That Scandalous Cross
I was able to attend the Deeper Conference, a part of Living Waters/The Way of the Master ministries, by getting some free tickets from In Touch. What a blessing! The conference was awesome—a holy time. I want to share some things I learned and some thoughts I had. Speakers included: Ray Comfort, Emeal Zwayne, Johnny Hunt, Paul Washer, Kirk Cameron, Todd Friel, Marshall Foster, and Ken Ham. What a line-up! Next year—Ravi Zacharias!
Ray Comfort—The Missing Link to the Cross
Peter made the mistake of following Christ from a distance in Luke 22:54.
How many of us are guilty of following Christ from a distance? How many other things crowd our mind and our schedule, other than Christ alone? If we continue to follow Him from a distance, we will find ourselves in perilous situations, with no power nor energy to get out of them. We may even deny our Lord, as Peter did.
We must remain close to Jesus through prayer and daily Bible reading. We should also share with others about the great things He has done for us and because the fate of those who are unaware of their sin condition means an eternity in hell. We must not let fear or pride or anything else get in the way of sharing about Jesus.
Emeal “E.Z.” Zwayne – Mind Matters
We need to go deeper in our pursuit of God. We should not be merely hearers, but doers of the Word. We should love God with our minds, as much as we do our hearts, but so often we let our souls be influenced by the world. We’ve become such a lazy culture. We let others do our thinking and living for us—as we watch. Our primary objective in life seems to be amusement and entertainment.
We need to ask ourselves—Is God really the object of my worship? Do I spend most of my waking hours pursuing and living for Him? Or do I fill my mind with images on TV? Mental passivity weakens the ability to focus and causes one to be withdrawn from life. We live in a demonically, individualistic, narcissistic world. The Word says to be transformed, not conformed to the world (Rom 12:1-2)—but how long each day do we spend being transformed? Something seriously needs to change. We need to:
1. Acknowledge the seriousness of the problem.
2. Cry out to God.
3. Learn to become people of discipline, discernment, and determination. We’re consistently not consistent.
4. We need to manage our time more closely. Eliminate those things in our lives that can be eliminated.
5. Begin to dive in to God’s Word, godly teaching, meditate on Truth.
6. Set some holy goals, such as memorizing Scripture, reading the Bible daily, etc.
Think of the effect we Christians could have on the world if we truly engaged ourselves in holy pursuits!
Johnny Hunt – The Sufficiency of the Bible
The Benefits of God’s Word
1. Inspiration
2. Illumination
3. Motivation
The Blessings of God’s Word
1. Personal Relationship
2. Parameters based on Scripture
3. Prayer with a Purpose
4. Petitions for a full, open relationship. Once you really come clean, you don’t care who knows your past.
5. Psalmist reveals his heart.
It’s not what you quit doing that changes the world; it’s what you start.
wonder=>obedience=>understanding=>deeper desire=>love for God =>guidance=>freedom=>God’s blessings
Paul Washer – Essential Truths of the Cross (he was my fav speaker at the Conference)
Don’t be mesmerized by trinkets or things you can get from God. Instead, be mesmerized by Him alone and what He did for you!
Let your life be consumed by Truth.
There is a lack of Gospel preaching today; this has led to Gospel ignorance.
Gospel reductionism—little or not much truth
Gospel proclamation—we do not have to cheapen our message or use gimmicks.
Think about this—God has NEVER rejected anyone!
Confronting society with its sin:
1. Speak much of man’s depravity
2. Use every means possible to speak truth
3. Preach sin. Expose it.
4. Teach on the doctrine of God, the attributes of God, the justice and holiness of God.
One of the tasks of the Holy Spirit is to convict of sin. The superficiality that is rampant in our culture fights against the Holy Spirit. The loving surgeon hurts in order to heal. We are acting like thieves when we fail to speak about sin. Man is a dark backdrop, but it makes the light and glory of Christ shine.
Rom 1:21. It is a great crime when we know God, but we don’t glorify or thank Him.
“out of mere grace”—how I got where I am. He loves me because He loves me. I gave Him no reason to love me or save me.
Great dilemma--How can God be just and at the same time, justify sinners? There had to be redemption (the price paid to liberate a criminal). There had to be propitiation (appeasement, sacrifice). Jesus satisfied the demands of God’s justice.
Paul Washer—Problems in Today’s Culture
Paul did not change his message, repackage it, or water it down. The Gospel is going to be offensive.
Relativism—there are no absolutes. The Gospel, when proclaimed, will awaken man from his slumber.
Pluralism—everything is true. When everything is truth=the death of truth.
The world sneers at the Christian’s intolerable tolerance to tolerance. Pluralism provides no answers. It just makes people no longer feel or think.
The Gospel, the Cross is scandalous. Look at all the events that led up to it. (virgin birth, born in a stable, a carpenter who started preaching with no formal training, healing on the Sabbath, etc). If we would just change one word of our message--”the” to “a”-- it would remove the scandal associated with Christianity. If we said, “Jesus is a way” instead of “the way”, the world would accept us. Ah, but that scandalous Cross.
Man tears down God’s temple and replaces it with monuments to himself. Man makes himself the center.
We must resist changing our Gospel for the culture. In truth, God is the seeker, not man. If we want to be accommodating, we should accommodate God. Don’t seek the honor of earth; seek the honor of heaven.
The Gospel message is impossible and unbelievable—except by the power of God.
Ezekiel 37:1-10 is about the conversion of men
When you preach, you’re like Ezekiel, standing before dry, dead bones. God is the wind. Men cannot be converted any more than the dead can be raised—except by the power of holy God.
The more you depend on flesh and programs, the less of the power of God you will see. “Carnal means” don’t save spiritually.
The church in America today looks more like 6 Flags over Jesus.
However, His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him. And you can’t make a goat into a sheep.
Ray Comfort—The Missing Link to the Cross
Peter made the mistake of following Christ from a distance in Luke 22:54.
How many of us are guilty of following Christ from a distance? How many other things crowd our mind and our schedule, other than Christ alone? If we continue to follow Him from a distance, we will find ourselves in perilous situations, with no power nor energy to get out of them. We may even deny our Lord, as Peter did.
We must remain close to Jesus through prayer and daily Bible reading. We should also share with others about the great things He has done for us and because the fate of those who are unaware of their sin condition means an eternity in hell. We must not let fear or pride or anything else get in the way of sharing about Jesus.
Emeal “E.Z.” Zwayne – Mind Matters
We need to go deeper in our pursuit of God. We should not be merely hearers, but doers of the Word. We should love God with our minds, as much as we do our hearts, but so often we let our souls be influenced by the world. We’ve become such a lazy culture. We let others do our thinking and living for us—as we watch. Our primary objective in life seems to be amusement and entertainment.
We need to ask ourselves—Is God really the object of my worship? Do I spend most of my waking hours pursuing and living for Him? Or do I fill my mind with images on TV? Mental passivity weakens the ability to focus and causes one to be withdrawn from life. We live in a demonically, individualistic, narcissistic world. The Word says to be transformed, not conformed to the world (Rom 12:1-2)—but how long each day do we spend being transformed? Something seriously needs to change. We need to:
1. Acknowledge the seriousness of the problem.
2. Cry out to God.
3. Learn to become people of discipline, discernment, and determination. We’re consistently not consistent.
4. We need to manage our time more closely. Eliminate those things in our lives that can be eliminated.
5. Begin to dive in to God’s Word, godly teaching, meditate on Truth.
6. Set some holy goals, such as memorizing Scripture, reading the Bible daily, etc.
Think of the effect we Christians could have on the world if we truly engaged ourselves in holy pursuits!
Johnny Hunt – The Sufficiency of the Bible
The Benefits of God’s Word
1. Inspiration
2. Illumination
3. Motivation
The Blessings of God’s Word
1. Personal Relationship
2. Parameters based on Scripture
3. Prayer with a Purpose
4. Petitions for a full, open relationship. Once you really come clean, you don’t care who knows your past.
5. Psalmist reveals his heart.
It’s not what you quit doing that changes the world; it’s what you start.
wonder=>obedience=>understanding=>deeper desire=>love for God =>guidance=>freedom=>God’s blessings
Paul Washer – Essential Truths of the Cross (he was my fav speaker at the Conference)
Don’t be mesmerized by trinkets or things you can get from God. Instead, be mesmerized by Him alone and what He did for you!
Let your life be consumed by Truth.
There is a lack of Gospel preaching today; this has led to Gospel ignorance.
Gospel reductionism—little or not much truth
Gospel proclamation—we do not have to cheapen our message or use gimmicks.
Think about this—God has NEVER rejected anyone!
Confronting society with its sin:
1. Speak much of man’s depravity
2. Use every means possible to speak truth
3. Preach sin. Expose it.
4. Teach on the doctrine of God, the attributes of God, the justice and holiness of God.
One of the tasks of the Holy Spirit is to convict of sin. The superficiality that is rampant in our culture fights against the Holy Spirit. The loving surgeon hurts in order to heal. We are acting like thieves when we fail to speak about sin. Man is a dark backdrop, but it makes the light and glory of Christ shine.
Rom 1:21. It is a great crime when we know God, but we don’t glorify or thank Him.
“out of mere grace”—how I got where I am. He loves me because He loves me. I gave Him no reason to love me or save me.
Great dilemma--How can God be just and at the same time, justify sinners? There had to be redemption (the price paid to liberate a criminal). There had to be propitiation (appeasement, sacrifice). Jesus satisfied the demands of God’s justice.
Paul Washer—Problems in Today’s Culture
Paul did not change his message, repackage it, or water it down. The Gospel is going to be offensive.
Relativism—there are no absolutes. The Gospel, when proclaimed, will awaken man from his slumber.
Pluralism—everything is true. When everything is truth=the death of truth.
The world sneers at the Christian’s intolerable tolerance to tolerance. Pluralism provides no answers. It just makes people no longer feel or think.
The Gospel, the Cross is scandalous. Look at all the events that led up to it. (virgin birth, born in a stable, a carpenter who started preaching with no formal training, healing on the Sabbath, etc). If we would just change one word of our message--”the” to “a”-- it would remove the scandal associated with Christianity. If we said, “Jesus is a way” instead of “the way”, the world would accept us. Ah, but that scandalous Cross.
Man tears down God’s temple and replaces it with monuments to himself. Man makes himself the center.
We must resist changing our Gospel for the culture. In truth, God is the seeker, not man. If we want to be accommodating, we should accommodate God. Don’t seek the honor of earth; seek the honor of heaven.
The Gospel message is impossible and unbelievable—except by the power of God.
Ezekiel 37:1-10 is about the conversion of men
When you preach, you’re like Ezekiel, standing before dry, dead bones. God is the wind. Men cannot be converted any more than the dead can be raised—except by the power of holy God.
The more you depend on flesh and programs, the less of the power of God you will see. “Carnal means” don’t save spiritually.
The church in America today looks more like 6 Flags over Jesus.
However, His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him. And you can’t make a goat into a sheep.
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