Freedom

1 John 2
1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for[a] the sins of the whole world.
3We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5But if anyone obeys his word, God's love[b] is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.


Can you live with out the Bible? Most people would answer yes probably, they can get by. Isn't that how we live? Most people these days know very little about the Bible. Some are exposed to it once a week on Sunday morning. But how many people these days are involved in some kind of systematic study of the Bible or even read it on a regular basis? Everybody's excuse is they are too busy. But is that really living or just existing?

Is it freedom to not have to worry about the restrictions and guidelines in the Bible? Or is it meaninglessness and chaos? Freedom comes from following what you are designed to be. Freedom comes from finding the right restrictions. A race car going 200 mph is free on the race track, but not on a busy city street. There is no freedom on the athletic field unless there are rules to be kept. Otherwise it is just chaos. A certain celebrity golfer it appears has been doing what ever he wanted in his life. But it did not bring freedom. What it brought was chaos and bondage. A canoe is not free sitting on the land but only as it goes down the river. We are only free as humans as we follow the will of our Creator.

The scripture above tells us there is no relationship with God without the Bible. To have a relationship with someone means you are willing to let the other person's will cross yours. Otherwise you are just using them like an object. The deeper the relationship, the more you are willing to let their will cross yours. To have a relationship with God means you are willing to let His will cross yours. The more you let God's will cross yours, the deeper your relationship. Without the knowledge of God's will in the Bible there is no possibility of a relationship with God because there is nothing to cross your moral will. You do what you want. You are your own boss. There is no need for moral discipline.

This is also why to have a deeper relationship with God you have to go deeper into His word. The deeper the relationship, the more you are willing to let the other person's will cross yours and you must know what that will is. A shallow understanding of God's word makes for a shallow relationship with Him. Understanding of God's word doesn't necessarily lead to a deeper relationship either if you are not allowing His will to cross yours.

To be a Christian means to have a relationship with God. We don't obey Him to get Him to save us. We let His will cross ours because He has already saved us, through the life and death of Jesus Christ. We grow in our relationship with God by finding out more and more what He created us to be, the right restrictions, and disciplining our moral will to align with His. This is freedom. Can we really live with out the Bible? Or is it just existing in chaos?

Doug Owen
Executive Director
Young Business Leaders of Jackson
618 Briarwood Dr., Suite A
Jackson, MS 39211
o- 601-978-1848 c- 601-201-5489
www.ybljackson.org

A Story of the Mission

Dear Friends of YBL,

Let me share with you excerpts from a testimony I recently received from a new YBL bible study participant.

"A year and a half ago I had just graduated college, moved back to Jackson, started a new job, found a new roommate to live with… and my life was caught in a drastic transition phase. I was putting God and church aside ...and (it)was leaving a major void in my life...I was headed down the wrong path. Not three months after I had moved back, I got a call from a friend inviting me to the YBL Fall Banquet where Jeremiah Castile was the guest speaker... Castile “preached” on his dysfunctional life growing up and he explained that the only reason he is where he is today is because of God’s grace and love. He talked about the warmth and comfort he felt inside knowing that God was on his side and it was like a light went off in my head when he was giving his testimony.. I realized that the void I had in my life needed to be filled and filled quickly.. I wanted to feel God’s comfort and warmth again, also! This is when I became interested in the YBL Concentrating on the Majors study. Since that banquet I have reserved every Thursday for our weekly study, where I have gained an abundance of knowledge in the Bible and its meaning... I have also started over in my walk with Christ, found a church that I look forward to attending on Sundays, and have been on a spiritual high since...Thanks for everything and may God bless this ministry."

This is an example of what YBL is about. We have been making a difference in the Jackson area for 16 years and God is still using us to help change men's lives. Please partner with us in this mission.

In Christ,
Doug Owen
Executive Director
YBL of Jackson

Partnering with the Mission

You can be a significant part of the YBL mission today. By partnering with YBL Jackson, you will have an impact on many lives just like was professed in the young man's story, emailed earlier.

We are asking that you partner with us. We need a strong end of the year in contributions to keep us financially sound. Our cash flow has fallen behind in the 4th quarter of the year and we need about $25,000 to catch back up so that we can be in good shape for 2010. We are planning another outreach next spring and hope to bring in a really big speaker if the finances will allow it. So, please consider helping this mission with an end of the year gift or if you have gotten behind in your regular giving you might want to consider catching up with it. We are grateful to all of you who have contributed this year and allowed us to touch all of these men. Please consider how you can help ensure we can continue. You will be helping us to make an eternal difference. One that will last forever.

You can simply click on the link to make an on line donation right now https://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=1000009 or you can send a check to YBL, 618 Briarwood Dr. Suite A, Jackson, MS 39211.

Thank you for supporting the YBL Mission and have a happy Thanksgiving.

A Good Word

Men,
Part of the role of YBL and my calling in our community I believe is to help to educate men in the truth of God's word. The COM bible study (our beginning one) is basically a 6-8 month basic training course in the bible and the essential doctrines or truths that every Christian needs to understand and apply. It is also why our other bible studies are actual bible studies and not just sharing times or support groups. We believe the holy bible to be God's word to us and our only guide for how to follow His will. The truth of God's word is the only thing that can change a man's heart and save him from eternal damnation. The truth of God's word is also the only thing that can change a man's heart and save him from his own sinful inclinations. If nothing else, YBL will be a place where a man can go to get the truth.
In light of that I have felt led for awhile to take a more proactive approach in providing access to the truth to you. So I am going to start using email more often as a vehicle for getting truth out to men. My goal is to weekly send out something to you that will address an issue, give an insight or show a truth from a passage. I will try to focus on issues that people want answers to, grapple with or pertain to things men deal with. Sometimes they will be direct quotes from things I have read (I will use excerpts from The Complete Bible Answer Book for example) and other times things that I am learning, (see below). I hope these words will be helpful to you and others. "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Rom. 12:2a
"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name". Exodus 20:7.
This is the 3rd commandment of the 10 that God gave to Moses to give to God's people in the Old Testament, Israel. The ten commandments are a summary of God's moral law or will for His people to live by and so knowing them and understanding them is pretty important for a Christian. The first four deal with how we are to relate to God and the last 6 deal with how we are to relate to others.
Most explanations of the 3rd commandment have to do with not cussing or using God's name frivolously. But there is a lot more to it than that. Since the commandments summarize God's moral law or will, we can look to other parts of the bible to shed light on their meaning and on how they apply to us. In this case, Matthew 7: 21-23 gives an example of using God's name in vain.
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Matthew 7:21-23.
To misuse someone's name can mean to use their name inappropriately like dropping the name of someone when you shouldn't. Another example is to claim someone's name for your own use when you don't have that privilege. Like posing as a police officer and telling someone to do something in the name of the law.
This is what is going on in Matthew 7. People are claiming the Lord's name when they don't have a connection to Him. They think they deserve to enter the kingdom of heaven and even expect to. But there is no spiritual reality in their lives. The scary part is they are fooling themselves as they are not aware that they don't have that spiritual reality until the end. It is also scary that outwardly speaking, they are appear to be the real thing.
These people have good theology as they call Him Lord. He is the Lord so they know who He is. They have their theology straight. They also have emotional engagement with Him as they say "Lord, Lord" as if to say "buddy, buddy" or they are putting all of their emotions and energy into the plea. They also have a lot of ministry activity as they have prophesied and driven out demons and performed many miracles in His name. But again, they have no claim on His name and will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Because they lack two things. First, they don't have a relationship with Him as He says to them "I never knew you". The word "knew" here is used in the sense of having a relationship with. They had good theology, they were emotional about Him and they even did lots of ministry in His name, but they did not have a relationship with Him.
Second, they lacked submission to the Father. Jesus said "but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven". This means that it is possible to have good theology, be emotional about Christ and do lots of ministry in His name and not be submitted to Him or have a relationship with Him. The ones who enter the kingdom of heaven are those who are submitted to God's will. They accept Him as their king, they accept Him as savior and Lord. True believers have good theology, are emotional about Christ and do ministry in His name but they also have a relationship with Christ. Christ "knows" them and they do these things because God loves and accepts them on the basis of Christ's work not because they are trying to get Him to accept or love them. A true follower of Christ doesn't take the name of God in vain by taking the name Christian and using it for personal gain or by living their whole life for themselves and then at the end expect the reward of heaven because they called themselves a Christian.
I hope this has been a helpful message. I borrowed heavily from Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian church in New York, for this.
Doug Owen
Executive Director
YBL of Jackson