Sully Notes 14: Books in 25 minutes or less
Sully Notes are more than a book review. They are meant to provide you with direct quotes from some books I've read in the last year, so you can get a taste of the overall theme of the book and then begin to chew on what your life might look like if you applied what you read.
Here is the link to the previous Sully Notes in this series:
You Can Change | Sully Notes 14: Part 2 of 3
Chapter Four | When Do You Struggle?
"'I have surely seen ... (I) have heard ... I know their sufferings ... I have come down.' That was God's message to his suffering people in Egypt (Exodus 3:7-8). Our heavenly Father sees our struggles. He hears our cry for help. He's concerned about what we're going through. We often think no one knows or no one cares. But God knows, and God cares. We're allowed to struggle. It's legitimate to feel pain, disappointment, and heartache. Many of the Psalms talk about struggle, and by talking about it, they give it a home in God's Word. God the Father sees our struggles." – pgs. 61-62
"(In John 14:26-27) Jesus gives us peace by giving us the Holy Spirit as our Counselor to point us to God's gracious promises. Jesus isn't being naive, nor is he promising an easy ride. Later he says, 'In the world you will have tribulation' (John 16:33). We will have troubled circumstances. But we don't need to have troubled hearts because we have a divine Comforter who reminds us of the truth." – pg. 63
"(In Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4, and I Peter 1:6-7) What's striking about these passages is the way they all begin with a call to rejoice. We can rejoice in suffering when we make the connection between suffering and growth. Sometimes we see it in our lives; sometimes we can only hold on to it by faith. But we rejoice because we trust that God is using all things for our good – the good of becoming like Jesus. ... God not only uses our struggles, he promises to bring them to an end. He has taken our sufferings on himself to end our sufferings. On the cross Jesus took God's wrath on himself in our place, freeing us from God's curse. He promises a new world without sin or pain. His resurrection is the beginning of a new creation." – pgs. 64-65
"James is talking to Christians facing 'trials of various kinds' (1:2). If we persevere, God will reward us with 'the crown of life' (1:12). What we can't do is blame God. It's not God's fault if I fail to persevere. I can't say, 'It was my upbringing, my biology, my personal history, or my circumstances.' James tells us that what causes a person to be enticed by temptation is 'his own desire.' Selfish desires lead to sin, says James, and sin leads to death. The deadly effects of sin in our lives, emotions, and relationships stem from the evil desires of our hearts. Jerry Bridges warns against using the language of defeat to describe sin. That suggests being overwhelmed by external factors and can therefore suggest that we are not to blame. The language of disobedience more accurately describes what's happening. ... If I'm provoked to sin, then the problem must be whatever provoked me. But I've come to realize that the real me is the person who is revealed when the sinful desires of my heart are exposed by trying circumstances and annoying people. The real me is revealed when I'm too tired to keep up the pretense." – pgs. 67-68
"The Bible says two things are always happening in our hearts. Hebrews 4:12 speaks of 'the thoughts and intentions of the heart.' We think, interpret, believe, trust. We desire, worship, want, treasure. Human beings are always interpreters and always worshipers. We're interpreters who form explanations for what's happening to us. And we were made by God to worship him; so worship is hardwired into our being." – pg. 69
Chapter Five | What Truths Do You Need to Turn to?
"Lee suffered from panic attacks. In time they became self-reinforcing. The fear of an attack would induce another one. He would phone me three or four times a week. Each time I would speak the truth to him. We developed some catchphrases: 'God is greater than your thoughts.' Not what if? but what is, and what is, is that God is in control.' The truth set him free. The truth of God's sovereignty brought peace, and with it a new realization of the centrality of God and his glory. It wasn't instantaneous. Each day brought a fresh struggle to believe. Another of our catchphrases was, 'Yesterday was a victory, today is another battle.' ... We find true freedom in embracing God's reign over our lives and trusting his reign to be wise and good. This is the interpretation of life that brings joy and peace. ... Humanity's problem is futile thinking, darkened understanding, and ignorant hearts (see Ephesians 4:17-19). This is the cause of indulgence, impurity, and lust. We sin because we believe the lie that we are better off without God, that his rule is oppressive, that we will be free without him, that sin offers more than God." – pgs. 73-74
"I may envy, steal, or be anxious about money because I believe the lie that consumer goods give meaning to my life or because I believe that God doesn't care about me. I may commit adultery or get depressed about my singleness because I believe the lie that intimacy with another person will give me more than God can give me. Not many people think of themselves as someone who believes lies. But every time we don't trust God's word we're believing something else, and that something is always a lie. ... If I overwork it's because I don't trust God, perhaps because I believe the lie that I need to prove or justify myself. ... Whenever we're bitter, it's because we believe God isn't being good to us or that he's not in control. 'Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin' (Romans 14:23). Not many Christians think of themselves as unbelievers. ... The problems lie in the gap between what we believe in theory and what we believe in practice. On Sunday morning I sing of my belief in justification by faith (confessional faith), but on Monday morning I still feel the need to prove myself (functional disbelief). Or I may believe I'll be acquitted on the day of judgment, but I still want to justify myself in an argument tomorrow. I may affirm that God is sovereign (confessional faith), but I still get anxious when I can't control my life (functional disbelief). Sanctification is the progressive narrowing of the gap between confessional faith and functional faith." – pgs. 74-75
"God says that people who trust in him are like trees planted by water that never fail to bear fruit. That doesn't mean they have an easy life. The scorching heat comes on them. But their roots go down into the refreshing waters of God's Word. Faith in God sustains them and keeps them fruitful in the midst of adversity." – pg. 76
"The famous preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, 'Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?' We need to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Our problem, says Sinclair Ferguson, is that 'we think with our feelings.' We don't always feel joy in God, but by faith we can tell ourselves that he is our joy. When we find ourselves tempted to engage in sinful behavior, or when we find that our emotions are getting the better of us, we need to speak the truth to our hearts. ... C.S. Lewis says, 'The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job of each morning consists in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in." – pgs. 78-79
"I want to identify four life-changing truths about God. Psalm 62:11-12 says, 'Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to you, O LORD, belongs steadfast love.' The key truths that God declares about himself are his greatness and glory ('power belongs to God') and his goodness and grace ('to you, O LORD, belongs steadfast love')." – pg. 79
1. God is Great – So We Do Not Have to Be in Control: What happens when you don't truly trust God's sovereign control? You might try to take control yourself in harmful ways, through manipulation or domination. You might wear yourself out with busyness or frustration. You might make your security and wealth a bigger priority than God's kingdom (Luke 12:22-31). Or you might worry (Philippians 4:6-7). We become preoccupied with the bills, and money becomes our main obsession. All because we don't believe our Father knows what we need. Jesus goes straight to the heart of the problem – our little faith: 'Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ... O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you' (Luke 12:25-31).
2. God is Glorious – So We Do Not Have to Fear Others: We 'need' the acceptance of others, and so we're controlled by them. The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe' (Proverbs 29:25). Ed Welch, in his book When People Are Big and God Is Small, says fear of man has many symptoms: susceptibility to peer pressure; 'needing' something from a spouse; a concern with self-esteem; being overcommitted because we can't say no; fear of being exposed; small lies to make ourselves look good; people making us jealous, angry, depressed, or anxious; avoiding people; comparing ourselves with others; and fear of evangelism. We elevate desires that are often good in themselves (a desire of love, affirmation, or respect) to the level of needs without which we think we cannot be whole. We talk of 'needing' the approval or acceptance of others, but our true need is to glorify God and love people. The answer to the fear of man is fear of God. We need a big view of God.
3. God is Good – So We Do Not Have to Look Elsewhere: The invitation of the Bible is not to dreary abstinence. It's a call to find in God that which truly satisfies. It's believing that we find lasting fulfillment, satisfaction, joy, and identity in knowing God, and nowhere else. Whatever sin offers, God offers more, for God offers us himself. God isn't just good, he's better – better than everything else – and the true source of all joy. In John 4, Jesus turns a request for water from a Samaritan woman into an offer of living water. 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life' (vv. 13-14). This living water is God himself communicated to his people through the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39). Every longing in us is a version of our longing for God. When the woman tries to draw Jesus into worship controversies, Jesus redefines worship (vv. 19-24). Worship is not about location. It's an attitude of the heart: you worship in spirit and in truth. Worship is about what you desire most, what you think has most worth. Every time you look to God to satisfy your longings, you worship him in spirit and truth. Every time you look elsewhere, you commit idolatry. Even our good works can be idolatrous acts. If we don't delight in God for his own sake, finding him beautiful and glorious in our eyes, then we'll serve him for what we get in return: reputation, security, escape from hell. In so doing, we reveal that our greatest love is our reputation, our security, our self-preservation, ourselves. The life of obedience is not the bad or sad life. It's the good life. Life with God and for God is the best life you could live. Change is about enjoying the freedom from sin and the delight in God that God give to us through Jesus."
4. God is Gracious – So We Do Not Have to Prove Ourselves: The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 reveals the remarkable grace of God. Asking for his inheritance was tantamount to the younger brother saying to his father, 'I wish you were dead.' Selling off that inheritance was shameful because it meant losing the family's land. Moving to another city was a rejection of his family. And we haven't even got to the wild living yet! Feeding pigs was as low as you could go for a good Jew, because pigs were unclean. And as for wanting to eat their food ... ! This son is picture of you and me. We've wished God dead, rejected his love, moved as far from God as we can. We've tried to break free from love and ended up in the pigsty, longing to be satisfied with rubbish. But the gracious behavior of the father is even more shocking. This would have left Jesus' hearers gasping. If a son asked his father for his inheritance while the father was still alive, he would be disinherited. If a son tried to break free of his father's rule, he'd be beaten. If a son left home to indulge in wild living, he'd be disowned. But this father runs to meet his returning son. He doesn't wait for his son to honor him. He honors the son with a robe, a ring, and a party. This is our God – embracing, welcoming, and honoring us. Without grace, we view life as a contract between us and God: we do good works, and in return he blesses us. When things go well, we're filled with pride. But when things go badly, either we blame ourselves (and feel guilty) or we blame God (and feel bitter). Because we often leave God out of our explanations, this anger against God often feels ill-defined: we're not even sure why we're angry. But in actuality the contract or covenant between us and God already reads, 'Paid in full by the blood of Jesus.' Only when we grasp God's grace are we free to serve him for his own sake, not for reward. Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal because the Pharisees are muttering about the way he welcomes sinners and eats with them (vv. 1-2). it turns out that God isn't interested in respectability or self-righteousness. He's interested in returning sinners. Jesus is right to party with notorious sinners because heaven is a party for sinners (vv. 7, 10, 21-24). Richard Lovelace claims the main reason Christians do not change is a failure really to grasp God's grace: 'Christians who are no longer sure that God loves and accepts them in Jesus, apart from their present spiritual achievements, are subconsciously radically insecure persons. Their insecurity shows itself in pride, a fierce defensive assertion of their own righteousness and defensive criticism of others. They cling desperately to legal, pharisaical righteousness, but envy, jealousy and other branches of the tree of sin grow out of their fundamental insecurity.' (But) all is not lost. The father goes out to plead with the older brother (Luke 15:28). He welcomes his dissolute son, and he welcomes his self-righteous son. At the end of the story the older brother is still on the outside of the party. We're left wondering what he'll do. It forces us to wonder what we would do – what we will do. Will we live believing that God is gracious? In the temple the work atonement was never done. The priests were at it day after day (Hebrews 10:11). But Jesus has sat down (vs. 12). He's done all that's required. And so we can sit down too. We don't have to be up and busy making atonement, proving ourselves, earning God's blessing, performing." – pgs. 80-93
"We just have to believe, but that's a big just! Faith is a daily struggle. Lies about God are all around us: the world, the flesh and the devil whisper them constantly to our hearts. It's a struggle. But it's also possible. 'This is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith' (1 John 5:4). ... when we face temptation we need to say not only 'I should not do this,' but also 'I need not do this.' When tempted to envy another's possession, we say not only 'I must not envy,' but also 'I need not envy because I have Christ.' When tempted to worry, we say not only 'I must not worry,' but 'I need not worry because God is in control.' Whatever sin offers, God is bigger and better." – pg. 94
"G.K. Chesterton suggests that at present we pursue variety because we're so easily wearied. But what if a man's 'life and joy were so gigantic that he never tired of routine?' 'A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, 'Do it again.' ... Perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, 'Do it again' to the sun; and every evening, 'Do it again' to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but he has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.' We so easily grow bored with life. We are weary with sin-induced futility. But God is never bored by life. He is life. His joy and life are so gigantic that he never tires of sunrises and daisies, beauty and life and joy. ... We worry that eternity will be boring. But that is because we are dead and tired. We look for joy in sin, and we are quickly bored and always moving on in search of more. We grow weary in our futile pursuit of ever-greater excitement. But in eternity there will be a rush to life running through our veins. Our life and joy will be gigantic, so that each moment will bring fresh ecstasy; each daisy will be a fresh delight, each sunrise a fresh wonder. We will cry to God, 'Again, again, do it again.' Now we are old and tired and cynical. But then we will be young again, forever young, forever delighting in God." – pgs. 88-89
Chapter Six | What Desires Do You Need to Turn from?
"Preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct' (1 Peter 1:13-15). God's agenda for our lives is for us to be holy, just as he is holy. This holiness is the fruit of what we think or trust and what we desire or worship. We've seen that sinful behavior and negative emotions arise when we believe lies about God instead of trusting God's Word. So Peter tells us to 'prepare (our) minds for action.'" – pg. 99
"John Calvin says, 'Man's nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.' God says, 'My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.' As a result, they 'go after other gods to (their) own harm' and 'to their own shame' (Jeremiah 2:13; 7:6, 19). An idol is anything we look to instead of God for living water. Our double sin is, first, rejecting the truth of God's greatness and goodness and, second, placing our affections elsewhere. ... 'Idolatry may not involve explicit denials of God's existence or character. It may well come in the form of an over-attachment to something that is, in itself, perfectly good. ... An idol can be a physical object, a property, a person, an activity, a role, an institution, a hope, an image, an idea, a pleasure, a hero – anything that can substitute for God' (Richard Keyes). 'Our idols are those things we count to give our lives meaning' (Tim Keller). ... David Powlison says, 'If 'idolatry' is the characteristic and summary Old Testament word for our drift from God, then 'desires' is the characteristic and summary New Testament word for the same drift. ... 'What we lust for we worship. We may joke about our lusts, but our behavior shows a more fundamental allegiance. We look to our idols to give us what we need – to make our lives rich and purposeful'." – pgs. 100-101
"We're not sinners because we commit sinful acts. We commit sinful acts because we're sinners, born with a bias to sin, enslaved by our sinful desires. That's why we can't change ourselves simply by changing our behavior. We need God to change us by renewing our hearts and giving us new desires. ... We've seen how sin arises because we exchange the truth about God for a lie. Now we see that sin also arises because God gives us over to the sinful desires of our hearts. It arises when we worship or desire created things rather than the Creator. Our double problem is that we believe lies rather than believing God and worship idols rather than worshiping God. ... We excuse ourselves by thinking that we want to be good but are the victims of other factors (circumstances, history, biology, ill health, and so on). But the Bible's radical view of sin tells us that we are responsible. We always do what we want to do." – pgs. 102-103
"One common way desires deceive us is by masquerading as needs. We don't say, 'I lust to be loved'; we say, 'I need to be loved.' We take a good desire (to be loved) and turn it into an idolatrous desire and call it a need. God and his glory are then no longer at the center of my outlook. Instead I'm at the center, demanding that people 'worship' me by giving me affection and affirmation. Richard Lovelace calls it our 'god complex.' God promises to meet our true needs, but we can't expect him to satisfy our selfish desires. God isn't a divine waiter, ready to serve us whatever we want. God isn't the key to the good life (however I choose to define it). He defines the good life. He is the good life. God must be desired for his own sake, not as the purveyor of worldly success. ... In Amos 4 God speaks of a gift he gave to his people: 'empty stomachs (v. 6). He 'withheld rain' so that 'people staggered from town to town for water' (vv. 7-8). He struck their crops with mildew (v. 9). These might seem strange gifts! But God gives them so that his people might repent. The gifts are terrible things, but idolatry and its consequences are worse. God always seeks the best for his people, and that best is himself. Famine and thirst are acts of divine love when their aim is to bring us back to God." – pgs. 105-106
"Sin arises because we desire something more than we desire God. Overcoming sin begins by reversing this process: desiring God more than other things. The Bible calls this 'repentance.' That word means 'turning': we turn away from our idolatrous desires and turn in faith toward God. Sin is fundamentally an orientation toward self. We won't let God be God of our lives. We run our lives our way, without him. Self is at the center of the picture. Repentance is reorienting ourselves toward God. It's putting God at the center. What matters most is no longer our pleasure or success or even our problems, but God's glory (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). ... This new God-centered perspective is both humbling and liberating. It's humbling because it puts us in our place. We're not the center of the world. We're not even the center of our world. But it's also liberating. We no longer need to try continually to be in control. We can let God be God. Our reputation is no longer what matters. We're no longer controlled by the approval or rejection of others. We're free to serve others in love." – pgs. 106-107
"We become Christians through faith and repentance, and we grow as Christians through continual faith and repentance. We don't graduate from the gospel to some advanced way of holiness or progress. Martin Luther said, 'To progress is always to begin again.' So repentance is not a one-time even that just takes place when we're converted. John Calvin says, 'God assigns to (believers) a race of repentance, which they are to run throughout their lives.' Repentance is a lifelong, continuous activity of turning back to God from God-dethroning desires. ... A particular sin may have gripped our heart for so long that its roots run deep. It's become a habit. Pulling up this weed will be hard and painful work. It's better by far to pull up the weeds of sin as soon as they emerge, when they're still small and rootless, like the scarlet pimpernel. But this is a constant task. Every day's neglect makes the job harder. The key thing is to mortify the roots of sin. We need to be putting to death sinful desires, not just changing our behavior. ... Sinclair Ferguson says: 'What then is this killing of sin? ... It is the deliberate rejection of any sinful thought, suggestion, desire, aspiration, deed, circumstance or provocation at the moment we become conscious of its existence.'" – pgs. 107-109
"Christ dealt a fatal blow to our old sinful nature on the cross, freeing us from its power. It's because we 'died ... with Christ' and 'have been raised with Christ' that we're to 'put to death ... what is earthly in (us)' (Colossians 2:20; 3:1, 5). We do this in the power of the Spirit: 'if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will love' (Romans 8:13). The Spirit gives us a new heart with new God-glorifying desires. Repentance (turning from sinful desires) or mortification (killing off sinful desires) is Christ's work for us and the Spirit's work in us." – pg. 108
"You discover that a desire is sinful when it produces bad fruit in your life (disobedience, anger, anxiety, and so on). When you see that bad fruit, trace it back to the idolatrous desires of your heart." – pg. 110
"We think we need some form of analysis or counseling to undercover the hidden depths of our actions. In reality, our need is to look for Christ. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones writes, 'We cross the line from self-examination to introspection when, in a sense, we do nothing but examine ourselves ... If we are always talking to people about ourselves and our problems ... it probably means that we are all the time centered upon ourselves. ... don't linger when looking at yourself. Linger when looking at Christ. As Robert Murray M'Cheyne famously said, 'For one look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ.' Along with weeding our sin, we need to plant in grace. When other plants are thriving, weeds grow poorly because they're deprived of space, light, water, and nutrients. It's the same with Christians. When our thoughts are filled with the glory of God and our lives are filled with the service of God, there'll be less room for sin and temptation (Galatians 6:7-10)." – pgs. 110-111
"How do we repent? We repent through faith. We turn back to the worship of God when we believe that God is better than our idols. ... Turning to God in faith and turning from sin in repentance are the same movement. ... When we trust God, we're affirming that he's bigger and better than our sinful desires. Repentance is in itself an act of faith. ... Sin isn't inevitable for a child of God (see 1 Corinthians 10:13, which relates specifically to sexual immorality (10:8) and grumbling (10:10)). We've been set free from its power. I need to believe the truth that God is bigger than my sinful desires. I need faith in God's power if I'm to repent of my sin." – pgs. 112-113
Next post: Sully Notes 14 | You Can Change Part 3 of 3
– Sully
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