Month: June 2017

Episode 11

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Disciple Up #11
Why Doctrine Is Vital
By Louie Marsh, 6-27-2017

Segment 1: Why Doctrine is important.

What is doctrine anyway? The word just meaning teaching. The way we use doctrine is to describe what the Bible teaches and what Christians believe.

My history with doctrine. As a teenager and a new Christian I thought you didn’t need it. But as I matured I discovered how wrong I was. Today lots of people will say we don’t need it – because that’s a perfect fit with the Spirit of the Age we live in.

No doctrine, no Christian faith. If we don’t have a clear grasp of basic Bible doctrines then we have no real Christian faith. It’s everyone for themselves or as the Bible says 25  In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25 (ESV). Judges 17:6

17  I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. Romans 16:17 (ESV)

11  And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13  until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14  so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15  Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16  from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:11-16 (ESV)

In the New Testament there was a clearly understood body of teaching (doctrine) that Paul often appeals too.

Note these carefully:

3  As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 1 Timothy 1:3 (ESV)

10  the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 1 Timothy 1:10 (ESV)

Segment 2:

Common doctrines denied by almost all cults:

  • The Trinity

There is only one God:

10  “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. Isaiah 43:10 (ESV)

8  Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.” Isaiah 44:8 (ESV)

3  And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:3 (ESV)

Father, Son & Holy Spirit All Called God:

Father – 11  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:11 (NIV)

Son – 1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 (NIV)

30  I and the Father are one.” John 10:30 (ESV)

Holy Spirit – 3  But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?4  While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” Acts 5:3-4 (ESV)

6  And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7  And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them…10  And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:6-7, 10 (ESV)

Then – the 3 persons are the one true God.

  • Identity of Jesus (God in human flesh)

14  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (ESV)

  • Salvation by Grace

12  Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV)

5  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6  and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:5-10 (ESV)

20  For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20 (ESV)

  • Inerrancy of the Bible (extra-Biblical authority)

35  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Matthew 24:35 (ESV)

14  But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15  and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (ESV)

The Disciple Up Low Down on the Danger of Doctrine

Closing

 Next week we’ll look at why the cults attack these doctrines and focus on Discipleship & the truth.

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Episode 10

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Two Sides to Spiritual Growth

 My side – spiritual disciplines

  • God’s side – the work of the Holy Spirit

Where people tend to disagree is who does what and how much and how often.

The Two Extremes:

  • Those who teach it’s pretty much all up to me
  • Those who say just “relax and go with the flow” of the Spirit since it’s all a work of God in me.

Both Extremes are Wrong:

  • There’s plenty of evidence in the NT that God expects us to practice spiritual disciplines
  • There’s also plenty of evidence that it’s God who transforms us not ourselves (fruit of the Spirit)

The Real Answer is Both and Neither

12 Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13  For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:12 -13(CSBBible)

  • The transformation of the disciple into the image of Jesus is something that both God and the disciple does – together.
  • We are partners!

9  For we are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field, God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:9 (CSBBible)

One Last Fatal Flaw

  • Both sides in this act as though you can actually know who’s doing what when we spiritually grow. Really? I don’t think so.

28  We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29  I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me. Colossians 1:28-29 (CSBBible)

Segment 2 – Quotes:

 Sources: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/discipleship

 “The “show business,” which is so incorporated into our view of Christian work today, has caused us to drift far from Our Lord’s conception of discipleship. It is instilled in us to think that we have to do exceptional things for God; we have not. We have to be exceptional in ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, among mean people, surrounded by sordid sinners. That is not learned in five minutes.”
― Oswald Chambers  (24 July 1874 – 15 November 1917

“Nothing teaches us about the preciousness of the Creator as much as when we learn the emptiness of everything else.”
― Charles Haddon Spurgeon,

“One of the consequences of sin is that it makes the sinner pity himself instead of causing him to turn to God. One of the first signs of new life is that the individual takes sides with God against himself.”
― Donald Grey Barnhouse   March 28, 1895 -November 5, 1960

“We advise disciples not to follow anyone. Let them follow themselves. Each one should follow his resplendent and luminous inner Being.”
― Samael Aun Weor,  March 6th, 1917 – December 24th, 1977, The Major Mysteries: The Gnostic Jesus and the Path of Initiation 

Segment 3:

“No one accidentally grows in Christ.”

Really? Maybe but…. My story of transformation on my first trip to Myanmar

The Disciple Up Low Down Multifaceted Discipleship

Closing

 Please Get In Touch!

Email – louie@discipleup.org

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Episode 9

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 Disciple Up #9
Tube Float Discipleship & No Safe Spaces
By Louie Marsh

Some Rambling thoughts on community involvement to open up the show.

 Quotes:

“I would like to encourage you to stop thinking of what you’re doing as ministry. Start realizing that your ministry is how much of a tip you leave when you eat in a restaurant; when you leave a hotel room whether you leave it all messed up or not; whether you flush your own toilet or not. Your ministry is the way that you love people. And you love people when you write something that is encouraging to them, something challenging. You love people when you call your wife and say, ‘I’m going to be late for dinner,’ instead of letting her burn the meal. You love people when maybe you cook a meal for your wife sometime, because you know she’s really tired. Loving people – being respectful toward them – is much more important than writing or doing music.” 
― Rich Mullins

“Luther says that vocations are a “mask from God. That is, God hides Himself in the workplace, the family, the Church, and the seemingly secular society” 
― Gene Edward Veith Jr., God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life

“A few nights after his conversion he asked how long this Gospel had been known in England. He was told that we had known it for some hundreds of years.
“What!” said he, amazed; “is it possible that for hundreds of years you have had the knowledge of those glad tidings in your possession, and yet have only now come to preach it to us? My father sought after the Truth for more than twenty years, and died without finding it. Oh, why did you not come sooner?” 
― Hudson Taylor, A Retrospect

“Often our influence in our communities extends to church programs, musicals, or weekly services. While those things can help present the Gospel, God desires for us to personally be influences on the world around us. Spreading the Gospel isn’t solely the church’s job; it’s the job of every Christian.”

– Paul Chappell

https://www.christianquotes.info/quotes-by-topic/quotes-about-witnessing/#ixzz4jetoYpiY

Jesus & Community Involvement:

There’s basically 5 times when Jesus is shown interacting with the community of “sinners” in the Gospels. Here they are:

  1. Matthew 9: 9-13, Mark 2:13-17 & Luke 5:27-32
  2. Matthew 11: 16-19; Luke 7:31-35
  3. Luke 7:36-50
  4. Luke 15:1-2
  5. Luke 19:1-10

The Disciple Up Low Down On Tube Float Discipleship & No Safe Spaces

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Episode 8

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Karma’s Not A *itch Because Karma Doesn’t Exist

From all sides you hear about Karma today – why I’m doing this episode – Christians say it too!

What is Karma?

  1. (Hinduism) HinduismBuddhism the principle of retributive justice determining a person’s state of life and the state ofhis or her reincarnations as the effect of past deeds
  2. (Theology) theosophythe doctrine of inevitable consequence
  3. destiny or fate

(in Hinduism and Buddhism) the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.

Source of above: http://tinyurl.com/y7258mjx

 Popular understanding:

There’s a natural law of karma that vindictive people, who go out of their way to hurt others, will end up broke and alone. Sylvester Stallone

I’m a true believer in karma. You get what you give, whether it’s bad or good. Sandra Bullock

I believe in karma, and I believe if you put out positive vibes to everybody, that’s all you’re going to get back. Kesha

What it really is:

Problems or successes, they all are the results of our own actions. Karma. The philosophy of action is that no one else is the giver of peace or happiness. One’s own karma, one’s own actions are responsible to come to bring either happiness or success or whatever. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Every single unfortunate thing that happens, including, for instance, the murder of my parents, I am responsible for. I am responsible for being the son of two people who got murdered. I didn’t cause their murder. But if I’m suffering because of it, it’s my karma that I have manifested in this lifetime in this particular set of circumstances. Patrick Duffy (Buddhist)

Karma is only in space time and causality. Your real self resides non-locally. Deepak Chopra

Karma brings us ever back to rebirth, binds us to the wheel of births and deaths. Good Karma drags us back as relentlessly as bad, and the chain which is wrought out of our virtues holds as firmly and as closely as that forged from our vices. Annie Besant

Attachment and aversion are the root cause of karma, and karma originates from infatuation. Karma is the root cause of birth and death, and these are said to be the source of misery. None can escape the effect of their own past karma. Mahavira

Karma is inseparably linked to reincarnation – that’s who you “get what’s coming.” Your return isn’t for this life – it’s in the next. YET – you don’t know how you lived so how can you learn from the experience?

There is no grace in Karma, only the wheel of death and rebirth that crushes you and grinds you into nothing eventually (the end goal of Hinduism is to realize individuals don’t exist, we are all part of the divine, like a drop of water realizing it’s just part of the ocean.). 
Source of these quotes: Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/karma.html

 Dr. Walter R. Martin Quotes waltermartin.org

The moment you enlist in the army of God, you personally become a target. You need to remember that if you’re living for and walking with Jesus Christ, the powers of darkness are aligned against you.

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/walter_martin.html

Controversy for the sake of controversy is sin. Controversy for the sake of truth is a divine command.

When people say, ‘I believe in Jesus’, look them straight in the eye and ask, ‘Which one?’

Truth by definition is exclusive. If truth were all-inclusive, nothing would be false.

It should be carefully noted that Jesus did not say, “I am one of the equally good ways” or “I am a better way than the others, I am an aspect of truth; I am a fragment of the life.” Instead, His claim was absolute, and allegiance to Him as the Savior of the world, was to take precedence over all the claims of men and religions.

Text without context is pretext.

http://www.azquotes.com/quote/1335719

Is karma Christian? No.

 7  Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9  And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10  So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:7-10 (ESV)

Note the differences –

  • A personal God is in control of this and can shorten or extend the time of reaping if he chooses
  • There is forgiveness which can (but doesn’t always) cancel the debt and you don’t reap what you’ve sown.
  • There is grace, forgiveness and love in sowing and reaping, There is only an impersonal  wheel that crushes you in karma.

Reincarnation Is Not True:

 1  As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2  And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3  Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4  We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:1-5 (ESV)

 27  And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28  so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:27-28 (ESV)

What should disciples do?

21  but test everything; hold fast what is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (ESV)

In the book, Bono: iIn Conversation with Mishka Assayas, Bono commented, “I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge… I’m holding out for grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross…”

Source of Bono quote: http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/what-s-the-difference-between-grace-and-karma.html