THINKING OF THE CROSS AT THE END OF 2012

"But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14


As I come to the end of a very hard year and look ahead with faith and hope to a new year my mind is filled with thoughts on the cross:

The bloody death of Jesus Christ on the cross was Paul’s magnificent obsession. It was the one great all embracing thing that set him on fire. He was utterly mastered, held captive, by one great scene in history: a cross on Golgotha and on it the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:23, “but we preach Christ crucified” or in 1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Paul was so saturated with the crucifying power of the cross that in everything that he said and did, in all of his preaching there would be an aroma of death-death to self reliance, death to pride, death to boasting in man-so that the life people would see would be the life of Christ, and the power people might see might be the power of God

Every day we all face the tendency to move away and to drift from the cross. That is why the main thing is to make sure that the first and most important thing that you do –ALWAYS-is to make sure that the cross is at the very center of your life. Therefore, every day I have to preach the gospel to myself Jesus Christ has paid the price.

My hope is not built upon my performance but on Jesus righteousness.In our flesh we are always performance driven and therefore, every day I need to become cross centered

No one needs the gospel only once because all of our bad days need the good things of his grace over and over and over again.

We need to stay close to the cross daily because there is so much pressure for children, parents, workers, spouses, ministers to perform. Every day tell yourself, Jesus has paid the price. It is not based upon your performance anymore

Preaching the gospel to myself is critical, otherwise my life is in critical condition.

If my life is not cross centered than my life will be off centered

If everything in my life is spinning out of control it is because I have lost the centrality of the cross in my life

This poor man needs again to wrap his life around the cross so I won't get lost.

I will cling to this cross and won't let go.

The cross is the intersection of the deep needs of my life and his love.

The cross is the beam that supports my life.

A cross-centered, cross-exalting, cross-saturated life is a God-glorifying life-the only God-glorifying life.


When all is said and done, there is enough sin in me to damn me forever. I truly deserve God's just wrath (Romans 1:18). But as I think about the cross and I let my sense of sinfulness again cause me to flee from it into the arms of Jesus, who died to save me from it.

The prophet Isaiah encourages me to "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else" (Isaiah 45:22) Jesus says in John 3:14-15 that "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."

And Hebrews 12:2 exhorts us to be"looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." So I am looking

I face 2013 a hopeless and helpless sinner and look and cling to and trust in the gift and grace of Jesus. I preach to myself that on the cross by sheer, free, divine grace:

Jesus is my ransom that repays the tremendous debt I owe to God for my sin.

Jesus is my substitute who bears my sin and my curse in Himself so that I can be freed from guilt and punishment.

Jesus, whose cross is a vindication of God's righteousness so that he can be both just and the one who justifies me who has faith in Jesus.

Jesus is the one who justifies sinners like me who trust Him. He bears upon Himself my just deserved punishment and I receive His goodness so that I can stand before God.

Because of his cross,
the wrath of God is taken away.
all my guilt is removed, 
my sins are forgiven, 
perfect righteousness is imputed to me,
the love of God is poured out in my heart by the Spirit,
and I am being conformed to the image of Christ.

C.J. Mahaney writes, “Ask me how I’m doing on a given day and you might be surprised by my response. I don’t give a typical “I’m great” or fine thanks!” Instead I say, “Better than I deserve.” It catches people off guard. Many times non-Christians have argued with me, convinced that I suffer from low self-esteem. But no-I understand who I am and where I deserve to be. I deserve God’s wrath…I deserve to be in hell. But instead I am God’s child. I’m forgiven and loved by Him. I’m going to heaven. I’m doing much better than I deserve!...That perspective fills me with joy even when things in my life aren’t going as I planned…I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know this: Because of the cross I am doing much better than I deserve. ”

If the cross is not more deeply and consistently amazing to you, if lukewarmness and dullness are a part of your spiritual experience then it is time to rekindle amazement at the foot of Calvary’s cross. Stay near the blazing glory and blazing fire to be showered with its sparks and to find the flame of your love freshly kindled.

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God! All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did ever such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown? His dying crimson, like a robe, spreads o’er His body on the tree;  then I am dead to all the globe, and all the globe is dead to me. Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. Isaac Watts

As I leave 2012 and face 2013, I declare that I am a great sinner, Jesus is a wonderful savior, and on Him and His mercy and grace and kind arms I fall,
Pastor Bill.

A VISION OF JESUS FOR CHRISTMAS

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it....He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth...18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

John 1:1-5, 10-14,18 ESV

I get so distracted at Christmas. How about you. So many people to see, places to go, activities to attend. Do you ever find yourself so distracted that you lose vision and the center of what Christmas is all about?

Christmas more than anything is about seeing Jesus! In John 1 the apostle John says some of the most profound truth ever spoken. Take a deep breath and ponder what this means as if for the first time. 

An uncreated God who would dare to become a man! The Word became flesh! God became human! The invisible became visible! The untouchable became touchable! Eternal life experienced temporal death! The transcendent one descended and drew near! The unlimited became limited! The infinite became finite! The immutable became mutable! 
The unbreakable became fragile! Spirit became matter! 
Eternity entered time! The independent became dependent! 
The almighty became weak! The loved became the hated! The exalted was humbled! Glory was subjected to shame! Fame turned into obscurity! From inexpressible joy to tears of unimaginable grief. From a throne to a cross! From ruler to being ruled! From power to weakness! 

The apostle Paul put it this way in Philippians 2:5-11, "Christ 
Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality 
with God something to be grasped, but made himself 
nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in 
human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!"

Max Lucado put it this way: The omnipotent, in one instant, 
made himself breakable. He who had been spirit became 
pierceable. He who was larger than the universe became an 
embryo. And he who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl. God as a fetus. Holiness sleeping in a womb. The creator of life being created. God was given eyebrows, elbows, two kidneys, and a spleen. He stretched against the walls and floated in the amniotic fluids of his mother. God became a baby and God God came near.”

As Paul said in I Timothy 3:16, " Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body.”


The marvel of it all is that He did it for you and me! John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 2 Cor. 8:9, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

It was an expression of the depths of His love for you that the Word entered the depths of human ugliness, human weakness, and human humiliation. This one who comes and John says tells us, teaches us, and shows us what God is like. (John. 1:18) Jesus tells us in John 14:9, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”

Jesus shows us the life, heart, grace, mercy, kindness, passion, and love of God. He shows us that God is approachable, personal, touchable, and accessible. A God who identifies with us and understands us. A God who cares for us. What we need most in a God, you will find in Jesus. All that we might hope for in a savior, all that we need in a friend, what we need most in a man, all is found in Jesus so perfectly that everything else cannot help but be seen as disfigured, shameful, inadequate, and unworthy of our love and devotion.

Christmas teaches us that those who saw Jesus were never the same Look at some of the responses to “beholding His glory” in the birth of Jesus Christ.

1. The shepherds in Luke 2:17-20, "so they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them... The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." They could not help but tell others what they had seen and experienced. We saw last week that worship fuels evangelism. When we have found something of great worth and value. When we have seen something that is beautiful and precious. We cannot help but to speak of it because it completes the joy! Christmas is a very appropriate time to tell others about Jesus.

2. The Magi in Matthew 2:11, " On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."  The Magi brought him gifts and worshipped him.

3. Mary in Luke 2:19, But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Mary responded with worship and quiet reflection.

4. The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:15, "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"  His heart was overwhelmed with gratitude and adoration. As He ponders Jesus and the depth of His person, love, and work, listen to Pauls response in Romans 11:33-36, "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."

 I want to direct you to one word in Pauls response to God. It is, perhaps, the least likely word to attract your attention. Yet it is powerful and life changing. “OH!” that’s right, “OH!” This is Paul’s passionate proclamation of the impact on his own soul of the greatness and glory of Jesus Christ. I ask myself this morning and I ask you: Is there an “oh” in you this Christmas? Where is your “oh” in response to seeing God this Christmas?

Is there an intensity, a love, a passion, a devotion, that has been evoked by seeing Jesus Christ like the shepherds, the Magi, Mary, and Paul? The kind of “oh” of enchantment, excitement, surprise, amazement, wonder, yearning, hunger, thirst, urgency, awe, adoration, submission, joy, and passionate enthusiasm. Perhaps your response to Jesus is a “who?” of ignorance, or a “huh?” of disinterest, or a “so what?” of indifference, or a “ho hum” of boredom or a no response of familiarity. It has always been like this. It was even when he was on the earth there were all these responses as well. (John 1:11).

Hebrews 2:9 says ,”But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

Have you been missing Jesus this season? Don’t miss Jesus at Christmas this year! Maybe this word has caused you, ever so briefly, to see a glimpse of his face.  The Spirit is touching your painful spirit as only one sent from God could do ... and there he is. Jesus. Do you see him? Has it been a while since you have seen him? If your prayers seem stale, it probably has. If your passion is waning? If your faith seems to be trembling, perhaps your vision of him has blurred. If you can't find power to face your problems, perhaps it is time to face him again. He came for you to see Him, savor Him, love him, and trust Him.

May you be able to say this Christmas like Peter in 2 Peter 1:16, "We were eyewitnesses of his majesty". This is a truth that will evoke an "Oh!" in your spirit the likes of which you may never before have known. Then this Christmas you will truly be able to  join with the angels “Oh come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!”

Pastor Bill























































came near.” 
 Paul said in I Timothy 3:16, " Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body.”
The marvel of it all is that He did it for you and me! John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and 
only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but 
have eternal life.
 2 Corinthians 8:9, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become 
rich."

It was an expression of the depths of His love for you that the 
Word entered the depths of human ugliness, human 
weakness, and human humiliation. This one who comes and 
John says tells us, teaches us, and shows us what God is like. 
(John 1:18) John 14:9, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?”

Jesus shows us the life, heart, grace, mercy, kindness, passion, and love of God. He shows us that God is approachable, personal, touchable, and accessible. A God who identifies with us and understands us. A God who cares for us. What we need most in a God, you will find in Jesus. All that we might hope for in a savior, all that we need in a friend, what we need most in a man, all is found in Jesus so perfectly that everything else cannot help but be seen as disfigured, shameful, inadequate, and unworthy of our love and devotion.

Christmas teaches us that those who saw Jesus were never the same Look at some of the responses to “beholding His glory” in the birth of Jesus Christ.

1. The shepherds Luke 2:17-20, so they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them... The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. They could not help but tell others what they had seen and experienced. We saw last week that worship fuels evangelism. When we have found something of great worth and value. When we have seen something that is beautiful and precious. We cannot help but to speak of it because it completes the joy! Christmas is a very appropriate time to tell others about Jesus.

2. The Magi Matthew 2:11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. The Magi brought him gifts and worshipped him.

3. Mary Luke 2:19, But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Mary responded with worship and quiet reflection.

4. The Apostle Paul 2 Cor 9:15, Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! His heart was overwhelmed with gratitude and adoration. Rom 11:33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. I want to direct you to one word in Pauls response to God. It is, perhaps, the least likely word to attract your attention. Yet it is powerful and life changing. “OH!” that’s right, “OH!” This is Paul’s passionate proclamation of the impact on his own soul of the greatness and glory of Jesus Christ. I ask myself this morning and I ask you: Is there an “oh” in you this morning? Where is your “oh” in response to seeing God this Christmas?

Is there an intensity, a love, a passion, a devotion, that has been evoked by seeing Jesus Christ like the shepherds, the Magi, Mary, and Paul? The kind of “oh” of enchantment, excitement, surprise, amazement, wonder, yearning, hunger, thirst, urgency, awe, adoration, submission, joy, and passionate enthusiasm. Perhaps your response to Jesus is a “who?” of ignorance, or a “huh?” of disinterest, or a “so what?” of indifference, or a “ho hum” of boredom or a no response of familiarity. It has always been like this. It was even when he was on the earth there were all these responses as well. (John 1:11).

Heb 2:9 says ,”But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

Have you been missing Christmas? Have you been missing Jesus? Don’t miss Christmas this year! Maybe this word has causes you, ever so briefly, to see a glimpse of his face.  You’ve heard a verse read in a tone you'd never heard, or explained in a way you'd never thought and one more piece of the puzzle has fallen into place.  Someone touches your painful spirit as only one sent from God could do ... and there he is. Jesus. Do you see him? Has it been a while since you have seen him?  If your prayers seem stale, it probably has.  If your passion is waning? If your faith seems to be trembling, perhaps your vision of him has blurred.  If you can't find power to face your problems, perhaps it is time to face him.   we will whisper the secret of the universe, 2 Peter 1:16, "We were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

"WHAT IF?"

" If I had not come... " John 15:22

Have you ever played “what if” in your head? One of my favorite movies is a
sci-fi movie called The Final Countdown in which a US Navy nuclear carrier is taken back in time to the South Pacific on December 6, 1941. The upshot of the movie is that it presents the hypothetical dilemma of “what if a nuclear powered carrier of the United States Navy with all of its firepower had a chance to stop the Japanese fleet and their attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941?” Should they do it? Do they dare attempt to change the course of history? What would happen if they did? As you could imagine all sorts of “what if” questions were raised by the film. Well that was fantasy, but in John 15:22 which is really just a fragment of a verse, Jesus invites us to consider a real possibility. What if Jesus Christ had not come to earth? What if he had not been born in Bethlehem? What if he had not walked the dusty roads of Judea? What if he had not uttered those wonderful words we call the Sermon on the Mount? What if he had not walked on water? What if he had not made the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk? What if he had never raised the dead? What if we didn’t have his words to comfort us, to challenge us, to teach us, and to lead us to God? What if he never died on the cross? What if he never rose from the dead? What if he never sent his disciples out into the world? Where would we be? And what kind of world would this be? How would things be different if he had not come? Jesus said, "If I had not come."

What difference would it have made if a Bethlehem stable had never served as a makeshift delivery room? On the lighter side, if Jesus had not come there would be no Christmas holiday, no Christmas cards, no Christmas trees, no Santa Claus, no presents, no Christmas carols. What would we do in December?! But more seriously, if Christ had not come, there would be more than an absence of holiday festivities. There would be no New Testament, no Christians, and No churches anywhere if he did not come. We would not be here. No blogs by Pastor Bill. No missions. No evangelism. All would be gone, vanished into the mist if Christ had not come.
But the news is much worse than that…If Christ had not come, the promises of God would be unfulfilled. If Christ had not come, the world would still be in darkness. If Christ had not come, we would all be dead and lost in our sin. If Christ had not come, we would not know the Fatherhood of God or that God is love. We would not have known the beauty and glory of God. If Christ had not come, there would be no gospel to believe. If Christ had not come we would have no ground for hope, joy, or peace. If Christ had not come, there would be no Christmas and no Easter. If Christ had not come, there would be no hope beyond the grave. If Christ had not come, we would still be lost for there would be no Savior for sin. If Christ had not come, there would be no Good News to preach to the nations. Listen again to the words of the angel, and think of what it means for us.

Without Jesus, Mary Magdalene would have died in her sin. Matthew would still have been a traitor to his countrymen.The Roman soldier would have continued his cruelty. Peter, James and John would have done nothing more with their lives than fish for a living. The Apostle Paul would never have been more than a cruel Pharisee steeped in legalism with an unrelenting demand for perfection from other people. The people who needed healing, during that time, would still have been broken in body and spirit. The lame would still have been lame. The blind would have remained in their darkness. The deaf would have still lived in silence


We would never have heard the words: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” John 14:27

Or “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” John 15:11

And “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” John 10:10

We would never hear the great words of the New Testament: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” John 3:16-17


Jesus said, "If I had not come." But thank God, he came. " Jesus really did come! The angel said “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Luke 2:10-11; John 1:14)

How would I live, how would I know . . . If Jesus never came? How could I love . . . And praise His name, without His birth? He came to set us free from sin . . . And take us all to be with Him. How would I know . . . If Jesus never came? Could I survive in this dark world . . . If Jesus never came? He gives me strength to walk the path He chose for me .The Father made a way for me. . To be with Him eternally. How would I know . . . If Jesus never came? Praise God He sent His Son to be . . . A Savior just for me! He walks with me . . . And holds me in His loving arms …I praise His holy name on high . . . And thank Him that He came and died... What would I do . . . If Jesus never came? How could I run from His deep love . . . And think to go MY way? He brings me home . . . in love forgives . . . And sets me free. Oh! Thank you Lord . . . for loving me. . Despite all that I've yet to be …What would I do . . . If Jesus never came?

Pastor Bill

LOOKING FOR JOY IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES Part 2

The word joy" is thrown around allot in Christian circles, so much that perhaps it has become a cliche or a disconnect for some of us. The fact is that the bible actually commands us to have joy as I wrote last week (Psalm 37:4). God commands us to be joyful because our joy honors Him and who He is in our lives. In 1 Corinthians 10:31, we are called to do everything for the glory of God, that is make much of God in everything that you do. The way to make much of God is by getting happy in Him and but being happy in Him. You cannot honor God as He so richly deserves to be honored unless He is the joy of your joy. So What does joy look like? What does it mean to delight in God? The scriptures paint a clear picture for us in order to see joy in action?


Last week I will described one aspect of joy:

Joy is a key component of conversion

Now this week:

Our Joy in God is not mainly in prosperity, but in obedience and pain
“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.” (Luke 6:23, Read also Romans 5:3; James 1:2).
When God demands that we rejoice, He has not forgotten the kind of world that we live in. It is a world full of suffering. Pain and grief are nominative in the Christian life and He promises that some kind of suffering will fall on those who cherish and love Him (Matthew 10:25; Luke 21; 12, 16-17; John 15:20).

The demands of joy that God demands are not shallow, glib, or contrived. Joy is not superficial or marked with levity. It is not working up feelings of joy when you are sad. It is not pretending that you aren’t suffering or sad. This is a mistake of too many people and too many churches. They think that joy is telling jokes or weaving slapstick or upbeat music into church life and that joy is some euphoric emotion that can be manipulated and has no deep rooted ground.

No wonder why so many Christians don’t understand nor experience joy when they suffer. When they hear of joy there is a tremendous disconnectedness between what they hear and feel and believe and pursue. For them joy comes in relief from the suffering. So they are joyful when things are good, sorrowful when things are bad. When they are in trials they are not thinking on how to glorify God in the trial, but to how to escape the trial, get relief from the suffering, so that happiness can come back. In short, they don’t want God, they want relief. That is their joy, relief! That is why I look for worshippers in adversity more than I do in prosperity. There are people who want heaven but don’t want the God of heaven; who want the gifts and blessings of God, but don’t want God himself. Oh how easily pleased we can be!

For God, the demand of joy is a supernatural way He graces us to live with joy in suffering and to outlast suffering. The whole point of joy is the ability to suffer. It is God’s last word on our trials, pain, and brokenness. Therefore, you might say that joy is a serious joy. It sings happy songs with tears. It can be sorrowful based upon what we see going on in our lives while being at the same time joyful because of the God we see in, above, around, and through these afflictions. It is a joy that is out of reach of our troubles and circumstances. The suffering, persecuted Paul put his experience this way: “sorrowful, but always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10).

Joy in God is the secret of sacrificially loving and living
In Hebrews 10:32-34 we read,

“But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property…”

Notice that the Hebrew Christians are severely suffering, yet we read of a profound experience of joy in loss which produced the love going to the prison and acceptance of extreme loss.

Get the picture; some of the saints have been thrown into jail. You are not one of them. But if you go visit them you show that you are one of them. So what are you going to do? Are you going to say, “Well Lord, I’ve got kids? I’ve got a nice house. I’ve seen what they do to the houses of people in jail. All the windows are broken and they burn them down. I don’t think I should visit them. I think I should pray for them. I should go underground.” That’s not what they do is it? They had compassion for those in prison and they  visited them and they did burn their house down and yet they sang and worshipped with joy all the way to the prison. That’s what the verse says clear as day.

Now here comes the way we can do what they did,

“Since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.”

They were seeking a city which is to come, not comfort and paradise on earth. What’s the possession? God; Jesus; Heaven with God. JOY! “You knew as you watched them torch your house. I have a better possession and you sang and rejoiced” You can do the hard thing in your life because you have a better and lasting possession. (Hebrews 11:24-26; Hebrews 12:2)

Another example is in 2 Corinthians 8:1-2,

“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.”

Do you see this dear reader? Please observe carefully what is going on here:

• First, Grace came down. Sovereign mighty, Christ displaying, generously lavished, abundant, Holy Spirit empowered grace came down.

• Second, poverty remained and affliction increased.

• Third, joy abounded. This is radical!!!!Do you hear this? Poverty stayed, affliction went up, and joy abounded!

• Fourth, overflowing generosity increased out of poverty and affliction.

So not only did the grace of God bring more afflictions, but it did not remove poverty. Instead it made poor people radically generous people. Joy turned Christians into crazy, radical people who when they did not have anything and afflictions were increasing, they earnestly desired for another offering to be taken because they had tasted the grace of God and their joy was abounding. .

True joy causes us to live a new radical counter-cultural, grace lavished, God glorifying, cross bearing, love caring, need directed, and joy spreading way of life shown by moving us away from comfort and moving us towards others need.

The main battle of your life is joy in God. John Paton, great missionary to the cannibals in the South Pacific in the late 19th century wrote,

“Oh that the pleasure-seeking men and women of the world could only taste and feel the real joy of those who know and love the true God – a heritage which the world . . . cannot give to them, but which the poorest and humblest followers of Jesus inherit and enjoy.”

Have you tasted and felt that real joy or are we in bondage to the pleasures of this world so that, for all our talk about the glory of God, we love television and food and sleep and sex and money and human praise just like everybody else? If so, let us repent and fix our faces like flint toward the Word of God in prayer:

O Lord, open my eyes to see the sovereign sight that in your presence is fullness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures for evermore (Psalm 16:11).

The great Westminster Catechism says “Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever” or as John Piper adds “by enjoying him forever.”

Jonathan Edwards reminds us ,

 “The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams. But God is the ocean.”

Looking for joy in all the right places,
Pastor Bill

LOOKING FOR JOY IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES Part 1

“I will go to the altar of God,   to God my exceeding joy." Psalm 43:5 ESV

What gives you your greatest joy? A vacation on a tropical island? A problem free life? Playing with your kids? Achieving some goal that you set? A promotion at work?  Purchasing a new car, or a IPhone? Being highly regarded by others? Helping someone in need? A win by your favorite team? Being physically healthy? The reason I ask this question is not just because I think every person that reads this cares about them, but also because this questions is one of the rock bottom concerns of the Bible. The Psalmist spoke of his highest joy when he says, “I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy,”

Can you say that?

The Psalmist in the midst of trouble and sorrow was God centered when he says, “I will go to the altar of God,   to God my exceeding joy, (ESV); to God, my joy and my delight (NIV); or very literally from the Hebrew, “God, the gladness of my rejoicing."

Here King David is threatened by enemies and feeling danger from his adversaries, and yet he knows that the ultimate battle of his life is not the defeat of his enemies, it is not escaping natural catastrophe; it is not surviving the trials and difficulties of life. The ultimate battle is: Will God be his exceeding joy? Will God be the gladness at the heart of all his joys?

God cannot be the center of your life, heart, and mind if He is not the center of your joy. This means that a primary purpose of your life is the cultivation of that joy.  I write this to declare war on any kind of Christianity that is not God centered and joy producing. I am tenaciously fighting against a culture of religion and church that tells you to embrace God for all the wrong reasons and as a result produces the wrong joy by promising God is going to bring you happiness in anything less than Him. I am fighting against a shallow, mile wide, inch deep kind of Christianity that succeeds and appeals in times of safety, ease health, wealth, comfort, and security but is empty and worthless in times of trials, difficulty, and adversity.

The Old Testament says that “In God’s presence there is fullness of joy, and at his right hand are pleasures evermore.” (Psalm 16:11). “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.”(Psalm 144:15). We are commanded to "delight ourselves in the Lord" (Psalm 37:4) and "to serve the Lord with gladness" (Psalm 100:2). Jesus commands us, "Rejoice and leap for joy for your reward is great in heaven" (Luke 6:23), and he tells us, "These things I have spoken to you that my joy might be in you and your joy might be full" (John 15:11). The apostle Paul commands us, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice" (Philippians 4:4). He tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is joy (Galatians 5:22).

Christian joy is not the mere product of the human spirit in response to pleasant circumstances. It is the by product, or fruit, of God's Spirit, and it is not just a human joy; it is the very joy of Christ fulfilled in us.

All of these descriptions of joy and all of these demands that we rejoice are astonishing for so many reasons that it would take years to unfold all of their surprising implications. In other words, the demand to be happy in God is neither marginal nor superfluous. It is a shocking wake up call for people who are finding happiness in all the wrong places.

God commands us to be joyful because our joy honors Him and who He is in our lives. In 1 Corinthians 10:31, we are called to do everything for the glory of God. That is make much of God in everything that you do. The way to make much of God is by getting happy in Him. You cannot honor God as He so richly deserves to be honored unless He is the joy of your joy. Jonathan Edwards, who understood this as well as any Christian that I’ve ever read wrote: "The happiness of the creature consists in rejoicing in God, by which also God is magnified and exalted… God is glorified not only by His glory's being seen, but by its being rejoiced in.”

Every day there is a battle for joy -that is, the battle to obey in the great command of Psalm 37:4, "delight in the Lord". The battle is to delight in God above all other things.The battle is to be happy and satisfied in God above all competing sources of happiness and satisfaction in the universe. It is a battle of cosmic proportions according to Ephesians 6:10-19. The primary scheme of the devil is to deceive humans into embracing other things as more satisfying and happiness bringing than all that God is for them in Jesus. It is the main battle in the universe and makes all other human warfare look small and insignificant by comparison.

What does joy look like? What does it mean to delight in God? The scriptures paint a clear picture for us in order to see joy in action? I will describe one aspect this week and continue next week.

First, Joy is a key component of conversion   One of my favorite sayings of Jesus about joy we find in His wonderful parable  in Matthew 13:44, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”  

This is one of the great descriptions of true conversion. The arrival of Jesus in a life is like discovering a billion dollars in a bag in a field and you know if you buy the field, you get the bag. You think, “I have somehow, someway got to get this field before anybody else gets it. So the man covers it over and then from joy or for joy (literally in the Greek) sold everything he had.   Do you see what happens? He sells everything he had, everything. What emotions would you feel as you sold all your goods?  Weeping, sorrow, regret, anxiety, fear, or depression? What emotions did this man feel as he sold all his goods? JOY! It is as if he was in a happy mindset and thought "I must sell everything". Nothing compared to the value of the field. All that this man once held dear, all he once thought important, all that he once valued, all that he once had worked so hard to attain – all this he now considers rubbish compared to the tremendous worth of the treasure in the field. So he pursued his greatest joy by selling all his possessions and buying the field. When someone becomes a Christian, he values Jesus Christ more than everything else. Jesus Christ is the great treasure, and the joy of knowing Him far outweighs the cost of any sacrifice, of any loss.

Dear reader, to be truly saved is to have your eyes open to the value of Jesus. Paul says it clearly in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them (it means from getting saved) from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 

People without Jesus do not find their supreme joy in Him. This is because they are blind to Him and dead to Him and His surpassing worth. Verse 6 describes what happens when people see the worth of Jesus.

God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give (says the same thing he said in verse 4 just changes the vocabulary) to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

What does it mean to be saved? People get saved when the light goes on in their heart and life comes to their soul and Jesus becomes pure pleasure and joy to them. When they one looked at the cross as foolishness or a stumbling block, now everything changes.It means eyes go open and the foolishness of the cross becomes wisdom and power. You were looking at Jesus and He was boring. Why would I want to go worship Him? I have the surf, television, golf, fishing, booze, money, girls, and all the foolish, vain, and empty things we once called living.  Then suddenly, late at night, light floods the heart and the cross is majestic. It was the sweetest thing I ever heard when I was a young man at the age of 21.

So are you saved? Has Jesus become the light which is the joy of all your joys? Augustine describes his own conversion this way,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." Augustine 386 A.D. The main battle of your life is joy in God. It is not having a good marriage, being successful, your kids, and your physical health. The main battle is keeping God as your treasure and the source of your greatest joy. Brothers and sisters, pursuing joy in God is not something one may do halfheartedly if he realizes whom he is pursuing and what is at stake.

To be continued next week...

Pastor Bill