Christ Church

Speaking to God

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Introduction

One of the key doctrines recovered in the Reformation was that of the priesthood of all believers. What that resulted in was an increased fervor for piety. Calvin’s original (very catchy) title of the 1536 edition of The Institutes was: The Institutes of Christian Religion, Containing almost the Whole Sum of Piety and Whatever It is Necessary to Know in the Doctrine of Salvation. A Work Very Well Worth Reading by All Persons Zealous for Piety, and Lately Published. The Reformation restored a biblical understanding of fellowship with God to the individual believer, and thus recovered true fellowship between believers as well. God wants to speak to us, in His Word by His Son (Heb. 1:1-3), and God wants us to speak to Him. In other words, God wants to be with us.

The Text

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Luke 18:1-8

Summary of the Text

Zoom out of this passage, and I want to highlight something about Luke’s narrative. One of his focal points is the activity of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of Jesus (Lk. 1:35, 41; 2:25-26; 3:16; 4:1, 18; 11:9-13; 12:8-12; 24:49). Think of Luke as volume one, and Acts as volume two of the same work. Along with this comes a frequent emphasis on prayer, which we know from elsewhere in Scripture is closely linked with the ministry of the Spirit. So Luke shows how Christ’s ministry, teaching, and example was marked by prayer (Cf. Lk 22:44).
Unlike most parables, this one comes with an answer key, this parable is an exhortation to prayer, the sort of prayer that isn’t feeble or fainthearted (v1). The sort of persistence we are to have in prayer is exemplified by the picture of the relationship between a hard-hearted judge (v2), and a widow (v3). Her request is to be avenged, but the judge refuses to take her cause (v4a); but because of her persistence he agrees to take up the cause of avenging her lest he wear out (v5).
Jesus tells us the takeaway from this story of the unjust judge (v6).  That is, even the most corrupt judge will finally give way due to persistent petition. This is a how much more argument (similar to Lk 11:13). If the unjust judge will finally hear the persistent petitions of the needy widow, how much more will God avenge His chosen people (v7)? His tarrying is not evidence of His not hearing their prayers, it is a means whereby their faith is tested and proved (v8). God has promised His people that He will avenge them. So, they must not relinquish faith that He will perform His promise.

The Importunate Church

Why does God wait to answer our prayers? The Evangelical church has been praying for close to fifty years that the abomination of Roe v. Wade would be overturned. The Chinese church has been praying for deliverance from communist persecution for close to a hundred years. The Reformers were persecuted for well over two hundred years before they enjoyed the peace of deliverance.
It might be easy to think that God’s delay is because He must be like the unjust judge. He must have a lot on His plate; or He wants to “teach us a lesson”; or He only begrudgingly answers our prayers. But this runs antithetical not only to this text, but to the whole of Scriptural revelation as to God’s character. He is a Father. He delights to answer our requests. And this text highlights the speed with which He will avenge His beloved.
One reason is His tarrying demands that our prayers continue in faith, which implies that we are all too likely to treat Him like Santa Claus. This makes man out to be the cause of the effect of answered prayer, rather than the believer being part of God’s means whereby He effects His answers to prayer. Another reason is that waiting for His answer to come results in us coming to see that the Giver is better than the gift, the Answerer is superior to the answer. Finally, we must not overlook the fact that He is not “time-bound.” He answers in accordance with His sovereign will. All our prayers, even if the answer comes long after we are dead and gone, result in great glory for God and the building up of the faith of the Church. The church has been asking “Thy Kingdom come” for millennia, and God assures us that it will come, and when it does the whole church will say, “Amen.”

Pray Like a Psalmist

Pray big prayers. Pray specific prayers. Pray tireless prayers. Pray that Your enemies might be undone (either in conversion or in judgement). Pray that God might be glorified. Pray in faith. Pray, pray, pray.
And just as importantly, expect God to answer your prayers. Jesus commands us to ask the Father for whatsoever, and accompanies that command with a promise that the Father will answer: “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full (Jhn. 16:23-24).” In other words, pray like God told you to pray. Pray like a psalmist.

Where Faith Shall Be Sight

Our Lord taught us to pray that God’s will would be done on earth as it was it heaven. We pray by faith, awaiting the unseen answer. But God does answer our prayers. Faith asks, faith waits, and faith keeps its eyes open for the answer.
Prayer need not be eloquent. In fact, grunts and groans are acceptable forms of prayer (Rom. 8:26). Lengthy times in the prayer closet don’t expedite the answer. But God invites you to ask. He wants to hear you. He wants to answer your prayers. He wants to answer them with nothing other than Himself.
We pray together throughout our service each Lord’s Day. But this should not replace frequent converse with the Lord both as families, individuals, and friends. Paul commands us to do everything by prayer (Phi. 4:6); Tozer pointed out that the church’s temptation is to do everything by committee, rather than by prayer and supplication.
So, pray without ceasing. After all, you are in Christ, Christ brings you to the Father, and the Spirit grants you power to ask with boldness what God delights to answer: that in all things He might receive all glory, honor, and praise. This is true piety. The sort of piety that isn’t lost in the la-la-land of introspection. This is the sort of piety that reads the Bible to hear from God and obey what He says, and then talk continually to God as His own child requesting what He’s promised to give. This is the fellowship with the Father which Christ purchased for you, which the Spirit seals to you.

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Hearing from God

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Introduction

A child can be disobedient in one of two ways. First, he can outright rebel. He can insist on his own way, marching to his own drum, being his own boss. The other way is bit harder to notice, but just as dangerous. He can never grow up. A child is taught obedience not so that he might always be a child, nor so that he can become an entirely independent entity. Rather, so that he might become his own man, but a man in fellowship. Willful immaturity and rebellious autonomy are both sinful.

The Text

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

Summary of the Text

These opening lines of Hebrews were written to believing Jews who were bracing for looming persecution. They are told that whereas God had spoken in times past through prophets (Heb. 1:1), He had now spoken by His Son, who is the appointed heir of the whole kit and caboodle. Not only that, but the Son was eternally with the Father in the act of Creation (Heb. 1:2).  The long and short of it is that the God who had spoken creation into being, is the very same God who now spoke by the Son. This demands precise and faithful adherence to the Son’s kingship (Heb. 2:1). The Triune God spoke creation into being, and the Triune God has now spoken a new creation into being. We know this because God became a man, purged our sins, and became King of the world (Heb. 1:3). This was all a warning to them to not return to the incomplete word of Moses, but to hear the fulfillment of what God spoke through Moses and the prophets by His Son. The better Word had been spoken, and with blood red finality.

How God Speaks

The Scriptures begin with crucial assertion about God: He speaks (Gen. 1:3). He speaks clearly, and He speaks directly. He commands light and it comes into being. His Word creates and commands and upholds. He gives Adam clear orders and injunctions. After the fall, God comes to talk with the patriarchs. On Mount Sinai, God reveals Himself to the entire nation via Word: “ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.” Later, the Holy of holies came to be known as the Oracle (debiyr דביר).

The gods are never quiet. There is no culture in history which does not have priests claiming to speak on behalf of the gods. Replace God with Science, and you begin to see how religious the so-called rationalists actually are. We are repeatedly confronted with claims that “The science is settled.” Which is just another way of saying, “Thus saith the Lord.” Look at our American religious landscape where every person is a priest of a god in their own likeness. When people say things like, “Well to me, God is…” they are claiming to speak for God. So, the unbelieving objectivism of pseudo-science, and the unbelieving subjectivism of feel-good religion are both at odds with reality.

Man is always looking for ways to plug his ears to God’s voice, in order to hear his own voice. This unbelieving way of thinking often creeps into the church. Various types of Christians claim to have “words from the Lord”. Some believers with tender-consciences want to truly honor the Lord and follow His guidance and thus have become confused about how to hear the Lord’s voice; while others have seen a grand opportunity to be God’s mouthpiece. The first type hear “God” saying an awful lot of murky and/or wishy-washy sentimentalism, while the second type hear an awful lot about sending donations to the number at the bottom of the screen.

The Protestant position is that God has two books which He speaks to us. The book of the World (general revelation), and the book of His Word (specific revelation). Creation says enough to leave man without an excuse for not seeking, finding, and following the God he knows is there. The Word tells man that God has made a way to save man from His rebellion. The final Word which God has spoken is that Jesus who suffered for lost mankind, is now King of mankind. Which means man must hear and obey.

What Has God Said?

Now, where this gets real sticky is when you try to figure out what God is saying to you. It is easy to try to get your own way by looking to a subjective “inner voice” and pretending it was God speaking to you, but He always seems to say what you wanted to hear anyway. The other error is that of the liberal who treats the Bible as a novelty shop of nice aphorisms of by-gone “God-followers” who show us that every person’s journey to God is unique. On one hand you undermine the work of the Spirit, on the other you undermine the thunder of God’s voice in the Bible.

God’s definitive Word has been spoken, the Spirit opens our ears and grants us wisdom to apply it in our circumstances. Christ is King, the Spirit dwells in You, and the Bible makes your marching orders plain. So, look at your current circumstances. Do you really believe what the Bible says about them? God has ordered your steps.

So, what has God told you? Believe upon the Lord Jesus (Rom. 10:9). Honor your parents (Ex. 20:12). Love your wife (Col. 3:19). Submit to Your husband (Col. 3:18). Don’t lie (Ex. 20:16). Take a nap on Sunday afternoons (Mk. 2:27). Go to church (Heb. 10:25). Unfollow some Instagram accounts ASAP (2 Tim. 2:22). With a big smile, give a big fat check to the Lord’s work (1 Cor. 16:2, 2 Cor. 9:7). Work yourself ragged six days a week (Col. 3:23). Host a big feast on a regular basis (Rom. 12:13). Obey your rulers, and resist tyrants (Rom. 13;1 Sam. 22:2). If that’s not enough to go on, look at all the “one another” passages in the New Testament. Love one another. Receive one another. Forgive and forbear with one another. Serve one another. Admonish one another. Comfort one another with Scripture. Provoke one another to good works.

The point is, often when we are wrestling with making a big decision, trying to determine God’s will for our life, we stall out. If you want to know God’s will for your particular circumstances, you should get started by doing what He’s clearly and plainly told you to do. In short, God wants to speak to you. And do you know what He wants to tell you about? Jesus first. Jesus last. Jesus between.

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To Live is Christ

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The Text

Phil. 1:19-30

Introduction

This sermon is for everyone here because everyone here is preparing to die. There is a 100% mortality rate (Heb. 9:27). But not everyone dies the same because not everyone knows Christ, and knowing Christ changes everything. The adventure of Christian life is rooted in eternity.

A Summary of the Text

Paul is writing from prison (Phil. 1:7), and after reporting on the spread of the gospel in prison (1:13), expresses his conviction that whatever happens next it will be for his salvation (1:19). Christ will be magnified in his body whether in life or by death (1:20). For Paul, to live is Christ and to die is to win (1:21). Paul knows that living on in the flesh allows him to continue his labor and be a blessing to the saints (1:22, 24). And even though he would rather depart to be with Christ (1:23), he seems fairly sure that his time is not yet, for the blessing of the Philippians and the furtherance of the gospel (1:25-26). But Paul writes all of this to the Philippians that they might stand fast in the faith, not being terrified of their enemies, but taking courage from Paul’s example of suffering (1:27-30).

What Happens?

One of the basic questions all people have is what happens when someone dies? Paul answers that question here saying that to depart from the flesh is “to be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23). Elsewhere, Paul says, “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:6-8). But in the same place, Paul describes dying as being “unclothed” (2 Cor. 5:1-4). So we understand this to mean that at death the spirit/soul of a person leaves the body and in that “unclothed” condition is immediately ushered into the presence of Christ, where the spirits of just men made perfect are (Heb. 12:23).

Heaven & the Resurrection

So, when saints die they go to heaven, but this is an intermediate stage, in which they wait to be clothed again, that our mortal bodies may be replaced by immortal life (2 Cor. 5:4). And Paul says that the Holy Spirit is the guarantee, the down-payment of this resurrection promise (2 Cor. 5:5), and this is why we ought to be confident in the face of death (2 Cor. 5:6). Our mortal bodies go into the ground like seed (1 Cor. 15:35-38), and what is sown in corruption is raised in incorruption; what is sown in dishonor is raised in glory; what is sown in weakness is raised in power (1 Cor. 15:42-44). This is why, all things being equal, we should prefer burial to cremation, since it more clearly honors the body that will rise and pictures the image of seed going into the ground. The resurrection of Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection, but if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then we have no such hope (1 Cor. 15:17-21). This resurrection of the body will happen at Christ’s second coming when He has put all of his enemies beneath his feet (1 Cor. 15:25). The last enemy that will be destroyed is death itself in the resurrection of the body (1 Cor. 15:26). “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible…” (1 Cor. 15:52-58)

What Do We Believe About Infants & Children?

The Westminster Confession wisely says, “Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated, and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how He pleaseth: so also, are all other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word” (10.3). This answer insists that even children need to be regenerated and saved by Christ. If they are saved, it is not because they are cute, but by the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ alone. But I think we can say a little more while honoring the wisdom of this statement. In the gospels, Jesus clearly extends a particular blessing to children, making their faith the standard for the kingdom, and warns against those who would cause them to stumble, even saying that they have angels before the face of the Father (Matt. 18). Given the promises of the covenant, Christian parents have good reason to believe God for the salvation of their children dying in utero, infancy, and childhood (Gen. 17:7, Acts 2:39). Finally, the book of Jonah ends with God’s question to Jonah about sparing those who cannot discern between their right and left hand (Jon. 4:11).

End of Life Considerations

Of course, sometimes death comes unexpectedly, but sometimes a long illness or sickness gives saints time to make various end of life decisions. While there is a great deal of freedom left to individuals regarding treatments, the primary biblical principle we want to uphold is honoring the gift of life, including honoring the Giver of life. Any sort of assisted suicide is murder (2 Sam. 1:5-16), but it is not murder to let someone die whose body is clearly dying. At the same time, we live in a culture of medication idolatry. This can be an idolatrous demand for medications and treatments to fix our problems, but it can also be an idolatrous demand that we/they feel no pain. We want to walk by faith in God, weighing to the best of our ability the information we have, pursuing lawful treatment options, trusting God that he is not tricking us, seeking to preserve life as long as we reasonably can, and then trusting God in death when we have done all we can. The Bible says that it is fine to give (medicinal) strong drink to those who are perishing, presumably to help with pain (Prov. 31:6), but this should be balanced with a desire to be as sober and lucid as we can for as long as we can (Eph. 5:18-19), remembering that we and our dying loved ones need spiritual sustenance as they finish their race.

Conclusion: Not Terrified by Any Adversaries

Death is a curse and an enemy, but Christ has commandeered this enemy by His death and resurrection, such that now it serves Him – He holds the keys of death (Rev. 1:18). But Christ became man in order that “through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:14-15). The power of the devil was the power of accusation. This is why the sting of death is sin, but if Christ has suffered for our sins, then our sins are taken away, and we sing, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is they victory?” (1 Cor. 15:56). This is also why death is frequently described as mere sleep in the New Testament (e.g. Jn. 11:11, 1 Cor. 15:6, 51, 1 Thess. 4:14). Who’s afraid of falling asleep? And if we are not afraid of death, what is there in all the world to fear (Rom. 8:31-39)? So we may serve the Lord without fear of shame, with all boldness, sure that Christ will be magnified in us. This is the way of Christian adventure.

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How to Hear a Sermon

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The Text

“And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”

10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

‘Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.’

11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:4–15).

Westminster Larger Catechism (1647)

Q. 160. What is required of those that hear the word preached?

A. It is required of those that hear the word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine what they hear by the Scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God; meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.

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The Gideon Plan

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Introduction

Any time we gather with our families, there can be temptations to squabble or complain or fear or stress. Christ did not come to give us serene, placid lives. He came in order to fill our hearts, so that His light would shine through our troubles, causing Thanksgiving to abound.

The Text

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us…” (2 Cor. 4:5-7)

Summary of the Text

Paul is in the middle of defending His apostolic ministry to the Corinthians. His first letter was a bit tart, and since it had been a while since they had heard from Paul, there were apparently rumors starting to go around that Paul was fed up with Corinth. But the truth was that Paul had been tied up, and his previous plans just hadn’t worked out (2 Cor. 1:8-9, 13-16). But Paul was determined not to come to Corinth for fireworks if at all possible (2 Cor. 2:1). While one man had repented, some still wondered if Paul only came around for offerings, and besides, Paul wasn’t on any of the lists of apostles (2 Cor. 3:1-3). However, Paul insists that His ministry is authenticated by the work of the Spirit in the Corinthians themselves (2 Cor. 3).

Our text picks up with Paul explaining how the Spirit has been manifest in his ministry, specifically the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ as a treasure in earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:5-7). Paul admits that his ministry (and that of the other apostles) is a bit raucous: pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed but not despairing, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed – all a manifestation of the death of Jesus in their bodies (2 Cor. 4:8-12). Paul quotes from Psalm 116, a song of praise for deliverance, insisting that this is God’s pattern of death and resurrection (2 Cor. 4:13-14). If we understand that God is working all things together to spread thanksgiving among the saints, we will not lose heart, and we will see with eyes of faith what is in an eternal, lasting weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:15-18).

A Thanksgiving Text

This passage fits well with preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving on several levels. The first level is the sociological circumstances. Paul is preparing to see old friends he hasn’t seen in a while, and there has been some tension between them. If you are in a family, then you know what Paul is dealing with. There are no families on the planet without challenges or tensions of one sort or another. And Thanksgiving is a moment where many families gather together for the first time in a while. If there aren’t troubles yet, there’s generally plenty of flammable material laying around. None of us are Apostles, but we can all relate. And the message here for us is that trouble is part of the plan. To follow Jesus is to take up a cross. And crosses are painful, humiliating, difficult, and full of trouble. Jesus was not a slick, used car salesman. There was full disclosure on the front end: “For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household… he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matt. 10:35-39). Paul added his own encouraging assurance: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). The point is not to go looking for trouble; the point is that if Christ is in you, trouble has already found you (2 Cor. 4:10-11). To follow Jesus is to follow Him in the trouble of the cross – the trouble of confessing sins, the trouble of forgiving those who sin against you, the trouble of telling the truth in love, the trouble of enduring hardship/suffering with joy, the trouble of being unashamed of Jesus, and more. The trick is to have the wisdom to see the difference between needless fleshly trouble (petty bickering, bitterness, bad attitudes), and the glorious trouble of following Jesus. While the Apostles were put on special display with this plan, these are the only two options for faithful Christians.

“I Believed & Therefore I Spoke”

This quotation is from Psalm 116, which is a psalm of praise and thanksgiving for deliverance, but it’s striking that Paul quotes this particular partial verse because it cuts in at least two different ways. The rest of the verse says, “I am greatly afflicted,” and the next verse says, “I said in my haste, ‘All men are liars.’” In other words, this appears to be the thematic center of the Psalm, and at this center we find faith crying out to God in trouble, but also temptation to despair. This quotation cuts against those who are tempted to despair in the face of trouble (“all men are liars”), but it also cuts against those who are tempted to turn on the faithful who have seemingly “caused” the trouble (“I believed therefore I spoke.”) Paul had spoken/written hard words to the Corinthians, and some of the Corinthians were tempted to be bitter against Paul. Which one are you? Are you generally tempted to just throw your hands up in despair or are you desperately trying to hold everything together and tempted to blow up at anyone who steps out of line? Both kinds of temptations need to hear this: Christ is risen (2 Cor. 4:14). And what trouble, difficulty, sin, brokenness can stand against that power?

The Gideon Plan

From the beginning, God has determined to run all of His plays from positions of physical, human weakness. Even where the odds seemed better – like say when David was king – God allowed numerous weaknesses to hamper David. Why? In order to cause “thanksgiving to abound” (2 Cor. 4:15). That’s the plan. The plan is to maximize thanksgiving. But God wants our thanksgiving to go all the way down to our bones. He wants to give us something that only thanksgiving can give (an eternal weight of glory), but in order to do that, He has to give us the kind of trouble that breaks it out of our selfish hearts.

So call it the “Gideon Plan,” which is another great example of fighting from a position of weakness, starting with an army of 32,000, reduced down to 300 (Jdg. 7). Then Gideon divided the three hundred into three even smaller parties. And their main weapons were torches inside of earthenware pitchers in the dark. The plan was to blow trumpets and break the earthen vessels open. And so, this is still the battle plan. We have the light of Christ in our hearts, and we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that as we are struck by trouble, the light of Christ might shine. This is what it means to be pressed but not crushed, etc. So that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us, in order to cause thanksgiving to abound among many.

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