"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
Ephesians 2:10 ESV
God has ordained to work out His plans and purposes for each generation through men and women like you and me. He is the determiner of history who prepares the person for his hour and the hour for the person. As the builder of His kingdom and His church , God determines who, what, where, when, how, and why He uses each one of us. He appoints the time and the place for His working in and through us in the grand stage of history. With infinite genius and profound design, God tells us that He has created us and prepared us before we were ever born for a wonderful purpose.
God has chosen His people for a great purpose, to perform good works. But what are good works? Good works are specific works that He ordained and destined us to perform for His glory. Jesus had His works ordained by the Father to do and when He completed them He said in John 17:4, "I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do." All who were selected by God for salvation should live with the realization that there is an eternal purpose for each one of us, good works that He has ordained for us to do for His glory.
That is how we too are to give glory to God. He gives to each one of us a work to do and we do it with all our might: be this kind of family member, this sort of employee and employer, this sort of church member, this sort of Christian. We are to love God and keep His commandments. Fear him, that's the beginning of wisdom. Love your neighbour as yourself. The Lord Jesus did all that: "I have brought you glory on earth" and so God has ordained and prepared us to do the same.
That ambition is what had motivated and driven Paul who wrote Ephesians 2:10, to live with all His might. Colossians 1:29, "For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that he powerfully works within me." That was the prevailing disposition of his mind; the controlling impulse, as he rose in the morning, he determined that day to live all his waking hours for the glory of God. "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).
Jonathan Edwards understood this text and in the light of it was resolved to "to live with all my might, while I do live."
God chooses and works on us,in us, and through us to be His servants and ministers. We are not chosen to be passive and purposelessness, but to aggressively and energetically serve the Lord. Charles Spurgeon says that "Election is not a couch for ease, but an argument for seven-fold diligence. If God has set His choice upon us, let us aim to be choice men" There is such purpose and specific design for our lives. Like salvation, the "good works" of a believer were preordained by God before the foundation of the world.
So there is something for us in this world that has been eternally prepared by God. For this reason, the believer should live with a sense of eternal destiny. He should know that God has gone before him and determined what will be his contribution to His kingdom. Living with an eternal perspective requires that we boldly enter into the fullness of the good works that God has prepared for us to accomplish.
May you not waste your life. Invest it wisely. And may you realize what God has ordained for you to do from before the foundation of the world. May we step out in bold obedience. The good works he has prepared beforehand—we should walk in them!
Pastor Bill
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
LOVING AN ANCIENT DEAD GUY NAMED AUGUSTINE
I have to confess that most of the influences in my life are long dead. One of the reasons I love to read Christian’s from the past is because of the way they knew God and how they expressed what they knew. J.I. Packer once wrote, "The people who know God think great thoughts of God." Oh how it makes me desire to know their God and make that knowledge and experience my own.
Augustine of Hippo was one such person.Have you ever heard of Augustine? He is known for his incredible conversion and his works the Confessions and The City of God are among his many writings. He was the Bishop of Hippo which is in modern Tunisia. Augustine was born in November 13, 354 and died August 28, 430. People have divergent views on him because both Catholics look to him as well as Protestants. Personally, I love the way he knew and loved God and His sovereign grace. Benjamin B. Warfield. In his book Calvin and Augustine, wrote: "The great contribution which Augustine has made to the world's life and thought is embodied in the theology of grace".
I love this man! Here is a sampling of quotes from him to encourage you and stir your soul like it has mine.
"Oh Lord, You made us for yourself, and our hearts find no peace till they rest in you."
""O Lord, that I may love you [freely], for I can find nothing more precious. Turn not away your face from me, that I may find what I seek. Turn not aside in anger from your servant, lest in seeking you I run toward something else. . . . Be my helper. Leave me not, neither despise me, O God my Saviour."
"But what do I love when I love my God? . . . Not the sweet melody of harmony and song; not the fragrance of flowers, perfumes, and spices; not manna or honey; not limbs such as the body delights to embrace. It is not these that I love when I love my God. And yet, when I love him, it is true that I love a light of a certain kind, a voice, a perfume, a food, an embrace; but they are of the kind that I love in my inner self, when my soul is bathed in light that is not bound by space; when it listens to sound that never dies away; when it breathes fragrance that is not borne away on the wind; when it tastes food that is never consumed by the eating; when it clings to an embrace from which it is not severed by fulfillment of desire. This is what I love when I love my God."
"I was astonished that although I now loved you . . . I did not persist in enjoyment of my God. Your beauty drew me to you, but soon I was dragged away from you by my own weight and in dismay I plunged again into the things of this world . . . as though I had sensed the fragrance of the fare but was not yet able to eat it."
Give me the grace [O Lord] to do as you command, and command me to do what you will! . . . O holy God . . . when your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we receive the power to obey them."
How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose . . ! You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure, though not to flesh and blood, you who outshine all light, yet are hidden deeper than any secret in our hearts, you who surpass all honor, though not in the eyes of men who see all honor in themselves. . . . O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation."
Every man, whatsoever his condition, desires to be happy. There is no man who does not desire this, and each one desires it with such earnestness that he prefers it to all other things; whoever, in fact, desires other things, desires them for this end alone."
A man's free-will, indeed, avails for nothing except to sin, if he knows not the way of truth; and even after his duty and his proper aim shall begin to become known to him, unless he also take delight in and feel a love for it, he neither does his duty, nor sets about it, nor lives rightly. Now, in order that such a course may engage our affections, God's "love is shed abroad in our hearts" not through the free-will which arises from ourselves, but "through the Holy Ghost, which is given to us" (Romans 5:5).
"O Lord, my Helper and my Redeemer, I shall now tell and confess to the glory of your name how you released me from the fetters of lust which held me so tightly shackled and from my slavery to the things of this world."
"No subject gives me greater pleasure (than grace). For what ought to be more attractive to us sick men, than grace, grace by which we are healed; for us lazy men, than grace, grace by which we are stirred up; for us men longing to act, than grace, by which we are helped?"
"The whole life of a good Christian is a holy desire...The soul of men shall hope under the shadow of Thy wings; they shall be made drunk with the fullness of Thy house; and of the torrents of Thy pleasures Thou wilt give them to drink; for in Thee is the Fountain of Life, and in Thy Light shall we see the light? Give me a man in love: he knows what I mean. Give me one who yearns; give me one who is hungry; give me one far away in this desert, who is thirsty and sighs for the spring of the Eternal country. Give me that sort of man: he knows what I mean. But if I speak to a cold man, he just does not know what I am talking about. . . ."
'You are ever active, yet always at rest. You gather all things to yourself, though you suffer no need. . . . You grieve for wrong, but suffer no pain. You can be angry and yet serene. Your works are varied, but your purpose is one and the same. . . . You welcome those who come to you, though you never lost them. You are never in need yet are glad to gain, never covetous yet you exact a return for your gifts. . . . You release us from our debts, but you lose nothing thereby. You are my God, my Life, my holy Delight, but is this enough to say of you? Can any man say enough when he speaks of you? Yet woe betide those who are silent about you!"
Augustine of Hippo was one such person.Have you ever heard of Augustine? He is known for his incredible conversion and his works the Confessions and The City of God are among his many writings. He was the Bishop of Hippo which is in modern Tunisia. Augustine was born in November 13, 354 and died August 28, 430. People have divergent views on him because both Catholics look to him as well as Protestants. Personally, I love the way he knew and loved God and His sovereign grace. Benjamin B. Warfield. In his book Calvin and Augustine, wrote: "The great contribution which Augustine has made to the world's life and thought is embodied in the theology of grace".
I love this man! Here is a sampling of quotes from him to encourage you and stir your soul like it has mine.
"Oh Lord, You made us for yourself, and our hearts find no peace till they rest in you."
""O Lord, that I may love you [freely], for I can find nothing more precious. Turn not away your face from me, that I may find what I seek. Turn not aside in anger from your servant, lest in seeking you I run toward something else. . . . Be my helper. Leave me not, neither despise me, O God my Saviour."
"But what do I love when I love my God? . . . Not the sweet melody of harmony and song; not the fragrance of flowers, perfumes, and spices; not manna or honey; not limbs such as the body delights to embrace. It is not these that I love when I love my God. And yet, when I love him, it is true that I love a light of a certain kind, a voice, a perfume, a food, an embrace; but they are of the kind that I love in my inner self, when my soul is bathed in light that is not bound by space; when it listens to sound that never dies away; when it breathes fragrance that is not borne away on the wind; when it tastes food that is never consumed by the eating; when it clings to an embrace from which it is not severed by fulfillment of desire. This is what I love when I love my God."
"I was astonished that although I now loved you . . . I did not persist in enjoyment of my God. Your beauty drew me to you, but soon I was dragged away from you by my own weight and in dismay I plunged again into the things of this world . . . as though I had sensed the fragrance of the fare but was not yet able to eat it."
Give me the grace [O Lord] to do as you command, and command me to do what you will! . . . O holy God . . . when your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we receive the power to obey them."
How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose . . ! You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure, though not to flesh and blood, you who outshine all light, yet are hidden deeper than any secret in our hearts, you who surpass all honor, though not in the eyes of men who see all honor in themselves. . . . O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation."
Every man, whatsoever his condition, desires to be happy. There is no man who does not desire this, and each one desires it with such earnestness that he prefers it to all other things; whoever, in fact, desires other things, desires them for this end alone."
A man's free-will, indeed, avails for nothing except to sin, if he knows not the way of truth; and even after his duty and his proper aim shall begin to become known to him, unless he also take delight in and feel a love for it, he neither does his duty, nor sets about it, nor lives rightly. Now, in order that such a course may engage our affections, God's "love is shed abroad in our hearts" not through the free-will which arises from ourselves, but "through the Holy Ghost, which is given to us" (Romans 5:5).
"O Lord, my Helper and my Redeemer, I shall now tell and confess to the glory of your name how you released me from the fetters of lust which held me so tightly shackled and from my slavery to the things of this world."
"No subject gives me greater pleasure (than grace). For what ought to be more attractive to us sick men, than grace, grace by which we are healed; for us lazy men, than grace, grace by which we are stirred up; for us men longing to act, than grace, by which we are helped?"
"The whole life of a good Christian is a holy desire...The soul of men shall hope under the shadow of Thy wings; they shall be made drunk with the fullness of Thy house; and of the torrents of Thy pleasures Thou wilt give them to drink; for in Thee is the Fountain of Life, and in Thy Light shall we see the light? Give me a man in love: he knows what I mean. Give me one who yearns; give me one who is hungry; give me one far away in this desert, who is thirsty and sighs for the spring of the Eternal country. Give me that sort of man: he knows what I mean. But if I speak to a cold man, he just does not know what I am talking about. . . ."
'You are ever active, yet always at rest. You gather all things to yourself, though you suffer no need. . . . You grieve for wrong, but suffer no pain. You can be angry and yet serene. Your works are varied, but your purpose is one and the same. . . . You welcome those who come to you, though you never lost them. You are never in need yet are glad to gain, never covetous yet you exact a return for your gifts. . . . You release us from our debts, but you lose nothing thereby. You are my God, my Life, my holy Delight, but is this enough to say of you? Can any man say enough when he speaks of you? Yet woe betide those who are silent about you!"
Loving the God of Augustine,
Pastor Bill
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
JONATHAN EDWARDS, THE GOD DRIVEN CHRISTIAN, AND BEING RESOLVED
"To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. " 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
I am so thankful for the influence of godly men and women in my life. I am especially grateful for Jonathan Edwards. We are so blessed with the about of material about this man and written by this man. I would recommend that you read two biographies about him written by George Marsden or Ian Murray. For good introductory books on his life and thought read, try Stephen Nichols, Jonathan Edwards, A Guided tour of His life or John Piper's and Justin Taylor's A God Entranced Vision of All things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards.
Most of all, I encourage you to read Edwards writings themselves such as Religious Affections, The Journals of David Brainerd, or The End for Which God Created the World. The Internet has many of his sermons available online. My favorites are: The Pleasantness of Religion, Heaven is a World of Love, God Glorified in Man's Dependence; The Justification of God and the Damnation of Sinners; Charity and It's Fruits; The Excellency of Christ; and A Divine and Supernatural Light.
When Edwards had only been a Christian for a year, at the age of eighteen he began to write the Seventy Resolutions of His Life. These would set the course of Edwards for the rest of his life. He strove to follow these till the day of his death on March 22, 1758 at fifty-four years old. John Piper says of Edwards that "there was a single-mindedness that governed his life and enabled him to accomplish amazing things." He firmly resolved himself to love and serve Jesus Christ with all his ability and all of God's help.
So many have read today have read Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life but way too few have read Edwards Seventy Resolutions! Try reading them both and see which one truly makes your heart want to "Know God, glorify God, and enjoy Him forever." i think it will be Edwards for sure. Oh in self centered, shallow, superficial times like these how we need an Edwards to inspire us to a God Driven Life! Edward's Resolutions are so solidly biblically based. They teach me the importance striving for and pursuing a God-centered, God-ward; God-intoxicated; God-centered, God-driven; God-exalting; God-entranced life. They also teach me the importance of keeping myself regularly accountable to God and others in this pursuit as well as prayerful in my dependency on Jesus Christ to continue in this pursuit and to stay on course. Paul himself prayed for God's help to enable the Church of Thessalonica to fulfill every good resolve.
You can read his seventy Resolutions on my church's home page at http://lhcf.org/. Just scroll down and you will see the link. I would recommend that you take these a few at a time and pray and reflect upon them. you will not be able to be complacent and stay the same in your life.
Last Saturday night I prayerfully came up with some resolutions for own my life after reading Edwards Resolutions again. Perhaps this will inspire you to write your own. I read these and pray these regularly. May they bless and inspire you.
I, Bill Robison,
RESOLVE:
· To pursue and promote the glory of the Lord in my words, deeds, thoughts, desires, and decisions.
· To forsake all sin in thought, motive, and deed
· To pursue my supreme happiness in God
· To not waste my life but make the most of every precious moment of my God given time
· To live passionately for God with all my might
· To pursue humility before God and man
· To be ever growing deeper in my love for God and for my fellow man
· To make frequent and careful inquiry into the condition of my thoughts, heart, and my life
· To regularly ask of myself these three questions:
How do I want to live?
What is my purpose?
What kind of person do I want to be?
These I am resolved to do wholeheartedly, and yet aware of my sinful weakness, I humbly ask my God for His merciful grace to enable me to keep these resolves from this night forward until the day of my entry into eternity with my Savior Jesus Christ.
Resolving these with all my heart, mind, and soul and praying that God will fulfill your every resolve,
Pastor Bill
I am so thankful for the influence of godly men and women in my life. I am especially grateful for Jonathan Edwards. We are so blessed with the about of material about this man and written by this man. I would recommend that you read two biographies about him written by George Marsden or Ian Murray. For good introductory books on his life and thought read, try Stephen Nichols, Jonathan Edwards, A Guided tour of His life or John Piper's and Justin Taylor's A God Entranced Vision of All things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards.
Most of all, I encourage you to read Edwards writings themselves such as Religious Affections, The Journals of David Brainerd, or The End for Which God Created the World. The Internet has many of his sermons available online. My favorites are: The Pleasantness of Religion, Heaven is a World of Love, God Glorified in Man's Dependence; The Justification of God and the Damnation of Sinners; Charity and It's Fruits; The Excellency of Christ; and A Divine and Supernatural Light.
When Edwards had only been a Christian for a year, at the age of eighteen he began to write the Seventy Resolutions of His Life. These would set the course of Edwards for the rest of his life. He strove to follow these till the day of his death on March 22, 1758 at fifty-four years old. John Piper says of Edwards that "there was a single-mindedness that governed his life and enabled him to accomplish amazing things." He firmly resolved himself to love and serve Jesus Christ with all his ability and all of God's help.
So many have read today have read Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life but way too few have read Edwards Seventy Resolutions! Try reading them both and see which one truly makes your heart want to "Know God, glorify God, and enjoy Him forever." i think it will be Edwards for sure. Oh in self centered, shallow, superficial times like these how we need an Edwards to inspire us to a God Driven Life! Edward's Resolutions are so solidly biblically based. They teach me the importance striving for and pursuing a God-centered, God-ward; God-intoxicated; God-centered, God-driven; God-exalting; God-entranced life. They also teach me the importance of keeping myself regularly accountable to God and others in this pursuit as well as prayerful in my dependency on Jesus Christ to continue in this pursuit and to stay on course. Paul himself prayed for God's help to enable the Church of Thessalonica to fulfill every good resolve.
You can read his seventy Resolutions on my church's home page at http://lhcf.org/. Just scroll down and you will see the link. I would recommend that you take these a few at a time and pray and reflect upon them. you will not be able to be complacent and stay the same in your life.
Last Saturday night I prayerfully came up with some resolutions for own my life after reading Edwards Resolutions again. Perhaps this will inspire you to write your own. I read these and pray these regularly. May they bless and inspire you.
I, Bill Robison,
RESOLVE:
· To pursue and promote the glory of the Lord in my words, deeds, thoughts, desires, and decisions.
· To forsake all sin in thought, motive, and deed
· To pursue my supreme happiness in God
· To not waste my life but make the most of every precious moment of my God given time
· To live passionately for God with all my might
· To pursue humility before God and man
· To be ever growing deeper in my love for God and for my fellow man
· To make frequent and careful inquiry into the condition of my thoughts, heart, and my life
· To regularly ask of myself these three questions:
How do I want to live?
What is my purpose?
What kind of person do I want to be?
These I am resolved to do wholeheartedly, and yet aware of my sinful weakness, I humbly ask my God for His merciful grace to enable me to keep these resolves from this night forward until the day of my entry into eternity with my Savior Jesus Christ.
Resolving these with all my heart, mind, and soul and praying that God will fulfill your every resolve,
Pastor Bill
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
JESUS PROMISE IS TOO GOOD AND IT IS TRUE!
"From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." (Matthew 16:21)
" He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee...He is not here; He has risen, just as He said." (Luke 24:6; Matthew 28:6)
I once was told that I was going to be the recipient of 13 million dollars. When I contacted a lawyer about this matter, after hearing my story, he spoke to me and said, “Bill if it seems to be to good to be true, then it is usually, too good to be true.” He was right. It was too good to be true! It never happened.
How would you have felt if you were a disciple of Jesus and you had been told that Jesus Christ had risen? i would have thought, "Yeah, just like the 13 million dollars, it’s just too good to be true!" Well be encouraged, even the disciples were all prone to doubt the reports that Jesus was risen from the dead.
First, the women came telling them that the tomb was empty and that they had seen the risen Lord Jesus. “Nonsense,” they said (Luke 24:11). Then, Peter and John went and looked into the empty tomb. Peter went away marveling, but not yet believing. Then the Lord appeared to the two men on the road to Emmaus. Late on that first Sunday, they burst into the room where the disciples were gathered and excitedly told about their encounter with the Lord. But the apostles did not at first believe these men (Mark 16:12). Maybe they were thinking, “Why would the Lord appear to them? They aren’t even apostles! They must have just seen a vision!”
Sometime during that day, the Lord had appeared to Peter, forgiving and restoring him, but the others still had not seen the Lord firsthand, and they still doubted. Then, while they were still discussing all of these strange happenings, the Lord Himself stood in their midst. He had not opened the door. Can you imagine the chill of horror that would run down your spine if suddenly someone appeared in a closed room where you were standing? They thought that they were seeing a ghost. But it was no ghost. It was the risen Lord Jesus. He greeted them with words of comfort, He gently rebuked their doubts, and He offered them assurances to strengthen their faith. But even so, “they still could not believe it for joy” (Luke 24:41).
In John’s gospel, the disciple Thomas doubted after hearing the disciples news of the risen Christ and said “Unless I see the holes in his hands and side and place my finger in them I will not believe” (John 20:25). For the disciples, the news that Jesus Christ had risen just seemed too good to be true.
Jesus Christ made many promises in His life. Peter calls them “many great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). He also made a claim that His words will never fail. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” (Mark 13:31) He claims that He speaks truth, and that those truths will hold for all time.
Do you believe Him? Do you live your life in a way that demonstrates that you believe His words are true? Why should you? This is perhaps the most important question you have to answer in your life: Are the words Jesus speaks true? If they are, then what are you doing with His words? What do they mean for your life?
When Jesus was alive on this earth, He promised the most radical thing imaginable, an impossible promise: “I will rise from the dead”. He spoke of it at least thirteen times in the gospels. (Matthew 16:21; 17:9, 23; 20:19; 26:31-32;Mark 8:31; 9:9; 10:34; 14:28;Luke 9:22; 18:33; John 2:19). This is the bedrock of our faith – the historical event that is the foundation of everything else we believe.
If Jesus was wrong or dishonest about his resurrection, then we should not believe anything else that He said. Anymore then we would believe all those vapid promises on the Internet. But if Jesus Christ rose from the dead, then we should believe and anchor our life upon every other promise that He made. Paul boldly declares, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain”(1 Cor.15:13-14).
On that crisp morning of that first Easter the angel could proclaim: "He is not here; He has risen, just as He said." Our Lord is the ultimate Promise Keeper. With the risen Jesus what seems to be to good to be true is really true! If He were not, we would be hopeless and helpless, cynical and skeptical. If Jesus fails to keep even one promise, He cannot be trusted to keep any!
Oh what basis for our hope! There is nothing to big for God. Sin and death are defeated and Jesus is alive, just like He promised. We have real hope; what the apostle Peter calls, "a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead "(1 Peter 1:3). If God can keep this promise, is there any promise or anything to difficult for Him? Jesus' promise is not too good to be true; it is too good and it is true! So Christians: Believe Him! Trust Him! Depend on Him! Lean on Him! Take risks for Him!
Savoring in the true promises of the risen Jesus Christ,
Pastor Bill
" He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee...He is not here; He has risen, just as He said." (Luke 24:6; Matthew 28:6)
I once was told that I was going to be the recipient of 13 million dollars. When I contacted a lawyer about this matter, after hearing my story, he spoke to me and said, “Bill if it seems to be to good to be true, then it is usually, too good to be true.” He was right. It was too good to be true! It never happened.
How would you have felt if you were a disciple of Jesus and you had been told that Jesus Christ had risen? i would have thought, "Yeah, just like the 13 million dollars, it’s just too good to be true!" Well be encouraged, even the disciples were all prone to doubt the reports that Jesus was risen from the dead.
First, the women came telling them that the tomb was empty and that they had seen the risen Lord Jesus. “Nonsense,” they said (Luke 24:11). Then, Peter and John went and looked into the empty tomb. Peter went away marveling, but not yet believing. Then the Lord appeared to the two men on the road to Emmaus. Late on that first Sunday, they burst into the room where the disciples were gathered and excitedly told about their encounter with the Lord. But the apostles did not at first believe these men (Mark 16:12). Maybe they were thinking, “Why would the Lord appear to them? They aren’t even apostles! They must have just seen a vision!”
Sometime during that day, the Lord had appeared to Peter, forgiving and restoring him, but the others still had not seen the Lord firsthand, and they still doubted. Then, while they were still discussing all of these strange happenings, the Lord Himself stood in their midst. He had not opened the door. Can you imagine the chill of horror that would run down your spine if suddenly someone appeared in a closed room where you were standing? They thought that they were seeing a ghost. But it was no ghost. It was the risen Lord Jesus. He greeted them with words of comfort, He gently rebuked their doubts, and He offered them assurances to strengthen their faith. But even so, “they still could not believe it for joy” (Luke 24:41).
In John’s gospel, the disciple Thomas doubted after hearing the disciples news of the risen Christ and said “Unless I see the holes in his hands and side and place my finger in them I will not believe” (John 20:25). For the disciples, the news that Jesus Christ had risen just seemed too good to be true.
Jesus Christ made many promises in His life. Peter calls them “many great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). He also made a claim that His words will never fail. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” (Mark 13:31) He claims that He speaks truth, and that those truths will hold for all time.
Do you believe Him? Do you live your life in a way that demonstrates that you believe His words are true? Why should you? This is perhaps the most important question you have to answer in your life: Are the words Jesus speaks true? If they are, then what are you doing with His words? What do they mean for your life?
When Jesus was alive on this earth, He promised the most radical thing imaginable, an impossible promise: “I will rise from the dead”. He spoke of it at least thirteen times in the gospels. (Matthew 16:21; 17:9, 23; 20:19; 26:31-32;Mark 8:31; 9:9; 10:34; 14:28;Luke 9:22; 18:33; John 2:19). This is the bedrock of our faith – the historical event that is the foundation of everything else we believe.
If Jesus was wrong or dishonest about his resurrection, then we should not believe anything else that He said. Anymore then we would believe all those vapid promises on the Internet. But if Jesus Christ rose from the dead, then we should believe and anchor our life upon every other promise that He made. Paul boldly declares, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain”(1 Cor.15:13-14).
On that crisp morning of that first Easter the angel could proclaim: "He is not here; He has risen, just as He said." Our Lord is the ultimate Promise Keeper. With the risen Jesus what seems to be to good to be true is really true! If He were not, we would be hopeless and helpless, cynical and skeptical. If Jesus fails to keep even one promise, He cannot be trusted to keep any!
Oh what basis for our hope! There is nothing to big for God. Sin and death are defeated and Jesus is alive, just like He promised. We have real hope; what the apostle Peter calls, "a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead "(1 Peter 1:3). If God can keep this promise, is there any promise or anything to difficult for Him? Jesus' promise is not too good to be true; it is too good and it is true! So Christians: Believe Him! Trust Him! Depend on Him! Lean on Him! Take risks for Him!
Savoring in the true promises of the risen Jesus Christ,
Pastor Bill
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
THE EFFECTIVE PRAYERS OF A FAITHFUL AND BELIEVING MOTHER
"Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:24 ESV
"The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." James 5:16 ESV
I love to the stories and biographies of Christians throughout history. Reading the lives of other Christians has been a great means of grace in my life. There is both scriptural and historical support for what I am saying. Hebrews 13:7 tells us to, "Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith." Hebrews 6;12 says, "Do not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
Jonathan Edwards wrote in his introduction to the journals of David Brainerd, "There are two ways of representing and recommending true religion and virtue to the world; the one, by doctrine and precept; the other, by instance and example."
I am encouraged both by Scripture and by the testimony of church history that God wills for us to be inspired and guided by the study of the lives of great men and women. He uses their lives to give us inspiration, hope, and guidance.
I have been very encouraged by a mother who lived in fourth century what is now called Algeria named Monica. you have probably heard of her son, the great bishop, Augustine of Hippo. She is one of history's great examples of James 5:16, "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."
Her life could truly be characterized as being the life of a righteous woman who fervently, persistently, and continually prayed. John Piper says that her prayer "became the school where he(Augustine) learned the deep things about Jesus words in John 16:24, "Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."
For example, she had an unfaithful and unbelieving husband. She stayed married to him, never quarreled with him about it, and instead Monica prayed for him. Augustine in his Confessions says that she looked to God "to show him mercy, hoping that chastity would come with faith."
God gave Monica both perseverance and the conversion of her husband a year before he died!Augustine writes, "In the end she won her husband for you O Lord as a convert in the very last days of his life on earth."
Monica also prayed for 31 years for her son Augustine. She loved him so much and oh how discouraging it must have been for her to see her son drift away from her Christian faith into immorality as well as heretical views like Manicheanism. Oh how many sons and daughters can break their mothers and fathers hearts! Augustine writes of his mother, "She shed more tears over my spiritual death than other mothers have shed for the bodily death of a son."
In her despair she sought a bishops counsel who encouraged her about her wayward son. His counsel is beneficial to any and all grieving parents over their children. "Leave him alone. Just pray to God for him. From his own reading he will discover his mistakes and the depth of his profanity...Leave me and go in peace. It cannot be that the son of these tears should be lost."
When he was sixteen Augustine snuck away from his mother in Carthage and sailed for Rome breaking her heart. All she had left were her lonely tears and prayers for her son just like the old bishop said. She prayed that God would stop Augustine from going to Carthage. But God did not answer those specific prayers for that situation but He most certainly answered the tearful prayers of a lifetime. Augustine writes that God "did what was closet to her heart. You did with me what she always asked You to do."
What did God do? Augustine was converted after his mother had prayed for thirty one years! Augustine writes of what God had done in answer to Monica's prayers,
"She was jubilant with triumph and glorified You who are powerful enough, and more than powerful enough, to carry out Your purpose beyond all of our hopes and dreams. For she saw that You had granted her far than she had ever hoped to find more than she used to ask in her tearful prayers and plaintive lamentations...and You turned her sadness into rejoicing, into joy far fuller than her dearest wish..."
What a lesson for Augustine and all of us to learn about the triumph of fervent, persistent, and prevailing prayer. Oh the preciousness of a faithful, believing, and persevering mother's prayer.
Perhaps you are broken hearted over a family member or loved one. I personally have three children and a daughter in law that I am praying for their conversion. I will remember the tearful, broken hearted, yet praying mother, Monica; and remember the words of Jesus in
John 16:24, "Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."
Praying for my wayward children along like Monica,
Pastor Bill
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