Matthew 6:25-34- Good for the soul

Friends, today simply be encouraged by Jesus’ words displaying God’s loving care for his people. Read Matthew 6:25-34 below.

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Do not be anxious. Instead, trust the Lord.

God’s glory in human situations- Part 2

Israel was not guiltless in the Exodus account in Exodus 14-15. In reality, Israel was just as guilty of rejecting God as Pharaoh was. Even while God was saving Israel, they complained and said it was better to be slaves of God’s enemies than to trust God even when it seems dangerous. I wonder if you have every thought that way. I wonder if the thought of “It is better to live worshipping yourself, knowing it is not truly fulfilling or life giving, knowing that it is against God, rather than it is to trust and follow God because it is difficult” has ever crossed your mind. We certainly even saw Pharaoh have the opportunity to let God’s people go and his response is “Who is the Lord that I should listen to him?” Israel is saying the same thing!! Israel is saying, “Who is the Lord that we should listen and trust him?”! You, have probably also voiced the same thing.

When we begin to think that way, we forget something so important: IT WAS GOD WHO BROUGHT YOU INTO THAT SITUATION!! It is in these times that we often feel like God has abandoned us, but he actually has not at all. God is using this situation for your good, and for God’s glory.

The Egyptians were coming after Israel because God changed their hearts to do so. God had not abandoned Israel! God was with them the entire time. God lead them to the Red Sea, and not by accident. God works so that the world will know that He alone is God. He does that through situations in your life where you are called to trust God, even when it seems dangerous and difficult. God shows his glory in this world through the lives of his followers. And that is not a bad thing, that is a glorious thing!! Even when you are facing difficult circumstances, know that God does not abandon his people in difficulty! God delivers his people through difficulty, for the good of his people and for God’s glory. We do not need to return to sin, like Israel wanting to return to Egypt, we need to follow God. We need to trust him, especially when life is quite difficult.

We have a choice. We will either respond in anger towards God, or we will respond, like Israel in this situation, in fearing God and believing in him. This situation was not simply to show God’s power and faithfulness to his people, but it was “written for our instruction that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope,” (Rom. 15:4)

Maybe your life is falling apart before your eyes and everything you hold dear is falling away. And you begin to wonder, “Where is God in my circumstance?” I’ve been there. Perhaps your circumstance is so bad, I cannot relate. But I know someone who can. Jesus has been there. Jesus has faced more difficulty than you and for those who would trust in him.

Jesus says in this world, you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. That Jesus calls you today, in the midst of your difficulties, to trust him, even when it seems dangerous and scary, and to say, “Not my will, but yours be done.”

The result we see, is that it turned out for the good of Israel. They grew in their fear of the Lord. They grew in their trust in God and of his servant Moses. They trusted God more in this situation as the result.  Today, see the goodness of God by trusting him despite your circumstances, despite your temptation to reject him because it is dangerous, and then know that in trusting God, you will be better for it. I promise.

God’s glory in human situations- Part 1

Often times prayers of the saints will include things like, “God get your glory,” or “be glorified in this situation O Lord,” and a host of other phrases that use the words God and glory. But I often wonder how God actively accomplishes his glory in specific situations. It is a phrase that is used but I often wonder if people understand how it is applied.

This past week with the youth group, we considered God miraculous delivery of Israel through the crossing of the Red Sea. In Exodus 14-15, we considered verse 4 and v17-18 pretty seriously.                                                                                                                                                                 Exodus 14:4, “4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.”   Exodus 14:17-18, “17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

The questions we started asking we perhaps difficult questions to ask, and yet essential to understanding the character of God. To summarize it easily, God acts for his glory and calls us to himself to worship him, all for his glory.

But HOW is God glorified in this particular situation? When God says he is going to get glory, how does he do it?                                                                                                                                                                We could certainly see how God gets glory by delivering Israel through the Red Sea. That is certainly powerful. God gets glory in his even bigger deliverance of Israel from Egypt all together, and Exodus 14-15 is a culmination of what has happened for 14 chapters. Even the end of Exodus 14 describes that God’s people Israel when they saw all that had happened and saw the power of God, “the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord…” Then in Exodus 15 Israel is worshipping God. God is glorified in the situation through Israel’s worship of God himself. And yet while all those are certainly true and worthy to consider, the text gives a more specific way in which God glorifies himself. God is glorified in the destruction of Pharaoh. In verse 4, God is comparing his glory over something, specifically, over Pharaoh.

It is appropriate to ask, “In what way is Pharaoh attempting to get glory over God here?”  That will begin to shed light on how God gets glory over Pharaoh. God’s people are being taken out by the hand of God for the worship of God. Pharaoh, by stopping God’s people and taking them back to be slaves in Egypt, would no longer be God’s people in his mind, but his own people. And if Pharaoh can stop God’s people and take them back and make them Pharaoh’s people, Pharaoh could easily say he is more powerful that Yahweh.  By trying to reclaim God’s people, Pharaoh is in fact saying that he can defy God Almighty and take what is God’s and make his own.

It does not take much reading in Exodus 14 to see that that does not happen. Pharaoh does not win. Pharaoh does not succeed in taking God’s people back. We see quite the opposite. God allows Pharaoh to to come after Israel by hardening Pharaoh’s heart and then in being destroyed by the waters in the Red Sea.

God through Moses parted the Red Sea, and God’s people walked across dry land! The New Testament picks this idea up and talks about how Israel was baptized through the Red Sea (1 Cor. 10). And we know that baptism, at its heart is a sign of judgment, by going under the water. That is the very thing that happened to Egypt, except that they did not come up victorious.

Exodus 14: 28-30                                                                                                                                                        “28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.”

 How does God get glory in this situation?

God hardened Pharaoh’s heart for God’s glory. God brought salvation to God’s people through the judgment of Pharaoh for God’s glory. In saving His people and defeating their enemies, God’s glory is displayed.

God’s name was furthered, it was honoured, it was praised, and it was exalted, not simply at the saving of Israel, but also in the judgment of Pharaoh and his army.

Sometimes God is glorified in the saving of his people and their worship of him. In the same situation, God is glorified in the destruction of Pharaoh, to show his power, his might, and his holiness. While some are immediately offended by this, we should first consider why this matters. It matters because we need to face the reality that says one day we will die and face accountability for each thing we have done. But in that judgment, there will either be one on our side saying, “All his sins, I have already covered,” or “I do not know this person.” God, in his mercy, has provided the blood of Jesus to cover us so that we are no longer headed for destruction but headed for a place at the table of God. Either there will be deliverance or there will be destruction, and God will get his glory either way. Our question we must deal with individually, is what side we will be on? Will we be on the side of God or counted as his enemy? Will we be delivered or will we be destroyed?

There are other reasons why it matters, but if we do not tackle this one first, the rest will be lost. It matters because there is a powerful God who we cannot put in a box, but we must bow to. We cannot contain God, and it matters how we respond to him and his power. Will we be delivered or will we be destroyed?

 

 

Discernment: A Factor in Applying Philippians 4:8-9

This past Sunday morning, Pastor Bruce spoke about things that have the power to mould and shape our thinking. One of those areas was the multiple messages put out by the media, especially in regards to music. In a quote from the book, Soul Searching the Millennial Generation, he read:

We need to be wise and prayerful about all music intake. We must move beyond the naïve view that “Christian” equals good and “secular” equals bad. All types of music and media require discernment. (L. David Overholt and James Penner, Soul Searching the Millennial Generation: Strategies for Youth Workers (Toronto, ON: Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited, 2002), p.75.)

“So let’s be discerning. And let’s take to heart the children’s song which says, “O, be careful little eyes what you see!” and “O, be careful little ears what you hear!” because the things we see and the things we listen to shape what we think about. And Paul is concerned that we think about whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, and whatever is commendable. … So, the command, here, ultimately, is to think about Jesus. … Think about Jesus and all unworthy thoughts will perish in his presence.” November 2014 Sermons

Newton’s Letter, On Controversy

On Sunday evening, Pastor Bruce read “On Controversy” by John Newton, the late 18th century preacher and hymn writer. Newton wrote the letter to a fellow pastor who was concerned over another preacher’s lack of orthodoxy. Here is an excerpt:

 

Be upon your guard against admitting anything personal into the debate. If you think you have been ill treated, you will have an opportunity of showing that you are a disciple of Jesus, who “when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not.” This is our pattern, thus we are to speak and write for God, “not rendering railing for railing, but contrariwise blessing; knowing that hereunto we are called.” …

 

Here is a link to the entire letter. 

The Streets are Crawling with Spiritual Zombies

Pop culture today has a strange and disturbing fascination with Zombies. There have been 68 Zombie movies since 2010, with the likes of World War Z and the Resident Evil series. The Walking Dead may be the most popular show on TV today. Zombie walks, which are publicly organized gatherings of people who walk city streets dressed up as zombies, have occurred in every major city around the world, mostly, but not exclusively, around Halloween. (Windsor “celebrated” their eighth annual walk on October 18.) Video games, like Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising, give players the opportunity to annihilate zombies at an unprecedented rate.

There are multiple opinions to the question, “Why are Zombies so popular?” For whatever the fascination, these living (or not), soulless dead (or undead) corpses, who continually add to their number by feeding on the living, have become pop icons.

What may be shocking is that the zombie script writers have perfectly presented the human condition as portrayed in the Bible. The apostle Paul says that all people are dead in their sins. “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1-3)

We sin when we fail to live up to God’s standards, let alone our own, and we do those things that we shouldn’t and don’t do the things that we should. Our propensity to sin has made us the “walking dead”. We live out our base desires for personal gratification driven by our selfish motives. And much like cinematic zombies, we use and devour others at the expense of our souls.

Now people don’t appear to be dead; they aren’t outwardly deformed or mutilated. They look very much alive. Paul wrote to the people of Rome, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.“ (Romans 5:12)

However, we do not have to continue in this “living death”. For Paul continues in Ephesians, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5) The proverbially blow to the cranium of sin (for the only way to kill zombies is to destroy the brain) was wielded on the cross and was procured by the only One who died and rose again and lives/walks forever, Jesus Christ.

No doubt you will see people dressed as zombies on Halloween. But consider that many men and women you see everyday are spiritual zombies. Apart from the atoning blood of Christ and the life-giving Spirit he provides, they are truly dead. So speak life to the zombies you encounter, that they too may yet be fully alive.

And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. (Ezekiel 37:3-4)

 

Corporate Worship Better than Personal Devotions?

How important is the Sunday morning gathering? How essential is it to the Christian struggle against sin? Is it the same or even close to the same if you just “do church” at home instead of with a local assembly? Are pastors simply trying to keep a job?

Practically speaking, it is much easier to watch a service from your couch in your pj’s. There is no one to criticize you for what you wear when you are watching on a screen in your living room. In addition, your quiet times are sometimes easier to encounter God in a way that feels more meaningful than what happens in a church. Often times there is music that you wish were done differently, and a speaker/preacher who is hard to listen to.

Can we say that personal devotions are as good as the corporate worship service with other believers?

No. At least, you cannot say “yes” and be correct. Personal devotions are good, though we can talk about how the church grew in faith before each member had a copy of the Bible  through the printing press. I am not against personal devotions. I practice them myself and find that they are a necessary part of my day. Days reading the Bible are always better than days when I am not reading my Bible. Its simple.

But it is something different altogether to say that personal devotions is the same as the corporate worship gathering. Desiring God has some excellent words on this here. In fact his words are better, clearer, and far more persuasive.

But I do simply want to remind us that when we gather together in corporate worship, we are participating in worship that we cannot do by ourselves or even on the t.v. We do not only encounter the Word of God, though we do that.

When we gather for corporate worship, someone else is speaking into our lives.                                                                           We stop listening to our own thoughts about a text and we hear someone else speak truth into our lives. We need this quite often. Not only do we hear someone speak into our lives, but that person has been praying for us, listening to us, knowing us, and God is using that local pastor to preach in a way that God is not using a famous pastor preach who does not know us, who is not specifically praying for us, and is not our shepherd like a local pastor is called to be.

When we gather for corporate worship, we see the gospel made visible.                                                                                                    We do not simply hear the Word preached into our lives, we watch it take place through baptisms and the Lord’s Supper. We are taking part of gospel work that you do not do with your Cheerios, coffee, and Bible at the breakfast table. The bread, the cup, and the congregation affirming the Lord’s death until he comes, and affirming it together, is something different all together. It is right to practice these ordinances, and it makes the gospel visible to our eyes.

When we gather for corporate worship, we hear the gospel affirmed with our friends.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               When we sing praises, we do not only sing to God. We are certainly doing that, for it is a worship service worshipping God Almighty, but there is more to it. Christians are called to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to one another, to remind one another of the goodness of God. It is one thing to watch it on the television, it is another thing to hear hundreds of believers boldly singing and proclaiming God’s mercy, his grace, his sovereignty, his compassion, and his promising return.

When we gather for corporate worship, we help one another fight sin.                                                                                               One of the best and most difficult parts of being part of a body is its accountability. Our fellow members do not let one another fall off the deep end. They call us out of our sin, call us to repentance, and walk through it with us. They are for us, not against us. That simply does not happen at home. Being with members that annoy us helps us grow in compassion, helps us grow in patience, and helps us understand a little bit better how God is compassionate towards us. It is hard to grow in compassion for yourself at home doing church by yourself. You do not grow in long-suffering with just your self. It requires godly relationships. It requires the church. We grow in godliness and sanctification as we gather together.

Much more could be said, and might be another time, but do not be fooled into thinking that church life is optional for a healthy Christian life. Christian life is not optional, it is essential if we want to help one another fight the sin that so easily entangles us, affirm Jesus’ completed work on the cross on our behalf, and we celebrate the Risen Savior together each Lord’s Day, each Sunday, because corporate worship is much better than personal devotions. See you on Sunday!

Sleep Deprived??

Have a hard time sleeping? Try this suggestion from Paul Tripp, it will be worth your time. God is not only God during the day, but God also in sleepless nights.

 

Satan a mere mimic of the real deal

This week we studied the plagues in youth group. You know, the 10 plagues (depending on how you count them. Was the Red Sea a plague? Some actually think so) in the book of Exodus where God not only shows his magnificent power, but he also delivers his people out of slavery from the Egyptians and takes them out without a single sword being drawn in battle. That is incredible!

One thing that was quite interesting about the plagues, not just the sequence, not just that God made a distinction between Israel and Egypt with some of the plagues, but something else all together.

Pharaoh’s magicians at the beginning of the plagues were able to do something similar to what God was doing through Moses and Aaron. The staff turning into a serpent? Pharaoh’s magicians mimicked that by doing something very similar.  Turning water into blood? Pharaoh’s magicians were able to mimic that as well. Even the bringing of frogs into the land, Exodus 8:7 says, “But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt,” (ESV).

As a Christian, at first I am put off by this. I almost do not want to even mention it aloud. Someone besides God is doing some pretty crazy stuff here. But the more you look at what is actually going on, the more comical it becomes. When the plagues continue, it is evident that Pharaoh’s magicians cannot duplicate it. In Exodus 8:18-19, it says, ” The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said,” (ESV). At this point I give a big applause to God and I wipe my forehead because I really do not know what to think about Pharaoh’s magicians duplicating the work of God. 

But then it makes sense–they are NOT duplicating the work and power of God. Not even close. If they could, they would be doing something quite different. Even when Pharaoh’s magicians throw snakes down, Aaron’s staff eats their serpents. Even as they mimic the work of being able to turn water into blood, it is still not duplicating the power of God. In fact, at best, it is mimicking the power of God.

Satan’s greatest schemes are mimicking the power of God, but never actually competing with it. He does something that looks quite similar, but has far different lasting results. If Pharaoh’s magicians were so powerful, why didn’t they turn the Nile from blood back to regular water? If their power was actually in contest with the power of God, why didn’t they simply stop the plagues? Instead, they mimicked the work that God was doing so that it would appear as if they were as powerful or more than God Almighty himself. But they could only mimic it, they could not stop the power of God. Even in their mimicking, it only worked for the first few.

As Christians we want to be very careful about what is the real deal, and what is simply a counterfeit. Working in the bank industry for some time, it was crucial to know whether the money you were receiving was real, or counterfeit, though it might have the appearance of being real. It made all the difference in the world. The same goes with the works of God. It matters if our attention is on God, the real deal, the only true power in the entire universe, or if our attention is on something that mimics God’s power, but cannot actually compete with it.

There is no cosmic battle of good vs. evil. There is no battle when the enemy scours away from the true and only rightful king. There is no struggle when even the enemy obeys the true King, King Jesus! Satan’s power does not compete with that of God. Satan mimics, and we need to be careful not to get caught up in something that is not the real deal.

Christian, sin is a bad substitute for God. Satan is simply a bad substitute for God. Do not be fooled into thinking something fake is the real thing. Don’t buy into the gimmicks, buy into the real thing. There is no power that competes with the power of God. What a relief to those who are with God, but what a terror for those who are against him.

I wonder how you view the uncontested power of God? Does it drive relief and comfort, or terror?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is Ordinary Boring?

In Michael Horton’s latest book,  Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World, Hoton makes a case for the ordinary. He says that people have begun to see ordinary as boring and is therefore not worth doing. But is ordinary boring? Does it have to be boring?

If you pick up Horton’s book, you will quickly see that ordinary actually looks a lot more like faithfulness. Week in and week out consistency, that over time, pays deep dividends. It is a wonderful call to be faithful. Faithfulness is much greater than extraordinary. But Christians often fail to realize its importance.

Not certain if you want to read Horton’s book? Check out this very helpful interview done by our friends at 9marks. In this interview, Michael Horton gives an excellent  overview of his book and makes it enticing to go out and read.

I hope you grab the book for your own soul.

Enjoy your day. Look to be faithful over extraordinary.