John Calvin - How then should we serve?

Psalm 119:112
"I have applied mine heart to fulfill thy statutes always: even unto the end."

"Now when he saith, that he inclined his heart to observe the commandments of God: he showeth us, what service it is that God requireth: that is a voluntary and willing service. See here yet a point which ought well to be considered of, to the end we should not think that we are ever able to please God, when as we serve him constrainedly, as we see the miserable and wretched faithless do, which greatly torment themselves. And why so? For all that they do, they do it constrainedly
because they would the better escape the hand of God, but when they come near unto him as well as they may, it is but as it were enforced and constrained, because he is their judge. Now if we have such a constant desire (as we term it) that we are enforced to do that which we are commanded: our whole case is little worth, and God will never allow of it. And why so? because he liketh of nothing else but of obedience, and would have us come unto him with frank and willing minds. See then why David saith, that he hath inclined his heart to keep the commandments of God: not that he protesteth, that he hath done it of himself, nor of his own mind: but because that God hath given him both the will and the power to do the same. And to prove it to be so, we shall never see that David braggeth of himself in any one place, that he willed any good, being so led of his own proper mind: he will never say, that it was his natural inclination, but saith clean contrary, I was conceived in sin, saith he, (Psalm 51:5) he reserveth nothing to himself but all that which is naught. When then in this behalf he protesteth that he had inclined his heart, he only showeth what the grace of God was in him. And for conclusion he addeth: That he did it forever, or, even unto the end, or, this is it which we have touched heretofore: to wit, we must not be like sudden blasts which pass by and by, but we must be constant, and that when we shall have once begun, we must pray unto God that he will continue the same our well doing which he hath begun in us, and to hold us
by the hand until such time as we have finished our course."

(Taken from John Calvin's 14th Sermon on Psalm 119)

A Palestinian State – Part 8

The final installment has arrived! I hope you've been blessed by reading my review of From Time Immemorial by Joan Peters and have been awakened to these important issues facing Israel and the church, and what looks to be on the near horizon. Maranatha!

~

In conclusion, I want to make a few points.

First, I am not, and Peters certainly wasn’t, trying to absolve Israel of the wrongs they have perpetrated in the Arab-Jewish conflict, or try to paint them as only innocent victims to the Arab world. They certainly have been responsible for evils through the years in regard to the “Palestinian refugee” situation, and many other situations. The popular media continues to make sure we are well informed of those! (Though, as you should now be aware, we should be careful not to unquestioningly accept the picture that the media paints of Israel).

Second, this isn’t a call to political arms. This topic is highly political, but I am not calling on Christians to start lobbying our government for intervention in Israel or a military response to the Arab world. I do hope, however, that your perspective on the Middle East has been challenged by what I’ve presented of Peters’ research. Perhaps you will be motivated to let others know about the realities of the situation when the topic comes up.

Third, even if we were to intervene in Middle Eastern affairs, it is naïve to think that we can somehow be responsible for bringing Jesus’ return forward on God’s calendar. Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only—Matthew 24:36. All of these things happen according to God’s sovereignty. In the passage at the beginning, God said that it shall happen in that day that I WILL make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples, and in one I quoted further down, God said to Israel I WILL bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered. It is God’s willing, and God’s doing, that is responsible for the events of the future, including the time that Jesus will return. Our challenge is to be personally ready, because his return is imminent.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 122:6a

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Dr MacArthur is Free!

If you are searching around on the internet for free MP3's by Dr John MacArthur, you'll discover what's commonly called "not muzzling the ox while he's treading out the grain", ie. you'll have to purchase most of John MacArthur's sermon (apart from a few on Sermon Audio and about 40 on Sermon Index), which is still absolutely worth doing, and has enabled the CD/Tape/DVD distribution ministry of sermon's by "Grace to You", to continue for nearly 40 years! (As well as books, articles, and other literature).

BUT!!! As of Wednesday the 5th November 2008 "Grace to You" - the ministry of Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California, will be "opening up the vault" to enable FREE access to 3500 sermons (no registration or anything else required). Simply go to http://www.gty.org/ starting this Wednesday!!! Thankyou Grace to You!

Youth Leaders - How to work against Christ and the Church

A Palestinian State – Part 7

It’s not my purpose here, but it would be useful to study several other topics in relation to this one, to further understand today’s situation in the Middle East:

~ The nature of Islam. While all Muslims are not terrorists, and in fact most are peaceful people, Islam according to the Koran and as practiced by Mohummad is a religious ideology that calls for violence—particularly against Jews. Mohummad is quoted in the hadith as saying, The last day will not come until the Muslims confront the Jews and the Muslims destroy them. In that day Allah will give voice to the rocks and the trees and they will cry out, ‘O Muslim, O Abdullah, there is a Jew hiding behind me. Come and kill him! The Koran also contains many passages inciting Muslims to wage war on Jews who don’t submit to Islam. What also must be understood is that Islam is essentially political in nature, and Islamic countries draw no distinction between “church and state”, as the distinction exists in western nations. These factors must be understood if the agenda of the Arab world against Israel is going to make any sense to us.­

~ The Satanic roots of anti-Semitism. (A brilliant book addressing this topic is What On Earth is God Doing? by Renald E. Showers.) The Bible, and the history of the world, can be studied as an ongoing battle between God and Satan. Throughout history, Satan has inspired hatred against the Jews in an attempt to annihilate them—first, so that God could not provide the Messiah through Israel as he promised (examples of this include Cain killing Abel, Pharaoh commanding the murder of every firstborn Israelite son, and Herod commanding the murder of all male children under two years in and around Bethlehem), and second, so that God cannot fulfil the promises he has made about Israel’s restoration in the future (examples of this include the Romans driving Jews from the land, two thousand years of persecution of Jews in the Arabic world, the Nazi Holocaust, and the situation today in Israel).­

~ That all Israel will be saved. Since the dawn of Catholicism, and because of the influence of the writings of Oregon, Augustine, and others since then, the majority of the church has for the best part of two centuries allegorised the scriptures in which God promises national restoration and salvation to Israel. It is surprising that this tradition continues today, despite the many prophecies that were fulfilled in Israel’s rebirth last century. The Bible is clear when it says that Israel will first be regathered to the land in unbelief (Ezekiel 20:33-35), that many will fall under God’s judgement and be killed (Ezekiel 22:17-22, Zechariah 13:8-9), and that all those who remain will repent and believe in Jesus as Messiah and be saved (Jeremiah 31:31-37, Romans 11:25-27).

I believe that if we can grasp these three things, today’s situation in the Middle East makes infinitely more sense.

This Coming Fellowship - 01/11/2008

For you "Timothy's":

Timothy Fellowship has been in existance for one year now! We hope that so far our meetings have been equipping, exhorting and uplifting for your theological/spiritual growth. You may have already received an invite for the 1st of November (2008) in the post. However, you may prefer to have your invite electronically. So here 'tis:

When: Saturday the 1st November 2008, 5.30pm till 9.30pm
Where: Aldgate Baptist Church (South Australia).
Teacher: Rev. Andrew Klynsmith (http://www.afes.org.au/ & http://www.newcreation.org.au/)
Topic: "On Being A Theologian Of The Cross - Why God Is So Interested That You Still Know You're A Sinner".
Cost: $20 (includes 2 course dinner, drinks, supper and free resources)

Any questions? Have you crashed into this web page somehow and would like to know more? Would you like to attend? Please email: timmyfellows@gmail.com

Remeber to visit this website regularly for updates, and to comment on what you read.

A Palestinian State – Part 6

So, in summary, here are the popularly believed stories compared to the historical realities:

The “Palestinian people” had an identity with the land, and this identity goes back thousands of years.
ON THE CONTRARY: Apart from famous highlights of conquest, the land remained desolate for much of the period between AD70 and 1917, and had few inhabitants. Jewish populations did however remain in the land continuously throughout the intervening period—so among others, Jews of this time were “Palestinian people” who maintained a continual identity with the land.
In 1948, “alien” Jews returned after two thousand years, displacing these “Palestinian Arabs” and forcing them to flee their homeland.
ON THE CONTRARY: Jewish claims to Palestine are based on continual Jewish presence in the land from the time of the Diaspora until today. The “Palestinian Arabs” were displaced by the war of 1948, but this was largely the result of Arab world leaders advising them to flee (and despite Jewish pleas for them to remain) so that allied Arab armies could defeat Israel without harming Arab brethren.
It is Arab land—the Arabs were there first.
ON THE CONTRARY: Jews have maintained a continual presence in the land for thousands of years, since the time of Joshua. The claim that Arabs have maintained a “Palestinian national identity” in the land is false, as admitted by Arab leaders. Peters doesn’t use this argument as she comes from a secular perspective, but the land is God’s land (Leviticus 25:23) which he gave to Israel as an “everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:8), “for all time” (Deuteronomy 4:40)—a covenant that God “remembers [i.e., honours] forever” (Psalm 105:8-10).
The modern-day state of Israel comprises the totality of Palestinian land (and there is no other Palestinian land in which the “Palestinian refugees” could resettle).
ON THE CONTRARY: 83% of the land set aside for a Jewish national home in the Palestine Mandate was surrendered to appease the Arab world. This land is the Palestinian state known as Jordan, and would have provided (and still does provide) an appropriate location for the “Palestinian refugees” to resettle.
The “Palestinians” who today suffer poverty and oppression in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are Arabs, and descendants of Arabs who had lived in the disputed land for thousands of years before Jews displaced them.
ON THE CONTRARY: The “Palestinians” that came to be refugees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were largely illegal immigrants, or descendants of illegal immigrants, who entered Palestine unlawfully from foreign Arab lands during the British mandatory period. Before this time, Palestine was a wasteland, with very few inhabitants.
Israel is responsible for the current plight of the “Palestinians refugees”—therefore Israel is principally responsible for the ongoing strife in the Middle East today.
ON THE CONTRARY: The “Palestinian refugees” have suffered immensely, and it would be unfair to forget this. However, they have been victims not so much to Israel as to an Arab agenda that has caused them to remain refugees for sixty years instead of being resettled in their original Arab homelands, or in alternative resettlement locations in the Arab world (which would parallel normal resolutions of refugee situations). Arab world leaders call for another “Palestinian state”—and it is with this agenda that the Arab world continues to discriminate against the “Palestinian refugees” by only allowing them this option, and not the option of resettlement elsewhere in the Arab world. To resettle them elsewhere would be to admit defeat to Israel, and acknowledge Israel’s right to exist.