Manspeak

By Walt Alexander

Yesterday, as I was reading 2 Peter 2, I was provoked by what Peter wrote about sin. Peter is writing to the church, warning them of false teachers and prophets. In explaining them, he tells the due judgment of the unrighteous (sinful).

Here’s what Peter taught me about sin:
1. Sin is the result of a sinful nature (v.12).
Just as sin in these false teachers and prophets is a result of their sinful nature, I am a sinner. This fact is unavoidable. Psalm 51:5 says, “in sin did my mother conceive me.” No one taught me to sin. I am a sinner by birth. Remember kids. Who taught them to not share their toys? Or who taught them to hit their sister or brother? Matter of fact, who taught me not to share my bread or coffee? No one. Indeed, it is our instinct to sin. We are driven about by our sinful desires and cravings.

2. Sin carries ignorance and deception (v.12).
These false teachers and prophets were blaspheming (speaking evil) about things they did not know. They were ignorant and deceived. They lacked knowledge of their evilness. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful and beyond cure, who can understand it?” So, my heart is deceitful. I must assume ignorance and not assume that I understand or have arrived at a sufficient understanding of my sinfulness.

This means I must not assume innocence after a conflict with a friend. I must question my motives and carefully investigate my heart by the light of the Holy Spirit.

3. Sin promises pleasure and delivers temporary pleasure (v.13).
Isn’t this true? Don’t you get some deceitful satisfaction in disobeying your conscience or in responding sinfully? That is because sin promises and delivers temporary pleasure. There is temporary pleasure in sex before marraige, lust, bitterness, slander, white lies, etc. But this pleasure is deadly.

This is quite sobering in considering seemingly good things. Sin is not merely in desiring inherently sinful things but in prizing perfectly good things too much. This means we must search all lives for good things that we love too much, like iBooks, iPods, cars, clothes, food, pleasing men, etc. These things are not inherently sinful, but they, like sinful things, compete with our passion for and satisfaction in God.

4. Sin is insatiable (“always needing more and impossible to satisfy”).
Just as these false teachers and prophets were never satisfied, my sinful cravings will never be satisfied. One of the biggest lies of temptation is: you will be satisfied. It promises that if you just give it this last thing, then it will be satisfied and the craving will be no more. Wrong. Sin will constantly be craving for more and more and more. It will never cease.

In fact, John Owen says that the more you give in to sin, or to a sinful craving, the more strength it has. The more you treasure up, the more treasure there is.

How are you doing?
Do you tend to respond to a post like this, saying, “That’s not for me”?
Do you think that’s not for me?
Do you think, “I am doing well right now in that area…I don’t need that”?

If that’s you, you are not alone. I often struggle with an accurate view of temptation. I often think I am not that bad off. Or I think, “God won’t care about this. This is just normal.”

Sin is unavoidable, serious, deadly, deceitful, and insatiable. It must be seriously considered and continually killed. As John Owen challenges us, “Be killing sin, or it be killing you.”

Men, I think its time we talk about the importance of Man Dates. I
know you might be thinking, “What in the world are you talking
about?!”  All men who love the church and desire to cultivate deep,
genuine, and meaningful relationships with other men in the church go
on man dates.  Since this has become a phenomenon, and an important
one I might add, I think its time we brought some clarity, definition
and purpose to man dates.

Man Date – setting aside a substantial period of time with one other
guy to hang out, talk and encourage one another in our life together
with the Lord.

To speak boldly, we need man dates.  Maybe it would be a regular
thing, like spending time with an accountability partner.  Or maybe it
would be once a month with one of your closer dudes.  But whatever the
frequency and activity, we as men need to spend focused time together
with limited superficial conversation and activity and really build
into each other’s lives and share the lives we now have because of
Jesus Christ together.  We need to be sharpened and strengthened by
other men.

Last night, I went on a man date with my good buddy Daniel.  We had a
blast and over all I was encouraged and provoked to love God more.
So, go call a dude and kick it!  If you have any great ideas or
thoughts concerning man dates, let me hear them!

SELF-CONTROL?

Is this the kind of self-control we need?

by Travis Maples

I figured I would spend this week writing a little bit about a couple of our more formidable opponents in our pursuit of the lost, the “fear of man” and apathy. What is the fear of man?  It is caring more about what others think of you than what God thinks of you.  At root it is a craving for approval; a desire for others to exalt and think highly of you.  Know thy enemy because it’s right here with us at all times!  The next major foe to evangelism, apathy, is a deadness of spirit that rears its ugly head in our lives from time to time.  It is carelessness for the condition of those around us. 

We must go to the cross to prepare for warfare against these nasty enemies.  We must dwell there, reminding ourselves of who we are in light of all that God is.  Once we catch a glimpse of our sinfulness in light of God’s holiness, two things happen in our souls.  One, we no longer care for what others think of us because it’s there that we see what we deserve in light of what we received; we see truth.  We see who it is we are to serve—God—“the one who drew me up from the pit of destruction” (Psalm 40:2).  It no longer seems important what the Joneses think.  Two, at the cross we lose our apathy because it melts away in the heat of God’s love for us.  Often times we don’t evangelize because, as Kenneth Maresco writes, “we ourselves have become complacent with the cross” (article: “Preaching Christ Crucified”).  Christians who don’t evangelize have either become ensnared with the fear of man or apathetic towards the lost.  It is at the cross that we deal the needed blows to such enemies as these that reside within us.

Here are two men who were not apathetic and definitely cared nothing for the praise of men to inspire you …

Charles Spurgeon did not allow the fear of man to prevent him from serving his God and loving a lost and dying world.  Apathy doesn’t grow easily in a heart so hot: “To be laughed at is no great hardship to me.  I can delight in scoffs and jeers.  Caricatures, lampoons, and slanders are my glory.  But that you should turn from your own mercy this is my sorrow.  Spit on me, but, oh repent! Laugh at me, but, oh believe in my Master!  Make my body as the dirt of the street, but damn not your own souls!” (The Soul Winner)

What’s that? Still not convinced?  Spurgeon was in no real physical danger of being harmed anyway?  Well, here’s another old and respected dead guy, Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, who did have his life on the line before a multitude of haters.  Let’s see how he responded to that temptation to fear of man.  According to Bruce Shelley in Church History in Plain Language it happened like this: “The authorities brought the highly respected pastor into the crowded arena, prepared to shove him to the lions—but only reluctantly.  They much preferred a denial of the charge against him.  He was a Christian.  ‘Simply swear by Ceasar,’ the governor pled.  ‘I am a Christian,’ said Polycarp.  ‘If you want to know what that is, set a day and listen.’ ‘Persuade the people,’ answered the governor.  Poycarp said, ‘I would explain to you, but not to them.’  ‘Then I’ll throw you to the beasts.’  ‘Bring on your beasts,’ said Polycarp.  ‘If you scorn the beasts, I’ll have you burned.’ ‘You try to frighten me with the fire that burns for an hour, and you forget the fire of hell that never goes out.’  The governor called to the people, ‘Polycarp says he is a Christian.’  Then the mob let loose.  ‘This is the teacher of
Asia,’ they shouted, ‘the father of the Christians, the destroyer of our gods.’  So Polycarp, praying that his death would be an acceptable sacrifice, was burned at the stake.”   

God, forgive me for my apathetic heart that is so easily contented in my nice, warm home with my full fridge—seemingly safe, sound and convenient behind my front door.  May I not be drunk with my abundance, complacent with the cross.  Helps us to care more about what you think than what those that don’t know you think about us.  May we draw near to the cross daily.  Help us to live for the audience of One.

If you have any stories about how God used you to reach the lost and how the Holy Spirit gave you power over the fear of man I’d love to hear about it.  

REGULATORS, Mount Up!

by Mike Plewniak

Messages from “The Summit” are now online. You can download them by going here.

Enjoy.

Tony Giles, in an article in the latest issue of The Journal of Biblical Counseling has this to say:

Views of personal change abound. New ones arise each year based on various biblical elements of change. One may tend to emphasize one element over another leaving us with a skewed and ineffective approach. A biblical view of change is not one based on a few individual Bible verses. A wide variety of verses do address nitty-gritty issues like money and marriage, sex and slander, but these in isolation often relate slivers or sections of life. What is missing from this approach is the ‘big picture’ way the Bible thinks about life. A biblical view of change is based on the whole counsel of God and is in keeping with what the Bible is all about.
Start with this question: What are the biblical methods for accomplishing God’s goal for change in our lives? How does God’s Word describe growth and change? (Read Isaiah 55:10 – 13 and Jeremiah 17:5 – 10). God changes us by recapturing our hearts to serve Him alone. … As David Henderson writes,

The term “biblical” needs to be redefined. It cannot mean merely “from somewhere within the pages of Scripture.” In light of the way the Bible is written, as a single fabric of thought stretching from the front to the back, biblical must mean, “in keeping with what the Bible is about,” And the Bible is about God’s unstoppable passion to be known, loved and served – through Jesus Christ – by those He has made.

Early 20th century Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck speaks about this ‘big picture’ as

…the reality that the creation of the Father, ruined by sin, is restored in the death of the Son of God and re-created by the grace of the Holy Spirit into a kingdom of God. …[its about] God, who is all-sufficient in himself, nevertheless glorifies himself in his creation, which, even when it is torn apart by sin, is gathered up again in Christ. [its about] God, always God, from beginning to end – God in his being, God in his creation, God against sin, God in Christ, God breaking down all resistance through the Holy Spirit and guiding the whole of creation back to the objective he decreed for it: the glory of his name.

(Dead Dutch guys really know how to encompass tons of biblical truth in just a few sentences!)

Tony Giles goes on to say,

…It is one thing to change my behavior – but lasting change is from the inside out and has to do with the affections of my heart. Whatever rules the heart exerts an inescapable influence on our lives. … What do you say to the person who reads Scripture and closes it and with a sigh because he is burdened by his inabilities and overwhelmed by failures? You say, “Open your Bible again and let’s take a look at your identity. Then, let’s consider justification, adoption, and union with Christ.” …We want our people to read the Bible because there they find the call to new obedience and the Christian’s new identity.

Tony also says, “The power to change is the power of the gospel and the sanctifying work of the Spirit.”

At the base of all of this is the firm conviction that the gospel (the ‘big picture’) is big enough and robust enough for any problem (see JBC vol. 24, num. 3); whether it be sin of the heart or life’s circumstances. The power of the gospel and the implications of the gospel are completely sufficient for all of life. We, as Mike Bullmore has so masterfully taught, need to know and understand the gospel and all of the implications of the gospel in order to draw the gospel connections to every single part of our lives. It is through this powerful gospel that the Spirit of God will work real and lasting change.

Kevin

P.S. Kevin’s personal political convictions
1. Keep the babies alive
2. Keep guns in the hands of responsible heads of households
3. Keep marriage as a convenant between one man and one woman
4. Don’t double tax the poor
5. Freedom for me to worship God and preach the Gospel

P.P.S.
I whole-heartedly support the website below
www.stuffonmycat.com

P.P.P.S.
I also whole-heartedly support legislation that requires all cat owners to own one of these.

posted by Mike Plewniak

Over the next couple of weeks, you will probably hear a lot about “the summit” on Manspeak. This was a Sovereign Grace Men’s conference that Cornerstone Church and several other churches attended. If you were not able to go, click here to get the outlines of the messages. If you did go, we would love to hear what your highlight was, how God worked in your life thru the messages, and anything else you thought about the conference.

Let’s seek to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves….being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1)

by Travis Maples 

It’s Saturday, and all you guys must be on your way back to Knoxville by now.  I was not able to go to the men’s retreat in Charlotte.  I brought it up to my boss and he was not a big fan of the idea.  So I stayed back.  My wonderful wife, seeing that I was bummed about not being able to join the men in such unique fellowship, surprised me with an overnight stay by myself at a cabin in the Smoky Mountains for a personal retreat.  She knows how much I love the mountains, the woods, cabins, fireplaces, and some good books to get into.  She wanted me to have the opportunity to combine those things with time alone for prayer.  Since today is my day to post about evangelism and here I am praying and reading about prayer, I thought I’d combine the two.  So here is Spurgeon reminding us that evangelism must be rooted in fervent prayer: “The soul winner must be a master of the art of prayer.  You can not bring souls to God if you go not to God yourself.  You must get your battle ax and your weapons of war from the armory of sacred communication with Christ.  If you are much alone with Jesus, you will catch His Spirit.  You will be fired with the flame that burned in His breast and consumed His life.  You will weep with the tears that fell upon Jerusalem when He saw it perishing.  If you cannot speak as eloquently as He did, yet shall there be about what you say somewhat of the same power which in Him thrilled the hearts and awoke the consciences of men.”  (Soul Winner, p.231).

posted by Jonathan
Tomorrow. It begins! Who’s the most insanely excited about The Summit?!

I was dropped off on Hinchinbrook Island in the heart of Prince William Sound by an air taxi on a cool, rainy Oct. 14 morning.

Hinchinbrook is a 165-square-mile island near Cordova, Alaska with an estimated population of about 100 brown bears, giving it the distinction of harboring the highest density of bears of any island in the Sound, according to Dave Crowley, Cordova area wildlife biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Four to six bears are killed by hunters on the island every year, though rarely one of more
than 400 pounds.

I wasn’t there to hunt bear. Instead, I had packed for a week of hunting for Sitka blacktail deer on the remote,wooded island. I did, however, pick up a permit to shoot a bear, just in case.

On day two of the group’s hunt, the skies cleared at 8:30 a.m. I set out to follow a creek bed
upstream looking for deer. I was carrying a .300-caliber
Winchester Magnum, and a significantly more powerful
.338-caliber Winchester Magnum in case a bear crossed my path.

In the creek, I spotted a deep pool with 20 salmon circling.

By this time, the run was over and the salmon were looking
pretty nasty. I started thinking that I was
looking at a bear’s dinner plate.

That got me in what I like to call ”bear mode.”

I continued following the creek upstream until they came to
a small island ringed with thick brush. Some end-of-season blueberries
clung to the surrounding brush. In the middle of the island was a
spruce tree larger than I could fit my arm around. At the
base of the tree were signs that an animal had tried to dig a hole.

About 9:30 a.m., I glanced upstream.

Forty yards away was a big brown bear with all four paws in the creek,
flipping over logs looking for salmon.

“He’s a shooter,” I said under my breath.

So I started getting in the zone. When I am going to
take an animal, I am really concentrating. I racked shells into my
gun and took off my pack and left it by the tree.

I moved a few feet upstream. About halfway between me and
the bear was a large fallen tree.

I thought when the bear crawls over that log, he will present his
vital areas and I’ll take him. I brought the rifle up to take a shot, but the bear moved over the log like it
wasn’t there.

I thought, ‘Oh crap.’ I knew I wouldn’t have a chance to get a shot off there.

As the bear kept coming along the creek, I momentarily
lost sight of him in a thicket, so I retreated back to the big
spruce.

I was sitting there concentrating when, a few seconds later, he
pops up right in front of me, about 10 yards away and he was coming
toward me. I don’t know if the wind was in my favor. I was dressed in camouflage. He might not have seen me.

I put the scope on him. I wanted to hit him in the chest, but all I could
see was his massive head.

I thought I had to take the kill soon or die from this beast. As I aimed for his left
eye I pulled the trigger. The bullet took an arc and I hit it about two inches low in the
side of his muzzle and into his brain.

He buckled backwards and raised his head like he was going to howl at
the moon, but nothing came out. I put two more rounds
in the vital area, then three more after that. Six total.

It was amazing

I watched for a few minutes, I reloaded and brought my other gun up
on him. I approached from the rear and poked him in the
butt to see if he was going to jump, but he didn’t move… He was dead.

I picked up the paw and Thought ‘good gracious…’ The paw was as
wide as my chest!

My bear was 12 feet 6 inches high at the shoulder, and weighing in at over one thousand six hundred pounds.

After the kill, I spent six hours skinning the bear —
and trying to drag its hide and skull back to my camp

As you may know, I am really not a bear killer, and in fact I have never killed anything but bugs and roadkill.
-Doc