There’s an emptiness that comes about from filling yourself up
With water poured from damaged cups
And no man can bear the weight of the utter lack of substance
O God have mercy on me a sinner
Now blood flowed from hands and feet and side
A blood whose stain is ever-cleansing
Stand under a tide
A flood
A waterfall
An ocean
And be clean
An ache remains that I can bear
I can deal with indignation
I can handle a scare
If the swat comes from the same hands that heal
So be it
Just don’t turn away from me
Wail away
Just don’t go away
If You do
I will die for the rest of my life
And then death will swallow me up
And I’ll trade water that cannot quench
For fire that never will be
And the worms will come to rip away what I tried to save
And You won't be there
O God have mercy on me a sinner
I never should have went where I went
I never should have done what I did
I never should have thought what I thought
But I did
Again
I will
I’ll be back
If You say so
And now I fling myself at your front door
The pavement is formed to fit my body
From the ten thousand times or more
I’ve been there
O my God
What an ocean
What a waterfall
What a flood
What a mountain
What a storm
What a voice
What a whisper
What a rock
What a stone
What a king
What a God
O God
Has mercy on me a sinner
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
True Worship
The best and truest worship, the kind that cuts the heart so cleanly you don't ever want it to end...this happens when the cross hits home. We should savor those moments. They come rarely because we so frequently forget. For eternity, the Cross will remain. It was all by blood. You could die a martyr and it still wouldn't have been one drop of your blood that bought your redemption. Only His. Clean blood. For you and me.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
The Goodness of God in Giving us Trials to Strengthen our Faith
Have you ever heard a well-meaning Christian say, "Don't pray for patience"? You know, because if you do, there will be more conflict and more strife in your life. I guess it's more important to be comfortable than holy.
In my last post, we tried to understand precisely how we walk this life when it is to be a life of faith. My introductory answer to that question is that we must look to Jesus precisely because He alone is the Founder and Perfecter of our faith. Jesus Christ is risen from the grave. He lived His life looking to His Father whom He had intentionally set always before Him...and He endured. The foundation of His endurance was the motivation He received from banking on the eternal joy He would have at His Father's right hand. He knew God would not abandon Him but would bring Him into His eternal joy in His presence. This sustained Him so much that He endured the Cross. He knew God would raise Him from the dead. I believe this is the key to our endurance...the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
So, running the race that is set before us by faith, looking to Jesus...how do trials and tribulations play into this race? Into life? Because trials make up life. They are always there. We're either going through one, coming out of one, or on our way into one (someone once said). Life is hard. In a fallen world, it is filled with turmoil and trouble. And if you care about and love other people at all, you can't ever have unadulterated joy in this world. The pain and horror of sin and evil just won't allow it. We are to be sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. This is the weight of Christ. My conclusion on trials is that God gives them with the deliberate purpose of making us how we need to be in order to endure. This is not vicious or unloving...because endurance is how we get to Him. And we must live believing the truth of Romans 8, that what we suffer could never be worth comparing to what we obtain after we have endured: Jesus. Forever.
Let's look at James 1:2-18.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
First of all, we must understand that all that comes from God is good. He does not do evil. Ever. Because He is God and everything He does is good. I see a massive tension for us in this statement, but not for God. He has never apologized for or ran from the fact that from Him, through Him, and to Him are all things (Romans 11:36). I am not saying that when God sends a hurricane that the deaths of people are good. I am saying, however, that God is not any less good for having sent it. There are no maverick molecules or ocean drops. He is sovereign. He runs the world, down to the last atom. You say, "Well how is He not responsible for evil, then?" Because He isn't. I am a fallen human being. I didn't create the world. I didn't nor could I make the rules. But He doesn't have to bow before logic or philosophy. You do know that, right? Eventually, you just have to step back, stop where He stops explaining, and bow before Him. He is God, you know. Maybe we have the problem in understanding but He doesn't have the problem in being. Just a thought. There is no notorious "problem of evil" for God. Just for us human beings. We just don't know how to deal with absolute, infinite divinity. That's all I'll say on that at this point. Just know that I'm operating from the fact that God does more than "allow"...He ordains and decrees all that comes to pass and in no way is evil or does evil. What is the alternative? That He does not? Without even taking on that argument at this time, you know you don't want to live in a universe like that. Just think it through.
So, I'm operating from the belief that the trials James addresses and the very reason we can count them all joy is because they come from above...from God...the One James calls the Giver of "every good gift and every perfect gift." Verse 3 begins with the word "for." It is the "because" for verse 2. You can (and must...verse 2 is a command) count every trial as joy. In actuality, without being fake or marginal or disingenuous. Precisely because trials are the means by which God produces steadfastness in you (Consider that well - it isn't like God swoops in after the fact and says, "oh how fortunate, something I can use to produce steadfastness in these human beings!"...no, He set it up deliberately because He is infinitely wise, merciful, smart, and good). Faith needs tested. Do you see that in James? Now, why? Because you need to be steadfast...you need to hold the line...you need to endure (Hebrews 10:36). And God gives you precisely what you need in order to get what you need. In God's reckoning and coming from His infinite wisdom, suffering is the path to glory. How kind He is to give you the grace to get to glory. He could leave you to your endless pursuit of indestructible joy here on earth. Which you will never find and therefore die in your sins without hope and with nothing to look forward to. Yet, God gives us trials. He gives us what we need to get to Him, to behold His beautiful face.
I want to ground this further in verse 4. Notice that steadfastness is not the goal. Do you see that? We are not moralists; we don't need to be steadfast because it's better to be or more admirable to be. We need to be steadfast because that is the path to perfection, to completeness...only through steadfastness will we reach the place where we lack nothing. When will that be? When will you be perfect? When will you lack nothing? When you get to Him. And not a moment before. Do you see, then? The "full effect" of steadfastness is getting to Him, enduring to the end and getting to Jesus. That is hard to walk in and it is hard to understand. Trials can hurt so much and be so difficult. So if what I'm saying is true, how do I take refuge in such a thing...that the only way I get home is through suffering and trial and suffering and trial come from God precisely to get me home? The answers lie in verses 5-8.
How do you make sense of all this...how do you walk in this with joy? You ask for the wisdom to understand such a truth. And you bank on an answer from Infinite Love and Holiness. We lack the ability to count trials as joy. We lack the knowledge to comprehend all the facets of suffering and we lack the wisdom to properly and most effectively apply what we do know or can know. But God is so good. He does not leave us in the dark. Ask and it will be given to you. Don't doubt. Now, that's the catch, right? You say, "Well, if my faith is shaky and I struggle, how is this promise any good for me? I mean, it says that if we ask with doubt in our hearts, we won't receive anything from God. Well, I have doubts! I don't understand...my faith is weak!" Brother, sister...you are safe. It does not say you must ask with perfect faith (you couldn't have that yet, remember?). It says simply, "ask in faith." Do you believe He is God and He is good? The answers will come. I don't want to rob the warning of its weight, however. I simply want to say that He will not break a bruised reed. You can come before Him. If you know your faith is weak, repent. Ask for the faith it takes to be heard when you pray. God is not going to turn you away when you come to Him, believer. Jesus died to kill that fear.
I think the argument in this passage is one solid argument. I don't think his discussion of rich and poor is apart from the argument on trials and counting it all joy. I believe this because nothing reveals the heart like money. And too much or not enough will reveal your heart...both can be trials. And verse 12 hammers this home once again, you have been called to remain steadfast. You will not receive the crown of life without doing so. You must undertand this. But you must see the joyful hope giving truth of the text, as well. God is giving you what you need to be steadfast so that you will receive your crown. That way you'll have something to throw at the feet of Jesus in the new heavens and the new earth.
And don't be confused or deceived into thinking God is tempting you and trying to get you to fail. The text addresses this very objection. You say, "Well, how is God not tempting me if He's sending me trials knowing that if I struggle, I will fall?" Beloved, He is not tempting you. First reason: He says He is not and He will not. That's where you start, okay? He is not because He says He's not. If you can't understand that (and it is hard), that's our problem, not His. Always remember that. However, I do think we can gain some understanding from the text. I think that James addresses this because the text is speaking of trials coming from God, but not temptations. We see that as incongruous. It is not. Hear me out. God sends trials. Temptation enters the fray when those trials from a good and holy God interact with my sinful heart. I am tempted by my own desires, not by God...this is the context in v.14-17. I am so sinful that what I receive from God is misunderstood and misapplied. He is working in us to finally and fully redeem us, not to destroy us or condemn us. The temptation is not from God, it is from me, from my sinful heart. This is why we need wisdom so badly. We need to know the difference. We need to be strong. We need to be mature.
The goodness of God is revealed in trials...He is giving us an opportunity for joy, for wisdom, for maturity, and for steadfastness. He is doing it to get us home, to give us our crown. If steadfastness is the only way, how good is He to provide us with what we need to possess it? This is hard to walk in; I know. I agree. It gives me pause because I do not yet know how I will react when the bottom drops out. But I am praying for wisdom, for faith. I want to believe He is as wonderfully good as He says He is...as I know He is...when trials come. We need stronger faith. We need to believe our God. And He is faithful and good to help us do it.
In my last post, we tried to understand precisely how we walk this life when it is to be a life of faith. My introductory answer to that question is that we must look to Jesus precisely because He alone is the Founder and Perfecter of our faith. Jesus Christ is risen from the grave. He lived His life looking to His Father whom He had intentionally set always before Him...and He endured. The foundation of His endurance was the motivation He received from banking on the eternal joy He would have at His Father's right hand. He knew God would not abandon Him but would bring Him into His eternal joy in His presence. This sustained Him so much that He endured the Cross. He knew God would raise Him from the dead. I believe this is the key to our endurance...the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
So, running the race that is set before us by faith, looking to Jesus...how do trials and tribulations play into this race? Into life? Because trials make up life. They are always there. We're either going through one, coming out of one, or on our way into one (someone once said). Life is hard. In a fallen world, it is filled with turmoil and trouble. And if you care about and love other people at all, you can't ever have unadulterated joy in this world. The pain and horror of sin and evil just won't allow it. We are to be sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. This is the weight of Christ. My conclusion on trials is that God gives them with the deliberate purpose of making us how we need to be in order to endure. This is not vicious or unloving...because endurance is how we get to Him. And we must live believing the truth of Romans 8, that what we suffer could never be worth comparing to what we obtain after we have endured: Jesus. Forever.
Let's look at James 1:2-18.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
First of all, we must understand that all that comes from God is good. He does not do evil. Ever. Because He is God and everything He does is good. I see a massive tension for us in this statement, but not for God. He has never apologized for or ran from the fact that from Him, through Him, and to Him are all things (Romans 11:36). I am not saying that when God sends a hurricane that the deaths of people are good. I am saying, however, that God is not any less good for having sent it. There are no maverick molecules or ocean drops. He is sovereign. He runs the world, down to the last atom. You say, "Well how is He not responsible for evil, then?" Because He isn't. I am a fallen human being. I didn't create the world. I didn't nor could I make the rules. But He doesn't have to bow before logic or philosophy. You do know that, right? Eventually, you just have to step back, stop where He stops explaining, and bow before Him. He is God, you know. Maybe we have the problem in understanding but He doesn't have the problem in being. Just a thought. There is no notorious "problem of evil" for God. Just for us human beings. We just don't know how to deal with absolute, infinite divinity. That's all I'll say on that at this point. Just know that I'm operating from the fact that God does more than "allow"...He ordains and decrees all that comes to pass and in no way is evil or does evil. What is the alternative? That He does not? Without even taking on that argument at this time, you know you don't want to live in a universe like that. Just think it through.
So, I'm operating from the belief that the trials James addresses and the very reason we can count them all joy is because they come from above...from God...the One James calls the Giver of "every good gift and every perfect gift." Verse 3 begins with the word "for." It is the "because" for verse 2. You can (and must...verse 2 is a command) count every trial as joy. In actuality, without being fake or marginal or disingenuous. Precisely because trials are the means by which God produces steadfastness in you (Consider that well - it isn't like God swoops in after the fact and says, "oh how fortunate, something I can use to produce steadfastness in these human beings!"...no, He set it up deliberately because He is infinitely wise, merciful, smart, and good). Faith needs tested. Do you see that in James? Now, why? Because you need to be steadfast...you need to hold the line...you need to endure (Hebrews 10:36). And God gives you precisely what you need in order to get what you need. In God's reckoning and coming from His infinite wisdom, suffering is the path to glory. How kind He is to give you the grace to get to glory. He could leave you to your endless pursuit of indestructible joy here on earth. Which you will never find and therefore die in your sins without hope and with nothing to look forward to. Yet, God gives us trials. He gives us what we need to get to Him, to behold His beautiful face.
I want to ground this further in verse 4. Notice that steadfastness is not the goal. Do you see that? We are not moralists; we don't need to be steadfast because it's better to be or more admirable to be. We need to be steadfast because that is the path to perfection, to completeness...only through steadfastness will we reach the place where we lack nothing. When will that be? When will you be perfect? When will you lack nothing? When you get to Him. And not a moment before. Do you see, then? The "full effect" of steadfastness is getting to Him, enduring to the end and getting to Jesus. That is hard to walk in and it is hard to understand. Trials can hurt so much and be so difficult. So if what I'm saying is true, how do I take refuge in such a thing...that the only way I get home is through suffering and trial and suffering and trial come from God precisely to get me home? The answers lie in verses 5-8.
How do you make sense of all this...how do you walk in this with joy? You ask for the wisdom to understand such a truth. And you bank on an answer from Infinite Love and Holiness. We lack the ability to count trials as joy. We lack the knowledge to comprehend all the facets of suffering and we lack the wisdom to properly and most effectively apply what we do know or can know. But God is so good. He does not leave us in the dark. Ask and it will be given to you. Don't doubt. Now, that's the catch, right? You say, "Well, if my faith is shaky and I struggle, how is this promise any good for me? I mean, it says that if we ask with doubt in our hearts, we won't receive anything from God. Well, I have doubts! I don't understand...my faith is weak!" Brother, sister...you are safe. It does not say you must ask with perfect faith (you couldn't have that yet, remember?). It says simply, "ask in faith." Do you believe He is God and He is good? The answers will come. I don't want to rob the warning of its weight, however. I simply want to say that He will not break a bruised reed. You can come before Him. If you know your faith is weak, repent. Ask for the faith it takes to be heard when you pray. God is not going to turn you away when you come to Him, believer. Jesus died to kill that fear.
I think the argument in this passage is one solid argument. I don't think his discussion of rich and poor is apart from the argument on trials and counting it all joy. I believe this because nothing reveals the heart like money. And too much or not enough will reveal your heart...both can be trials. And verse 12 hammers this home once again, you have been called to remain steadfast. You will not receive the crown of life without doing so. You must undertand this. But you must see the joyful hope giving truth of the text, as well. God is giving you what you need to be steadfast so that you will receive your crown. That way you'll have something to throw at the feet of Jesus in the new heavens and the new earth.
And don't be confused or deceived into thinking God is tempting you and trying to get you to fail. The text addresses this very objection. You say, "Well, how is God not tempting me if He's sending me trials knowing that if I struggle, I will fall?" Beloved, He is not tempting you. First reason: He says He is not and He will not. That's where you start, okay? He is not because He says He's not. If you can't understand that (and it is hard), that's our problem, not His. Always remember that. However, I do think we can gain some understanding from the text. I think that James addresses this because the text is speaking of trials coming from God, but not temptations. We see that as incongruous. It is not. Hear me out. God sends trials. Temptation enters the fray when those trials from a good and holy God interact with my sinful heart. I am tempted by my own desires, not by God...this is the context in v.14-17. I am so sinful that what I receive from God is misunderstood and misapplied. He is working in us to finally and fully redeem us, not to destroy us or condemn us. The temptation is not from God, it is from me, from my sinful heart. This is why we need wisdom so badly. We need to know the difference. We need to be strong. We need to be mature.
The goodness of God is revealed in trials...He is giving us an opportunity for joy, for wisdom, for maturity, and for steadfastness. He is doing it to get us home, to give us our crown. If steadfastness is the only way, how good is He to provide us with what we need to possess it? This is hard to walk in; I know. I agree. It gives me pause because I do not yet know how I will react when the bottom drops out. But I am praying for wisdom, for faith. I want to believe He is as wonderfully good as He says He is...as I know He is...when trials come. We need stronger faith. We need to believe our God. And He is faithful and good to help us do it.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Looking to Jesus
The New Testament defines and interprets the Old Testament. We must start with the new or the old has no place and makes no sense. Jesus is the deliberate substance and fulfillment and focus of all Scripture, in and through His work of redemption. Therefore, biblical theology informs systematic theology. Faith, therefore, is informed and defined by redemption.
The believer will endure to the end by faith, and in no other way. Christ purchases and grants redemption to us through the Cross, giving us the Holy Spirit. The Spirit seals us and is our Guarantee that we will obtain redemption on the last day. Believers are called to endure by faith in light of this work of grace. The wonderful news is that, while faith is required, it is also a gift of grace. We have a great Savior who is all that we need and has done all that we must. All He is and all He has done has been granted to us through the Cross. This includes His perseverance through Calvary to the empty tomb and onto the ascension of the Son of Man back to His Father. In Acts 2, Peter does two things for us that are indispensable to our faith: 1) He helps us understand how to read the Psalms in light of Christ. 2) He shows us that Psalm 16 was actually about the resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, we are not being irresponsible to read Psalm 16 as a means to understanding how we can endure today, even in light of all that living in this fallen world is.
Acts 2:22-36 - 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me,for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ 29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.’ 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Now, notice what Peter says in v.25. "For David says concering him...!" Psalm 16 was written by David in the first person. Yet Peter, whose eyes have been opened by Jesus to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24) sees that David was for Christ. Psalm 16 was about Jesus; it was written "concering Him." This is how we are to read it; this is how we can understand it. And it is a beautiful light for our faith: the glory of the Risen Christ. Notice how Peter proves David was not talking about himself..."you can go to David's tomb right now...he's rotting inside!" But not Jesus. No, not Jesus. Know for certain, therefore, says Peter...Jesus is alive.
1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;I have no good apart from you.” 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,in whom is all my delight. 4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. - Psalm 16
Imagine Jesus praying these words. Imagine him, if you will, in the Garden just before He died. "Preserve me, God. I have no good but you. You are my all. I won't fall away, I won't relent, no matter what is promised to my flesh by doing so. You give me counsel. You teach me." Look where Jesus had His Father...set at His right hand. And because of this, He would not be shaken, not even from Calvary. This was the source of His enduring joy (v.9). And the reason He had a fortifying security, even in His flesh, was the fact that He knew...He knew...God would raise Him from the dead. He would not be abandoned. He would not waste His life. He would not be crucified and left in the ground. No. God would raise Him from the dead. And when He did, He would ascend. He would dwell at God's right hand. There, and only there, is the fullness of joy. There, and only there, are pleasures forevermore. Notice what Jesus did. He did not count any fleeting pleasure better than what was to come at His Father's side. By looking to the future, He was sustained in a horrendous present. And we are not above our Master. We will endure, if we endure, in precisely the same way.
Note these amazing words that solidify this for us in Hebrews 12:1-2. Note the language and how it creates a beautiful chain for our assurance in light of Psalm 16.
Hebrews 12:1-2 - 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Who is this cloud of witnesses? It is the cloud of all who came before, who did so by faith...by looking to what they could not see and seeing it. We lay aside the weights and the burdens. We live a life of repentance. And we run with all our grace-given might. But where do you look so that you don't go off the track? You look where Jesus did. To the fullness of joy and pleasure at God's right hand. And I ask you...what is at God's right hand? What is there? Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus is the fullness of joy. Jesus is pleasures forevermore. You bank on indestructible, everlasting joy, just like He did. And you run. Do you see that in verse 2, do you see how it connects with Psalm 16? Beloved, how do you endure? Exactly how Jesus did. Where do you look as you run this race? Exactly where Jesus did.
And what will you see when you, a redeemed believer, look to God's right hand? You will see Jesus, the founder and the perfecter of your faith. You will see all the assurance you need and its guarantee. Because Jesus is there. He is all you need. He gave you the faith...He started the work...He led the way and bought all the tickets. And then, on the other side of Calvary when the stone was rolled away...He perfected it...He won it...He finished it. And then He gave it to you. Therefore, you will endure. And you will get home with your weak, struggling, shaky faith. Your faith has been perfected in the One whom God raised from the dead. God looks at Jesus for you. And He need only look to His right. Bank on Him, beloved. Believe the Gospel. Bank on the One God vindicated by raising Him from the dead...which is precisely what He will do to you. You will not be abandoned to the grave, no matter how you go out. You will not be left to rot. And you will not be condemnded. All because...all because of Jesus. Rest in Christ. Live looking to Jesus.
The believer will endure to the end by faith, and in no other way. Christ purchases and grants redemption to us through the Cross, giving us the Holy Spirit. The Spirit seals us and is our Guarantee that we will obtain redemption on the last day. Believers are called to endure by faith in light of this work of grace. The wonderful news is that, while faith is required, it is also a gift of grace. We have a great Savior who is all that we need and has done all that we must. All He is and all He has done has been granted to us through the Cross. This includes His perseverance through Calvary to the empty tomb and onto the ascension of the Son of Man back to His Father. In Acts 2, Peter does two things for us that are indispensable to our faith: 1) He helps us understand how to read the Psalms in light of Christ. 2) He shows us that Psalm 16 was actually about the resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, we are not being irresponsible to read Psalm 16 as a means to understanding how we can endure today, even in light of all that living in this fallen world is.
Acts 2:22-36 - 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me,for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ 29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.’ 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Now, notice what Peter says in v.25. "For David says concering him...!" Psalm 16 was written by David in the first person. Yet Peter, whose eyes have been opened by Jesus to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24) sees that David was for Christ. Psalm 16 was about Jesus; it was written "concering Him." This is how we are to read it; this is how we can understand it. And it is a beautiful light for our faith: the glory of the Risen Christ. Notice how Peter proves David was not talking about himself..."you can go to David's tomb right now...he's rotting inside!" But not Jesus. No, not Jesus. Know for certain, therefore, says Peter...Jesus is alive.
1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;I have no good apart from you.” 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,in whom is all my delight. 4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. - Psalm 16
Imagine Jesus praying these words. Imagine him, if you will, in the Garden just before He died. "Preserve me, God. I have no good but you. You are my all. I won't fall away, I won't relent, no matter what is promised to my flesh by doing so. You give me counsel. You teach me." Look where Jesus had His Father...set at His right hand. And because of this, He would not be shaken, not even from Calvary. This was the source of His enduring joy (v.9). And the reason He had a fortifying security, even in His flesh, was the fact that He knew...He knew...God would raise Him from the dead. He would not be abandoned. He would not waste His life. He would not be crucified and left in the ground. No. God would raise Him from the dead. And when He did, He would ascend. He would dwell at God's right hand. There, and only there, is the fullness of joy. There, and only there, are pleasures forevermore. Notice what Jesus did. He did not count any fleeting pleasure better than what was to come at His Father's side. By looking to the future, He was sustained in a horrendous present. And we are not above our Master. We will endure, if we endure, in precisely the same way.
Note these amazing words that solidify this for us in Hebrews 12:1-2. Note the language and how it creates a beautiful chain for our assurance in light of Psalm 16.
Hebrews 12:1-2 - 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Who is this cloud of witnesses? It is the cloud of all who came before, who did so by faith...by looking to what they could not see and seeing it. We lay aside the weights and the burdens. We live a life of repentance. And we run with all our grace-given might. But where do you look so that you don't go off the track? You look where Jesus did. To the fullness of joy and pleasure at God's right hand. And I ask you...what is at God's right hand? What is there? Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus is the fullness of joy. Jesus is pleasures forevermore. You bank on indestructible, everlasting joy, just like He did. And you run. Do you see that in verse 2, do you see how it connects with Psalm 16? Beloved, how do you endure? Exactly how Jesus did. Where do you look as you run this race? Exactly where Jesus did.
And what will you see when you, a redeemed believer, look to God's right hand? You will see Jesus, the founder and the perfecter of your faith. You will see all the assurance you need and its guarantee. Because Jesus is there. He is all you need. He gave you the faith...He started the work...He led the way and bought all the tickets. And then, on the other side of Calvary when the stone was rolled away...He perfected it...He won it...He finished it. And then He gave it to you. Therefore, you will endure. And you will get home with your weak, struggling, shaky faith. Your faith has been perfected in the One whom God raised from the dead. God looks at Jesus for you. And He need only look to His right. Bank on Him, beloved. Believe the Gospel. Bank on the One God vindicated by raising Him from the dead...which is precisely what He will do to you. You will not be abandoned to the grave, no matter how you go out. You will not be left to rot. And you will not be condemnded. All because...all because of Jesus. Rest in Christ. Live looking to Jesus.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Diverging Roads
The grace of God cleanses us from all sin. The blood of Jesus is as sufficient as it is powerful to wipe away all of it. Past, present, and future. I write this afternoon a free man, cleansed of my sin, of my shame, of the guilt and failures of my past. And it is all because, will always be exclusively because, of Jesus Christ. He is risen. I am safe. I am cleansed. I am redeemed. I still struggle, make no mistake. But if you asked me, "Tony, what is the main difference, if there is one, between you now and you three/four years ago?" Hope. Hope. In marvelous grace, God is helping me finally believe the Gospel. And I have a living and joyful hope.
And while I can't explain it or form the words to describe it correctly, I know that I must preach. For me, the lines of a life that will glorify God means deliberate, vocational Gospel-ministry.
So. What do I do? Do I put out my resume? Or do I plant? For me, there are no other options. If I don't preach soon, I will probably explode. I can look back at my time as a full-time pastor and list what I should have/could have done differently. There is a blessing to making mistakes...you do learn. I can look back on my time as a planter and list what I should have/could have done better. I can look back at both and see decisions I should have made, ones I should have made differently, people I should have treated differently, etc. etc. etc. Listen, I could do this all day. I've been doing it for over two years. Well, I'm not doing it anymore. I'm just not. I have had the absolutely grace-filled, unbelievably kind hand of a good God let me fail and give me trial. And He has brought me through. Yes, I messed up. Yes, I had issues. There is no doubt. But I also had a great Savior. In the mirror of my failure where I saw my sin and pride and wickedness, there was a hand on my shoulder in the reflection. A nail-scarred hand. I didn't see it before. My eyes were blinded by my pride. But I see it now. My fight was finished 2,000 years ago. I'm moving on.
So here I stand at Frost's diverging roads. I can keep sending out my resume (I think I have 4,987 out at the moment in virtually every state in the contiguous US)or I can plant a church and by grace do it the right way this time (if the Lord wills and will work so in me). My friend, my brother, Darby, says that most guys who want to be pastors don't even entertain planting. It isn't even in their minds. For me, it's always on my mind. I can wait for a church to call me or I can plant one. Is this irresponsible? I don't know. But I have to wonder why it's there at all, don't I? I want to pastor an established church, full-time, right now. I want one to call me and say, "come and be our pastor." I want to move my family and I there and go to work. One church for the rest of my life. That's what I want. But I kind of also want something else. I want to start a God-glorifying, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated, people-loving, missionary-sending, church-planting church in a place where the current churches aren't holding out the light. I want to see a people rise up from nothing and bring hope where other churches aren't bringing enough. Sometimes I would rather give birth than raise the dead. I also want that. I would be lying if I said there isn't a part of me that would love to do that. So, I don't know what to do.
I'm standing here, praying, waiting, seeking God...but how long do I stand and pray and wait and seek?
And while I can't explain it or form the words to describe it correctly, I know that I must preach. For me, the lines of a life that will glorify God means deliberate, vocational Gospel-ministry.
So. What do I do? Do I put out my resume? Or do I plant? For me, there are no other options. If I don't preach soon, I will probably explode. I can look back at my time as a full-time pastor and list what I should have/could have done differently. There is a blessing to making mistakes...you do learn. I can look back on my time as a planter and list what I should have/could have done better. I can look back at both and see decisions I should have made, ones I should have made differently, people I should have treated differently, etc. etc. etc. Listen, I could do this all day. I've been doing it for over two years. Well, I'm not doing it anymore. I'm just not. I have had the absolutely grace-filled, unbelievably kind hand of a good God let me fail and give me trial. And He has brought me through. Yes, I messed up. Yes, I had issues. There is no doubt. But I also had a great Savior. In the mirror of my failure where I saw my sin and pride and wickedness, there was a hand on my shoulder in the reflection. A nail-scarred hand. I didn't see it before. My eyes were blinded by my pride. But I see it now. My fight was finished 2,000 years ago. I'm moving on.
So here I stand at Frost's diverging roads. I can keep sending out my resume (I think I have 4,987 out at the moment in virtually every state in the contiguous US)or I can plant a church and by grace do it the right way this time (if the Lord wills and will work so in me). My friend, my brother, Darby, says that most guys who want to be pastors don't even entertain planting. It isn't even in their minds. For me, it's always on my mind. I can wait for a church to call me or I can plant one. Is this irresponsible? I don't know. But I have to wonder why it's there at all, don't I? I want to pastor an established church, full-time, right now. I want one to call me and say, "come and be our pastor." I want to move my family and I there and go to work. One church for the rest of my life. That's what I want. But I kind of also want something else. I want to start a God-glorifying, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated, people-loving, missionary-sending, church-planting church in a place where the current churches aren't holding out the light. I want to see a people rise up from nothing and bring hope where other churches aren't bringing enough. Sometimes I would rather give birth than raise the dead. I also want that. I would be lying if I said there isn't a part of me that would love to do that. So, I don't know what to do.
I'm standing here, praying, waiting, seeking God...but how long do I stand and pray and wait and seek?
Thursday, July 15, 2010
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