This is my experience. 

1. Contact BT and ask them to register your domain so you can use their smtp server as a mail relay.  The agent I spoke to completely understood what I wanted [...]]]> There is a load of advice out there about how to use btconnect as a mail relay or smarthost.

This is my experience. 

1. Contact BT and ask them to register your domain so you can use their smtp server as a mail relay.  The agent I spoke to completely understood what I wanted and the relay was operative in a few minutes.  Contact BT SUPPORT on 0845 600 7020 and request to have mail relay set up for you. If the domain name is registered in a different name from your BT Business account you need to send BT proof that you are entitled to use it:

• a copy of the domain name registration certificate
• a copy of the invoice from the domain name registrar
• permission from the domain name owner provided on company headed pape

Our domain name and admin address matched our business name and address so I don’t need to send any proof..

2. I changed my DNS to point my existing outgoing.domainname to point to mail.btconnect.com,  But I imagine you could use mail.btconnect.com as the mail server address in Exchange server,.

3. Everyone says that you need to change the authentication in Exchange server smtp connector.  This is logical because a normal account needs this to work. BUT I found that the smtp smarthost connector DOES NOT need authentication for BT servers. USE anonymous access instead and it works perfectly.

Control+F is the keyboard shortcut for the Find command. If you’re in a web browser and want to search text on a web page, pressing Control+F will bring up a search box. Just type in that search box and [...]]]> According to The Atlantic, 90% of computer users don’t know what Ctrl+F can do. 

Control+F is the keyboard shortcut for the Find command. If you’re in a web browser and want to search text on a web page, pressing Control+F will bring up a search box. Just type in that search box and it’ll locate the text you’re typing on the page. Control+F may work in other applications, too, when you need to find something. For example, Microsoft Word and other word processing applications use this keyboard shortcut.

Control+N is the command for creating something new. In a web browser, this will make a new window. In a word processing, image editing, or other document-based application this keyboard shortcut will create a new document.

Control+S is the keyboard shortcut for saving a document. If this is the first time you’ve saved the document you’ll be presented with a new window that’ll ask you what to name it and where you want to save it. If you’ve already saved it once before, this keyboard shortcut will simply save your changes.

Control+P is the keyboard shortcut that will open the print window. From there you’ll be able to check your settings, choose a printer, etc. When you’re ready, just click print and your document will be printed. This keyboard shortcut works in pretty much any application with printable content, including your web browser.

Alt-F4 is the keyboard shortcut for quitting the current application. In Windows it will quit the currently open that’s in focus on the screen.

The enter key is useful for a lot of things. When a dialog window pops up and asks you to press okay or cancel, you can usually just press Enter instead of clicking okay. In Windows you can tell which button will respond to enter because it’ll have a dotted box inside of it. Enter can also be used for other things, like submitting forms on web pages from any text field in that form.

1 Corinthians 4:14-21

What does this passage teach us about how to be a father? What is this biblical model?

1. Affirm Your Love

Paul writes that the purpose of this passage was to admonish his readers as beloved children. Any correction or guidance that we give to our kids must be done from [...]]]>

1 Corinthians 4:14-21

What does this passage teach us about how to be a father? What is this biblical model?

1. Affirm Your Love

Paul writes that the purpose of this passage was to admonish his readers as beloved children. Any correction or guidance that we give to our kids must be done from a position of, and rooted in, covenant love.

We must never correct out of anger or a selfish desire that our kids would act a certain way to make our lives easy. The purposes of biblical correction is not to change behaviour but to disciple our kids to become more like Jesus. A key part of this pursuit is your kids knowing that you love – not because of what they have or haven’t done, but because they are your kids.

You must be intentional and work at it to make certain that your kids know that you love them.  Tell them you love them on a daily basis. Show them how you love them through both your words and your actions. If your kids do not know and accept that you love them unconditionally, then any effort on your part to correct them will be met with suspicion and ultimately failure.

Covenant love is not based on your kids performance or abilities. Covenant love manifests itself regardless of what your kids have or have not done. Covenant love must be consistently professed and demonstrated to your kids in both good times and bad. Covenant love should exist and be demonstrated regardless of how you feel. Biblical love is not a feeling, it is a choice! Any discipline or correction that you dole out as a parent must be rooted not in your own selfish desires but in a deep rooted and covenant love for your kids.

2. Avoid Shaming Your Kids

Paul begins this passage with an explanation that his purpose was not to “write these things to make you ashamed.” Paul did not wish to shame the Corinthians, but to help them see that they were living in a way contrary to God’s will.

Likewise, shame has no place in biblical correction as a parent. Your goal as a parent when it comes to correcting your children is to lead them into a life consistent with God’s will for them. Consequences, especially consequences which flow naturally from the action in question, are effective means of accomplishing this. Shame is based in fear.

The Bible tells us that “There is no fear in love.” (1 John 4:18). Although you might see short term behavioural changes when you shame your kids, there will be no long lasting internal transformation.

3. Give Warnings

Paul indicated that he was writing to the Corinthians “to admonish” them as his beloved children. To admonish means to “reprove gently but earnestly” or “to counsel against something to be avoided” or “to remind of something forgotten or disregarded, as an obligation or a responsibility.” Paul was not writing to bring down the hammer, but to warn the Corinthians of what would happen if they continued in the current course of action.

As fathers, we must do the same thing with our kids. By warning, or admonishing, I do not mean that we should give them the classic, “If you do that again you’ll lose such and such until kingdom come.” These threats tend to be hollow and effective. Warnings serve to help steer our kids in the right direction.

4. Establish Your Authority

Paul reminded the Corinthians that “though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers” and used this to establish his authority to correct the recipients of his letter. God has given us the stewardship over, and responsibility for, his children. With that responsibility, he has given parents authority over their children (Exodus 20:12).

When we step outside the authority and will of God in parenting, we ultimately teach our kids that they should defy authority as well. We establish our authority based on the Word of God, but we must also demonstrate our adherence to God’s Word in other aspects of our life. We can’t, for example, tell our kids that they must submit to our authority because it is given by God on the one hand, and on the other hand disregard God’s authority in our own lives.

5. Press the Gospel in Deep

Paul became a father “through the gospel,” and as earthly fathers, one of principle goals in life should be to also fill the role of spiritual father in our children’s lives “through the Gospel.” In order to do this, the gospel must be the centre point in our lives and out families. We must strive to make it central in the lives of our children as well.

The gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ, and that Good News is recorded in God’s Word – the Bible. In all that we do, we must instil a biblical worldview in our kids. We must teach them, and demonstrate for them, that the Bible holds the answers and guidance for all of lives questions. We must make our choices based on the Bible and show them how to do the same.

The cross itself must be central in our lives and our families. This means far more than just wearing it around our necks or hanging it on the family room wall. We must rejoice in the cross of Christ. We must take our sin to the cross of Christ, and we must praise God for the cross. Our children must know, at their very core, that Christ died not just for all sin, but for their individual sins. They must understand that God wants to change them from the inside out by the power of the cross. They must realize that their sins are washed white as snow by Christ’s blood shed on the cross. Yes, in order to confront and correct our children, we must remind them 1) that they are forgiven by God and 2) the price that he paid to wash those sins away.

6. Urge Your Kids to Imitate You

Paul was not shy about encouraging the Corinthians to be imitators of him. Later in this same book (1 Corinthians 11:1), Paul would expand on this thought as he encouraged the Corinthians to “be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Paul was not exalting himself but merely stating that he purposefully led his life in such a way that others could imitate him in following Christ.

As fathers, this must be our goal as well. We must lead lives worth imitating and then encourage our kids to do just that. Kids will learn what they live. Setting an example includes two distinct aspects.

First, we must aspire to live a godly life worthy of following. We have to set the tone and example for our family. In order to do this, we must rely on the power and providence of God.

Secondly, we must accept that, this side of heaven, none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes, and it is important that we be willing to admit those mistakes to our kids. We should not be under any delusion that our kids think we are perfect in the first place. After about the age of 7 or 8, that phase of life is long gone. Our kids know that we are far from perfect. We must be honest with them and talk about our mistakes. This transparency teaches them that it is OK to make mistakes. The important thing is how we handle those mistakes. We model for them honesty, transparency, and taking our sins to the cross of Christ. We also give our kids a chance to learn from our mistakes and, hopefully, to avoid them.

7. Make it a Team Effort

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.” What can this possibly mean in terms of raising kids? Paul needed help. He could not be everything the Corinthians needed, and he sent Timothy to them to reinforce what he had already taught. Likewise, as parents we should get other adults involved in the lives of our children who will reinforce what we are already teaching them.

Most parents have experienced that moment when another adult says something to their child, and the child just seem to get it. Never mind that we have been saying the same thing for years. There’s just something about hearing it from another adult that makes it understandable and more palatable to our kids.

It is important to find other adults that you trust to speak into the lives of your children. Needless to say, since our principle goal as parents is to instil a biblical worldview into our children, we must take care to find adults that will speak that same worldview to our kids.

We must find people we trust that we can surround our kids with to reinforce what we have already been teaching them. This is one of the reason that it is important to live our lives amongst a strong Christian community. Things like Bible studies and small groups are a great way to expose your kids to other adults.

8. Stay Involved

Paul writes to the Corinthians that “…I will come to you soon.” As parents, we must intentionally stay involved in the lives of our children. Some parents, especially Dads, faced with daunting to do lists, lack of understanding and an increasing sense of failure in parenting simply decide to check out of their kids’ lives. I think this is particularly true as kids grow older and move into the teen years. This is the worst thing you could possibly do both to yourself and to your kids.

We must stay involved in our kids lives. What do they like? What don’t they like? How are they doing in school? Who are their friends? What are their dreams? How is their relationship with God? These are all critical questions, and in order to stay involved, we must stay on top of these and other aspects of our kids’ lives. In order to do this, we must invest the time it takes in building relationships with our kids.

Our society has fallen victim to what I believe is a lie directly from Satan that says quality time is better than quantity time. We convince ourselves that it is not the amount of time that we spend but the quality of that time. If we turn off our blackberry for a couple of hours, we reason, that should take care of spending time with our kids at least for a week or so!

In order to know our kids, and stay involved, we must have both quality and quantity time. Indeed, if you ask kids about their regrets as they get older, few will say they wish the time they had spent with their dads had been “better” time. Thousands upon thousands, though, will tell you they wish they had spent MORE time with their Dads. If you are a father, put in the time and the effort to know your kids. If God knows every hair on your head, the least you can do is know who your kids’ friends are!

9. Give Choices

Paul asked the Corinthians, “What do you wish?” He gave them a choice. As fathers, we should do the same with our children. In small things and big things we should present our children with choices and let them decide. More importantly though, we must equip them to live with the consequences of those choices. Most parents want their kids to grow up to be leaders and not followers. Part of being a leader is the ability to make a choice and deal with the consequences thereof. If we do not allow our children to practice that skill when they are young, they will be ill equipped to handle choices as an adult.

10. Customize Your Approach

Paul said to the Corinthians, “Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?” Some who read that letter needed Paul to come with a spirit of love and likely reacted to Paul’s written correction positively in order to ensure that he would come in gentleness. Others, no doubt, needed the stern rod of Paul before they were willing to submit to his authority. In a similar way, we must tailor our approach to correction and discipleship for each of our individual children.

I tell people all of the time that one of the things that has amazed me so much as a parent is how each of my kids can be so alike in some respects that they seem like twins and so different in other respects that it seem impossible that they share the same DNA. If you’re a parent, it will not surprise you to find out that each of your kids is different. They are unique creations of God, and it is naive of us to think that correction and discipleship will look the same for each child. What may be the best approach for one child may be the worse possible choice for another.

Furthermore, children change over time as they mature and get older. We must customize our approach not only for each child but also for the same child based on their age and maturity level. In order to accomplish this, we must become a student of our kids. Watch them, talk to them, study them, and then spend some time intentionally coming up with a plan for the best approach for each child when it comes to correcting and discipleship.

Great Church

Love God | Love Each Other | Make Disciples

That those who have not "soiled" their clothes will walk with Jesus "dressed in white" (3:4) is significant. In the temples of Asia and elsewhere, worshipers dared not approach deities with soiled clothes- the normal apparel for approaching the [...]]]> Revelation 3:1-6

Great Church

Love God | Love Each Other | Make Disciples

That those who have not "soiled" their clothes will walk with Jesus "dressed in white" (3:4) is significant. In the temples of Asia and elsewhere, worshipers dared not approach deities with soiled clothes- the normal apparel for approaching the gods in temples was white or linen. Jesus promises here that his followers who have not polluted themselves with their culture will participate in the new Jerusalem,- it will be a temple city, the dwelling of God (21:3, 16).

That a minority in Sardis remained unsoiled will challenge the presuppositions of some faithful Christians. Jesus does not call the righteous believers in the church of Sardis to start an alternative church elsewhere in town. There are genuine Christians in many "sleeping" (and drowsy) churches today! God calls some Christians to call their church back to faithfulness. There does come a point when a church is no longer a church (2:5) and separation may be necessary.

The promise is that overcomers in Sardis will not be blotted out "from the book of life" (3:5). Jesus will confess the faithful remnant before his Father and echoes what he told his disciples (Matt. 10:32; Luke 12:8).

Matt 10.32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.

BUT!

Sardis, a "dead" church (3:1). Jesus’ word to Sardis summons a sleeping church to wake up.

Sardis was full of sophisticated paganism. That no mention of persecution against Christians is mentioned is significant; it was a tolerate place. Lacking the world’s opposition, they may have grown comfortable in their relationship with the world.

1. Posers and Fakers

a) Rely on a name

Sardian Christians are perhaps identifying with the widely known ancient tradition of their city. Sardis maintained an ancient "reputation" (lit., "name") as a great city from the time of its most famous ruler, Croesus, but at the time Revelation is written, Sardis had little more than its ancient name. Several decades before Revelation, Sardis had been devastated by an earthquake, and its architecture after the rebuilding suggests continuing fear of another one.

Jesus addresses the church and not the history of the church. Not it’s reputations! The spiritual state of the believers in this city is hindering them from appropriating Jesus’ own resurrection power!

b) Fail to keep watch
Conquerors had never overtaken Sardis by conventional war, but had twice conquered it unexpectedly because Sardians had failed to watch adequately

Jesus’ warning that he will come on them as a "thief" (3:3), presumably unexpectedly as in the night, recalls Jesus’ words about the end times (Matt 24.32-44; cf. Luke 12:39) often repeated by early Christians (1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10,- Rev. 16:15).

For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 1 Thess. 5:2

We need to be ready!

2. The warning to a dead church.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer “the failure of German Christians to resist the Nazi rise to power stemmed from their lack of moral clarity"; the only people who can stand firm in such situations are those whose standard is not reason or conscience but God and his Word. Whether we are seeking to win converts or fighting for justice for the poor or unborn, it is always easy to grow weary in well-doing and follow the crowd—especially when the church around us has become part of it.

The Sardian Christians were different from the other churches we have looked at so far. Satan did not have to pressure them with persecution or temptation, their church was already dead.

They had become comfortable with the world, had no price to pay for their faith in Jesus Christ, and would therefore be taken by surprise (3:3). Such a warning should generate introspection for modern Western Christians.

As a church, the believers in Sardis undoubtedly dreamed that they were awake. Jesus may not be satisfied with the status quo in our lives or our churches. Staying awake is difficult when the world around us remains asleep (cf. 16:15).

It is too easy for us to depend on past achievements instead of looking to God’s call on us in the future (cf. Phil. 3:12-14).

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

It’s you and me and us and now!

3. About those who do not persevere

The implicit warning of 3:5 (that those who do not overcome will be blotted from the book of life) challenges some popular Christian ideas.

[Arminians] teach that apostasy can reverse the results of conversion,

[Calvinists] teach that those who fail to persevere were never converted to begin with.

They both agree on the end result! But we are wrong to assume that anyone who once professed salvation automatically gets to heaven, an idea refuted both here and regularly throughout the NT (Mark 4:16-19; John 8:30-32; 15:6, Rom 11:20-22; Gal 4.19; 5 4; 2 Peter 2:20-22, Rev. 2:26).

The promise that those who persevere will not be blotted out of the book of life is a serious warning to many nominal Christians in our culture who depend purely on a past profession of faith to ensure their salvation.

When Mickey Cohen, a famous Los Angeles gangster of the late 1940s, made a public profession of faith in Christ, his new Christian friends were delighted. But as time passed, they began to wonder why he did not leave his gangster lifestyle. When they confronted him concerning this question however, he protested,

"You never told me I had to give up my career, never told me that I had to give up my friends. There are Christian movie stars, Christian athletes, Christian businessmen. So what’s the matter ‘ being a Christian gangster? If I have to give up all that—if that’s Christianity—count me out."

Cohen gradually drifted away from Christian circles and ultimately died lonely and forgotten.

As Chuck Colson notes:

Cohen was echoing the millions of professing Christians who, though unwilling to admit it, through their very lives pose the same question. Not about being Christian gangsters, but about being Christianised versions of whatever they already are—and are determined to remain.

Setting the Scene: The Cast

John

Some people in Asia Minor celebrated a monthly "emperor’s day" in honour of the divine emperor.  By contrast Christians, who might suffer for their refusal to worship the emperor, celebrated a different day in honour of the true and ultimate king.  It was [...]]]> Revelation 1:9-20

Setting the Scene: The Cast

John

Some people in Asia Minor celebrated a monthly "emperor’s day" in honour of the divine emperor.  By contrast Christians, who might suffer for their refusal to worship the emperor, celebrated a different day in honour of the true and ultimate king.  It was on such a day that John had a vision

Jesus (v12-16)
The image of Jesus in this passage weaves together imagery from three sources in the book of Daniel. The first (the least important) is the angelic revelation in Daniel 10:5-6:

⁵ I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶ His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

but the two most important stem from the same passage: the reigning son of man (7:13-14)

¹³ “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

and the Ancient of Days (God), before whom the son of man appears (7:9). Jesus’ face shines like the sun (1:16). Jesus’ fiery eyes, white hair, and bronze feet (1:14-15) radiates light or fire (Ezek 1-27, Dan 7:9-10). 

Jesus is "the First and the Last" (1:17). This means more than simply "firstborn from the dead" (1:5) – its sense is exactly equivalent to "the Alpha and the Omega," a title appropriate only to God (1:8, 21:6)

Angels (v20)
What are the angels of the seven churches?  Revelation, like other apocalypses, is full of angels.  The book of Daniel (Dan. 10:13, 20-21) and most of early Judaism recognised that heavenly angels guided the activities of earthly rulers.  Thus these angels most likely represent guardian angels of the congregations or the heavenly representatives of congregational leaders, again functioning like guardian angels (Matt. 18:10).

1. Revelation: A shared experience (v9)

Believers in many parts of the world as well as some ministry situations here can identify with the shame and persecution John endured for Christ. Most of us in the West, however, at the moment are tested more by materialism than by persecution, and John’s own suffering was persecution.

If John’s suffering is more serious than ours, we should reason: If God enabled John and his companions in persecution to stand, how much more should we stand firm in the face of less severe testing?

We have plenty of reminders that the world does not embrace the church as an ally (John 15:18-25). Many of us have been denied jobs or otherwise maligned on account of our obedience to Christ – some of us have even suffered "friendly fire" within the church because we sought to do God’s will.

Yet as John stood boldly as a model for believers then, he stands also as an example for us.

2. The Lord’s Day, church, and the Sabbath (v10)

The meaning of "the Lord’s Day" is important. Own traditions can lead us to read illegitimate ideas into this text. 

One area of potential misinterpretation concerning the "Lord’s Day" is that some believe that Sunday is a new Sabbath!  Within the New Testament itself there is no evidence that the Sabbath was "moved” from Saturday to Sunday. The custom of Sunday as a Christian "Sabbath" became widespread only in a later period, probably after A.D. 321.

Some Christians argue that no weekly day of rest remains necessary,- we should celebrate every day alike (Rom. 14:5-6)

⁵ One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. ⁶ Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord.

and enjoy Jesus’ Sabbath-rest continually (Heb. 4:9).

Others argue that because God built a day of rest into the nature of creation (Gen. 2:2-3), we will function in much better physical and emotional health if we take a day away from our work each week, though the particular day is less important. 

Those who insist on a particular day, however, cannot insist from the authority of Scripture that the day must be Sunday.  Likewise, some of those who argue that the particular day In Scripture is Saturday and was never changed insist that one should attend church on Saturday,- but Scripture does not require one to hold church on One’s day of rest.

The connections between the "Lord’s Day" and the Sabbath on the one hand and between the Sabbath and church services on the other are postbiblical, and we should be charitable for differences of practice on this point.

3. Spirit filled worship (v10)

Different churches and cultures have different understandings of what "Spirit-filled" worship is. Some preferences in worship style reflect cultural or generational differences rather than the presence or absence of the Spirit and are best tailored to those we invite to worship!

The content of the worship songs may be significant:

Do they invite us to worship our awesome God, or simply to enjoy the music (not that bad music is necessarily more conducive to good worship)?

Do they provide simply nostalgic feelings of security for traditional believers, or do they provide us the opportunity to transcend our feelings in obediently glorifying God?

In any case, we need to depend on the power of God’s Spirit to lead us deeper in our intimacy with him; we cannot achieve that by merely "fleshly" or mechanical means.

Only by depending on God’s power can we offer worship truly worthy of his honour.

Like the biblical prophets, however, John was simply spiritually prepared when Jesus came to him (Is 6.1, 5; 2 Cor. 12:2-4)

He was not trying to induce a vision.  Prophets can seek God for guidance (Dan 2.18-19), but the means is always prayer, not magical manipulation, and God can even speak to those who were not seeking a revelation (Jud 6:11-12; Acts 10:9-13).

We cannot promise how God will meet his people in worship or other experiences in the Spirit. But we can promise that when we turn our eyes to him, we will find his presence, and in his presence we will begin to learn the answers we need. The answers we need are not always the answers we want (John promises greater hardship), but they are also often better than we can guess.

4. Revelation in the context of worship (v11)

If John was worshiping "in the Spirit", the passage suggests we are likely to hear from God most clearly when it is his face and glory we are seeking. Devotion to prayer and worship often opens our hearts more fully to other aspects of the Spirit’s testimony.

Throughout Revelation we see the saints in heaven engaged in worship (4:10; 5:14;  7:11; 11:16, 19:4), while saints are being slaughtered on earth and followers of the beast worship the beast (13:4, 8, 12, 15,- 14:9-11).

The scenes of heaven are intended as scenes of worship, for heaven’s furniture is the furniture of the Old Testament temple: the ark (11:19), the tabernacle (15:5), the altars of incense and sacrifice (6:9,- 8:3-5,- 9:13), the sea (4:6,- 15:2, cf. 1 Kings 7:23-25, 39, 44)—and, of course, the lampstands (Rev. 1:12—13; 2:1, 5).

The church on earth is never closer to heaven than when we are offering God and the Lamb the glory they deserve,- it is then that we experience "in the Spirit" a foretaste of heaven (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9-10,- 2 Cor. 5:5).

The book of Revelation is a book of worship that summons us to recognise the awesome majesty of our Lord.

5. We find Jesus among the churches! (v12-20)

One of Revelation’s most important declarations is that Jesus appears among the lampstands which represent the seven churches (1:20).

We see here in Revelation, Christ’s faithfulness to the church, including the local church – great church!  

When we see the flaws in churches, our tendency is sometimes to react with disdain, but we must never give up on the spiritual life that remains in the church, for the Lord of the churches, who offered his blood to redeem them, still loves them and walks among them (1:5; 3:4).

6.  Jesus’ message to the churches (v17-18)

We must hear the promise that no matter what Christ’s church faces, the future belongs to us.

Revelation addressed churches in a much harsher situation. In the Roman empire Christians were a small and persecuted minority- no one but those who tasted Christ could have imagined that we would outlive that empire!

The future of the church is bigger than any of us singly, but the future belongs to the church and to all its members, who share its hope and destiny (21:2-7).

Like Jesus’ triumph over death (v18), the fact that Jesus holds the churches in his hands (1:20) reassures us that in the end the Lamb wins!!

1. The danger the Corinthians and we are in (11:1-6).

There are those who risk falling prey to Satan’s temptation, even as Eve did in the garden (11:3;  1 Tim 2:14). Just as the devil deceived Eve by calling into question the sufficiency of God’s provisions (Gen 3:1-13), so too he [...]]]> 2 Corinthians 11.1-21a

1. The danger the Corinthians and we are in (11:1-6).

There are those who risk falling prey to Satan’s temptation, even as Eve did in the garden (11:3;  1 Tim 2:14). Just as the devil deceived Eve by calling into question the sufficiency of God’s provisions (Gen 3:1-13), so too he is seeking to undermine the Corinthians’ and our devotion to Christ by enticing them and us with "another Jesus". 

It is as if the Christ of Paul’s gospel is not enough. Satan tempts God’s people by presenting a substitute saviour: In the garden it was the false promise that they could provide for themselves without consequence, in Corinth it was the promise that the real "Christ" would provide for them health and wealth.

Therefore Paul portrays them and us:

    1. as the counterpart to rebellious Israel under the law In verse 2 (i.e., replicating the "fall" of Israel (3:14))

    2. as the counterpart to Eve at creation in verse 3 (i.e., reproducing the "fall" of humanity (4:4)).

The reference to the Fall reveals just how serious the danger facing the Corinthians really is. It is a warning that, in reality, his opponents are "servants of Satan" who are seeking to destroy the Corinthians’ marriage with Christ in the same way that Satan spoiled Eve’s relationship with God (cf. 11:14-15).

As in the garden, the goal of their deception is to create a new way of thinking among the Corinthians that no longer agrees with God’s will. 

But those who are truly God’s people will resist this satanic temptation to idolatry and strife (2:11; 6:14-7:1; 16:17-20).  In this way they show themselves to be "new creatures" in Christ, who are being transformed by God’s glory in their midst (2 Cor. 3:18; 5 17). Their lives will be characterised by sincerity and purity toward Christ (for sincerity is evidence of grace of God in one’s life (1:12, 2 17, 6:6)).

2. The ways of deception

1. Preaching another "Jesus," a "different Spirit”, and "a different gospel", and an emphasis on the miraculous (11:5).

2. The Deceiver maintains that the Spirit of God, if truly present, delivers one from suffering.

3. The cross is merely a matter of history, having been replaced by the resurrected Lord. That the deceivers preach "another Jesus" is clearly revealed in their refusal to take up their cross on behalf of the Corinthians (4:5).

4. Deceivers "masquerade as apostles of Christ" (11:13). This is no innocent misunderstanding on their part. The verb translated "masquerading" signifies the idea "to change the form of … to change or disguise oneself into or as something."    These people disguise themselves as "apostles of Christ" even though they serve Satan.  As prisoners of Satan’s deceit, these opponents preach a "different Jesus."

5. As a result, just as God made Paul competent to be a "servant" (diakonos) of the new covenant "ministry [diakonia] of righteousness" (3:6, 9), so too Satan’s "servants" are masquerading as "servants [diakonoi] of righteousness" (11:15).

6.  Their deceptive, satanic claim is that Christ’s life and death are not sufficient to bring about the righteousness of God, but must be supplemented with the stipulations of the old covenant.

7. Satan’s "servants’ (11:15), in the end, sell the "Self’ or some trinket of this world as more reliable, sufficient, and satisfying than knowing and living for God.

3. How to avoid deception?

Danger 1: We long for immediate gratification and personal autonomy rather than finding our delight in learning to depend on God in the midst of suffering and affliction, weakness and woe.

Danger 2: Church leaders are drawn to models of power and prestige.

Danger 3: We gravitate to promises of health and wealth and to messages that puff us up rather than glorify God. In a word, to become "worldly."

David Wells:

This "world" …. is organised around the self in substitution for God. It is life characterised by self-righteousness, self-centeredness, self-satisfaction, self-aggrandisement, and self-promotion, with a corresponding distaste for the self-denial proper to union with Christ."

Is the focus on the growth of God’s glory? Our single-minded focus in worship must be on recognising, reflecting, declaring, and celebrating the glory of God! In the first century the cross was simply too repugnant to exploited for personal gain.

a. Avoid worldly methods

More and more, modern management strategies, personal and church growth techniques, and therapeutic messages are infiltrating into every area of life.  These Self-saturated approaches make it increasingly difficult to boast in God alone as the one whose goal it is to glorify himself by working in and through “jars of clay”.

As it was for Paul, today too the pressure on churches to be successful according to the standards of contemporary culture is intense. And as it did for Paul, today too this pressure comes not from the world but from the worldliness within the church. The temptation is to respond by boasting in one’s strength.

Paul did not disagree because the deceivers were immoral; he rejected them because their technique was based on a purely human dynamic which produced human results. If Paul was so exercised about avoiding methods which engendered merely human results, so should we?

We cannot assume that as long as we avoid immoral, unfair, or fraudulent methods, we are free to use whatever other means will "work."

b.  Avoid consumerism

Wells: 

The reason churches today are so quick to adopt the strategies and worldview embodied in modern marketing, with little if any regard for truth as her primary message, is because they have been convinced that "the church must define its services in terms of contemporary needs just as any secular business must. Allowing the consumer to be sovereign in this way in fact sanctions a bad habit. It encourages us to indulge in constant internal inventory in the church no less than in the marketplace, to ask ourselves perpetually whether the "products" we are being offered meet our present "felt needs."

In this sort of environment, market research has found that there is scarcely any consumer loyalty to particular products and brands anymore. The consumer, like the marketeer, is now making fresh calculations all the time.

What is going to happen when churches meet all of the felt needs of their consumers and then realise that they have failed to meet the genuine need for meaning? Meaning is provided by the functioning of truth—specifically biblical truth—in the life of the congregation.

A business is in the market simply to sell its products - it doesn’t ask consumers to surrender themselves to the product.  Businesses offer goods and services to make life easier or more pleasant – the Bible points the way to Life itself, and the way will not always be easy or pleasant.

c. Is there integrity in the teacher?

Our public manner inevitably reveals our private character (1:12-14). The heart of the issue is that the gospel we believe will invariably be expressed in the image we portray, and vice versa, so that the integrity of the gospel and its messenger must be our primary concern.

A right heart produces appropriate habits. Biblical view is that Spirit of God is experienced in and through the suffering of this age.  For Paul, the cross is still central to the gospel. He carries in his body the death of Jesus (cf. 4:7-12).

Ultimately, however, Paul is not concerned with himself at all. Paul’s simple language, his willing self-support, and his daily suffering for his churches all indicate that his ministry in Corinth, unlike that of his opponents, was aimed at benefitting the Corinthians, not himself. (11:7; cf. 4:5; 8:9).   The counterpart to Paul’s weakness is his strong anger over the danger of someone falling away from Christ (11:29). 

Hence, to wrap up his boasting in his weakness as the consequence of his calling to be an apostle, Paul provides one final and especially poignant example of his suffering (11:30-33). Like his suffering in Asia recounted in 1:8, his opponents may well have used this incident against him as an example of his cowardice. But from Paul’s perspective, his narrow escape in Damascus, like his despairing even of life (1:8-11), serves to highlight God’s deliverance and sustenance.

d. Is the language simple?

Paul’s opponents criticised him for failing to reflect the sophisticated style and flashy rhetorical forms that were characteristic of professional entertainers and orators in first-century culture.

He intentionally remained an "amateur" when it came to public speaking because he viewed his calling to be proclamation, not persuasion. He did whatever it took not to be confused with an entertainer or professional speaker.

Paul’s concern was the possibility of obtaining false, human-centred results … (1 Cor. 2:5)".  Our efforts are neither results-driven nor audience-driven,- they are obedience-driven.

e. Is the teaching from the right perspective?

By boasting, Paul’s opponents are the real fools. In turn, by accepting such boasting, the Corinthians are being led astray from their devotion to Christ as the ultimate and all-sufficient provision from God! (11:3).

Driven by his experience "in Christ" and by the content of the gospel itself, Paul’s boasting in his weakness is not simply a parody of his opponents. It is a positive expression of his calling. This priority of theology over practice is crucial for evaluating the content and validity of boasting today, whether in our personal lives and churches or in the quality of our ministries and ministers.

We can boast only in what God has done in and through us, giving credit to God for all that we are and do, since everything is a gift from him. The principle of Jeremiah 9:23-24 provides the key both to the positive practice and content of Paul’s boast and to the contours of our own.

²³ This is what the LORD says:

   “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
   or the strong boast of their strength
   or the rich boast of their riches,
²⁴ but let the one who boasts boast about this:
   that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
   justice and righteousness on earth,
   for in these I delight,”
            declares the LORD.

Spiritual gift of giving to others is to be the reflex of our joy in God’s gift to us in Christ. The Macedonians’ joy led to giving, not the other way around. For this reason, the collection is termed a "grace" and a "ministry!"

The issue [...]]]> 2 Corinthians 9

Week 1 – 2 Corinthians 8

Spiritual gift of giving to others is to be the reflex of our joy in God’s gift to us in Christ. The Macedonians’ joy led to giving, not the other way around. For this reason, the collection is termed a "grace" and a "ministry!"

The issue of giving away money evokes two diametrically opposed responses among Christians:

   an awkward timidity amongst some and

   an "in-your-face" boldness among the prosperity gospel movement.

In the first case, we fear that "too much" talk about money may offend. Truth is that it directly confronts our materialism and the individualistic nature of our lives. We say, ‘The preacher should talk about God," we mean that the preacher should not talk about money (since, for us, giving is a private affair and nothing to do with being blessed spiritually).

Week 2 – 2 Corinthians 9

Giving is a response to what God has already done for us in the past and a demonstration of our continuing confidence in what he has promised to do for us in the future. Just the same as other components of worship.

In Pauls day, like our own, participation in charitable giving and the administration of financial affairs were matters of public concern. It is not surprising, therefore, that each of Paul’s three major themes finds echo in our time:

1. a concern for integrity (the need to send the delegation (8:16-24)).

2. a concern that giving be uncoerced and generous (completing the collection in advance (9:1-5)). Giving is a matter of the heart as much as the mind.

3. a concern for maintaining the proper purpose (responding to the grace of God (9:6-15).

If we intend to live in ways that honour God we have to get this giving issue right!

1. God the Giver

Our resources originate from him as a blessing, not from us as an expression of what we deserve. This insight is as profoundly life-changing as it is simple. That God is the giver of everything is the foundation of our giving to others.

The key to generosity is not caring less about what we have in the world, but caring more about God’s purposes in granting to us his gifts.

Wealth is a gift of God, freely given as an expression of God’s commitment to his people. Hence, for those who trust in him, it can be freely given way.

"Cheerful givers" are not so by nature. Only those who realise that they received great benefits from God have both the material means and the inner disposition to become cheerful givers.

2. Giving as challenge to our culture

Ours is the first major civilization to be building itself deliberately and self-consciously without religious foundations. Beneath other civilizations there have always been religious foundations, whether these come from Islam, Hinduism, or Christianity itself. It creates marvellous ingenuity and intricacy but it is arising over a spiritual vacuum.

As a result we have also rewritten the religious question. That question was always how we might be consoled in our journey through this valley of tears.

Socrates found consolation in the good, the beautiful, and the true; the New Testament finds it in Christ’s redemption; Marx and liberation theology found it in the journey toward a more just world.

But we find it simply in ourselves. We have become both our own patients and therapists, deeply committed to the gospel of self-fulfilment. And at its heart is our obsession with money.

Giving away generously challenges everything we learn in our society.

3. Giving as an act of grace to the glory of God.

Since our giving is an expression of God’s having already given all things to us, we must focus on God’s grace as the basis for giving.

1, This means resisting the temptation to turn giving into a voluntary opportunity "to do something great for God." Giving to others is not yet another way of contributing back to God for what he has done for us.

2. God does not need our money to further his causes. He is not dependent on us. God gives out of his sovereign self-sufficiency and love, not in order to receive back, as if he needed anything (Acts 17:24—25).

3. Nor should we give "in order to show God how thankful we are." Our job is not to prove our sincerity to God. Those who recognise God to be the giver of all things are thankful, and God knows our hearts.

Instead, the motivation for giving is as radically God-cantered as its foundation.

Giving to others is a response to what God has already done for us in the past and a demonstration of our continuing confidence in what he has promised to do for us in the future.

Giving is an act of faith in response to God’s grace.

As such, our giving is not a decision to participate in the projects of the church, but an expression of the fact that we are the church; that is, that we belong to God and hence to one another.

For this reason, the affirmation of the Corinthians, who have already repented, climaxes with the collection. The collection reveals the manifestation (3:7-18) and praise (9:12-15) of God’s glory.

4. Giving as a sign of belonging

The New Testament does not teach a doctrine of tithing. Nor does Paul hint at what constitutes giving generously. He does not even provide a target or general guidelines. The only rule is to give freely and generously as an expression of our continuing trust in God’s grace (9:5-8).

Paul simply assumes that believers will give all they can to meet as many needs as they can in order to glorify God as much as they can. The point of 9:6 is that one should give as freely as possible, knowing that the "return" will be of like kind.

There is a principle of divine retribution here, since the manner of one’s giving reflects the character of one’s heart. God gives back blessings to those who give as a matter of blessing, but withholds his blessings from those who withhold from others.

We must be careful here, however. The “payback" is not material, but the prayers of God’s people and the enjoyment of God’s glory (cf. 9:12-15).

While giving must be done freely, it is not optional!

The Corinthians’ participation in the collection was not "for the church," but evidence that they were the church, to give to others is a manifestation of the righteousness of God, apart from which there is no salvation (9:9-11).

The fact that believers often ask how much they should give reveals that they have not yet grasped the point. Besides, our problem is usually not that we are in danger of harming ourselves by giving too much!

John Piper:
When people don’t find pleasure (Paul’s word is "cheer"!) in their acts of service, God doesn’t find pleasure in them. He loves cheerful givers, cheerful servants. What sort of cheer? The safest way to answer that question is to remember what sort of cheer moved the Macedonians to be generous. It was the overflow of joy in the grace of God. Therefore, the giver God loves is the one whose joy in him overflows "cheerfully" in generosity to others.

5. Giving as Proclamation

Faith is trusting in God to meet our needs in the present so that we might give to the needs of others. As such, faith encompasses the past and future as we live them out day by day before God.

We give, therefore, as an expression of our trust in God to meet our needs today. We should not give simply out of our surplus from the past, nor should we give in the hope of getting more in the future. Rather, not worrying about tomorrow and trusting God to sustain if through the trouble of today (Matt. 6:34), we are free to share our daily bread with others.

Indeed, Paul calls us to give freely and generously supremely because of our riches in God himself, past, present, and future, quite apart from our current economic status (remember the Macedonians), and without any thought of future financial recompense (Paul never promises financial reward for giving).

There is another post on this subject at: godmanchesterbaptist.org/web/index.php/gbc-news/why-a-widows-mite-turns-out-to-be-a-lot-more-than-i-thought

“In many respects western identity is established in material terms. We define ourselves by our relation to our material environment; perhaps more than our relation to other people (or even to God). That this [...]]]>

Generosity: Growing in the Grace of Giving
2 Corinthians 8:1-15

There is another post on this subject at: godmanchesterbaptist.org/web/index.php/gbc-news/why-a-widows-mite-turns-out-to-be-a-lot-more-than-i-thought

“In many respects western identity is established in material terms. We define ourselves by our relation to our material environment; perhaps more than our relation to other people (or even to God). That this has resulted in great material prosperity and great technological accomplishment we can readily acknowledge. But we note a dark side as well: Westerners invariably tend to endow material means with ultimate or final value. Owning a home, for example, is seen as one of the ends of life rather than as a means to other ends. Meaning is attached to accumulating an estate far beyond any conceivable use.

Communicating the gospel will then invariably reflect these emphases. On the one hand, it will tend to affirm the quest for achievement. It might emphasise that God loves us and seeks to help us realise our potential or our gifts (He "has a wonderful plan for our life"). On the other hand, it will encourage a practical no-nonsense kind of faith, a "faith that works"… it will in general affirm the goodness and value of the person and the created order. As a rule, Christians will feel the need of affirmation rather than of deliverance!”

Does this compromise the gospel itself? Is God the great "supporter of my goals," the assistant assigned to help me realise my potential? Is the call to give merely an affirmation of my duty within society? Is my giving just an expression of my goodness as a person?

Sloppy thinking about this crucial area of our Christians life will open the door for an invasion of self-serving materialism and self-congratulating moralism.

1. The smorgasbord of values.

We, of often, give a mixed message. Regular giving is a key Christian characteristic. It is an outward evidence of God’s grace in the Christ in our life (2 Cor. 8:7).

This smorgasbord approach to answering the question of how to give leaves the impression that there is an array of ways to give that we should pick the one that fits us best, whether "cash" on the one or "willingly" on the other, as long as we give.

But from the excellent Stewardship document on giving:

7. Know that people give to many things for a variety of reasons. Few have a well-planned or consistent giving strategy. Some give on impulse. Others are more cautious. Different kinds of appeals are effective with different types of givers.

9. Appreciate that faithful giving is a fruit of spiritual maturity. It takes time and much nurture to develop.

10. Do not engage in fundraising. People give to God, not to raise the preacher’s salary or pay the utilities. Don’t make church gifts “one more bill to pay” – a bill that can be skipped without late fees, penalties, or the need to catch-up. Emphasise giving as a joyful response to God’s generosity, not an obligation

Then

16. Do not make assumptions about what people give — most of the time you will be wrong.

17. Give your pastor access to members’ giving records as a matter of pastoral care, not power or privilege.

18. Keep alert for any changes in giving patterns – if giving stops without explanation, if an adult child starts writing cheques for their parents, if there is confusion about giving, if designated gifts replace general giving, etc. Notify the pastor of any potential pastoral care concerns.

19. Know your people and approach them where they are. Someone who has never given does not respond in the same manner as someone who gives faithfully, proportionately, and generously.

20. Understand the financial profiles in your community. If few people carry cash, a spur of the moment offering will not succeed.

The fact that Paul devotes so much of 2 Corinthians to the issue of the collection should be a reminder of the significance of this aspect of our Christian life. Nowhere is our materialism challenged more directly, and nowhere do we skirt the issues more often, than when it comes to expressing the genuine nature of our faith and the unity of the church through our giving.

Learning from the Macedonians.

The "generosity encouraged" in chapters 8 and 9 is not something that Paul adds to the repentance he has just outlined, as if the Corinthians have one more hurdle to jump in order to prove themselves "innocent" (7:11). Nor is it an aside from it, an optional "add-on" for those who are really serious about their faith.

Instead, their generosity in giving to the collection is to be an expression of the gospel itself in the lives of those who have already shown the kind of "godly sorrow [that] brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret" (7:10).

The Macedonian example outlines the contours of the "obedience" that the majority of the Corinthians demonstrate (1:24-2:6; 7:9-16). To fail to give generously is to expose the false nature of our professed faith!

The example of the Macedonians is instructive. In a radical role reversal of the world’s values, the abundance of their poverty, fuelled by the riches of their joy in God, led to a wealth of generosity.

We usually think of "fund raisers" as encouraging those who can afford to give to give more; in the Macedonian churches those who had nothing begged to give.

Why?

Paul’s answer is the grace of God. Indeed, the "also” (8:7) shows that giving is just as much a spiritual gift of grace as any of the other charismatic gifts the Corinthians had received.

Giving is not merely an expression of compassion for the needy. Rather, the spiritual gift of giving to others is the reflex of our joy in God’s gift to us in Christ. The Macedonians’ joy led to giving, not the other way around. For this reason, the collection is termed a "grace" and a "ministry!"

Giving is not motivated by trying to convince people of how "smart" and "responsible" and "enjoyable" it is to give. Not about trying to pay dues or make a wise financial investment!

Instead, we are savouring and seeking the kingdom of God. Only the greater treasures of the kingdom of God can free us from clinging to the competing treasures of this world (Jesus’ call to do some "comparison shopping" in Matt. 6:19-21).

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Why do we lack models of that kind of joyful giving.

Macedonian" giving that comes from a profound experience of God’s grace. As a result, we struggle against nominalism that chokes out voluntary, sacrificial giving as an unsavoury example of religious fanaticism.

What could be more "fanatical" in our day to live below one’s level of income for the sake of giving away as much money as possible? In today’s world, the Macedonians’ giving out of their poverty serves as a wake-up call in the midst of our self-satisfying slumber.

William Law (1686-1761): A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life: Law recognized that central to this concern for godliness is the issue of money. Like Paul in 2 Corinthians 8:9, Law’s call was to apply the cross to our money.

The Christian’s great conquest over the world is all contained in the mystery of Christ upon the cross. And the state of Christianity implies nothing else but an entire, absolute conformity to that spirit which Christ showed in the mysterious sacrifice of Himself upon the Cross.

Just as God calls the Christian to forgive his brother "seventy times seven" (Matt. 18:21-22, RSV), Law saw this "rule of forgiving" to be "the rule giving" as well.

In his words, "it is as necessary to give to seventy times to live in the continual exercise of all good works to the utmost”.

To spend needlessly on ourselves at the expense of others is to question our salvation itself. For Law, as for Paul in 8:8, the test of genuine faith was a willingness to give and the adoption of a lifestyle that makes giving possible.

“Either, therefore, you must so far renounce your Christianity as to say, that you need never perform any of these good works,- or you must perform them all your life in as high a degree as you are able. There is no middle way to be taken, any more than there is a middle way betwixt pride and humility, or temperance and intemperance.

This is indeed a "serious call." Law realized that he was living in a dangerous day. He saw clearly that the values of the secular world, "with its pull of sensuality, self-love, pride, covetousness, ambition, and vain” are the enemy.

It is a more dangerous enemy by having lost its appearance of enmity.

Spiritual warfare – strongman of the secular "Christian world" is money.

We must be careful here. Law’s call is uncompromising:

But it is by no means a summons to a self-destructive "sacrifice", not to “martyrdom”. The opposite is true.

Law’s "serious call to a devout and holy life" is serious call to be happy!

Christian faith teaches believers how to use everything God has granted them,

Sell that thou hast, and give to the poor," it is because there is no other natural or reasonable use of our riches, no other way of making ourselves happier for them….

Understood in this way, the Christian faith teaches believers how to use everything God has granted them, so that they "may have always the pleasure of receiving a right benefit from them"

Paul’s argument in 8:1-15 is based on the reality of the all-satisfying grace of God.

The Macedonians are no fools for giving out of their poverty.

But neither are they great religious heroes.

It is not Macedonians who are praised in this passage, but the God who brought about their giving by first having given them joy in himself in the midst their poverty in this world.

The new design of this button isn’t great either, It uses extra space and it is present in the [...]]]> I’m a massive fan of Firefox and have been for since version 1 back in 2004.  I’ve been using 4.0 in beta for what seems like ages.  Where’s the RSS web feeds subscription button gone?

The new design of this button isn’t great either, It uses extra space and it is present in the toolbar at all times. The button is black when an RSS feed is present and grey otherwise.  Ironic, since Firefox invented the orange icon!

How to add the button to the tool bar?

By default the new RSS web feeds subscription button is not even visible. To add this to the toolbar just right-click on the toolbar and select customize. In the customize tool bar window that appears, click and drag the “Subscribe” icon to the desired location. Done.