Benny Says Adam Could Fly...

THE ROOT OF BITTERNESS...

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
Hebrews 12:15

I’ve sometimes wondered why Australians tend toward bitterness as a strategy for handling disappointment. Perhaps this started with our ‘Diggers’ in the trenches of Gallipoli. Two mates would be fighting side-by-side in the trenches when one of them would be shot dead. His mate would then look down on his fallen comrade and exclaim that he was a mongrel anyway!

I recently stubbled across an autobiography of a Bible teacher I had heard and enjoyed a few years ago. I learned that his life had been filled with tragedy. A year after becoming a Christian he married another new Christian who betrayed her marital vows and left him with their 3 month old daughter. She divorced him and remarried, twice. He then married againa few years later when he was 27. A few months of being married came to a tragic end when his new wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident. A few years later he married again. This time his marriage lasted and he and his third wife went on to have 4 children. But as I continued to read his biography he began to highlight the faults of his wife. He shared things about his wife that husbands should never disclose. I stopped reading and re-read this portion to Kim and then remarked to her that he though he was about to say this marriage ended too. And sure enough, as I read on, he went further in his criticism of his wife became self-justification and then he wrote: "She left me." A root of bitterness had occured and this was most obvious with his self-justification.

This also happens with Christians and their disappointment with a church. A believer is happy and connected with their church and then gradually some root of bitterness occurs. The believer who was previously so happy and even proud of their church but allows a root of bitterness to grow and then sees every little fault or deficiency with their church is as huge in order to justify their bitterness.

But this disappointment strategy is not just limited to military comrades, spouses, or churches- God Himself is the most common target of bitterness. As people dispute with God over His standards of right and wrong they hear a "nice" voice in their head that affirms their objections to Him- "Has God really said?...He doesn't want you to enjoy yourself because He knows that the moment you do this you will become like Him!"

The safeguard against bitterness is love. Love covers a multitude of sins, shortcomings, faults, and offences.

"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
1Peter 4:8

The root of bitterness sprouts into a deadly weed that climbs up its victim and chokes the life out of them. It destroys fellowship. It ends marriages. It divides churches. It estranges people from God.

But bitterness can neither take root in love or climb up around it to choke it. Therefore, for us to build strong friendships, healthy marriages, great churches and a joyful relationship with God we need to-

clothe ourselves in love
(Col. 3:14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.)

wear a breastplate of love
(1Th. 5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.)

ensure that our love is genuine for others
(Rom. 12:9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.)

always be a debtor of love
(Rom. 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.)

walk in love by being considerate of what offends another
(Rom. 14:15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.)

strive in prayer for one another by the love that the Spirit places within us
(Rom. 15:30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,)

This doesn't happen naturally. It demands constant vigilence- that is, we must be continually correcting ourselves when we detect the root of bitterness and the diminishing of love for others. King David did this when he detected discouragement setting in-

Psalm 42:5 ¶ Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation.

For us to battle the enemy's seeds of bitterness requires constantly asking God for His grace. It requires humility when we most naturally feel like justifying ourselves. It also requires overlooking offences by not dwelling on them and not retelling them to others (eg- "Did you hear what they said and did to me?"). By doing these things we can avoid the root of bitterness. But what do we do when the seeds of bitterness have already taken root in our souls? If we suspect that something bitter has entered our soul then we should ask God and our church community for help. By meeting in our church community small groups where we share our hearts and pray for needs- both ours and the other groups members', we are tilling the soil of our soul. This disrupts weed growth and promotes good growth.

If however, you suspect that there is bitterness in your soul and you have stopped asking God for deliverance from it- and ceased to be a part of a discipleship (small) group- there is no hope. Hebrews 12:15 is a dire warning against allowing the root of bitterness. According to this verse, if we fail to uproot the sprouting seeds of bitterness we will (i) fail to experience the grace of God, (ii) cause trouble, and (iii) become defiled (in our thinking and behaviour). Therefore, let us guard our souls against bitterness and its fruit (malicious gossip, slander, hate). I suspect that as we continue to experience this season of church-growth that the Enemy will prowl around our church community with a dirty big bag of seeds and sow them willy-nilly in the hope that someone's heart is unguarded and that he can turn their heart against their friends, family, their church, and their God. May God help us to guard our hearts and to fill our souls with love for our friends, family, church and Himself.

After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways!
2Corinthians 2:11 THE MESSAGE

Andrew Corbett

RIDICULING REASON

Last week, Easter 2008, our church was privileged to have one of the world's most articulate apologists, Greg Koukl, speak at our church's Easter Convention. I find Greg to be one of the clearest Christian thinkers in the world today. But not only is Greg super-smart, he is super-nice. He encourages this mix in all followers of Christ. His three key words for his ministry organisation, Stand To Reason, are: Knowledge, Wisdom, and Character. And Greg embodies these three key words.
Greg did a brilliant presentation on clear-critical thinking. One of his first points was to encourage people to distinguish between what is genuine argument and what is non-argument (opinion, feelings, preferences, and ridicule). We posted a deliberately short clip of Greg discussing the issue of ridicule against Christianity. He made the point that ridicule is not an argument. He went on to cite a recent "debate" between Christopher Hitchens and Jay Richards in which Hitchens interrupted Richards opening remarks by asking him whether he believed in the Virgin Birth and Resurrection of Christ. Richards acknowledged that he did. Hitchens then ridiculed Richards for holding these beliefs and then stated- "I rest my case!"
Ironically, the clip of Greg making this point that ridicule is not an argument has been ridiculed repeatedly on YouTube. You might want to have a look at the clip and also be on guard against using ridicule and be alert to when it is used as a disguised argument against your beliefs.

Dr. Andrew Corbett

WORDSWORTH & WELLINGTON

F.W. Boreham suffered some criticism for not engaging his literary brilliance in the war effort of World War 2. The frustration of many of his admirers was compounded due to Boreham's earlier contributions around the time of the Empire's role in the Boer War (early 1900s) when he had written a stirring cover page article for the Otago Times in 1900, which called for Empire's young men to rally together for the cause. During World War 1 while serving in Hobart, Boreham also made some contribution to the War effort by references to the looming dangers in Europe. But by World War 2 he seems to have had a refining of his literary focus so that he was committed to focussing on his three great life themes: immensity, infinity and eternity.

In his 1918 book, THE SILVER SHADOW, he seems to subtly express his frustration at merely applying his literary genius to the events of the moment in an essay titled- 'Please Shut The Gate'. As World War 1 was concluding Boreham seems to examined the philosophy of his writing. This refining of his writing philosophy brought him no less criticism - it perhaps caused more! But admirers of his work are forever grateful his courage to not simply be a journalist and a commentator, but a thoughtful writer who chose to write on timeless themes by drawing on some of the best literary thought from literary giants and literary grasshoppers.

This timeless philosophy of Boreham, was encouraged by his consideration of Wordsworth who wrote during the time of England's darkest hour when the looming threat of Napoleon was on every Englishmen's mind. It was striking to Boreham that one of the most classic books of English literature, THE COMPLEAT ANGLER, was written during the English Civil War and the turbulence of Cromwell and Kings Charles - without any reference to geo-political events!

Boreham understood the need for distraction. He also understood how his three life themes were the perfect distraction for all people of all times.

Andrew Corbett

WILL WE EVER SEE REVIVAL AGAIN?

Uncontrollable weeping. Deep heeving. Intense prayer. Thorough conversion. These are just some of the traits of what church historians call: revival. Revivals throughout history are rare. But it seems that there is an observable ground-work that takes place before each revival. This ground-work includes - (i) intense, fervent prayer, (ii) confession of sin, and (iii) deep repentance.

When God visits a church, community or city with revival, there is an extraordinary sensitivity to God. Christians become deeply aware of God's presence. Those who are not Christians become aware of their need for God. Churches fill. Prayer meetings grow. Giving increases. Violence decreases. It was said of Robert Murray McCheyne's church in Dundee, Scotland that after months of intense preaching, evangelising and prayer, the congregation became overwhelmed with the presence of God to the point that people were seen spontaneously dropping to their knees and sobbing heavily with heads bowed and hands clasped in prayer. Many of these people were shaking uncontrollably as they cried out to God for forgiveness and cleansing. The result was that the tiny church grew to thousands and Robert Murray McCheyne was so overcome with the demands resulting from the revival that he died of exhaustion at the age of just 29.

But rather than his life being a waste, his intense ministry had an affect on Scotland that not only touched his generation, but generations to the present day. Winkie Pratney says that the reason revival is so rare is that too few Christians are prepared to pay the price it demands. But history says that for every generation and town that experienced it, the price was worth it.

Perhaps God may move upon us more intensely at Legana to pray for His presence and power. Perhaps we too may see sin for what it truly is and be driven to relentlessly seek holiness (sin's only remedy). Perhaps God may grace us with a generation who are more interested in pleasing God than finding pleasure.

Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
Psalm 85:6

Andrew Corbett
Legana, Tasmania

SORRY Mr HITCHENS, GOD IS GREAT!

Christopher Hitchens' NY Times best selling book- God Is Not Great- presents some appallingly illogical arguments in an attempt, not merely to cast doubt on the existence of God, but, to be unabashedly anti-theist. I have addressed some of his arguments on another website (read). While Christopher Hitchens' arguments are obvious for both their motive and intent, not so obvious is the presentation of God by some people whose intention is quite different to that Hitchens.

Perhaps some Christians need to meditate on Psalm 96 and consider how compliance with this theologically profound Psalm could begin to reform the way their churches worship and (re)present God to the world. Rather than structuring our church services to be so seeker-sensitive that God and His claims are almost an embarrassment to Christians, Psalm 96 is the perfect response to people like Christopher Hitchens. But it is also the perfect correction to churches perplexed as to why their clever seeker and emerging services are proving to be ineffective.

Consider Psalm 96. It commands. It describes in exclusive terms. It makes absolute assertions. And it culminates with a verse that seems like a threat if not at least a sober warning. It seems that the elements of this Psalm are the very things that many church leaders are actually decreeing should be avoided by their ministers.

Consider Psalm 96.

Andrew Corbett
Ministry Site

NEW BOOK...COULD CHANGE THE WORLD...

"This book could change the world!" Not only is this the opening line of the recently published book- The Most Embarrassing Verse In The Bible! but it is also the title of the Preface to the book. This newly updated edition of the popular eBook is now available in paperback. It has taken four years to produce and undergone critical peer review from pastors, Christian leaders, and lay people alike. Several denominational leaders who had read the draft, and the eBook edition, strongly urged that this book be put into print and made more widely available. And now it is.
This book could change the world! It could help to navigate people through the Middle East Crisis and form a more Biblical position. It will answer some of the staunchest critics of Christianity who claim that Jesus was a false prophet who has been proven to have actually to have deceived His disciples! This was the claim of the late Prof. Bertrand Russell and in more recent times is echoed by Professor of Religion at the University of North Carolina- Bart Erdman - who use just one verse to make their case for athiesm! But this book, The Most Embarrassing Verse In The Bible answers these critics and their criticisms in a very historically rigorous way.

This book is available for $A11.95 (plus postage) directly from the author. (eMail the author)



Andrew Corbett

Being Pentecostal Today

Attending a Pentecostal church for the first time nearly 30 years ago, I was struck by the contrast with the Anglican churches that I had previously been familiar with. I mean struck. The differences were stark! Not only was the difference in the way they conducted a worship service, but the entire philosophy and theological understanding was different. To be Pentecostal then meant that you were different - very different. But not today.

Pentecostals once emphasized seeking God, studying the Bible for illumination, and exercising spiritual gifts that could not be emulated naturally (this began with speaking in tongues). The more extreme Pentecostals went so far as to say that if a person didn't demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives with at least the gift of tongues then they weren't really saved in the first place! But this was always a heretical fringe, not the mainstream of Pentecostalism.

Philosophically Pentecostals generally regarded the studying of theology as unhelpful to ministry. Ministers were then proudly untrained but "anointed". The "Anointing" was regarded as the pre-eminent requirement for a ministry candidate. With the anointing an unlearned person could heal the sick, cast out demons, and save the lost. Afterall, this was what Jesus told His disciples to do and He also told them that they would need the anointing of the Father's Promise to be able to do it. When the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit's anointing took place on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4) it gave rise to the designation of what later Spirit-filled believers would be called: Pentecostals.

As the next generations of "Pentecostal" have replaced the early ones there has also been a replacement of theology and philosophy. Many of the things that the early Pentecostals of the mid-twentieth century did are now considered uncouth. To be Pentecostal today apparently no longer requires that a person has had any experience with the Holy Spirit or His gifts. Ministers no longer consider the anointing the exclusive component for ministry. And Theology is now a major emphasis in most Ministry Training Colleges (although which theology is still being determined).

I want to be a Pentecostal who heals the sick, casts out demons, saves the lost, teaches the Bible, grounds in sound Reformed Theology, motivates people into their Spiritually-gifted ministries, lives with passion for Christ, inspires faith, influences society, and continually seeks God. I want to declare that Jesus Christ is not only Lord, but our Healer, Deliverer, Saviour, and Vindicated King!

Andrew Corbett
www.andrewcorbett.net

What Does The Church Offer?

For the past two weeks I've been on holidays. The hardest thing about being a pastor on holidays is that you can't go to your own church. I love my church and don't just attend it because I'm the pastor. But holidays does present the opportunity to visit other churches. And this is what my family and I have been doing. It has enabled us to see where some of the church crowd are going.

I pastor a church that is affiliated with the Australian Assemblies of God which causes people to make certain assumptions about what our church must be like. The general assumption is that we are a church driven by emotionalism and preach an overly simplistic message akin to the Word-of-faith heresy. But when people actually visit our virtual church or our ministry site they assume that we are a "Word-heavy" church devoid of prayerfulness or care. But none of these assumptions are correct.

While the general direction of the Australian Assemblies of God in the past few years has been a syncretism of Word of Faith and Seeker-sensitive-services, we have not 'joined in'. Most Australian AOG churches are essentially Arminian. We are essentially Calvinistic. Nearly all Australian AOG churches are Futurist. We are Partial-Preterist. Our church was recently described by a visiting evangelical Arch-Deacon of the Anglican Church as "the most unusual AOG church in Australia!". We are not interested in going along with the crowd.

And where is the crowd going? It seems that prayer, preaching, congregational worship is either being replaced or subjugated for x-boxes, Wii game consoles, coffee and cake, and "40-Day" programs. But is this what Christ was dying to build?

What does the Church offer? If it's merely more entertainment options then it will hurtle toward total irrelevance- which would be ironic since this is what many in the church crowd are desperately trying to avoid!

I consider that the Church offers the Gospel. The Gospel is the message of God's love, grace, and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. It is presented through prayer, worship, devotion, community, service, but most importantly: preaching. It is offered 24/7/52/365.25 - but especially on Sundays ("the Lord's Day", 1Cor. 16:1; Rev. 1:10). And it is my prayer that as long as I am pastor (and even long after I have gone) that Legana Christian Church will be passionately committed to delivering the Gospel without succumbing to "the crowd". I pray that we can take the faith of the early Pentecostals along with their willingness to pray and seek God for the miraculous and galvanise it with the best historic Reformed scholarship and offer ourselves unreservedly to God. Let's pray.

Andrew Corbett
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