So this week I got a call on my day job at the post office substation I work at. The lady explained that she had sent a package to be delivered in North Carolina and it had been misdelivered to Philadelphia. She informed me that our office had mistakenly entered the wrong zip code into our computer.
After listening to her explain this, I replied that typing the wrong zip code into the computer would make no difference.
Our computer is an old DOS computer that basically just runs the USPS program off of a 3&1/2 floppy disk. It is connected to a scale, and basically the point the computer serves is to record amount totals and work in conjunction with the scale to provide prices for letters and packages. We do not print off labels or enter anything into the post office online database. Our computer is not connected to the internet. I'm explaining this so that you understand that there is no possibility that we could have made an error that would cause the result this lady described.
Now, I attempted to explain all this to her and she edited her story slightly by explaining that the delivery confirmation was entered with the incorrect zip code.
The delivery confirmation is a bar code sticker that goes onto the package and is supposed to be scanned in at different points along the way, but rarely is. The customer keeps a receipt with the corresponding number so that they can either call the toll free number or look it up on usps.com. When we add a delivery confirmation onto a package, we enter the number onto the computer. This does not enter it into the post office database, because our computer is not connected to the internet (see above). That information does not get saved by the computer to be sent to the post office on a hard copy receipt. Entering the number onto the computer simply adjusts the price total for the item.
I reiterated that again, this could not have caused the package to be delivered incorrectly. The post office looks at the label to see where to deliver it. What the label says is where it is delivered to.
She then explains that I was training someone else that day and it was actually the trainee who made the mistake since I was signing for something in the back.
I felt a little silly repeating the same thing another time: Nothing we enter into the computer affects where the package is delivered. The only way for the package to end up in the wrong city is if it is addressed to the wrong city. It doesn't matter who in our office handled the transaction. It doesn't matter whether we entered the wrong zip code. It doesn't matter if the delivery confirmation was entered incorrectly. The additional information is irrelevant if the basic cause and effect argument is faulty.
She still didn't get it and hung up. Oh well.
Thinking back on it later, it reminded me again one of the reasons I simply can't take evolution seriously: In the beginning, either there was nothing or something has always existed. If there was at some point nothing, then something must have been created out of nothing. I find that logic wanting. Atheists and agnostics can prattle on all they like about the certainty of evolution based on science - a weak argument on its own merits - at the end of the day, they're left with an unsupportable proposition.
Whatever other evidence you want to bring up (and evolution is far from free of chinks in its armor), that one fact is still sitting there like the stray cat that keeps showing up for free meals and you wish would go someplace else to freeload: How could something come from nothing, or how could something always exist.
To the Christian, it's an easy answer: God has always existed. God alone had the wisdom and power to create something else out of nothing. But as long as mankind refuses to acknowledge the possibility of a Creator and refuses to acknowledge the elephant in the room - that something could not come out of nothing, they will continue down the path to destruction.
The foundation truths affect everything. If you have a weak foundation, you are left with a house of cards that sooner or later will fall.
SDG
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Grace 'n the Gospel
So I mentioned in my last post that I saw "180". I liked it. I do agree, though, with the critique that suggested a better explanation of the Gospel might be in order. Friday night, after 9 holes of golf - I did poorly, thanks for asking, though I still got less than 6 strokes a hole, so it could be worse... - Dad, Mom, Kevin and I went to see "Courageous", the latest flick from Sherwood Church.
I liked it. I had a few minor qualms with it, but overall it was good. And while admittedly the subject matter wasn't the Gospel; and while it was being pushed towards professing believers to exhort them to improve in a particular way, I still wish they could have managed to work in more of the Gospel into it. It's sometimes said that Christians often don't present the Gospel well enough for the non-elect to reject it. That is to say, we present such a shallow version of the good news that anyone would accept it, even those who would never commit to the true good news of salvation.
I wouldn't go that far in either of these two films. The Gospel is shared in both - and clearly enough - so that an unbeliever watching hears enough to be saved from it. But, if I may presume to paraphrase a statement from "Courageous": I don't want it to be simply 'good enough'. The Gospel is such a great and beautiful thing that it deserves to be richly declared for all its wonder and majesty.
How many Christians in the world today can even articulate the Gospel clearly, let alone truly understand the full majesty that Paul was pointing to in Ephesians 1:17-23:
Paul's desire was,
That's why I'm especially grateful when I encounter the Gospel when it is truly shared well.
Two examples of this:
1. A song:
The folks over at Church Works Media have written a number of good songs. One in particular I'm sure some of you are unfamiliar with, though I think there may be some who are aware of it: "His Robes for Mine".
2. A book:
Some of you may have heard my mention my recent enjoyment of the podcasted sermons of Sinclair Ferguson, the Scottish preacher/theologian. I tell you frankly, I'm not sure I know of anyone else living who speaks of grace so beautifully as Sinclair Ferguson. It is both convicting and incredibly encouraging to hear him tell of God's wonderful grace towards us. Ligonier Ministries has what they call "$5 Fridays" on their website store. Some weeks ago, Dr. Ferguson's book, "By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me" became available on a certain Friday. Dad was getting a copy for himself, in addition to several other books. Now ordinarily Dad and I try not to buy the same books. On this particular one, though, I asked him to get me a personal copy as well.
Before reading it, I had some momentary concerns that perhaps Dr. Ferguson's Spirit gifted ability to speak on grace extended only to preaching and that it might not carry over as well to written works. Having finished the book, I can say without any hesitation that I had no cause for worry. I not only enjoyed the book, I am already looking forward to reading it again the next time (though I will hold back from doing so immediately...while I read another of his books, "In Christ Alone" :-D ).
The book is composed of seven chapters, each one somewhat centered around the themes of the seven verses of the song, "Oh How the Grace of God Amazes Me".
"O how the grace of God
Amazes me!
It loosed me from my bonds
And set me free!
What made it happen so?
’Twas His will, this much I know,
Set me, as now I show,
At liberty.
My God has chosen me,
Though one of nought,
To sit beside my King
In heaven’s court.
Hear what my Lord has done
O, the love that made Him run
To meet His erring son!
This has God wrought.
Not for my righteousness,
For I have none,
But for His mercy’s sake,
Jesus, God’s Son,
Suffered on Calvary’s tree -
Crucified with thieves was He -
Great was His grace to me,
His wayward one.
And when I think of how,
At Calvary,
He bore sin’s penalty
Instead of me.
Amazed, I wonder why
He, the sinless One, should die
For one so vile as I;
My Saviour He!
Now all my heart’s desire
Is to abide
In Him, my Saviour dear,
In Him to hide.
My shield and buckler He,
Covering and protecting me:
From Satan’s darts I’ll be
Safe at His side.
Lord Jesus, hear my prayer,
Your grace impart;
When evil thoughts arise
Through Satan’s art,
O, drive them all away
And do You, from day to day,
Keep me beneath Your sway,
King of my heart.
Come now, the whole of me
Eyes, ears and voice,
Join me, creation all,
With joyful noise:
Praise Him who broke the chain
Holding me in sin’s domain,
And set me free again!
Sing and rejoice!"
While these verses are used as a sort of centering point around which each chapter circles, make no mistake: It is unrelentingly Biblical. For instance, chapter two uses the three (or one, depending on how you interpret the passage) parables of Luke 15 as his basis. Chapter 5 primarily answers the questions found in Romans 8:31-35. Much of chapter 6 is devoted to an examination of the story of Job, particularly focusing on Job 9-10. The final chapter is a beautiful examination of Romans 6.
The seven chapters are titled:
This post is long, so we'll end here.
SDG
I liked it. I had a few minor qualms with it, but overall it was good. And while admittedly the subject matter wasn't the Gospel; and while it was being pushed towards professing believers to exhort them to improve in a particular way, I still wish they could have managed to work in more of the Gospel into it. It's sometimes said that Christians often don't present the Gospel well enough for the non-elect to reject it. That is to say, we present such a shallow version of the good news that anyone would accept it, even those who would never commit to the true good news of salvation.
I wouldn't go that far in either of these two films. The Gospel is shared in both - and clearly enough - so that an unbeliever watching hears enough to be saved from it. But, if I may presume to paraphrase a statement from "Courageous": I don't want it to be simply 'good enough'. The Gospel is such a great and beautiful thing that it deserves to be richly declared for all its wonder and majesty.
How many Christians in the world today can even articulate the Gospel clearly, let alone truly understand the full majesty that Paul was pointing to in Ephesians 1:17-23:
Paul's desire was,
The 'riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints'. Too often, we're fortunate to even hear the true Gospel. The majesty is far too often forgotten."that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."
That's why I'm especially grateful when I encounter the Gospel when it is truly shared well.
Two examples of this:
1. A song:
The folks over at Church Works Media have written a number of good songs. One in particular I'm sure some of you are unfamiliar with, though I think there may be some who are aware of it: "His Robes for Mine".
"His robes for mine: O wonderful exchange!You can hear the song performed by Soundforth's choir over at Grooveshark, if you are interested. Yet, a song is kind of limited in it's message by the very nature of the medium. And as much as I like this song and recommend you to listen to it, I'd like to recommend even more the second thing I spoke of above:
Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered ‘neath God’s rage.
Draped in His righteousness, I’m justified.
In Christ I live, for in my place He died.
Chorus:
I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:
Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.
Bought by such love, my life is not my own.
My praise-my all-shall be for Christ alone.
His robes for mine: what cause have I for dread?
God’s daunting Law Christ mastered in my stead.
Faultless I stand with righteous works not mine,
Saved by my Lord’s vicarious death and life.
His robes for mine: God’s justice is appeased.
Jesus is crushed, and thus the Father’s pleased.
Christ drank God’s wrath on sin, then cried “‘Tis done!”
Sin’s wage is paid; propitiation won.
His robes for mine: such anguish none can know.
Christ, God’s beloved, condemned as though His foe.
He, as though I, accursed and left alone;
I, as though He, embraced and welcomed home!"
2. A book:
Some of you may have heard my mention my recent enjoyment of the podcasted sermons of Sinclair Ferguson, the Scottish preacher/theologian. I tell you frankly, I'm not sure I know of anyone else living who speaks of grace so beautifully as Sinclair Ferguson. It is both convicting and incredibly encouraging to hear him tell of God's wonderful grace towards us. Ligonier Ministries has what they call "$5 Fridays" on their website store. Some weeks ago, Dr. Ferguson's book, "By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me" became available on a certain Friday. Dad was getting a copy for himself, in addition to several other books. Now ordinarily Dad and I try not to buy the same books. On this particular one, though, I asked him to get me a personal copy as well.
Before reading it, I had some momentary concerns that perhaps Dr. Ferguson's Spirit gifted ability to speak on grace extended only to preaching and that it might not carry over as well to written works. Having finished the book, I can say without any hesitation that I had no cause for worry. I not only enjoyed the book, I am already looking forward to reading it again the next time (though I will hold back from doing so immediately...while I read another of his books, "In Christ Alone" :-D ).
The book is composed of seven chapters, each one somewhat centered around the themes of the seven verses of the song, "Oh How the Grace of God Amazes Me".
"O how the grace of God
Amazes me!
It loosed me from my bonds
And set me free!
What made it happen so?
’Twas His will, this much I know,
Set me, as now I show,
At liberty.
My God has chosen me,
Though one of nought,
To sit beside my King
In heaven’s court.
Hear what my Lord has done
O, the love that made Him run
To meet His erring son!
This has God wrought.
Not for my righteousness,
For I have none,
But for His mercy’s sake,
Jesus, God’s Son,
Suffered on Calvary’s tree -
Crucified with thieves was He -
Great was His grace to me,
His wayward one.
And when I think of how,
At Calvary,
He bore sin’s penalty
Instead of me.
Amazed, I wonder why
He, the sinless One, should die
For one so vile as I;
My Saviour He!
Now all my heart’s desire
Is to abide
In Him, my Saviour dear,
In Him to hide.
My shield and buckler He,
Covering and protecting me:
From Satan’s darts I’ll be
Safe at His side.
Lord Jesus, hear my prayer,
Your grace impart;
When evil thoughts arise
Through Satan’s art,
O, drive them all away
And do You, from day to day,
Keep me beneath Your sway,
King of my heart.
Come now, the whole of me
Eyes, ears and voice,
Join me, creation all,
With joyful noise:
Praise Him who broke the chain
Holding me in sin’s domain,
And set me free again!
Sing and rejoice!"
While these verses are used as a sort of centering point around which each chapter circles, make no mistake: It is unrelentingly Biblical. For instance, chapter two uses the three (or one, depending on how you interpret the passage) parables of Luke 15 as his basis. Chapter 5 primarily answers the questions found in Romans 8:31-35. Much of chapter 6 is devoted to an examination of the story of Job, particularly focusing on Job 9-10. The final chapter is a beautiful examination of Romans 6.
The seven chapters are titled:
- My Chains Fell Off
- Unconditional Love
- At God's Expense
- A Great Exchange
- Guaranteed Security
- Delivered From Evil
- True Freedom
This post is long, so we'll end here.
SDG
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Metanoia
So everyone and their cousin is posting this video by Ray Comfort and "The Way of the Master" ministry: "180".
If you haven't seen it yet, click here to check it out.
It's well worth watching. However, I'd like to first post my thoughts after watching it and then the thoughts of someone I respect. If you haven't seen it yet, you should check it out before reading the rest of this post. It will make a lot more sense.
My take:
Phil is one of the smartest guys I know and as soon as I saw his name in the comments section, I was eager to hear what he had to say.
But to be fair, some have noted that many involved with the film wanted it to be simply a pro-life film and to skip the Gospel at the end. RC is to be applauded for standing firm on the importance of including that part of the message. It is entirely possible that he was forced to limit his Gospel presentation because of external pressure from others involved in the production.
At the end of the day, I'm very grateful for both of these men. I'm convicted and humbled by RC's passion for the lost, yet also sensitive to PJ's loving critique of a friend and his concern for Gospel accuracy.
SDG
P.S. Metanoia (blog title) is the Greek word for repent. It essentially means to change one's mind, or, as the film's title suggests, to do a 180 degree turn in one's beliefs.
If you haven't seen it yet, click here to check it out.
It's well worth watching. However, I'd like to first post my thoughts after watching it and then the thoughts of someone I respect. If you haven't seen it yet, you should check it out before reading the rest of this post. It will make a lot more sense.
My take:
- How can you not know who Hitler is?
- Of the 'morality' questions he asked regarding Hitler and the Jews, the only one I had to stop to think about was the one about having a sniper rifle with Hitler in your sights. But even knowing the evil that he caused, I don't believe it would be right to kill him. If you are a Christian and believe that God is sovereign, then obeying God's command not to murder applies clearly here. God allowed Hitler to live as long as he did for His own purposes. Murdering him in cold blood, whether we can rationalize it or not, would be wrong. Most of you probably didn't even have to think about it, but in case anyone else paused at that one, that's my thoughts.
- Ray takes 2 Peter 3:9, "God is not willing that any should perish" out of context. He takes it as a universal statement and the context clearly shows that Peter is drawing a distinction in the first 9 verses between the elect and the world. While it's not an uncommon error, it is demonstrably an error and should be corrected.
- It seemed like he talked a lot about the law. While that's not necessarily a bad thing and is often very necessary, it felt quite lengthy while I was watching it.
"180 is a new documentary from Ray Comfort. Just 33 minutes long, it’s worth watching. Comfort does battle with moral relativism on the issue of abortion. (On the critique side, I sure wish he did a better job of getting to the gospel)" - Tim also linked to the movie's website.Curious as to what his critiques were, I read down in the comments and found a number of other people with the same question I did. One commenter named Mark Spence commented,
"I love your posts and what you do. I was soooo excited to see you post about 180. I produced and edited the documentary.Reading further down, I found that Phil Johnson - aka John MacArthur's book editor/Head of Grace To You/Blogger at teampyro.blogspot.com/Spurgeon aficionado.
You said, "I sure wish he did a better job of getting to the Gospel."
You caught me off guard with this statement. Would you please elaborate?
The Law was 3 minutes long and the Gospel presentation was 3 minutes long. Some very respected people, within your circle of influence, encouraged me to take out the Gospel altogether and leave it as simply a 'pro-life' video.
Looking forward to your thoughts. I value them greatly."
Phil is one of the smartest guys I know and as soon as I saw his name in the comments section, I was eager to hear what he had to say.
"I'm with Tim on the 180 film. It makes a very powerful rational and emotional case against abortion--and that aspect of the film is utterly superb. But I have watched the film carefully a few times, and there's MUCH more than 3 minutes given to the Ten Commandments. (The preaching of the law is scattered throughout, not just in a 3-minute bloc. It is a prominent feature throughout..) That's fine, and to be expected with any WoTM product. I appreciate and applaud their stress on the use of the law in evangelism.
It is very clear watching the film that Ray Comfort is a gifted communicator and evangelist. However it is equally clear that as a theologian he is no heavyweight. To clarify, I'm not saying he's ignorant of theology, it's just obvious he hasn't spent nearly as much time studying theology as he has evangelizing (by no means a bad thing - except when small problems emerge). Tim, incidentally came on and said essentially the same thing as Phil in a shorter post. Later, Phil, responding to someone else, wrote,
But I can't find 3 minutes of gospel exposition in the film. The first mention of the historical facts of the gospel comes around 27:30, when the film is nearly over. And it's one of the interviewees who brings up the subject of Jesus dying on the cross. The film immediately goes back to the law, and then Ray makes one brief statement of gospel truth at about 28:30, followed by more law.
Nowhere in the film that I can see is there a clear explanation of the principles of substitution, propitiation, or justification by faith. Surely these things--all necessary to a proper understanding of Jesus' atoning work--warrant as much careful explanation as the law has already received.
To complicate matters, statements are made such as: "There's something you can actually DO, because of God's kindness, to have all your sins forgiven" (at 27:47)--all without a single mention anywhere of the fact that OUR works contribute nothing to salvation.
I would love to have seen the vital truths of Titus 3:5 or Ephesians 2:8-9 fully explained, and the parachute illustration just doesn't do it.
I'm sounding hyper-critical, no doubt. And I am sorry for that. I love WoTM and Ray Comfort. And I'm grateful for the countless people they have motivated to do open-air evangelism. But I do earnestly wish they stressed gospel AS MUCH AS (note: not "instead of") law.
For those who I know will ask, yes, I have communicated these concerns to Ray Comfort personally. "
"My concerns aren't really about measuring ratios. Jesus sometimes stressed the law and sometimes stressed the gospel--with greatly varying ratios of each. And the reason for differentiating was clear. As they used to say on the Way of the Master radio broadcast: *Law to the proud; grace to the humble.* Where the stress should be placed depends to a very large degree on the spiritual state of the person being dealt with.I think there's a particular importance to this stress in this situation given that Ray Comfort is often used as an example for evangelism (and rightly so!). Unfortunately, too few people today can actually explain the Gospel coherently in basic terms.
(That's why I cringe when someone has only one memorized script and they follow it verbatim no matter who they are dealing with. And let's face it: that's a sometimes problem with people who follow the WoTM approach to the letter.)
But specific ratios aside, the gospel is ultimately the most important part of the message. It is crucial--especially in these postmodern times when words are capable of an infinite variety of meanings--it is crucial to explain _what we mean_ when we say "Jesus died for your sins."
The principles of substitution and propitiation; the futility of our own works and the utter sufficiency of Christ's righteousness; and the meaning of faith as trust in Christ ALONE--those are truths that even many professing Christians don't understand sufficiently. And the person who never takes time to explain them in clear and simple terms just isn't doing all he needs to do as an evangelist, no matter how bold he is in bringing up the subject with people on the street.
That, from an eternal perspective, is an even more important issue than the abortion epidemic.
And that's NOT to minimize the problem of abortion. Instead, it's meant to stress how immensely HUGE the problem of a weak gospel presentation is."
But to be fair, some have noted that many involved with the film wanted it to be simply a pro-life film and to skip the Gospel at the end. RC is to be applauded for standing firm on the importance of including that part of the message. It is entirely possible that he was forced to limit his Gospel presentation because of external pressure from others involved in the production.
At the end of the day, I'm very grateful for both of these men. I'm convicted and humbled by RC's passion for the lost, yet also sensitive to PJ's loving critique of a friend and his concern for Gospel accuracy.
SDG
P.S. Metanoia (blog title) is the Greek word for repent. It essentially means to change one's mind, or, as the film's title suggests, to do a 180 degree turn in one's beliefs.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Is it ever okay to play fast and loose with the text?
I'd like some thoughts on this question. I frequently hear people pulling out Bible verses out of context to mean something contrary to the original intent of the author. Certainly, there are many texts whose meanings are debated. What I'm desiring to know is this: Suppose someone quotes a verse and then makes a statement that the verse allegedly proves - the statement may be true or false - is this an acceptable way to quote the Bible?
Option 1 suggests that there is no real truth. The Bible means whatever you want it to mean. There's no possibility of misquoting Scripture with this option or taking a passage out of context. If it's true for you, then that's all the truth you need.
Option 2 is something we see quite often. Often done accidentally or in ignorance, a familiar text is called to mind or a phantom insight is discovered in one's studies and suddenly the text is applied in a way that is counter to the original meaning of the text when it was written. (Now, obviously to some extent, many passages do not apply directly to 21st century believers in the same way they did to the original audience, yet we can still apply the basic principle or underlying meaning practically to our lives.) Can the text have multiple meanings? That is, can God perhaps inspire a new meaning to your heart contrary to what it originally meant?
Option 3 states that, as one professor said, "The text never means what it never meant". That is, the proper way to interpret the Bible is to study it in the context of when it was written and the audience to whom it was written. Then and only then can God's Word be rightly understood.
More on this later, perhaps.
SDG
Option 1 suggests that there is no real truth. The Bible means whatever you want it to mean. There's no possibility of misquoting Scripture with this option or taking a passage out of context. If it's true for you, then that's all the truth you need.
Option 2 is something we see quite often. Often done accidentally or in ignorance, a familiar text is called to mind or a phantom insight is discovered in one's studies and suddenly the text is applied in a way that is counter to the original meaning of the text when it was written. (Now, obviously to some extent, many passages do not apply directly to 21st century believers in the same way they did to the original audience, yet we can still apply the basic principle or underlying meaning practically to our lives.) Can the text have multiple meanings? That is, can God perhaps inspire a new meaning to your heart contrary to what it originally meant?
Option 3 states that, as one professor said, "The text never means what it never meant". That is, the proper way to interpret the Bible is to study it in the context of when it was written and the audience to whom it was written. Then and only then can God's Word be rightly understood.
More on this later, perhaps.
SDG
Saturday, September 10, 2011
What Would Jesus Say About 9/11?
Often, when looking back on the events of September 11, 2001, people have asked the question:
"Where was God on September 11th?"
Obviously, the answer being looked for is not the physical location of God on that day. The assumption behind the question, of course, is that God should have done something to prevent the evil from taking place that resulted in the death of thousands.
If one recognizes the sovereignty of God as He reveals Himself in the Bible, one is left with few options to explain the tragedy of ten years ago. To quote an old song, "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep." That much we can be sure of.
However, I think we can be even more sure of what Jesus might say about the events of 9/11. How? Because He already has responded - in a way. I am thinking of, specifically, the events related at the beginning of Luke 13:
" 1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” " (Luke 13:1-5 - NKJV).
I don't mean to suggest that there is an exact parallel between 9/11 and the events referenced here. What I do mean to suggest is that I believe Jesus' response here is just as relevant to our situation as to theirs.
Let me break it down a bit so that my point is clearly understood:
The suffering of Jews by the actions of Pilate and the death of some by a tower's collapse did not happen outside of God's control, but neither were they directly acts of judgment on the men who died.
The basic problem in the world is, and always has been, sin. We talk a lot about God's love, but very little about God's justice. But let us be very clear: If God were not just, the world would be a far worse place. Because of our sin, God will inevitably judge the world and send many to hell at the final judgment before the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15).
So what does 9/11 - to say nothing of other tragedies where many die - mean for us today? It means that God is not going to tolerate sin indefinitely. God's patience is long, but not permanent. Sometimes He allows these tragedies to occur to remind us that we live in a sinful world and that judgment for sin is coming. This first happened when God destroyed the world by flood, saving only Noah and his family. Since then, He has judged the world many times as a vivid and sharp reminder that our lives are like a vapor and that sin will be judged. We have no reason to assume we will live a full life or that we will have time before we die to repent of our sin. As Jesus stated so plainly, "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."
People often ask, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" As one theologian commented on this question,
"That only happened once. And He volunteered for it."
America, perhaps more than any other country, is extremely moralistic. Yet for all our pretentious claims of goodness, we are also an extremely sinful nation. The truth is, the events of 9/11 might have been far worse if God had not restrained them from being so.
For unbelievers, the take-home message that believers need to share with them is that Christ Jesus - The Son of God and Son of Man - came in the form of human flesh to live the perfect life that we should have lived, and thus was able to exchange - by His own free and loving choice - His prize for our penalty and punishment. He died so that those who believe in the name of Jesus - bringing nothing to salvation but their repentance - might be saved.
But for believers, this salvation doesn't necessarily translate to material riches, perpetual good health, or anything else that we might desire on this earth. God simply does not promise that our life here will be all hunky-dory. Our life here is ultimately not where our blessings will take place. We can lose our job, go bankrupt, or even die in a terrorist attack. The thing to remember is to have a God-centered mindset. If we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
So, remember those who died; support the lawful punishment of those who would seek to terrorize our nation; but never forget the higher citizenship we have in Heaven or the One Whom we serve. Most importantly, when He speaks to us through calamities, don't miss the forest for the trees.
"Where was God on September 11th?"
Obviously, the answer being looked for is not the physical location of God on that day. The assumption behind the question, of course, is that God should have done something to prevent the evil from taking place that resulted in the death of thousands.
If one recognizes the sovereignty of God as He reveals Himself in the Bible, one is left with few options to explain the tragedy of ten years ago. To quote an old song, "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep." That much we can be sure of.
However, I think we can be even more sure of what Jesus might say about the events of 9/11. How? Because He already has responded - in a way. I am thinking of, specifically, the events related at the beginning of Luke 13:
" 1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” " (Luke 13:1-5 - NKJV).
I don't mean to suggest that there is an exact parallel between 9/11 and the events referenced here. What I do mean to suggest is that I believe Jesus' response here is just as relevant to our situation as to theirs.
Let me break it down a bit so that my point is clearly understood:
- God is sovereign
- 9/11 happened by God's will
- Jesus commands repentance
The suffering of Jews by the actions of Pilate and the death of some by a tower's collapse did not happen outside of God's control, but neither were they directly acts of judgment on the men who died.
The basic problem in the world is, and always has been, sin. We talk a lot about God's love, but very little about God's justice. But let us be very clear: If God were not just, the world would be a far worse place. Because of our sin, God will inevitably judge the world and send many to hell at the final judgment before the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15).
So what does 9/11 - to say nothing of other tragedies where many die - mean for us today? It means that God is not going to tolerate sin indefinitely. God's patience is long, but not permanent. Sometimes He allows these tragedies to occur to remind us that we live in a sinful world and that judgment for sin is coming. This first happened when God destroyed the world by flood, saving only Noah and his family. Since then, He has judged the world many times as a vivid and sharp reminder that our lives are like a vapor and that sin will be judged. We have no reason to assume we will live a full life or that we will have time before we die to repent of our sin. As Jesus stated so plainly, "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."
People often ask, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" As one theologian commented on this question,
"That only happened once. And He volunteered for it."
America, perhaps more than any other country, is extremely moralistic. Yet for all our pretentious claims of goodness, we are also an extremely sinful nation. The truth is, the events of 9/11 might have been far worse if God had not restrained them from being so.
For unbelievers, the take-home message that believers need to share with them is that Christ Jesus - The Son of God and Son of Man - came in the form of human flesh to live the perfect life that we should have lived, and thus was able to exchange - by His own free and loving choice - His prize for our penalty and punishment. He died so that those who believe in the name of Jesus - bringing nothing to salvation but their repentance - might be saved.
But for believers, this salvation doesn't necessarily translate to material riches, perpetual good health, or anything else that we might desire on this earth. God simply does not promise that our life here will be all hunky-dory. Our life here is ultimately not where our blessings will take place. We can lose our job, go bankrupt, or even die in a terrorist attack. The thing to remember is to have a God-centered mindset. If we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
So, remember those who died; support the lawful punishment of those who would seek to terrorize our nation; but never forget the higher citizenship we have in Heaven or the One Whom we serve. Most importantly, when He speaks to us through calamities, don't miss the forest for the trees.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
6 Reasons Your Prayer Request Was Not Met, Part 2
This is the second half of my sermon manuscript I preached at Carmel Village last Sunday afternoon.
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Sometimes, God does not answer our requests because of sin in our lives. Even following the repentance of a child for their sin, a wise parent will discipline him promptly. Greater sins require greater punishment.
One example from Scripture makes this point absolutely clear. David the king, who followed Saul, was described as a man after God’s own heart. Yet what do we see of him? After being king for some time, his army was away at war and David was back in his palace idle. As a result of being unengaged by any pressing needs, he found himself up on the roof surveying the city and his eyes came upon a woman bathing. He found out from his servants who she was, Bathsheba the wife of Uriah, a man in David’s army and one of the member’s of the “Mighty Men of David” who had been with him before he became king. Despite the fact that she was married, and despite who her husband was, David sent for her and impregnated her. Not long after, Bathsheba sent word to David that she was pregnant and, obviously, this was a problem for David.
First he tried to cover up his sin by sending for Uriah from the battle lines, inviting him to dinner on the pretence of getting an update on how the war was going while intending to get him drunk. Then David tried to send Uriah home to be with his wife so that he would believe the child was his. But Uriah did not go home that night. As the other soldiers he fought with were away from home and risking their lives, he felt it would not be right for him to go to his wife that night. He spent the evening instead with the men of David, sleeping in the guardhouse with them.
As his plan to cover up his sin by pretending the baby was Uriah’s did not work, David sent a sealed note with Uriah to his general, instructing the general to place Uriah in the fiercest part of the battle and then pulling back his troops so that Uriah would be killed. This time David’s plan worked and Uriah was killed. David had murdered him, just as if he had shot him with the killing arrow himself.
David married Bathsheba shortly after, and she had their baby: a son. Soon after this, Nathan, a prophet of God came to David. He told him the story of David’s sin with Bathsheba, changing it to a rich man who took the lamb of a poor man when he had many of his own. David burned with fury and promised to execute the man who had done this thing. Nathan revealed that it was David himself who had done it.
Soon after, his infant son became sick. David repented of his sin before God and pleaded with him for the life of his son. But the son died. Actions have consequences, and David was only beginning to find this out. One of David’s sons raped David’s daughter from another wife. The daughter’s brother murdered his half-brother in response. That son later rebelled against David, causing a brutal war before finally being killed. Numerous other problems were to result.
The reason? God had taken David from a lowly shepherd to be king over Israel. He had blessed David greatly. And after this unprecedented exaltation, David stole the wife of a friend and had him killed to cover up his sin. Then he lived in unrepentance without remembering God for a year after this.
Such wickedness and willful sin required a punishment. And despite David’s pleas for mercy, God took the life of his son.
When we sin against God, he does not smile and say, “It’s no big deal.” God loves us. As someone recently said, “Asking God for bad things not to happen to us is like asking God not to love us.” Or, in biblical terms,
“11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor detest His correction; 12 For whom the LORD loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:11-12.
Sometimes, the results of our sin can be hard to bear. Yet, in all of it, we must trust God. He is not unfair. The punishment is nothing greater than we can bear and far less than our sins deserve. If God is not answering your prayers, however, it may be because of unconfessed sin in your heart. As the Psalmist wrote,
“18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” Psalm 66:18.
“7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
The Apostle Paul – a man who served Christ with more zeal than almost anyone who ever lived – was in danger of being too exalted by revelations that God had given him. God sent him some form of persecution to weigh him down. Does Paul complain about this? No indeed! He rejoices, because the reason he is being afflicted is to grow in Christ. So that it is Christ alone, and not we ourselves, through Whom our work of service to Christ is done. Also, James writes,
“2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” James 1:2-3.
Sometimes God allows a situation to occur or to continue to cause us to grow in Him. We who are believers in Christ, those for whom He gave His life, are being transformed into the image of Christ. Such transformation requires pain. Just as Christ made Himself like us and suffered pain and even death on our behalf. More than that, He bore the weight of our sin on the cross of Calvary, taking the punishment we deserved because we were unable to bear it. As He bore our pain, we are to follow His example and share in His sufferings, knowing that these things are but for a time. Our labor is not in vain in the Lord, if you are a believer in Christ, this life will be but a memory upon His return.
Thus, when we pray for relief in some area or a removal of something that is hard on us, if God does not meet your request, do not assume He is uncaring or impotent. More importantly, do not waste your trial. Recognize that it is an intrinsic part of your transformation to the likeness of Christ Jesus.
“3 [The Lord] will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:3-4.
God was waiting the perfect time to act. God had acted similarly in bringing His people to Egypt. Joseph, the son of Jacob, was hated by his brothers. Out of jealousy, because of Jacob’s obvious favoritism towards Joseph, his brothers took him and sold him to slave traders. He was bought by the Captain of the Guard in Egypt: A man named Potiphar. Through hard work and the blessing of God, Joseph rose to overseer over Potiphar’s household. Potiphar trusted Joseph so much that he stopped even checking to see if Joseph was being honest, he trusted him so much. But Potiphar’s wife had eyes for Joseph, and when he rejected her advances, she vengefully told her husband that Joseph had tried to rape her. Joseph was then thrown into prison for several years. Yet it was here in prison that Joseph was in position to complete God’s plan. Because of his character, the jailer made him overseer over the other prisoners. Subsequently, he was able to render a service to a prisoner who was influential in getting him released and bringing him later to the attention of Pharaoh. The end result? Through the wisdom God had given him, Joseph was appointed by Pharaoh to second-in-command of all of Egypt, only under Pharaoh himself.
Thus, God provided a home for Joseph’s family from the fierce famine in Canaan. And through the subsequent slavery of Israel in Egypt, God set the stage to reveal Himself to Egypt and call out the people of Israel as His own chosen people – to set His love and blessing upon them.
In Gethsemane, the night before Jesus died, He prayed to the Father, asking Him that if some other way could be found to redeem His people, that it might happen. God did not grant that request: But He did grant Jesus’ other request: After petitioning the Father in this way, Jesus prayed: “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
This is the pattern which all our prayers ought to take. God is all-wise. He has a perfect plan for all eternity. When we petition Him for what we desire, we should always pray for His will to be accomplished. As Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done…”
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- 4. Punishment
Sometimes, God does not answer our requests because of sin in our lives. Even following the repentance of a child for their sin, a wise parent will discipline him promptly. Greater sins require greater punishment.
One example from Scripture makes this point absolutely clear. David the king, who followed Saul, was described as a man after God’s own heart. Yet what do we see of him? After being king for some time, his army was away at war and David was back in his palace idle. As a result of being unengaged by any pressing needs, he found himself up on the roof surveying the city and his eyes came upon a woman bathing. He found out from his servants who she was, Bathsheba the wife of Uriah, a man in David’s army and one of the member’s of the “Mighty Men of David” who had been with him before he became king. Despite the fact that she was married, and despite who her husband was, David sent for her and impregnated her. Not long after, Bathsheba sent word to David that she was pregnant and, obviously, this was a problem for David.
First he tried to cover up his sin by sending for Uriah from the battle lines, inviting him to dinner on the pretence of getting an update on how the war was going while intending to get him drunk. Then David tried to send Uriah home to be with his wife so that he would believe the child was his. But Uriah did not go home that night. As the other soldiers he fought with were away from home and risking their lives, he felt it would not be right for him to go to his wife that night. He spent the evening instead with the men of David, sleeping in the guardhouse with them.
As his plan to cover up his sin by pretending the baby was Uriah’s did not work, David sent a sealed note with Uriah to his general, instructing the general to place Uriah in the fiercest part of the battle and then pulling back his troops so that Uriah would be killed. This time David’s plan worked and Uriah was killed. David had murdered him, just as if he had shot him with the killing arrow himself.
David married Bathsheba shortly after, and she had their baby: a son. Soon after this, Nathan, a prophet of God came to David. He told him the story of David’s sin with Bathsheba, changing it to a rich man who took the lamb of a poor man when he had many of his own. David burned with fury and promised to execute the man who had done this thing. Nathan revealed that it was David himself who had done it.
Soon after, his infant son became sick. David repented of his sin before God and pleaded with him for the life of his son. But the son died. Actions have consequences, and David was only beginning to find this out. One of David’s sons raped David’s daughter from another wife. The daughter’s brother murdered his half-brother in response. That son later rebelled against David, causing a brutal war before finally being killed. Numerous other problems were to result.
The reason? God had taken David from a lowly shepherd to be king over Israel. He had blessed David greatly. And after this unprecedented exaltation, David stole the wife of a friend and had him killed to cover up his sin. Then he lived in unrepentance without remembering God for a year after this.
Such wickedness and willful sin required a punishment. And despite David’s pleas for mercy, God took the life of his son.
When we sin against God, he does not smile and say, “It’s no big deal.” God loves us. As someone recently said, “Asking God for bad things not to happen to us is like asking God not to love us.” Or, in biblical terms,
“11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor detest His correction; 12 For whom the LORD loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:11-12.
Sometimes, the results of our sin can be hard to bear. Yet, in all of it, we must trust God. He is not unfair. The punishment is nothing greater than we can bear and far less than our sins deserve. If God is not answering your prayers, however, it may be because of unconfessed sin in your heart. As the Psalmist wrote,
“18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” Psalm 66:18.
- 5. For Our Growth in Christ
“7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
The Apostle Paul – a man who served Christ with more zeal than almost anyone who ever lived – was in danger of being too exalted by revelations that God had given him. God sent him some form of persecution to weigh him down. Does Paul complain about this? No indeed! He rejoices, because the reason he is being afflicted is to grow in Christ. So that it is Christ alone, and not we ourselves, through Whom our work of service to Christ is done. Also, James writes,
“2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” James 1:2-3.
Sometimes God allows a situation to occur or to continue to cause us to grow in Him. We who are believers in Christ, those for whom He gave His life, are being transformed into the image of Christ. Such transformation requires pain. Just as Christ made Himself like us and suffered pain and even death on our behalf. More than that, He bore the weight of our sin on the cross of Calvary, taking the punishment we deserved because we were unable to bear it. As He bore our pain, we are to follow His example and share in His sufferings, knowing that these things are but for a time. Our labor is not in vain in the Lord, if you are a believer in Christ, this life will be but a memory upon His return.
Thus, when we pray for relief in some area or a removal of something that is hard on us, if God does not meet your request, do not assume He is uncaring or impotent. More importantly, do not waste your trial. Recognize that it is an intrinsic part of your transformation to the likeness of Christ Jesus.
- 6. God has a better plan in store.
“3 [The Lord] will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:3-4.
God was waiting the perfect time to act. God had acted similarly in bringing His people to Egypt. Joseph, the son of Jacob, was hated by his brothers. Out of jealousy, because of Jacob’s obvious favoritism towards Joseph, his brothers took him and sold him to slave traders. He was bought by the Captain of the Guard in Egypt: A man named Potiphar. Through hard work and the blessing of God, Joseph rose to overseer over Potiphar’s household. Potiphar trusted Joseph so much that he stopped even checking to see if Joseph was being honest, he trusted him so much. But Potiphar’s wife had eyes for Joseph, and when he rejected her advances, she vengefully told her husband that Joseph had tried to rape her. Joseph was then thrown into prison for several years. Yet it was here in prison that Joseph was in position to complete God’s plan. Because of his character, the jailer made him overseer over the other prisoners. Subsequently, he was able to render a service to a prisoner who was influential in getting him released and bringing him later to the attention of Pharaoh. The end result? Through the wisdom God had given him, Joseph was appointed by Pharaoh to second-in-command of all of Egypt, only under Pharaoh himself.
Thus, God provided a home for Joseph’s family from the fierce famine in Canaan. And through the subsequent slavery of Israel in Egypt, God set the stage to reveal Himself to Egypt and call out the people of Israel as His own chosen people – to set His love and blessing upon them.
In Gethsemane, the night before Jesus died, He prayed to the Father, asking Him that if some other way could be found to redeem His people, that it might happen. God did not grant that request: But He did grant Jesus’ other request: After petitioning the Father in this way, Jesus prayed: “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
This is the pattern which all our prayers ought to take. God is all-wise. He has a perfect plan for all eternity. When we petition Him for what we desire, we should always pray for His will to be accomplished. As Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done…”
Sunday, August 28, 2011
6 Reasons Your Prayer Was Not Met, Part 1
Recently, I had this subject on my mind due to something I'd read online. The person made a statement that seemed to suggest to me (or at least left the possibility open) a belief that prayer is only answered when we get exactly what we request. But in thinking over it, I wasn't sure I fully agreed with that. Today at Carmel, I preached a topical (ie. Not expositing a particular text) sermon on this area of prayer. I'll post the first half tonight and the rest in a few days. The whole thing was roughly 30 minutes, so this is about the first fifteen(ish) minutes.
(Note. I haven't messed with it to make minor edits or revisions that I might've if I had started my study earlier. What you're getting here is the manuscript of the sermon unaltered).
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How does one talk to God? In past centuries, nations and peoples have ranged from philosophers who thought of God as absent or disinterested to imaginative folks who described a pantheon of gods to the tribal peoples who sacrificed valuables and even people to non-existent gods of the elements in a vain attempt to curry favor.
In recent years, popular fads relating to prayer have arisen, from the bizarre to the heretical. One popular method of prayer is known as the name-it-and-claim-it. Taking their cue from passages that say, “You do not have because you do not ask,” and similar ones, these people imagine that God is waiting up in Heaven like a genie in a bottle, just waiting to spoil them with whatever they can think of to ask. These types of prayers invariably lead to disappointment.
The thing to remember in all of this is that prayer is first and foremost a method of speaking to God. And in order to approach God and speak to Him, one must consider His character. For those of us who are followers of the God of the Bible, we recognize that God loves us and blesses us every day.
However, sometimes we forget what God has revealed of Himself and imagine that if a particular request we make is not met in the way we requested, the prayer did not work. The truth is that all prayer requests are answered in some way. Either God says, ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘not yet’.
The reasons why he does not answer every request in the way that we ask are many. I’ve identified for us today: 6 Reasons Your Request Is Not Met.
“5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;”
And in Hebrews 11:6,
“But without faith it is impossible to please [God]”
God loves us and desires to bless us, this is clear from passages like Matthew 7:7-11,
“7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
God does indeed desire to bless us, but too often we fail by simply going through the motions. We don’t think God will act or suppose in our subconscious mind that it might be too difficult for even God to accomplish.
Yet, God recognizes our weak faith. He is compassionate and long-suffering with us. Remember from Mark 9, the story of the man who’s son was possessed by a demon that made the boy mute.
“17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not…[22b] But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. Mark 9:17-18, 22b-27.
The man admitted that his faith was weak, yet Jesus healed His son. God bears with our weaknesses, but that it not an excuse to be unconcerned about our lack of belief. As far as it is within our control, we are to trust in the power of God to answer our requests. To approach Him without faith is a slap in the face to God, and as James said, one who does so should not expect to receive anything from Him.
Sometimes this requires persistence. A lack of an immediate answer does not always indicate a refusal on the part of God. Sometimes, God desires to test our faith by waiting. Unless God has made it clear to you that the answer is, ‘no’, we should continue in prayer for the things we have asked of Him, trusting that they will come to pass:
“1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” 6Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:1-8.
Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest on Mt. Carmel. The prophets of Baal made an altar to Baal and Elijah made an altar to God. The winner would be the one who’s God devoured the sacrifice with fire from Heaven. God answered Elijah and devoured his sacrifice with fire. Not long afterwards, the drought that had encompassed the land for 3 years ended when Elijah prayed to God to renew the rain.
But after the victory at Mt. Carmel, the people had killed the prophets of Baal, now proven false, by the command of Elijah. Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, sent a message to Elijah that she would have him executed the next day.
“4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”” 1 Kings 19:4.
Jonah likewise prayed to have his life taken away after God had mercy on the city of Nineveh when they repented of their sin.
These kinds of prayers represent foolish prayers. Our lives are in the hand of God, He decides when we live and when we die. For some it is early in life. Others God graciously allows a full and lengthy life. But make no mistake, the timing behind when we all leave this life is God’s choice alone. Nothing happens outside His control. For Elijah to suggest that it was time for his life to finish it’s course was the height of foolishness. Yet, we must recognize that after all Elijah had gone through, he had a time of weakness, just as we all do. No one is perfect, and most of us never even approach the heights of Elijah’s accomplishments. Yet far too often we pray presumptuously, with concern as to our needs and desires, not God’s.
James, in his epistle writes,
“1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:1-4.
Far too often, the reason our requests are not met because they were foolish requests. Our life is not our own, we are children of God. We were slaves of sin, redeemed by God. We belong to Him. Yet as adopted children of God, we have a standard to live up to. We are to be like Christ. When we pray, “in Jesus’ name, amen”, we are invoking the name of Christ. As Christ is our mediator who brings our requests before the Father, and as we as Christians are being conformed into the image of Christ, our requests must be consistent with His character. If we are simply asking for things to fulfill our desires and without concern for anyone but ourselves, the request may very well be rejected.
The clearest example I am aware of is King Saul. In 1 Samuel, the Israelites were ruled over by God through the use of intermediaries. These men were judges and God communicated His will to the people of Israel through them. But the people had tired of judges and went to Samuel, the man God had appointed to judge the people, requesting that God appoint a king to rule over them that they might be like all the other nations. God acquiesced to their request and gave them a man named Saul to be their king.
From the start, Saul showed a reluctance to be king, but quickly acted as a king should to protect his people. However, in two key instances, Saul pointedly disobeyed the Lord’s direct command in a situation. God then sent Samuel to anoint David as king. As Saul had disregarded the Lord’s words, so also, the Lord turned from Him. In the end, Saul faced a battle against the Philistine army that he felt he could not win. Then he cried to the Lord, yet the Lord did not answer. When Saul consulted a medium to raise the spirit of the dead prophet Samuel, God allowed Samuel’s spirit to speak to Saul. Samuel told Saul that because he had refused to obey God, He and his sons would die in the battle. The next day, that very thing came to pass.
“9 One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” Proverbs 28:9.
Yet, this is only true for those who are not truly repentant. One thing we learn about Saul from Scripture is that he was utterly incapable of admitting his faults. Samuel practically had to draw him a picture when confronting him with his direct disobedience to the command God had given him.
In the book of Jonah, the prophet was told by God to tell the city of Nineveh of the impending judgment of God. Jonah instead fled the opposite direction by boat. When storms threatened to destroy the boat, Jonah recognized it was a result of his sin and instructed the sailors to throw him into the sea that their lives might be saved. God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah. He was 3 days in the belly of the fish. During this time, He prayed and repented of His sin to God.
“15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” Psalm 34:15-18.
(Note. I haven't messed with it to make minor edits or revisions that I might've if I had started my study earlier. What you're getting here is the manuscript of the sermon unaltered).
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How does one talk to God? In past centuries, nations and peoples have ranged from philosophers who thought of God as absent or disinterested to imaginative folks who described a pantheon of gods to the tribal peoples who sacrificed valuables and even people to non-existent gods of the elements in a vain attempt to curry favor.
In recent years, popular fads relating to prayer have arisen, from the bizarre to the heretical. One popular method of prayer is known as the name-it-and-claim-it. Taking their cue from passages that say, “You do not have because you do not ask,” and similar ones, these people imagine that God is waiting up in Heaven like a genie in a bottle, just waiting to spoil them with whatever they can think of to ask. These types of prayers invariably lead to disappointment.
The thing to remember in all of this is that prayer is first and foremost a method of speaking to God. And in order to approach God and speak to Him, one must consider His character. For those of us who are followers of the God of the Bible, we recognize that God loves us and blesses us every day.
However, sometimes we forget what God has revealed of Himself and imagine that if a particular request we make is not met in the way we requested, the prayer did not work. The truth is that all prayer requests are answered in some way. Either God says, ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘not yet’.
The reasons why he does not answer every request in the way that we ask are many. I’ve identified for us today: 6 Reasons Your Request Is Not Met.
- 1. No Faith
“5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;”
And in Hebrews 11:6,
“But without faith it is impossible to please [God]”
God loves us and desires to bless us, this is clear from passages like Matthew 7:7-11,
“7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
God does indeed desire to bless us, but too often we fail by simply going through the motions. We don’t think God will act or suppose in our subconscious mind that it might be too difficult for even God to accomplish.
Yet, God recognizes our weak faith. He is compassionate and long-suffering with us. Remember from Mark 9, the story of the man who’s son was possessed by a demon that made the boy mute.
“17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not…[22b] But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. Mark 9:17-18, 22b-27.
The man admitted that his faith was weak, yet Jesus healed His son. God bears with our weaknesses, but that it not an excuse to be unconcerned about our lack of belief. As far as it is within our control, we are to trust in the power of God to answer our requests. To approach Him without faith is a slap in the face to God, and as James said, one who does so should not expect to receive anything from Him.
Sometimes this requires persistence. A lack of an immediate answer does not always indicate a refusal on the part of God. Sometimes, God desires to test our faith by waiting. Unless God has made it clear to you that the answer is, ‘no’, we should continue in prayer for the things we have asked of Him, trusting that they will come to pass:
“1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” 6Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:1-8.
- 2. Foolish Prayers
Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest on Mt. Carmel. The prophets of Baal made an altar to Baal and Elijah made an altar to God. The winner would be the one who’s God devoured the sacrifice with fire from Heaven. God answered Elijah and devoured his sacrifice with fire. Not long afterwards, the drought that had encompassed the land for 3 years ended when Elijah prayed to God to renew the rain.
But after the victory at Mt. Carmel, the people had killed the prophets of Baal, now proven false, by the command of Elijah. Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, sent a message to Elijah that she would have him executed the next day.
“4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”” 1 Kings 19:4.
Jonah likewise prayed to have his life taken away after God had mercy on the city of Nineveh when they repented of their sin.
These kinds of prayers represent foolish prayers. Our lives are in the hand of God, He decides when we live and when we die. For some it is early in life. Others God graciously allows a full and lengthy life. But make no mistake, the timing behind when we all leave this life is God’s choice alone. Nothing happens outside His control. For Elijah to suggest that it was time for his life to finish it’s course was the height of foolishness. Yet, we must recognize that after all Elijah had gone through, he had a time of weakness, just as we all do. No one is perfect, and most of us never even approach the heights of Elijah’s accomplishments. Yet far too often we pray presumptuously, with concern as to our needs and desires, not God’s.
James, in his epistle writes,
“1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:1-4.
Far too often, the reason our requests are not met because they were foolish requests. Our life is not our own, we are children of God. We were slaves of sin, redeemed by God. We belong to Him. Yet as adopted children of God, we have a standard to live up to. We are to be like Christ. When we pray, “in Jesus’ name, amen”, we are invoking the name of Christ. As Christ is our mediator who brings our requests before the Father, and as we as Christians are being conformed into the image of Christ, our requests must be consistent with His character. If we are simply asking for things to fulfill our desires and without concern for anyone but ourselves, the request may very well be rejected.
- 3. Ignoring God
The clearest example I am aware of is King Saul. In 1 Samuel, the Israelites were ruled over by God through the use of intermediaries. These men were judges and God communicated His will to the people of Israel through them. But the people had tired of judges and went to Samuel, the man God had appointed to judge the people, requesting that God appoint a king to rule over them that they might be like all the other nations. God acquiesced to their request and gave them a man named Saul to be their king.
From the start, Saul showed a reluctance to be king, but quickly acted as a king should to protect his people. However, in two key instances, Saul pointedly disobeyed the Lord’s direct command in a situation. God then sent Samuel to anoint David as king. As Saul had disregarded the Lord’s words, so also, the Lord turned from Him. In the end, Saul faced a battle against the Philistine army that he felt he could not win. Then he cried to the Lord, yet the Lord did not answer. When Saul consulted a medium to raise the spirit of the dead prophet Samuel, God allowed Samuel’s spirit to speak to Saul. Samuel told Saul that because he had refused to obey God, He and his sons would die in the battle. The next day, that very thing came to pass.
“9 One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” Proverbs 28:9.
Yet, this is only true for those who are not truly repentant. One thing we learn about Saul from Scripture is that he was utterly incapable of admitting his faults. Samuel practically had to draw him a picture when confronting him with his direct disobedience to the command God had given him.
In the book of Jonah, the prophet was told by God to tell the city of Nineveh of the impending judgment of God. Jonah instead fled the opposite direction by boat. When storms threatened to destroy the boat, Jonah recognized it was a result of his sin and instructed the sailors to throw him into the sea that their lives might be saved. God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah. He was 3 days in the belly of the fish. During this time, He prayed and repented of His sin to God.
“15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” Psalm 34:15-18.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Tattoos, Theology, and why getting a buzz might be a sin, Part 2
Earlier this week, I analyzed this issue a bit. Today, I'd like to give you my position: I don't think getting a tattoo is a good idea.
I’ll give you 3 reasons why not:
1. Tattoos are limited.
Even on a basic level, tattoos are a poor idea because they’re limited in their message. While you might think it’s a good idea to start off the conversation with John 3:16, or a cross, or “Jesus loves you”, the fact of the matter is, much that is taught in Christianity today is deceitful because it is an incomplete message.
I’ll give you 3 reasons why not:
1. Tattoos are limited.
Even on a basic level, tattoos are a poor idea because they’re limited in their message. While you might think it’s a good idea to start off the conversation with John 3:16, or a cross, or “Jesus loves you”, the fact of the matter is, much that is taught in Christianity today is deceitful because it is an incomplete message.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Tattoos, theology, and why getting a buzz might be a sin - Part 1
So Lois opened up a can of worms on buzz...kind of...by bringing up the issue of tattoos and other trendy slogans. While her point wasn't exclusively related to tattoos, I decided to swerve more in that direction since it seemed more interesting. Part 2 will deal indirectly with some of her question in my 3 point response. I felt, though, that the tattoo thing was a bit more interesting and surprisingly, quite a problem in our present culture. With apologies for the divergence, here's the first part of my response:
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Is getting a tattoo a sin? Will you get shut out at the pearly gates because you inked your arm with something? The answer, of course, is quite easy.
“28Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” Leviticus 19:28. (KJV)
Print any marks? What is that?
“28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.” (NKJV)
The ever-trustworthy update of the King James Version says that is talking about tattoos. The New American Standard, English Standard Version and New International Version all translate it, ‘tattoo’.
“But wait”, say the Christian tattoo apologists, “That’s the law. We’re like totally free from that now, dude.” Of course, that’s only California. If they were down South, for instance, they would remove the ‘like totally’ and ‘dude’, and replace it with the Southern equivalent term.
Monday, March 14, 2011
What God wants us to know about the tragedy in Japan
I am the first one to say that there is no strong biblical basis for the concept of ‘unlimited’ or ‘general atonement – that is, the viewpoint that Jesus died for all the sins of everyone who ever lived. I don’t see the point at this time in offering up new arguments against that. It is a relatively minor doctrine, after all.
But in the aftermath of the recent earthquake and tsunami near Japan, I thought it might be helpful to concede that there is one element of Jesus’ atonement that was universal.
A part of Jesus’ work on the cross was appeasement of the wrath of God towards us who believe. However, in one sense, it could be argued that there was a temporary appeasement towards all mankind because of Christ’s sacrifice. Consider: When Adam sinned against God, the just and right thing to do would be to punish Adam’s sin and rebellion. As a God of justice, God is required to punish sin. If He did not punish wrongdoing, He would not be just and could no longer be trusted to do what was right. However, God did not immediately deliver Adam up to eternal torment as He had the right to do. Nor does He instantly send anyone to hell the instant they first sin against Him. What He did was to provide a substitute to pay our penalty and assume our debt. Because of this, God calls all men everywhere to repent and turn to Him. Although only some have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, yet there is an element in which they are responsible for either accepting Him or denying Him.
Some never get the opportunity – so far as we know – to repent and trust in Christ or reject Him. Those who die in the womb or die at an age or mentality level at which they cannot comprehend sin never have the chance to repent. Yet as members of Adam’s race, they are still under the curse. How God deals with these ones just noted is unclear in Scripture. Some suggest that He simply elects some and condemns, while others believe that all of them are hell bound. My personal conviction is that those who cannot yet grasp the truth of their sin are received by God’s grace into His kingdom. Again, though, I am not here to debate that particular position at the moment. I’m not sure a clear case can be made from Scripture in defense of any of these positions. However, we must be clear that if they are all condemned, it does not take anything away from either God’s love or mercy. God is loving and just. Everything He does is right and we would do well to remember that.
But to return to my main point, because of Christ’s substitutionary act on the cross, judgment has been delayed for all men. This delay is for the purpose of giving men the opportunity to repent before Christ returns again for His own.
When we see truly heartbreaking events like the recent disaster in Japan, our prayers go out to the families of these people. But at the same time, we must remember the warning of Jesus:
“1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”” (Luke 13:1-5).
Why do horrible tragedies like this happen? This passage seems to suggest that in allowing this calamity to take place, God was not judging these men for their wickedness but using them as a warning for others.
What is the warning? No one is guaranteed even another hour of life, no matter what their age or health condition. Life is a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Men would do well, then, to consider the state of their souls and whether or not they are prepared to meet their Maker and Master.
So as you remember the people of Japan in your prayers in the aftermath of these things, the most critical thing we can pray for is that the eyes of people will be opened; that they realize how short life is and that their thoughts will lift up to God; and that many will recognize their sin, repent of it and trust in God for their salvation. Whatever else you pray, pray that they will not forget the warning that God has given them this week.
But in the aftermath of the recent earthquake and tsunami near Japan, I thought it might be helpful to concede that there is one element of Jesus’ atonement that was universal.
A part of Jesus’ work on the cross was appeasement of the wrath of God towards us who believe. However, in one sense, it could be argued that there was a temporary appeasement towards all mankind because of Christ’s sacrifice. Consider: When Adam sinned against God, the just and right thing to do would be to punish Adam’s sin and rebellion. As a God of justice, God is required to punish sin. If He did not punish wrongdoing, He would not be just and could no longer be trusted to do what was right. However, God did not immediately deliver Adam up to eternal torment as He had the right to do. Nor does He instantly send anyone to hell the instant they first sin against Him. What He did was to provide a substitute to pay our penalty and assume our debt. Because of this, God calls all men everywhere to repent and turn to Him. Although only some have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, yet there is an element in which they are responsible for either accepting Him or denying Him.
Some never get the opportunity – so far as we know – to repent and trust in Christ or reject Him. Those who die in the womb or die at an age or mentality level at which they cannot comprehend sin never have the chance to repent. Yet as members of Adam’s race, they are still under the curse. How God deals with these ones just noted is unclear in Scripture. Some suggest that He simply elects some and condemns, while others believe that all of them are hell bound. My personal conviction is that those who cannot yet grasp the truth of their sin are received by God’s grace into His kingdom. Again, though, I am not here to debate that particular position at the moment. I’m not sure a clear case can be made from Scripture in defense of any of these positions. However, we must be clear that if they are all condemned, it does not take anything away from either God’s love or mercy. God is loving and just. Everything He does is right and we would do well to remember that.
But to return to my main point, because of Christ’s substitutionary act on the cross, judgment has been delayed for all men. This delay is for the purpose of giving men the opportunity to repent before Christ returns again for His own.
When we see truly heartbreaking events like the recent disaster in Japan, our prayers go out to the families of these people. But at the same time, we must remember the warning of Jesus:
“1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”” (Luke 13:1-5).
Why do horrible tragedies like this happen? This passage seems to suggest that in allowing this calamity to take place, God was not judging these men for their wickedness but using them as a warning for others.
What is the warning? No one is guaranteed even another hour of life, no matter what their age or health condition. Life is a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Men would do well, then, to consider the state of their souls and whether or not they are prepared to meet their Maker and Master.
So as you remember the people of Japan in your prayers in the aftermath of these things, the most critical thing we can pray for is that the eyes of people will be opened; that they realize how short life is and that their thoughts will lift up to God; and that many will recognize their sin, repent of it and trust in God for their salvation. Whatever else you pray, pray that they will not forget the warning that God has given them this week.
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