Resolved Part 1

Today my little brother and I came home from a life-, attitude-, thinking-, heart-changing weekend among fellow believers as we sat under the teaching of Rick Holland, Steve Lawson, John MacArthur, CJ Mahaney and John Piper while they unpacked DEEP Biblical truth. Man, that must have been the most difficult sentence to write in my life. How in the world do I accurately describe in one sentence what went on this weekend at the Resolved Conference down in Long Beach? On the way home today I was trying to think of an adequate analogy to describe the way I feel after absorbing nine Cross-centered, God-magnifying, mind-boggling sermons in less than four days. I thought I had come up with the perfect description: I feel as though I'm suffocating in too much oxygen. After proudly declaring my illustration to my brothers, they let me know that I needed to come up with another one because there IS such a thing as suffocating in too much oxygen..you need AIR, not just pure oxygen. But their response at least let me know that they understood how I felt. So much challenging, encouraging and way-of-thinking-changing information was thrown at me this weekend, and while everything that was said was GOOD and stuff that I need, I feel helplessly paralyzed as I try to sort out my thoughts in my own head. There's too much stuff surrounding my head that I really feel as though my mind and heart are too cramped up to make the proper movements and stretches that would allow everything to find a permanent place before its too late and most of the information moves on because of a lack of room...or something. I don't know if that can even happen, but at this point the feeling is causing me to desire to latch onto God and the Truth that I heard this weekend with all my might and pray and pray and PRAY that the Holy Spirit would let the Truth sink in and remain with me. For right now, I think the best thing to do is to slowly and methodically go through this weekend, starting from the beginning, through to the end, including all the sermon notes, worship songs that were impactful, etc. Therefore, I should let you know that this is going to be a horribly drawn out post because its not necessarily designed to be a post...this is just me sorting out my thoughts from the weekend. I mean, I'm doing it more for me than for any readers...but by all means, READ if that's what you want, especially if you weren't able to make it this weekend!


These pics were taken on the metro on the way down to Long Beach. A seminary student from South Africa, Andrew, traveled with Hunter and me. The trip down was about an hour and a half, so it was a good time to get to know each other and talk about our excitement for the upcoming weekend.

The first session on Friday night was really good and prepared us well for what would happen in the next three days. It started out with awesome worship and a video on the life of Jonathan Edwards whose 70 resolutions make up the reason for the Conference's title.

Rick Holland preached on Friday night. It was an introductory message, centered on the gospel. Here are most of my notes from his sermon:

Title: Sinners in the Pierced Hands of an Angry God
Text: Romans 5:6-11
"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." (ESV)

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is the most famous (or infamous) sermon ever preached. 1741 in New England. Preached in a stubborn district, Innfield, that was untouched by the Great Awakening. No common decency among the people in the district. Group of men decided to preach a series of revival sermons, Jonathan Edwards among them. He preached the famous sermon to them.

Who would believe in an angry God like the one Edwards described?

The worst possibility in the Christian Church is that we forget the basics, the backbone, the spine: the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ.

Why make the conference about the gospel? What's so great about it?

In Romans Paul is climbing a mountain for five chapters, building his points, then for six verses he stops and looks at the view.

I. The gospel satisfies the greatest need (verse 6).
No one would invent this kind of God.
Sure, you don't want to be judged by the people around you, but when you walk in those Church doors, you better know that you're judged by God. Your sins are not thrown out the window, they are nailed to a cross.
If you think you deserve God's love, you will never be secure in it. Don't judge yourself by the word "enough." That word paralyzed pre-Reformation Christianity.
The key issue is assurance: its ALL Him. We contribute NOTHING.
The word "ungodly" used here: it means fierce opposition to God. Rom 1:18 And Christ died for this group of people? The cross happened at the Divinely appointed time. Christ was our substitution.
OUR GREATEST NEED: A SAVIOR! To be righteous in the hands of God.

II. The gospel demonstrates the greatest love (verses 7-8).
Paul makes a stark contrast between God and man. "But God" means God doesn't love like us. Differently God loves. God demonstrated His own saving love.
Not even the angels understand. Neither should we.
John 3:16

III. The gospel extinguishes the greatest threat (verse 9).
Paul wants you to see how amazing the gospel is and then be amazed by it! "Blood:" it should SCREAM Old Testement sacrifice.
Wrath of God: sentenced in an eternal Hell. God's judgement is Hell, run by God (not Satan). Satan is not the captain of Hell, Satan will be the chief captive. God owns Hell.
God saved us from HIMSELF by crucifying His Son.

IV. The gospel mediates the greatest conflict (verse 10).
"Rejoice:" to overflow with gladness, to jump up and down with happiness. The focus of our joy is in GOD, the very One who was so angry with us.

At the center of God's saving plan stands one solitary figure, Jesus Christ.

I went to bed that night excited for the weekend to come. To be honest, I was frustrated with myself that I wasn't more thrilled with God's plan of salvation at that point. I was definately in a trough period that night and most of the next day. I would look forward to every session and worship time, but the words I was hearing didn't seem to resound within my heart like they usually do. I think, though, that I was looking for and trusting in an emotional feeling that wasn't there during that time. I told myself that emotions aren't to be trusted, even when the emotions are about the Truth of God. Instead, GOD Himself and His TRUTH are to be trusted. So I tried to apply myself to listening and taking notes with ferocity even though I wasn't completely "feeling it."

The next morning was kind of the first time that my roommates and I got to spend all together. We had a fun time as we got ready for the day and talked about different things. A few moments before we left the room we took a "roomies" pic:

From left to right, Chelsea, Michelle, me, Jenny. I love this group of girls!

As a large portion of the three thousand conference attendees filed through the narrow doors into the conference center, CJ Mahaney stood at the entrance, shaking as many hands as he could and meeting as many students as possible. It turns out that right as my group got to the door, the line stopped for a few minutes, so we got an extended amount of time to "chat" with one of our favorite preachers and men of God!

After we had gotten our seats, I paid attention to when CJ entered the theater so that I could go ask for a picture with him. He was so nice about it. I think about a bazillion students asked for a picture with him this weekend (even though there were only three thousand there :), and he was always SO willing and friendly about it. When I got up to him, there were two other people at that moment asking for their picture. He told them, "My one condition for letting you take this picture with me is that you NEVER delete it. It will remain with you FOREVER." Then he doubled over and wrinkled his face in that wonderful CJ laugh. You can't be around him without smiling.

The first speaker that day was Steve Lawson. Here are the notes from his message:

Title: The Unrivaled Supremacy of Jesus Christ
Text: Hebrews 1:1-4
"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs." (ESV)

The gospel is what it is because Christ is who He is.

Jonathan Edwards; why did God use him so mightily? Greatest sermon ever preached in America, greatest book ever written. What made him so great, so used by God? He wasn't the most sociable type, not very interpersonal. So why him?
Answer: He had the highest view in his generation of God and the unrivaled supremacy of Jesus Christ.

The majesty, might and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ:

Seven aspects of the Superiority of Christ:

I. Superior in His Proclamation (verses 1-2a).
It is the mercy of God that He speaks to us, because we would never seek Him or find Him.
a. General revelation--nature, history, conscience
b. Special revelation--Jesus Christ, Word of God
Revelation spoken of here is special. God's been speaking to man for a LONG time through special revelation. Prophets were the mouthpiece of God. 1000 years God spoke through His mouth pieces, "at many times and in many ways." "But in these last days," the same Speaker has spoken to us through His Son. The Old Testement can be summarized as a promise. His Son is the FULL and FINAL revelation of God. All of the lines in the Bible intersect in the person and work of Jesus Christ. All who hear the Word of God hear the voice of God.

II. Superior in His possessions (verse 2b).
God the Father sovereignly decreed by Divine will that Jesus Christ is the sole heir of ALL things. Monumental implications.
Psalm 2:8, the Father is so willing and desirous of giving everything to the Son.

III. Superior in His Power (verse 2c).
It would be through Jesus Christ that God made everything out of nothing. Jesus is the One who stood at the beginning. Psalm 33:6-7 Jesus is the One who shaped me.

IV. Superior in His Person (verse 3, a,b)
Only one who is fully God could fully cover our sins. But He must be equal to both sides. To represent God to us, He must be fully God. But to represent us to God, He must be fully man. A savior who is not God is a savior that cannot save.
Jesus Christ is no mere reflection of God...no, He is the radiance of God's glory. When you look at the Son, you have seen the Father.
Jesus is the EXACT representation of God's nature.
Titus 2:13, Phil 2:5-6, Col 2:4, ALL fullness of Deity dwelt in bodily form.

V. Superior in His Preservation (verse 3c)
He upholds all things. There is NOTHING up for grabs in the universe. NOTHING is unaccounted for.

VI. Superior in His Pardon (3, d,e)
Now we can understand why He can make purification from sins, now that we know His superiority in all other aspects.

VII. Superior in His Position (3e-4)
Hebrews 2:1--for every one of us. God is a speaking God and He is speaking to me today.
Hebrews 3:7-9
Hebrews 12:25--The greatest sin in all of the world is unbelief.

I really liked that message. I thought it was really cool to be able to consider Christ in so many different ways BEFORE considering Him as my Savior. Usually we just jump to Christ as Savior without stopping to think what qualifies Him to be our Savior. And His qualifications are PERFECT and FULFILLING! What a great and awesome God, and He stooped down so low as to die for me, while I was an enemy of Him?

After about a 15 minute break, we jumped right into the next message, given by MacArthur. Before he began his actually message, he remarked on the exuberance of our worship that he had just witnessed, and asked us how it compares to our evangelism once we're outside the doors of the conference center. Here's most of my notes:

We've been praising with such unabashed exuberance. So what happens when we leave? Why does the name of Jesus cross our lips with such difficulty? Romans 1:16, 1 Timothy 1, why say that you're unembarrassed? What is there to be embarrassed about?

When you get embarrassed, you tend to jettison your theology. Why be embarrassed over the gospel? Its like being embarrassed over a cure for cancer.

Text: 1 Corinthians 1 & 2

2:2-3 "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling," (ESV)

"Decided" in this instance means "resolved." Anyone who has a clear understanding of the gospel knows that its difficult to be bold about it.
In Paul's world it was such a shameful message that people died giving it.

1:18, 21 "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God...For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe."

I. The shameful sentence of the Cross.
People live in great danger.
Luke 18:18, He would not accept the sentence that the gospel leveled at him.
The gospel ignores the superficialities of life. It goes right to the heart of the issue: you are perishing.

II. The shameful stigma of the Cross.
1:18, 22-23 "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,"

Rather than a Messiah producing signs and wonders in the sky, the Messiah was found dead on a cross.
Romans viewed anyone crucified as contemptuous. The first emblem of Christianity was NOT a cross, earliest it was a shepherd with his sheep.
If God could have thought of the worst possible way to make a message marketable, this would be it.

III. The shameful simplicity of the cross.
1:20-21 "Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe."
Gospel makes absolutely no concession to human wisdom. All of human wisdom collectively offers nothing.

IV. The shameful singularity of the cross.
V. The shameful society of the cross.
Wonder of all wonders.
1:23, 26-31 "but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,...For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source ofyour life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"
1 Cor 4:9, 2 Cor 4:7

VI. The shameful sovereignty of the cross.
1 Cor 1:21, 24 "but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."
Those who believe are those who are the called. So now what do we do? Look at 2:1-5

People believe because they're called, they're called because they're chosen.
Mark 12:14

When the session was done my Bible study met at a nearby park overlooking a bay where we all brought our own lunches. It was really nice to be able to hang out with my good friends all afternoon. We finished our time together with a trip to ColdStones! Yum!


Anton and Marietjie are some of my best friends. Marietjie has been discipling me for over a year now, but so quickly it turned into a strong friendship too.


Kim and Clint Archer (and little Noah Knightley Archer)! It was such a blessing that they were able to visit us after having been in South Africa for over a year and a half! (I love the first picture because it looks like Clint is trying to be a stuck-up super model (or a cocky Chess champion, haha). In reality he just turned away from the picture too soon. :)


Some of my good friends at the Bible study, Melissa Johnson and Amanda Taylor.

Holly Wooton!
Charis!!! And the Queen Mary!

When we got back to the hotel after our Cold Stones, I decided to go for a quick jacuzzi with Harrison and Hunter before the evening session. I took this opportunity to talk with Harrison about my lack of enthusiasm over the gospel. He was very understanding and sympathetic, and offered some great advice. The main thing he said is that even in the midst of my lack of enthusiasm, if I continue to obey, then this will be a time of great growth. Kind of going off of the principle that was in the C.S. Lewis passage that I shared with you all earlier. He was really encouraging.


Harrison, Hunter and I were bored as we waited a half hour or so for the session to start. So, these are a couple of the many silly pics we took with our cameras.

John MacArthur preached again that night. I was SUPER tired and as a result, my notes were MINIMAL. But here they are anyways:

Text: Luke 18:9-14
"He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 'Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get." But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.'"

Paul didn't invent the doctrine of justification and by the way, neither did Jesus. Job 9:2, Psalm 143:2 In God's sight, no man living is righteous. But, Isaiah 53:11.

The Pharisee came to God and asked for nothing. Yet the tax collector came to God, broken, sinful, and asking God for mercy.

16:14-15

After the message their was a panel discussion, basically a Q&A where Rick was asking the questions and CJ, John Mac, and Steve Lawson were answering. That was a good fun time. CJ started it off on a hilarious note when he went off on a tangent...if I tried to explain it all I would just ruin it...try to get the video if you can or something.

My favorite part of the panel discussion was when Rick addressed Steve about a book he had just put together which if I remember correctly records the biographies of MANY saints from Moses to Malachi (everyone joked that it should be Moses to MacArthur :). But anways, Rick talked about the book and then said "So Steve, where did all this come from?" Steve's response: "God." Nothing else. First the whole theater started laughing and then we erupted with applause and cheers for our Great God! But we continued also chuckling at his sincerity and simplicity. He did end up giving a more explanatory answer...but it was God-centered. :)

After the session Andrew was hungry and I was thirsty, so we went to Islands where he got a burger and I got a TASTY strawberry lemonade! Yum!

That's going to have to be it for tonight. I hope I can do the second half soon because what went on in the following two days is SO AMAZING. They were some of the best days of my life, I really believe. And I really hope that what I learned stays with me forever!