Joseph Chia

⁵ Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.  ⁶ His father [King David] had never at any time displeased him by asking, “Why have you done thus and so?” He was also a very handsome man, and he was born next after Absalom.  (1 Kings 1:5-6)

Here is another King David’s son who wanted to enthrone himself as king – usurping the kingdom from his father and the promised heir – Solomon.   How did Adonijah have such audacity to do these things even when King David had not died and had not declared his next successor to his throne?  Well, the author of 1 Kings dropped a short but important and insightful comment – his father King David had never at any time displeased Adonijah by questioning his actions and intent.

The Hebrew word translated as “displeased” in NIV may be better rendered as “crossed” (‘to be angry with, cause emotional upset’) as suggested by Donald J. Wiseman.  David is unwilling to cause his children any physical or mental discomfort.  David’s parenting style is one that was permissive and indulgent.  Whatever his child wanted, he let him had his way.  David did not require his son to regulate himself or to behave properly.   And this was the price David was paying now in the later years – an arrogant and willful brat.  It was also such lack of discipline with Amnon (2 Sam 13:21) and Absalom (2 Sam 18:5) that had previously led to familial and national unrest.

This calls for an evaluation on my part as a father.  Am I a permissive or indulgent father who gives my children free-range authority to do what they want?  Or do I listen and respond to their needs or wants with guidance and correction as appropriate.  The west has loathed authority – even parental authority– to its detriment with many cases of drug abuse, sexual promiscuity and heavy drinking reported among youths.  I need to pray for wisdom to be a father in this age – parenting has been made more challenging by bad media’s influence, easy Internet accessibility to all sorts of unhealthy and unwholesome materials and ideas as well as overall societal degeneration.  I need to be discerning to my children’s actions and intents – the motives and whispers of their hearts and be bold to speak up, rebuke, guide and nurture.

Like our Heavenly Father who disciplines us because He treats us as sons (Heb 12:7-8), we too must discipline our children using God’s truth to lead and correct them.  Let us not neglect our God-given authority as parents.

Taken from Gary Thomas’ book entitled “Authentic Faith” (Zondervan, 2002), pp. 9-11:

Gary described the “Spiritual infatuation” phase as one in which a believer finds Christianity to be “an intoxicating blend of freedom, joy, exuberance, and newfound discovery. Longtime sins drop off us with relatively little effort. Bible study is rich: we may feel like archaeologists finally coming across an unexplored cave as we become astonished at the insights pour from the book in front of us. Intimacy, tears, and the assurance of God’s voice and guidance mark our times of prayer” (p. 9). However, just like romantic infatuation is self-centered, so spiritual infatuation tends to be “all about me.” “it seems as though it’s all about God, but the focus of new believers’ lives is still mostly taken up with how they’re doing with regard to defeating sins, as well as cultivating the new joy and spiritual depth that come from walking with God. They’re trilled with what Christianity has done for them.”

Have you been through this spiritual infatuation phase? If yes, please explain what you have been through and what made you outgrow it?

As I go to my Logos Bible Software today, its home page features a picture from the Harper’s Bible Dictionary under the entry “Shoes” as shown below.  As I look at the shoes across the different eras, I am actually quite surprised that the designs of yesteryears’ are pretty much in fashion today!

The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary states that “Shoes were also removed as evidence of humility in the presence of kings.”

That helps me to make sense of what Moses was told to do by God in Ex 3:5, “Then he [God] said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”  The removal of sandals is indeed an act of humility because Moses is entering into the presence of the King of kings.

Moreover, this King of kings is infinitely holy.  The IVP Bible Background Commentary on the Old Testament noted that “It was common practice for priests to enter temples barefoot to prevent bringing in dust or impurities of any sort.”  So removing one’s sandals is also symbolically taken to mean removing any impurities before God.  So the idea of being cleansed and being holy is conveyed.

Thus one needs to be both humble and holy in the presence of God.

The ground where Moses stand was ordinary soil but in the presence of the Holy One, it becomes extraordinarily holy.  What is common can be set apart when God is there.

So today, do we “remove” our sandals – do we consecrate and humble ourselves when we come into the presence of God?  When we do that, the common place where we are becomes a sacred space where we worship and revere our Holy God.  It does not matter what shoe or sandal design we wear, we come in humility and holiness as made possible by the blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

This is a very authentic and thought provoking song … about our prayers and God’s responses.  Very beautiful melody with a very sensitive touch to our struggles and questions.  Intend to teach it one day for congregational singing.

“For in [Jesus Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
(Colossians 1:19-20 ESV)

Greg Ogden in his book, Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples a Few at a Time (IVP, 2003), listed 8 root causes for the lack of disciples in churches today.  Some of the reasons he cited are also what I had observed myself and thus I resonate with his writing.  I am very glad he has put them so aptly and ably.

Here are the eight root causes for what he names as “discipleship deficit”:

• Diversion from primary calling – Pastors have been diverted from their primary calling to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry.”
• Discipling through programs – The scriptural context for growing disciples is through relationships.  Why programs don’t make disciples?  (1) Programs tend to be information – or knowledge based,  (2) Programs are the one preparing for the many, (3) Programs are characterized by regimentation or synchronization, and (4) Programs generally have low personal accountability.  Though all approaches to disciple making will have programatic elements, such as structure and curriculum (even if it is the Bible), the growth process of the individual is always preeminent in a relational setting.
• Reducing the Christian life – We have reduced the Christian life to the eternal benefits we get from Jesus, rather than living as students of Jesus.
• A two-tiered understanding of discipleship – A close examination of biblical discipleship does not allow two classes of followers: the ordinary and the extraordinary.  However, there are some who teach that there are two classes of which discipleship is meant for the elite few.
• Unwillingness to call people to discipleship – Christian leaders have been reluctant to restate the terms of discipleship that Jesus laid out.  Why so?  We are afraid if we ask too much, people will stop coming to our churches.  Our operating assumption is that people will flee to the nearby entertainment church if we ask them to give too much of themselves.
• An inadequate view of the church – Biblically, discipleship is never seen as a me-and-Jesus solo relationship, for the church is a discipleship community.  Our value as believers is known by playing our God-assigned part in building up the church through the avenue of our spiritual gifts.
• No clear pathway to maturity – It is rare to find a church with a well thought-out, easy-to-grasp process or path onto which people can get if they want to become self-initiating, reproducing, fully devoted followers of Christ.  We have no destination in mind, and so therefore no road on which people can walk even if they want to understand the implications of discipleship.
• Lack of personal discipling – A major reason for the seven previously identified flaws in the life of the Christian church is that people have not been personally discipled.  By discipling I mean “a process that takes place within accountable relationships over a period of time for the purpose of bringing believers to spiritual maturity in Christ.

What are your thoughts as you reflect on the reasons cited?  Are they true of your church and mine?

I have been bringing Eugene H. Peterson’s Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John & the Praying Imagination (HarperOne: 1988) to read each time I fly, reading 1 to 2 chapters per trip. Finally, I have just completed it on 20 Apr 11.

This is a very rich book of which slow reading (and often re-reading) is necessary to grasp the full import of its meditations.  So reading it on long trips affords me to wrestle with its message and muse on its implications.  (I deliberately choose not to read it upon the return of my trips so as to look forward to the next trip ).

Eugene did a superb job of organizing the entire book of Revelation into thematic chapters yet united via a common thread using the phrase – the ‘Last Word’.  So he has ‘The Last Word on Scripture’ for Revelation 1:1-11; ‘The Last Word on Christ’ for Revelation 1:12-20, ‘The Last Word on the Church’ for Revelation 2 & 3, ‘The Last Word on Worship’ for Revelation 4 & 5, and so on and so forth, covering the last word on evil, prayer, witness, politics, judgment, salvation and heaven subsequently.

From a literary standpoint, it is beautifully and masterfully written; from a theological standpoint, it is deep and profoundly substantive and from a pastoral standpoint, it is warm and timely.  Indeed a masterpiece on the Book of Revelation that is characteristically Eugene Peterson’s!

This is not a book where you would expect a verse-by-verse exposition or where there is an attempt to interpret all the details prophetically from an eschatological standpoint.  In fact, Eugene is seriously opposed to the latter approach, as he believes that is not the intent of its author.  Instead, Eugene works on each theme from a gestalt perspective.  He may delve into a word or a phrase at occasional times but the final treatment is always from a unified whole.  Such approach brings out the essence of the theme at hand.  His ruminations take on a form that is multi-dimensional and carry multi-shades of colors.  He is able to identify all the allusions and imageries that John borrowed from the OT and the rest of the NT.  Often it takes a careful, imaginative and thoughtful reading of the biblical text to chew on them in full flavor.  And that is the gleanings that Eugene shares in this book.

I find most of the chapters appealing and directly meaningful to my life with the exception of the one on politics (may be I am just not politically inclined to appreciate it as much).  To demonstrate the magnetic draw to the themes discussed, here are a few sample quotes that I would enthusiastically recommend.

On worship, “Life as we encounter it is chaotic.  The raw material served up by the day is disordered and turbulent.  Nature is clamorous and many-headed.  We ourselves are many-hearted and conflicted. How can we master such a mob? Is there any hope for harmony in such a chaos?  The act of worship gathers into its centering rituals and harmonizing rhythms every aspect of creation.  Worship does not divide the spiritual from the natural, it coordinates them… In George Herbert’s words, “All creatures of my God and King, lift up your voice and sing!” (p. 62)

On prayer, “[God] not only speaks to us, he listens to us … It is rare to find anyone who listens carefully and thoroughly.  It is rare to find our stammering understood, our clumsy speech deciphered, our garbled syntax unraveled, sorted out and heard – every syllable attended to, every nuance comprehended.  Our minds are taken seriously.  Our feelings are taken seriously.  When it happens we know that what we say and feel are immensely important.  We acquire dignity.  We never know how well we think or speak until we find someone who listens to us.” (p. 93)

On witness, “The chief difficulty in maintaining Christian witness is timidity.  The life of the world is gaudy, noisy, and assertive.  The life of faith is modest, quiet, and unassuming.  What can an ordinary Christian say that will stand a chance in the brash shouting of money and pleasure and ambition?  Or in the wailing laments of boredom and depression and self-pity?  In a society in which the thesaurus of metaphor and symbol has been ransacked by cynical advertisers, faithless artists, and indulgent entertainers to condition us to a maniacal but brainless devotion to me and now, how can the imagination be renewed so that we can say, honestly and personally, without necessarily raising our voices, who God is and what eternity means?”

Now, you may step back and ask why the title of the book is named as Reversed Thunder?  What has it to do with the Book of Revelation?  This is a phrase borrowed from George Herbert’s poem entitled “Prayer I” (see http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/herbert/prayer1.htm).  It pictures God’s answers to our prayers coming down to earth with such massive force that it is likened to thunder.  Eugene explains its significance in passing as such:

“…an angel came before the altar of God with a censer.  He mixed the prayers of the Christians with incense (which cleansed them from impurities) and combined them with fire (God’s spirit) from the altar. Then he put it all in the censer and threw it over heaven’s ramparts.  The censer, plummeting through the air, landed on earth.  On impact there were “peals of thunder, voices, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake” (Rev 8:5).  The prayers which had ascended, unremarked by the journalists of the day, returned with immense force – in George Herbert’s phrase, as “reversed thunder”.  Prayer reenters history with incalculable effects.  Our earth is shaken daily by it.  The vision convinces the Christian of the potencies of prayer.” (p. 88).

Thus, I would highly recommend this book to those who want to understand the significance of Revelation from a literary, poetic, and how-this-relate to my faith viewpoint.  Enjoy the rich tapestry and beauty of language and images written by one who has sit long enough under the Apostle John’s feet to come up such a goldmine of insights.

I gave a talk last evening to Hebron YAF and I had entitled it as above.  It is a question not meant for just Hebron YAF per se; it is a question for the church at large in Singapore (beyond Hebron).  More will be shared on this site with regards to the talk and other aspects of disciplemaking that could not be addressed there and then.  Meanwhile, I would invite your response to my question and would look forward to hear your thoughts.

Recently, I have been listening to this song and it has ministered to me.  The line – “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus, His righteousness.  When all around my soul gives way, I will trust in Jesus Name” helps to put Christ’s person and work at the center of my life.  A great song to go with the hymn “The Solid Rock” which begins with “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”

‘”Preaching the gospel to yourself” is a phrase I first ran across in The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges.  And I’ve observed the reality of it for years in the life of my good friend C. J. Mahaney.  In Living the Cross Centered Life he writes:

Reminding ourselves of the gospel is the most important daily habit we can establish.  If the gospel is the most vital news in the world, and if salvation by grace is the defining truth of our existence, we should create ways to immerse ourselves in these truths every day.  No days off allowed.’

- Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God, Crossway, 2008.

Food for thought: Do we preach the gospel to ourselves on a daily basis?  Do we relish the grace that was extended to us through the death of God’s Son so that we can be forgiven, redeemed and saved eternally?