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Windy City
#Windy #City Windy City
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Windy City. 2017 solo album from Grammy Award-winning US vocalist/musician & her first release in 6 years! Includes reworkings of classics by Brenda Lee, Willie Nelson, Roger Miller, Glen Campbell, Bill Monroe & others. #Windy #City
A Rush Of Blood To The Head
#Rush #Blood #Head A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Brand : EMIBinding : Audio CDColor : EAN : 0773308077462Label : Parlophone/EMIProduct Group : MusicProduct Type Name : ABIS_MUSICManufacturer : Parlophone/EMI
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- Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head Brazil Import
A Rush Of Blood To The Head. COLDPLAY A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002 UK 11-track CD album featuring the classic singles In My Place The Scientist Clocks and God Put A Smile Upon Your Face with picture booklet inlay) #Rush #Blood #Head
Into The Blues
i’m scared because at the end of the day this represents me and no one else i don’t know it’s a weird concept butit’s like i just want it to be a hundred percent authentic and a hundred percent real do it through once and i’ll tell you whereit starts okay one more time? yeah if we don’t mess this whole thing up
guaranteed i can blow your mind mwah cool and tonight i’m alive, ain’t no dollarsign guaranteed i can blow your mind mwah this whole year has just been like jam-packed full of like things that i’ve always dreamed of doing performing in glastonbury to doing
the tonight show with jimmy fallon to now putting out my record you’ve got to work really really hard and i feel like it’s not just for music it’s for anything that you do in life my dad always used to say you need to work really really hard to get just a tiny bit of luck i didn’t think having a career likethis was possible i didn’t think that it’ssomething
that was like in my reach my earliest memories of music my father’s a musician i was always surrounded by music i’ve kinda had like ups and downs with trying to find myself this one well i was really young i remember waking up really early in the morning
and seeing foxes in the back garden i have really really vivid memories of just going into the living room in my little barbie belly top or like anything i couldfind and dance around this is so embarrassing i remember driving to school and singing along to the stereophonics, christina aguilera, robbie williams it was always just a partof
what i was brought up into i was too young to really understand the lyrics and really know what they were talking about but as i grew older i’d still listen tothose same albums over and over again and the lyrics would start making sense to me it was honest, and truthful, and you know it wasn’t sugar coated they were reallyjust singing about stuff that they new and i admired that
hey this is dua this is my third cover which i’m going to be putting on youtube when i started putting covers up online itwas when i had just moved back to london when i was fifteen i did ain’t no other mountain by christinaaguilera i did super duper love by joss stone price tag by jessie j i don’t know i just did like loads
but they were the kind of videos where it was like hey i’m dua lipa and i’m fifteen years old and this is my cover of super duper love by joss stonemwah it’s kind of how everything started you know from doing these covers it was just when i started taking music seriously and i had this tiny little demo track on my laptop and then i started just contacting
a few different people and just getting like random demos here and there and they all sounded so different cause i just didn’t know what my sound was waiting for the right time but i like the baby is it all set up in the booth? okay dua was always an easier proposition
than most because she has such a clear idea of what she liked and just as important what she didn’t like i kept on going into studio sessions going i want to make a song that sounds a bit like j cole mixed with nelly furtado try and like merge the two together to have this like hip hop influenced pop you know i was writing a lot and the first song that i wrote
where i was like oh this could be something was hotter than hell that’s when labels started getting interested he calls me the devil i make him wanna sin every time i knock he can't help but let mein must be homesick for the real i'm the realest it gets you probably still adore me
with my hands around your neck can you feel the warmth? yeah once that happened i signed my deal i was told that i could quit my job at the restaurant and i think that was like the craziest moment of my life and my friends would be like oh what are youdoing today oh i’m just getting to the studio and that’sit it seemed like such a dream
cause we're hot like hell does it burn when i'm not there? when you're by yourself am i the answer to your prayers one more time one more time one more time everything comes from me from the set list to every song to what i write about to how i want my record to sound i’m a hundred percent involved in it
it’s scary and it’s exciting and i feel like i owe that to myself but also to my fans when people send me letters and they say that my music has touched them or made them feel a certain type of way that makes me really happy i want people know that we all go through the same things in one way or another it makes me feel like i’m in the right place
and i’m doing what i should be doing it pushes me to work harder it pushes me to make sure that the next thingi put out is better than the last thing i did i believe when people listen to the wholerecord they’ll get a much clearer idea of the kind of person that she is she’s worked really really hard for two years or whatever and has had
all these dreams and all these expectations and it’s starting to become a reality i’m bringing who i am as an artist and i wanna put out there everything that is completely me one hundred percent you know if you take away all the production it’s just the bones of a proper song it can be just on piano and it will sound exactly the same and i feel like
it’s really about authenticity in the beginning god created heaven and earth for what it's worth i think that he might'vecreated you first just my opinion your body is the one paradise that i wanna fly to every day and every night i've been sick and tired of running chasing all of the flashing lights these late nights don't mean nothing so i just wanna apologize
i'm sorry so sorry i'm sorry yeah i need your love and i'm dying for the rush 'cause my heart ain't got enough i need your touch this is getting serious tell me that it's not the end of us how can we go back to the beginning? without you, i’ve got no air to breathein
it’s a massive milestone for me from doing these covers to making an album to actually get to do this as a career it’s been like a really this is so cheesy but really magical process just got to keep going no rest for the wicked dreams do come true
where i'm coming from, yeah is a darker side of me that makes you feelso numb 'cause we're hot like hell i'm giving you the pleasure of heaven and i'll give it to you hotter than hell
Influence
it is always a joy to be here to fellowshipwith r.c., whom i love and appreciate and with the others who are part of ligonier ministriesand see friends and particularly to be with you. i do feel like the poor, you always haveme with you, and that's okay. if it's okay with you, it's certainly fine with me. i thinki understand my subject -- oh, thank you -- i think i understand that my subject on "themyth of influence." you'll be a better judge of that, or somebody will when i'm finished,than you will be able to be now. i think i understand what was in the mind of the peoplewho crafted that subject, having read through the edition of tabletalks in which that wasaddressed. but at the same time, i'm going to come at it from my own heart and my ownperspective and hope that it will prove to
be helpful to you. you know, when i came out of seminary i knewthere would be battles to be fought, and my dad was and still is a warrior for the truth,and i think i inherited that from his example and the pattern of his life and ministry.and i really thought there would be battles to fight, there would be battles over inerrancy,there would be battles over the authority of the word of god, there would be battlesover the deity of jesus christ which was under liberal assault. i could already anticipatebattles over spiritual areas such as the doctrine of the holy spirit, paradigms for sanctification,those kinds of things. i expected that. what i didn't expect was to spend most of my ministrylife battling to rescue the gospel from evangelicals.
that really has been a shock to me, and itis seemingly getting worse all the time as the gospel sinks below the radar. and if you'llpardon me, i think it is going to be in my heart through this message to call us backto a true understanding of the gospel. let me just see if i can't start out witha point and then we'll go from there to see how that fleshes out in a particular text.the myth of influence is that the gospel advances on the back of public favor. the myth of influenceis that we can somehow influence people into the kingdom of god if we can create a popgospel, a designer gospel, if we can create alliances, if we can posture ourselves andposition ourselves in places of influence and authority and impact in the world aroundus, if we can stylize our churches to eliminate
consumer resistance, we can sort of influencepeople into the kingdom. that's the scheme, and a myriad of compromises are made in thatprocess. you know them, i don't need to chronicle all of the compromises in developing a non-threateningmessage, an inclusive kind of salvation in trying to eliminate everybody's offences,making the church look, sound, and feel like a big starbucks, trying to craft all kindsof things to make people feel comfortable, and all offensive elements being set asidewe can sort of subtly lure people into the kingdom. there's only one way into the kingdom, andit is through the gate of the gospel and the gospel alone. the cruel irony is that aftereverybody has done all of that and created
all those machinations and all those marketingthings, at the end of the day people will only enter the kingdom when they understandand believe the true gospel, the word of the cross as revealed in scripture. the gospeldoes not advance on the back of public favor; it advances on the back of the holy spiritin spite of public hostility. the myth of influence is sort of, "if they think we'recool, they'll think jesus is cool too." serious worship disappears along with the public ordinances.biblical-theological exposition of scripture vanishes. transcendence and profundity areexchanged for mimicking, shallow, worldly styles, church discipline is non-existent,holiness minimized, and sin normalized. and the myth is somehow that this is going toget people into the kingdom.
now, i want to get people into the kingdom.i understand what was in the heart of john knox when he said, "give me scotland, or idie." i understand what henry martyn meant when he walked out of that terrible hindutemple in india and weeping wrote in his diary, "i cannot endure existence if jesus is tobe so dishonored." i understand that. i want to see the world changed. i want to see societychanged. i want to see righteousness prevail. but the only way that it can be changed isthrough the power of the gospel, and we have to go back to that gospel. and the good news,frankly, no matter how you sugarcoat it, is scandalous. it is offensive, it is shameful,and it is hard to believe. in fact, that's the title of a book i'm in the process ofwriting, "hard to believe." it's very hard
to believe. to believe the gospel goes against everythingthat is natural in man -- everything. and that's why the word of the cross is so shameful,so shameful, so antagonizing that even faithful christians struggle to proclaim the true gospelbecause of the rejection, the ridicule, and the embarrassment it brings. i think manypeople alter the gospel not to make it easier for people for believe, but they alter thegospel to take the heat off themselves for presenting it. martyn lloyd-jones once said,"if you have never been ashamed of the gospel in your life, it's not because you're sucha great christian, it's because you don't understand the gospel." it produces hostility.that's why it's hard for some christian leaders,
when they get on television in certain secularsettings, to really speak the gospel. sometimes, they can't get the word "jesus" out. it justwon't come out. paul said to timothy in 2 timothy 1:8, "do not be ashamed of the lord."what a bizarre statement to make to a preacher. do not be ashamed of the lord? but you seethe gospel is so hard to believe that the sinner who should feel the shame turns theshame on the preacher, on the evangel. paul said in romans 1:16, "for i am not,"what? "ashamed of the gospel of christ." that just didn't drop out of the air. he didn'tjust say that without a context. why did he say that? i mean, would a person for examplewho found the cure for aids say, "boy, i just have to overcome shame to proclaim this"?would a person who found the cure for cancer
somehow have to overcome shame to presentthat cure? why is it, then, that when we have the cure for sin in the truth of the gospel,there is shame associated with it? shame that silences us, shame that makes us literallytwist the gospel into something easy, something acceptable, something that produces no hostility?it's always been that way and paul had, by the power of the holy spirit, come to a placein his life where he said, "i am not ashamed. i am not ashamed. i will not be ashamed."and he said that in the context of a culture where shame and honor were critical matters. shame and honor in the ancient greek and romanworld were preeminent. homer wrote this, "the chief good is to be well spoken of. the chiefevil is to be badly spoken of by one's society.
avoid shame and seek honor." paul preachedin that shame-sensitive culture, shamelessly proclaiming what people thought was a shamefulmessage about a shamed man. it was foolish, it was scandalous, it was offensive, it wasshameful, but it was the only way that sinners could come into the kingdom. i want you to turn in your bible to 1 corinthianschapter 1, and i am going to take you to a familiar passage. as r.c. said a moment ago,we go back to some of these passages we know so well. this is one of those, but i wantto look at this passage both this morning and tomorrow morning. i couldn't get thisinto one message and frankly i don't know if i can get it into two, but we'll go asfar as we can. i want you to look at chapter
1 and listen to the word of god starting inverse 18: "for the word of the cross is to those whoare perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of god. for itis written, 'i will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the cleveri will set aside.' where is the wise man? where is the scribe? where is the debaterof this age? has not god made foolish the wisdom of the world? for since in the wisdomof god the world through its wisdom did not come to know god, god was well-pleased throughthe foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe." i'm going to stop there for a moment. there'sthe key half of a verse, "god was well pleased
through the foolishness of the message preachedto save those who believed." god determined that entrance into his kingdom and salvationwould come by means of this message, which is called in verse 18, "the word of the cross,"which is the power of god to those who are being saved. now, what i want to do is lookat this passage this morning and tomorrow morning, and i want to show you the shamefulgospel of the cross and why it is that all of the posturing and all of the religiousalliances and all of the positions of power and influence in our world that might be availableto christians don't take us any place where ultimately we can do any eternal good untilwherever we are the gospel is proclaimed, and there is no way to lessen the shame andthe scandal of that message.
now, i just want to unfold a few things. firstof all, the shameful stigma of the cross. now, i don't know everything i'm going tosay, so this is kind of an adventure for me too. the shameful stigma of the cross, buti want you to notice first of all, verse 18, "the word of the cross is to those who areperishing foolishness." then drop down to verses 22 and 23, "for indeed jews ask forsigns and greeks search for wisdom; but we preach christ crucified, to jews a stumblingblock and to gentiles foolishness." go back to verse 18, "the word of the cross,"the message of the cross, the gospel is to those who are perishing (moria in the greek)idiotic, insane. it is the word from which we get "moron." and it's a repeated articlethere "the word of the cross" turns that second
article into a demonstrative pronoun. theword of the cross, the only cross, is to those who are apollumenois, those who are lost,those who are ruined, those who are unregenerate, it is moronic. it is idiotic. i don't knowthat we fully understand that. if god wanted to design a message that was going to be hardto believe, he could not have designed one more difficult than this one, because theidea of god dying on a cross was moronic, both to a jew and a gentile. the jews, according to verse 22, sought asign, some wonder, some supernatural evidence that this was the true messiah and this wasthe true savior. they sought a sign, and god gave them a stumbling block. the greeks soughtwisdom, some transcendental, elevated, esoteric
knowledge, some elevated spiritual experience.they wanted wisdom; they got foolishness. the jews wanted a sign; they got a stumblingblock. the jews received a skandalon -- a crucified messiah was bizarre, offensive,and blasphemous. and the greeks, who loved wisdom, saw this as utter stupidity, the nonsensethat the eternal creator force of the universe, crucified on a cross is idiotic. let me give a little background to the crossso you'll understand why this was true. crucifixion was a horrific form of capital punishment;it's origin in the persian empire, used by various barbarian groups, used for individualsand group executions. it came down, of course, into the roman empire and right into the landof israel as we know. but going back a little
bit in its history, darius crucified 3000babylonians, alexander the great crucified 2000 from tyre along the shore. you know,the people of tyre really irritated him because after he conquered them and they escaped tothe island offshore, he sent out a message that he wanted supplies and they basicallysaid to him, "well, you can't get to us, we're in this island, and we're not giving you anything."so, he took all the rubble of the city on the shore, he destroyed it, threw it in thewater, made a causeway, and went out there and massacred them and crucified 2000 of them. alexander jannaeus, who lived in the arearight around 100 b.c., crucified 800 pharisees while their wives and children were slaughteredat their feet while they were hanging on a
cross. this seared the horror of crucifixionin the jewish minds. rome came to power around 63 b.c. and used crucifixion extensively.felix, a familiar name, procurator of judea, a.d. 52 to 58, crucified many, many criminals,and when titus destroyed jerusalem in 70 a.d., there were mass crucifixions everywhere. infact, there were so many crucifixions in 70 a.d. that the soldiers ran out of wood. constantinefinally, in 337 or so, abolished crucifixion after a millennium of unbelievable cruelty. now, a survey like that indicates to us thatcrucifixion was common. the way the lord died was nothing notable. some historians estimatethat around the time of jesus at least 30,000 people are on record as having been crucified.the question then comes up, "how could this
jesus be anybody exceptional?" certainly,dying on a cross is not exceptional. how in the world could we assume that he is god incarnatewhen he died not only a common death but the common death of the most base kind of criminal?roman citizens, for example, were generally exempt from crucifixion. the only way a romancitizen could ever get himself crucified was if he committed treason against rome. thecross was reserved for rebellious slaves, it was reserved for conquered people, it wasused for notorious robbers and assassins. it was occasionally used for those roman citizenswho had breached in severe ways, treasonously, the security of rome. the roman empire policies on crucifixion ledromans to view crucified men with universal
contempt. anybody who was crucified was treatedwith absolute contempt. crucifixion was a systematized series of events including flogging,carrying the cross beam, a sign over your neck, naked, and of course then tied or nailedto the crossbar, hoisted to an upright post, and left there suspended, stark naked beforethe view of everyone. death could be hurried by shattering the legs but was usually prolongedby not doing that so that the sufferer suffered for days. the final indignity was leavingthe corpse to rot and be carrion for the birds. josephus describes multiple tortures and positionsof christians during the siege of jerusalem. they were crucified in every imaginable kindof position, even impaled in unmentionable ways. the gentiles viewed anybody crucifiedwith absolute contempt. crucifixion was a
virtual obscenity, not to be discussed inpolite company. the cultured world did not talk about crucifixion. cicero wrote, "thisvery word 'cross' should be removed, not only from the person of a roman citizen but fromhis thoughts, his eyes, and his ears." the deep contempt that gentiles had for thosecrucified is seen in pagan statements against christ. we were in rome recently, and in thepalatine hill near circus maximum there was discovered there graffiti scratched on a stonein a guard room, and it shows the figure of a man with the head of an ass, and this manis hanging on a cross, and below this crucified figure in a gesture of adoration is anotherman bowing before this man with the head of an ass, and the inscription reads "alexamenosworships his god," just sheer mockery. such
a depiction of the lord jesus christ, so repulsiveto believers, vividly illustrates the pagan contempt for the idea of a crucified lordand god. justin's first apology in a.d. 52 summarizesthe gentile view, "they proclaim our madness to consist in this that we give to a crucifiedman a place equal to the unchangeable and eternal god, the creator of all." that isthe summation of christian madness, nonsense, idiocy. and the jewish attitude toward crucifixionwas all of that and more. they detested the roman practice, holding it in more contemptthan the pagans did. but they went beyond that. they saw a crucified person as one whobore the curse of god, deuteronomy 21:23, "whoever hangs on a tree is cursed by god."dying a common death, dying the death of the
most wretched criminals, dying the death,bearing the curse of god, and you're telling me this is god the son, the messiah, the saviorof the world? that is scandalous! scandalous!" the jews did not crucify living people, butthey did hang up dead bodies. a second century mashal indicates that blasphemers and idolaters,after they died were put up on a cross, after they were stoned were put up on a cross andtaken down the same day to fulfill deuteronomy 21:23, showing they are accursed from god. now, where am i going with all this? thesepervasive attitudes toward crucifixion posed a massive obstacle to the gospel of the firstcentury. when we think of a cross, we think of something pretty that hangs in a churchor around your neck. it was scurrilous and
scandalous, a stumbling block, foolishness,idiocy. i'm telling you, preach that message in that first century world, and it's hardto believe, and there really is no way to make it easy. it's hard to believe. the gospelactually called the jews to surrender to the very one they considered smitten by god andafflicted, to borrow isaiah's words. it doesn't seem to me that god could have put a moreformidable barrier to faith in their way. some gentile writer said of the cross, "itis a perverse and extravagant superstition." others said, "it is a sick delusion." martin hengel has written an excellent littlebook called "crucifixion." you should get it and read it. it says, "to believe thatthe one preexistent son of the one true god,
the mediator at creation and the redeemerof the world had appeared in very recent times in out of the way galilee as a member of theobscure people of the jews and even worse had died the death of a common criminal ona cross could only be regarded as a sign of madness. the real gods of greece and romecould be distinguished from mortal men by the very fact that they were immortal. theyhad absolutely nothing in common with the one who was bound in the most ignominiousfashion and executed in the most shameful way." but this is the story. this is the truth.this is the cross. there is no seeker-friendly message here. there is nothing easy to believehere. it is both an absurdity and an obscenity. there is not only the shameful stigma of thecross, but secondly let me talk a minute about
the shameful simplicity of the cross. go backto the text. in verses 19-21, the apostle writes: "for it is written, 'i will destroy the wisdomof the wise, and the cleverness of the clever i will set aside.' where is the wise man?where is the scribe? where is the debater of this age? has not god made foolish thewisdom of the world? for since in the wisdom of god the world through its wisdom did notcome to know god, god was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached tosave those who believe." jews and gentiles were into complexity. especiallythe greeks were into their philosophical complexities, and the jews were into their rabbinic complexities.the gentiles loved philosophy, they loved
metaphysics, they loved mental gymnastics,they loved intellectual labyrinths, and they believed the truth was knowable only to thosewho had ascended knowledge, only to those who had elevated insights, only to those whotranscended the hoi polloi. they were looking for the complexities of transcendental knowledge.that was embedded in their system of life. after i was on larry king the other night,a very famous person called me and wanted to talk with me on the phone. he said, "i'msearching for religious answers," and he said, "i want to ask a question about your church."and i said, "sure." he said, "does your church understand the spiritual significance of gravity?"i said, "i don't think we do. maybe you could help me to understand this. i know that ifyou get up high enough, it has real spiritual
significance." and then he went on to say,"well, so you don't understand the multilayered, magnetic fields of the universe that reverberateagainst each other?" "no, i'm not real sure about that," but i said, "i'd love to talkwith you." so next wednesday i have an appointment. pray for me. i don't even know what he's goingto throw at me, but i know what i'm going to tell him and it's not going to be easy.it's hard to believe, especially if you're there in that esoteric never, never land. the gospel has no sensitivity to that. ithas no sensitivity and no interest in gnosticism. it has no interest in what he's into, kabbalism.it has no interest in the complex, esoteric human wisdom and insight. and it is just offensive.look what it says, "i will destroy the wisdom
of the wise." it's just too simple. "i willdestroy the cleverness of the clever," set it aside. and then these mocking statements,"where are you, wise man? where are you, scribe? where are you, debater of this age?" everythingyou have to offer is foolishness. all of your stuff, it's the same word from moraino, "allyour stuff is nonsense. you think the gospel is nonsense? everything you've got is nonsense."this is a comprehensive denunciation of all the accumulated insight, understanding, wisdomof the elite as regards any impact on true, spiritual knowledge. take all the human geniuses,get the best thinkers and the best debaters, and they all add up to absolutely nothing.nothing! so, what do you say to somebody when you goto them with the gospel? first of all, the
gospel runs against the grain of their emotionalsensibilities. the horror of crucifixion just doesn't equate with the message that thisis god the son, lord of the universe. it's more than their emotion could stand, particularlyin the first century when it was so vivid. then, when you've sort of assaulted theiremotions, we could say more about that but keep moving for time, then you go after theirmind and you say, "by the way, all the wisdom you've accumulated, all your insights andthe insights of others through all the centuries amount to absolutely nothing. all spiritualtruth is bound up in one reality, and that is faith in jesus christ." there were aroundthe time of paul, as best we can count, about 50 philosophical parties and movements inthe first century. love of wisdom was their
passion. professing themselves to be wise,they actually had become what? fools. human wisdom, all set aside. in spiritual matters,in eternal matters, in matters that relate to the kingdom of god it has absolutely nocontribution to make. and in the wisdom of god, verse 21 says, thiswasn't some concession, but in the wisdom of god, he planned it this way that throughhuman wisdom no one would come to know him. no one. jeremiah said, "the wise men are putto shame. they are dismayed and caught. they have rejected the word of the lord, so whatkind of wisdom do they have?" and so the gospel comes -- so hard to believe. it just collideswith your emotional sensibilities. it collides with your intellectual pride. it basicallysays, "i don't care what you feel about a
crucified person being the lord of the universe.i don't really care what you think about truth." in fact, the truth is hidden from the wiseand revealed to the infants. the cross is so shameful -- its shameful stigma, its shamefulsimplicity. a third point, and you can fill in a lot onthese as well, its shameful singularity, its shameful singularity. now remember, what we'reseeing here is in the end no matter how we posture ourselves politically, academically,socially, economically, athletically, theatrically to get in positions of influence, sooner orlater the only way anybody gets into the kingdom is through the gospel, and this is what wehave to preach, what we must preach, and it is what god uses. it's not the wise men, theintellectuals, the elite lawyers, writers,
philosophers who bring anything redeemingto the world of humanity, whatsoever. it is those of us who proclaim the simplicity ofthe cross, just one way. and that leads us to that third point, thesingularity of the cross. and you feel that in this text in verse 18, "the word of thecross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the powerof god." and verse 21 again he says the same thing at the end there, god saves those whobelieve through the foolishness of this message. and then verse 23, "we preach christ crucified,"and it may be "to the jews a stumbling block and to gentiles foolishness, but to thosewho are the called, both jews and greeks, christ the power of god and the wisdom ofgod. because the foolishness of god is wiser
than men, and the weakness of god is strongerthan men." so take the weakness of god, the gospel, which men deem foolish, and it ismore powerful than all the foolishness of men. so here you come to this singular message,and i know that we all believe and affirm that. let me just make a couple of commentsabout it and then go to another text for a minute. here we come at this sinner with astraightforward message, and the message is there is only one savior, that's all. there'sonly one truth, that's all. in our postmodern time that's hard to believe. i'm thinkingabout that program the other night with larry king. i was sitting next to that catholicpriest, and off camera about three times larry
said to him, "now, do you believe that yourreligion is true?" "oh, yes." "well, if you believe that yours is true,then all of those who say something other than what you say must be wrong." "oh, no." and he would say, "that's inconsistent. youcan't say that yours is true and everybody else's is true when they say something different."he said that about three times off camera. and all the answer, "oh, the jesus i know,he just wants unity." and it was just like you couldn't get there from where he was.there was no connect. it's like he was in outer space. i mean, we all know jesus said, "i am theway, the truth, and the life. no man comes
to the father but by me. there is no salvationin any other." we all understand that. but let's go a little deeper, okay? we would agreethere's only one way to be saved, although that's not necessarily what all these evangelicalsare saying today. you can be saved without the gospel. you can be saved without the bible.you can be saved without even knowing who the true god is, ever hearing the name ofjesus. but what does it really mean? if you're going to come down to the real singularityof the gospel, where does that take you? i want you to turn in your bible to just a veryimportant passage, luke 9. let's get it in perspective here. we all understand it's jesus,it's his gospel, death and resurrection, etc. but what are the terms by which one embracesthat?
luke 9:23, "jesus was saying to them all,"this is this sort of spectrum of people called mathetes, learners, disciples of jesus whoare everywhere on the spectrum. but he is saying to them, here is the point of clarification,"if anyone wishes to come after me," okay, you want to follow me, "let him deny himself,and take up his cross daily and follow me." the cross assaults your emotional sensibilities.then the cross collides with your intellectual pride, and then it crushes your self-determiningwill. you want to be a christian, do you? it's the end of you. you're done. try to sellthat. this is not -- listen, this is not the gospel of self-fulfillment. this is the gospelof self-denial. it's not about you becoming all you can be. this isn't the army. thisis about the end of you.
the statement here, really very important,"if anyone wishes to come after me let him deny himself." arnesastho is a greek verbused to deny oneself. it's a very strong word. it means to disown or to refuse associationwith. you want to come to me? refuse any further association with yourself. that's what itis saying. literally, disown yourself. this isn't about tweaking your life to make youmore successful or to help you hit more home runs. this is about the end of you. this isabout, "woe is me, for i am undone," isaiah 6 right? this is the beatitude attitude, "blessedare the bankrupt in spirit, mourning over their sin, meek over their condition, starvedspiritually and hungering for a righteousness they don't have." this is philippians 3. thisis paul saying, "i've spent my whole life
up till now accumulating all this stuff inthe 'gain' column." you know, "i'm of the nation of israel." points. "of the tribe ofbenjamin." points. "i'm racking them up. hebrew of hebrews, kosher to the core. zealous forthe law. blameless in terms of the public." and he said it was all gain to me until isaw christ, and then it was all manure. this is total desire to disconnect from what youare. that is the attitude of the penitent. it's luke 18, where you don't lift your eyes.you just look down and pound your breast and cry out for god to be merciful to such a wretchedsinner. that's the man who goes home justified. this isn't about self-fulfillment. this isabout self-suicide. let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up. that to below is to be high. that the broken heart is
the healed heart. that the contrite spiritis the rejoicing spirit. that the repenting soul is the triumphant soul. that to havenothing is to possess everything. that to bear the cross is to wear the crown. thatto give up everything is to receive all. it's the prayer, "lord, let me find your lightin my darkness, your joy in my sorrow, your grace in my sin, your riches in my poverty,your glory in my humiliation, your life in my death." that's a hard thing to accept. the cross crashes into my emotional sensibilities.it crashes into my intellectual pride and wipes away all human wisdom, and then it assaultsmy self-determining will and all my plans and dreams and schemes and hopes and ambitions,it obliterates them and says, "fall down at
my feet and deny yourself." not only that,to the degree that you take up your cross every day. please that's not some mystical,spiritual statement. it's not talking about ascending to the second level of spiritualityor the deeper life. jesus was not a keswick teacher. what is he saying here? they knewwhat a cross was. i just explained what they were. if you say to somebody, "take up yourcross," whoa! what is jesus saying? self-denial to the point of martyrdom, ifthat's what i ask. "you mean to tell me you just don't want to, you know, give me somethingto fix my life. what you want me to do is give you all my life?" now you're gettingit. now you're getting it. and you've got to do this every day. paul said, "i die daily."every day i wake up, i know it could be the
last day i live. he wasn't speaking aboutsome mystical thing. every day he woke up, he knew one of the plots of the jews or thegentiles that had been hatched in their minds could have come to fruition, every day. heprobably went through his own funeral thousands of times, anticipating death. that's a wayof life that you're willing to die. so, next time you give the gospel to somebody, givethem the same message jesus gave them, and if they turn away like the rich, young rulerthen they aren't desperate enough, right? it's hard to believe. it's hard to believe. verses 24 and 25 of luke 9, "whoever wishesto save his life shall" what? it doesn't mean you give away a little of it. you abandonit. you want in the kingdom? it's the end
of you. it's over. you're done. you're history.the story's over. "but whoever loses his life for my sake, he's the one who will save it."how much is that worth? what's the profit if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeitshimself? or as it says in the other gospel, "his own soul." luther understood this. youknow, i just continue to be amazed at what he understood. luther, in 1517, put his 95theses on the door of the church, and the fourth of his protesting assertions may haveescaped you or you have forgotten it. the fourth of his protesting assertions was thata penitent heart is characterized by self-hatred. here's a quote, "so penance remains whileself-hate remains. namely, right up to the entrance into the kingdom of heaven."
you know, if you're coming into the kingdom,you're coming in with an attitude that says, "i don't ever want to be associated with meanymore." and even when you're saved, you're going to have a measure of that same self-hateso that you understand exactly what paul meant when he said, "oh, wretched man that i" what'sthe next word? "am." and when i think about heaven, i don't think about, "oh, wow! streetsof gold, pearl, big pearl." that's nice. i think about getting rid of the wretchedness.this is about self-hate. so you want to be a christian, do you? it's hard. it goes against your naturalinclinations. it goes against your natural emotions. it goes against your natural intellect.it goes against your natural will. self-suicide is the polar opposite of the feel-good message,isn't it? "you come to jesus and you get all
you want." what is that? you say, "well, isn't this an isolated versehere? are you sure this is -- there's some balance here?" well, let me show you someother ones. one would be enough for me. this is, after all, the word of god. how many timesdoes he have to say it before we get it? but matthew 10, "do not think that i came to bringpeace on the earth. i didn't come to bring peace, but a sword. i came to set a man againsthis father and daughter against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.a man's enemies will be the members of his household. he who loves father or mother morethan me is not worthy of me. he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthyof me. he who does not take up his cross and
follow after me is not worthy of me. he whohas found his life shall lose it. he who has lost his life for my sake shall find it."part of self-denial means the denial of those relationships which are most precious to you.how desperately do you want to come into the kingdom of god? how desperately do you wanteternal life? how desperately do you want forgiveness? do you want it enough to denythe relationships that are most natural and most precious? now, this thing is assaultingmy emotions, it's assaulting my mind, it's assaulting my will, and it's assaulting myrelationships. and it could even attack your economics. inmark chapter 10, just to touch base with what i commented on a minute ago, the rich youngruler. you know the story, well you can read
it in matthew 19 as well. jesus said to theyoung man, "so, you want eternal life? well, let's talk about something else before wetalk about that. let's talk about sin," and of course he wouldn't admit that he sinned,"all these commandments i have kept from my youth, and then of course jesus followed itup saying, "well, let's talk about authority. let's talk about who's in charge, let's talkabout self-denial. take all your money and give it to the poor." hmm, he would not denyhis self-righteousness, and he would not deny his possessions. and he went away as lostas when he showed up, even though he asked the right question. it's in luke 9 and verse 57, a very familiarportion. this man comes along and says to
jesus, "i'll follow you wherever you go."jesus said, "well, i'm not going to the ritz carlton. the foxes have holes, the birds ofthe air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head." this doesn't soundtoo good. "i'm really interested, and i would like to follow you." "well, you've got toknow, you're going to have to sacrifice a comfortable place to live and i don't haveanything to offer you of material things." he said to another, "follow me." he said,"hmm, permit me to first go and bury my father." why did he say that? his father wasn't dead.why did he say that? he just heard the prior conversation. "let me go home, and i'll waittill my dad dies and leaves me the inheritance, and then i'll come and follow you. after all,you just said you don't have any money." and he said to him, "allow the dead to bury
their own dead, and as for you, go and proclaimeverywhere the kingdom of god." you've got to leave all that behind: inheritances, parents,family. another one said, "i'll follow you, lord,but i need to go home and say goodbye." you know what that goodbye would be a goodbye,and you know he doesn't have any money, and could you give me a little, and by the timehe said goodbye to everybody in the extended family he's ready. he's loaded. jesus said,"you do that, and you're not fit for the kingdom of god. it's about self-denial." this is notthe gospel that gives you all you want in this world. this is the gospel that takeseverything you are and everything you have. and then the lord gives you back what he deemsappropriate.
in fact, in john 12:25 jesus said, "he whohates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal." he who hates his life. thisis not easy. it's a narrow gate, matthew 7. it's a narrow gate, it's hard to find andfew there be that find it. luke 13, this is so significant a statement, luke 13:24-25,"strive to enter by the narrow door." strive, agonize, it's not easy. agonize. then thisamazing statement, "for many i tell you will seek to enter and will not be able." it'sso hard that you can't find it. if you find it, you can't get through it. what in theworld? why is it so hard? i would think living in evangelical climate in america that becominga christian is easy. no, it's not easy; it's hard. how hard? impossible. did you know iwas going there? it's impossible! i mean,
this is just massacring everything there isabout us. when you look at evangelicalism, what arethey doing? they are trying to create something that appeals to the emotion, the mind, thewill, the relationships of people so they can hold onto all of that stuff and stillcome into the kingdom, and somehow we'll influence them in. no, the only way into the kingdom,forget the influence, nobody gets saved by influence. they get saved by the gospel, andthis is the gospel. the gospel is a gospel of self-denial. the message is clear. whyis it so hard? why do many seek to enter and they can't? because self-denial is so hard.because self is all the sinner knows and all the sinner loves.
you say, "well, this could discourage personalevangelism." well, this is friday. saturday's tomorrow. if you're not here tomorrow to hearthe rest of this, god have mercy on your sin-sick, shriveled-up soul because i'm going somewherebut i'm not there. i mean, let me just close with this, matthew 13. a man sees a treasurein a field. jesus said he sells everything to buy it. a man sees a pearl of great price,sells everything to buy it. that's what we're talking about, the singularity of the gospel.not only is it about christ and christ alone, and we know that. not only is it that exclusivegospel. there is no salvation in any other. no salvation apart from christ. not only isit that exclusive gospel, but it is the singularity of this utter and total self-denial and submissionto the christ of that gospel. it's a shameful
message. it just assaults the natural man.shameful stigma, shameful simplicity, shameful singularity, and the rest i'll leave tilltomorrow. you're going to like where we end up. we're going to end up in the great doctrineof election. pray with me: father we thank you for yourwonderful, powerful word and we just are so blessed to have the privilege of being inthis great conference and being exposed to those gifted and faithful men of god who proclaimyour word. we do pray, lord, that we might understand what doug wilson said in the lastsession that your theology comes out your fingertips, that the truth of what we reallybelieve shows up in how we live. we pray, o god, that you will take the truth of thisgospel and may we not only believe it so that
we live lives of utter submission to christ,but having believed it in our own lives may we be faithful to proclaim it in this waythat others may come to this place of impossibility and see the mighty hand of god. draw themthrough their natural resistance into the glorious light of the gospel of christ. andwe ask that you would bless us to that end that the kingdom may advance as we faithfullyproclaim the truth. in christ's name, amen.
Evil Empire
#Evil #Empire Evil Empire
Brand : Rage Against the MachineBinding : Audio CDColor : EAN : 5099748102621Label : Sony Music CmgProduct Group : MusicProduct Type Name : ABIS_MUSICManufacturer : Sony Music Cmg
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Evil Empire. Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire - Cd #Evil #Empire
One Of These Nights
#These #Nights One Of These Nights
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One Of These Nights. EAGLES 1975 CD-ONE OF THESE NIGHTS-DIGITALLY REMASTERED-EAN 075596032926-ELEKTRA/WEA #These #Nights
Vivaldi: Four Seasons
#Vivaldi #Four #Seasons Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Brand : Pre PlayBinding : Audio CDColor : EAN : 0077774955720Label : EMI ClassicalProduct Group : MusicProduct Type Name : ABIS_MUSICManufacturer : EMI Classical
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Vivaldi: Four Seasons. NIGEL KENNEDY Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (1989 UK 12-track CD album featuring Nigel Kennedy with the English Chamber Orchestra picture sleeve CDNIGE2) #Vivaldi #Four #Seasons
Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005
#Their #Law #Singles #1990-2005 Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005
Brand : BB (XL REC.)Binding : Audio CDColor : EAN : 0634904019020Label : XLProduct Group : MusicProduct Type Name : ABIS_MUSICManufacturer : XL
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Their Law: The Singles 1990-2005. EX CD XL Recordings, XLCD190, 2005, 15 Track #Their #Law #Singles #1990-2005
Any Way That You Want Me
#That #Want Any Way That You Want Me
Brand : REV-OLABinding : Audio CDColor : EAN : 0501392944182Label : RevolaProduct Group : MusicProduct Type Name : ABIS_MUSICManufacturer : Revola
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Any Way That You Want Me. I will ship by EMS or SAL items in stock in Japan. It is approximately 7-14days on delivery date. You wholeheartedly support customers as satisfactory. Thank you for you seeing it. #That #Want
The Very Best of Michael Bolton
#Very #Best #Michael #Bolton The Very Best of Michael Bolton
Brand : VERY100Binding : Audio CDColor : EAN : 0828767479422Label : Sony Music Tv ProjectsProduct Group : MusicProduct Type Name : ABIS_MUSICManufacturer : Sony Music Tv Projects
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The Very Best of Michael Bolton. Michael Bolton - Very Best Of - Cd #Very #Best #Michael #Bolton
Live Over Europe: 2007 (2CD)
#Live #Over #Europe #2007 #2CD Live Over Europe: 2007 (2CD)
Brand : EMI MKTGBinding : Audio CDColor : EAN : 5099951132927Label : EMIProduct Group : MusicProduct Type Name : ABIS_MUSICManufacturer : EMI
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Live Over Europe: 2007 (2CD). GENESIS Live Over Europe (2007 German 21-track 2-CD set featuring collection of live recordings includes Mama recorded in Dusseldorf Throwing It All Away in Paris and the 10-minute Domino performed in front of 500 000 people in Rome picture sleeve - still sealed) #Live #Over #Europe #2007 #2CD
Rebel Heart
#Rebel #Heart Rebel Heart
Brand : INTERSCOPEBinding : Audio CDColor : EAN : 0602547211682Label : Polydor GroupProduct Group : MusicProduct Type Name : ABIS_MUSICManufacturer : Polydor Group
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Rebel Heart. Rebel Heart will be released on Interscope Records. Producers include Madonna, Diplo (Living For Love, Bitch I'm Madonna, Unapologetic Bitch), Kanye West (Illuminati), Billboard (Ghosttown), DJ Dahi and Blood Diamonds (Devil Pray). The album was recorded in London, Los Angeles and New York.
The news of the surprise drop came when Madonna posted a link on Instagram announcing the release of the six songs as, "an early Christmas gift" to those that preordered the album. #Rebel #Heart
The Absolutely Essential Collection
#Absolutely #Essential #Collection The Absolutely Essential Collection
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The Absolutely Essential Collection. #Absolutely #Essential #Collection
![The Commitments [1991] [DVD]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51M0JJJ49SL.jpg "The Commitments [1991] [DVD]")
I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
#Brought #Bullets #Brought #Your #Love I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
Brand : Binding : Audio CDColor : EAN : 0602498662335Label : 20/20Product Group : MusicProduct Type Name : ABIS_MUSICManufacturer : 20/20
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I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. Brand New #Brought #Bullets #Brought #Your #Love
The Ultimate Collection
#Ultimate #Collection The Ultimate Collection
Brand : Pre PlayBinding : Audio CDColor : EAN : 5099749790827Label : Sony Music TVProduct Group : MusicProduct Type Name : ABIS_MUSICManufacturer : Sony Music TV
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The Ultimate Collection. Billy Joel - Ultimate Collection - Double Cd #Ultimate #Collection
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