Fearing the End of the World? DON'T!!

At the risk of repeating what I just wrote to our Church members, after writing this, I thought it wise to send it out to "the world." Note: I've been sending John Piper's daily advent readings to the church on a daily basis. So, the first part is mine, and second, obviously, Piper's. God strengthen us all. 

Beloved:
Mayan prophecies and prince of Darkness considered, many might be, at least to some degree, prone to fear on this day when the end of the world is coming. Actually, the prophecies record that today would be the end of one era and the beginning of essentially, "The Age of Aquarius."

Did any of this make you fear? Don't! Today's reading suggests why. Jesus Christ is ETERNAL. So? you might ask. So, whatever prognosticator's and devil worshippers would have us believe (and we should take them somewhat seriously), nothing, I mean NOTHING takes our LORD by surprise, or throws Him off His plan. NOTHING! (Did I already say that?). And we should most definitely take God seriously!!

Read this closely. “No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 54:17, ESV). Did you see that? "This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD." All the people of God, not just the Jews of Isaiah's day rest under this promise. Notice too: "And their vindication is from me, declares the LORD." This means that our success in the court of this world's attacks is assured since our Advocate (Lawyer) is God. And "if God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31. See also Num. 14:9; 2 Kgs 6:16; Ps. 118:6; 1 Jn. 4:4).

Be blessed as you stake your hopes in Christ alone!

Standing together before God,
Pastor Dave

THE BIRTH OF THE ANCIENT OF DAYS 

Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” —John 18:37 

This is a great Christmas text even though it comes from the end of Jesus’s life on earth, not the beginning. 

The uniqueness of his birth is that he did not originate at his birth. He existed before he was born in a manger. The personhood, the character, the personality of Jesus of Nazareth existed before the man Jesus of Nazareth was born. 

The theological word to describe this mystery is not creation, but incarnation. The person—not the body, but the essential personhood of Jesus—existed before he was born as man. His birth was not a coming into being of a new person, but a coming into the world of an infinitely old person. 

Micah 5:2 puts it like this, 700 years before Jesus was born:
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. 

The mystery of the birth of Jesus is not merely that he was born of a virgin. That miracle was intended by God to witness to an even greater one—namely, that the child born at Christmas was a person who existed “from of old, from ancient days.”

Hope in Dark Times from Gabriel's Announcement!

And the angel answered him, I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, . . .  (Luke 1:19)

Zechariah didn’t believe the angel. So, now the angel must identify himself as God’s messenger. In the most authoritative tone that rises to insurmountable proportions, Gabriel utters a word that sets not just Zechariah, but all unbelief back on it’s heels:

“I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God.” Volumes are bound up in these few words! It’s as if Gabriel were saying, “What? You don’t believe me? That’s the end of the matter. Who do you think you’re talking to now? What? Do you think that God is like everyone else, unable to see the whole picture? What? Is God’s mind so addled or his power so frail that he cannot perform this simple task? I’m not simply some “fly-by-night” messenger boy who just went through puberty. My knowledge of life didn’t begin yesterday. This message I bring to you was written on the parchment of eternity before ever there was a universe, much less an earth and sinners upon it. You imagine, do you, that your faithlessness can prevent the sure mercies of God? Can the Almighty not open the Red Sea and stop the sun in it’s path for a day. Has he not given life to the dead, and children to the childless, and salvation to the hopeless? What impossibility has the Lord God NOT performed that you should doubt him now? You are a mere man of few years and yet I cannot do as I say? I tell you, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God.” Rest assured, Christmas birth and Easter resurrection are my plan, and shall I not carry it out? In a universe of such complexity that boggles the minds of the wisest men, shall it be thought the least bit inconceivable that I have considered every possibility and planned out perfectly every detail and enabled every person in my will? Archimedes may have said, “Give me a lever and I can move the world.” That’s child’s play. I remind you again, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God.”

O dear Christian, what task looms so large before your eyes that God cannot change it? What sin has captured you from which this God cannot free you? What Katrina catastrophe or Connecticut* tragedy unseats our God from his throne of eternal wisdom and limitless compassion? When shall we learn like Job, to cup our hand over our mouth and say no more? Mysteries abound all about us. We have entered into a realm inexplicably outside our ability to understand. But, Oh, not one which we cannot appreciate. For he who formed all things beautiful has granted unto man the eyes to see it, so that both the beauty and our discerning eye swell our hearts for the Creator. 

*Reference to the senseless slaughter of an entire kindergarten class with the principal and teachers in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday, 14 Dec., 2012.  

Holy & Reasonable Thanksgiving

American Thanksgiving can be a wonderful holiday celebration. I say it CAN be. It may be (and no doubt it is) nothing other than yet one more day to feed the many appetites of the flesh--food, fun, football [American style], and a day or two off from our vocations. None of these, mind you, is necessarily bad in itself. But it was originally planned to be a day commemorating God's protection and providence in bringing the religiously disenfranchised to a new world where they might find freedom to worship God as conscience dictated. Indeed, all men are free to worship God (god) in any way they wish. They are--make no mistake about it--NOT free to create God; that is something quite outside the purview of their abilities. And the right worship of God is not something which we may determine. We need the help of God in his holy Word, the Bible. The true God has and will exercise his unique right to determine HOW he is to be worshiped. 

That said, for those who submit to God's Kingship, there is very much for which we might be thankful, not the least of which is the forgiveness of sin, which paves the way to a blessed life with God both here and forever in heaven. But many mistake the basis of God's forgiveness of sin. First, they imagine their sins are not as bad as God knows them to be! Second, beyond that they may imagine God to be that grandfatherly and somewhat demented "deity" who fumbles about boringly in heaven, one who naively winks and "forgives" us all because he really thinks a lot of us. After all, we "mean well," and (many mistakenly think) he needs us! Nothing could be further from the truth. Man has grossly offended the thrice-holy God. He needs no one, for the Godhead is complete within itself. Furthermore, most don't seem to realize (or they've forgotten) that man is intensely unholy and therefore God cannot have them in his presence. “You . . . are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, ” (Habakkuk 1:13a). So, there are huge hurdles to overcome. Many don't seem to understand this today.

So, with this in mind I thought it vital to our right teaching and therefore to our correct celebration to quote Oswald Chamber's devotion for November 19th. Please read this slowly. Much is gotten into few words. But critical words they are. If you appreciate this, you may just be well along your way to a proper giving of thanks to Him who who is most worthy of all praise. May God bless you. 

And when He is come, He will convict the world of sin.… John 16:8 

Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin; we know the experience of being disturbed because of having done wrong things; but conviction of sin by the Holy Ghost blots out every relationship on earth and leaves one relationship only—“Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned.” When a man is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every power of his conscience that God dare not forgive him; if God did forgive him, the man would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the rending of His heart in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the Divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. When we have been convicted of sin we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary, and nothing less; the love of God is spelt on the Cross and nowhere else. The only ground on which God can forgive me is through the Cross of my Lord. There, His conscience is satisfied.

Forgiveness means not merely that I am saved from hell and made right for heaven (no man would accept forgiveness on such a level); forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a recreated relationship, into identification with God in Christ. The miracle of Redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One, by putting into me a new disposition, the disposition of Jesus Christ.

Chambers, O. (1986). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year. Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering.

Speaking Out Against the Sins of Our Day. That's LOVE!

Abraham Lincoln is quoted as having said, "To sin by silence when they should protest, makes cowards out of men." Lincoln certainly lived in disturbing times, as do we. But we seem to be at a loss for wise and sane voices to speak out against false doctrine today. Many seem to be more concerned with how others will perceive them than about the dreadful destiny of the deceived! Let us speak out for truth! Let us "cry aloud" so that others may be diverted from the errors that sap the spiritual from the individual leaving them bereft of anything godly! Now, isn't that vastly more important than whether anyone perceives of me as nice? Read this devotional from the pen of John Barry . . .

How should we respond when those around us seem to be not only falling short of the glory of God, but actually abandoning God’s work? What should we do when we witness neighbors or friends tolerating or even justifying acts of injustice, oppression, greed, or idolatry? We live in such a time. So did the prophet Micah:

Woe is me! For I have become like the gatherings of summer, like the gleanings of the grape harvest, when there is no cluster of grapes to eat or early ripened fruit that my soul desires. The faithful person has perished from the land, and there is none who is upright among humankind. All of them lie in wait; each hunts his brother with a net. Their hands are upon evil, to do it well; the official and the judge ask for the bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; and they weave it together (Mic 7:1–3).

Micah did what should be done—he spoke up; he told the truth. When we find ourselves in evil times among evil people, we must do the same. God may be calling us to be a voice crying in the wilderness (John 1:19–25; compare Isa 40:3). By boldly proclaiming the truth, we may make a way for others to come back to God.

Much of the world is corrupt, and it is our job as Christians to fight such corruption, to stand above it, and to help others find the better way—God’s way. The brokenness of our world is not simple. How many people are led astray unconsciously? How often does money or power trump the rights of the vulnerable? Do we recognize injustice when we see it? Do we have the courage to speak up, even when it hurts?

Micah provides an example here, too. Although he spoke vividly about God’s coming judgment on Samaria, he also told us where we would find the Savior who would heal our brokenness once and for all—in Bethlehem.

How are you standing against the evils of our age?

JOHN D. BARRY

Barry, J. D., & Kruyswijk, R. (2012). Connect the Testaments: A Daily Devotional. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Hi-jacking the Truth in "Truth in Love"

This is such a common mistake on the part of many in the church that I feel it necessary to re-post Tony Reinke's article "Speaking the Truth in Love." It seems that what happens (quite unintentionally I'm sure) is that everyone wants the "love" part so much that inadvertently truth gets hijacked! This must not be. Read on and see how Tony describes this phrase in the context of Ephesians:

For much of my Christian life I have had a one-sided view of “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). I assumed that the verse meant only that when hard news or rebuke needed to be brought, it should be done with tenderness and sensitivity. I was wrong.

Not totally wrong. I understood correctly the verb and the love: that hard news and rebuke should always be brought with appropriate sobriety, humility, and never with arrogance and harshness.

But I neglected to focus on the other part of Paul’s phrase: the noun and “the truth.” The context of the passage helps to explain Paul’s meaning.

In his sermon, “How the Saints Minister to the Body” (1992), Pastor John explains the earlier context:

First, the equippers of the saints in verse 11 are all truth agents:

              apostles (the authoritative, foundational witnesses to the truth),

              the prophets (the charismatic speakers of truth that apply it with supernaturally guided pointedness),

              the evangelists (who do the work of evangelism with the truth of the gospel in regions where apostles have planted the church),

              the pastors and teachers (who take the truth and use it to feed and protect the flock of God).

Every one of these offices centers on the truth of God and Christ and the gospel. These people are truth agents.

Second, verse 13 says that the goal of building up the body of Christ is to attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. So the building begins with equippers who are all agents of truth, and the aim of the building is unified knowledge, that is, unified grasp of truth.

Third, we have seen that verse 14 shows Paul’s great concern: As we grow into corporate Christlikeness, we are not to be babes who are blown around by every wind of doctrine. The issue is stability in true doctrine, so that we will not be deceived by false doctrine.

Thus, our call to speak the truth in love to one another is gospel-oriented.

Today we gather together as Christians to worship our God. If we are led by faithful preachers, that is a gift from God equips us to speak truth. As we gather, we find opportunities to speak the truth of the gospel to one another. This is how we serve and protect one another doctrinally. This is how we build up one another and build unity in our churches. This is how God gives grace to others through us (Ephesians 4:29).

At its core, we speak the truth in love when we care enough to speak the gospel into the lives of those around us. This is God’s everyday calling for every Christian, including Sundays.

Can Anyone "DECIDE" For Christ? God's Sovereignty in Salvation

Lingo is bound to interject itself into any society. But nowhere is it potentially so devastating as among true Gospel-believing Christians. One such term that wormed it's way into our spiritual vernacular is the word "decide." You hear it when evangelists ask, "Are you ready to decide for Christ, to be saved?" Is this biblical? Well, not if our "decider" (our will) is fallen, corrupt. Read this excerpt from Tozer to see what I mean. Remember, Tozer died in 1963, so it's amazing how relevant his writings are to current issues. If you would like to have a brief article like this delivered to your email daily, please go to Literature Ministries International www.litmin.org/tozer.php

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. —John 1:12–13

There is another and worse evil which springs from this basic failure to grasp the radical difference between the natures of the two worlds. It is the habit of languidly “accepting” salvation as if it were a small matter and one wholly in our hands. Men are exhorted to think things over and “decide” for Christ, and in some places one day each year is set aside as “Decision Day,” at which time people are expected to condescend to grant Christ the right to save them, a right which they have obviously refused Him up to that time. Christ is thus made to stand again before men’s judgment seat; He is made to wait upon the pleasure of the individual, and after long and humble waiting is either turned away or patronizingly admitted. By a complete misunderstanding of the noble and true doctrine of the freedom of the human will, salvation is made to depend perilously upon the will of man instead of upon the will of God.

However deep the mystery, however many the paradoxes involved, it is still true that men become saints not at their own whim but by sovereign calling. POM037–038

Sovereign God, I’m Your servant. I’ll share the message, I’ll pray for response, but only You can draw an unsaved person to faith in Christ. Thank You for the privilege of having even a small part in Your sovereign work. Amen.

Tozer, A. W. (2001). Tozer on Christian leadership: A 366-day devotional. Camp Hill, PA: WingSpread.

Don't Fear for the Church!

An example of over-generalization

I weary of hearing those "theologians" who have a defeatist attitude toward Christ and His church. To hear some talk, you'd think that the church is on her last leg. And some feel that in order to correct this apparent denigration, the church must, as it were, reinvent herself. All things fall under intense scrutiny. While there are areas that need attention, a case in point is a remark I've heard from numerous people. "The church is so mean" they say. So, "if we would only be like Jesus, people would come, be saved, enjoy a new conversation and the church will grow!" Those who declare such things have not read their Bibles very well, for one need not look far before finding Jesus running off the Pharisees and even the multitudes who had come looking for a welfare hand-out with no strings attached (John 6). And what do modern church leaders say to Jesus' frequent rejoinder to the crowds that if they would be HIS disciple, then they must be willing to "hate mother, father, brother, sister and even their own life" (Matt. 10; Luke 9 & 14). Such statements are numerous and clear. So whatever church folk might like to say about them, still they must (if they're honest) deal with the fact that Jesus did in fact say these things. I hope we assume that Jesus knew what he was doing?! But to hear some people talk you would think that they imagine Jesus to be a poor evangelist, or misguided and out of date. Our talk is so brazen and/or pusillanimous as to border on blasphemy!

Some today will even sound the death knell on the church preferring rather other organizations to her, or by so changing the face of church that it hardly resembles anything connected with the real body of Christ. I am afraid that fads and style mean more to some leaving seminary than the sheer honesty required of any who stand faithful to Jesus' name. Let us not allow the spirit of the age to lure us into a faithless shuffle. Let us own our loyalty to Jesus above all other loves, and accept the consequences always associated with any who rightly declare that Jesus is Lord. And let us do this in a world of religions seemingly fighting to displace Jesus Christ in favor of a milder, more tolerant approach to the world. Jesus warned, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Mt. 10:34). And he who spoke these words also stated unapologetically, "I will build my church" (Mt. 16:18). Jesus will build it despite us. Do we imagine that he did not know through what the church would have to go? Jesus WILL build without fail. Do we not realize that he knew exactly over which hurdles his bride would have to climb? Jesus will build HIS church, and not some cheap facsimile of it. We take hope in such Almighty declarations. We need such statements, for they are true. And we need them because our vanity is so prone to inflation and our hearts so susceptible to self-deception. God open our eyes to the truth of His Word. It will not fail, nor shall His church!