The Doctrine Of The Four Chairs

Which chair are you?Yesterday I had the privilege of attending an "Iron Sharpens Iron" event in New Lenox, Illinois.  We saw a host of speakers and had the options to spend 75 minutes in between to talk with other speakers in breakout sessions.  The morning Keynote Speaker was Mr. Adrian Despres and who spoke on the principles of four chairs.  The first chair is what a true disciple of Christ would be.

He would be an individual who is walking by faith, praying and living by the very words of what Jesus calls us to do - Trust and Obey and to follow his precepts and to be totally and completely reliable on Him for our daily bread.  In other words, the first chair Christian allows Jesus to be Lord over his entire life.

The second chair Christian is one who is more of a "pew sitter" instead of a "heavy hitter" for the Kingdom (aka "The first chair").  The second chair is what the Book of Revelation calls the lukewarm Christian. Remember what Jesus said, that He would rather have that Christian be cold or hot, but as lukewarm, he considers the second chair as puke in his mouth and would rather spit you out.  Adrian, then skipped the third chair and referred to the fourth chair as the unsaved chair.  Maybe he is someone who is seeking the Kingdom of God and wants a relationship with Christ, but because of the examples of the second and third chair he could become disgusted with the "body" of Christ (that church) and walk away calling chair number one and two - unloving, judgmental, hypocrites who practice Truth more than Grace.  Now, chair number three, Adrian referred to as the most dangerous chair in the body of Christ.

This is someone who may have grown up in the church, knows Scripture better than most and has pretended to play church their entire life.  This person may, at Judgement, say to Jesus, "Lord, Lord, save me"  And Jesus will say, "Depart from me, for I never knew you."  This chair is a fake and this life is not reflecting any of the Fruit of the Spirit that we find in Galatians Chapter 5.   Here is the thing, whatever chair you are in right now, that doesn't matter to God, because He still loves you.  He loves you so much that He gave His only son for you.  You have to make an honest confession right now with what chair you are sitting in and not only repent to God and give that up if you are in #2, #3 and or #4.  If you are in #1 then get serious, stay focused and work on changing the second and third and reaching the fourth chair.  If you are #2, #3 and or #4, then repent.  Confess your sin to God and move over to Chair #1.  To God be the Glory forever and ever, Amen.

By the way, if you get a chance to see this great Evangelist, then by all means look him up!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

 

Justification, Regeneration & Sanctification...

Men, what is God’s will for your life?

Romans 1:18 The wrath ofGod is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness ofmen who suppress the truth by their wickedness…Romans 2:1 You,therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for atwhatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because youwho pass judgment do the same things…Romans 3:23 for all have sinned andfall short of the glory of God…Romans 4:7 Blessed are they whosetransgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. ⁸Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him…

1Thessalonians 4:3 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that youshould avoid sexual immorality.

Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not conform any longerto the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of yourmind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—Hisgood, pleasing and perfect will.”

 

 

Sola Scriptura - Scripture Alone

Solus Christus - Christ Alone
Sola Gratia - Grace Alone
Sola Fide - Faith Alone
Soli Deo Gloria - TheGlory of God Alone

So, this is what a “Coming Out” is like, eh?

I don’t mean out of a closet. I mean like a cotillion or a premier. Lance asked me, let’s see that was THREE weeks ago, if I’d write a weekly insert on Legacy Dad. “Sure,” thinking that for a talker-writer that would be easy. Not so. He said I had to write about, you know, uplifting, godly stuff that would inform, encourage, challenge, maybe even light fires.

Inauspicious beginings give hope for a brighter future. I entered this piece as a reply rather than the core upload. Slow, but humble, learner.

OK, getting to it. I hope it can set a spark for that fire thing.

Here’s what I will be talking about: Fathering. Especially partner-fathering. (Typically, you followed that phrase with a quiet “Huh?!”). Yeah, that’s when we dads discover we can NOT do best the fathering thing any more than we can do any other important thing alone. Pole vaulting and eight seconds on Bodacious are solo achievements. But the best stuff of our lives is usually done together. Even fathering.

My take on it is that bringing both new ideas (plenty of parenting books out there) and old ones (like grandfather ones) are the best way to go. That would mean new fathers and old ones. It really is a team sport. Serious and fun at the same time.

Now, why? Why will I talk most about fathering? Because it’s me. This spot is where I talk about myself first time and last so it won’t clog future contributions.

“Popi, you’re really old.” That’s a quote from my middle of five grandwonderkids. Being a dad and grand dad is first. Well, just behind my Walk with God alongside my spouse of 45 fresh years. In quick succession let me tell you what ingredients from my life spill in to the cake mix. Wheaton grad in journalism and football, then Navy’s hottest fighter pilot (at least for the 30 mano-a-mano seconds it took to bag a MiG), Campus Crusader, pastor (two years was all it took to discover my non-gift), Pentagon medium light-weight (came back out of the reserves, made captain after being on President Reagan’s aide staff), co-founding one large and three small mission agencies then one large and three small global businesses to serve as missions platforms in Muslim countries.

Last chapter of my many has shaped more of my profile than the others; I came out of the closet…as the cowboy I’d always been. Bought a mountain ranch in Colorado and became the long-haired rancher-cowboy I am today. This is where the family drama unfolds and where the basis for the book was laid that my soninlaw, Matt, and I are writing. He’s the Marriage and Family Therapist. He knows stuff. I just write stuff. Our book: Generational Fathering. We’re putting up the first run of our book web site this week (we’d love you to take part there and here, both) is www.GenerationalFathering.com . We’ve just begun serious writing, and the blog site invites your participation.

The most produced play in our history, Our Town, is about every one of those moments and people we didn’t value while we were present with them. Even Twittering can’t seem to capture them. But our heart does. And leaving behind a legacy, a dad's legacy, is learning to capture the value of the moments we live and the people most significant to us and those on whom we make the most impact.

Where I will drop in on you, fairly frequently, is working on relationships between fathers and between generations. This mantra will overlay a hope that we each as fathers can leave our legacy to bring about good and godly children who will replicate the holy work of fathering for generation after generation.

This being my innaugural, would you mind writing back a quickie to give me hints of your interest and, perhaps, of your potential interaction on these Legacy Dad topics?

Character...

The Measure of a Man

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands inmoments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challengeand controversy

I found out that the things that hurt us the most can becomethe fuel and the catalyst that propel us toward our destiny. It will eithermake you bitter or it will make you better.

Every great institution is the lengthened shadow of a singleman. His character determines the character of his organization

 
 

Thisbook contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doomof sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its preceptsare binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read itto be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It containslight to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is thetravelers map, the pilgrims staff, the pilots compass, the soldiers sword, andthe Christians character. Here paradise is restored, Heaven opened, and thegates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand object, our good is its design,and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, andguide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is given you inlife and will be opened in the judgement and will be remembered forever. Itinvolves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour, and willcondemn all who trifle with its sacred contents. 

Anonymous

A Different Perspective on Biblical Stewardship

 

Proverbs 22:7 (New International Version)

 ⁷ The rich rule over the poor, 
       and the borrower is servant to the lender.

ANY QUESTIONS?

Build the Walls

Build the Walls

1Corinthians 6:15

Listen to this passage

¹⁵Do younot know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take themembers of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!

1Corinthians 6:19-20

Listen to this passage

¹⁹Do younot know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom youhave received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you werebought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Ephesians 6:10-17 (New International Version)

The Armor of God   

 ¹⁰Finally,be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put onthe full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil'sschemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh andblood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers ofthis dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlyrealms. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, sothat when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, andafter you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firmthen, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate ofrighteousness in place, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted withthe readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶Inaddition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you canextinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Takethe helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Nehemiah 4:15-18 (New International Version)   

 ¹⁵ Whenour enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustratedit, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.

 ¹⁶ Fromthat day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equippedwith spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind allthe people of Judah ¹⁷ who were building the wall.Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon inthe other, ¹⁸ and each of the builders wore hissword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed withme.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwcm_bLdqrE&hl=en_US&fs=1&&w=425&h=344]

Let’sjust get to the quick of it, your bodies are a living temple of God’s.  You were bought with a price through JesusChrist and you are now a child of the Living God.  Do you want to live the rest of your days onthis earth as status quo or do you want more out of life?  Do you want to be the Spiritual leader thatGod wants you to be?  Follow his word andjust don’t read it, but listen to it, eat it daily and grow in stature bybecoming a disciple of Christ.  I embeddedan image from the movie, Lord of the Rings.  I think the symbolism is very appropriate inthat we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…we need to equip ourselves dailyand be prepared for war.  We need to readthe Bible, pray continuously and obey God’s precepts.  We are a holy people and we cannot serve twomasters:  God and Sin.  The two do not go together and God is notmocked.  Imagine the walls in the videoclip are actually the walls of our heart and if we give in to the ways of thisworld and do not allow God to be Lord over our lives.  We are at war with an enemy who is taking noprisoners.  What fruit is your walkbearing?  The fruit of the Spirit or ofthe sinful nature? (Galatians 5)  Thechoice is yours…are you ready? Let's get serious about discipleship and your call to Spiritual Leadership.