Communion Meditation- Quiet Souls

Are you quiet? Are you meek? That is, are you subdued to God, the Father, His will, His ways, His Savior, His Providence? And having humbled yourself to Him, has this produced a quietness of soul in you? This quietness of soul is what we call the peace that passes understanding. Why does it pass understanding? Because on the outside, there remains no reason for peace. There is trouble in the world, trouble in your own life, trouble in the lives of the ones you love. Like Peter on the water, we look at the waves and are tossed about with all manner of doubt. But Jesus bids us come, look at Him, walk, even in the waves of the storm, without fear.

         We can only do this, with peace, with a quietness of spirit, if we have our eyes on Jesus.  This meal is all about that. We focus on Jesus, what He did on the cross, how He rose from the dead, the fact He sent His Spirit to dwell with us forever and that He calls us to this table to dine with Him in perfect peace. Jesus said, These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 

Meek and Quiet

Our sermon today is on living with a meek and quiet spirit. That sounds easy, especially if the husbands are asking their wives to do this while they themselves thrash around like a bull moose, neither meek nor quiet. But the great Moses, the man who stood up to Pharoah, is described as the meekest man on the Earth.

         At the core, I believe a meek and quiet spirit is learning to submit to God in all things and relinquish control to God’s will and providence of those things that you really cannot control anyway. This amounts to a host of things, your husband’s behavior, your children’s affection, your wife’s respect or lack thereof, the hard providences of God in our lives, the government leaders that you live under, your boss and his demands, your teachers and their peculiar ways.

         God gives us many opportunities to display a meek and quiet spirit. When we do so, it reveals to ourselves and others that we truly believe that God is ultimately in control of all things. Phil. 4:6 Be careful (full of care, worry, anxiety) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

         So, to the extent that you are unwilling for God to be in control, you need to, as the old saying goes, let go and let God. This letting go is confession and repentance, the letting God, is to be meek and quiet, concerned for nothing, resting in the Lord.

Happy Anniversary

Today is my 25th Anniversary. I guess you might think that is a long time. Perhaps, but the years have rolled by, troubles and all, filled with God's grace and great joy.

My dear bride is still the love of my life. We have now been married for 25 wonderful years but we got started as sweethearts long before that. I put a green sucker in her desk in Mrs. Hellewell's class in fifth grade. Seems she went for the sweet bribe. That was about 35 years ago and she has held my heart ever since.

We look forward to another 25 years!

I love you, my sweet Kate. Happy Anniversary!

Communion- Humble Compliance

Our sermon today talked about submission but it was not an admonition to submit with our arms crossed in a huff and our faced creased with steely resolve. That really is not submission at all. The place where we learn godly submission is right here at this Table.

First of all, Jesus submitted to the will of the Father. He did so with blood-sweat and tears. But He also did it for the joy that was set before Him.  Herein is that joy realized. He did it to bring us to the Table of Fellowship.

At this place, you must take your guard down. Uncross your arms, remove the creased brow, lay down your burdens, come in humble compliance to Jesus, and for this joy, this realized joy of fellowship, come and eat with Jesus. You see, the fruit of honorable submission is what we are doing now, peaceful fellowship.

Exhortation- Tap Out

Today, we look at a couple of passages of Scripture that speak of the relationship of wives to their own husbands. Keep in mind that this is also the relationship of the Church to Christ. And, as such, is the relationship of all under authority to all those in authority. This means that these passages speak to everyone of us and not simply to our women or to our wives.

         This mean that we all have to learn to respond properly to authority. It also means that we are going to see that we have all failed in our responses to authority and in doing so have caused harm both to ourselves and to the authorities that we have resisted.

         The purpose of saying this is not to beat you up. This is not done simply to make you feel bad. But to some extent the beating is necessary.  An honorable fight always gives room for the weaker opponent to submit. He can call uncle, tap out, admit he is beat, that is, he can submit. Or, he can resist, unimpressed by the beating and thus declare that he is willing to take more.

         When the opponent is the Word and Spirit of God, there is no chance of victory, so the only thing that remains to be seen is how strong is your resistance and thus, how much of a beating is necessary in order to get you to tap out? I would exhort you to always tap out early as soon as you realize that you are fighting the Word of God.

The Lord Understands Us

We have continued our bible study of how husbands are to love their wives, as Christ loves the church, and live with them in an understanding way. When a husband lives this way, his wife feels loved. 

         Here at the Table of the Lord, we see this in action. The Lord understands us, His Church. He gave Himself for us and we remember what He has done. He gives us tokens of His commitment to us, bread and wine, symbols of His perfect sacrifice and undying devotion to us.

         He knows our frame, that we grow weak and unsure, even insecure about His love.  So, He gathers us weekly to review what He has done and renew His love towards us.  In short, the Lord lives with us in an understanding way. We should have no doubt about His love for us.

Understand

I believe it was St. Augustine who first said the goal of godliness is not to seek to be understood but to seek to understand. That is a helpful admonition for today’s sermon. As husband and wife, we often get stuck trying to get our spouse to understand us.  But if we turn this around and first seek to understand them as our primary focus, then whether they understand us or not fades into the background.

         The reality is that seeking to understand is simply love. For some of us, this kind of love is more difficult. We may not be good at asking questions. We may not be as naturally curious. We may not have a strong desire to know. But as the Lord brings people into your life, it is important for you to get to know them, to seek to understand who they are and what makes them tick. You cannot do this without keen skills of observation and you cannot do this without asking some personal questions.

         We can all do a better job at this, that is sanctification. But there may be a need for repentance as well if your main goal has always been to get others to understand you. If you have been self-absorbed and self-centered in this way, repentance is in order as we ask God to change you and enable you to seek to understand others and so become a humble learner.

New outtakes from the Wilson/Hitchens movie, Collision.

Repenting Husbands, Wives and Children

As we look again today at our roles as husbands, we find that we will not fully measure up to Jesus as he husbands the church. And when our eyes are opened in this way, we find the need to repent of our sins and shortcomings and look to Jesus so that we can be more like Him.

         This is true of husbands but it is also true of wives as they look at the Church and how they should completely honor and respect their husbands.

         And you children, as you think about how you are to be the sort of children who absolutely honor your parents, no doubt, if you are honest you find fault with yourselves.

         So, all of us have a need to repent; husbands, wives, and children, but the end of this process of repentance is not grievous but joyful. We suffer for a little, as we realize how we have fallen short but the Lord calls us to confess and turn away from following our way and turn to Christ and follow His. He forgives us and grants us His Spirit to do that which He has called us to do. And in this we find both joy and peace as husbands, as wives and as children.

A Virgin at Table

The ultimate goal of these sermons on Father, Mother, Husband and Wife is unity. As we learn to be like Christ and His Church, then the Lord grants us peace and unity.

         As we partake of Communion, we are learning that Christ has given Himself up fully for the sake of the Bride. Because of this, the bride is washed in the Word, cleansed and presented to Jesus as a chaste virgin. She is restored to her former glory and receives the most glorious husband she could even have hoped for. In fact, in her defilement, she would never have even conceived that she could receive such a husband.

         But because Jesus loved her and gave himself for her, she has been made new, a fitting wife for such a husband, in Him, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

         Let us rejoice in this precious gift to us, we have received Christ our bridegroom and He has received us a chaste virgin, a fitting bride for such a glorious husband.

Communion- Risen in Jesus!

Christ is Risen and thus, we are risen with Him. The life that the Father gave to Jesus, He also gives to us in Jesus. We are crucified with Christ and our sins nailed to the cross. We entered into the grave with Him and were raised to life with Jesus. We have not yet received the Resurrection of the body. That is still a future promise for us but we have entered into eternal life and the Father has given us the Holy Spirit as the promise that He will raise our mortal bodies to immortality.

         So, we eat and drink the body and blood of the crucified Lord Jesus Christ, who was delivered up for our transgressions.  But we also eat and drink the body and blood of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, who was raised for our justification. For you who believe in Jesus the Christ, there is no condemnation. You are freely and fully justified by the Resurrection from the dead and are therefore recipients of God’s promise to be raised from the dead, never to die again.

         He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Easter Exhortation

Today is Easter. It is a glorious day, the day we remember the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus, Who was delivered up to the cross for our offences, and was raised again from the dead for our justification.

         There is no better time to confess your sins and receive the Resurrection Life of Jesus Christ and be justified in the sight of God. You cannot please God without faith in Christ and you cannot have faith in Christ without confessing your need for Him to be your substitution on the cross.  It is true, that Jesus died for sinners. St. Paul was willing to say that he was the chief of sinners. Having confessed this and taking up His faith in Jesus for forgiveness, God reckoned his faith as righteousness, just as He did with the patriarch Abraham.

         So, where are you? The chief of sinners, without claim upon God except upon His grace by faith?  Or, still clinging to your sins in the hope that they and you do not have to die.  We sometimes speak of the cross as if Jesus had to die so that we do not have to die. But Paul said, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. So, too, must you and your sins die on the cross with Christ.

         Dear saints, you cannot give yourself for Jesus but you most certainly can give yourself to Jesus. You do this when you confess your sins, lay down your will, trust in God for forgiveness through Jesus and then rise up justified to walk in newness of life empowered by the Holy Spirit. Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Today is the day of Salvation.

Exhortation-Savior Lord

Is Jesus Lord? The answer is of course, yes, Jesus is Lord of both Heaven and Earth. His rule is over all. This much is an established fact. But what does that mean to us? It means that He is our ruler and not like those who are only earthly rulers. Their authority over us is limited. But the authority that Jesus has over us is completely unlimited. He rules all of our affairs as well as rules in our hearts and minds. We are to render our allegiance to Him not only in our deeds but also in our words and even our very thoughts.

         When we see the Lordship of Christ in this light, our failure to absolutely submit our wills to Him becomes obvious. We have not been perfectly faithful in our deeds or our words or our thoughts.

         But thanks be to God that Jesus is our Savior Lord. He requires absolute submission but also provides forgiveness for us who struggle against the flesh in this earthly body. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.

         So, let us confess our weakness and sin and look to Christ for His grace and mercy.

Communion-Identify with Christ

One of the great truths of Communion is identity with Jesus Christ. He is ours and we are His. We should hear these comfortable words each week as we eat and drink, remembering all that Jesus did and does for us.

         On this day of the Triumphal Entry, we remember that Jesus is the ruling King of Heaven and Earth. This should give us a great deal of peace. We need to remember this because we often look out into a world still plagued by chaos, sin, rebellion and trouble. In fact, we still see some of these things in our own lives. But Jesus is reigning and He is bringing all things into submission. And we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. He is a good King that rules in such a way as to accomplish what He intends.  This includes our peaceful place in His kingdom.

         This peace does not come without suffering. We do and will suffer but this suffering should not quench our peace or even our joy. Just as Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him, so we enter into the sufferings of Christ for the joy of victory that is set before us.

         This meal is God’s peace and joy to you.

Communion Meditation- My Beloved

Christ loved the His Church and gave Himself for her. He completely gave Himself, even to death, the cursed death of the cross. He did this because He was more concerned with doing right by her, in loving her, than He was for His own body. He suffered for her in many ways. He was ridiculed, misunderstood, often even by her. But Jesus did not let any of this distract Him from His goal, to do all for the bride and then to dwell with her always, even to the end of the age.

         And we come here each week to hear the promises of God, in Christ, “You are my beloved, in you I am well pleased.” The prayer of Jesus has become a reality and we are intimately connected to Him forever, world without end. Jesus has been raised from the dead and He has raised us up with Him in the heavenly places. There is no ‘til death us do part.’ We have entered eternity with the Lord Jesus and His bride will continue forever until she is made utterly glorious at the Resurrection, in full consummation, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

         For you gathered here, this bread and wine, His own flesh and blood, is His testament to You that He will never leave you or forsake you. The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes.

Exhortation-Perils that Separate

Today, we continue our study in what the Bible says about husbands loving their wives. The Scripture says that a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. This one flesh analogy refers back to the relationship of Christ and His Church.

In Romans, the Apostle tells us that nothing can separate from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. He then presents a long list of things that try to separate us. With even a small amount of creativity we can think of how these things relate to modern marriage in America. Have you let these things separate you from your wife? Tribulations, earthly trials and daily trouble. Distress, concern about loved ones, your job or sickness. Persecution, assaults from outside your marriage because of your faith in Christ. Famine, lean financial times. Nakedness, the result of poor decisions or even being exposed as having made huge mistakes or sins. Peril, a scary diagnosis of your future in health, work, prospects, family. Sword, things beyond your control in the government, taxes, elections, wars and rumors of war.

         And these are just the earthly powers. The rest of the passage talks about all kinds of spiritual forces that seek to separate us from the love of God. Husbands, there are many perils that can separate you from your wife. Have you let them?

         There is a dual need here. First repent for your lack of diligence in protecting this relationship as jealously as Christ protects the Church. Secondly, seek the power and the wisdom of the Spirit to keep that which God has entrusted to you.

         Single men and ladies, wives and children, you also must look at how God protects those relationship that are dear to Him not letting earthly or spiritual forces intervene. How, then, are your relationships? Seek Christ in them now.

The Beautiful Bride

As we gather here we represent a communion, a closeness of relationship between us, the gathered people of God, and our Lord Jesus.  Outside of Christ and His Church, there is no relationship closer than that of husband and wife.  It is a wonderful picture, Christ the bridegroom, we the bride. And just as Christ loves His Church and makes her beautiful, so husbands are to do so with their wives, love them and make them beautiful.

         And from Christ and His Church spring forth numerous children, further declaring the communion of many into one glorious unity.  Thus, a family, as a representative of Christ and His Church is to show forth this unity.

Sometimes the nuclear family is broken, husband to wife, or children to parents. This is another reason why there is so much beauty here, in Christ’s Church. He takes all these broken people, broken families, broken relationships and makes them all one in His Church.

         So, we are to image God’s unity in our marriages and in our homes but if we have failed to do so, for whatever reason, we can come here and find God’s family unified in Christ. In Him, we are all one and the Lord will continue to knit us together, in Him, through His Spirit until we are without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

Husbands, Love Your Wives

There is always enough sin around for us to find the need for confession and repentance. Today, we speak of the call for husbands to love their wives, even as Christ love the Church and gave himself for her.

         No doubt, you men understand that you have not loved your wives in this way. None of you have died for her. But you should all be dying for her. You should be sacrificing yourself to nourish and cherish her. This should be done in tangible ways and she should know it.

         We all wax and wain in our love towards our wives. This being the case, we need to be continually called back to God’s purposes for us as husbands, washing our wives in the Word, calling them to the high calling in Jesus Christ, cleansing them and sanctifying them by our love and service to them.

         This calling as husbands is a high calling, indeed and one that we cannot accomplish with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Let us ask the Lord’s forgiveness for our failures and call upon Him to empower us by His Spirit to do that which He has called us to do.

         Incidentally, one of the chief callings of husbands is that of faithfulness. So, if you men, women or children have been unfaithful or disloyal to your spouse or Lord, in thought, word and deed, now is the time to confess this sin and seek the Lord’s forgiveness.

3:33 and 4:44

Woke up again this morning at 3:33am. I awoke exactly 1:11 later at 4:44.

This happens with a great deal of regularity. It no longer surprises me but it always pleases me. When I wake up, I always utter a brief prayer, "Thank you Lord for reminding me of your love and kindness towards me, even in the watches of the night," or something equally groggy and similar. Not much of a prayer and I promptly fall back into a peaceful sleep.

Waking at this hour, 1:11, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44 and 5:55 has been going on for the last 12 years or so, since I became a pastor. It does not happen every night, usually once or twice a week, often on Saturday nights when my mind is thinking about Sunday worship service. And I don't always have two like last night, waking at both 3:33 and 4:44. Usually just once in the night.

It always reminds me of the Trinity and God's love and care for me.  I am not sure if my body time clock has figured out how to count time exactly during the night, or if the Lord specifically wakes me up to comfort me.  Either way, I am amazed at God's care over His creation, me, either to make such a creature that can tell time in his sleep or that He would deign to gently wake me up just to remind me that  He is still there. Both are reasons for awe and thanksgiving.

Dear Saints, we are once again seated at the Table of the Lord. It is the table of the Father but also the Table of Jesus and His Bride.  We have come to the place where we are fed and nourished. This is a place of peace and rest, a place of feasting and toasting, a place of fellowship and joy.

This is one reason that we do not make this a personal private moment, a place to examine yourselves and your motives. That has already happened. The Lord has examined you and He has applied the grace of Jesus to you so that you could come here without such inward and discouraging thoughts. The time of introspection is over. It is time to look up, look to Jesus, bask in the glory of God, the Father, the risen Lord Jesus, the joy of the Holy Spirit, the presence of the saints, the food at God’s table, the joy of fellowship, the peace of forgiveness, the welcome of friends.

This is not a personal private moment but rather a public feast of food and wine in celebration of the name of Jesus, the High King, who has taken on a bride, His Church, the mother us all. We are at home here, a place of peace and rest and joy.