When God asks you to wait, what happens to your spiritual muscles? While you wait, do your spiritual muscles grow bigger and stronger, or do they become flaccid and atrophied? Waiting for the Lord isn't about God forgetting you, forsaking you, abandoning the ministry he's called you to, or being unfaithful to his promises. It's actually God giving you time to consider his glory, grow stronger in faith, and grow in courage for ministry. Remember, waiting isn't just about what you're hoping for at the end of the wait, but also about what you'll become as you wait.

So waiting always presents us with a spiritual choice-point. Will I allow myself to question God's goodness and progressively grow weaker in faith, or will I embrace the opportunity of faith that God is giving me and build my spiritual, pastoral, ministry muscles?

It's so easy to unknowingly revisit your belief system when you're not sure what God is doing. It's so easy to give way to doubt when you're being called to wait. It's so easy to forsake good spiritual and ministry habits and to take up habits of "unfaith" that weaken the muscles of the heart. Let me suggest some habits of "unfaith" that weaken us during waiting.

1. Giving way to doubt. There's a fine line between the struggle to wait and giving way to doubt. When you're called to wait you're being called to do something that wasn't part of your personal or ministry plan.Therefore you struggle to see it as good. Because you and I are typically convinced that what we wanted was right and good, it doesn't seem loving that we're being asked to wait. You can see how tempting it is then to begin to question God's wisdom, goodness, and love. Don't be naive: there is much doubt that visits people in ministry.

2. Giving way to anger. It's easy to look around and begin to think that the bad guys are being blessed and the good guys are getting hammered (see Psalm 73). There will be times when it simply doesn't seem right that you have to wait for something that seems so obviously good to you. It's tempting in your anger to give way to thinking you're smarter than God, that you'd be a better sovereign than the Sovereign. It all begins to feel like you're being wronged, and when it does, it seems right to be angry.

As a result, it's important to understand that your anger isn't so much about people and circumstances. No, you're angry with the One who's in control of those people and those circumstances. You're actually giving way to thinking that you've been wronged by him. I've been amazed over the years at how many pastors needed to confess to me that they were more than disappointed with their ministry life, they were angry with God.

3. Giving way to discouragement. This is where I begin to let my heart run away with the "If only_____," the "What if_____," and the "What will happen if____." I begin to give my mind to thinking about what will happen to me and my ministry if my request isn't answered soon, or what in the world will happen if it's not answered at all. This kind of meditation makes me feel that my life or ministry is out of control, when they are actually under perfectly wise and loving control. Rather than my heart being filled with joy, my heart gets flooded with worry and dread. Worry and dread are not the seedbed of hopeful, courageous, persevering ministry. So I spend my free mental time considering my dark future, with all the resulting discouragement that will always follow.

4. Giving way to envy. When I am waiting, it's tempting to look over the fence and long for the ministry life of someone who doesn't appear to have been called to wait. It's easy to take on an "I wish I was that guy" way of living. You can't give way to envy without questioning God's wisdom, faithfulness, and love. Here's the logic: if God really loves you as much as he loves that other guy, you would have what the other guys has. Envy is about feeling forgotten and forsaken, coupled with a craving to have what your neighbor enjoys. This is deadly, because you don't tend to run to someone for help if you've come to doubt him.

5. Giving way to inactivity. The result of giving way to all of these things is inactivity. If God isn't as good and wise as I once thought he was, if he withholds good things from his children, and if he plays favorites, then why would I continue to serve him? Maybe you don't consciously think these things, but you begin to stand with many pastors who've lost both their joy in and also motivation for ministry. Maybe this isn't what I'm supposed to be doing after all; maybe I've been kidding myself.

Sadly, this is the course that many people, even those in ministry, take as they wait. Rather than growing in faith, their motivation for daily pursuing God is destroyed by doubt, anger, discouragement, and envy. So the muscles of faith necessary for productive people-helping, God-honoring ministry, that were once robust and strong, now atrophy and grow weak.

In reality, waiting points us to God's goodness. He's wise and loving. His timing is always right, and his focus isn't so much on what you'll experience and enjoy, but on what you'll become. He's committed to using every tool at his disposal to rescue you from you, to shape you into the likeness of his Son, and to hone you for the work to which he's called you. Waiting is one of his primary shaping tools.

Habits of Faith

So how do you build your spiritual muscles during the wait? You must commit yourself to resist those habits of "unfaith," and with discipline pursue a rigorous routine of spiritual exercise. You must run to your Savior of grace, knowing his grace never gives up even though your often tempted to.

Here are the things that he's designed for you that will build the muscles of your heart and strengthen your resolve: the regular devotional study of his Word, consistent and candid fellowship, looking for God's glory in Creation every day, putting yourself under excellent preaching and teaching of Scripture (even preachers need to be regularly taught), investing your quiet mental time in meditating on the goodness of God (for example, as you are going off to sleep), reading excellent Christian books, and spending ample time in prayer. All of these things will result in spiritual strength and vitality.

Do these things seem obvious to you? You would be surprised how many pastors have confessed to me a lack of good spiritual habits. It is sad to think of how many pastors live in functional isolation, not putting their hearts in places where they can be watched, warned, protected, and nourished. Without daily meditating on God's glory and grace, all you're left to meditate on are the struggles within you and the problems outside you. No wonder our pastoral muscles grow weak.

Is God, in grace, asking you to wait? If so, what's happening to your muscles while you wait?

 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paul Tripp is the president of Paul Tripp Ministries , a nonprofit organization whose mission statement is "Connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life." Tripp is also professor of pastoral life and care at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas, Texas, and executive director of the Center for Pastoral Life and Care in Fort Worth, Texas. Tripp has written many books on Christian living that are read and distributed internationally. He has been married for many years to Luella, and they have four grown children.

With a full band and choir up the front we opened with two songs:

SONG: O Come All Ye Faithful

SONG: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

I welcomed people and explained what was going to happen - here's my script:

Good evening! Welcome to Redeemer Church of Dubai’s Christmas Eve gathering! 

Thank you so much for coming to celebrate with us the coming of Jesus Christ. My name is Glen Jones, and I serve as one of the pastors here at Redeemer.

The birth of Jesus, over 2000 years ago has forever marked history. Calendars were changed; nations were turned; the lives of millions of individuals have been swept up into a God-sized story of redemption that will be the source of awe and wonder for all of eternity.

Christmas is about so much more than presents, carols and Christmas trees. It is about God’s amazing story of redemption through sending His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. 

Our service this evening will be filled with carols that speak of the wonder of Christ’s birth, and scattered throughout we’ll hear from a few of the characters involved in the first Christmas story, as they tell us some of their story. All of their accounts are based on what we see in the Bible, and can be read in the gospels of Matthew and Luke.

SONG: How Suddenly A Baby Cries - this song picks up on the idea that those involved in the first Christmas story didn't necessarily know the full picture of what God was doing, but were swept up into a plan of redemption that would be a source of praise for God's people for all eternity.

Jospeh and Mary (played by Kelly and Jolene Wiens) shared their story. Here's the script:

JOSEPH’s STORY

[Tone of delivery is like you’re retelling the story of when this happened in your life]

When Mary said to me, “Joseph, I’m pregnant” I watched my dream of a quiet and happy marriage go out the window. 

We weren’t even married yet, so I knew I wasn’t the father. While my mind was still reeling she said, “it’s through the Holy Spirit.” 

“What do you mean?” I said.

She then went on to explain how an angel had appeared to her saying “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Well, it all sounded a bit hard to swallow at the time - nothing like this had ever happened in the history of humanity! Was she lying? Had she gone crazy? I didn’t want to bring shame to Mary - I love her. And had it not been for the angel appearing to me also, I would have quietly divorced her. 

But the angel said to me: “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Wow! God had a bigger story in mind than my dream of a quiet and happy marriage! Somehow, because of God’s amazing grace, we were swept up into this incredible tale where Mary gave birth to God’s very own SON!! Who would have thought it possible?!?

[References used Luke 1:26-38 and Matthew 1:18-25}

MARY’s STORY

It was a first for me too! (said with a sideways glance and smile at Jospeh). 

But at the time, though I was so young and had no idea where this would all end up - I couldn’t help being filled with joy. So much so that I wrote this song: 

46 “My soul glorifies the Lord
 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
   of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
   holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
   from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
   he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
   but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
   but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
   remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
   even as he said to our fathers.”         (from Luke 1:46-55)

SONG: Mary Did You Know sung as a solo by Donita Jones

I introduced the next song with the following:

Mary and Joseph found themselves in the middle of an amazing story. But there were some who had been waiting faithfully a long time for this. The Messiah’s birth had been spoken of hundreds of years ago in Isaiah 9:

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

SONG: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

DRAMATIC READING: Luke 1:68-75 (Brian Parks memorized this and delivered it as if it were his own, telling the story of Zechariah and how he longed for God's fulfillment of His promise).

SONG: O Little Town of Bethlehem

SONG: Angels We Have Heard on High

Gabriel (played by Nisin Matthew) shared the story from the perspective of an angel. Here's the script:

[Tone: really excited! Wonder and awe]

My heart was racing with excitement as I headed to give the Lord’s message to Mary. It was finally happening! Jesus was about to enter into the world He had created. The other angels and I had been longing for this day. 

We didn’t know when it was going to happen, but we knew that it would. Ever since the great rebellion the whole of creation has been groaning for God to restore things and set them right. 

God had been telling the humans about it for centuries through the prophets. But we didn’t know any more than they did! All we could do was watch in amazement as the LORD of the universe humbled himself to become a little baby. INCREDIBLE!!   

Those poor shepherds didn’t know what hit them! We sang our hearts out that night [said with a little chuckle]. This was the greatest news! I said:

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Then we sang a song celebrating God’s salvation:

“Glory to God in the highest,
   and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

References used Luke 1:26-38 and Luke 2:8-15, 1 Peter 1:12

SONG: The children from Redeemer Kids Ministry sang Love Shone Down a song that's now out of publication, but was originally written for a Christmas cantata in the earlier 1960's, and is sung from the perspective of the shepherds.

SONG: Silent Night

SONG: O Holy Night

Herod (played by Raul Santos) then shared his story. Here's the script:

[Tone: Herod is humbled, but not repentant. He is frustrated.]

[puffed up] I’m the King of Judea! I always get what I want..  [humbled] at least, I thought I did. The day the Magi came into my court reporting that a King had been born was just the start of it all. They claimed that, according an ancient prophecy, he was a special king. They said: 

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
   who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”

A KING?! From Bethlehem?! You’ve got to be kidding! No little baby from the backwaters of this Roman colony was going to claim my allegiance! So I did everything in my power to stop it. With one single command I wiped out an entire generation of boys. [pause] 

[puzzled] It didn’t make sense... Unless there was some kind of divine intervention, there’s no way he could have escaped. 

I thought I was the King. I thought I could do whatever I wanted... But it seems this baby, born in obscurity was more than just a baby.

SONG: Thou Who Was Rich - an old hymn that I re-wrote the melody to. You can download the lead sheet and the chord chart. There's no recording of this yet.

SERMON: Dave Furman wove it all together, making reference to the different stories we'd heard throughout the evening, and tying it all into God's redemption plan in sending Jesus to live a perfect life, die on the cross for our sin, and rise again to give us new life.

SONG: What better way to finish than with Joy To The World (all 4 verses!).

Feel free to use this or parts of it in your own church services - so that Christ and His redemption might be more clearly seen in your church next Christmas. 

This Christmas we’re going to sing a new song by Keith and Kristyn Getty called How Suddenly A Baby Cries.

I thought it would be helpful to post it here so you (Redeemer Church) can get more familiar with it before we sing it together.

You can listen to the whole song here.

You can purchase and download the mp3 here.

(actually, the whole album is really good!)

Here’s the lyrics:

Copyright © 2011 Gettymusic and Fionán de Barra

Enjoy!

Glen

This morning at Redeemer we learnt a new song called We Belong To The Day by Mike Morrow.

This song speaks about the coming day when Christ will return to judge the world in righteousness, and call His people home - to enter His rest. One line in the song stuck out for me this morning, and it was this:

"We must tell of His salvation while we wait, for the day when Jesus comes will be too late."

When we tell people about the good news that Jesus Christ is King, there is a sense of urgency because of the coming judgement and a sense of joy because of the coming judgement!

God's judgement motivated the Psalmist to write these words in Psalm 96:12-13

"Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth." 

The Psalmist knew that God's judgement mean't an end to the injustice that he saw in the world, but not only that - looking forward in faith, the Psalmist knew that the Lord reigns of all the nations (v10), and so would be able to provide a shelter from the coming judgement for those who feared the Lord.Looking back in faith, we see that Jesus Christ is our refuge in the coming wrath. And so we can speak of God's judgement with joy because all of our sin has been placed on Christ and He has taken the punishment for us!

So when we tell others about the good news that Jesus Christ is the King - let us be URGENT and JOYFUL!

To help you meditate on this and learn the new song you can download an mp3 of the song care of Bob Kauflin's blog: Worship Matters. Right click on this link and select "Download linked file as..."

Greetings friends,

I wanted to let you know some GREAT NEWS! We have found a new meeting location! It wasn't easy, but by God's grace and guidance we have a place to meet starting August 5th. Starting on the 5th we will be meeting at the JW Marriott in Deira. 

Why am I so excited? This hotel is amazing! Our ballroom is TWICE the size of our old one and it will cost us LESS! And it is close to our current location and gives us the opportunity to meet new people and impact another part of our city. It also has wonderful children's ministry rooms. 

I am also excited because the management has been very welcoming of us and they are thrilled to have us there. They've flexed for us and are working well with our desires. They have pushed back their timings to allow us to meet there.

As of now we will continue with our 9am and 11am services starting immediately on the 5th.

You can check out the hotel here. 

We are so thankful for CITY CENTRE HOTEL and will be there tomorrow (July 29th). Let's praise God for this amazing place for the last 18 months and thank God for His gracious provision.

And if you see the Redeemer staff tomorrow--thank them. They have done an incredible job finding this place and working out the contract. I am so thankful for them and all their hard work!

Can you tell I'm excited? This is an amazing opportunity for us!

We will email you out more details in the next few days. If you have any immediate questions email Lenny atlenny@redeemerdubai.com.

LOVE WINS. from Rob Bell on Vimeo.

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

• What is congregationalism?

Historically, many godly men have tried different ways in which to govern a church. Some of those ways include having one man at the top (pope, archbishop etc) with tiers of leaders underneath, denominational synods and assemblies, and/or multiple elders over one church, a single elder over one church. In fact the variations numerous.

But ultimately, how an individual church is governed boils down to who is making the decisions and what kind of decisions do they make?

At Redeemer, the elders have made a decision that we would be congregationally led, because we believe it to be the consistent implication of many passages in the New Testament.

As we read through the New Testament we get glimpses of the early church’s governance which only make sense in light of a congregational approach.

Congregationalism, as Mark Dever put it, is simply the understanding that the last and final court of appeal in a matter of the life of the local church is, and should be, the local congregation itself. So that means that no external body can mandate something for a particular congregation in matters of discipline or of doctrine. 

Passages that give us windows into congregationalism are Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5; 2 Corinthians 2; and Galatians 1:8.

In each of these passages we see that ‘the church’ has a voice and uses it to maintain the purity of the church (that it consists of believers), and to guard sound doctrine.

• So what does that mean practically?

Well, firstly, it means that we have a lot of freedom outside of those areas to apply biblical wisdom as to what’s best in any given cultural context. These are areas that God has given to the church elders and deacons to the church for.

It also means that at Redeemer, the church as a whole (members) will vote on these areas:

• Voting in members (guarding the purity of the church)

This past Friday we voted in 28 new members. Each one was brought to the church by the elder who did their interview, and an opportunity for questions was given followed by a motion to bring them into membership at Redeemer, after which someone would second. The process also allowed the current members to get to know who’s coming in to the church, and promotes a culture of discipleship in which we are all looking out for one another.

• Voting out members

There are only two occasions in which we would vote someone out of membership.

The first is those who are leaving for good reasons – like leaving the country or city. In those cases we want to encourage them to get plugged into a good church, and to leave well by resolving any relationship issues with members of Redeemer.

The other and more sobering occasion would be voting out a member as the final stage of church discipline – basically because of unrepentant sin.

• Voting in elders/pastors

As a means of protecting the doctrine of the church, we consider it the responsibility of the church to vote on bringing in elders and pastors, as they are the ones with the role of teaching sound doctrine. Elders are God’s gift to the church as servants and shepherds for the church, so we as a church need to exercise wisdom and discernment as we bring new elders on.

• Voting on the budget

Lastly, at Redeemer we will also vote on the budget for the coming year. The way we use our money is a spiritual decision and reflects our priorities and trust in our King.

Finally, no matter what our cultural background, whether we were a multi-cultural or mono-ethnic church, there will always be things that we are going to disagree on to varying degrees. We need to honour Christ in the way that we hold our opinions lightly and the gospel truths firmly.

Glen Jones

The answer is not always simple, but the author of this piece of Puritan poetry had a few poignant questions to ask ourselves as we consider why our soul might be so downcast (Psalm 42:5). I was encouraged by it personally and wanted to share it with you (adapted to more contemporary English). You can find this in a book called The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions compiled by Arthur Bennett.

A COLLOQUY ON REJOICING

Remember, O my soul,

It is your duty and privilege to rejoice in God:

He requires it of you for all His favours of grace.

Rejoice then in the giver and his goodness,

Be happy in Him, O my heart, and in nothing but God,

for whatever a man trusts in,

from that he expects happiness.

He who is the ground of your faith

should be the substance of your joy.

From where, then comes heaviness and dejection,

when joy is sown in You,

promised by the Father,

bestowed by the Son,

inwrought by the Holy Spirit,

yours by grace,

your birthright in believing?

Are you seeking to rejoice in yourself

from an evil motive of pride and self-reputation?

You have nothing of your own but sin,

nothing to move God to be gracious

or to continue his grace towards you.

If you forget this, you will lose your joy!

Are you grieving under a sense of indwelling sin?

Let godly sorrow work repentance,

            as the true spirit which the Lord blesses,

            and which creates fullest joy;

Sorrow for self opens rejoicing in God,

Self-loathing draws down divine delights.

Have you sought joys in some creature comfort?

Look not below God for happiness;

            fall not asleep in Delilah’s lap.

Let God be all in all for you,

            and joy in the fountain that is always full.

This conference will address the most fundamental issues that will help you and others grow in grace: wisdom, forgiveness, servant-hood, communication, and conflict. These lifestyle character qualities are essential if churches, marriages, and friendships are going to thrive. Learn how God has designed for us to grow and change when we are living in biblical community.

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