April 1, 2016: This week around the table we got back into Acts 2 and talked about the unity of believers.
Table Talk is filmed Friday mornings from 6:30-8:00 at the Egg Platter on US 19 in Pinellas Park, FL. If you happen to be in the area and interested in joining us please come; all men are welcome regardless of denomination.
So this week we are looking at worship and last time we looked at what worship is and why as Christians we worship God. Today I want to look at Romans 12:1-2 and what it says about our worship. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
We see in Romans 12:1 that Paul is telling the believers in Rome that they need to present their bodies as a living sacrifice. The big thing about this statement is that it is an act of humility and submission. I know as men those are two words we do not want to be associated with us, but that is what it means to be a living sacrifice. This is because in most cases a sacrifice was killed before being placed on the altar, but as a living sacrifice we are able to get up and walk off; this is where the humility and submission comes in. We are submissive because as a living sacrifice we are willingly placing our lives into God’s hand, allowing Him to do what he wants with us, to use us how He wills. We show humility because the act of presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice shows we understand it is not about us, that there is someone greater than we are.
Paul then tells us and the Roman believers that the act of presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice is an act of spiritual worship. This is because of that attitude of submission and humility required to first present ourselves as a true living sacrifice. You see as a believer when we submit ourselves to God as a living sacrifice our hearts are crying out to God because of His love for us. We are saying to God that out of our love for what He has done for us, we realize that He is sovereign and greater than we are. That because of who God is we willingly submit to Him, we will never be perfect but we are holy and acceptable to God because out of our hearts we are turned towards Him. So what does it look like to be a living sacrifice? We will look at that next time as we look at Romans 12:2.
Every week Becoming God’s Man Ministries records a radio show that is aired on Inspiration Radio 1110 AM on Sunday mornings at 8:30 in the St. Petersburg area. We usually have a number of the different pastors and leaders that are involved with the ministry there and occasionally a guy that the ministry has reached will join us.
Air Date April 5, 2016: This week we looked at the post resurrection appearances of Christ
Over the last couple of weeks we have been looking at going “back to the basics” in regards to our faith. We have looked at first the most essential basic, that of whether we are a Christian, to then why it is important to study the Bible. This week I want to look at a basic that is often misunderstood; the concept of worship. Today I want to look at what worship is and why as Christians we worship.
When I was in seminary in one class I remember learning that the origins of our word worship comes from an old term worthship or one showing the worthiness of something or some one. So you see in terms of worship we are to be expressing to God how we view him as being worthy. I often think of the scene in the movie “Wayne’s World” where Wayne and Garth meet Aerosmith and fall down saying “We’re not worthy!”
To some people the concept of worship is often closely tied to that of praise music; which wile there is nothing wrong with singing praises, many of the Psalms call for us to sing praises as a part of our worship, that is not all worship is. I often think of the story behind the song “Heart of Worship,” where it was written after the pastor at a church decided the church would take a month of worshiping God without using music. This is because we often look at worship as being the praise music but often do not even take the time to contemplate the meaning of the words or sing the songs without really meaning what we are singing.
You see it is when we take the time to meditate on the words, take them to heart, and sing the songs from our heart when they become a part of our worship; worship is an action that comes out of our hearts and not just a routine. We see this throughout the Bible, Isaiah 1:10-17, Micah 6:8, James 1:26-27, and Jesus through the Gospels point out that this is the problem with the Pharisees; they think keeping a set of rules, following traditions, is more important than a heart yearning for God.
So if our worship is from our heart and not just a set of repetitive actions to be checked off a list, why do we worship. The simple answer is because in our hearts we know God deserves our worship; but it is deeper than that. There are many verses in the Bible that tell us why we are to worship God. In Hebrews 12:28 it is because He has given us a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Psalms proclaim it is for the glory due to Him. Psalm 100 tells us that He is good and His love endures forever. In 1 Peter 2:10 we see that it is because we have received mercy. Essentially we are to worship God because of who He is, and what He has done for us; for the mercy and grace He has shown to us through his work on the cross and the free gift of salvation.
Well today we will wrap up looking at 2 Timothy 3:14-17 and the importance of studying the Bible. So far we have seen that the Bible helps to make us wise regarding salvation, showing us God’s plan for salvation and how we are saved; and we have seen that the Bible was inspired by God and is profitable for living out our Christian faith. Which leads us into today’s topic. In verse 16-17 we see Paul tell Timothy regarding the Bible, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped mfor every good work.” Where we will look at today is that it helps us to be complete and equipped for every good work.
In verse 17, Paul starts out by telling Timothy that by being in the Scriptures “the man of God may be complete,” other translations may have perfect. The first thing to notice is that it is “the man of God” that is made complete. What Paul is getting at is that what he is saying pertains to believers. A person can read the Bible all they want, but unless the Holy Spirit is working in them they will never gain the full benefit of what the Scriptures contain. They may see it as suggestions to good moral living with a collection of stories; but never understand that it is the divine truth, God’s holy word.
So what does a believer gain from the word? It makes them complete or in some translations perfect. What the word Paul used here is getting at is not being sinless or that sort of perfection but rather it is the concept of being in fit shape or in fit condition. To be made complete through study of the Word is to put us in a place where we are the most effective when God uses us. Think of it like a car, you can do the bare minimum to keep a car running; but put it in the hands of a good mechanic to fine tune it and suddenly the car does not just run but it runs at its peak performance. The Christian is much the same way when the Holy Spirit works in them through the study of Scripture.
We then go on to notice that Paul states that not only are we made fit for service but the Bible will also equip us for service as well. What Paul is getting at is that through studying the Bible we are given the tools needed to do God’s work. Now the works that Paul is speaking of here are those that come out of our faith, they are an expression of our faith. Studying the Bible is what gives us the power to live out our faith. Often we state we feel we do not have what we need in order to do what God has called us to do, but Paul is stating here that we have all that we need and then more, all we need to do is to spend time in God’s word.
March 25, 2016: This week around the table we talked about the fear of the Lord
Table Talk is filmed Friday mornings from 6:30-8:00 at the Egg Platter on US 19 in Pinellas Park, FL. If you happen to be in the area and interested in joining us please come; all men are welcome regardless of denomination.
So this week we are looking at the Bible and why it is important to study it; last time we looked at how a knowledge of Scripture helps you to come to a knowledge of salvation. Today we are going to look at the next aspect of why studying the Bible is important. In 2 Timothy 3:16 we see, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Paul tells Timothy two things here that make studying the Bible important; it is inspired by God and it is profitable.
The first thing that Paul mentions in this verse is the importance of the source of Scripture. I know when writing research papers there are different types of sources, where the professors want you to use as many quality sources as possible, sources that are accurate and reliable as opposed to the random rants of someone on the internet. What he points our is that Scripture was inspired by God, or as we see in some translations that it was God breathed. What this means is that what we see in the Bible was in a way dictated to the authors by God; but in a way that was more in terms of thoughts and concepts, as God’s truth flowed through the minds, souls, hearts, emotions, and personalities of the various authors. This is seen by each writer having their own style and presentation; Paul uses a different vocabulary than James, and Luke writes to the Greek mind while Matthew speaks more to the Jews. It all however, is God’s truth breathed into the writers.
The next thing we see is that not only is the source of Scripture important, but the uses of Scripture is important. Paul gives a list of ways that the Bible is to be used by stating that in each of these areas Scripture is profitable, it brings about the best results. The four areas in which Paul lists Scripture as being profitable all work together in helping the believer grow. First is that of teaching or in fancy terms doctrine, it is learning what is right. That is followed up by reproof, or telling us what is not right. So with these first two aspects Scripture tells us what we should be doing and what we should not be doing; what our goals should be and what we should try to avoid. Then there comes correction, this is where Scripture helps to tell us how to get right; especially when we fail, as we all will do at one point or another. Finally Scripture is profitable for training in righteousness, or how we are to stay right. These last two go together because as we are shown how we have failed and how to get right with God, we then are shown how to remain that way. This is not a one time deal, it is a life long process that we must all endure; and that is what Paul is getting at with how Scripture is profitable to us. It brings us to salvation, to faith in Christ, but then leads us through maturing in our faith.
Every week Becoming God’s Man Ministries records a radio show that is aired on Inspiration Radio 1110 AM on Sunday mornings at 8:30 in the St. Petersburg area. We usually have a number of the different pastors and leaders that are involved with the ministry there and occasionally a guy that the ministry has reached will join us.
Air Date March 27, 2016: This week around the table we had Pete O’Shea, Chuck, Glenn, and Pastor Ray talking about Easter and its significance.
After coming to faith in Christ studying Scripture is probably one of the more important aspects of the Christian life to look at. So why is it important to study Scripture? Paul gives us a good look at the reason for the importance of Scripture and being well acquainted with it. In 2 Timothy 3:14-17, Paul writes, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Today what I want to look at is what Paul tells Timothy in verses 14 & 15, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
You see the Word of God is what helps us to counter temptation, and defeat Satan’s lies. Looking at society and our modern culture, temptations, deceit, and evil seems to prevail and the only weapon we have that can effectively deal with it is the Bible. So why do so many of us seem to disregard and avoid studying the God’s Word? Some may think it was good for when we were young, or that it is irrelevant to our lives now. Nothing is further from the truth, if anything as we get older our need for the truth found in the Scriptures increases as we face more temptations. This is why Paul told Timothy to continue in what he had learned.
The second part of this was that Paul not only was reminding Timothy to continue in what he learned from the Scriptures; but reminded him who it was that he learned it from. You see as we study Scripture it is important that we pay close attention to who we learn from. You see if we are learning from those with a firm foundation of faith, then we will be less likely to fall into faulty doctrine. Timothy had learned from his grandmother and mother, then later as an adult learned from Paul; basically the three greatest Christian influences in Timothy’s life was the source of his learning what was in the Scriptures. This is also why as men we need to be the spiritual leader in our homes to help teach our children and raise them up in the Word.
So now we get into one of the major purposes for the importance of the Scriptures, it has the ability to lead one to salvation. It is not the Bible that saves us or our studying it; but it is what helps to point us to Christ. How does the Bible lead us to salvation? First it points out our need. It shows us how we can never measure up to the perfection that God requires. However, it doesn’t just point out our need for salvation but reveals to us God’s plan of salvation. Finally the Bible helps to nourish us by giving us assurance of our salvation and helping us to grow spiritually.
So in looking at the getting back to the basics and more specifically the basic of what it means to be a Christian we saw that first we are saved by grace, then last time we saw how as a Christian our focus will change from other stuff, including ourselves and our family, to being focused solely on God. Well with a change in our focus eventually our lives will change. One verse that comes to mind is Psalms 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” So now let’s take apart this verse and see what I mean by it leading us to a changed life.
The first thing the psalmist mentions in this verse is that we are to delight ourselves in the Lord. You see this is where that change in focus comes in. When we start looking towards Christ and making Him our all, our one and only desire is where the changed life comes from. Jesus states in Luke 14 that one must hate his family in order to be His disciple, this means that there is nothing else in our life that takes our attention from God. So you see when we are focused on God we look to Him for everything. When times are good we look to God in gratitude, when times are bad we look to God for sustenance; no matter what the situation we are to look to God as He should be our All in All.
So what happens as our focus shifts from us and onto God? Well according to this verse we are given the desires of our hearts. So what are the desires of our heart? What exactly is it that God is giving us as we delight in Him? Will he give us all the things we want? Things such as money, fame, material things? No I don’t think that it is quite that simple. You see what I believe God is giving us is not those things that we want, the things that we desire; but rather God is actually changing our desires, He is actually giving us His desires. You see as we are walking in God’s will, focusing on Him we start to desire the things that God desires.
So what do these desires look like? James puts it like this, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Then Micah states it as such, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” You see the desires God gives us is that we are focused on serving others rather than ourselves. You see the Christian life is a progression, we are saved which leads to a change in our focus; that change in focus then leads to a change in our life. As Christians we are called to “be holy as God is holy.” Yet while we know it is an unattainable goal, it is still a goal that we should strive towards; or as I have heard it put we are not sinless, but every day we should sin less.