The Good Personal Shepherd

I have spent the last few days driving around town, familiarising (Aussie spelling!) myself with the local roads.  It's been great to visit with people from the congregation, share great food, and have the freedom to travel without requesting a lift!  The car shown is a Lancer the church has provided for my transport and has been a blessing.

A huge key to my successful navigation of Sydney roads is me not having to navigate them alone!  The Tookes have been kind to loan me their G.P.S. and what a great help it has been.  It prompts me in advance for turns, warns me of the abundant red-light and speed cameras, and monitors my speed.  The function I like most of all is when I make a wrong turn or have to detour because of road work it automatically adjusts the route to my destination.  It is also encouraging there are multitudes of ways to arrive at any destination.  The question is:  how long do I want it to take?

One aspect of the TomTom I appreciate is it does not become frustrated with long lights, traffic, my choice of music, or operating error.  Without a shred of anger at my wrong turns it immediately reconfigures my path to the right way.  It never says, "You are an idiot.  Turn around, fool!"  The G.P.S. does not turn off if I make more than one wrong turn as punishment for my poor decisions behind the wheel.  It does not overwhelm me with criticism about being in the wrong lane or mock my confusion.  It is almost as if the TomTom really wants to say with a smile, "You have reached your destination."

This reminds me of the gentle way God leads us through this life.  He has a purpose and a design for every person's life in bringing Him glory.  Like Pilgrim in Bunyan's allegory, though there is a clear path laid before us we can be tempted to turn any which way.  We can lose our sense of direction when we walk contrary to God's Word, forsake the Good Shepherd, and the leading of the Holy Spirit.  All of us have been that dying, pathetic, helpless, bleating sheep caught in thorns on a precipice.  Without the intervention of the Good Shepherd, our souls would be lost for eternity.  Jesus does not drive the sheep but chooses instead to lead them.  God has given us the choice as human beings to follow Him or not.  Praise God that when we wander from His care, protection, and guidance, He will come after us.  The Good Shepherd will leave the 99 in safety to find that single lost sheep.  When Jesus recovers the sheep He does not dole out violence in anger, but rejoices and celebrates that what was lost has been found.  The horrible experience of separation from Him disciplines us to follow Him closer and more faithfully in the future.

A fitting end to this post is the third and fourth verses of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" by Robert Robinson written back in 1757.  The truth of these words has not changed over that time.  Let us never forget to thank God for His great faithfulness unto us!

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Come Holy Spirit!

I awoke this morning to the sound of strong gusts of wind which scratched branches across the tile roof.  The trees swished in unison as the breeze fluttered the leaves, almost like the noise of running water.  It reminded me of the words of Jesus in John 3:8:  "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  God employs no wind generator to make the breeze blow, just like He needs no wave machine to control the tides.  The sound of the wind and the visible effects are obvious, but the source and substance of wind remains unseen.

Jesus compares wind to the Holy Spirit and His influence on the life of a Christian.  While a tree is forced to move due to the power of the wind which overcomes the pull of gravity, the Holy Spirit will not make a man do anything.  God doesn't just want to move our limbs but our thoughts, attitudes, and desires.  He may seek to move us from one place in the world to another.  Of course there are many who move, but their movement is without direction and purpose.  Many people seek to do the works of God, yet refuse to believe in Christ whom God has sent.  They are constant motion and movement but because they are not filled by the Holy Spirit they are aimless.  God's work is an inner work.  Man tends to focus on externals while God looks at the heart.  An inner work will have evidence outwardly as we remain yielded to the Spirit.

The tree cannot dictate how the wind will blow, and likewise a man cannot dictate the movement of the Holy Spirit.  Man cannot make the wind blow how it pleases him.  But man can choose to obey as the Holy Spirit empowers and directs him.  God has this remarkable grace which allows men to call upon God according to His will and frees God to do what He desires.  If we being evil know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will God give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?  Amazing that God would choose to make men a part of this process!  God could do it all by himself without faulty, feeble men, but He has placed this glory in earthen vessels so the "excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (2 Cor. 4:7).  Are we willing to pray God would send His Spirit in power upon us?  Are we willing to speak, move, and act in obedience to Him?  My prayer is summed up in the old song:
 

Shine, Jesus shine

Fill this land with the Father's glory

Blaze, Spirit blaze

Set our hearts on fire

Flow, river flow

Flood the nations with grace and mercy

Send forth your word

Lord and let there be light.

This Light Affliction

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life."

Matthew 19:29

This is a remarkable verse, especially poignant for those who have left all to follow Jesus.  As true as it remains for the foreign missionary, it rings just a true for the man who never physically leaves his house or country.  When a person decides to follow Jesus, he must leave all.  Nothing in his life is to have precedence or influence above his LORD and Savior.  The allurements of riches, personal ambition or goals, pursuits of pleasure, and all which competes with loyalty and love for Christ must be put away.

We do not leave all to follow Christ for the purpose of receiving a reward.  If this is our motivation we can know for certain we are moved by selfishness rather than love.  By responding in the flesh we forfeit the hundredfold which the LORD desires to give.  Scripture affirms we will receive a reward, and we rejoice in the grace of God to provide abundantly beyond what we could ask or think.  But this is tempered by the realization we are undeserving of any reward or gift for our service.  Can man repay God?  All the works of a million lifetimes could not repay God for the gift of a single breath we draw.  Shall a man earn eternal life?  We cannot.  But man is offered this priceless gift at Christ's expense, who once for all died for the sins of the world.

I am coming to the conclusion that the leaving of family, house, and country is as hard on other people as it is for me, perhaps even harder.  I and my family have been called to serve God in Australia, a country foreign from our birth.  Yet parents and siblings on both sides of our family will stay behind, not sharing this specific call to be physically uprooted.  Though we labour in prayer on opposite sides of the globe, we labour together for God's glory.  Is their pain of separation any less pronounced than mine?  By God's grace they can share in the reward of suffering lack for the sake of the Gospel, being separated from children and grandchildren for Christ's name sake.  This hardness is shared by all.  2 Timothy 2:3-4 says, "You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴ No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."  We are called and are able to endure hardship by the grace of God for His glory.  Instead of being broken under a weight of depression, our strength can be renewed like eagles when we wait upon the LORD.

Jesus is worth all the sacrifices we might be called to endure while we remain on this earth.  He does not grant us eternal life because of our sacrifice but because of His own!  To be partakers of Christ's heavenly nature is grace beyond measure, much less the gift of eternity in His presence!  These light afflictions last for a moment and are not to be compared with the glory of our Savior.  2 Corinthians 4:16-18 reads, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸ while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."  This eternal perspective is the proper one!

The End?

This week at Calvary Chapel El Cajon we finished the last chapter in the Bible, Revelation 22.  I compared the bottom of the final page of scripture with my wife's Bible.  Though hers was blank, mine read "THE END."  I like that.  There is nothing to add to the Word of God.  There will be no divine inspiration that is to be written down and added to the text of my Bible.  It is not an ever-expanding volume conditional on the passing whims of men.

But does the final chapter of my Bible mark the last of God's word to mankind?  Certainly not!  God still speaks to us with His still, small voice.  Jesus makes this clear in John 16:12-14: ^"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you."  After Jesus ascended to the Father, the Holy Spirit was sent to anoint, fill, and overflow believers for the glory of God.  Whatever He hears, He speaks.  No man can declare something without speaking.  Announcements do not occur in the dark, but are intended to bring facts to light.

Jesus says in Revelation 1:8:  "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."  This makes me like "THE END" of my Bible even more!  Jesus is LORD, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.  Because the lives of Christians are redeemed through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our lives will never end.  Though our bodies will likely wither, die, and rot in the ground, our souls will dwell forever in His presence clothed in new incorruptible bodies.  John 11:25-26 reads, "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"  If we are willing to repent and believe, we may freely receive of His life.  Our lives will never draw to an end though our bodies depart this earth in death.

People all over the world experience a lifestyle devoid of life.  They remain unsatisfied, disillusioned, empty, and thirsty for meaning.  This life can only be found through Jesus Christ as it is written in John 14:6, "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."  Once Christ revealed Himself to me through His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit, my search for life found the End.  Jesus Christ IS the End, the purpose for this life.  It is in Him we live, breathe, and have our being.  It is He who has created us, saved, sanctified, preserves our souls, and will someday glorify us.  I thank God for His Word and for Jesus who is the Word who became flesh.  Our lives are complete in Him! 

Gimme the Original!

I recently watched the "new" Robin Hood movie directed by Ridley Scott starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett.  Though it started with promise, in my opinion it ended in complete disarray.  For those of you who have not yet watched the film and hope to, you might want to skip the next couple paragraphs because I will no doubt spoil it for you.  For others I am only saving you the trouble of having high hopes dashed!  Robin Hood is a well-known character in English folklore who "robbed from the rich and gave to the poor."  This movie was a departure from that character.  It seemed like Scott didn't know whether to have Russell Crowe return to his role in Gladiator or impersonate Mel Gibson in Braveheart.  But what really bothered me was how Maid Marion was depicted in the latter part of the film.  It seemed she was directed to channel Éowyn from Lord of the Rings swinging a sword and riding into battle accompanied by chain-mail clad Friar Tuck!  And there was the new King John flamboyantly riding away from his egocentric character into battle...an absolute disaster.

The film may have been well-shot in beautiful locations with world-class actors and actresses.  But it was a movie about Robin Hood that bore little or no resemblance to Robin Hood!  The movie was a departure from the original characters I have enjoyed since my childhood.  The comedy "Robin Hood Men in Tights" is more true to the fabled folklore than the Ridley Scott version!  I understand it can be hard to do something which has already been done, perhaps even overdone.  When musicians "cover" a song, they like to make it their own.  But when a song departs so far from the original it becomes plagiarism rather than a cover!  If I watch a movie about Robin Hood, I want it to be about the Robin Hood the world has enjoyed plays, books, and movies about since the middle ages.  The "new" Robin Hood is a handsome impostor.  Big names, famous people, and 200 million dollars couldn't hide the flaws.  Of course, this is my opinion.  My convictions will not allow me to see it differently.

Unfortunately, this kind of departure from the original is nothing new.  This has happened with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  When it comes to the Gospel, I only want the original!  Sometimes pastors feel like they have to put their own "spin" on God's Word to liven it up a little.  Man can't come up with anything that can add anything of value to the Gospel.  God is holy, man is wicked.  Man deserves death for his rebellion from God, and because God loves mankind He sent His Son Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the World.  John 3:16 reads, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  If man will repent and trust in Jesus Christ, he can be born again by the Holy Spirit and regain fellowship with God for eternity.  This is not man's idea - this is the creation of God.  He has offered to meet a need we did not know we had.

We can have different opinions about movies, music, or the Gospel.  But the big difference is movies are fabricated and the Gospel is fundamental truth.  The legend of Robin Hood has morphed and changed over time.  There is a big difference between Kevin Costner's Robin Hood and the Disney animated version!  But when it comes to the Gospel, there is no room for the opinions of men to alter it.  These are aspects I love about God:  He does not change, and His Word endures forever.  Refuse to accept a "modern adaptation" of the Gospel, for this is no gospel at all!  Go to the Word, o seeker!  Repent, trust in Jesus and be saved!

The latest...

After price watching for seemingly weeks on end, I have purchased tickets with United Airlines to fly to Sydney, Australia. We will drive up to Carlsbad, fly up to Los Angeles, and begin the non-stop trip into Sydney.  Sitting on a plane for 14 hours is not great, but it certainly beats a four week voyage through the Pacific!  I plan to return on December 14th, and I will remain in San Diego for the Christmas holiday.  Then we'll pack up the family and make the big leap together, trusting God will provide our necessities concerning the religious workers visa and everything else.

Laura went to a Pastor's Wives Retreat this week and God has continued to lead her in the direction of homeschooling the boys, at least at the start.  This will not only save some money but will also ease the culture-shock of transition.  My schedule will likely provide opportunities for me to assist as well.  Again, we find ourselves in the familiar position of knowing one more detail of the many which remain unknown.  We rejoice in the fact that we know the God who has called us, will provide, guide, and enable us to fulfill His will.  Isaiah 54:17 reminds us, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me," says the Lord."  God is good, and His mercy endures to all generations! 

Free to Fight

I recently bought a re-print of a book written by Nathaniel Dwight (first published around 1840) called The Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence.  An interesting story with a spiritual application garnered my attention as I read through.  This passage can be found on page 8 of the reprint:

When General Whipple set out to join the army, he took with him for his waiting servant a colored man named Prince, one whom he had imported from Africa many years before.  He was a slave whom his master highly valued.  As he advanced in his journey, he said to Prince, "If we should be called into an engagement with the enemy, I expect you will behave like a man of courage, and fight like a brave soldier for your country."  Prince feelingly replied, "Sir, I have no inducement to fight, I have no country while I am a slave.  If I had my freedom, I would endeavor to defend it to the last drop of my blood."  The reply of Prince produced the effect on his master's heart which Prince desired.  The general declared him free on the spot.  The act was certainly highly to the general's honor; had he not done so, the character of Prince would have stood forth the fairest of the two.

Today every man is born a slave, whether he recognizes it or not.  We have inherited the sin of Adam and have been born into sin.  Our fathers going back to the very beginning have labored under the cruel oppression and tyranny of sin and death.  We have been born into this arrangement, just like many children literally born into slave bondage because their parents are slaves.  Slaves do not have the right to own land, and there is no one who really owns a square foot of God's earth.  Though land may stay in the family through inheritance, we can't take a title deed to a house, acreage, or money to the grave.  The wages of sin is death, and whoever dies in their sins deserves hell for eternity.  How rotten sin is!

But God be praised, who has given all people the opportunity to be liberated from the slavery of sin and death through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior!  Instead of inheriting eternal damnation for our sins, Christians are simply pilgrims who walk through this life having an eternal home secure in the heavens.  Jesus has blazed the trail, and those who humble themselves in faith and receive His righteousness will follow Christ's footsteps to His heavenly throne.  When we repent and believe in Christ, God declares us "free on the spot."  Because our sins have been cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus, atonement is complete.

We, like Prince, are also engaged in warfare.  But it is not the sort of warfare Constantine envisioned, using the cross as a banner to conquer the world.  2 Cor. 10:3-6 reads, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. [4] For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, [5] casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, [6] and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled."  It is first an inner warfare.  We will be tempted through the deceitfulness of our own hearts to justify sin and entertain wicked thoughts and attitudes.  All kinds of allurements will dance before us:  wisdom of the world, fleshly lusts, favoritism, idolatry, godless philosophy, pursuit of wealth, etc.  God has given Christians the ability and duty to purge our lives of everything that challenges Christ's authority.  The warfare is also external.  Once we have confessed all our sin one by one and allowed Christ to remove the beam from our eyes, we can see clearly to encourage others to greater devotion with Christ.  Galatians 6:1 instructs us, "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted."

We should never have the expectations of the general, that the slave Prince would fight for his interests without being free.  Sometimes Christians become judgmental of men and women still slaves to sin.  They berate a sinner for sinning!  That's like berating a bird for chirping!  If a born-again Christian is pursuing a lifestyle of sin without knowledge of it, we should seek to restore this person to God with a spirit of gentleness.  Can you imagine if Prince had been set free of slavery by the general and then screamed at his fellow ex-slaves for not fighting on the right side?  This spiritual fight we find ourselves engaged with need never go beyond the inner warfare.  But sometimes when we aren't looking for it or even wanting it the Holy Spirit will reveal something He wants us to act on.  Since we are free, let us live like free men and women.  Instead of going back to slavery to sin, may we honor God continually by keeping Christ first!  Jesus had the right to throw the first stone, but He offered grace instead:  "Go, and sin no more."

Confess + Pray = Healing

"Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

James 5:16

Recently I saw this scripture in a fresh light.  How does the James passage unite with the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:23-24:  "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, [24] leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift."  Perhaps my brother has something against me because I have wronged him!  If that is the case, it is my brother to whom I ought to confess my trespass.  Confession to God alone is sometimes not enough.

Is God able to absolve my guilt by the blood of Jesus Christ?  Absolutely.  But simply confessing my sin before God it does not clear me from confessing my faults to those I have wronged.  There is an interesting relationship which exists between one wronged by another.  A perfect example is Job.  He was wrong in justifying himself before God, but when confronted by God he humbly admitted his sin.  God never condemned Job for this sin because of his repentance!  Yet He was angry against the Job's "friends" who falsely judged him and condemned him as wicked.  Job 42:7-10 reads, "And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. [8] Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has." [9] So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord commanded them; for the Lord had accepted Job. [10] And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before."

Though not a perfect man, Job was accepted by God because of his faith.  He had already offered the sacrifice of a contrite and broken heart. Job's friends were told to go to Job and offer sacrifices for their sin. Notice what happened when Job prays.  Not only was the offering of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar accepted, but God restored Job's losses when he prayed.  The offense between these men and God was taken away, and Job's health, family, and wealth returned to him abundantly.  It is true that the prayers of a righteous man avails much.  One righteous man who prays to God and is accepted by Him has more power than entire nations who are right in their own eyes.

Moses is another example of a man who interceded on behalf of others in prayer.  We see this principle at work in Numbers 11:2:  "Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched."  Also in Numbers 21:7:  "Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people."  God directed Moses to place a bronze serpent on a pole, and all who looked upon it would be cured from their poisonous snake bites.  There was another occasion when Miriam and Aaron spoke against the authority and leadership of Moses over the children of Israel.  God called them all to appear before Him and sternly chastened Miriam and Aaron.  To the horror of all, Miriam was stricken with leprosy!  Numbers 12:11-13 reads, "So Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. [12] Please do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother's womb!" [13] So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, "Please heal her, O God, I pray!"  God graciously restored Miriam's heath according to the prayer of Moses.

With these examples in mind, let us read the James passage again:  "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."  I had the opportunity to put this principle to work the other day.  I was convicted by God for not being honest.  In the world's eyes, I did no wrong.  But God told me differently!  He doesn't see as the world sees!  I felt God was leading me to confess my sin not only to Him, but to the person who wasn't aware of my dishonesty.  There was no doubt in my heart that my relationship with God was distant, as if I was Samson robbed of his strength (in a spiritual sense).  After I confessed my sin to this person, there was such light which shone through to my heart!  What treachery sin is!  How it robs us not only of fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ but denies us the glory of God's presence!

I believe Christians ought to obey the scriptures and confess our trespasses to one another and pray for one another.  The wisdom of this is validated throughout scripture.  This does not mean that prayer meetings are reserved for opportunities to air out our soiled laundry!  Go to the one you have wronged and confess your sin as led by the Holy Spirit.  I am convinced there are many who have denied themselves spiritual health because they refuse to trust God and obey Him in this matter.  Why else would it be commanded in scripture if it did not apply to us?  Praise God that we can at all times boldly venture into God's throne room of grace, where Christ stands at the right hand of the Father living to make intercession for us.  When Christ prays for us, His prayers will be answered.  Whether or not people on earth forgive us, if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Then our prayers will be heard by God and we can intercede for others!  What a wonderful God we serve who hears and heals us!

God's Requirements

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?"

Deuteronomy 10:12-13

 

I wonder if people understand that God has requirements of His people.  If God grants five talents to a man, at his hand He will require them.  See how many times the word "LORD" appears in the Deuteronomy passage!  This is the word used for the "self-existent and eternal" God.  If you are a Christian, than God must be your LORD.  A good servant always does the will of his master, even as Jesus always did the will of His Father in heaven.  Does a father require things of his children?  Yes.  Would a master who purchased a slave with his own blood expect obedience from that slave?  Certainly.  Yet for whatever reason, the opinion of most people today is words of obedience to God is enough.  God doesn't really require anything of us besides being born again, right?

Perhaps this verse will clear things up:  Micah 6:8 reads, "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, To love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"  But that is so Old Testament, some might say.  Notice that God has requirements of ALL men, not just Christians or Jews.  There is an unfounded fear today in the church that preaching obedience to God will somehow bring us under the legalism of the Pharisees or Puritans.  Understand that the Law is good.  It is a revelation of the righteousness of God.  I would like someone to tell me what is wrong with fearing the LORD with all my heart and walking in His ways.  For even Christ has said, "If you love me, keep my commandments."  When He was asked "What is the greatest commandment?" He said, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  Jesus did not come to destroy the Law but fulfill.

 

Maybe right now you feel some heat flushing into your cheeks.  Now before you start screaming "LEGALISM!" allow me to clarify.  Legalism is not obeying the commands of Christ.  Legalism occurs when man places himself in the place of God, dictating what is right and wrong.  Legalism is the belief that faith is not enough for salvation, but man must earn favor from God by adherence to the Law.  Jesus spoke against the legalism of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:1-5:  "Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, ² saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. ³ Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. ⁴ For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. ⁵ But all their works they do to be seen by men..."

 

The Law is rooted in externals.  Man corruptly uses the law to add to his pride, arrogance, condemnation, and judgment of others.  Legalism will drive a man to outward actions not consistent with his convictions.  He will do things because he is seen by other men and he will not do things because he is seen.  He is a hypocrite, living a life behind closed doors he would be ashamed to admit in front of others.  Like all men, he is a sinner.  But he remains without repentance, working to create a false persona in the name of "obedience to God" so people will revere and idolize him.  His life is caught up in being right, even if his attitude is wrong.  Ironically, I am convinced there is no one more legalistic than Satan.  He is happy to spout off God's law to cause feelings of condemnation and guilt, not that he would ever obey the Law himself!

As much as Satan has tempted away men from faith in Christ through legalism, the age of grace in which we live has given way to dissipation and complacency never before seen in the church.  Because of fear of legalism we have swung far to the left and allow grace to be used as a cloak for lasciviousness.  It is true we are free from the penalty and letter of the Law through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.  There is nothing we can do to earn favor with God through the keeping of the letter.  2 Corinthians 3:5-6 says, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, ⁶ who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."  The only way to be justified by the Law is to keep it absolutely perfectly.  Yet since the Bible teaches and we affirm all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, the Law only condemns us.  Jesus was without sin and therefore death had no right to hold Him.  He rose glorified and imputes His righteousness upon all who believe!

 

God does have requirements.  Jesus says in Luke 9:23:  "...If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."  He also told Nicodemus a man MUST be born again to go to heaven.  Must he say a certain prayer or raise his hand, be baptized in a church or join a certain denomination to be saved?  No!  But that spiritual rebirth through the Holy Spirit must take place.  Titus 3:5 says, "...not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit..."  It is by grace we are saved through faith, not by anything we have done to earn it.  Ephesians 2:8-9 also says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast."  Grace and good works are paired together.  Once we have received freely of God's grace, we show our love for God by obedience to Him.

 

Jesus never spoke poorly of the Law because it is God's creation!  Man is so wicked he devised how to drag it into the mud through envy and hypocrisy.  Even so, the Law is a necessary schoolmaster who has revealed our sinful condition and led us by the hand to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Ask yourself this ever-relevant question:  "What does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?"  How are we doing with those requirements?  Indeed His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  Once empowered by the Spirit, His commands are not burdensome!  I love you Jesus, but I confess my sin this day in failing to keep these requirements.  Thank you for not condemning me for my sin, but taking it upon yourself so I might be free and forgiven.  All you have said is right and good, and help me to walk in your ways, serve you with all my being, and keep the commands of Christ.  Make me a man in whom the Holy Spirit is free to use for your glory, both now and forever.

The Next Step

God is faithful to not only establish His word, but also confirms it along the way.  This epic walk of faith in Christ forces us to focus on Him alone, not being distracted by all the unknown.  When this vision to serve Christ in Australia began in 2005, I did not know how, when, or where it would happen.  I only knew God had called us and He would make it happen in His time.  This last week has been a great blessing to me and Laura as we see God doing things behind the scenes and fulfilling His purposes in us right now.

A week ago today, I resigned from my job in construction.  I wanted to have at least a week or two to prepare and spend time with family before I head off to Sydney for two months.  My first inclination was to purchase a departing ticket between October 4th-6th (Mon.-Wed.).  But I simply did not feel led to buy a ticket.  The prices were fluctuating greatly and I didn't feel certain it was the right time.  Early this week Laura received an invitation to attend the Calvary Chapel Pastor's Wives Retreat in Murrieta.  Guess what the dates were?  October 4th-6th!  I encouraged Laura to go to the retreat, and I chose to put off my departure for another week.  This would enable her to be edified, strengthened, and enjoy good fellowship while I could take care of the kid's school carpool and flag-football practice.

On Tuesday I received a call on my cell from Mark, senior pastor at Calvary Chapel Alpine.  He was looking for someone to cover the two Sunday AM services at the fellowship.  I had intended to call him to inform him of my soon return to Sydney and that I had accepted the lead pastor role there.  Because I had stopped work I have been able to pray, study, and prepare for the delivery of those sermons and am excited about what God is showing me.  Instead of me asking someone for an opportunity to speak, God saw fit to direct someone to call me and offer that opportunity.  Whether we are on the mountain top, passing through the valley of the shadow of death, or seemingly wandering in the wilderness, God chooses not only to prepare us but actually use us to bring Him glory.  The man who follows Jesus need not wander, because He's leading us every step of the way.  The world laughs and mocks:  "Look at that guy spinning his wheels!  He doesn't even know where he's going or what he's doing!"  It is true!  But all I need to know is God.  And when I remain close to Him and yielded to His promptings I'm where I'm supposed to be.

These two circumstances (and there have been many more like them along the way!) were unforeseen to me, but God naturally brought them along anyway.  He has so many opportunities for us if we will just remain in His will.  I'm no master of this, but I want to grow in this area.  Sometimes we can be so anxious to "do something" or be so focused on our personal role that we forget to look to Jesus.  As Christ walked this earth He was never in a hurry, never spoke out of turn, was always in the right place at the right time, and ALWAYS did His heavenly Father's will.  It is wonderful and freeing to understand I don't have to know everything for God to have His way.  As long as we walk in obedience to God, He will be faithful to show us the next step. 

Ministry for All

One grave misconception which has remained largely unchecked in the modern church is that ministry is to be primarily accomplished through professionals.  Instead of ministering to the needs directly that we see, the temptation is to refer people to the professionals.  For instance, let's say someone is struggling with their marriage.  Mature believers filled with the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of God will without any thought encourage that person to call the church office so they can seek counsel from the pastor.  Here was an opportunity to minister lost by someone qualified and equipped by God to do so.  Is the pastor of the local church gifted and experienced?  Sure.  But we will no doubt answer to God for all the times we pawned off opportunities on others God intended for us to fulfill.

Here is an interesting passage from Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness by Cook and Baldwin from a pastoral perspective:

"Since it's not my church and I don't have to build it, I also don't have to assume a lordship role over the people in it.  I can release them to serve Christ.  Like me, they simply need to be available to the One who is Lord of the church.  That's all.  They don't have to perform.  They don't have to conform either...Releasing people to minister means setting them free to meet other people's needs whenever and however they can.  There doesn't have to be a hook in their ministry that will get the sinner inside the four walls of our meeting place.

Let's be clear about this.  Ministering is not inviting people to church services.  Inviting people to services is called inviting people to services.  Ministry is serving people.  No doubt you know people who hate church but need love.  Why would you ever invite such a person to church?  What possible sense does it make to invite people who hate church to come to church?  Give them what they need - love.  Love with no strings attached.  If someone is sick, he doesn't need an invitation to church.  He needs a believer to pray for his healing." (pages 75-76)

If only we could realize the power and purpose Christ has for us in Him!  We might not say it, but our actions often affirm we believe that without seminary training, titles, ordination by men, stiff white collars, robes, or years of training we are powerless to serve God like the men and women of the New Testament.  People in those early days were lions - because they were filled with the strength of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah!  Now our strength seems to flow from other people's opinions about us or how we feel at the moment.  We have the God-granted ability to bring Christ into any situation, yet we settle for trying to get people to attend a church function.  I know because I've done it, and it's likely you have too.

The job of the pastor is not to be a super-zealot without any semblance of family life whose life consists of running programs and being tied down to the building 12 hours a day.  Many pastors end up doing what everyone thinks he should do but could actually do themselves.  A pastor is a man with a calling upon his life by God to perform the duty of a pastor, which is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.  All believers are saints, and they are all to serve together for the glory of God.  Jesus is not a professional:  He is a servant of all.  Jesus never "got paid" for laying down His life, nor did He confine Himself to a certain location to force people to find Him.  He went out into the world and brought His influence right along with Him.  He came to seek and save the lost.  That is how the church should operate today.  If Jesus hadn't come to me, I never would have found Him.

God has things for every part of the Body of Christ to accomplish for Him.  Are we willing to humble ourselves for His glory?  Are we willing to do what we know we cannot?  Can a man do anything for God?  No, but God can do anything through a man yielded and consecrated to Him.  Jesus is our example, and let's follow Him to His end!

My Beloved is Mine!

There are few books I have read which are as poetic, expansive, and thrilling as His Part and Ours by J. Sidlow Baxter.  To meet a man who knows of God is common:  to peer into the heart of a man who knows God is a rare privilege.  Here is a passage which should cause the heart of every follower of Christ to be enraptured with appreciation and love for our Savior:

"My Beloved is mine, and I am His" - this is a complete union.  The bridegroom and the bride have given themselves fully to each other.  Christ has given Himself fully to His mystic bride.  Christ is mine in all His offices and capacities - in His incarnation, in His teaching, in His redeeming, in His resurrection life, in His exaltation, in His second advent and the glory of His coming reign, yea, and in all the blessedness of His eternal glory!  He is altogether mine.  O the wonder of it!  My heart, what of thy present response to all this?  Truly thou art Christ's by unmistakable bonds; but hast thou completed thy part by giving thyself up entirely to Him here and now?

"My beloved is mine, and I am His" - this is a complex union.  Shalamith's beloved is Israel's sovereign.  To be His bride is to sustain a variety of relationships.  So is it with the believer and his royal Lord.  It takes a complexity of metaphors to express such a unique union.  Christ is the head and we are the body - for it is a living union.  Christ is the bridegroom and we are the bride - for it is a loving union.  Christ is the foundation and we are the building - for it is a lasting union.  Christ is the vine and we are the branches - for it is a fruitful union.  Christ is the Firstborn and we are His brethren - for it is a union of joint-heirship.  But we must forbear.  There is no more wonderful study in Scripture than that of our complex union with the Son of God.

"My Beloved is mine" - that word "mine," does it not speak the fact that Jesus belongs to His people individually?  He is not just ours.  He is mine.  I may have Him as though there were none other in heaven or on earth beside me.  Again, when the bride says, "My Beloved is mine," is she not speaking out of a real experience of what she affirms?  And cannot I, too, say that Jesus is mine by conscious, personal experience, by the indwelling of His Spirit within my heart?  O how much more remains to be said about this exclamation of Solomon's typical bride which we cannot stay to say here!  We cannot resist a further glance at that possessive pronoun, however - "My Beloved."  Like a bee which comes back again and again to the same flower, we find our eyes turning back again and again to that word.  O the unutterable sense of blessedness which fills the heart when we take that word upon our lips!  "MY Beloved is MINE" - what a world in a word!"  - quoted from His Part and Ours, Baxter, page 147-148

The Body at Work

There is beauty in a body functioning at a high level.  It is amazing to see the abilities of an athlete on display, whether it be an Olympic diver, a NFL running back, or a cheer captain.  There is control, poise, and grace that most do not naturally posses.  It takes years of practice and refinement to condition a human body to operate perfectly in sync with the mind.  Coaches know exactly what to do, but are typically unable to combine their knowledge with the raw talent required to be world-class athlete.  There is a big difference between knowing what to do and perfect execution of that knowledge.

It is interesting that when a person is born again of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ, this person becomes part of His Body.  Paul says in Ephes. 4:15-16:  "...speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- [16] from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."  So Christ is the Head and all the true followers of Christ, though scattered throughout the whole world, are knit together in Him and work together.  This is an amazing concept.  This scripture reveals much about how the church Body functions.

The human body is constantly repairing cells, replacing old cells, and generating new cells.  It takes all these cells working together for the body to be healthy, strong, and functional.  Every cell has a distinct function in the body to serve the same purpose:  the health of the body.  In the same way, every Christian is part of the church.  Though people may have distinct functions or roles in the body, the purpose remains the same:  the glory of God.  Consider these points concerning how this principle applies to our lives:

• "...joined and knit by what every joint supplies..."  The degree to which we are united with Christ will determine the closeness of fellowship we have with other believers.  God supplies the strength, and we must willingly offer ourselves to be used by Him in the process.  Though your life God desires to add strength to the Body.  Conversely, we can choose to lead a life which weakens the Body through a poor witness, delight in controversy, or when we allow ourselves to be divided.  Instead of living as peaceably we can with others, we can be at war over petty issues and destroy the unity God intends.

• "...according to the effective working by which every part does its share..."  Every part of the Body of Christ has a role to embrace.  Have you sought what your role is in the church?  I am not talking about a duty placed upon you by men, but a function placed upon you by God.  God has given you unique talents, gifts, and a calling to pursue that His name would be glorified.  The function of the Body is effective when all do their part, just like how the cells of a healthy human body work together.  Do you have a passion which results in God receiving praise?  If the glory of God is your motivation you will not go wrong.  You will make mistakes, but it is no mistake to pursue God's calling upon your life with passion and abandon to His will.

• "...causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."  When the body is working effectively, it will grow properly.  When the church is functioning in tandem with the Head (who is Christ), it will also grow.  Growth occurs in two primary ways:  spiritual maturity in the individual parts which will likely increase the number of true followers of Christ.  As we as individuals grow, we are more apt to be bold for our Savior in seeking to save the lost.  Faith and boldness for Christ go together.  When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will exude the love of Jesus towards all.  When Christ is glorified the Body is edified in His love.  The converse is also true:  when we are edified through the love of Jesus, Christ is glorified.  This is a kind of love we must allow God to cultivate within us and spread to all.

Last night my family and I were the recipients of such love.  My sister Mel and her husband Robert hosted a gathering for us at their house to see us off to Sydney, assisted by seemingly countless people who unselfishly gave of their time and resources to make it an amazing success.  I was so blessed by the love of God shown through the actions of friends and family.  Having a party was not my idea, and frankly I am still clueless as to all that was given and sacrificed by people out of love for God and our family.  But what a great example of the Body of Christ at work!  Some donated items for an auction, others prepared food, chairs and tables were set up, invitations were sent out, and many people came!  Handshakes, smiles, and hugs were plentiful throughout the day.  Interest in our Australia plans was high.  Prayers were offered, encouragement given, and support supplied.  The whole party was not the doing of one person.  If it had been my job to organize and prepare for such an event it would have been shabby at best.

But see the wisdom of God in ordaining people with various gifts, resources, and heart-felt desire to make such an event happen!  How good it is that you do not need to be a wonderful cook to have a place in Christ's Body, nor do you need to be totally organized or financially wealthy.  God wants to use us right where we are for His purposes.  Whether support is given with a hug or a check, both are an acceptable sacrifice in the eyes of God.  My family and I thank every one of you who contributed in any way to yesterday's "bon voyage" party, even those who could only attend in spirit.  Your love was tangible, deeply felt, and appreciated.  Praise God for the love of Christ!

No Revision Required

Among Christian leaders today, there are few books save the Bible that have been more influential or universally appreciated than Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders.  Years ago I read the book and was not impressed.  I am horrified to say that until quite recently I have misjudged Sanders.  Why?  It is because the book I read was not actually written by J. Oswald Sanders.  Was his name on the cover?  Yes.  But I admit that I am indignant of the wretched (my opinion) paraphrase that has been attributed to him by the editors at Moody Press.  The second revision, which are all copies printed after 1994, is a "line-by-line revision."  Why they thought it necessary to butcher the latest edition in the process, I will never know.  What I do know is that this revision is a shadow of what J. Oswald Sanders actually wrote.  The original and first revision by Sanders are powerful, inspired, and dynamic.

You be the judge.  Here is a passage from the 1st revision printed in 1989:

Self-sacrifice is part of the price that must be paid daily.  A cross stands in the way of spiritual leadership, a cross upon which the leader must consent to be impaled.  Heaven's demands are absolute.  "He laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 John 3:16).  The degree to which we allow the cross of Christ to work in us will be the measure in which the resurrection life of Christ can be manifested through us. "Death worketh in me, but life in you."  To evade the cross is to forfeit leadership.  (page 142)

Here is the same paragraph rendered toothless and impotent in the second revision by editors in 1994:

This part of the cost must be paid daily.  A cross stands in the path of spiritual leadership, and the leader must take it up.  "Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down or lives for our brothers" (1 John 3:16).  To the degree the cross of Christ is across our shoulders and over our backs, so the resurrection life of Christ is manifest through us.  No cross, no leadership. (page 116)

Frankly, I am outraged that anyone in the cause of "revising Spiritual Leadership for the Christian living today" (page 9, 2nd revision, 1994) could do such a thing.  You have failed in this instance, Moody Press.  I regret to think of all the time spent trashing a Christian classic.  I am no literary expert, and my meager education perhaps does not afford me the right to say anything on the matter.  But I know this:  classics do not need revision.  The editors write, "Although we have changed the wording extensively, we have remained faithful to the original meaning and intent of each passage" (pages 9-10).  Based upon the examples cited above, I doubt anyone would agree with you.  What would John Oswald Sanders say?

This is a classic example of building on slippery sand.  J. Oswald Sanders built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ and a lifetime of experience following Him.  The editors at Moody built upon the foundation of Sanders.  It is faulty in this instance, and will always remain the case.  I am angry about this injustice.  Worse than this however, think how people have paraphrased the Word of God!  I am not a hard-core "KJV only" man, but with the abundance of paraphrased volumes of "scripture" these days the risk for error is horrible.  Classics need no revision.  The Bible should be translated straight out of the original texts.  I like the fact I can refer to the Strong's Concordance and know the Hebrew or Greek behind the English I read in my Bible.  A single word of God is mightier than all the volumes composed and revised by men combined.

The lesson?  Choose your books carefully.  Pay attention to when the book was written and who revised it.  If you own a copy of Spiritual Leadership printed after 1994, throw it away and buy a 1st edition copy used from Alibris.com or something!  Most of all, make sure the Bible you hold in your hands is the Word of God.  Use the translations which have withstood the test of time, not the remix or flavor of the month.  Don't read versions which intentionally blunt the power of the original.  The Bible is already relevant.  If we are not agreeable to the Word of God, it's not the Word's fault:  it's us.

Walking with Us

I've been working nights this week, and the hours are exceptional to wreak havoc on my daily schedule and writing routine!  I'm looking forward to the weekend when I can spend time with the family.  It's been nice to see Laura a bit during the day, but I have not seen my kid's faces since Monday.  In a word, LAME.

I was encouraged yesterday during my morning devotional time.  I'm in the book of Deuteronomy, and it ranks high among my personal favorites.  Deuteronomy 2:7 reads, "For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing."  Here are the initial impressions God placed upon my heart:

This is not presumption, for God knows His people.  He can say, "Thou hast lacked nothing" because He provided for every need all along the way, never skipping a day.  He does not say, "That's good enough for you!" but "You lacked nothing because I know you and your needs, and I abundantly supplied them."  What kind of God is it who does not know?  No god at all.  Notice that God does not require His people to find Him (for they never could alone) but goes with them always.  This is how he maintains such intimate knowledge of His people, their trials, needs, and desires.  Has not our God said, "I am with you always?"  God does not abandon His people in their time of great need:  He remains with them.  He blesses them along the way, though they are in the wilderness.  He does not leave in times of hardship or appear only at the oasis - He IS an oasis of life, constantly affirming, providing, protecting, and sustaining His own.  While for forty years they walked, God walked among them.  All the works of our hands are blessed when God shines His gracious presence upon us.

I am reminded of the Psalm 23 passage:  "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me."  The world must run to their gods and idols, vainly pursuing what always eludes their grasp.  Religion after religion is filled with the proud trappings of man doing something to obtain favor or an audience with God through suffering or sacrifice.  Christianity is different from them all, because our Savior Jesus Christ has come to us as a suffering sacrifice for our sin.  While people frantically are trying to bring peace on earth through political process, philanthropy, and education, Jesus has become our peace through repentance and faith in Him.  Instead of leaving us alone He has sent the Holy Spirit as our Helper and Comforter, and has set up in our hearts His kingdom.  This is made clear in Luke 17:20-21:  "Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; [21] nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."  Christ will one day set up His physical kingdom on earth after His return.  To partake in the glory of that kingdom He must first usher that kingdom into our hearts through faith and the power of the Gospel.

Amazing, to have a relationship with the KING of Kings!  Through technology we can have a semblance of "closeness" or connectivity to those we love.  Phone and video calls bring the face and voice of those far away into our own room.  But the reality is they are still not close.  They remain sometimes thousands of miles away.  That little window of time of communication can provide so much relief from anxiety:  how much more peace and comfort can be received from the indwelling presence of God within our hearts?  The most advanced "smart" phone is as crude and unsophisticated as smoke signals compared to the connection we share with God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.  He will never leave us or forsake us.  Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  Praise God for that truth!  He is with us whether we trudge through the wilderness or through the valley of the shadow of death.  Let us follow Him in wonder!

The Life of Christ

"It was one of the immeasurable evils which the Roman Catholic Church inflicted on Christendom, that it held constantly before the eyes of the Church the exhausted, suffering, agonized form of Christ on the Cross - fastened the thought and imagination of Christian men on the extremity of His mortal weakness - and so deprived them of the animation and the courage inspired by the knowledge that He is now on the throne of the Eternal.  A similar loss may be inflicted on ourselves if our thoughts are imprisoned within the limits of the earthly life of Christ, and if we do not exult in His resurrection and in His constant presence in the Church.  The historic Christ is the Object of memory; the present, the living Christ, is the Object of faith, the Source of power, the Inspiration of love, the Author of salvation.  Christ must be infinitely more than an august and pathetic tradition to us.  He is the Contemporary of all generations."

- R. W. Dale, His Part and Ours by Baxter, pg. 92

I must ask myself:  is my life a demonstration of one who exults in Christ's resurrection and His constant presence in the Church?  This is a subjective question due to the fact my answer depends entirely upon my limited view of the life provided by Christ.  Perhaps I live as if He remains upon the cross.  Christ then is nothing more than one who suffered.  Suffer He did, and more than I can ever know.  But He did more than suffer and die:  He rose glorified, breaking the chains of death which bound His mortal body by His righteous power.  Some would say the cross is the emblem of Christianity.  But there is no sign or representation needed when you can have the substance in the risen LORD and Savior Jesus Christ.  Jesus Himself must be our all in all.

Understand that we cannot receive from Christ unless we first receive Him.  We cannot receive forgiveness, peace, joy, or salvation until we repent and our faith is placed in Jesus alone.  Man is quick to receive from God, but is reluctant to give himself to Him.  The rich blessings and bounty found in Christ cannot be separated from Him.  Yet the misconception that man can enjoy eternal benefits from God without Christ is emphasized weekly from pulpits all over the world ad nauseam.  Preachers rarely explain why we have a need for Christ.  Instead, they focus carefully on what we need from Him.  Receiving is emphasized over believing.  Believing is often limited to our brains where faith does not tread.  We must trust God and give ourselves completely to Him.  We can try to receive things from God all day long, but the offer is only to those who receive Christ first.  That qualifies and enables us to receive from God because we are in Him and He in us.

Every man, whether he regards God or not, is wholly blessed by God.  Yet as followers of Jesus Christ, when we see His perfection we see our great lack.  We are struck with our lack of devotion, confess we are prone to wander and sin, and fail to continually walk in the victory Jesus has purchased with His own blood.  There is a way we can live which is devoid of God's power.  But Jesus is more than a "friend next to ya:"  His power is within us due to the Holy Spirit's regenerating presence.  Can we walk in newness of life if the old man is free to roam?  Can we walk in holiness when we refuse to crucify ourselves with Christ so we too may die to self and live for God?

Galatians 2:20-21 says, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  On the jobsite the other day I heard two high school buddies reminiscing about their days of youthful hedonistic conquest.  One man kept repeating, "Those were the days, you know?  Those were the days."  The longing was as Lot's wife, whose head turned back towards Sodom.  God offered her a new life outside of that den of iniquity and death, but there was a draw within her that caused an almost involuntary urge to look back with affection.  Our life before Christ was no life at all.  Without Christ our emblem might as well have been a skull and crossbones set aflame by hell.  Now to live is Christ, to die is gain.  Is this just a cute catchphrase or the absolute truth?  Our life is now bound up in our risen LORD and Savior, Jesus.  Let us not seek to simply receive from God, but give ourselves completely to Him.  It is in giving ourselves that we can receive.  It is after we receive that we can walk in His strength and power.

God Laughs

We have a family routine after eating dinner.  Like my family did when I was growing up, we read a portion of scripture from the Bible.  As we read Psalm 2 today, God gave me fresh insight to that familiar passage. The first three verses read like this:  "Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? [2] The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, [3] "Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us."  This is the exact thing man has been doing since Adam's fall into sin:  man continues to rebel against the righteous commands of God.  It used to make news when the 10 Commandments were removed from justice halls, schools, and war memorials.  Not anymore.

With each passing day, the government and culture of every nation seems to drift further and further from Biblical values.  This "drift" is more like an intentional departure!  It has been a slow, subtle, abandonment of godliness and a pursuit of humanism according to godless philosophy.  Those who hold to conservative Christianity tend to either become fierce advocates of political activism, throw up their arms in helplessness, or others wring their hands in fear.  Some simply bury their heads in the sand in willful ignorance.  We know that things will wax worse and worse, and man's departure from God and pursuit of sin will become as in the days of Noah before Christ returns.  Darkness is called light, and light is called intolerance.  What is your response when you see nations and people defy God with their laws?  Many rejoice in their "victory" when Christian values are thrown aside and replaced with outright wickedness.  What is God's reaction?

Psalm 2:4-6 explains:  "He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. [5] Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: [6] "Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion."  People think they can overthrow the power of God by removing His laws and replacing them with their own.  God laughs at their attempt!  While we cringe in fear of "what this world is coming to," God laughs.  "Ridiculous!  I have already set up my Anointed on His everlasting throne!  He is the KING of Kings!  Your laws are no law!"  He sees the victory parades, the mocking, hatred, and the scorn blasted towards those who cling to righteousness.  The Day is coming when He will do something about it.  He has made a decree, and no law of man can overrule Him!

Psalm 2:7-12 says, "I will declare the decree:  The Lord has said to Me, "You are My Son, today I have begotten You. [8] Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. [9] You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel." [10] Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. [11] Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. [12] Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him."  Those who rebel against God will be smashed into pieces like a clay pot, both in the spiritual and physical realm.  It is wisdom to honor God with our laws and ordinances.  God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance - even those (like all Christians at one time) who once opposed Him in thought, word, and deed.  He tarries now, but He will not tarry forever!

Blessed are those who trust in Jesus Christ.  He is the King of all, the Creator and Master of all things.  Satan is the prince of this earth, steeped in sin and incapable of repentance.  Praise God He has given us opportunity to honor Him with our lives and repent!  Instead of trading barbs with those who oppose God, let us be firmly against their position yet choose to demonstrate God's love toward each person.  No matter what happens on earth, God remains on the throne.  Jesus is worthy to be trusted and obeyed.  He comes quickly, and His reward is with Him!

Accepted in the Beloved

"Then Job answered the Lord and said: [2] "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. [3] You asked, 'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?'  Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. [4] Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, 'I will question you, and you shall answer Me.' [5] "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. [6] Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

Job 42:1-6

 

Once a man sees God in truth, his condition becomes a brutal reality.  Job justified himself until God spoke.  When God began to speak, Job had nothing to say.  And after Job heard God and saw Him in His majestic glory, he humbled himself:  "Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."  It was only after Isaiah saw the LORD high and lifted up that he said, "Woe is me!  I am undone, a man of unclean lips among a people of unclean lips!"  God's purity and holiness shine with such radiance that our greatest works in contrast are as greasy soot smeared upon the whitest linen.  Though Job was wrong for justifying Himself, God accepted Job as His servant because he repented.  Verses 8 and 9 of this chapter emphasize the fact that God had accepted Job.  It was not by works Job had done, but according to God's mercy he was restored and accepted.  This is God's grace preserved forever in history, and the promise of His grace extends for eternity to all who will repent and trust in Him.

 

I read a disturbing article the other day.  The author presented many different "philosophical" problems concerning the existence of hell, a place where God's wrath is poured out in eternal fury upon those who practice sin.  In short, the author did not see sin as sinful.  God's wrath only seems excessive to those who see sin as very small and insignificant.  There is no greater evil than sin, for it was for sin that Christ died!  To atone for a single eternity-damning sin the precious blood of Christ was shed once for all.  There is no forgiveness without repentance, and there is no repentance without conviction, and there is no conviction without the commandment as the last part of Romans 7:13 says: "...so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful."

 

The Holy Spirit was sent by God to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  Though we live in an age of the Gospel of grace, grace has not trumped the necessity of repentance.  God has always been gracious and we are deceived to think we outgrow repentance with age.  It was Jesus who taught His disciples this doctrine after His resurrection.  Luke 24:46-47 reads:  "Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, [47] and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."  If sin was not sinful, the righteous Messiah would not have suffered and died at the hands of man.  The crucifixion is a tangible scene of the horror and death sin breeds without atonement in a soul.

People have always longed for acceptance.  When Cain's offering was rejected and Abel's accepted by God, Cain was upset.  Genesis 4:7 reveals God's perspective:  "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."  Like Cain, we have all sinned.  We have not done well, and for this we have been denied heaven and a relationship with God.  Yet wonder of wonders! God has extended His grace and acceptance to all through Jesus Christ.  Though we were sinners, Christ died for us!  Ephesians 1:3-6 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, [4] just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, [5] having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, [6] to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved."  Though we are feeble and flawed, according to God's will those who are born again through the Holy Spirit by grace through faith are accepted in the Beloved.  We have been accepted in Christ:  us in Him, and He in us.   

May sin be more and more sinful in our eyes as we follow Christ in faith.  Instead of trampling His sacrifice and favor under our feet, let us be examples of holiness, humility, and meekness.  Acceptance is often gained in human circles through conformity, but with God it is not so:  the only way to acceptance with God is transformation!  Repentance paves the way for becoming born again, and only those who are born again will see the kingdom of God.  To be eternally accepted by our Creator is not just a dream, but both a daily and eternal reality to all who humble themselves and trust in Him.

The Tree Story

There is an interesting story behind this tree growing behind our church building.  Near the walls of the structure of Calvary Chapel El Cajon there are many potted trees, and this used to be one of them.  It was over a year ago when this particular tree fell over in the pot due to saturation from rain.  The concrete pot remained firm on the ground, but the weight of the tree caused it to tip.  For about a week it lay horizontal, the root-ball partially exposed.

The falling of the tree coincided with my very first trip to Australia in April of 2009.  Since the tree didn't die immediately, the church staff figured we would try to save the tree.  The assistant pastor and I began a morning hacking the tree from the pot.  At most we were able to salvage half of the root system.  We dug a hole, planted the tree, lashed it to the fence, and waited to see if our efforts would be rewarded.  We had concluded an early morning prayer meeting when a brother in Christ remarked how this was similar to the transplant which God would do with me and my family.  He said something like, "We'll keep an eye on that tree," as if it was an indication of whether this transplanting of our family in the spiritually barren land of Australia could happen.  The tree went into shock, almost all the leaves fell off, and it seemed doubtful the tree could even take root in that barren soil.  I cut off all the dead wood and kept on watering and feeding.  Nearly every day I would go out and soak the tree before starting work in the church office.  I wondered if that tree would ever grow.

I resigned from my paid position as youth pastor in September '09, and I didn't give the tree any thought.  I went to Australia for two months immediately thereafter, and went again with Laura for two weeks this March.  Today when I went into church early with the ushering team, one of my Christian brothers came up at random and said, "Have you seen that tree you transplanted outside?  It's really going off - it's almost too big for the spot it is planted in."  My mind went back instantly to what the man of prayer to God had said.  I went outside and looked at the tree and took the above picture.  There was no dead wood, no bare spots.  The tree appeared healthy and flourishing.  I smiled as I thought about the implications, the LORD speaking encouragement to my heart:  "If I can make a tree grow in soil like this, can't I make you take root and flourish where I plant you?"

At the time I thought my friend could have read a little far into the tree being transplanted, comparing the tree to me and my family.  Today before the service (without my foreknowledge) it was announced that I would be soon moving to Australia with my family to minister at Calvary Chapel Sydney.  No matter what the future holds we serve a God who will supply us with exactly the strength and fortitude we need to glorify Him.  A story from the book His Part and Ours illustrates the point well:

Divine grace is infinite and exhaustless, but it is never dispensed superfluously.  We must not expect that grace will be given for the doing of the needless.  There are some Christians who stir up needless opposition to themselves and then think they are the Lord's special heroes because they have to suffer.  We should guard against this.  Grace is only promised for real need.  God does not give grace for the spectacular heroism of public martyrdom to one who is called to keep an office ledger.  He gives grace to that one to keep patient and gracious amid the tediousness of the office routine.  Somebody once asked D.L. Moody, "Have you grace enough to be burned at the stake?"  Mr. Moody replied, "No."  The questioner pressed him further, "Do you not wish you had?"  "No," replied Moody again, "for I do not need it.  What I need just now is grace to live in Milwaukee three days and hold a mission."  (J. Sidlow Baxter, pg. 15)

God knows how to make trees grow, for He created and designed them to do just that.  He knows they need sunlight, water, and nutrients.  God also understands  what a family needs to grow, what marriages need, what children need to thrive, what a church fellowship needs to flourish, and what every person needs individually to mature into fruitful Christians.  I am not able, but God is able!  God knows all things, and I know Him!  As it says in Philip. 4:19, "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."  We serve a God whom through His power has given us ALL things which pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).  Praise God for His great and precious promises.  May we lay hold of every one with unwavering faith by the grace only He supplies.  Won't you trust Him too?

Exerpt from "His Part and Ours"

We all deal with trying circumstances, and this is no accident.  God allows us to face trials and difficulties which are a means to mold our character and build faith in Him.  In reading "His Part and Ours" by J. Sidlow Baxter I have been very blessed by his clear insight.  Because of the trials I have faced and the certain struggles which lie ahead, here is a part I especially enjoyed: 

"His grace is sufficient for thee!  For thee - not just for this present trial of yours, but for you yourself, making you equal to all the trials that come.  See here the Divine method with us.  God does not pledge Himself to be ever altering our circumstances and removing our burdens in answer to our prayers.  Our truest blessings often come through the things that seem most grievous to us.  If God were always leveling down our circumstances to our spiritual condition we should waste away with spiritual dry-rot.  It would be with us as it was with the old-time Hebrews:  'He gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul.'  Christ's way is to make us equal to our circumstances rather than reduce our circumstances to what we short-sightedly think they ought to be.  Dr. Phillips Brooks has a forceful word to this effect:  'Do not pray for easy lives!  Pray to be stronger men.  Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.  Pray for powers equal to your tasks.  Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle.  But you shall be a miracle.  Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God.'"

- J. Sidlow Baxter, quoted from "His Part and Ours," pages 16-17

Another step in the journey...

When I first visited Calvary Chapel Sydney in November of 2009, I never for a moment entertained the idea that I would be someday invited to serve as pastor there.  It would have been presumptuous, to say the least.  Most people don't take unemployed youth pastors very seriously!  I had resigned from my position as youth pastor in September to pursue the call of God to preach and pastor in Australia and left for a two-month stint.  Of all the places I visited, Sydney seemed the least likely.  I remember going to bed the first night and praying, "LORD, I'm really not comfortable here.  I don't know why.  The people are hospitable, friendly, and welcoming...I can't explain it."  There was oppression from the start.  But God lifted the dread which lay heavy upon me and I thoroughly enjoyed my stay.

Laura and I took a 10 day trip to Sydney and a few days in Brisbane in March of 2010.  This time I had been encouraged to come from a friend at Calvary Chapel Sydney and was offered an opportunity to preach for two Sunday services.  It seemed to be a great opportunity to introduce Laura to the country and friends I had met previously.  This time we would be formally interviewed for the pastoral vacancy.  Things seemed to go swimmingly, and there would be more potential candidates for consideration.  We were told that a decision would be made by the pastoral search team in a couple months if all went according to plan.

In keeping with how this wonderfully tumultuous process of walking by faith in Christ can be, our family remained without a plan.  I kept on working, Laura and the boys kept on with swim lessons, and spending time with their cousins and friends.  During silent days and weeks, our minds wondered and wandered.  To stay sane I would try to not entertain thoughts of Australia, but to no avail.  Prayers for people and hopes concerning to the pastoral position continually washed over my mind in waves.  Then about a month ago we were told the position would be offered to another and scenarios were laid out how we could possibly serve in a interim basis, but without a concrete plan.  Weeks passed as the prospective pastor considered the decision which lay before him.  The warfare must have been strong because there were days when I would be so close to saying, "That's it!  Take my name out of the running - we can't keep going on without knowing.  We've been YEARS without knowing!"  It was only God who kept us going and continually reminded us of the call and burden to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Australia.

When we were reaching the breaking point, the light of God's faithfulness, love, grace, and compassion shone through.  We received an e-mail:  the prospective pastor respectfully had declined and we were back in the running.  But here again we were left without knowing where we stood.  Our hopes were revived yet again that Sydney may indeed be the place God would open a door to serve Him.  Then we received a real, tangible invitation that made us want to jump up and shout:  "We are very glad to call you and your family to our church and to the position of pastor."  YES, without reservation!  God was in no hurry, and I praise Him for His wisdom in how all was orchestrated according to His plan.  He taught us that we MUST look to Him alone for all things.  If our strength or peace rests in anyone or anything but Him, it is a breeding ground of false hope and spiritual shipwreck.  Man does not learn his lessons easily, and therefore the path God chooses to lead us down will be hard and sometimes miserable.  But when the grace of God breaks through we are as the woman who has screamed through hard, painful labor and childbirth.  Yet when that newborn baby is placed in her arms she manages to smile and caress her living treasure borne out of pain and difficulty, and would choose to endure it all over again for the blessing of this little new life she has been given by God.  Yeah, kind of like that.

I never thought I would be a pastor, but God has seen fit to call me.  My wife and I never thought we would be someday moving our family to Australia to minister for His glory.  Who could have known?  Only God.  I thank God for receiving this unprofitable servant into His family and my heart is filled with joy at the thought of being welcomed into Calvary Chapel Sydney in a pastoral role.  I would say that it's been a long strange trip, but that misses the mark:  it has been a long, amazing walk following Jesus - but I believe it is only the beginning of a new stage of growth and maturity that will bring God glory in ways we never dreamed possible.  With God, all things are possible!

The Weight of Sin

Today was the first day of flag football practice for our boys.  I brought a book to read (The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter) at Abel's practice at Hillside Recreation Center and came upon an amazing passage.  As I looked above the green of the turf and the rushing of cars down Fletcher Parkway, soft clouds billowed overhead.  As I read it was as if a bright shaft of light illuminated a thought never considered before.  The portion I read was this:  "And I must tell you that, as it must be the great work of God's grace to give you such a heart, so if ever he mean to pardon and save you, he will make this change upon you; he will make you feel your sin as the heaviest burden in the world, as that which is most odious in itself, and hath rendered you liable to his wrath and curse; he will make you see that you are a lost man, and that there is nothing for you but everlasting damnation, unless you are pardoned by the blood of Christ, and sanctified by his Spirit; he will make you see the need you have of Christ, and how all your hope and life is in him; he will make you see the vanity of this world and all that it can afford you, and that all your happiness is with God..." (pg. 250-251)

I began thinking of all the people I have known over the years who have made a profession of faith and later fell away, choosing a lifestyle of sin rather than devotion in following Jesus.  Many people claim to be Christians for a season and what seemed to be fire at the onset turned out to be hot air in the end.  Today it is not the incredible burden and unshakable weight of sin that seems to turn people to Christ:  it is often circumstances.  When a man goes through a divorce or dealing with the death of a loved one; when a woman is suddenly incarcerated, or a child faces a life-threatening condition through accident or disease:  that is when people these days turn to God for help.  These are the people who seem to have a superficial temporary relationship with God, more like an affair than a marriage.  How tragic to pursue an affair with God Almighty when the world has let us down!

It is amazing the difference when a man comes to God begging for forgiveness due to his immense guilt, knowing the damnation he deserves and awaits him because of sin.  That is a constant.  Man is born into sin and remains a sinner.  Divorces can be made "final," people get out of jail, and children recover from illness.  Now many people have been soundly saved through circumstances, please do not misunderstand.  God is able to use anything to awaken us to our senses and recognize our desperate need for Him.  But of all the people I have seen fall away, not one was initially drawn to God because they were humbled and horrified by their sin.  It seems God and his loving people were used as an anchor while the seas stormed and were later cast aside when their use was deemed unnecessary because of present calm.

This teaches me that in the presentation of the Gospel we must be very cautious to make sure the potential future-follower of Jesus Christ is fully aware of his condition apart from God:  doomed and damned to the eternal torment of hell.  Even one sin is so heinous and wicked God must visit fierce wrath upon it.  Have you felt the weight of your guilt, O Christian?  Do you know what it feels like to be broken under the weight of your iniquity?  If you have not perhaps you are not yet free from it!  A dog's body is not washed with soap unless it is done for him, and we cannot be forgiven because we are sorry.  We must humble ourselves before the Almighty God, confess our sins, and seek forgiveness in the blood of Jesus Christ.  He must wash us.  I have felt the weight of my sin, and I have felt that burden removed in an instant!  What liberty and joy we have in the grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness of God!  Praise Him for that!