinking about “only Jesus”, reading more about who He is. There is so much written about Him in the Bible and so many words used to described Him that I know I will only just touch the surface. Maybe some of these names will help you to be thinking, as well, of all that He is, and was, and forever will be…

Alpha and Omega
Bread of Life
King of Kings
Lord of Lords
Great Shepherd
Rock of Ages
Bridegroom
Friend of Sinners
Man of Sorrows
Chief Cornerstone
The Way, The Truth and the Life
The Vine
Great High Priest
Immanuel (God with us)
Lamb of God
Light of the World
Savior
Lily of the Valley
The Bright and Morning Star
Fairest of Ten Thousand
Wonderful
Counselor
Almighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace

My work life has been extremely hectic lately…more about that in a later post. Jenn Rivers has graciously offered to step in and help out with another great article to help build our faith. I heard some good feedback on Jenn’s last post so I hope you’ll find this entry just as helpful. Think back to the last time you went on a long hike as you read some of the great analogies that Jenn uses.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to hike Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park, Utah, with a peak that rises 1500’ from the canyon floor. The hike is 5 miles round trip and takes about 3 hours. What makes it unique is the last ½ mile up - you scale and climb rocks, roughly 4-5’ wide, with drop-offs on either side. (Not for anyone afraid of heights!)

While I was hiking, I realized there are a lot of analogies between that and our walks with the Lord.

Prepare for the journey.
A long hike requires the right shoes and clothes, sunglasses, snacks and water, a map and time to complete; not to mention being in physical shape to get through steep ascents, climb rocks, and make it to the finish. Wow, how many parallels to the Christian life! How well do I know the Guide and the map He’s given me? Am I using the tools He’s provided? Am I staying active spiritually to make the tough spots easier?

Take inventory of your “gear” – Prayer, meditation, study, memorization, witnessing… what tools do you need to use more effectively?(1 Tim 4:12)

Follow those ahead and don’t go it alone.
Many times at the end, I couldn’t tell which way the path went, but I could see others ahead to figure out where I needed to step next, or I could ask my friend. How thankful we should be for older men and women of faith who have left us godly examples to follow, as well as, Christian friends who walk alongside us and give godly advice (Heb 13:7, Eccl 4:9-10).

Look straight ahead and up.
At points in the path, I would have gotten scared had I focused on the height and possible danger. As long as I looked up toward my goal, however, I was ok. How we need to look at Jesus the whole way of the Christian race in order to walk by faith (Heb 12:1-2, Mt 14:29-31).

Don’t listen to those who might scare or discourage you from what you know is do-able. Someone we passed on our way up mentioned that the real terror was yet to come. I started listening to him and asking him questions, but then knew I’d better get going again or I wasn’t going to go any farther! Our enemy is unseen but real, and he will do whatever he can to keep us from walking in faith and obedience. Don’t listen! (2 Tim 1:7)

Call out courtesy checks in the hardest parts of the trail. I called back to my friend to see how she was doing as we continued along in the more dangerous sections. What a sense of camaraderie it built because we knew we were in this together and after the same goal. How we need that in our daily walks! Who can you reach out to and encourage in their race today? (Heb 10:24-25)

Enjoy God’s handiwork along the way. Take time to stop, survey where you’ve come from and where you’re going. The view changes as you go so you want to enjoy every part of it. Are you looking for the fruit of God’s work in people and circumstances around you? Enjoying God’s creation? Answers to prayer? That’s what makes the journey exciting! (2 Cor 4:18, Rom 15:13)

Fireproof, the most recent movie from Sherwood Baptist Church is due to release this fall. This past weekend they  released a trailer for the movie, be sure to take two minutes to watch it. I’m really grateful to this church for taking on the tough issues of our culture and showing the Bible’s answer…an answer that often isn’t easy, but the answer that is right and the answer that brings Glory to God!

Please tell your friends and stayed tuned…

I hope you all enjoyed Jenn’s recent entry, “The ‘Why?’ of Suffering”. In keeping with that theme, this poem came to mind. Sometimes our idea of how things should be is completely different from God’s way…and His ways are perfect.

“Disappointment — His Appointment”
Change one letter, then I see
That the thwarting of my purpose
Is God’s better choice for me.
His appointment must be blessing,
Tho’ it may come in disguise,
For the end from the beginning
Open to His wisdom lies.

“Disappointment — His Appointment”
Whose? The Lord, who loves me best,
Understands and knows me fully,
Who my faith and love would test;
For, like loving earthly parent,
He rejoices when He knows
That His child accepts, UNQUESTIONED,
All that from His wisdom flows.

“Disappointment — His Appointment”
“No good thing will He withhold,”
From denials oft we gather
Treasures of His love untold,
Well He knows each broken purpose
Leads to fuller, deeper trust,
And the end of all His dealings
Proves our God is wise and just.

“Disappointment — His Appointment”
Lord, I take it, then, as such.
Like the clay in hands of potter,
Yielding wholly to Thy touch.
All my life’s plan in Thy moulding,
Not one single choice be mine;
Let me answer, unrepining –
“Father, not my will, but Thine.”

Edith Lillian Young

“The Privileged Life” has a wonderful surprise for readers today - a guest writer. Welcome, to Jenn Rivers, one of our fellow readers and now contributing author! I work in a medical office full-time and recently a patient of ours told Jenn about this blog. She has been a loyal reader since then. She sent me an email about two months ago and we got together for coffee and had an enjoyable time sharing life experiences and our faith. I’ve asked her to write out something that she said to me that day. I hope that you will appreciate it as much as I have. Jenn lives here in Minnesota and works full-time for General Mills. Thanks Jenn!!

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Have you had experiences in life where the Lord has seemed to clearly lead you (ie, through His Word, in answers to prayer, through the counsel of godly Christians and your authority figures) to a certain place, only to see whatever situation it is that you are in fall to pieces before your eyes? Have you questioned the Lord as to whether or not He really was leading you? Have you questioned your own judgment of His guiding and wondered if maybe you read it wrong somehow?

That’s where I was about a year ago. I have met many girls and women who have experienced the same thing I did, particularly in relationships with guys.

I want to encourage you with something the Lord so kindly showed me just recently. You know, I asked the Lord these questions when I saw something my heart longed for fall apart unexpectedly. I don’t think I doubted Him afterward, but I did question myself - had I forgotten how to listen to Him and know His leading? Had I all along just been going after what I wanted and not what He wanted? After time went on, however, I left these questions with Him, knowing that I might never have answers and deciding that what had happened was in the past. I needed to move on.

A few weeks ago I was studying Matthew 14:22-32. In this passage, the disciples are alone in a boat in the midst of a storm. The Lord walks to them on the water and they get scared. This is when Peter then asks to walk on water after they recognize the Lord. If you know the rest of it, you’ll know that Peter does walk on the water, but as soon as he looks at the waves, he starts sinking and the Lord reaches out to rescue him. The Lord then shows him how small his faith is.

The question in my study that morning asked, “Were the disciples in the Lord’s will when the storm came up?” My Bible says in verse 22 that the Lord “constrained” them to get into that boat and go out on the water. Yes! He told them to get in the boat, knowing exactly what they were headed for. He knew they would end up in quite a storm. So why would He do that? Well, when you look at the later verses, you can see that He taught them something new about Himself (His power to walk on water) and you also can see that He used the opportunity to train Peter and show him how small his faith was. Both important and necessary things for His disciples.

When I read these verses, it hit me – I didn’t miss the Lord’s leading in my circumstances. He led me all the way just as I thought He had (note: that this doesn’t mean that I didn’t make mistakes in the process). It’s just that He had other lessons planned for me than what I expected. For reasons known only to Him, He allowed me to go through that “storm” so that I could learn new things about Him and be trained by Him.

What kindness! I was not looking for answers to those questions anymore, but He graciously gave me this assurance one year later. I learned that He is trustworthy and He is faithful – even when I can’t seem to see any sign of it. Ruth Bell Graham has a quote that I really appreciate. She was talking about trials and suffering, and she said “…in knowing You, I don’t need to know why.” It’s so true – knowing the character of God teaches you that you don’t need an explanation for why He does what He does. He is good. He is faithful. He can be trusted.

I’ve spent the last three days listening to some of the strongest, most solid teachers of our Christian faith; John MacArthur, Al Mohler, and Steve Lawson. It has been a great PRIVILEGE. I’m referring to the Shepherd’s Conference held at Grace Church in Los Angeles, California. It is an all-men’s conference of pastors and lay-leaders, from across the country and around the world, designed to encourage, instruct and equip pastors to “preach the word, in season and out of season”.

As a woman I’m unable to attend, but for the first time (thanks to the wonders of the internet), I’ve been able to tune in via live video streaming. I must say that seeing the auditorium filled with men singing hymns, listening to messages and getting excited about God’s Word is a great encouragement. We live in a world where godly preaching is disappearing and yet it is alive and well at the Shepherd’s Conference this week. Why? Because these men take the Word of God very seriously, they are men of conviction and men of great passion for God’s truth.

John MacArthur led off the conference with a challenge to pastors and churches: Will you be a “church of the tares” and give in to current trends, the culture, and becoming “relevant” or will you be true to how Christ built His church? In Matthew 28, Christ told us to go into all the world and “preach the gospel”. This gospel message is transcendent, it never changes and it applies to all people of all nations, all ages, and all cultures. It is an alien message, in that it goes counter to our innate fallenness. The church should be a congregation of regenerated, pure people who will likely be respected by the world for the way we live, but offensive to them as sinners because our message is damning. We are a congregation who must live and worship in the fear of our Holy God, not meeting people at their social level, or felt needs, but rather pursuing holiness and obedience. He finished his message with an explanation of Revelation 3:20 “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.” He said, this is not a salvation verse, this is Christ knocking and saying “Do you have a place for me in the church?”

Tom Pennington gave a message on Psalm 1 outlining the two paths that we can chose in life, the “way of the righteous” and “the way of the wicked”. First, we are “blessed” which refers to satisfaction, joy and delight. As a tree that has been transplanted by God (carefully cared for near rivers of water) we have life, spiritual health and vitality, whereas chaff has no life. Second, we are to not “walk” in the counsel of the wicked which means we “abandon every human way”, stay awake and choose the correct route. Counsel means the way we think and who we listen to for advice. Do not stand in the path of sinners refers to our lifestyle and habits. Do not adopt the lifestyle of sinners, “avoid it, stay away from it, turn from it, keep walking!” Lastly we are not to sit in the seat of the scornful, in other words, participate with the world so much that we become one of them. So abandon every human way and embrace only God’s way (Scripture), and we do this by meditating on His Word. He explained that to meditate means to 1) understand the meaning of the text and 2) apply it. “Apply yourself wholly to the text, and apply the text wholly to yourself.”

John MacArthur addressed the pastors once again on Wednesday evening with a passage from Luke 20:45 - 21:4 which is when Christ confronted the Pharisees and scribes telling the people to beware of them. He then goes into detail describing the story of the widow who puts her two copper coins in the church coffer. MacArthur dispels current understanding of this passage as a story about generous giving. Instead he points to the fact that this story is evidence of the hypocritical church who is taking money from the poor widow when God commanded that the church take care of the widow. By telling this story, Christ was giving evidence of what he had just accused the Pharisees of doing, devouring widow’s houses. MacArthur went on to talk about this current trend within churches and television healers, motivated solely by greed.

Rick Holland gave an excellent message from Leviticus 10 and the story of Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, set aside and sanctified as priests. He made the point that as people that are exposed to the Scriptures regularly we can become careless in our familiarity with God. He then gave three points showing the dangers of how we do this and justify it within ourselves. 1) We redefine what God requires - we don’t take Him at His Word. 2) We under-estimate how God responds and presume on his grace. 3) We ignore what God deserves.

Al Mohler started with the line “We are living in very strange times…there is a crisis in preaching”. He then told us the answer is very simple, preaching is not complicated. In the Old Testament, Nehemiah 8 clearly lays out the process, Read - Explain, Read - Explain, Read - Explain. It’s that simple. He then took us to the New Testament, 2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.”, showing us that the process is still the same. Mohler then took us through 4 points regarding preaching: 1) The true and living God is the God who speaks. We have not “figured Him out, by grace He has spoken to us”, just as Francis Schaeffers book title says The God Who is There, He is Not Silent. 2) God’s true people are identified by the fact that God speaks to them and they hear. This should not produce arrogance in us, but humility that only by God’s grace does He speak to us. 3) God’s people serve and survive by hearing His Word. Romans 10:17 says “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. 4) Preaching is always a matter of life and death. It is not the preacher’s words that sustain the life of the people, it is God’s words through the preacher. People should leave after hearing a sermon and know that they have heard the voice of God “speaking from the fire and survived”.

Steve Lawson gave my favorite session of this conference. Many people don’t know this man, but he has a passion for the Word of God that excites and challenges me to know and love it more as well. Lawson’s message was titled “The Preacher’s Invincible Weapon” and he preached from the text of Hebrews 4:12-13 taking each description of God’s Word and expounding on it with the 7 marks of the sword of the Lord.

1) The divine word. This is God’s book, God’s message, He is the Author as the Bible itself claims, “Thus says the Lord”. Because it is God’s Word is requires the preacher to be Humble (yielded to God’s authority), Dignified (you are commissioned by the High King of heaven, so present it in a manner befitting it) and Authoritative (Titus 2:15 ..”rebuke with all authority”).

2) The living word. God’s Word is not idle, it is supernatural, it has the life of God in it. John 6:63, Acts 7:38 As Lawson said, “This is the only book that has ‘read’ me”. There is nothing more living and nothing more relevant.

3) The powerful word. It is “active and relentlessly effective”. It contains the power to save (I Peter 1:23), sanctify (John 17:17), satisfy (Psalm 119:3), strengthen (Joshua 1:7), steer (Psalm 119:105), sustain (Matthew 4:4)

4) The razor-sharp word. No instrument is an sharp. There are no “dull” verses, every verse, every chapter is ready to cut. It is also two-edged, for example, it comforts the afflicted, but afflicts the comforted. It both softens and hardens, enlightens and blinds, exposes sin and covers sin. The people who listen are pierced to the heart which is what must happen to be saved. Pastors today are using butter knives he says, instead of the powerful two-edged sword of the Word of God.

5) The piercing word. It penetrates the depths of the inner man. If you don’t preach the word you are just “massaging egos and tickling ears”. It divides the soul and spirit which are who you are, what you are inside. The joint and marrow are the inner soul, the thoughts, motives and attitudes. “Only the Word of God can perform heart surgery”.

6) The judging word. Once our soul is laid bear by the razor-sharp, piercing word revealing who we really are, then it begins to judge. This exposes our lostness. As Lawson then explained, the hardest person to reach is the religious person. They must first be exposed, and pierced because only then will they come to the realization of their condemnation and repent.

Then verse 13 shows a continuation of thought through the word “And”…”there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.” This word, naked, implies the neck of an animal stretched back in preparation for sacrifice.

7) Lastly, the saving word. The purpose behind the judging word is to bring sinners to Christ…the one to whom we must give an account. The people hearing this passage were halting between Judaism and coming to Christ. It isn’t enough to hear the word, we must repent. This is the purpose of the saving word.

Phil Johnson gave an interesting study of Acts 17, Paul’s at Mars Hill. Post-moderns love to hold up this passage as an icon of Paul becoming “all things to all men”, and yet, Phil brilliantly debunked this interpretation. To a post-modern the number one goal is to assimilate, be cool, so that the world will like us and accept our Jesus. Certainty is offensive. Instead they set this aside for culture, conversation, charitableness, and contextualization.

Culture - Paul didn’t embrace the culture, he observed that the city was given over to idols, this “provoked his spirit” and he went to the heart of the problem and challenged Athens with the truth of Christ. So when Paul spoke of “the Unknown God” he began with the point of culture that he most hated. Conversation - Paul didn’t say “I’d like to learn your approach and maybe we can learn from one another.” He spoke contrary to what all the philosophers present would have believed - that God is creator and Lord of all, that He is spiritual (not dwelling in temples), that He is sovereign and transcendent. Contextualization - Certainly Paul spoke in Greek, not Hebrew, but Paul did not adapt his message to Athen’s culture. He quoted ancient poets, their forefathers, not to engage in their culture but to speak against their current worldview. At all points Paul confronts their culture and calls them to repentance. Lastly, Charitableness - Post-moderns would be “broad-minded”, not dogmatic, and “appease” rather than confront, but Paul spoke of Christ’s death and resurrection (something that was crazy and foolishness to them), he didn’t change his message. There were three responses 1) some mocked, 2) some said they would listen again, and 3) some believed. This is always the result of a faithful ministry that doesn’t waiver and doesn’t shift. Preach Christ, His death and resurrection, and this will confront every worldview, every religion, and every philosophy.

John MacArthur closed out the conference with a message on Christians as slaves (duolos). He announced that this April he is re-publishing a 20th anniversary edition of the Gospel According to Jesus. Tonight’s message comes from material that will be included in a new version of Chapter 1.

He began by asking us “What is the distinguishing fact or characteristic of Christianity? What essential core confession should we proclaim? “Jesus is Lord!” However, this is not what contemporary salvation claims, instead it says we have a “personal relationship with Jesus” implying that we can personally define it. The devil has a personal relationship with Jesus - and its not good! He is not your buddy, He is Lord!

This was a simple message, MacArthur had but two points; 1) Jesus is Lord and 2) Christians are slaves.

1) Jesus is Lord. Kurios translates “sovereign Lord”, and despotes translates “absolute Lord”. Both imply dominion, despotes implies that “he owns slaves”. The church is made up of people who have confessed Jesus as Lord, they do not have their own will, wants, ambitions, dreams and hopes, but rather are subject to the power and control of the Lord. Romans 10:9

2) Christians are slaves (doulos). He spent an extensive amount of time proving this and showing that most current versions of the Bible do not accurately translate this word and instead use “servant” or “bondservant” (for which there is no Greek equivalent. Slavery indicates that you are owned, whereas a servant only works for someone. He goes on to explain that the Bible doesn’t command or condemn slavery, but it does borrow it as a metaphor. Acts 4:29, 16:17 claim that followers of Jesus were His slaves. This seemed an absurd notion to a culture that was living during a time of slavery. However, MacArthur went on to give example after example of pastors as slaves in 2 Timothy 2:24, the 44,000 Jews mentioned in Revelation 7 will be “slaves”, and that we will all be slaves in heaven someday, Revelation 22:3. Paul, Timothy, James, Peter, Jude and John all called themselves “slaves” of Jesus Christ. When we understand this concept the rest of Scripture makes sense. When the Bible says you were “chosen” it is like the Master who went into the slave market and picked you out as a slave, he then bought you and paid the price to own you…this image is so much clearer. We are called to slavery! Would you rather be a slave of Christ or a slave of the devil? - this is the true evangelistic message.

Lastly, The fundamental issue as slaves is obedience and submission. MacArthur takes us from the idea of being slaves to Luke 15: 14-15 where Jesus says we are no longer slaves, but friends. The difference is that a slave doesn’t know what His Master does, nor why He does it. So we are slaves to Christ, but He has also told us and shown us what He does and why He does it so we go from being a slave to becoming a friend, part of His intimate circle. Obedience doesn’t make you His friend, it shows you are His friend because you can’t obey if you don’t know His intentions

Philippians 2:3-7 says Christ took on the same form of a slave and became obedient to death. He denied Himself, and He did only what His Father told Him to do. Therefore, God exalted Him, and gave Him the name above every name - Jesus is Lord!

You probably know the Bible story of King Saul and David. Saul was originally God’s anointed leader of Israel, but Saul rejected God and God chose David to succeed him. However, even though God chose David there was a period of time when he endured great hardship from Saul. Saul was jealous of David and knew that God’s favor had been transferred to David. So in his jealousy Saul sought to kill David. David fled from Saul, he did not turn and fight Saul, he did not try to kill him. David knew that God was in control and he was patiently waiting for God to exalt him at the right time.

As we keep reading the story we come to two incidents when David could have harmed or killed Saul, but instead refrained. He remained submissive to God and compassionate to Saul.

The first occurrence is in I Samuel 24 when Saul and David end up in the same cave overnight. David and his men were already hiding deep in the cave when Saul entered. Saul had no idea they were there. David’s men were convinced that the Lord had delivered Saul into David’s hands. Instead of hurting Saul, David went to him in the night and cut off a portion of his robe, but even doing that little thing bothered David’s sensitive conscience. Verse 5 says “Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe.” David was not a man of vengeance or anger, he was a man fully submitted to God’s will. He believed that God had anointed Saul as king, and David was determined not to be the one to remove him from this place of authority. Look at what David says in verse 10 “Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed’.”

David shows an extreme sensitivity to God, and to right and wrong, here. Are we this sensitive or do we reacted emotionally and take things into our own hands? When your conscience speaks to you, do you listen?

After this incident Saul went home, but the conflict between them doesn’t end there. Saul, though spared by David, continues in his jealousy such that by Chapter 26 he is seeking to kill David, yet again. This time David learns that Saul and his camp were nearby and he goes to Saul at night while he is sleeping. Even though surrounded by his commander and entire army they did not awake to protect Saul. As verse 12 says “For they were all asleep because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.” The Lord was the one that was testing David this time. Yet again, though encouraged to kill Saul, David refrained and this time did not even cut Saul’s robe. David remained sensitive to his conscience, he remained submissive to God’s will, he did not harbor anger and did not take revenge. Look at verses10-11 “…as the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.”

As Christians we often look at circumstances to direct our decisions, but David didn’t do that here. The Lord made everything look like the path was set for David to kill Saul. The people around David would have thought the Lord had provided him with the opportunity to kill Saul. No one would have thought he had done wrong. But instead of looking at the circumstances, instead of listening to the men around him, David went back to the underlying principles that he knew God required of him - obedience, submission and compassion. Where Saul had rejected God’s way, David obeyed. Where Saul chose his own way, David submitted. Where Saul was seeking to kill David out of jealousy, David showed great compassion on Saul.

Through it all David kept repeating a key phrase, “the Lord’s anointed”. David properly saw Saul, his authority and king, as appointed by God. He did not want to interfere in God’s plan in any way but rather let God decide how Saul would die. He understood God’s sovereignty over his life and over the life of Saul and victoriously passed the tests that God put before him, he stayed true to God.

In our own lives, are we constantly aware of God’s sovereignty, willingly submitting to it as we face each choice and difficulty, test and trial? First, before reacting emotionally consider as David did what our response should be if we respond in obedience, submission and compassion.