Living Word 2008

Thanks to Yibin and Serene, was treated to a Revelations 12-14 feast by DA Carson this week. This was the 2008 Living Word conference held by our brothers and sisters in the Anglican Church. The clear NT scholar once again opened my eyes to the jewels in the Holy Scripture with his faithful exposition of the text. *clapclapclap* Will try to contain my praises for this man of God as I am sure he is not seeking for man’s applause- but may all honor & glory be to God whose Living Word is powerful, and the bestowing of gifted teachers to encourage His people. :)

There are lots of wonderful treats listening to Prof Carson. he leaves you with a good grasp of what the text is talking about and solid applications to digest, the history & context of not just the message but also world & church history, wonderful nuggets of interesting bites on things like how apocalyptic literature works, worldview of key Christian theology, clearer insights on not just the text in study and also other parts of the Bible… But the best part of it is that you do not feel like a knowledge-puff at the end of it. Hard to believe- but you don’t.

Instead, you feel like you have just been ushered into the throne room of God, caught another real glimpse of Him, contemplated on yourself & your world, and be once again brought to your knees in holy fear. Like what James has said- it’s like looking into the mirror. And you see a reflection of yourself, not just because of what it says about mankind, but because you see a clearer picture of your Creator-Maker-Saviour-Lord.

You thought you knew Him, but you didn’t- not of His justice, not of His wrath, not of His Majesty.
You thought you knew your place before Him, but actually you didn’t- not how disgusting and adulterous you have been as you go about setting up idols in your life, not how you’ve trivalized His holy wrath that would burn and consume you if not of His Son, not how you have made Him small by assuming you're familiar with Him, not how you have made yourself god by thinking you can approach the Almighty in any fashion you like in the name of grace.
You have been so mistaken, so mistaken.

That I may fear You, Lion of Judah
That I may remember You, the slain Lamb
That I may owe my all to You, Creator and King
That I may love You, the One who loved, loves and will save me.

That I may have Your heart, weeping for the hardened hearts
That I may have Your feet, to go and seek the lost
That I may be like You, and be the broken bread
That I will be to You, like a pleasing offering.

"If there's anyone who can appear before Aslan withouth their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else silly... who said anything about safe? Of course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you"

There is much much to share on the content- but I’d rather have you listen to him. Have placed an order for the CDs of the talks- let me know if you’re interested!