My Prediction On Mark Driscoll's Future

***UPDATE***

As  I predicted, Driscoll has now been "officially" restored. As reported by Pulpit and Pen in showing part of the performance of some men laying hands on Driscoll (after his 30+ minute speech) and then gave him Disneyland passes (those are PRICEY btw) as a reward for being such a victim.

They report:

In the short, six minute video (which reportedly was just a fraction of his time on stage)…

• Mark gives a prayer of thanks and appreciation that “struck shepherds” can be forgiven.
• Mark prays that God send the Spirit to help the shepherds “forgive” those who struck them and be given keys to release themselves from such torment.
• Mark then prays for refreshing and renewing for “struck shepherds.”
  
  

End quote.

The video is offered at P&P. The full video is here.

Apparently claims of God's audible voice:

"Several attendees report that Driscoll had spoken about hearing the voice of God a number of times, and said “We audibly heard the voice of God to be released from ministry." - Pulpit & Pen

Sadly his first words included: Jesus' goal is to bring a flock to gather around you.... Showing yet again his self-centered, egotistical view. Not one to be held down too long, he's ready to take the stage again, regardless that he was well disqualified years ago. Like the rest of the Charismatics, they lust for the limelight. To their destruction.


I suspect that Mark Driscoll has started started writing a book on his victimization and eventual resignation from his empire, which will come out just as his new church or ministry will commence. James MacDonald will probably be the one to write the forward.

Mark it. It will happen.

He's too arrogant to stay away from the spotlight. He's not repentant either. He continues to blame others.

Mark Driscoll Resigns From Mars Hill

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Mark Driscoll, infamous for his impurity and irreverence has decided to step down. Blessedly the Lord is causing this man's empire (the very antithesis of what he stood for as an Emergent in the late 90's and early 2000's) to implode. 

Excerpts from RNS state:

“We concluded that Pastor Mark has, at times, been guilty of arrogance, responding to conflict with a quick temper and harsh speech, and leading the staff and elders in a domineering manner. While we believe Mark needs to continue to address these areas in his life and leadership, we do not believe him to be disqualified from pastoral ministry.” 

~ WRONG ANSWER. "At times"? No, that is his very character.

"“Pastor Mark has never been charged with any immorality, illegality or heresy. Most of the charges involved attitudes and behaviors reflected by a domineering style of leadership.”"

~WRONG: the way he has perverted Song of Solomon, talks about sex, and speaks about Christ IS immoral and impure.

"A front-page story in The New York Times on Aug. 23 had suggested that Driscoll’s empire was “imploding.”"

~WELL yeah, that's what I said a while ago. GOD WILL NOT BE MOCKED.

Here's the continuing leadership problem at MH:

 "During Driscoll’s planned sabbatical, elders within his own church asked him to step down from all aspects of ministry. All nine elders who signed the letter resigned or were laid off."

Bad Company Corrupts Good Character

"Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good character" (1 Corinthians 15:33). All evil companionships "corrupt." All evil is contagious, and association with evildoers, whether they are "church members" or 'open infidels', has a defiling and debasing effect upon the true child of God. Mark well how the Holy Spirit has prefaced His warning: "Do not be deceived." Evidently there is a real danger of God's people imagining that they can play with fire without getting burned. Not so! God has not promised to protect us when we fly in the face of his danger signals."

~Arthur Pink, "Godly Companions"

A Fleshly, Man-Centered "Jesus" From the Calvinists

The continuing downgrade of "Desiring [A] God":

"Jesus was almost euphoric."

"Jesus turns his exuberance into God-ward thanks."

"We find Christ in an ecstasy, "

"Christ seemed to make man, of all earthly things, his chief joy on earth"

"That’s what Christ bought for us when he died and shed the blood of the new covenant. He bought for us the gift of joy in God” (Piper). "

"He took it upon himself to secure our satisfied hearts."

These quotes should send a child up your spine. This is wholly man-centered, sensuous, hedonistic, and irreverent. And frankly, more Driscollesque than anything. And it reeks of Arminianism.

~Desiring [A] God

Perfect Peace

Rom 5:1  Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Php 4:6  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Do You Love Your Friendship More Than Their Eternal Soul?

Do you really believe the gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16)? Do you really believe God is sovereign (John 6:44; Romans 9:14-18; 1 Peter 1:3)? Are you really willing to deny yourself and follow Christ (Matthew 16:24-26)? Or is your friendship with the unbeliever more important to you than the soul of your friend (John 15:13; James 4:4)? Or, tragically, do you believe the gospel is somehow less effective, less powerful, less relevant, less palatable, less meaningful, or less loving without the assistance of your personality, kindness, generosity, and charity?

Once you've honestly dealt with the above paragraph, allow me to encourage you to begin your friendships with unsaved people with the gospel. Doing so should remove any thought in the unbeliever's spiritually-twisted, unconverted, unregenerate mind of a bait and switch. Be honest. Don't try to lure the unbeliever to church or to the faith (they are not one and the same) with your friendly demeanor and a track record of years of Christ-less, gospel-less conversations. Love lost people more than that!

The gift of your friendship is not the most loving thing you can give to an unbeliever. You will never do anything more loving than share the gospel of Jesus Christ. You cannot give your friend/coworker/acquaintance a better gift than telling them of the life, death, burial and resurrection of your Lord. Spoken in love, even your words that hurt as you confront your friend with his or her sin are the most caring words they'll ever hear. 

~Tony Miano, "The Bait and Switch of 'Friendship Evangelism' "

Friendship Evangelism Is Unbiblical

A great injustice has been perpetrated upon American Christians (both professing and genuine), by American pastors and church growth gurus. It is the unbiblical "Friendship Evangelism" model.

The notion (and that's all it is) that Christians have to establish long-term relationships with people in order to "earn the right" to share the gospel with them; the notion that we should let people see the gospel in us and thus making the verbal proclamation of the gospel unnecessary; the notion that "relating to people" (as it is most often taught and practiced by American Christians) is somehow a prerequisite for sharing the gospel has no Scriptural support. None. And any effort to draw such inferences from the text of Scripture is an eisegetical exercise that might make Christians feel better about their evangelistic disobedience, and might make pastors and their ministries more popular, but, in the end, will only prove to be a disservice to the Scriptures, Christians, and the countless number of lost souls who aren't reached by believers who practice such philosophies of ministry....

The Book of Acts and the letters of Paul are replete with examples where the disciples confronted people with the Law of God to bring them to the knowledge of their sin, before explaining forgiveness of sin through the penal, substituionary atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.

~Tony Miano

No where in all of Scripture does God say that if we can just get the world to like us, they'll like Jesus. And that's just what today's "evangelical" churches so often think and how they behave. If they have "cool" music, an unoffensive message, have a big building with all the bells and whistles (including rock climbing, a cafe, "cool" "Christian" music blaring from speakers, casual dress, etc), then the world will be more "open" to hearing them. Such is the folly of an anti-biblical evangelistic view.

Appealing to the flesh (both spiritually speaking and physically speaking) to "get a foot in the door" is wrong. It's also manipulative and dishonest. It puts off the crushing blow of the Truth of the Lordship Gospel of Christ Jesus. 

Joh 15:18  "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 


1Jn 3:13  Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 

Evangelical Cow-Tipping

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People won't care what u have to say until God gives them eyes to see and ears to hear. How much you care is beside the point.

You are not the only Jesus some people will ever see because you're not Jesus.

Jesus was killed for what he said, not for who he hung out with. Some churches teach Christians to hang out with sinners and keep their mouths shut.

Part of God's "wonderful plan" just might include sending you to hell for eternity.

The idea of "earning the right" to do what God has commanded every Christian to do--evangelize the lost--is blasphemous.

Jesus doesn't love you just the way you are. Jesus loves those whom He saves IN SPITE of who they are. You're not lovable.

Writing the date you walked down the aisle of the church in the back of your Bible is no guarantee you are saved.

There's not one example in the Bible of a Christian leading an unbeliever in a "sinner's prayer."

God is wrathful and when Jesus returns as Lion of Judah, the blood of His enemies will drip from the hem of His robe.

"If you build it, they will come" is a great movie line, but an unbiblical and man-centered evangelism strategy.

If you do everything you can to make sure your church logo doesn't contain anything identifying it as a church, you may be lost.

If you're a pastor who is comfortable taking the stage for prayer with Roman Catholics and Muslims you may be lost.

If you're seeking "common ground" with Roman Catholics and Muslims, you should examine yourself to see if you're in the faith.

Encouraging unbelievers to join believers in the act of worship is to encourage unbelievers to offer Strange Fire.

Designing worship and messages to make unbelievers feel comfortable amidst the gathering of the saints is worldliness.

~Excerpts fromTony Miano, "Evangelical Cow-tipping"

True Repentance Is Lordship Repentance

The righteousness of God's demand for my repentance is evident if we consider the heinous nature of sin. Sin is a renouncing of Him who made me. It is refusing Him His right to govern me. It is the determination to please myself; thus, it is rebellion against the Almighty. Sin is spiritual lawlessness, and utter disregard for God's authority. It is saying in my heart: I care not what God requires, I am going to have my own way; I care not what be God's claim upon me, I am going to be lord over myself.

Now true repentance issues from a realization in the heart, wrought therein by the Holy Spirit, of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, of the awfulness of ignoring the claims of Him who made me, of defying His authority. It is therefore a holy hatred and horror of sin, a deep sorrow for it, and acknowledgement of it before God, and a complete heart-forsaking of it. Not until this is done will God pardon us. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Prov. 28:13).

Reader, be you a professing Christian or no, it is repent or perish. For every one of us, church members or otherwise, it is either turn Or burn; turn from your course of self-will and self-pleasing; turn in brokenness of heart to God, seeking His mercy in Christ; turn with full purpose of heart to please and serve him: or be tormented day and night, for ever and ever, in the Lake of Fire. Which shall it be? Oh, get down on your knees right now and beg God to give you the spirit of true repentance

 ~AW Pink

You Really Don't Look As Good As You Think.....

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My friend, you, who are so fair to look upon when you look in the glass of your own self-adulation, if you could see yourself as God sees you, would discover that you are leprous from head to foot; your sins are abundant and loathsome, though you perceive them not. 

~CH Spurgeon

The Bible

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The Bible is a book which calls not so much for the exertion of our intellect--as it does for the exercise of our affections, conscience and will. God has given His Word to us not for our entertainment, but for our education--to make known what He requires from us.

~AW Pink

Strength For Today

"As your days--so shall your strength be!" Deuteronomy 33:25

Strength was not promised in advance--enough for all of life, or even for a year, or for a month. The promise was, that for each day, when it came with its own needs, duties, battles, and griefs--enough strength would be given. As the burden increased--more strength would be imparted. As the night grew darker--the lamps would shine out more brightly.

The important thought here is, that strength is not emptied into our hearts in bulk--a supply for years to come--but is kept in reserve, and divinely given day by day, just as the day's needs require.

"Give us this day our daily bread." Matthew 6:11
"On the day I called, You answered me; You increased strength within me!" Psalm 138:3

(J.R. Miller, "The Shining Light" 1911)

Worry Is As Forbidden As Theft

   

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Worrying is as definitely forbidden as theft. This needs to be carefully pondered and definitely realized by us, so that we do not excuse it as an innocent "infirmity." The more we are convicted of the sinfulness of anxiety, the sooner are we likely to perceive that it is most dishonoring to God, and "strive against" it (Heb. 12:4). But how are we to "strive against" it?

First, by begging the Holy Spirit to grant us a deeper conviction of its enormity. Second, by making it a subject of special and earnest prayer, that we may be delivered from this evil. Third, by watching its beginning, and as soon as we are conscious of harassment of mind, as soon as we detect the unbelieving thought, lift up our heart to God and ask Him for deliverance from it.

The best antidote for anxiety is frequent meditation upon God’s goodness, power and sufficiency. When the saint can confidently realize "The Lord is My Shepherd," he must draw the conclusion, "I shall not want!" Immediately following our exhortation is, "but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God." Nothing is too big and nothing is too little to spread before and cast upon the Lord. The "with thanksgiving" is most important, yet it is the point at which we most fail. It means that before we receive God’s answer, we thank Him for the same: it is the confidence of the child expecting his Father to be gracious.

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought (anxious concern) for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:25,33)

~AW Pink

Non-Judgmental "Christians"

"Christians" constantly tell biblical Christians to not judge, or they'll say in a condescending way, "I'll let God be the judge." Really? Never mind that they just proved to be hypocritical as they sit in judgment of those they say are judging. I've yet to see such "Christians" have a Jesus Christ who is so holy that He will return as Judge, Jury, and Executioner, who will slaughter the wicked people from the face of the Earth. I've yet to see those "Christians" proclaim a Jesus who is wrathful against the wicked.

Rev 19:13  He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
Rev 19:14  And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
Rev 19:15  From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
Rev 19:16  On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

2Th 2:8  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of His coming. 

Tony Campolo's Son Rejects Christianity, But Tony Sees It As Just Theological Differences

1Ti 4:1  But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 



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Tony Campolo's son Bart, has come out of the agnostic closet. Here are some excerpts from the RNS article:
“You know me. I am not afraid you’re going to hell because the God I believe in doesn’t send people to hell for eternity for having the wrong theology,” Tony responded, according to Bart. “I’m sad because Christianity is my tribe, and I liked having you in my tribe. ”

“I passed just about every stage of heresy on my way to apostasy,” Bart said. “It wasn’t until I exhausted every option for staying a Christian that I gave it up.”

The younger Campolo recounts becoming a Christian in high school. He says he was drawn by the sense of community and the common commitment to love people, promote justice, and transform the world.

“All the dogma and the death and resurrection of Jesus stuff was not the attraction,” Bart said.

His first step away from orthodoxy occurred while doing inner-city ministry near Philadelphia. Bart encountered a girl who had been gang-raped at age 9 and who rejected Christianity after her Sunday school teacher said God could have stopped the act but allowed it for a reason.

Bart decided that if he was going to remain a Christian, he had to believe that God did not authorize that child’s rape and was not in control of the world. He began to imagine God as engaged in a battle with good and evil rather than a cosmic marionette pulling the universe’s strings.

The next rejection occurred as a student at Haverford College in 1981, when two of Bart’s roommates came out to him as gay. Though evangelical Christian teachings repudiated same-sex orientation at the time, he chose instead to jettison the biblical verses that spoke negatively of homosexuality.

“I decided I was going to make room for gay people in my theology, and I became very open about the fact that I would ignore certain Bible verses and underline others,” he said.

End quote.

Consider that his first unbelief started really with Scripture. "Hath God said?" But that determined his rejection of the All-Sovereign God of Scripture, which most professing Christians most are in Bart's camp on this issue, which is a denial of who God is (not to mention His attributes). Then it was the sodomy issue. Again, rejection of Scripture in order to accomdate his friends.This is why I say that where you find compromise, you will find a relationship at stake.I've yet to find an exception to this rule.

This is why biblical doctrine---EVERY BIBLICAL DOCTRINE MATTERS. Doctrine is not a theory to be easily accepted or dismissed.

Wrong doctrine WILL lead to wrong living--sinful living. Without true conversion Bart had no answers for himself, the raped girl, or the sodomites. But neither does his father. Humanism never does, no matter the flavor or degree. Those in darkness are blind and enslaved to sin and Satan and therefore have zero hope to offer anyone. There is nothing more comforting than to know that God is fully in control of His universe and is bringing it to His desired end (see Eph. 1, Jude, 2Peter 2-3, and Revelation). God is righteously just, therefore He will judge all sinners for all their sin. In Bart's world all men are basically good and deserve "better"; moreover his god is not holy nor just, and frankly quite impotent to deal with wickedness (apparently he's ignorant or rejected the OT and Revelation where God deals harshly with the wicked). Worse, Bart rejects the notion that sinners like himself, the raped girl, the rapist, and the sodomite roommates are sinners before the thrice Holy One of Israel and that God is the one offended by all their sin. Everyone is equally wicked before God regardless of how mere sinful man judges it.

Rom 3:10  as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; 

Rom 3:11  no one understands; no one seeks for God. 

Rom 3:12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." 

Rom 3:13  "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." 

Rom 3:14  "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." 

Rom 3:15  "Their feet are swift to shed blood; 

Rom 3:16  in their paths are ruin and misery, 

Rom 3:17  and the way of peace they have not known." 

Rom 3:18  "There is no fear of God before their eyes." 

Rom 3:19  Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 

Rom 3:20  For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 

The comfort that results from the biblical gospel being given and believed, is that once a person is at peace WITH God, they can then have the peace OF God, that surpasses all understanding, because He is the God of all comfort. That raped girl can find hope and peace but it must begin with the Gospel.

Bart wasn't drawn to Christianity for the TRUTH of Jesus Christ, but merely for social justice (which his dad is a huge promoter of). He didn't receive the love of the Truth and so be saved. But when your father is a flaming liberal, hearing the Truth will be hard, not to mention confusing. That said, Bart has access to Scripture so he is totally without excuse.

Bart, like his liberal father, created a false god in his mind. This is idolatry.

Serenity

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Wait For the Lord

                      

When People Say They Believe in Jesus

“When people say, ‘I believe in Jesus’, look them straight in the eye and ask, ‘Which one?’”

~ Walter Martin

Underhanded Ways are Not the Ways of the Christian

2Co 4:2  But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.

God does not honor those who try to manipulate others, nor is He honored when one slaps His name onto such nonsense.

The Unregenerate's Concept of God Is One-Sided and Not Holy

"Herein we find proof for the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures. The unregenerate do not really believe in the holiness of God. Their conception of His character is altogether one-sided. They fondly hope that His mercy will override everything else. "You thought I was just like you!"(Psalm 50:21) is God’s charge against them. They think only of a "god" patterned after their own evil hearts. Hence their continuance in a course of mad folly."

~Arthur Pink, "The Attributes of God (Holiness)

Those who reject the divine inspiration of Scripture as they sit in judgment of it and scoff it, when it clearly states that the HOLY HOLY HOLY One of Israel hates the wicked, indeed have an idol made after their own selves, not the true God.