The Father's Favor

In Elizabeth and Mary, the Lord gives us two examples of highly favored women of great faith. In both instances, their husbands stumble at unbelief but the women do not falter. They hear the word of the Lord and readily submit to it. While their situations were highly unlikely, they both embraced God’s work without doubting either that it was God that was doing the work, or that He could and would fulfill that which was spoken. They did not waver in unbelief.

         This passage (Luke 1:26-56) is remarkable for several reasons. First, it shows us that little babies, even tiny babies in the womb, can know God and be known by God. They can know even more than this. John Baptist recognizes the voice of his relative, Mary, even though he had never heard her voice before. And through what can only be a spiritual and emotional connection, he also recognizes that the Lord Jesus is near.

         Another remarkable thing about this passage is related to the personhood argument, if you want to give it any time of day. Jesus is Jesus even though He is just a very tiny embryo, not even yet up to the status of fetus, in the womb of His mother, Mary. He is probably only a couple of weeks in utero at the time of this occurrence and yet, Elizabeth and John Baptist recognize Him as the Lord, the Messiah. Mary receives this, acknowledging this truth, as well.

         When we see such women of great faith, we should all be encouraged and exhorted to such belief. These women did not doubt the sovereignty or power of God. When God acted in their midst, they simply believed Him and submitted to His will. When He spoke, they did not doubt that it was Him that was speaking or that He would now do His will.

         While we do not have these divine utterances from the Lord, we do have His Word. In His Word, God reveals His will. He makes promises and He comes to us in the power of His Holy Spirit to accomplish that will, to dispense the promises. What will you do? Will you doubt, like Zacharias? Will you disbelieve like Joseph? Or, will you humbly submit yourself to God’s will and God’s promises, like the faithful Elizabeth, like the highly favored Mary?

         There is another important thing to point out in this passage. The Bible says that Zacharias and Elizabeth were righteous. It also says that Mary was highly favored of the Lord and that John Baptist was great in the eyes of the Lord. What can we good Presbyterian folk make of this? I thought we were all by nature objects of wrath? I thought all of our righteous deeds were as filthy rags? I thought that no sin can stand in the presence of the Lord and that we are full of sin? There is some truth to these statements but we are out of balance. We hardly have room in our minds and hearts for the Father looking at us with favor.

         We need to think balanced Bible thoughts, not puckered Presbyterian thoughts. It is true that we sin. It is true that we, who sin, need a Savior Jesus and His Holy Spirit to justify us and to make us into His image. But we should not slander the Father’s love towards us. The Father, Himself, favors His people. He looks upon them, us, with love and desires to save them to the uttermost. It is the Father who sent the Son to save us from our sins, for God so loves the world that He sent His Son.

         When we sin, we should repent. When we sin grievously, in an open or big way or over a long period of time, we need forgiveness and we also need healing and reconciliation. In such scandalous sins, we have a reason to wonder if a Spirit-filled man, woman or child could act in such a way. In such cases, there should be soul searching, deep sorrow and thorough repentance.

But for the ordinary faithful Christian, who is seeking to be obedient to God today, who by all appearances is actively walking in God’s goodness, we should understand that the Father’s pleasure and favor is directed towards that person, towards you, towards me. We should not be fearful to come into His presence, but rather, we should desire to come to the Father and He to us, for He favors us.

His Heirs at Table

Both Elizabeth and Mary believed God. They humbled themselves before the Lord that He would do with them whatever was in His mind to do. God honored these women and blessed them with the most glorious of sons.

         We come to our Lord as His humble servants. Both Elizabeth and Mary confessed to be the doulos of the Lord, His servants, quite literally His slaves. A handmaiden is simply a female slave. But God took these women, lowly of heart, and elevated them to the highest honor. Elizabeth bore the last Old Testament prophet. Mary bore the Lord Incarnate.

These women represent faithful Israel, the ones on whom the Lord rightly and justly grants all of His promised blessing. It is still all of grace but they are no longer merely servants, slaves, lowly and despised. They are raised to a new place, the truly blessed ones of the Lord. We are gathered here with them in the place of blessing. The Lord has brought us, undeserving slaves, to the place of the rightful place of godly offspring, heirs according to promise.

         You are welcome here as God’s faithful children. Rejoice in God’s goodness and peace to you.

Our Eves

During the Advent readings, the Scriptures present to us two blessed women, Elizabeth, the mother of John Baptist and Mary, the mother of Jesus. These are two of the greatest women in all of Scripture. Along with Eve, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, these women are renowned for one particular thing, bearing the children of God’s people.

         Our culture makes too little of this great calling of women. Some have looked at our many full quivers and said that we make too much of it. But that is not true. If anything, even we make too little of it. Our mothers are great saints and whether they have one baby or many, the blessing is real and glorious. Let us take this seriously, knowing that even our children are God’s means of saving the world. And not only our mothers will be saved by child bearing, as it says in Scripture ( 1Tim. 2:15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing), but all the Earth will be saved in this same way if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. And let us repent for failing to see this blessing as stark as it really is and for failing to hail our mothers as the mothers of all living.

MacArthur Book Winners! And Still More

Jonathan Myers, Gene Helsel, I need your mailing addresses to send you a book!!!

You can email me at: virgilhurt@gmail.com

Three are taken, I still have three to give away.

Who are some more unlikely heroes from Scripture?

Free MacArthur Book, Twelve Unlikely Heroes

Thomas Nelson sent me a copy of John MacArthur's new book, Twelve Unlikely Heroes, to review and make a blog post. I have done that. They also sent me six copies to give away on my blog.

Three are gone, to Rick and Jonathan and Gene. I need your addresses Gene and Jonathan! I have three more to go and since the responses are so few, it goes to the first three that respond. Still make it good, though!!!

You can make comments here: http://vhurt.blogspot.com/

I would like to make a bit of a contest out of it. It's easy.

In a one paragraph comment, tell us who you think the most unlikely hero of the Bible is and why.

It cannot be a hero that MacArthur has already listed, see my previous post. I'll pick the top six based upon the unlikeliness of their hero status compared to the ultimate level of that status. Murky? Got it?

I'll need your name and address in order to mail you the book.You can send your name and address to virgilhurt@gmail.com

Good luck.

Advent- Silence Broken

Today is the first Sunday in the new Church Year. It is the time of year again where we recount the life of Jesus. This makes good sense since He is our life. The cycles of the year should revolve around the events of the life of Jesus and subsequently, the important events in our lives.

         For the last several years, we have made note of the days of the Church Year on our church bulletins. We want you to be aware of these important cycles as you structure your lives. This is especially important as the culture around us either ignores the Church Year altogether or trivializes it in a dramatic fashion. We live in an age in which the commercialization of everything makes everything seem like just another excuse to have a party.

         Well, we like to party. We are looking for a good excuse, too! But where is our heart? Our desire is to glorify God in all that we do. The Church Year gives us many reasons for celebration and rejoicing in the goodness of God through Christ. It is not just a reason to party but it is the best reason to party in the right way and for the right reason.

         Advent is the four Sundays before Christmas and marks our preparation for the coming of the Christ. In the Roman Catholic Church this is a penitential season of confession and repentance. We have not practiced Advent in this way and we have our reasons why we are opposed to penitential seasons in the church year.  Regular repentance? Yes. We do this every week in our Covenant Renewal Worship service. Repenting for weeks or doing penance, as such?  No. But I do think it is appropriate to examine ourselves regularly asking the Lord to reveal sins, so that we are eager to see and receive Jesus when He comes in power.

         The arrival of John Baptist in a miraculous way was the precursor to the arrival of Jesus. His arrival as well as the arrival of the Christ were prophesied in the last Old Testament book, Malachi. In that book, we get a sense of the sorts of sins we should be aware of that brought both judgment and silence from God. These are the sins that brought reproach on Israel.

         The four weeks of Advent are said to represent the four thousand years from Adam to Christ. But there is another way to look at the four weeks. Thinking of Malachi, we see that the Lord had been silent among the prophets for four hundred years. John Baptist arises as an Old Testament prophet, the one spoken of in Malachi that will be the forerunner of the Christ. We can take each week as a reminder of one hundred years of silence from God due to Israel’s sin. This gives us an intense craving for the coming of the forerunner of Christ and the Messiah, Himself, as God once again speaks to and redeems His people.

Table of Grace and Blessing

 This morning we have considered the Lord’s appearing to Zacharias and how He took away the reproach not only of Elizabeth but of Israel. We have inherited that blessing. Whereas, we were by nature objects of wrath, the Lord, through the shed blood of Jesus, has brought us to this table of grace and blessing. In our own strength, we were doomed to fail and could not bring about the conditions for our own salvation. But thanks be to God, that at the right time, the Lord sent the forerunner, John, and then His own dear Son, born of a Virgin, to call us to repentance and to save us from our sins.

         We are no longer in our reproach. We have been rescued, healed, saved, and blessed as dear children of the most holy God and King. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? I am convinced that no one and nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. So, let us rejoice as we eat and drink of God’s great salvation.

Wander Towards Jesus

It is easier for us at this season of Advent to let our minds wander towards Jesus. We have reminders all around us. There are manger scenes, Christmas trees, wreaths on the doors. Even the rise of the non-religious Christmas, Snoopy scenes and Frosty the Snowman, cause us to lament the focus on Jesus and make us think of Him again. It is good to have this long season of thinking of Jesus, His Advent, His Incarnation, the trajectory of His life and eventual death and resurrection. Just as we need a weekly renewal, so this is a wonderful annual season of renewal.

         This also makes us aware that we go through long stretches of having our minds wander away from Jesus. So, let us confess that wandering, asking the Holy Spirit to continually focus our minds on the Lord Christ such that the glory that is revealed in Advent and Christmas will remain with us throughout the year.

Loving the Saints

1Cor. 13:13   So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

This is a much quoted passage from Corinthians and it should be. In our circles, we put a high value on truth, the study of doctrine and the power of faith. And we should. But we run the danger of speaking the truth in truth, or speaking the truth in faith, conviction, convincingly, or speaking the truth with technical precision. But the Bible says to speak the truth in love and that is not quite the same.

How do we do that?

1Cor. 13:4   Love is patient- When you speak to your brothers, are you patient or do you expect them to get what you are saying, RIGHT NOW, because it so logical, precise and well, so true?

and kind;- What is your demeanor in speaking? One who knows that what he is saying is right or true, is tempted to be condescending. That form of speaking can be very belittling and that is not kindness. Kindness comes from a patient heart and is not easily offended or defensive. Since you do not have to WIN the conversation right now, you are kind. The Bible says that God's kindness leads us to repentance and yours just might, too.

love does not envy- How do you do when your less deserving brother (at least in your eyes) is blessed? Do you rejoice? Or do you grumble and wish that he had not been blessed in this way?

or boast- Boasting is almost always done to boost up insecurities. God calls us to edify others, to build them up, not squash them down as we use them to push ourselves higher.

it is not arrogant- This reveals a lack of empathy as well as personal pride. Arrogance does not appreciate others because it assumes they have nothing substantial to offer. Hmmm.

or rude- Well, the arrogant are rude. Some humility will make them kinder.

It does not insist on its own way; - The arrogant and rude usually do get their own way because kind and loving people do not want to fight with them. But the arrogant also find themselves friendless.

it is not irritable or resentful-These two faults are often played as virtues. In the guise of being 'concerned' about a situation or friend, one gets repeatedly frustrated and irritated. If the one you are irritated about does not change, you begin to resent them. When someone's behavior is very frustrating to you, you either need to confront them or just not worry about it. You may need to do both. Confront them and then just not worry about it. Let the Lord do the work. It is easier for Him when you stop being frustrated and resentful.

it does not rejoice at wrongdoing- There are multiple ways to rejoice at wrongdoing. You can enjoy the sins of others in a perverse, voyeuristic sort of way. Or, you can rejoice when the one you are frustrated with does wrong and pays the price. The Christian thing to do is to grieve when others do wrong and pay the price, even if we believe the Lord's justice is being paid out. We should desire that the hard knocks of sin lead them to repentance.

but rejoices with the truth- We should always find great joy in whatever is true and beautiful and good.

Love bears all things- but not if you are irritable and resentful. If that is you, then you can bear very little, maybe not even someone changing lanes without signaling.

believes all things- This does not mean that you are foolish and believe everything you are told. This means that you believe that God is capable of doing great and mighty things. He can deal with those that frustrate you, or heal your frustration, or right the wrongdoer, or forgive your envious heart.

hopes all things- And God fixing things is exactly what you are hoping for. This sort of hope encourages but it also gives peace. If your hope really is in the Lord, then you do not have to be anxious. You can rest that God will fulfill His promises in His way at just the right time.

endures all things- Until He does so, you persevere by His Spirit. Because you love God and know that He loves you and expects you to love others, you are empowered to deal with all sorts of tribulation: life trouble, false accusations, personal hardships, misunderstandings, financial disaster, death of loved ones, job changes, moves, whatever the Lord brings. Your rest is truly in the Lord and you can endure towards others in a way that reveals wherein your hope lies.

True Saint

What does it mean to be a saint? We often use this word simply meaning our brothers and sisters in the church. We are referring simply to Christians. I think that is a good use of the word. It is not really a qualified term but refers broadly to God’s people.

         However, the word is derived from the Greek Hagios, which means sacred, something that is physically sacred, pure, morally blameless or religious, used ceremonially in a religious context, or consecrated, something that is (most) holy (one, thing), a saint.

         Think about that for a moment. To be a saint, a true saint, is to be set apart by God, one who belongs to God and such a one that is holy. As soon as we hear that, we become fearful, knowing our own thoughts, hearts, words and actions. We often are not holy, not set apart from the world around us.

         First, acknowledge this and turn from unholiness to the holy God. Second, embrace God’s forgiveness and justification in Christ, which does, in fact, make you holy. Third, believe that God has done this work in you so that you can come to Him without fear of condemnation or judgment. And fourth, by grace, walk in the power of the Holy Spirit in true holiness.

Apart with Jesus

God’s saints are gathered here to partake of His Son. In fact, you have all already done so, confessing that Jesus is the Savior and Ruler of the Cosmos.

He now offers you the meal of peace. But you should keep in mind that this is a special meal. It is not a meal for everyone. This is the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. In order to eat here, you must have the proper wedding clothes on. I do not mean a Sunday dress or a suit and tie. You must have on much fancier clothing than that. You must be fully clothed in Christ, having put off the old self and having put on Christ. This means dying to self, taking up the life of Jesus and walking with Jesus and His body from this day and forever more. 

Only those who are in Christ receive the peaceful blessing of this meal. This means each one of you who have been baptized into His name and are walking with Jesus. So, come apart with Jesus in this holy place and find peace and rest for your souls.

Twelve Unlikely Heroes-John Macarthur****

Just finished Twelve Unlikely Heroes by John MacArthur. As usual, MacArthur does an excellent job of telling stories from the Bible.

The Unlikely Heroes are ones we all recognize and think of as pillars in the faith; Encoh, Joseph, Miriam, Gideon, Samson, Jonathan, Jonah, Esther, John the Baptist, James, Mark and Onesimus. Of course, these men and women are a Who's Who of the Bible but MacArthur helps us see that none of them excelled out of natural graces. All of them were reliant upon the Spirit of God to become who they were and thus play their roles as Biblical Heroes.

MacArthur is a good story teller. He is a preeminent  Bible scholar and does a terrific job of putting us on the scene in these stories. We get a sense of the times and of the possibility that these heroes could easily have been failures. In fact, some of them did fail, initially, and only by God's grace were they restored and used by Him to great glory.

While I am always pleased with MacArthur's teaching from the Bible, I often find myself wanting just a bit more, not so much from what MacArthur says but from what he could dig out of Scripture if he had a more cohesive view. He talks about God's covenants and gives us great encouragement and hope in God's promises. That part is very encouraging. But his dispensational views keep him from seeing even more, deeper and glorious connections. I, and many other Reformed Christians, owe a great debt to MacArthur, who got us going down this path many years ago, but wish he would have come along with us in the glories of a full-orbed covenantal view of Scripture.

This book has the feel of a high school level Sunday school class. Most of the stories are familiar and he takes a fair amount of space to retell the Bible story before proceeding on to why the particular hero was unlikely. But I have been studying the Bible for many years and did not at all mind the Bible review. I also know that in much of our modern Bible illiterate culture, many folks will find these stories new and fresh.

A similar or follow-up book could be written with these and other heroes all shown to be types of Christ. The death and resurrection story is clearly a strong theme in the lives of these ancient saints but is not developed in this book. I would have like to have seen this developed in this book in order to reveal the comprehensive story of God.

Finally, MacArthur reveals that God is the true hero. He takes all of these men and women and uses both their talents and even their failings to do His glorious will on the Earth. That is a center piece in the story of God.

I recommend this book.

Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my Lord Jesus, for truly in Him we live and move and have our being. From Him flow all good things and I am blessed to have much, more than much, a great abundance, a veritable shower of blessings.

God has given me a good wife, a wife of my youth, one in whom my heart is still satisfied.

God has given us wonderful children. In them, I am blessed many fold. He has taken my wife and me, made us one, and from that union, produced many. We see the Trinity in action, creating an immense diversity, still working in a glorious unity. That is the Godhead and by His grace is wonderfully reflected in our family.

So, I thank God for Rebecca, Elizabeth, Zachary, Anna, Leah and Calvin.

Our family is growing and Becca now has a husband, Simon, and I am thankful for him.

I am thankful for my mother, my brothers and my sisters.

I have been blessed to be the Pastor of Providence Church for 12 years. Through these saints, the Lord has constantly showered His love and grace on us. I am thankful for every one of them.

I am thankful to live in this city, Lynchburg, VA, where the Word of God is a beacon  of light where many thousands consistently revert for illumination and life.

I am thankful for God's grace, without which, I would be forever lost.

The Peaceful Meal

The Lord's discipline should bring us to the place of restoration, peace with God and with men. This peace is presented to you here, in the body and blood of Jesus. Have you partaken of Him? If so, then you have no right to be at odds with any man. As you have been freely forgiven, so forgive. Let us fully walk in this, declaring our love and unity now with these brothers and sisters gathered here. And from this day forth, doing all in our power to be right with God and men. And when we fail, to gladly admit it so that we can be fully restored to the beautiful fellowship of this peaceful meal.

Peace with God and Man

I mentioned in the exhortation last week that you either have to overlook sins or confront and forgive them. These are your only two Biblical choices and all other options lead to death. 

So, how did you do this week? Did you let it go? Did you address what needed addressed? If you have taken care of business, then today you are at peace with God and man. But if not, there is still unrest in your heart and the need to move into the forgiveness of God and extend it to every man, husband, wife, mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter or friend, for He is our peace and has broken down every wall.

Free MacArthur Book Contest!!!

Thomas Nelson sent me a copy of John MacArthur's new book, Twelve Unlikely Heroes, to review and make a blog post. I have done that. They also sent me six copies to give away on my blog.

One is  gone. Good job Rick Davis. Still have five to give away.

You can make comments here: http://vhurt.blogspot.com/

I would like to make a bit of a contest out of it. It's easy.

In a one paragraph comment, tell us who you think the most unlikely hero of the Bible is and why.

It cannot be a hero that MacArthur has already listed, see my previous post. I'll pick the top six based upon the unlikeliness of their hero status compared to the ultimate level of that status. Murky? Got it?

I'll need your name and address in order to mail you the book.

Good luck.

Wisdom over Knowledge

James 1:5   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.

In this passage from James, he calls us to ask God for wisdom and then trust that God will grant it. I have run into many Christians that talk about 'finding' the will of God. They seem to think that there is some perfectly created will of God out there and that it is their duty to seek God in order to find that will.

But I would call such finding, knowledge. They have a yearning to know what God knows and often desire this before they make a decision. Many times, they say something like, "I am in prayer, seeking the Lord's will." My take on this is that they are trying to discover what the Lord knows, that is, they want knowledge.

But James is saying something different. He is saying that we should ask the Lord for wisdom and then we should trust that He grants it. If we ask and if we trust, then we can move forward in our decisions trusting they are from the Lord. We  do not wait to act until we know. We act believing the Lord will fulfill His promise of giving us wisdom.

My argument is that the one who seeks to know before he acts is like  the man who is double-minded, unstable in all his ways. He is afraid to act because he is afraid that the Lord has not clearly revealed His will. But the Lord wants us to act in faith, not in complete knowledge. And when we refuse to act, or hedge our acting with a lack of faith, the Bible tells us that such a man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

Providence Church 100 Year Anniversary

Providence Church just had its 100 Year Anniversary. Not bad for only being in existence for 12 years! That's what happens when Rachel has a baby.

Our son Calvin said, "Dad, when the Weizeneckers throw a baptism party, it's not a party, it's a 100 Year Anniversary!"

I agree. So, we have to wait another 88 years for the real 100 Year Anniversary. I think we will have a hard time outdoing the shindig we just had. Maybe my great grandson will baptize the Weizenecker's great, great granddaughter. That might do it.

Goode Virgil

I wanted to make a bit of a qualification on my previous post. I was disappointed along with the rest of you that Romney was not elected. I much preferred him over the alternative. However, I voted for Virgil because he is Goode.

Election Bias

It seems to me that you are biased. You expect a certain outcome and expecting it begin to interpret data based upon your expectation. Well, maybe not you, but that is the case for me and, I think, for countless others. We did not believe the polls or the O campaign's take on things because we did not want to. But there it is, people voted just like the media was saying they would and just like most of the polls showed they would and our wishful thinking on the unstated or jaded assumptions in those polls was simply wrong.

What can we take away from this? One thing is that we should understand that it is really difficult to be objective when thinking about things or discussing things you have strong opinions about. This is, of course, true. We all know it but then we insist upon some level of real objectivity as we prop up our bad position with good arguments. I suppose I am simply calling for some real humility in your life when it is related to things that are not absolutely clear.

We can and ought to take a solid stand on biblical issues. When the Lord has clearly said then we should be bold enough to declare that truth. But when we express strong opinions about things where we could easily be mistaken, we need to be willing to hear reasonable arguments that are opposed to us. James 3:16-17 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. At the least, after the fact, we should readily admit that we just jumped the gun and allowed ourselves to get carried away for the sake of winning an argument, not for the glory of the real truth.

Strength at the Lord's Table

In today’s sermon, we have heard what it means to be closer than a brother, that is to be a true friend. No doubt, if we are honest, we have all been called up short to some degree. But we ought not despair. The Lord Jesus is that friend that sticks closer than a brother and He is with us here now to comfort and love us, granting us close fellowship with Him and enabling us by His Holy Spirit to be conformed into His image so that we can be the best kind of friend. As we eat and drink of the Lord, we will be changed into the sort of friend that will always stick closer than a brother.

No Offense or Forgive

We are all sinners and yet Christ died for us. The love of the Father towards us was revealed in that He sent His Son to bear our sins. We should think of this as we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, letting love cover a multitude of sins.

         We have taught this often in this church. If your brother sins and you can simply overlook his faults and love him anyway, then you should do so. But if he sins against you and you cannot simply overlook the sin, then the Bible requires that you go to him, confront him so that he repents and then forgive him.

         But you do not get to harbor bitterness against him for the sin that he has committed. You must simply overlook it and take no offense, at all, or you must confront him so that the sin can be confessed and forgiven. To the extent that you are bitter or angry at your brother, sister, mother, father, husband, wife or friend, you must now simply drop it altogether and leave no bitterness at all against them, OR you must now commit to confronting them with their sin for the express purpose of granting them full forgiveness. But the Lord does not allow you to hold onto the wrongs committed against you. Let that sink in. The Lord does not allow you to hold on to the wrongs committed against you. You may not be fully able to deal with this right now in this moment but you do need to take care of it today.

Little Saints at The Lord's Table

Today, we have received three children into Christ’s Church. These children belong to the Lord every bit as much as they belong to their own parents. And, in the Lord, we all have kinship in these children, as well. We have a new little brother and new little sisters. They are part of our community, our communion in the Lord. So, it is fitting that we gather here, with them, to eat and drink of the goodness of the Lord. They cannot yet eat bread or drink wine but, in time, they will grow to be able to eat and drink with us and they will learn of the Lord’s promises and they will trust Him, tasting that the Lord is good.

         So, all of you have an obligation, along with their parents and brothers and sisters, to reveal truth to them, in the way that you live, and speak and even in the way that you eat at this Table. Look upon the bread and the wine and know that God, the Father is doing the same. He sees the blood of Jesus and knows that His people are cleansed from their sins. And through this, He accepts each of you, and Beatrice, and Noah and Charlotte, our newest saints. Agree with the Father. Rejoice in His goodness to you and to the least among us. Walk in this forgiveness and newness and so prove the grace and blessing of the Lord.

Presumptuous Sins

We are not to live presumptuous lives, trampling under foot the blood of the covenant. We do this when we make light of sin, thinking, perhaps even before we commit sins, that the gracious and merciful Lord will forgive us. He is most gracious and merciful. He is long-suffering and quick to forgive and such characteristics should call us to love and serve Him ever more faithfully. 

           But if His kindness and graciousness tempt you to take advantage of Him, then you are not growing in His grace and mercy. In fact, it is just the opposite. You are growing cold and eventually His mercy towards you will also grow cold.

It is true that the Lord is patient and quick to forgive but it is also true that there is a limit to His patience. We see this time and again in Scripture in both the Old and New Testaments. When there is continual, willful rebellion, the Lord will eventually act in judgment. And the way to get to continual, willful rebellion is through tolerating and justifying your small acts of sin on a daily basis. Eventually, the heart grows cold and indifferent and festers into full-blown and open rebellion. So, what must we do to be saved? Repent of sins and seek the power of the Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life through Jesus.

Lower Seats

The disciples of our Lord talked about who was the greatest among them. When Jesus found out, He rebuked them. They were vying for position in the Kingdom of God but Jesus told them about and showed them a more excellent way. Those who vie for position in the Kingdom of God will always be asked to move down into the less honorable seats but those who seek to honor their brothers by sitting in the lower seats will always be asked to move up into the place of honor.

         When it finally dawned on the disciples that Jesus died for them, for their sins, to save them from judgment, I have no doubt that they felt a great remorse for their efforts to get ahead of one another.  As we commemorate the death of Jesus for us, for our sins, to save us from judgment, we must also feel remorse at our attempts to vie with our brothers. Like Jesus, let us serve one another and rejoice in His goodness to each one called by the name of disciple of Jesus.

Good Providence

As I mentioned last week, understanding the doctrine of God’s Sovereignty over all things, or at least accepting it as a fact, is a central key in finding peace with God and peace with your brothers. Ongoing anger, bitterness and resentment are all sinful responses to the reality of God’s Providence.

         It is true that we have to deal with the various difficulties that life brings us. But when we say it that way, it does not take us long to come to the conclusion that life bringing us something is about the same as chance bringing us something. Life, in the abstract, does not bring us anything. But, our God, who is our life, does bring us circumstances. And He is a good God and a loving heavenly Father. It is sometimes easier to think that life or chance brought us a bad deal than to think that God brought it. Or maybe better said, that God sent it. The difficulty may actually be brought by some sinful deliverer but God, who is over all, is the One who directs and guides all things. Since He is all powerful, He can always prevent any evil from coming our way. But the fact is that He does not do so. We have to deal with this straight up with a stout heart. And in this dealing, learn that God is watching over us for good and then try to find it in every circumstance. The best way to do this is through thankfulness to God for His watchcare over us.

         So, if there is anger, resentment or bitterness still lurking for your lot in life, the Providence that God has delivered to you, it is time to confess your unrest and find rest for your soul.

Blood Brothers

Dear Saints, we are gathered together here as brothers and sisters in Christ. If are in Christ, then we are His brothers and sisters. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ and nothing ought to be able to separate us from the love of one another. That is true of all our brothers and sisters in Christ in the broader Church throughout the Earth but it ought to be especially true of this expression of Christ’s Church, the local church, this church seated here.

         These tokens identify us as Christ’s brothers and sisters, the children of the Lord. And thus, they also identify us as brothers and sisters of one another in Christ. Many of us know that the kinship that we possess here is even closer than some of our kin by blood. But this kinship in Christ is also by blood. The blood of Christ has made us His kin and so the blood of Christ courses in the veins of all who gather in His name. This blood of the new birth is even thicker than the blood of the first birth. I pray that God will help us to see this and truly draw us together by an inseparable bond in Christ Jesus as we learn to love one another and express that unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Honor not Honored

As we have made our way through these sermons on the family, it is becoming increasingly clear that God uses family to teach us His ways and we find that His ways, while good, are not necessarily the way we would choose. In our families, we learn to serve one another, to put others first, to honor father and mother, to view our brothers and sisters of more worthy of praise than ourselves. And we do not have to feel like little despised worms in order to think or feel this way.

In fact, all we really have to do is to learn to love, to love God, to love our parents, to love our brothers and sisters. We do not have to annihilate ourselves in order to build up others.

Some great men have this gift. They can be truly great but when they speak to lowly ones, they seem to have a true sense of love for their fellow. They do not patronize them or belittle themselves. They simply choose to love the one they are speaking to and their love towards their lowly fellow honors him and lifts him up.

So, in your homes, you do not have to grovel to put yourself below others. You simply have to love them in a way that truly seeks their good. You become less concerned with yourself, how you look, what others think of you, how honored you are, and more concerned with what you can do to encourage, please, and honor them.

This sort of message calls us all up short, not because we are so bad but because we have not loved as fully as we should, seeking to lift up and honor instead of seeking to be lifted up and honored.

Immediate Grace

Pastor Wilson helps us out.

http://www.dougwils.com/Life-in-the-Regeneration/the-immediacy-of-the-effectual-call.html

Communion Blessings

Are you happy about other people being blessed here? This is one big reason why we do not view or practice communion as a private moment. Of course, if you know and trust Jesus, you are personally blessed. That is great. Thank God for that blessing and seek to get as much of His blessing as you can.

         But can you really enter into the blessing of others? This is one place to see it. We know about a lot of sin, a lot of struggles, many bumps and bruises through the years among and with our brothers and sisters gathered here. 

         Are you looking at your brothers and sisters gathered here and thinking, “Oh, I am so glad things are good for you, now. I hope they get better and better.” I hope you are thinking that. And I hope they are thinking that about you and me. 

         God’s grace is revealed to us here in the love that He has given us towards one another. May that grace and peace continue to grow among us as we are thankful for His graciousness towards each of us personally and as we rejoice in His abundant blessing of each one gathered here with us.

Holy Peace

Dear Saints, it is a joy to be in the presence of God and His people. You must not forget that He is a Holy God. That might cause you to sit up and pay attention but it ought not to cause you to shrink from His presence. He is holy and He calls you to be holy. And as you are in Christ, you are made worthy to be in the presence of a holy God.

         You may protest, “But I don’t feel holy. I know my thoughts. I know what I have done.” 

 Stop, dear one. The accuser is defeated. 

Jesus says, “My peace I give unto you.” Do you hear Him? Jesus, says, “Peace, friends.” Do you hear Him? This is most certainly a holy place but it is also a tranquil place, a place of peace in the love of God. Enter into that peace.

Brother Cain

What kind of brother are you?

Do you envy your brother? Are you jealous of him? Do you think, “Why does he get all the breaks? Why did he get the better job? Since he is not a better Christian than I am, then why does God bless him so much?”

Maybe you think or have thought, “I’ll bet his blessings are really curses, anyway.” That thought runs the course of you hoping that he is being fattened up for the slaughter. 

Maybe you think, “Life just is not fair or I would be doing much better. I guess my lot is just the luck of the draw or what we spiritual people call Providence. It is clear that it is not fair because if it was fair, I would get the blessing and my brother’s situation would better represent his heart.” You may think this while not at all thinking that your comparatively poor situation does represent your heart. But even then, it is likely that God is still being extremely gracious and merciful to you.

Ever had any of these thoughts? Maybe? Just a little bit? Are any of these thoughts current in your thinking? If so, then they have to go. These are the thoughts of Cain. These are thoughts of Joseph’s brothers. These are the thoughts of Esau. These are the thoughts of Judas. These are the thoughts of the mother of James and John. Without sounding too far over the top, these are the thoughts of the devil. It is just these sorts of thoughts that lead one to all sorts of desperate actions, even to betrayal, denial and murder. So, do not downplay these thoughts, make excuses for them or allow them to circulate in your head any longer. Nail them to the cross and let them die the penalty of death.

New Beginnings

One of the glories of our faith in Christ is new beginnings.  Jesus commanded us to forgive seventy times seven because of the great depth of His forgiveness towards us. God is abundantly full of grace. Where sin abounds grace abounds much more. And we should not fear that this abundant grace would give rise to libertine deeds. If we are born of God then we will do the works of God.

         We still struggle in the flesh and there are often sins and the regret and guilt of current or even past sins. Sometimes there are huge consequences for our sins that stay with us even beyond receiving God’s forgiveness. But until we receive God’s forgiveness and the peace of that forgiveness we are stuck and cannot move forward.

         Today is a new beginning. We are in a new location and we are eager to know what God will do in our midst. What we have done before, for good or for ill, is past and the future is ahead of us, full of hope in the power and joy of the Lord.

         So, in your own personal lives, you need to look to the future in hope, trusting that God will use You to His glory in this life, in this place, among these people. The only way to do this, is to confess any sins, real sins of disobedience as well as the false sins, lies from the devil, about your ongoing guilt and shame for those sins you have already been forgiven for. That is all in the past, Jesus has paid it all. Receive the forgiveness of the Lord and look to the future in hope.

The Toes of Christ

Dear Saints, what a pleasure it is to be in the family of God. We are gathered here with our sisters and brothers and God has given each one as an important part of the body of Christ. Some are eyes, some hands, some feet, some mouths. These seem vital, other body parts may seem less so.

What if you are a little toe? You might think, can they do without me? Well, maybe. But you can do without an eye, too, can’t you? sort of? 

I once broke my little toe right before a football game and believe me, it seemed vital then. I could not get my shoe on because it was so swollen and I missed the first three quarters of the game trying to get the swelling to go down enough to get my shoe on. I made it in to fourth quarter but my use was greatly diminished.

We ought to give great honor to the toes, or the spleens as well as to the hands and the mouths. We are all one body, striving together for the unity of the faith in the bond of peace. We are gathered here as the body of Christ, each one an important part of His body and you may not understand how vital your role is in keeping the body healthy. But look around, rejoice in the eyes, the ears, the fingers and the toes of Christ.

Wise Sisters

Today we hearing from the Scriptures again about sisters and making some specific applications to our sisters at Providence Church. Some of you have a tender conscience and will assume I am aiming my words directly at you. But if you think this, you will be mistaken. If what I say today really does apply to you, then by all means, hear the Spirit and seek to walk in the Spirit. But some of what I say today has to do with wisdom, judgment calls, and are not the sorts of things we can apply cart blanche to everybody. That was the point in thinking about the differences of Mary and Martha. I may be able to guess if you are more like Mary or Martha but there is at least a little bit of both of them in every one of you sisters, as well as you brothers.

         In the specific Providence Church lady activities I will discuss today in the sermon, I want you to think about them, pray about them and talk to your husband about them before you make any big changes. These are wisdom issues and need to be applied differently in every home

         For now, sisters and brothers, if you have known sins against a sister, if you are harboring anger, jealousy or envy, if you spend your time comparing yourself to others, either to keep yourself ahead or to wear yourself down, then now is the time to let that go, confess and repent so that you can get the log out of your own eye to see clear enough to apply wisdom in the other areas of your life.

Marys and Marthas

Here we are again at the Lord’s Table. I hope the joy and wonder of this moment of our service never escapes you. You can easily take the Lord’s goodness for granted but you should not do so. Work hard to cultivate joy and thanksgiving at this place.

         As you look around, think about all the different sorts of people that the Lord has gathered here. No doubt, some of them are worker bees like Martha. You may be one. Others are content to sit and contemplate the goodness of the Lord, like Mary. That might be you. If you are a Martha, don’t make the mistake of thinking Mary is lazy and spacey. If you are a Mary, don’t make the mistake of thinking Martha is just full of anxiety and missing out on Jesus. Appreciate each other. Seek to exalt one another. Give of your own talents to your sisters and brothers, to some extent making them more like you and you becoming more like them. If you do this, perhaps you will both see each other better and what is the better part, by far, see Jesus more clearly and be in the presence of Jesus more devotedly.

We Know How to Behave

God is kind to us. We should see that in this series on the Family. We have looked at so many different family relationships and maybe learned something about how to behave as fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters or sisters.

         The reality, though, is that most of us already know how to behave. We are to behave as Christians. Don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought. Think of your brothers and sisters of more value than yourself. We know these things. But God gives us a wealth of information in the Scriptures so that we can see these truths from a hundred different angles. That is His kindness and as a result, we are left utterly without excuse if we fail to heed Him.

He desires that we do see these truths, that we hear Him, that we humble ourselves in obedience, that we receive the tremendous blessings of that obedience and that we reject every way that seeks to put self ahead of everybody else.

         And He knows that the only way that we can do this is to confess our own failings, turn away from them in repentance and embrace the enabling grace of His Holy Spirit, so that we can be a good brother, sister, mother or father.

Providential Timing

About 30 years ago, I was playing football as a running back in Twin Falls, Idaho. My senior year we had a really good team and played in the Idaho State Football Championship on our home field. Unfortunately, the other team, Couer d'Alene, was much better and we took a drubbing in front of the home crowd. The final score was 55-13.

One of the backup quarterbacks on their team was John Friesz, who went on to legedary status at Universtiy of Idaho and played in the NFL for ten years or so. From Wikepedia, "Friesz grew up in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and attended Coeur d'Alene High School, graduating in 1985. He was a year behind Scott Wellman, a two-time all-state quarterback who led the Vikings to the A-1 state finals in 1982 and 1983, winning the first. Friesz spent those seasons as a back-up and became the starter in his senior season in the fall of 1984." Okay, so these guys were so good that a future NFL quarterback did not start on their team as a sophomore. Scott Wellman did.

Ya, that Scott Wellman. He smoked us. Between him and number 44, Mike Cox, they really gave it to us. I remember 44 in that championship game. He ran for a touchdown, threw for a touchdown, kicked a field goal and kicked off a lot, considering how many touchdowns they scored. In addition to that, he was their main force at middle linebacker but also lined up as a down lineman and met me, regularly, at or behind the line of scrimmage. The backs of both of my hands were black and blue for weeks from being smashed by 44 and landing on the frozen and by that late in the year, the week before Thanksgiving, mostly grassless field.  Cox also went on to be a force at linebacker at University of Idaho and is to this day one of the All-time tackles leaders at U of I. It was a long day.

Those are all just reminisces brought back to me in a providential way today. This morning I took my 10 year old son, Calvin, our youngest, to soccer practice. After practice, we had a talk about hustle, paying attention and taking initiative. It is his first year playing and he is one of the younger players on the middle school team. I reminded him that he may not be one of the better players this year but that he can still have a huge positive effect on the team through hustle, directed desire and being a team player.

I told him about an award that I won my senior year of football. It was the Paul Austin award and was given to the athlete with 'the greatest hustle and most desire to win.' I have probably only spoken of this award a few times in the last 30 years. Obviously, the import of the award has stuck with me and so has that same tenacity, the desire to work hard, the need to be a team player, hustle and teaching the importance of hustle. I would much rather see a kid hustle at every level than watch a hugely talented kid lazily outperform him. I'll take the hustle kid every time.

When I arrived home from soccer practice today, I had an email in my inbox from one of my old high school friends and fellow football players with an interesting request. He is assisting the football team and the current coach of Twin Falls High is interested in bringing former winners of the Paul Austin award to serve as honorary captains of the team and give a pep talk to the players before a game.

Very odd, providential, a God thing, as my friend Bruce would say. So, I guess I'll talk to the coach and maybe make a trip out to Bruin Stadium and, if they'll let me, give the kids a rousing pep talk. At the least, I've had a good memory and reminded myself of things to reiterate to my own kids and the various kids that I have the privilege to coach and mentor.

Wonderful Disbelief

Why do we look around at church during communion? Because we are pleased to be in the presence of God with our family. We have brothers and sisters in Christ who are also favored to sit in the presence of the Lord. We are rejoicing in their bounty as well as ours. In fact, if we think of this rightly, we are shaking our heads in happy disbelief. We look at our brothers and sisters and we can hardly believe we are here to rejoice with them because we cannot believe that we are here.

         We might believe that God’s blessing could rest on them but we know ourselves and are surprised that God’s blessing is resting on us. As we look from side to side, it is almost like we are shaking our heads with a smile, like the humble 10K, Olympian, Mo Farah, who simply cannot believe he just pulled off what he had hoped for, victory, the gold medal, the acclaim of his countrymen, the favor of Prince William and Lady Kate.

         We are like that here, blessed, but also greatly rejoicing that our countrymen, our brothers and sisters, are all here to witness this goodness and receive the blessing of God.

Overroasted Bitterness

Bitterness is a root that grows wide. It will grow deep as well, if it can but it does not need a lot of soil. Any little reason will let bitterness take root. You can grow bitter because you were truly treated poorly by your parents, or your brother was a better athlete, or your sister has a better voice, or a fellow employee got the promotion, or someone younger than you tried to teach you something, or a sister in the church who looked at you with a funny look on her face that you took to be a haughty glance at you. It turns out she was squinting at the clock wondering if she had remembered to set the automatic timer for the Sunday roast.

         She did, in fact, remember to set the timer, and the roast cooked for several hours and grew juicy and tender and was consumed by all with great joy for a Sunday feast.

And you nursed that little squint for five years and your heart grew hard and sinewy at her blessings and you were consumed with envy culminating in misery and sorrow and Sundays were never a feast.

Maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration but it can and does happen. Envy and bitterness do not need much room to grow. So, don’t let them. Think of others more highly than you think of yourself. Rejoice in the bounty of your brothers and sisters in your own family and in the family of God.

Let the Little Children Come Unto Me

Jesus said, “Let the little children come unto me.”  He said this not only when little ones came to Jesus of their own accord but even when the little ones, the infants in arms, were brought to Jesus. It is striking that in the Scriptures some of the sharpest rebukes from Jesus to His disciples were about this very thing, keeping the children from the Lord.

         I thank God that He has revealed this to us and we emphatically do not keep the little ones from Jesus. We bring them to Him and He blesses them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

         Dear saints, we are all little children in God’s sight, babes in arms. It is imperative that we approach our Father with that kind of humility, trusting Him as a little nursing daughter fully trusts her doting mother.

         We have a new saint among us, a sister, Louisa Marie, saved by grace, blessed by Jesus and received as our fellow heir of the kingdom. Let us rejoice in God’s goodness to us as His children and also rejoice in our growing family.

                   

The Grace of Holiness

We will once again speak about daughters and the Holy Daughter of Zion. The Lord requires holiness and purity. Today, we will also baptize a young daughter, placing the name of Christ upon her.

         As we do this and as we speak about the need for our daughters to be holy and pure, we do not want to get the wrong idea. No daughter is totally pure, not even the smallest one among us, little Louisa, who will soon be named Christian.

         Even Louisa is tainted by sin. If that were not true, she would not be in need of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. But Louisa is fallen from grace with her father, Adam. She sinned in him and fell with him in his first transgression. And the only One that can fix the fact that she is by nature an object of God’s wrath is the righteous Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

         So, when I speak of purity, I do not mean that our daughters, even our baby daughters are pure and sinless. They are not. I do mean that there are certain sins that should not even be named among God’s people. They should be put aside and we should enable ourselves of the grace of God to walk in holiness.

And where there is remaining sin and the struggles with particular sins, we seek the grace of God to bring us to repentance and to empower us to live holy lives. But it is all by grace through faith, not of our selves, lest any man, woman, son or daughter should boast.