Jesus as King Rules over You in a World full of Self

Teenagers have a big problem with “the man.”  I’m not talking about the teenage girls that got their hearts broken by that jerk of a boyfriend who used that stereotypical cheesy pickup line for the 5th time that particular week (Hi, my name is Will….. God’s Will for your life).  I’m talking about “the man, a trendy word for anything that represents authority in their life. It’s actually quite ironic in how much they hate “the man” for they have such a long list of authority figures in their life.  Whether it’s Bart Simpson or Jack Black from the movie “school of rock” they all want to stick it to “the man.”  However, “the man” will always be in their life.  Some examples of this would be:

1. Parents: The God given authority that is placed in their life for wisdom, guidance, protection, and discipleship in becoming more like Jesus when they are Christians.

2. Teenagers look at them as the idiots who don’t know anything about them and what they need in their life.  They view parents are people who want to take the fun out of their life and their own parents are never as cool as their friends’ parents.

3. Teachers: The authority in their life that will help them get the education they need to advance in modern day life.  Politically they may continue to get more and more liberal but they still hold the keys to most teen’s future concerning college and a career.

Teenagers continually ridicule these people and hardly take anything they say seriously as they feel that there is nothing new under the sun in what they are learning and will always have too much homework in their eyes.

Government, Police Officers, Bosses, you can go on and on about the different authority figures in their life who they disrespect and it comes down to a simple misperception that we all tend to have in this not so certain life.  The love of self.

We are a selfish world in the midst of a selfish generation who thinks that life evolves around them.  From the love of celebrity and fame to the ongoing pressure to become popular and cool.  To the continued pressure of accepting everyone in the name of tolerance to the idea of happiness being the sole purpose of one’s life.

Dr. Jean M. Twenge, author of the book “Generation Me” said this about the advice the world gives teenagers in everyday life……

• Worried about how to act in a social situation? “Just be yourself.”
• What did you learn about your alcohol, drug, pornography, (fill in the blank) addiction? “I learned a lot about myself.”
• Concerned about your performance? “Believe in yourself.”
• Should you buy that new pair of shoes, new purse, get that tattoo, piercing? “Yes, it’s just expressing yourself.”
• Why should you leave that unfulfilling relationship/quit the boring job/tell off your mother-in-law? “You have to respect yourself.”
• Trying to get rid of a bad habit? “Be honest with yourself.”
• Confused about the best time to date or get married? “You must love yourself before you can love someone else.”
• Should you express your opinion? “Yes, stand up for yourself.”

It is all about self.

Call it pride, call it cockiness, call it an ego-trip… call it what you want but know that it takes away from the picture God paints for us in Scripture on how much we need Jesus as king of our selfish lives.

A king is an authority figure we have a hard time understanding as American teenagers.  A king is a head of state/country who exercised monarchal powers over a territory, which is usually called a kingdom.  We have a hard time believing anything has power over us living in the land of the free.  Don’t like the president?  Start a grassroots campaign to impeach him?  Don’t like your parents? Disrespect them and sneak around their rules because no one has power over you.  Most other people are used to this type of power over their life and Israel, God’s people in the Old Testament is one example.

Israel felt left out of the in crowd for all other people groups had a kingship around them.  So like any teenager that doesn’t get their way they whined and complained to their authority about how bad their life is and how everyone else has it better then them.  In 1 Samuel 8 they begged Samuel for a king over them and Samuel went to God in prayer.  God as Prophet told Samuel this about their upcoming Kingship:

“Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”                                                1 Samuel 8:7-9

Samuel then gave them a prophetic description of the power, authority, and control that this human king will have over them and how it will take the place of God’s kingship over them.  Israel hardened their hearts to his voice of truth and said that they wanted to be like all of the other nations around them.  Therefore God gave them their earthly king and in the same way He has given today’s teenagers their own new king…. themselves.

You see it’s hard to hear God’s voice of truth amidst the lies, to see God interceding for our sin that separates us from Him. It’s hard because we bow down before ourselves and make ourselves kings.  This act does just as much harm as Israel’s wicked earthly kings.  We are in love with ourselves, the only thing that we allow to have authority, power and control over our decisions and future.  We are kings of our lives and kings of our pleasure, kings of our relationships and kings of our future.  As Christians this turns into a separation of our church lives and our school lives, our church relationships and our school relationships.  We worship Jesus on Sunday morning and Wednesday night but worship all types of false gods in our life.  Not only do we disobey any type of authority figure in our life but also we disobey Jesus as our king and authority in life.

The trouble is that we make horrible kings.

Like Samuel and God warned Israel, He warns us still today. You don’t have control of your life and the power to do anything you want with no one telling you that you are wrong.  You may feel like you have that power and control over these things but it’s a vapor that will disappear as the sobering truth of King Jesus looms over us in the passage we have been looking at the last couple weeks:

12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.                                                            Hebrews 10:12-14

Notice how Christ sat down at the right hand of His Father after sacrificing His life for ours and rose from the dead in victory over Satan, sin, and death.  He sits there at the throne of God, which is reserved for the king.  King Jesus is there waiting for the time that all His enemies will be made a footstool for his feet as he shows that all things are beneath his rule. Jesus himself sits on this glorious throne (matt. 19:28) fulfilling the prophecies made about the ruler over all of the universe as one who’s throne will reign forever and whose righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.  However it’s important to note that Jesus rules today and not just in the future.  This one act on the cross shows His great power and authority over our selfish lives as He resurrected from death with our sins beaten down in a way that only a warrior king could’ve done it.  No matter how much you depend on yourself you need to know that Jesus as king rules over you.  This can be a good or bad thing.

It’s good in a way that shows how He is in control and sovereign over all things around you and has power over all things that hurt you, harm you, tempt you, deceive you, and tries to control you.

When parents are getting a divorce and you are stuck in the middle… Jesus as king has control over the situation and will use it for His glory.

When friends backstab you and dating relationships fall apart… Jesus as king has the power to restore hope in your life as you depend on Him.

When you are about to give up on a sin that you are fighting against and struggling with… Jesus as king has already fought that battle for you on the cross and will not give you anything that you cannot withstand.

Jesus as king is sitting on His throne proving His victory over all things in life in sin and death and will be there for you no matter what the situation and if you’re totally honest with yourself, you need this.  Because admit it.  You can’t conquer these things.  For how much you depend on yourself to get what you want out of a friendship, a relationship, or life in general you know at the bottom of your heart that you don’t know jack about what is best for your life.  You make decisions based on pleasure and it is temporary pleasure as all things on earth goes back to the dirt it came from.  Materials, relationships, popularity… nothing lasts in this kingdom of self and it shows how much more we need Jesus as king.  Jesus like any good king in history fought for you and your life and brings victory into it.

This brings us to the bad part thing about Jesus as king.  Well, at least what we perceive as bad in our selfish worldview.  When we don’t allow Him as king of our daily lives and actions we soon have a life of anarchy.  Things get out of control quickly as temptations turn into sin and sin turns into an addiction.  In an addiction to sin we lose control of the very thing we tried to obtain in our selfish kingship over our lives.  It starts out with us wanting control of our life but soon falls into the hands of Satan who now has control over the areas of our life where we fail to give Jesus ownership of.

This means that there is no part of our life that Jesus does not have a right to, our dating life, our relationship with our parents, teachers, bosses or friends.  He has authority over the websites we visit on the Internet and the words we use around our friends.  This means that when you don’t let mom and dad see your texts on your phone, facebook messages, etc. then you don’t let King Jesus have authority over these things.  He has control over our future and when we give Him that kingship that He alone has fought for in our lives.  Only then are we able to live a life reflecting His glory and pointing people to the Gospel in which Jesus will speak to others around us as the great prophet, priest and king that is shown in our daily lives.

Jesus as Priest Intercedes for You in a World full of Sin

Sin is a cuss word in today’s youth culture.  The average unchurched teenager would probably respond better to you cussing them out then telling them that they are a sinner.  You’re going to have to take my word on it for I don’t think you’d make a good ambassador of Christ by trying this theory out for yourself at the local mall or theatre.  The word “sin” is a joke in their culture and proof of this is found on MTV’s “sweet 16” where a high school girl has a lavish 7 deadly sin themed party, musical artists like drowning pool and lil’ wayne mock it, and a skateboarding company proudly names themselves after it.

The Bible says sin is Lawlessness. We break this law that is outlined by God’s word and His standards.  Our goal is God’s Holiness and Perfection in which we will never meet.  In fact the greek word for sin is “hamartia” which literally means missing the target.  Therefore anytime we go against God’s word, His laws that He put before us, or against anything Jesus is trying to teach us, we sin.  In conclusion we are all sinners (Rom. 3:23) but don’t want to believe it.

There are many reasons why teenagers don’t believe in sin. Such reasons include…

1. The impossible feeling of living up to God’s standards.

2. Not believing in Scripture as God’s inspired, inerrant Word, which reveals sin to us.

3. Sin being too fun to give up.

4. The God of the Bible doesn’t exist.

Some teenagers believe in sin but not in the Biblical way to get rid of that sin.  These people believe that you can get rid of sin through…

1. Religion (going to church, doing things for the church and not Jesus).

2. Good works.

3. That all religions are the same and that there are many different ways to get rid of sin through these different religions.

4. Their sin isn’t bad enough to be punished for.

The funny thing is that most people would admit that we live in a messed up, broken world.  We don’t have to look far outside our front door to realize how much sin has affected our lives.  From across the world where you’ll hear about the latest pointless war, to your own home in which you see mom and dad spew some of the most hateful things in a covenant that should represent sacrificial love more then anything else on earth. From the injustice that goes on in Africa where 1,000’s of children are stolen from their home to the millions of children who die of AID’s to the bully who preys upon the weak at your school and gets away with it.  Everyone sees this dysfunctional world and yet deny the very thing that is before our eyes.

Yet we are still affected by it.

It seems to cling onto us.

As much as we deny it

or justify it.

We can’t seem to get rid of it.

God knew that this would be our problem in life.  He knew that this thing called sin would be the one thing that would not only cause this world to be so dysfunctional, but He also knew that sin would cause our personal lives to be so messed up, and be the very thing that will separate us from a relationship with Him.  God knew this because He saw it happen before His very own eyes.  He saw Satan, the originator of sin, become prideful and jealous of God and therefore disobeys God Himself (Isaiah 14).  God saw Satan bring sin into the world by deceiving Adam and Eve, God’s image of Himself and most loved possession on earth.  Through that deceit His creation before Him became dirty and corrupt.  Things that were created on this earth purposed for eternity became temporary.  Leaves withered, water ran out, work became hard, and childbirth became painful.  Worst of all…. God’s people sinned and God’s people died.

God knew that this would be our problem in life.

He also knew the solution to it.

The temporary solution is found in the Old Testament where we see the role of priests.  Priests are people who were hand picked by God’s people and appointed by God to intercede for God’s people through priestly functions.  This would include wearing priestly garments such as a breastplate, girdle, turban and robe.  These articles of clothing represented Holiness before entering God’s presence before His people.  The priest was to look after the sanctuary and ordinate chapel services.  But the biggest responsibility of the priest was saved for the High Priest who would yearly take up Israel’s prayers and sins to God and offer up a perfect lamb sacrifice to intercede for God’s people.  That’s deep.  This day was called the Day of Atonement and is still celebrated in the Jewish religion as Yom Kippur.  This involved three different bloody sacrifices with two different animals to cleanse the temple of sin and God’s people of sin.  This process was gorier then any John Carpenter or Wes Craven movie.  It sucked but they needed it.  These sacrifices served as a substitution for the same sins we struggle with today.  Like us, Israel couldn’t obey God’s law and needed to be free of this burden.  Like them, we need it.

However, this was a temporary solution to an eternal problem.

This God given ritual was a quick fix to a real junkies problem.  It wasn’t meant to be an everlasting solution to our everlasting sin problem.  It was meant to point to the one final sacrifice performed by the greatest High Priest who lived on this earth, Jesus Christ.  Just like the priest’s had to sacrifice the lamb, Jesus came down on earth to become our sacrificial lamb and to intercede once and for all for our sins.

“18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

1 Peter 1:18-21

Just like Jesus fulfilled and completed the function of the prophet as He spoke truth to us in a world full of lies, Jesus becomes our great High Priest and interceded for our sins through His work on the cross.  This is a beautiful yet sobering thing to think about.  God knew that the only way that we can truly have that loving relationship with Him was to send His own Son down to be the one who took on our sin.  No bull or lamb can do that.  No human priest can truly do that.  Even the priests who would perform this ritual once a year weren’t perfect and would sin before God.  When anointed for the day’s act they had to offer up their own sin to be substituted for.  This is also why they had to do it yearly.  They became dirty from sin like the rest of God’s people after the yearly sacrifice.  Hebrews 10:11-12, 18 shows how Jesus did this once and for all for you and me.

“11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,”

Hebrews 10:11-12

“18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

Hebrews 10:18

It took a perfect Godman to truly take away our sin before God’s eyes.  It took one event that took three days and a lifetime of opportunities to receive this forgiveness and cleansing of these sins.  When recognizing your sin whatever it may be you recognize that you need to get rid of it to have a relationship with God and to fulfill your life’s calling.  We try to take away our own sins through temporary actions like being good, praying at our church’s alter with no desire to really change, getting emotional about our sin, but not truly taking advantage of the single sacrifice that took place at the cross of Christ.  This is the same thing when a Roman Catholic continually takes their sin to their priest and they tell them to repeat an unholy number of “Our Fathers” and “Hail Marys”.  It never takes away our sins.  The only thing that takes away our sins in the Day of Judgment and gives us a relationship with the one true God is through the acceptance of Jesus as our one and only priest.

Only Jesus truly knows the pain of our sin.

Only Jesus truly knows the temptations we face, the weaknesses we have, the suffering we face, the disappointment we feel, the confusion that sets in, the loneliness that takes place in that sin.

Only Jesus loves us enough to humbly take His life to give us a new life in Him.  A life that will never be perfect on earth but absolutely perfect before God in Heaven.  When people think of sin in a world created by our God, they think of a God who is cold, distant, harsh, and cruel.  Jesus as priest who intercedes for that sin shows us the exact opposite of that God.  Jesus as priest shows us the true loving character of God who will do anything to win you over from Satan and make you right with Him. He does all of this because of His great love for you. Because of the mercy and grace He pours out on you when you don’t deserve it. In fact He loves you so much that as priest He forgives you for anything you’ve done.  Love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness is not something you will find in the world.  It’s something you only find in the cross.

No one else will make a sacrifice like that for you.

Your stupid remarks about others on myspace and facebook that you wish you never made will not forgive you.

Your boyfriend or girlfriend doesn’t love you because they don’t know what’s best for you like Jesus, the one who created you does.

Your boss or teacher will not give you grace when you screw up in school.

Your friends won’t intercede for you when you get caught sneaking around.

It’s only through Jesus as priest that we receive these things (forgiveness, love, grace, intercession) in place of our sins.  And that’s all you need in life.  That one moment where Jesus tugs on your heart as prophet to repent of your sin.  For you to receive Him as priest who sacrificed His life on the cross for your sin.  Jesus continually intercedes for you through prayer with Him and gives you the Holy Spirit to draw closer to Him.

As a Christian this may be a reminder of how that one time you asked Christ into your heart and life was enough for the sin you are struggling with.  As one who has never done that this may be the time that you need to accept that grace He is giving you as the Savior of your sin.

“Before the Throne” (hymn written by Charitie Lees Bancraft

Before the throne of God above

I have a strong, a perfect plea:

A great High Priest, whose name is Love,

Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on his hands,

My name is written on his heart;

I know that while in heaven he stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart

No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,

And tells me of the guilt within,

Upward I look, and see him there

Who made an end of all my sin.

Because a sinless Savior died,

My sinful soul is counted free;

For God, the Just, is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me

To look on Him and pardon me

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the One,

Risen Son of God!

Behold him there, the risen Lamb

My perfect, spotless righteousness,

The great unchangeable I am,

The King of glory and of grace!

One in himself, I cannot die

My soul is purchased by his blood

My life is hid with Christ on high,

With Christ, my Savior and my God

With Christ, my Savior and my God

Jesus as Prophet Speaks Truth to You in a World full of Lies

“It’s a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies. The only variable is about what.”

“I don’t ask why patients lie, I just assume they all do.”

“I’ve found that when you want to know the truth about someone that someone is probably the last person you should ask.”

“EVERYBODY LIES”

– Dr. Greg House

Dr. Greg House of acclaimed tv show “House” is one of the most stubborn, cruel personalities you may see on television but he is consistently right about something.  Everybody lies.  This philosophy of Dr. House is sold on t-shirts at the NBC studios in NY and has been edited into several youtube videos stressing this point.  This famous House line is even more apparent in a teenager’s world.  Teenager’s today live in a world full of lies.  You have media preaching to them about the pleasures of the world without warning them of the consequences.  You have marketing preaching to them about how they “need” certain materials, technological devices, etc. in spite of the recession going on around us.  You have friends who will be their bff (best friend forever) as long as they continue to act like them, dress like them, and do the same things that they do.  You have girlfriends who tell their guys that they love them until a better guy comes along or boyfriends who tell their girls that they love them as long as they put out for them and so on and so on.

And out of all of these voices you have so many things and people speaking to you that it’s so hard to discern truth from error, lie from truth.  Words are coming from every direction as parents are yelling for them to wake up, as the texts start coming in before they get to school, as teachers assign them homework, as boys yell obscenities at the girls and the girls flirt and tease the boys, as they get home and turn on the tv, chat on facebook, check their continual flow of texts, and they do all of this at the same time.  How can you even tell if any of them are saying what’s right and truthful to your life when it comes in an overabundance of information.

Words are important and they’re coming from every direction in our life.  That’s why it’s important for us to see the lies in these words that come into our world.  The worst part is that these lies are non-stop and never ending.  That’s why Dr. House can say this every other episode and the average adult can say “amen.”  We think that the drama that ensues from the lies will stop after middle school or high school but it doesn’t.  People will continue to sell you things and they don’t care whether or not you need what they sell.  People will continue to use you to get what they want from you whether or not you actually recognize their true motives behind the situation.

We live in a world full of lies and as teenagers you can experience it worse then anyone as Satan wants to take advantage of your inexperience, narcissistic attitude and fragile stage of life that you are in.

But don’t worry

These lies aren’t new to God

Lies have been around since the beginning

God knew then, and God knows now.

This is why God sent prophets into the world.  To speak truth into these lies that plague us.  An Old Testament prophet was someone who was inspired by God through the Holy Spirit to deliver a specific message for a specific purpose.  They were often predicting future events, warning nations and people of their sin, pointing to God’s righteous judgment, and pleading with them to repent of their sin before that judgment. The prophet would speak Truth into a person’s life and give them hope in that Truth.  Old Testament scholar Gerhard von Rad says that the phrase “the word of Yahweh” appears 241 times in the Old Testament.  221 of those instances were from the mouths of the Old Testament prophets as God gave them the authority to speak His words to a world full of lies.

There was Nathan the prophet who spoke truth to the king of Israel when he was in deep sin that would affect the rest of God’s people.  Isaiah the prophet, who warned Israel of the upcoming judgment to come and for all people to see the glory of the one, true God that shall be revealed.  Jeremiah the prophet, who was severely persecuted for his warnings and was originally told that the people he prophesied to, would not listen to him.  Then there was Moses the prophet, in which Scripture says

“And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face”                                                 Deuteronomy 34:10 (ESV)

Moses was named the greatest prophet in all of Israel in a time where God used his words and actions to not only speak into the evil of Egypt’s Pharaoh but to save Israel from slavery.  God delivered on his promise to free them and bring them to the Promised Land by his great prophet Moses.  The Passover leading up to this great escape is still the most celebrated Jewish tradition.  God uses these prophets in His word to show us the great need we have for someone to speak truth to us in our world of sin, slavery, and lies.  God does this in Jesus who is greater then the most acclaimed prophet of Israel.  Moses says so himself that there will be someone greater then Him in his prophetic ministry and Hebrews 3 testifies.

“3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”                        Hebrews 3:3-6

That someone greater was Jesus, the ultimate prophet who speaks truth in our lives through the Holy Spirit. As prophet, Jesus reveals God to us and speaks God’s word to us. He wasn’t just some inspired teacher who did a good job in predicting trends.  Jesus is unlike the false prophets of today who tickles your ears and tells you what you want to hear but has no truth behind their words.  He spoke from the authority of God as people marveled at His words and teachings.  Jesus reveals salvation to us as the logos of truth.  Before the earth was created He was making truth known.  He revealed Himself as the anointed Messiah through his miracles, fulfilled prophecies, authority in teaching, & incarnation.  His revealing of truth & salvation continues today through the church as He continues to speak into the church’s life. Jesus also reveals the future to us, hence the last book in the Bible “Revelation”.

This all happens through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is an important part of the Holy Trinity because this is what God uses to show us that Jesus is truly the Son of God, how much we need Him to obtain salvation, and how He is the only truth in our world full of lies. This is done through the covenant God makes with us in salvation through Jesus.  A covenant is a promise or oath.  God initiated the oath with us to save us as He draws us into a relationship with Him through the recognition of sin, repentance, and a Holy Love toward God and running to Him as our savior of these things.   Hebrews 10 speaks of the Holy Spirit when speaking to us through Jesus as prophet.

15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”

Hebrews 10:15-16

Jesus uses the Holy Spirit to put His law on our hearts and write them on our minds.  Our hearts and minds is what Satan speaks to when He lies to us.

Just think…

When you believe lies, whether it’s from friends, media, or anything that speaks to you.  What does it affect?

Your mind.

When you believe the lies, you get your mind to believe the lies.  Your start acting contrary to the truth because your mind has now convinced yourself that the lies are now truth.  It affects our mind as it changes our life actions.  When we start believing the lies the world tells us then we start living a life full of lies.

You soon convince yourself that it’s ok to cheat on these tests because in the end you will get a better grade.

It’s ok to go a little further then the physical boundary you put up between your girl/boyfriend and God because your “significant other” loves you and you love them.

It’s ok to act one way at church and a complete different way at home because the people that matter most to you in looking at your righteous life is at church.

When lies affect our mind it makes us stupid because that’s part of the whole purpose of the mind.  Therefore believing and living these lies make you stupid when all you need to do is listen to what God is saying to you! What He’s speaking into your life. How he is warning you, pleading with you, drawing you, and calling for you to repent of those lies.

Lies affect your heart in the same way as you start feeding off the lies instead of truth and as the lies start to feed your heart’s evil inclination to run from God instead of to God.  Your heart becomes more hardened and stubborn then Dr. House’s as he’s only a tv character and you are the one living everyday life where those lies are affecting the everyday people around you.  Most times a cold and stubborn heart comes as result of believing the lies you were told.

Ask Pharaoh, as he continually denied that the one, true God would truly come through on his promises to free Israel with plague after plague of warnings.  And in there lies the scariest part about lies and our need for truth.  We believe the lies with our mind and start hardening our hearts in result of the lies to the point where not only everyone else can see the stupidity and hardened state of our heart but ourselves. But again the lies start affecting everyone else around us.  Pharaoh didn’t just experience the plagues around him, the whole country of Egypt did.  Pharaoh didn’t just die under the sweeping waters of the split red sea that led Israel to exile, his whole army did.  In this same way our lies affect everyone around us.  Everyone starts seeing it but us.  Our parents, our friends, our church.  As bad as we want to snap out of our made up world of deceit, we can’t.  And it all starts in our heart because our life overflows from our heart. (34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Matt. 12:34). If our heart is full of lies and a belief in lies then our life becomes an overflow of those lies.

That’s why we need a prophet.

That’s why Jesus came as the ultimate Prophet.

That’s why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to speak truth into our world full of lies.

That’s why Jesus is known as the logos in John 1 and 1 John. As Truth, who is revealed to us by the Holy Scripture, which pierces our heart and the deceitfulness that comes from it.

Sometimes it’s uncomfortable truth, sometimes it’s messy truth, sometimes it’s protective truth but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s truth.  Truth that is written on our minds and hearts to get rid of the lies that are spoken into our life.  Truth that comes into our life through accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior after recognizing and repenting from lies and sin.  Truth that convicts us, transforms us, warns us, confronts us, and pleads with us to fall more in love with the one thing that will always tell you the truth, Jesus. Do not be hard of hearing when it comes to the one person who counts the most in life when speaking to you.

Teenagers have a lot of people entertaining them, using them, manipulating them, selling to them, tickling their ears, & making them feel good but don’t have many people speaking truth to them. Speaking to them in such an intimate way that they are warned of consequences and is loved for who they are.

Teenagers need Jesus as prophet because they need someone to speak in their lives because they are letting all of the wrong things speak into it.  They know that they need something more then what they’re listening to. They need warning for stupid decisions, they need warning of upcoming judgment & consequences to sinful actions, suicidal thoughts, depression, and they need more then anything…. someone giving hope to them.

Hope comes through the intimate words of truth spoken from Jesus.

Hope that speaks truth into your hypocritical, double life.  That speaks Truth to you when you are so used to hearing the lies Satan feeds to you. You’ve traded in His Gospel for lies long enough.   Embrace the hope you have in Jesus as prophet and Savior of your life.

Focus on the Family needs to focus on the Gospel when reviewing MTV’s teen mom

For all the good James Dobson’s “Focus on the Family” has done they can still really miss the mark on pointing others to the Gospel through the everyday life around us and the culture that consumes people.  I just got done reading a review on MTV’s “Teen Moms” a weekly reality spin-off to their “I’m 16 and pregnant” where they highlight three 16 yr. old teenagers who were pregnant  and dealing with the reality of becoming a mom or giving their child over for adoption to receive a better life.  Like many other “True Life” episodes (which is one of my fave MTV shows) this episode broke my heart as i saw these teens having to make adult decisions that not only affected their life but their soon to be child’s life.  I guess i wasn’t the only heart broken one watching for MTV struck a deal with each mom to be able to follow them around for enough time to make several episodes of their new found teenage life after the baby.

I noticed my wife first watching this show asking me if i’d ever seen it and telling me how sad it was. I told her that i felt the same thing when it came to the original episode and started watching this occurring version of what life is like as a young mother.  As i watched each episode i couldn’t but help to have compassion on these teenagers as they struggled with taking care of their kids while trying to have a social life, having jerk boyfriends, trying to go to school, or coping with giving away your flesh and blood for adoption.  Compassion is the last thing i read about on Plugged In’s (Focus on the Family’s media reviews) review of the show. In their review they consistently slam each mother, MTV and the message they felt they were preaching to teenagers… Use Protection.  They did have one side note where they commend the moms for going through with their pregnancies in spite of the world’s pressure to abort but even that note is indicative of what Focus on the Family’s values are at times… Values > Jesus.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all about values. I vote values and those values come out of what i know to be as God’s Word, the Bible.  So don’t think that i miss the over obvious of the fact that if these teens didn’t have sex before getting married in the first place they wouldn’t have to deal with these problems.  And don’t think that i didn’t just watch this show without getting upset with the decisions that some of these real life characters were making. Some of them can be so blind, selfish and stupid that i would sit there and think how sad of a life that child will have if their moms and dads continued to live like this.  But all of this boiled down to one thing for me at the end of each episode and it wasn’t what Plugged In was communicated at the end of their article. That Jesus can redeem these people and families. Jesus is the hope for these sad real life stories and situations. The article sums up the show in these sentences : “Angst, anger, frustration, pity parties, crass language and bleeped profanity are what being a Teen Mom is all about on MTV. These cherry-picked teens see only their own myopic perspective, broken dreams andloads of heartache. As I shook my head (a lot) I realized anew how much of this could have been avoided with one little word: abstinence.” Yes, the reviewer is right in their assessment of the show. These kid’s could’ve saved their drama if they would’ve restrained from sex.  We also know the reasons why MTV has made this show (besides the top reason… cha ching cha ching) : “But encouraging viewers to save sex for marriage isn’t what Teen Mom’s executive producer, Liz Gateley, is going for. She told the New York Daily News, “If there’s a 22-year-old who’s going out that night and they see the show and think twice about making sure they’ve got their contraception, that’s a success. … We also hope for a lot of co-viewing with our teenage audience and their parents, to open up the conversation.” Not a big surprise that a liberal channel is going to have a liberal purpose. But at heart these kids and tv producers are doing everything Scripture says they should do… acting blind and lost because they are blind and lost.

Kids have sex, act selfish, and don’t think of their kids first because they have sin that hinders them from doing else wise. MTV pushes condoms and contraception over abstinence because they have a fallen worldview that hinders from them doing else wise. And while Dobson’s organization does a good job of pointing this out they don’t give any hint of compassion for the lost suffering from their sins consequences and worst of all give the hope that one can redeem these families.  I commend MTV for not making this life look glorious and show it for what it is.  With all my heart i believe God can use this as many other teens, parents and others watch these episodes and feel horrible after seeing what these children might have to go through if their parents continue acting stupid.  This leads to a question of helplessness that can only be answered through a Savior.  Every day in churches we face a world that looks just like this show and instead of pointing out only why they are in that position we are to share our life with them and minister to them pointing them to Jesus as their hope in these hopeless times.  I hope Focus on the Family realizes this as a church generation becomes passionate for redeeming sin and not just pointing it out to everyone. After all their, their was a rainbow and boat full of hope after the flood, a Resurrection after the Cross and a new life through the Gospel for every helpless unmarried mom after their sin.

Top 9 movies of 09’

Disclaimer: Know that a couple of these movies may have not been on this list if it wasn’t for the birth of my 1^st child this year a sweet, wild and crazy, little girl. She has stolen my heart and I am already praying almost daily for help from God to not let her turn into an idol over Him. You think I’m kidding but I’m not.  But that’s for another post for another time. Just know that at least 3 movies on here spoke to me on this love and dedication one should have as a parent.  Also know that as one who is in a ministerial position I do believe that I am judged by a higher standard and will be an influence to others in what I watch, listen to, etc.  As a sinful man I never watch anything with nudity (whether it’s turning with my wife telling me it’s ok or staying away from a movie completely) and stay away from most movies who has tons of sexual dialogue.  There are rare occasions that I do watch something that I know most of culture will be watching but I also check my heart and see if I’m analyzing it’s worldview, communicating biblical themes, connecting to the Gospel somehow or just entertainment for me, specifically feeding my flesh.  Such are some examples in the below movies.  However, please know that I do not just watch whatever without guarding my soul and put something into my mind that will tempt my flesh. For these exact reasons I don’t ever watch the #1 teenage show “family guy” because I would enjoy the pop culture references too much littered with sexual dialogue. It would become entertainment for sin instead of knowing culture to use culture to reach culture. And now, drum roll please……

9. Watchmen (explicit)

As a kid in elementary school I would read the x-men, spiderman, and batman comics but left behind reading of all kind when I hit middle school. When in high school I was told by some weird kid in my high school to read “watchmen” and that it will change the way you look at comics.  I read through it quickly, not thinking much more about it.  Later in college I heard another person tell me it was the greatest comic of all time and I started hearing rumors of them making it into a movie.  As a bible college student I became intrigued by the political story lines and the ethical issues the comic brought up and I reread it analyzing every word.  I fell in love with the story as it made people think about God’s sovereignty, the sin of racism and the internal conflict of personal integrity and convictions when it doesn’t help the people around us. Confused? Well, read it yourself. The movie did the book justice but prolonged the comic’s sex scene (of course, it is Hollywood after all). With all of the hype with the movie I was even able to bring up these tough issues with one who was reading the comic at a panera bread and able to share the Gospel with Him connecting the sovereignty them with God’s sovereignty over us and how He has purposed us for the message of the Cross.

8. The Road

One of the three movies in this top 9 list that captured my heart and emotions in being a faithful father or husband.  This movie was based on the book where the end of the world leaves behind few people who will do anything to survive. When I say anything I mean “eat each other.”  I heard great reviews about the book and movie and it certainly lived up to it’s expectations.  The Father’s perseverance to teach his son to be good and to protect him no matter what made me think about my role as a father.  The wife/mother of the movie could not handle the every day fear of being eaten by cannibals and didn’t want to see her family have to suffer through these things therefore kills herself leaving her husband and son to fend for themselves.  His constant thinking back to her but continual perseverance shows one how much we need to do whatever it takes to fight for our family no matter what happens within family situations.

7. X Men Origins: Wolverine

I rarely watch a movie where I can just enjoy it’s story or action and not analyze every worldview and thought that it is communicating.  The previous x-men movies had some great racial undertones and i was expecting some type of underlying theme in this movie as well.  I was wrong. But boy was I entertained. Like I said in the above “watchmen” recap I lread many x-men comics and wolverine happened to be my favorite.  This movie somewhat stuck to the origin and original story of wolverine and brought many of the other characters who made him who he is into the movie.  It’s rare that I can just watch a movie and be entertained by it and this one did it with one of my favorite comic book characters.

6. Funny People (explicit)

I struggled within myself to watch this movie after reading the plugged in review and seeing the sexual scenes and language that would be used throughout the movie.  Initially, I wanted to see it because it’s a Judd Apatow directed movie with Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, a mesh of the old school and new school comedy stars of today.  But of course it being a Judd Apatow movie I knew it would have inappropriate sexual humor and with this one dealing with comedians I saw that it went even more over the top with it.  What made me finally decide to see it was reading all of the reviews (I think it was NY Post) saying how conservative Apatow’s stories are and how this one might be the most conservative of them all.  You see I had thought that same thing when watching his previous films (knocked up and 40 yr old virgin). So I found out when the nude scene was, making sure to skip it and put up with many pointless masturbation, homosexual, penis jokes to hear a message that valued the vows of marriage and importance of family over divorce and being happy, a message saying that fame and celebrity is worthless with out true life sharing community and friends who will tell you that you’re doing wrong and keep you accountable, a message that makes you think what you’re life would look like if you were to die soon and how would you change your life.  Not only did I see those messages but millions of others who see this movie will. I will use that emotion Judd brings out on these things to point people to Scripture which preaches those same things to glorify Jesus and His word.

5. Inglorious Basterds

Lately I haven’t cared for Quentin Tarantino’s movies (Grindhouse & the Kill Bill’s) but I have to admit that I loved this movie. It was a great mixture of humor, action, and quirky Tarantino style dialogue.  It kept you into the plot the whole time and the 2 ½ hours went by so quickly and even left you wanting more. Brad Pitt was superb and proved why he is one of the most versatile actors out there. Nothing spiritual or any type deep worldview was being communicated. Just a well written, humorous, action packed movie about several different people’s revenge on the Gernan Nazi’s.

4. District 9

I was expecting this movie to be a dud in comparison to the over hyped reviews and  friends’ positive responses.  I was intrigued by the documentary style directing but not too impressed by the story line based on what I had read about it.  And honestly, I’m not to much of a sci-fi fan.  Well, not only was it not a dud in the directing, story line, and action.  It brought up questions concerning racial tensions between the aliens and the south Africans that seemed ironic knowing south africa’s history.  It made us think how racism makes us inhuman ourselves.  This film will represent the years style in art with the documentary style directing along with some of the top tv shows out there right now.

3. Precious

This movie broke my heart as I thought of how much sin has affected our world and our families and how hopeless it may seem for the teenagers who are stuck in abusive, poverty stricken situations.  This movie doesn’t hold back in seeing how far some people have fallen and how their sin’s consequences affect the rest of the family.  This movie doesn’t disguise the ugliness of how much the teenage daughter has to fight against her family’s abuse just to make it in her world and it was a reminder of how much we need to help them out by showing them Jesus and providing ways out of their situations as a church.  It’s why my church has the Stowe Center and why Veritas Community Church is planted downtown.  It’s why I am in student ministry as I have had to report several social service cases over the last couple years in the last couple churches I have served at.  I pray that this movie opens up the eyes of many people to do more to help the teenagers who are in these situations and especially the church as we are called to be like Jesus and stand for justice by preaching righteousness through the Cross & social justice as a result of it.

2. Taken

I watched this movie with a newborn baby daughter with tears in my eyes as I whispered to my baby girl that I’d do the same thing for her.  The second of the three movies that I picked because of who I am as a husband and father.  Taken is about a father who goes after his daughter’s kidnappers who has already started the process of putting her into sex trafficking.  The father was a former CIA agent who is now divorced to his daughters mother but who is ready and willing to do whatever he can to show his love to his daughter.  This is seen early in the movie as he seems overprotective at times in her eyes but lived his simple life as a body guard just to be around her more and give to her more.  This sacrifice and love turns into revenge and saving when she gets kidnapped.  I don’t know if this movie would’ve been rated this high if it wasn’t for those emotions of protection and love was running so high off being a new found father over a baby girl.  But that was the situation and that was the things I was praying through and whispering to my daughter as I realized how a parent has a God-given role to protect their children from Satan and will always have those type of feelings no matter where they go and what they do in life.

1. Up

I can’t believe a cartoon holds the top spot of my favorite movies of the year.  A cartoon?? Not just any cartoon though. Here are my 1^st couple tweets when watching the movie:

“10 minutes into the movie “UP” & we’re all about to cry? What the heck?”

“Those tears of sadness turned into tears of laughter 15 mins later. This movies great. I’m asking for “UP” from Santa Claus!”

Not only does these tweets accurately portray how I felt the 1^st 20 mins of the movie but the whole rest of the movie as i fought back tears of joy, sadness, and laughter.  It was one of the greatest emotional thought-provoking movies (let alone cartoon) that spoke on how great a life is when you are a faithful husband, wife, or son/daughter.  There is not adventure or journey more fulfilling then sharing your life with the one’s you love including one’s you are trying to reach. For me this was only possible through Christ and the love and grace He has given me in seeing this truth. I hope that many people who watches this movie sees that same truth and when they have a hard time fulfilling it… they will seek after Christ the one who is faithful to them so they can be faithful to their loved ones.  Oh ya, and one more thing, those talking dogs were stinkin’ hilarious. …“SQUIRREL!”

Top 9 Music Albums of 09′

Disclaimer: Alright, 1^st things 1^st… Know that my purpose in life is nothing but the Gospel. Glorifying Jesus and making His life, death and resurrection known through an eternal, loving relationship with Him through what He did on the Cross.  All songs, bands and music comes through this filter.  I do appreciate art and the musical gifts God has given to people but unless it’s pointing to the Gospel either on purpose or not on purpose it’s probably not going to catch my eye. 2^nd… Know that I loved and adored music (preferably rock) before I ever met Jesus and still predominantly listen to Rock music.  Not all bands, musicians and albums reflect Jesus based on the River’s radio airplay but some way or another they point me and others back to the Gospel message which includes how messed up we are because of the sin we inherited and what a Savior we have for that sin.  Thanks you Jesus for revealing that through many rock cd’s this year.   There are probably many other artists, bands, and albums who speak on Jesus and Rock more then the below list but they didn’t catch my ear and God didn’t use them in comparison to the below albums. With that being said….

9. “The Fray” by The Fray

The Fray is musically everything you want in people who love and know Jesus but have a voice in the mainstream market. Having songs played in commercials, hit tv show “Grey’s Anatomy” and all over the top 40 mainstream radio stations they are able to sing about girls, the world and God in a pop-catchy way that the world embraces with a biblical background.  I still wish they didn’t sing about relationships and girls so much.

8. “Until the Whole World Hears” by Casting Crowns If you know anything about me and my musical preferences you would think that this album was a “just messing with you” pick.  Well, blame my wife (her favorite band so I’m forced to listen to them) or Jesus for this being my 8^th best album of the year. Casting Crowns always has Christ-centered lyrics amongst their “at times” cliché, stereotypical Christian radio style type of sound. I took Jessica to see them live for her Birthday and their heart and passion for Jesus and teenagers blew me away. When I listened to the album and heard such lyrical gems as “Knowing You” and “Blessed Redeemer” (anytime you redo an old hymn you get bonus points with me) I couldn’t but help to fall in love with this cd and album.

7. “Hello Hurricane” by Switchfoot

I appreciated Switchfoot before they got big with their “ The Beautiful Letdown” album and liked them even more when they got bigger on the radio.  Saying that, I hated their last couple albums and was pleasantly surprised by this album.  Lyrics were on point speaking on humanity and had great catchy tunes to compliment their return to deep lyrics which would serve as an analogy for how messed up we are as humans and how much we need a Savior in this life.

6. “Never Better” by P.O.S. (expletive lyrics)

Let’s start with the obvious… I HATE RAP! Coming from Youngstown, OH. where most friends listened to rap I was turned off by the repetitive beats and lyrics about how many girls they can lay and things they can buy.  I would still keep up with it as friends listened to this genre and teenagers blasted it out of their cars. With that being said, P.O.S. is not the stereotypical rap artist. He actually raps about the exact opposite of what every rapper mc’s about.  He actually raps about the stupidity of today’s rap lyrics and prophetically speaks on the shallow world in which they mostly rap about.  Mixed with original, rock driven beats I couldn’t but help to put this album on repeat on my itunes as I’d reflect on the deceit that comes from today’s rappers.  If I actually liked rap instead of rock this album might be #1. Amazing how God in His sovereignty can use someone that doesn’t know Him in a personal relationship and that swears so stinkin’ much to show the shallow world we live in and hope for something better then what it offers.

5. “Church Music” by David Crowder Band

Be forewarned that I’m going to be biased to Crowder anytime he releases an album. God has used his lyrics and albums many times to worship Himself and I was extremely excited for this album before I even heard it. 1^st time I ran through it I thought “Great lyrics but I could go without the electronica vibe that is becoming ever so popular today”. After listening to this album repeatedly I am saying “Great lyrics AND great music.”  The more I listened to it the more it seem to mesh and I appreciate Crowder’s continual musical development to the future generation as they get into electronica more and more.  Lyrics beyond all make the album as the band turns dance music into worship/church music.

4. “In Shallow Seas We Sail” by Emery

Emery is my favorite band / live act to see and I still regularly listen to their albums “the question” and “the weak’s end”.  With that being said and after hearing their ep/preview of this album I was thinking that this was going to be my for sure #1 album of the year.  ½ the cd met expectations and it still beat their last cd musically (the last one was great lyrically but kinda sucked musically).  With standouts songs like “the poor and the prevalent”, “butcher’s mouth, “the smile, the face”, and “dear death 1 & 2” this easily made a top 5 of the year but didn’t beat out the other top albums that I played repeatedly over the year.  Still a great album and excited to see where Emery will be going in the future with their sound as they got more back to their roots.

3. “Over the Grave” by Sojourn Music

I’m a sucker for old Christ-centered hymns redone to meet current musical standards and this album completely blew my mind. I lived in Louisville, where this church and worship band meet and heard many great things about their past albums. I was still in awe of the talent and gifts that these artists have in making Gospel centered hymns into modern folksy worship.  To know that a church’s worship band plays these songs regularly makes me hope and pray for every church to go deep inside and to see what Jesus can do within to see what they can do with great, theological hymns instead of playing the latest worship songs played on Christian radio.

2. “Composure” by August Burns Red

Impressed by their last album ‘Messengers” I was excited for this album to come out and it fulfilled more then my expectations.  Not only did this band seem to grow and mature musically but their lyrics continued to raise questions on the fall of humanity and the hope that is out there for a Savior.  I appreciate any band who consists of Christians who is more popular in the mainstream then in the Christian sub-culture and ABR has not only stayed lyrically faithful to their biblical undertones in lyrics but has continued to make music that surpasses any other hardcore band out there. Oh ya, and they put on a kick butt live show and have one of the best drummers in the music scene.

1. “With Roots Above and Branches Below” by The Devil Wears Prada

I have to admit, I was shocked to see this to be my top album of the year. I’ve always liked TDWP but never thought they’d be one of my favorite artists.  They just seemed to be more of a copycat hardcore band then anything else.  This album not only changed that but made me worship Jesus as I took in their lyrics about the consequences of our sin, world and selfishness and the hope that we have in Jesus.  They may never mention Jesus like many of these mainstream hardcore bands do who travel with bands who openly disagree with their faith but this album is as strong in their faith and testimony in Jesus as any other Christian band. They raise up questions in which point to a Savior and do so in such a way through their well placed screams, singing, drums, guitar, synthesizer and keyboards.  Emotionally, this album connects on such a level where it is hard to ignore who they are pointing to in their lyrics and for that this cd is by far the best of 2009.

Violent for the Kingdom :: Luke 16:16 (Jonathan Edward’s sermon “pressing into the kingdom of God” for modern youth culture)

Disclaimer: For Jonathan Edward’s original sermon of the similar title, visit the following link… http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/sermons.pressing.html    I took most of his words and basic ideas from each paragraph and translated this great revival message for a teenager’s world today.

16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.  Luke 16:16 (ESV)

2 things I want you to know about this 1 simple but not so simple verse.

1^st, The purpose & ministry of John the Baptist was preparing for & preaching the Kingdom of God.  This Kingdom would succeed the law and the prophets.

You see, the law and the prophets is what God used to reveal a little bit of His kingdom to His people… it was meant to reveal Himself through guidance, forewarnings, promises and most importantly pointing to the savior to come, Jesus.  The same savior who John the Baptist prepared for in his messages about the kingdom of God,  John would say “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near”  John first preached this message, where Christ came to do the same in his fulfillment of the kingdom and his disciples followed suit.

Matthew 4:17 says: “17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Then in Matthew 10:5-7 the disciples were told to preach: 5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

You see it was Christ who brought in this kingdom of God, and John the Baptist who prepared Christ’s coming as John’s ministry decreased. In John 3:30, John the Baptist says “He must increase, but I must decrease.” But his ministry was none the less important as he prepared men’s hearts to receive that kingdom of God which Christ was about to fully reveal and erect.

2^nd, John the Baptist was successful in one thing that appeared in the very beg. of his ministry & should extend to today…

“Every man who preached that kingdom forced that kingdom on earth.”

Know 2 things about this statement…

1. When Luke says every man, He doesn’t mean “every man” If you thought universalism and the worldview that everyone will be accepted into the kingdom of heaven when they die was only believed in todays culture, then you were wrong.  Edwards dealt with it and we’ll deal with it.  “Every man” is regarding every person who is now accepted into the kingdom through the accepting of the Gospel.  When John preached this Gospel, this kingdom to come, an uncommon awakening occurred, a concern for salvation appeared on the minds of all types of people.  Before it was only the Pharisees or Sadducees who cared about these things. But now the most unlikely of people was being changed by this Gospel.  The religious people of that day denied this kingdom brought about by Christ.  The humble, repentant people embraced it.  Obviously this kingdom wasn’t for every man, just like it’s not for the religious people of today.

2. The success of the kingdom appeared when the people who heard about the kingdom forced into it.

Let me repeat that… they forced into it. What does that mean exactly?

Some translations say press into it.  The greek word for this word is “biazo” and it stands for violence.  “They were violent for the kingdom of heaven.”

This word was also used in Matthew 11:11-12 describing the kingdom John was preceding and Jesus was fulfilling: 11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.

What does this mean? 

This expression pressing into, forcing into, violent for the kingdom expresses a feeling of desire.

Have you been around a violent person?  They are forceful and aggressive.  I grew up in a violent family with violent friends in a violent school.  Most of you have heard the story of my family and city.  In 7^th grade, at the end of the 1^st day of my public schooling I was at my locker and a kid threw another kid through a glass showcase with force.  When you see violence in movies you see the emotion in the violent people portraying these characters at war against someone. You saw the aggression in the Oregon football player  (Blount) who knocked out the player of the opposing team after his team lost, how he started pushing his own team player, and then went after the fans in the crowd to coaches, teammates an police officers trying to hold him back.  Is God saying this stuff is good?  Are we to tell people accept Christ or I’m going to punch you in the face or something?

No, it’s about the unstoppable desire of force they have to go after that other person.  When an army attacks a city they do it by force.  When a person fights in the UFC they do it with strategy and a desire to win after many days of hard work in practice.  It’s that uttermost raw desire to get things done where you feel unstoppable.

Anyone that under an environment of hearing the Gospel and believes in God at least desires to go to heaven rather then hell.  If you grew up in church, have a family that taught you the Bible, heard about Jesus a lot….  you desire to go to heaven; and even if you desire it, it doesn’t always mean that you’ll live like you do. You still live an insecure and careless life.  But some who hear are hearing this Gospel, this message about what Jesus did and what it can do to us.  They’re under an awakening of God’s spirit but are still not pressing into the kingdom.

They are seekers who have a conviction of the miserable state that they are in now.  The miserable state of sin they feel as they realize how the simple lies to their parents to hang out with certain people have become part of their character.  The miserable state of sin they feel when recognizing how their sin is not only making an impression on their friends who know they go to church but look like them in their actions, demeanor, and talk, therefore not believing that they have any type of difference in their lives or truth that sets them apart from the lies their living.  These seekers are starting to feel conviction for their sins and to receive salvation is desired by them above all things in the world.

Soon this concern of their eternal state and their soul is so great that it shuts out other concerns.  Their desires in which went toward women and how to deceive them into going a step further, or the desires that went into that drunken and high stupor where they felt more popular and loved at the party then in their very home… These desires toward the very sins that they at one time loved was starting to be replaced with a desired on how to get rid of these very things that are separating them from this kingdom of God they are hearing about.  Some are divided between these two worlds and don’t know what to do.  But when you come to this text from Luke… about forcing into the kingdom of God, this concern soon overwhelms all other desires.  The guys, girls, friends, popularity, sports, sex, drugs, alcohol, worldliness.  Desires for these things soon went toward a seeking of eternal life.  Because they realize that eternity and the things that matter in the soul is the things that matters the most in life.  That desire becomes passion.  A passion for the kingdom of God.  As they hear the Gospel, feel the kingdom of God at the brink of their heart and repent of these sinful desires with more then just words but trading in their hearts for a new one.  As they strive after the very thing that will rid them of their sin.

This desire is similar of the psalmist who says “one thing have I desired, and that I will seek after.” That desire for cleansing, for grace, for mercy, for love.  A great importance and necessity of these things that are brought about through Christ’s death and resurrection.  Everything in their power, to do anything that is required to obtain this.  They soon realize that they must become violent or must fight to obtain this kingdom.  They must fight the lies that they are used to living.  They must fight the distractions and temptations seducing them away from the very thing that they were put on earth to hear about.  They are not going to get along with people who go against this kingdom.  The world they loved will now hate them.  They will love on that world and that world will still hate them.

But this doesn’t create hopelessness but hopefulness. Hope that they can still obtain salvation.  And that salvation can be obtained by others, even if they hate them now.

This forcing into the kingdom breaks through opposition and difficulties that will come no matter what.  Because let’s face it.. it will be there.  If there were no opposition, if receiving this salvation would be so nice and neat, well there would be no point of pressing to get along.  Therefore they press along and force themselves into the kingdom by breaking through the difficulties that are in the way.    They therefore think…

My parents will think that I’m in a cult, but still I press into the kingdom.

My friends will call me the goody two shoes girl or jesus freak, but still I force myself into the kingdom.

My status in the world and with people at school will go down the drain, but still I become violent for the kingdom.

Like the apostle Paul, I say “If by any means I might attain the resurrection of the dead.” Many people around the world who hear the Gospel, believe the Gospel, and receive salvation through the Gospel give up money, family, jobs, safety for this life change and they know it and press on.  Some won’t even give up their privacy & rights to their phone/computer, their friends from school, their relationships, their popularity for this Christ.

Three years ago, I was able to lead a student to Christ at Jessica’s old church summer camp.  It was genuine, real, and heartbreaking.  I say heartbreaking because he came up to me the next day crying his eyes out after realizing that his parents are going to hell.  If what he believed was true then his parents are being deceived and they would go to hell if they died today.  This was heartbreaking… yet true.  I encouraged him to be the light to his parents and to not be discouraged for God’s great mercy and love that he felt yesterday is still obtainable to them through the message of the Gospel.  That’s a tough message to swallow. Just like it was a tough message to swallow for my parents once they accepted Christ.  They too, realized that their sons and daughters were going down that wide, deceitful road to eternal torment and a separation from God.  So just like they forced their way into the kingdom by giving up everything in their life that they had ever known to accept Christ.  They continued to advance the kingdom by passionately, violently doing what ever it took to make sure that my sister and I heard the Gospel, would go to church to hear the Gospel, to see the life change that they now lived through the Gospel.

Not only should the kingdom be sought after in this way, but it needs to be sought after in this way.  Face it. We need salvation.  We as a world are perishing, chasing after the latest popular thing but having nothing to show for it.  WE need saved from this lifestyle and these type of thoughts.  We need to redirect our passion and desires toward the kingdom.  No, the kingdom of God is not safe.  You cannot hide there.  But it is the only city of refuge in which one can be secure of the one who pursues you for evil? Do you not believe in evil?  Do you really think that your nonchristian friends truly want the best for you? That the celebrities, musicians, media you idolize want your hearts over your money?  The vengeance of God will pursue, overtake, and eternally destroy those that are not in the kingdom.  All that are outside of this kingdom will be overtaken with the fiery wrath of God.  His fearful vengeance will sieze them; the devils will lay a hold of them; They may stand at the door and knock, and cry, Lord, Lord, open up that door, all in vain but will be thrown back, for it is too late.  There is no mercy left.  They will be eternally left of Him.  Where at one time God lovingly pursued them, he now becomes their enemy as they continually denied the one thing they were created for yet denied.  For who knows the power of God’s anger? And who knows the power of God’s anger? And who knows the misery of that sin?

And students, know that the time is getting short.  You cannot be certain of the opportunites that will pass you by to preach this kingdom that can save you or has saved you?  Our days are limited.  It is difficult to get into the kingdom because people cling on to their sin.  Many give up, fail, and perish.  The difficulties of giving Jesus their entire life, their mistress, their popularity, their porn, their nights of partying is too much to ask from the person that gave them that life they are wasting.  The difficulties are too many and too great for them and they do not violently press forward.  Matthew 7:13-14 says 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

But don’t be discouraged.  For this doesn’t mean that this obtains to you.  It’s Difficult, but not impossible.  You can be the most sinful person on earth, whatever the circumstances is, there is still salvation being offered.  You, the people in your schools, the people on your sports team, the people who make fun of you for going to church or you’re hiding your church from.  They are all capable of this salvation, and God is able to accomplish it. His mercy is sufficient, It is sufficient through Christ, that God made it possible through the Gospel and how the Gospel is consistent with the honour of God’s majesty, justice, and truth.  The greatest and most evil of students, the blind, dead, hard-hearted sinner in your school is capable of saving light and grace.  Since there is such a necessity of obtaining this kingdom of God, and such a short time, and such difficulty, yet such a possibility to receive it, we’ll do well to be violent for the kingdom.

APPLICATION (So how do you do this?) How do you press into the kingdom, become violent for the kingdom, force your way into the kingdom?

1. As a Christian who is regularly around people that don’t know Christ you become a missionary to those people, toward your public school, to your sports teams, school clubs,  people you work with, family member forcing the kingdom upon them.

1. There’s usually two types of Christians:

1. The one’s who look like these people and want to live that type of sinful lifestyle.

2. The one’s who hate these people and don’t want anything to do with them.

Both aren’t pressing the kingdom are in sin.

The 1^st group is worldly while the 2^nd group become modern day religious Pharisees.

Both can solve this by thinking of themselves as a missionary to press the kingdom.

Quit wanting to be like the world and start working hard at showing them why you’re different.  Quit looking like them and look different.

Do you think you look more like Jesus or the Pharisees as you claim to stay away from the world and sin but don’t care about their salvation?

Quit hating them for they don’t know what they do.

You’re a missionary. And forcing the kingdom is hard.  You’ll be ridiculed, you’ll not fit in at times, but you find common ground with those people through OSU football, music, media that is not sinful or by taking the sinful stuff and showing how it’s a deceit and lie. You be nice to people when they are mean to you, you love on them and buy those delish ice cream desserts in the lunch cafeteria for people you are trying to share the Gospel with just to be nice, you purposefully initiate conversations with them and ask them how their weekends were…. And when they say good, I got wasted and had epic sex with my girl/boyfriend, how do you like that? Am I a sinner? …. You don’t say “You pig, you are a sinner and you’re going to burn in hell.”  You pray for God to give you the words and tell them in a gentle way “yes, you’re a sinner just like me.” And not just because of what you did this weekend but bc of what the bible says about all people who are born into this world.  But like me you can be saved from that sin.  You may not even believe that you’re a sinner or that what you do is sin.  Well, just look at Jesus and what he says is sin and be open to what He says about Himself, what he did on earth, how he died, why he died, and what His resurrection means to us.  What the purpose was for? Or you may just want to say “Ya, I think that’s sin, just like I have sin in God’s eyes… but I still love you like Jesus loves you and I don’t think that has to be something that makes us enemies.  If you want to know more about Jesus and why scripture says that it’s sin then I’d love to tell you because it’ll save you from a lot of troubles in the future and some consequences that I bet you’re even starting to feel but if not I would still love to get to know you and talk to you even if we’re different and believe in different things.  Love those people even when they hate you.  Connect with those people even when they stay distant from you.

2. As a Christian who is hardly around people that don’t know Christ you force yourself into relationships with these people.

That’s right. I said you force your way.  If mom and dad won’t let you hang out with them then you need to trust in their wisdom and protection in this area.  Most of the time this is because they know that you are influenced by the world and cant think like a missionary would with these people.  Some are just under too protective of parents who don’t trust their kid with these people but are sinning by not allowing them to fulfill the great commission.  Those students still have to respect their parents and pray for them and their own hearts and motives.  Forcing your way into relationships with the lost may mean through a job or people at your church who doesn’t show fruit of a Christian because please believe me.  There are people around you in your student ministry who don’t know Jesus.  Some of you love your Christian bubble and don’t realize that you were put on this earth as a Christian who was sent here not secluded.  Sanctification is to be set apart for holiness still living in this world, not secluded from the world that you were sent to reach.

3.  Lastly, Become familiar with the Gospel message and continually preach it to yourself.

The message of Jesus Christ dieing on the cross and rising from the dead to give you salvation for your sins as you repent of those sins and violently give your life to Christ is not a one time thing and I’m done.  It’s a one time thing in God’s eyes where at that moment you are now righteous before him in the payment for your sins and hell and where at that one time you received a new life here on earth as you will in heaven.  But life doesn’t end there.  You notice how you still mess up, how you became hardened to things of God all over again as you lack compassion for the lost or strive to live like the world and go back to the sins you repented of.  It’s because you have forgotten the Gospel.  The love that you felt when you realized what Jesus suffered through to pay for your sins, the hope you had found when you realized that you can get rid of that sin that is ruining your life, the grace you received when the world did nothing but tell you must pay for your wrongs and Jesus saying I did that already on the cross, the power you had over temptation in sin for your God rose from the dead to show the power He has over all things in this life… the power to save your friends, your parents, and yourself.

It’s this Gospel message that saved you and will save others that you need to be familiar with the rest of your life.  When you are tempted to become religious and add things onto your Christian life with a check list of do good things. You need to remind yourself that Jesus and the Gospel is all I need.  When asked by others why you are different it is the Gospel in which you point to, when family situations get tough and death looms near it is the Gospel who gives you the power to persevere.  You will become passionate for the things of God and motivated to work hard, press into the kingdom when you fall in love with the Gospel that saved you and will save others.

What the MTV Video Music Awards 09 can tell us about idols and the Gospel

The MTV video music awards is the biggest night of the year for the channel that has influenced youth culture and has been influenced by youth culture since the early 80’s.  The VMA’s influence has overflowed from youth culture to all of American Culture over the last decade as Madonna’s kiss with Britney Spears headlined newspapers all across the country neatly a decade ago and Russell Brand’s mocking of the Jonas Brothers set off millions of tweenage girls last year.  As an interpreter of youth culture and a steward of the Gospel I make sure to catch this event each year.  Here is my analysis of one of the biggest nights of entertainment that had enough drama this year where the president of the U.S. even put his two cents in.  This is a mixture of notes I took the night of the event, some add ins in hindsight, and much prayer into this world that captivates many hearts who Jesus wants for his own.

The event started off with a Michael Jackson tribute where Madonna took the stage to give a salute to the recently deceased king of pop.  She wrote her speech herself and it was said in such a way where it looked like the crowd was at church hanging off her every word.  She basically celebrated his life, music, and uniqueness while condemning anyone who has ever judged his wrongs and gave excuses for them.  One such excuse was how Michael Jackson became a celebrity by the age of 8 and never truly had a childhood and therefore wanted to be a child forever.  I believe that she is somewhat accurate in this analysis but this inherited family sin of pressure, fame, and growing up too fast does not excuse a grown adult who gave a child wine telling them it was “Jesus Juice” and looking at pornography with them.  That is sin and will forever scar his fame in a Biblical worldview.  As a father of a young child it is hard for me to look at him in any other way and remember him for any other thing.  But God is the judge of Michael Jackson and if he didn’t repent of his sins and accept Christ’s atonement for those sins like any other person then this is what he will be known for in God’s eyes as well, not his life, music, and uniqueness.

British comedian Russell Brand, was the returning guest host of the event and like last year tried to shock the American culture with his brand of humor: sex, sex, sex and anything else that can shock the people there and who is watching.  The problem with Russell Brand is that he tried to be crude & witty and fell flat with both in trying to make the audience laugh or shocked.  If he’s going to go that route he really needs to take a lesson from Judd Apatow on how to be funny and crude while teaching conservative moral lessons (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/opinion/10douthat.html?_r=2) Mr. Brand received no laughs & just came across as crude. The only thing he said that was funny was how how the Jonas Brothers had forgiven him from last years mocking of their pledge abstinence.  He ended the comment by saying they had to because they’re Christians. Otherwise then that one witty line he pretty much embarrassed himself by just trying to be controversial and it was evident by the celebrity audiences faces.  Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer of Green Day’s face was one who expressed this disgust throughout the ceremony whether it was Madonna’s praise for MJ or Russell Brand whenever he opened his mouth.  They didn’t even look shocked at the things he was saying but rather bored and dumbfounded.  One last thing about Russell is how hypocritical it is for the guy to confess to being a self claimed sex addict who went through counseling for nymphomania and his continual praise for it.  He ended his opening monologue by claiming that the theme of the night is supposed to be how we need to “unite and love” like Michael Jackson would want us to.

Next came the award for best female video.  This 5 minutes of live tv ended up being the controversial part of the program that made headlines across the nation the next morning, had twitter abuzz, and reached the ears of the president where he even commented on the moment off the record (but nothing is off the record via twitter in which he later learned).  As you probably already know, loved country singer, Taylor Swift won the award and as she was about to give her acceptance speech talented rapper, Kanye West bum rushed the stage (one again), took her microphone and rudely said that “Beyonce (one of the other nominees) had one of the best videos of all time.” I have to admit that the face on taylor swift when  Kanye West interrupted her acceptance speech on behalf of Beyonce was absolutely priceless.  As much of America, celebrities, the media, and even the president has made known his interruption was rude and inappropriate.  However, to play devil’s advocate, I do believe he was right. Beyonce’s video crushes hers & has spun off an infamous Saturday Night Live short (with Justin Timberlake and Adam Samberg dancing to her song) & a viral video classic with the Jonas Brothers). This of course does not excuse his actions or drunken comments but made it worth it to watch this train wreck of a live tv moment. Also, as much as I loved the awkwardness of the whole live drama, it also further proved how egocentric Kanye is in spite of his talent as he’s done this several times before.

Next noticeable thing for me was when Jack Black came out in the stereotypical cheesy rock outfit.  Most Christians wouldn’t have found his act funny as he prayed to Satan because that’s the metal thing to do.  Now know that praying to Satan is really not funny as we can underestimate the power of the prince of the air and the demons he has on earth.  However, mocking the stereotype of rock music being Satan’s music is funny and I couldn’t help to laugh at this obvious satire of the stereotypes of rock music (which by the way is my personal preferred choice of music and always has been).

Up next was Taylor Swift’s live performance.  I’m sorry, I feel like a pansy saying this but at this point I noticed that Taylor Swift is kind of growing on me.  She seems fun, funny, a little cheesy, somewhat moral, and she does have verrry catchy songs (by the way all the same reasons why I like Miley Cyrus, except Miley doesn’t have the catchy songs).  One thing I don’t like about this whole Swift craze is that I hope girls really don’t think that love is her type of love but the love that is found in the Bible.  We got enough girls over romanticizing love into Disney expectations where they miss the true purpose and point of the sacrificial love that is talked about in Scripture.

Lady Gaga performs next as the later winner of new artist of the year.  GaGa has been all over the music scene this year and this just confirmed what I always thought of her.  She is so weird! I do admit that she is creative but always in a slutty way.  Long before this performance she was making headline with her revealing outfits in the dead winter, over the top sexual lyrics being sung in Israel, and her consistent presence on the billboard charts with several songs.  To understand why she is so extreme with her love of all types of sexual sin and all things creative, you have to understand a little of her background.  The girl was a burlesque dancer with in the GLBT world in NYC.  Of course she’s going to display this love for arts, drama, and extreme sexual sin.  She is creative, talented, passionate, and gifted and as her influence increases I will continue to pray that she sees her gave her those gifts and how she needs to come back to that Creator who will save her from her sins.  Her show did seem a little out of place as she tried to be artsy in a show that is known for performances by girls who defined their sinful sexual status in media (In show’s past Britney Spears, Christian Aguilera, etc).  She already gained that through her videos, songs now and I think people expected her to be even more over the top where she switched it up and just got artsy violent on them.  It just seemed out of place and weird.

Side note…. Background to the show and graphics looked awesome!  As someone who always pays attention to the transition parts of church services and background music I thought MTV did a great job with the band in between. They sounded unique and different from the stereotypical rap artists out there.  I didn’t get to catch who it was but they sounded good in between commercials performances and as always MTV had great background graphics in today’s culture.

Tension rises as Beyonce’s next nomination will be announced. Part of me wants her to lose again to see what will happen.  Will Kanye freak out again? Will she apologize on behalf of Kanye?  Britney won, no drama

Megan Fox announces Green Day performance.  She’s the “it” girl of today’s youth culture.  Almost all my guy students is a member of her fan page on facebook and she dominates the media world right now.  I’ll be writing a blog post on her upcoming movie shortly as it combines her acting and famed director/screenwriter, Cody Diablo (girl who wrote “Juno”).  It will be a box office hit amongst teenagers and they need to know what Scripture says about it’s themes.

Green Day plays their anti-Christian song on their latest cd.  It’s pop punk and very catchy.  I also still need to do a blog post about this song and their history of anti-church, anti-Jesus in past songs.  These lyrics have some of their most obvious issues with the church.  However they are on point with the stereotypes many young adults and teenagers have about the church.  Lead singer, Billie Joe knows how to put on a show and this one kind of reminded me of their Woodstock 94’ performance. I am also reminded how Anarchy and influence is dangerous when mixed together.  I pray and hope that people didn’t pay attention to the lyrics as they can just reaffirm people who is starting to have a dislike toward church.  I am reminded how Jesus loved the church so much that He gave His life up for it.  How some of those stereotypes people have of church is true but that’s because they focused on people who are imperfect in stead of the one who found the church, Jesus Christ.  There is no church without Jesus Christ so I pray that Green Day and others realize that they need to focus on what Jesus said and did, not the church which we can mess up as Christians but the God still uses and will use to proclaim Gospel mission and Gospel community.  More on that on a later date.

Ok…. Rap Award is up next…. please have Kanye West win….. and the winner is…. T.I…. who is in jail… Dang it.  At least we know that this show really isn’t staged by MTV because they definitely would’ve had Kanye win it for the drama and ratings which go hand in hand.  I later learned that Kanye wasn’t even there anymore as MTV escorted him out as the crowd became even more hostile toward him…. Oh, the power of innocent pop country crooner, Taylor Swift.

Muse is going to perform next.  Great band and not that well known in this overexposed all about $ billboard artists we’ve seen so far.  Muse didn’t disappoint and rocked it out.

Lady gaga is soooo weird!  She wins the new artist award and comes up with this mask that looks like it came from a horror film.  She’s for real too.  She’s not trying to be funny or anything.  She really thinks that this is art.  She ends her acceptance speech thanking god and the gays. Once again, if you know her past you know why she does this.  The god part was definitely out of place for her as I wonder if she’s just trying to be controversial and mock that who political culture of God vs gays that we have in America or if she genuinely believes in both and loves both.  I’m leaning toward mockery but will research it a little more.

Pink put on what looked like a spectacular performance swinging on a trapeze while singing with a great song and an outfit that revealed one of her boobs with a pink heart covering her nipple.  Therefore, I missed her whole performance because I believe that according to scripture and in my vows to my wife I couldn’t watch bouncing boobs without sinning.  Was that really necessary Pink? You could’ve walked away being the talk of the live musical performances with this intriguing and creative performance and now you’re just walking away with teenage boys lusting after you.  It could’ve been creative but you had to make it sexual and therefore becoming hypocritical in all you say about the other girl celebrities out there and what they do for fame.

Video of the Year is next.  This is the award of all awards for the night. And the winner is…… Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” (random camera shot of lady gaga with a different weird mask on then before… once again, she is so weird)  Will she ignore the beginning drama of the night? Will she stick up for Kanye for trying to stick up for her?  Will she stick up for Taylor for it taking away from her “moment”?  Well, as newspapers and tweets told us, Beyonce ends up inviting Taylor Swift to come out to have her “moment” and allows her to thank the people she didn’t get to earlier because of Kanye’s interruption.  I am reminded of the unity and love that MJ wants us to all know (gag).  But being serious, I was glad that Beyonce did this and it felt like one of those feel good moments you feel when watching one of those feel good movies.  I guess I’m kind of not used to feeling utterly disgusted and repulsed by the present state of MTV and their over the top antics at the end of their awards show (what I’d feel after seeing Marilyn Manson end years ago, still being shocked by earlier antics in years past.)  I still did feel that ickyness on some things I’d seen (Russell Brand’s sexualized comments, Pink’s unnecessary boobage, etc.) but it was weird how it ended with a wrong made right…. Oh, but wait, the show has 15 minutes left.

Jay Z then performs and we are reminded at how awesome all of these celebrities think MJ is.  No other shocking performances or over the top sinful antics. Hmmmm, so what are we to think of the present state of youth culture and the entertainment industry on display through one of their biggest nights of the year in the eyes of Scripture and a Biblical worldview?

1.  The false worship of celebrity idols in youth culture and how we need to realign that worship to Jesus.

Taylor Swift, Megan Fox, Green Day, The Jonas Brothers, are all idolized and will be in a me generation that idolizes fame and popularity.  At one time after the show ended the top 10 twitter trends had something to do with the MTV VMA’s.  We need to be reminded that our hearts are idol factories and whether it’s through celebrities or boyfriend/girlfriends we need to confess to this sin of false idolatry and look at Jesus as the only one to worship.  I was reminded of this in the most unlikely of circumstances through this show as I saw the army of Taylor Swift fans call for Kanye’s head on a platter.  What he did was rude and uncalled for.  But I was shocked by the reaction of friends and media.  More people felt hurt for their idol’s lost “moment” then the lost state of people around them in God’s eyes.  These are celebrities who are wronged in many more ways then not being able to say thank you to friends and family.  They are wronged as they are continually deceived by Satan who makes them think they are worthy of this worship and need us to get upset about that and pray for them and ourselves as we give them that glory.  I am guilty of this myself as I put “celebrity” pastors and athletes on a pedestal and get angry when I hear someone slander them.  I need to be reminded at those times that I need to pray for them and refocus my worship on Jesus.  It’s him who I need to focus my breath on and defend.  Not Mark Driscoll or Taylor Swift or being wronged.

2.  Sexual sin is present in youth culture, celebrity culture, and American culture because it’s present in our hearts.

Every year Christians claim that it the state of sexual sin gets worse and worse.  I don’t know if this is true as I’ve studied the history of the Egyptian and Roman Empire eras but I do know that it will forever be present in a sinful world where Satan corrupted our hearts through the fall.  What was intended for good became a false god amongst many people and will always be celebrated in people’s lives and entertainment choices.  As Christians we are to abstain from sexual sin and speak into it as it will always be around.  I always feel quite a dilemma when this yearly event comes around for I know it will be present but also know that we must speak truth into the lies MTV tells concerning sexual sin.  I thank God for a wife who keeps me accountable in making sure that some viewing is too much and a great Savior and Holy Spirit who I am accountable with in what I see and what I put in my head and heart.  For me, Pink’s performance was too much as I turned my head from her entire performance.  We need to forever be discerning on these issues but realize that we need to know how the lost are being deceived into these things.  Some things to remember when doing this is….

1. It starts in their hearts just like it starts in our hearts.  It’s not Lady Gaga, Russell Brand, the porn industry who we need to blame but Satan and how sin has affected all of our hearts in this area.  This is also what we need to speak into when announcing such a great Savior for that sin that started in their very hearts like it did in ours.

2. If you are entering into this culture to study, redeem, and present truth of the Gospel to make sure you are honest with your self in convictions led by the spirit and accountability.  Most Christian teenagers need to stay away from this stuff as it usually becomes entertainment and sinful for them.  Unless you are thinking like a missionary who would enter into a foreign and sinful culture, you need to error on the staying away from all things sexual side.  MTV VMA’s will always push the boundaries and you have to realize that.  Watch with discernment and a motivation to look for truth out of lies being sensitive to the lost people who don’t realize what they are watching is necessarily sinful.  If you can’t handle it as you start to lust after some performers, start idolizing the messages they say about sex, or feel convicted for watching any of it you need to abstain from it but not judge others who are in the world but by their interpretation of the event are obviously not of the world.

3.  Pop Culture, Celebrities, and MTV will come and go while the Gospel will last forever.

What amazes me about this fickle world is how much it changes from year to year in artists, celebrities, and what’s cool pointing to an unknown example of how fickle are very lives really are.  It is the message of the Gospel that lasts in a temporary world about self.  It’s the eternal message of us being sinners in a culture that in some type of new way will preach else wise.  The eternal message that Jesus died for that sin as He thought of us and glorifying His father in a culture that wants to glorify ourselves and whatever is popular which forever changes.  It’s the eternal message that Jesus rose from the dead and showed how He had eternal power and authority over death which took MJ’s life, sin which captivates and deceives our hearts into thinking that life is all about sex, Satan who is not someone we want to pray to but does not have control over a guitar and drums (but instead lyrics that can deceive some hearts).  It’s the Gospel that changes this culture and speaks into the heart of it.  It’s the Gospel that reveals the eternal out of the temporary as all of these celebrities get old and our hearts start worshiping what ever is next that Satan dangles before our eyes.  Point this out to this temporary culture because teenagers will notice how Brittany Spears had faded, N*sync disbanded, and Jessica Alba is not the “it” girl anymore.  They want something permanent to worship but need to hear the Gospel to see Jesus as the permanent solution their temporary idols.

Christians in Public Schools, Barack Obama, & The Gospel: A Missional Opportunity in Barack Obama’s Educational Speech this Tuesday

Last month President Barack Obama announced that he will be speaking to public school students on Tuesday, September 8 in an address that will be shown love at noon EDT.  He has told us that it will be about the need to work hard and stay in school.  If this wasn’t controversial enough for most Republicans then the lesson plans for teachers created by Obama’s Education Department put it over the separation of religious political/public school line.  After all of the backlash from Republicans who accused Obama of trying to indoctrinate America’s children with tax payers money and parents who threatened to pull their kids from school that day, the white house plans on releasing the speech online Monday so parents can read it.

Now, as a stereotypical, Bible believing, Evangelical Christian who works for a Southern Baptist church and doesn’t agree with many of our president’s policies (whether it’s Scriptural: ie. abortion/same sex marriage or political: ie. health care) you would think I would be joining this war against all things Obama this Tuesday.  But I’m not.  In fact I find myself throwing up inside my mouth a little when I think about how most Christian’s respond to this situation.  In fact, I truly believe that the wisest response to this whole situation is for Christian parents to allow their kids to go to school this Tuesday, whether Obama is being played or not and to talk with our kids about what is being said.  I believe that Jesus had seen much worse being done with the denarius he gave to the Roman Empire.  Now before I explain any further let me put a couple disclaimers out there….

1.  I am not known liberal blogger, Tony Jones hiding under some student pastor’s identity.

2.  I did not vote for Barack Obama and if I had the chance to vote right now I still would’t vote for Barack Obama so this has no political agenda behind it.

3.  According to the Bible I do believe that it IS the parent’s God-given role and responsibility to take their kids out of school this Tuesday if they truly want to.  I just think it’s unwise as a Christian in today’s culture and according to how we should correspond to our authority in scripture.  However, I am not that parent and I believe they have a right to do this.  I would also tell any middle school/high school student to respect their parent’s in this even if it felt that it just killed their testimony as a Christian to the stereotypes most teachers and students already have of us.

Now that those points are off my chest I’ll share why I believe it is unwise to ban Obama concerning this upcoming education speech.

1. The “Christian Stereotypes” of us banning/protesting stuff we don’t like or disagree with.

I’m sorry but I didn’t grow up in the southern Baptist world so I never really got this part of it.  When we disagree with something or see something that is sin in the world we protest and ban it.  From alcohol in the prohibition days to good ol’ mickey mouse himself during the gay days at walt disney world.  The “banning/protesting agenda” has no boundaries as we saw at the SBC as people motioned banning of speakers who associated with people of their own faith (at least three other motions were made against Mark Driscoll/Acts 29 Church Planting Network).  Now this can be argued from a holiness perspective and I am not going to argue with that right now.  If a Christian truly believes that they are protecting themselves or their children from sin out of holiness then fine.  That’s their own heart’s convictions and Holy Spirit’s leading.  But let’s keep at the topic at hand.  Protesting the President’s speech is not protecting your children.  This could’ve been argued in the beginning but the president is releasing his manuscript the day before so we can see word for word what he will be saying.  Also there have been presidents in the past who have done this (George H.W. Bush in 1991, http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/DN-obamawhy_04nat.ART.State.Edition2.4be01a1.html) and it was never an issue.  It’s because 1. We have such a divisive country in politics right now. 2. There are so many people who truly hate Barack Obama, including Christians who will do anything to fight back at him.  Like I said, I disagree with most of his policies.  But this is something that according to what the White House has said, looks good for public school kids to hear about education.  The argument of indoctrination goes out when we see what he says Monday and they’ve already changed several things (assignments, etc.) to show that they do not have a political agenda behind it.  If the president wants to speak to kids of America on why education is important then so be it.  Just like when Bush did it and many presidents beforehand did it.  He’s not talking to them about his liberal agenda or health care according to all white house releases.  So instead of just banning him or protesting think about how much us Christians are already known for one’s who run away from stuff we disagree with and how you may not even disagree with this one thing you’re protesting against.  You’re just hurting the Christian’s reputations as one’s who ban everything.  And if you think that I’m the only one who feels this way then be warned.  There are many young, Bible believing, evangelical Christians that want to be know for nothing but the Gospel and has realized that we have been known for protesting political bullies and are sick of the stereotype.  You may not care but you should. This leads to my next point.

2. Missional Families in the Public School.

Ok, I don’t want to hear the excuses on why your kids are at the public school they go to.  Whether it’s because the private schools are too expensive or the home schoolers are too weird.  Because the Christian schools look the same as public or because you have no choice because of where you live.  You’re there and you’re there for a purpose.  And it’s not just to get you kid educated, graduated, and kicked out of the house (hopefully to do bigger and better things with that education).  You are there because you are called to be a missionary to those teachers, kids, and families in that public school.  Yes, You.  I don’t care if God didn’t tell you this through a burning bush or made you blind so that you can now see.  It doesn’t matter that you didn’t have a dream where God made a sheet from heaven and said to you Rise, Reteach, after the public school teachers teach because most aren’t teaching that well, & Witness.  You know that this is your responsibility as a Christian because Scripture tells you.  Jesus, the greatest missionary sent on earth prayed for us in the garden before he died as He told us that like He was sent to this earth He was sending us here to be a witness for Him.  He later prayed in that prayer that we are to be in the world not of the world.  Well, there is no greater place then to be in the world then in the public school.  Yes, you’re kid will get made fun of for going to church, staying virgins, and loving Jesus.  But is their and your missional calling to share the Gospel with these people.  Like Paul did when he talked about doing whatever it takes to connect with others in order to win a few (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).  Like missionaries do when they go to another country.  These are not super Christians (Well, Jesus was bearing the name we represent but aside from our Savior…) we are in the school for a reason.  Like Russell Moore tweeted on September 4 on this issue: If you have such a problem with these type of things, what are you doing in the public school in the first place?  What does this have to do with Obama’s speech? Well, do Christian parents really think that THIS is the worse a public school could do? Everyone knows that most public schools have liberal views with religious tolerance themes.  That’s the world, my friends.  The world we try to share the Gospel with.  This is more about hatred for Obama then protecting our kids.  If you want to protect them, then take them aside and go over what was said to them during the speech.  Something I pray and hope these parents are doing with everything they are being taught in a public school.  If you don’t trust the school then fine, take them out.  Homeschool them, enroll them into a Christian school if that’s your convictions.  Not because of one speech that you can look at yourself.  It’s harder for the Christians who are actually trying to gain a voice with these people to share the Gospel with them when you continue to feed the stupid stereotypes they have of Christians who look down upon them, run away from anything they don’t like without a good argument on why they are running away.  I may have a little more of a burden for these people as I went to a public school where yes it was hard and discouraging at times but talk about an opportunity to be around people that don’t know Jesus.  A teenager will not have a bigger opportunity to reach this many teenagers in their life.  You say that this won’t hurt those chances but I would beg to differ.  These teachers and students aren’t stupid and know what’s going on when you do this.  As a 26 yr. old, 8 yr. graduate out of my high school, I still have kids that contact me that remember the bad and good that I did during that time (I’m reminded through facebook).  Don’t let this be what you will be remembered for at parent teacher conferences.  Be remembered for the Gospel, not political protesting that has nothing to do with the Gospel and Jesus.

3.  Better Parenting in the Public School is not protesting together but talking though the Biblical Worldview together.

The number one excuse for protesting this speech has been it’s my right as a parent.  It is their right but is it truly better parenting?  My mentor (fomer collge dean of the undergraduate school at SBTS and now Sr. Pastor of !st Baptist West Palm, FL.) would allow his kids and students he discipled to listen to secular music in his car whenever they begged to do so.  After so he would ask them what the artist was singing about, if they were trying to push any type of worldview through and if this differed with what the Bible says.  If so, why?  Instead of banning it, he would listen to it with them and have them analyze it according to Scripture.  This is what I believe is the better option for parents in this situation.  When my daughter goes to school, I plan on doing this with anything that she is being taught.  You cant hide kids under a rock forever so allow them to place the world they hear about and see in the lens of scripture with you.  Interpret these things in a Biblical lens together.  If your kid is of the elementary age then I am a little more understanding in keeping them away from influential worldly things.  Elsewise, your kid will be in college and a work environment where they will need to do this themselves.  I’m also not saying that you can participate in sin with this.  I wouldn’t do this with a porno with a guy saying that this is the world and what other guys watch so how does it differ from Scripture.  That’s sin and stupid.  This is a speech whose words will be available for all to see and nothing in the grand scheme of your kid’s view on Jesus and how to get closer to be more like Him.  This is more about a hatred for Obama then a hatred of sin and Satan.  Parenting is not protesting.

Jesus, Caesar, & The Gospel

Aside from all of this let’s look at the greatest example in how to interact with the government and authority above us without saying “yes” to sin (Mark 12:13-17). When Jesus was asked if He should go against the Scripture and pay Caesar (one who made himself a god to be worshipped, had practicing religions who would have orgies as part of the worship service, was known for boy pedophilia….  Ummm, you can pretty much say a little more immoral then Barack Obama) or if they should give it to God.  He asks them for a denarius (in which they did, showing that they already are in this system, much like many public school parents are) and asks who is on the coin? They answer “Caesar.”  He then tells them to pay Caesar with what is Caesar’s and to pay God for what is God’s.  He didn’t bring up all of the immoral, sinful things Caesar was doing.  He didn’t throw it at them and say let’s not pay it at all. Ban Caesar’s taxation. Let’s protest against his injustice.  He made it a point to respect the authority (even when unfair and immoral) above Him by paying him what he asks and to make sure to give God his due as well.  Jesus modeled this respect for political authority during his entire ministry.  I don’t think this allows us to be pacifists and to argue against the just-war theory or believe that it’s ok to not stand for political issues that clearly go against Scripture.  I do believe that Jesus modeled a respect for authority and a participation in some of it’s doings when it doesn’t go against Scripture.  The taxation can be easily translated as a political speech that so far doesn’t go against our Biblical beliefs but instead against a man we rightfully don’t agree with (on different issues).  As our authority, I believe we gain a bigger voice for the Gospel by respecting that authority and allowing our kids to hear from it when it has nothing to do with the stupid stuff they are doing.  It’s truly amazing how Jesus didn’t bring up any of the bad that this empire was doing to the “religious people” but instead showed Himself as their Savior for that bad and sin instead.  It was those people that Jesus died for as members of the Roman centurion accepted Him as their Lord and Savior seeing how He was the Son of God and the only hope for salvation for their sinful doings. This is because when it comes down to it, the Gospel is more important then anything else we are here for.  Jesus knew this and knew how important it was to teach them to respect authority when sin wasn’t involved in order to teach this to us and reveal the true motive behind this situation with religious people who had a different agenda.  Now ask yourself, what will show the Gospel more on Tuesday? Is it going to be through a protest or teaching your kid to be pro-Gospel the way Paul & Jesus was, as a missionary to every person around you.  Teaching them how to interpret what they hear through a Biblical lens. You’re at that school for a purpose; you have those teachers for a purpose… to use your surroundings to show the Gospel, not feed the stereotypes that go against it.  Being sent to something is running toward it with the Gospel not sitting at home away from it.

Resources from our “Save the Elephant” sex and dating series

1. The Elephant & Culture: Romans 1:18-32, Romans 6:11-14

“Sex and the Supremacy of Christ” edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor:  Best book I’ve read on the subject.  It tells you what the Bible says about sex, how Satan has distorted sex, and a little bit of everything else that was hit on through this series.

“Sex is Not the Problem (Lust Is)” by Joshua Harris:  This book shows how the problem is not exactly out in the world but in our heart.  Where lust comes from.  Sex is a good thing and created by God to be done for His glory.  It’s when lust enters the picture where sex becomes sin.

“God on Sex” by Daniel Akin:  A great book on the Song of Solomon that defines God’s purpose of love, intimacy and marriage. Tommy Nelson’s “The Book of Romance” is the standard SOS exegesis and I think that Akin gives him a run for his money.

“Sex has a Price Tag” by Pam Stenzel with Crystal Kirgiss:  These authors provide plenty of statistics and pointers on the different consequences that come from sexual immorality.

“Religion Saves” by Mark Driscoll (Question 5: Sexual Sin):  This book came out of a sermon series this Pastor preached through answering the top 9 questions his church and Christian bloggers wanted to know concerning Christianity. Question 5 was “How should Christian men and women go about breaking free from the bondage of sexual sin?”

“SexGod” by Rob Bell:  In no way do I agree with Rob Bell’s implied theology of God’s character being a women or his view of women in ministry.  One chapter in particular I disagreed with entitled “God wears lipstick.”  However, the rest of the book is very helpful in connecting sex with spirituality.  Biblical Sex in marriage is a spiritual thing as you glorify God in it and bond with your spouse in it.  Bell did a great job showing this to an audience who doesn’t think about God in general and especially in their sex lives.

2. The Elephant and Biblical Men: 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, assorted passages

“The Exemplary Husband” by Stuart Scott: My wife’s favorite Biblical counseling professor from SBTS wrote a deep, well rounded book on what a Biblical Husband looks like and needs to strive toward.  Truly convicting as a husband.

“Every Man’s Battle” or “Every Young Man’s Battle” by Stephen Arterburn:  I am not a huge Arterburn fan however these books have helped many guys in sexual temptation and lust.  “Bouncing Your Eyes” became popular within Christian men in large part from this book, something that has helped me with temptation and lust to this very day.

“The Godly Man’s Picture” by Thomas Watson:  Thomas Watson, a preacher in the puritan era wrote this book highlighting 24 characteristics of a Godly man. Pssh, and to think that some guys thought my 5 characteristics in this sermon was too much.

“Wild at Heart” by John Eldredge:  This 2003 book of the year for family Christian stores started a movement among biblical men who recognized that they are in a battle.  Out of their love for adventure many men embraced the adventure, pursued their beauties, and took ground in this spiritual battle.  Not as deep and scriptural as the other books but still helpful.

“Porn Again Christian” by Mark Driscoll (FOR GUYS ONLY):  A short read for men who struggle with sexual sin, lust, pornography, masturbation, etc. Best book I’ve ever read on this subject He calls it all out as sin without being nice about it but in a way that truly connects with guys who struggle with these things.

Sermons/Podcasts

“Men and Masculinity” by Mark Driscoll:  http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/proverbs/men-and-masculinity

“Marriage and Men” by Mark Driscoll:  http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/trial/marriage-and-men

“Defining Masculinity, Men as Husbands, and Men as Fathers” by Matt Chandler:  http://theologica.blogspot.com/2009/06/matt-chandler-on-role-of-men.html

3. The Elephant and Biblical Women: Prov. 31:10-31, 1 Peter 3:1-6, Titus 2:3-5

“The Excellent Wife” by Martha Peace:  This book compliments my favorite book on the above Stuart Scott book on biblical husbands.  It goes through the different characteristics that make up a biblical woman in a sometimes deep but very rich way.

“Feminine Appeal” by Carolyn Mahaney:  This book is written by the wife of one of my favorite author’s/preacher’s, C.J. Mahaney.  She goes through Titus 2:3-5 and talks about how a woman can model these characteristics found in these passages.  Probably my favorite book out of all of these books as she weaves personal stories from her life, church, and ministry to the passage at hand.

“Called to Womanhood” by Beth Impson:  This book does a great job on going through the history of feminism and how it has distorted the biblical view of wives and womanhood.  It helps you understand where that side is coming from and how you can defend the biblical roles in marriage.

“Every Young Woman’s Battle” by Shannon Ethridge and Stephen Arterburn:  This book teaches young women how to guard their heart and body with the women specific issues they struggle with.  This book was a great resource for my wife as a teenager in high school.

“The New Eve” by Robert Lewis:  This book just came out recently but and has gained much momentum in churches striving after Biblical Womanhood.  It does a great job in putting historical Biblical truths on women in a relevant style of writing.

4. The Elephant and Dating: 1 Corinthians 7:25-38

“Dateable” by Justin Lookadoo and Hayley DiMarco:  A book written for teenagers on how to date the right way and the type of guys and girls you should date.  If a teenager is going to ever think about dating then they NEED to read this book and listen to the good, practical tips that are written in a humorous way.

“Passion and Purity” by Elisabeth Elliot:  One of the most popular books in the topic of Christian dating and true love.  The author intertwines her testimony on how she met her husband and married him and how two Christians can do the same God’s way.  Whether or not you believe in dating, every Christian should read this book.

“I Kissed Dating Good Bye” by Joshua Harris:  Joshua Harris has recently came out and said that he still believes in the intent of the book, that most pre-mature, short-term, romantic attachments can be a big distraction from serving God.  However, many Christians have read this book and have taken a legalistic, judgmental view on dating where they don’t talk to the opposite sex and become uncomfortable around them.  The book is still very helpful in showing the distractions of dating and how you can seek out God in this area as He gives different singles different convictions on how to find the person they should marry.

“Boy Meets Girl” by Joshua Harris:  The story of how the author of the last book found his true love and pursued her and eventually married her.  A little more balanced then the one sided anti-dating argument that came out of his previous book.

“Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships” by Chip Ingram:  A very practical book on dating, love and sex.  Everything from the dating process to the love you should see in marriage is covered in this popular author who does a great job on writing several different subjects.  God really used this book in my life when I went to college, talking about the difference in love and infatuation.

Books I’ve already mentioned that was used in this study:

“Sex and the Supremacy of Christ” edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor

“Religion Saves” by Mark Driscoll (Question 3: Dating)

5. The Elephant & Marriage: Ephesians 5:22-33, 1 Corinthians 6:25-30

“God, Marriage, and Family” by Andreas J. Kostenberger:  I’ve recommended this book to the families at Jersey before as it covers a wide spectrum of Student Ministry issues in such a Biblical way.  It probably won’t be the last time I recommend it as well.

“Sacred Marriage” by Gary Thomas:  Best book I’ve ever read on marriage.  Books like “His Needs, Her Needs” and “The Five Love Languages” are great practical books for the everyday thoughts and actions you put toward your marriage.  This book is different as it deals with the holiness that comes from your marriage.  How it gets you closer to God, not just each other.  This book speaks to the heart where some other marriage books speak to the emotions.

“The Intimate Marriage” by R.C. Sproul:  A small book where the author goes through the roles of husbands and wives in marriage, communicating in marriage, and the problem of divorce.  Only six chapters that get to the point of each topic.

“Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood” edited by John Piper and Wayne Grudem:  This message talked about the Biblical roles God has for the husband and wife: Headship (Sacrificial Love) in husbands and Submission in wives.  This book does a great job clarifying those roles and how the culture distorted God’s intended purpose in them.

“Intended for Pleasure” by Ed Wheat (Intended for Adults Only):  This book is a good resource for people who are engaged and married as it goes through scripture that shows us the freedom we have in the marriage bed.  Students need to know that sex is not dirty in marriage and although I wouldn’t recommend for them to read this book yet, it does a great job showing Christians biblical proof of the pleasure only marriage can bring to sex.