Epistle for August 30, 2002
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Dr. Curt Scarborough. President FreeWay Foundation August 30, 2002
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In This Issue:
Message From Dr. Curt Scarborough
Personal Disciplines for Spiritual Growth
Sermon: Ezekiel 46:1-24 & II Timothy 1:6-7, 11-14
Bible Study: I Thessalonians 5:1-28
Personal Growth of the Minister
Message from Dr. Curt Scarborough
This month we have been offering a special series of conferences for Pastors entitled "A Pastor's Personal Devotional Life." We met every other Thursday and considered two of eight chosen "Personal Disciplines for Spiritual Growth." On Thursday September 12, we will meet to consider the last of this series. We will discuss "Receiving and Journaling." Our guest presenter will be Rev. Jim Carter, Pastor of First Baptist Church Ferguson. If you have missed the previous conferences you have missed a great blessing! We look forward to seeing you on September 12 to receive the word the Lord has for you.
This is a free conference and no reservation need be made just come at 9:30 a.m. on September 12 and we will finish at 11:30 a.m.
We hope to see you then!
Personal Disciplines for Spiritual Growth
by: Dr. Curt Scarborough
1. Fasting: at least one meal each week.
Matthew 6:16-18; Matthew 17:20-21; Isaiah 58:3-7
2. Praying: confession and intercession, "without ceasing" . . .
at least three times daily, using the Model Prayer.
Psalm 55:17; I Thessalonians 5:17; Matthew 6:9-13; I John 1:9
3. Singing: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs . . .
making melody in your heart continually.
Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; James 5:13
4. Praising: speaking words to magnify the Lord, at least
seven times daily.
Psalm 119:164; Psalm 150:1-6; Hebrews 13:15; Revelation 19:5
5. Reading: God's word daily . . . through the Bible annually.
II Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12
6. Meditating: daily on the spiritual truths and implications
in each chosen Scripture passage.
Psalm 19:14; Philippians 4:8
7. Receiving: the Holy Spirit's fullness, enlightenment, revelation,
renewal, refreshing, and power daily.
John 14:26; Ephesians 1:17-19; 5:18; James 1:5; I John 2:27
8. Journaling: daily writing personal reflections, revelations,
experiences, and spiritual applications.
Deuteronomy 17:18-20; Jeremiah 30:2; Habakkuk 2:2
Enter One Way; Exit the Other Way
Ezekiel 46:24
I. Concentration: on the contents of this chapter
1. God gave directions for opening the east gate to allow the Prince to enter
and exit the Temple; specific instructions were given for the sacrifices
to be offered, vv. 1-8.
2. The people were ordered to enter the Temple area either by the north gate
or by the south gate, and to exit by the opposite gate; certain religious
rituals were specified, vv. 9-15.
3. Royal inheritance laws were spelled out: bequests to the king's sons were
permanent, but bequests to servants had to be returned to the royal treasury
in the Year of Jubilee; ruling families were forbidden from confiscating property
belonging to the common people, vv. 16-18.
4. The angel showed Ezekiel the chambers where the priests lived and their
kitchens in the Temple area, vv. 19-24.
II. Meditation and Revelation: on "enter one way and exit the other way" (vv. 9-10)
It is assumed that God's people will worship Him; verse 9 speaks of
"when" the people come before the Lord, not "if" they come before Him.
1. People come to know and worship God from opposite directions (north gate and
south gate); some persons come to God through miraculous experiences,
which excite the emotions; other persons come to God through the study
of His word, which enlightens the mind.
2. People coming to know and worship God through one gate are strictly commanded
to exit through the other gate; persons are forbidden from entering and departing
through the same gate . . . they must go through both; experience-oriented
Christians need disciplined grounding in the Bible, and intellectually-oriented
Christians need to experience the miraculous workings of the Holy Spirit.
3. People who exit the same way they enter remain unchanged by persons other then
their "own kind" ; the "come in one way and leave the other way" instructions
require meeting, respecting, and inter-acting with Christians who approach
(know and worship) the Lord differently, Mark 9:38-41; Luke 9:49-50; Philippians 1:15-18.
4. Whichever way believers come to worship God, the Prince (Jesus Christ) shall be there
in their midst,v. 10 (Matthew 18:20); the Lord promised to fellowship (come in and go out)
with His people, whether they are labeled "Charismatic" or "Fundamentalist."
III. Applications: as a Christian, I need to understand that . . .
The Father is seeking worshippers who worship Him both in spirit (with the emotions)
and in truth (with the intellect), John 4:23-24.
Stir Up the Gift of God
(II Timothy 1:6-7; 11-14)
I. Concentration: on the "gift of God" (v.6)
1. The gift is an undeserved favor . . . a present for which man has not
worked; not a wage. (See Acts 2:38; II Timothy 1:14.)
2. It is a blessing from God and "of" God . . . meaning that the gift "is"
God, the Holy Spirit. (For example a "gift of money" does not mean
that the gift is "from" money, but that it "is" money.)
3. It is possible for the gift to be "stirred up" . . . encouraged, revived,
rekindled . . . implying that it also is possible for the Holy Spirit's
work within a believer to fade and become practically dormant.
4. It is possible for one Christian to bestow the filling (baptism) of the Holy
Spirit upon another believer . . . "through the laying on of my (Paul's)
hands," v. 6, or "by prophesy with the laying on of the hands of the
eldership," I Timothy 4:14.
II. Meditation: on the characteristics of God's gift (v. 7)
1. Not a spirit of fear . . . but of courage and faith.
2. Not a spirit of weakness . . . but of almighty, resurrection power.
3. Not of indifference or hatred . . . but of love for God and man.
4. Not atheistic foolishness or intellectual pride . . . but a "sound mind"
. . . one enlightened to perceive God and to understand His destined
purposes for a believer's life.
III. Revelation: on the "Blessed Assurances" of this gift of God (vv. 11-14)
1. The assurance that God has a definite purpose to accomplish through
my life, v. 11.
2. The assurance that God will sustain His saints through suffering and
persecution, v. 12.
3. The assurance of intimately and personally knowing and experiencing
God, v. 12.
4. The assurance of eternal security of the believer's soul, which Christ is
able to keep until that (judgment) day, v. 12.
IV. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Praise and thank God for His gift of Himself to me.
2. "Stir up" my spiritual life in the Holy Spirit by Bible study,
prayer, meditation, and unselfish, God-honoring service.
3. Exercice my "Holy Spirit gift" with courage, power, love,
and spiritual perception.
4. Live with the blessed assurance that God holds me and my
future in His almight hand.
Sanctification
(I Thessalonians 5:1-28)
I. Concentration: on the contents of this chapter
1. Paul wrote about "the day of the Lord," vv. 1-5.
2. Paul urged believers to remain alert; he challenged them
to comfort and edify each other, vv. 6-11.
3. Paul issued several pithy and important exhortations, vv. 12-22.
4. Paul closed with a blessing and an admonition, vv. 23-28.
II. Meditation: on the atmosphere of sanctification
1. Rejoice always, v. 16.
2. Pray without ceasing, giving thanks in everything, vv. 17-18.
3. Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecies, vv. 19-20.
4. Test all things:
(1) Hold fast what is good, v. 21.
(2) Abstain from every form of evil, v. 22.
III. Observations: on the attitudes and actions of sanctification
1. Sanctification is the work of the God of peace, Himself.
2. Sanctification means "being set aside for a specific (pure and holy)
purpose; being made spiritually mature."
3. Sanctification involves the whole person:
(1) Spirit (2) Soul (3) Body
4. Complete sanctification will result in a blameless life at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
"He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it," v. 24
V. Applications: as a Christian, I need to . . .
1. Encourage, edify, esteem, exhort other Christians.
2. Pursue only those things which are good for others (and for me).
3. In a spirit of rejoicing and thanksgiving, pray for spiritual discernment to
be able to "test all things" (evil and good) . . . without quenching the
Spirit or despising prophecies.
4. Allow God to sanctify me completely . . . transforming my spirit, soul, and
body to be conformed to the image of God.
Personal Growth of the Minister
by: Dr. David Claybrook, Pastor, Christ Church-St. Louis
Dear J.D. (Jesus' Disciple)
They say that about 95% of creativity is "forgetting your source." Well, I didn't forget the source of the analogy I am going to relate to you today. I never knew it! I heard a TV preacher draw this word picture. I did not catch the preacher's name, but the image stuck.
Though I had a sermon prepared one Sunday morning, God reminded me of the "cup thing" right before leaving for church. I grabbed a piece of paper and began to write down related Scriptures, jotted down four main points and headed to church. My apologies for breaking the rule of letting it marinate. Apologies to my ushers too. I needed some visual props and literally had them scouring the building for them even as I gave my introduction.
Before you scold me too greatly, let me tell you what happened before I preached. A lady in our church, who went through unmentionable torture during Satanic ritual abuse as a child, testified how just the week before God had healed her of a hugh hole in her heart. She had been unable to keep His love, but now had it overflowing. (You'll understand in a minute). Next, the illustration seemed to minister to each one listening, especially the teens. Afterward, one of our leaders came up with tears in her eyes and said that God had really been dealing with her. She had already written down a lot of stuff that had been hurting her and keeping her from knowing God's love. She had even come to church prepared to give them over to Jesus. She said my message was the final page that would allow her to close the book on a bad chapter of her life. Thank you Jesus!
Now the Bible says that all of us have holes in our cups (sinners), so no one has enough love to spare. We need help, that's why God sent Jesus. He came with a whole heart full of love and shared it generously, even to the point of pouring out his life's blood for us. When we receive Christ, we receive a fill up! It is great, we feel wonderful. The problem is, though our spirits are made new, our cup still has holes in it. After a while our love runs low and we start acting unloving again. Some get into a pattern of going to church for a fill up only to have it run out before the day/week is over. Daily interaction with the love giver is needed.
But that's not enough, J.D. Jesus intended for us to be so filled with his love that it overflows to others. To stay filled, we have to be healed. Jesus is waiting for us to invite him deep within our heart, to survey the damage and systematically forgive those who have hurt us and systematically cleanse us from our sins. He will fill the holes and then make the cup holy, not holey.
You can imagine the scene Sunday. As I talked I punched holes in a cup filled with water. After awhile I didn't have enough fingers to plug all the holes. I had to have help. Even so we couldn't keep the water from leaking out. Thank the Lord, he has said he will plug all of the leaks, if I will let him. Thank you Jesus! And thank you, TV preacher.
On the way home my wife said, "That was a great sermon. With a little more organization on your props, it could be dynamite." Go for it if you like, J.D. Hey, you can even forget your source, you creative genius!!!
Disciple Maker (D.M.)
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"Life becomes harder for us when we live for others,
but it also becomes richer and happier."
Albert Schweitzer
"Iron Sharpens Iron" Seminars
Join Dr. Curt Scarborough in three in-depth studies:
Date: Thursday, October 10, 2002
Time: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Subject: "The Extra Blessing of Baptism"
Date: Thursday, November 7, 2002
Time: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Subject: "The Extra Blessing of the Lord's Supper"
Date: Thursday December 5, 2002
Time: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Subject: "Meditations on Being Spirit-Filled"