Sovereign Joy Blog

Jesus the Perfect Man

2011-04-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

Luke 2:40,52 "And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man."

Jesus was a man who did in all ways grow. Growth, it seems, is generally considered as one who is inferior becoming more superior. For example, one goes to school to grow and develop the mind and to gain knowledge that was not there before. But I would like to point out that growth can be, and perhaps ought to be, looked at as one making ones way forward by pushing aside obstacles. What I mean is that by growing we are not trying to be good or righteous but getting better and becoming more holy and loving and wise and happy. This is how we ought to grow, as a process not a end.

Jesus grew perfectly but He grew none the less. It does not mean that Jesus was morally imperfect and needed to grow to perfection. Think of the "perfect" love that a newly married couple shares together. Would anyone deny the beauty and joy of such a relationship? But as they grow together they learn to reach new depths of love, commitment, communication, and intimacy that they did not know were possible on their wedding day. Was their "wedding day" love imperfect? No, not at all. Why? Because we grow as we respond to new experiences and new reasons and ways of expressing ourselves.

This is the sense in which Jesus, and we as His brethren now, grow in grace. I trust that you are growing. It is difficult and often humbling but know this: "Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

Humility

2011-03-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

I love the Philips paraphrase of the passage I am to preach on this Lord's Day.

Matthew 18:1-6 It was at this time that the disciples came to Jesus with the question, "Who is really greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?" Jesus called a little child to his side and set him on his feet in the middle of them all. "Believe me," he said, "unless you change your whole outlook and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven. It is the man who can be as humble as this little child who is greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. "Anyone who welcomes one child like this for my sake is welcoming me. But if anyone leads astray one of these little children who believe in me he would be better off thrown into the depths of the sea with a mill-stone hung round his neck!"

Children are such a good illustration of true Christianity. They are generally devoid of ambition (apart from learning some new talent), pride (two words: eating habits), are teachable (they want to be like their parents), live in delight of what is around them (just give them some mud), they trust in ways that are sometimes scary (ever had a kid say "catch me" and then jump when you were not ready?), they believe what they are told (I am guilty of using this to my advantage and here repent). In short, children are humble.

Humility has become a forgotten virtue in some believers lives. Has it in you? The disciples of Jesus' day did not get it and, sometimes, we do not either. So pray with me today, "Lord, strengthen me in my weakness and, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, help me as I humble myself in the light of Your Word, for Jesus' name sake, Amen."

On A Difficult Passage

2011-02-26T20:45:00.000-08:00

"When we are puzzled by scripture's difficulties, we must apply ourselves to Christ by prayer for His Spirit to open our understanding and lead us into all truth." Matthew Henry

Remember the word of Jesus "Ask and it shall be given to you." His word is not a book of secret sayings. God intends us to know Him. Knowledge of Him comes through this word. So when you are struggling with a difficult part of the Bible pray through it, about it, and think on it. The Lord will bring understanding and you will know Him better and love Him more!

Regeneration

2010-11-30T15:34:00.000-08:00

"When a man is converted to God, it is done in a moment. Regeneration is an instantaneous work. Conversion to God, the fruit of regeneration, occupies all our life, but regeneration itself is effected in an instant. A man hates God-- the Holy Spirit makes him love God. A man is opposed to Christ, he hates his gospel, does not understand it and will not receive it-- the Holy Spirit comes, puts light into his darkened understanding, takes the chain from his bondaged will, gives liberty to his conscience, gives life to his dead soul, so that the voice of conscience is heard, and the man becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus.And all this is done, mark you, by the instantaneous supernatural influence of God the Holy Spirit working as he wills among the sons of men."
From C.H. Spurgeon's, "THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT"

The Straw Man

2009-12-08T19:59:00.000-08:00

I am disappointed with the characterization and outright misrepresentation of Reformed theology (yes, Calvinism) that people who should know better offer up. We all have presuppositions (traditions) and those who claim to have none are the most enslaved to theirs. That is the only reason, I can think of, for men who ought to know better to misrepresent other believers. Well no, I can think of another. Perhaps it is just outright ignorance of what is being taught or said in other traditions. When you think that you have a corner on the truth why would you study what someone else believes to accurately represent them? Instead what is offered up is a dogmatic rejection of a position that I do not even recognize as my own, and yet is attributed to me.

Let me be a little more clear. When someone says that they "reject the 5 points of Calvinism" they ought to be able to explain what it is exactly they are rejecting. Instead what is offered, often times, is a straw man. A straw man is a weak or incorrect argument offered in place of the proper argument because it is easier to defeat. Once the straw man argument is defeated it is offered that the proper argument is defeated. The old switch-a-roo. This at best is ignorance and at worse underhanded. Either way it is shameful for a Christian (especially a minister) to behave in such a way. But careful study and accurate representation is difficult, not as emotionally tantalizing, nor is it as appealing to the crowd or ones own pride as is setting up a straw man and then knocking it down and claiming victory. Sad. Truly sad.

The quoteable Calvin

2009-12-03T21:52:00.000-08:00

We celebrate the Advent season at Sovereign Joy. This is something that I had not done in previous churches that I have attended. Hopefully this will become a rich tradition in our church that we all look forward to with great expectation and joy.

Well as I am preparing to preach on Jesus as our Priest I find myself reading Calvin. He had been the first (I believe) to articulate the Prophet, Priest, King distinction of Jesus' ministry for us. So naturally I would look to him for some insight. Here is just one of many quotes that I could give on this subject. May your faith be strengthened by these words.

"It was no ordinary example of incomparable love toward us to struggle with dire terrors, and amid fearful tortures to cast away all care of himself that he might provide for us. We must bear in mind, that Christ could not duly propitiate God without renouncing his own feelings, and subjecting himself entirely to his Father's will. ..Thus, as trembling consciences find no rest without sacrifice and ablution by which sins are expiated, we are properly directed tither, the source of our life being placed in the death of Christ...Our acquittal is in this-that the guilt which made us liable to punishment was transferred to the head of the Son of God. We must specially remember this substitution in order that we may not be all our lives in trepidation and anxiety, as if the just vengeance, which the Son of God transferred to himself, were still impending over us." Book 2 Chapter 16

Oops is's been a while.

2009-12-02T19:10:00.000-08:00

Wow!! I have not posted since October. Well shame on me. There is no excuse except busyness, but that does not always suffice. But it will today. So on with the post.

I have a great quote to post. I have been doing a "guess the quote" thread on my facebook page but you will not guess this quote so I will give you the name of the author. Actually it is the same man as my last post, Peter White. His book "The Effective Pastor" is excellent. A ministry resource that ought to become a classic.

"This is what we aim to achieve in public worship: a people bowed in heart and spirit, in homage, adoration, love and fealty, before God in His glory. When God is being genuinely accorded the weight and worthiness that are His by His people, there is true worship."

That should suck the wind out of many a sail in the modern, and let's be fair, post-modern churches today. Is that what you expect when you gather together with the saints in a Sunday to worship? Most go to sing a few happy-clappy "love songs" to Jesus and then hope to get something out of the sermon. True worship does not exist in many a gathered body of believers, to the shame and added weakness of the church. We need a awakening of the majesty, justice, holiness, glory, grandeur, weight, mouth stopping awesomeness of God almighty.

So my prayer for myself and Sovereign Joy is that we would experience such an awakening by the moving of the Holy Spirit that we would come prepared to offer true worship to God when we gather together. For His glory and His great namesake.

On Preaching

2009-10-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

"Preaching the whole Christ from the whole Bible to make us whole people."
Peter White

Perhaps the single best sentence I have ever read on preaching.

Law and Gospel

2009-07-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

I have been drawn to the topic of law and gospel lately. Growing up spiritually I was never instructed on the proper relationship between these two. Trying make sense of them with out completely separating them has been quite difficult. So I have been reading on this subject lately. To find out that these two are not opposed to each other but in fact quite complementary to each other has been a joy.

Bryan Gumpy and I have been reading a book together on this very subject. Michael Horton's "The Law of Perfect Freedom" has been a refreshing read thus far. Here is how he defines law and gospel.

“Law” does not equal “Old Testament”, while “grace” or “gospel” equals the New Testament. “Law” refers to any command, from Genesis to Revelation. “Gospel” refers to any place in either testament where the promise of salvation by grace alone through faith alone is found. The law tells us what we ought to do, and this leads us to despair of meeting God’s standard. Then the gospel tells us what God has done for us already in Christ, meeting the standard as our substitute and taking our punishment on Himself so that we could be regarded as righteous.

This is so helpful in understanding the way that the Testaments should be read and understood. Like the belief that God has always had one covenant people called the Elect (not separating Israel and the Church) brings unity between the to testaments so does this understanding of law and gospel. The Bible is a unified unified revelation of God. Any theology that amputates the Old from the New Testament is a deficient theology. I love the unity that is found in God's Word. The more I look the more I see it everywhere.

Acceptable to God Through Keeping the Law?

2009-07-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

"When it comes to being accepted by God, observing the law is completely ruled out. Here Paul makes an absolute distinction between salvation by works of the law and salvation by faith in Christ. Law-keeping cannot justify anyone.

Not that there is anything wrong with the law itself, which comes from the righteous character of God. As Paul said to the Romans, "the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good" (Rom. 7:12) The problem with the law is our lawlessness! The reason we cannot be justified by the law is that we cannot keep it. Even if we could keep God's commandments outwardly, we break them inwardly. "No human deeds, however well motivated and sincerely performed, can ever achieve the kind of standing before God that results in the verdict of justification."

...we are acceptable to God - not by keeping the law ourselves, but by trusting in the only man who ever did keep it, Jesus Christ. The doctrine of justification can be stated in these general terms: we get right with God not by observing the law, but only by trusting in his Son...

This principle, that justification cannot come by works, is what distinguishes Christianity from other religions. Other religions try to achieve ultimate bliss by scaling God's throne through human effort, but the Bible says we cannot get to God this way. In fact, Martin Luther explained that if we try to merit grace by our works, we are simply "trying to placate God with sins." Luther meant that even our best works are tainted by evil motives. Paul had learned this universal principle from the Old Testament, for he is virtually quoting one of the psalms of David: "Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you." (Ps. 143:2). Or, as Paul translates it, "By works of the law no one will be justified" (Gal. 2:16). Total depravity extends to all humanity.

Becoming a Christian, therefore, means admitting that you cannot be saved by the good things that you do. The Galations were tempted to gain favor with God by getting circumcised. This is no longer a temptation for most Christians, but many other things are. Going to church, reading the Bible, taking communion, giving to charity - these things will never get us into heaven. Not even becoming a martyr for the cause of Christ will qualify.

There is no way to be made right with God except through faith in Christ. In Luther's words, "Now the true meaning of Christianity is this: that a man first acknowledge, through the Law, that he is a sinner, for whom it is impossible to perform any good work.... If you want to be saved, your salvation does not come by works; but God has sent His only Son into the world that we might live through Him. He was crucified and died for you and bore your sins in His own body."

- Philip Graham Ryken "Galatians: Reformed Expository Commentary (p.63-65)

The Godly Man's Picture

2009-06-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

Thomas Watson’s classic The Godly Man’s Picture was one of the first puritan books I read. Here is a short section about a godly man’s love for the Bible.

A godly man shows his love to the Word written:

(a) By diligently reading it. The noble Bereans "searched the Scriptures daily" (Acts 17:11). Apollos was mighty in the Scriptures (Acts 18:12). The Word is our Magna Carta for heaven; we should be daily reading over this charter. The Word shows what is truth and what is error. It is the field where the pearl of price is hidden. How we should dig for this pearl! A godly man's heart is the library to hold the Word of God; it dwells richly in him (Col. 3:16). It is reported of Melanchthon that when he was young, he always carried the Bible with him and read it greedily. The Word has a double work: to teach us and to judge us. Those who will not be taught by the Word shall be judged by the Word. Oh, let us make ourselves familiar with the Scripture! What if it should be as in the times of Diocletian, who commanded by proclamation that the Bible be burned? Or as in Queen Mary's days, when it spelled death to have a Bible in English? By diligent conversing with Scripture, we may carry a Bible in our heads.

(b) By frequently meditating on it: "It is my meditation all the day" (Psa. 119:97). A pious soul meditates on the truth and holiness of the Word. He not only has a few transient thoughts, but leaves his mind steeping in the Scripture. By meditation, he sucks from this sweet flower and ruminates on holy truths in his mind.

(c) By delighting in it. It is his recreation: "Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart." (Jer 15:16) Never did a man take such delight in a dish that he loved as the prophet did in the Word. And indeed, how can a saint choose but take great pleasure in the Word? All that he ever hopes to be worth is contained in it. Does not a son take pleasure in reading his father's will and testament, in which he bequeaths his estate to him?

(d) By hiding it: "Your word I have hidden in my heart" (Psa 119:11) - as one hides a treasure so that it should not be stolen. The Word is the jewel; the heart is the cabinet where it must be locked up. Many hide the Word in their memory, but not in their heart. And why would David enclose the Word in his heart? "That I might not sin against you." As a man would carry an antidote about him when he comes near an infected place, so a godly man carries the Word in his heart as a spiritual antidote to preserve him from the infection of sin. Why have so many been poisoned with error, others with moral vice, but because they have not hidden the Word as a holy antidote in their heart?

(e) By defending it. A wise man will not let his land be taken from him but will defend his title. David looked upon the Word as his land of inheritance: "Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart." (Psa 119:111) And do you think he will let his inheritance be wrested out of his hands? A godly man will not only dispute for the Word but die for it: "I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God." (Rev 6:9)

(f) By preferring it above things most precious: (1) Above food: "I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food." (Job. 23:12). (2) Above riches: "The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver." (Psa. 119:72). (3) Above worldly honour. Memorable is the story of King Edward the Sixth. On the day of his coronation, when they presented three swords before him, signifying to him that he was monarch of three kingdoms, the king said, "There is still one sword missing." On being asked what that was, he answered, "The Holy Bible, which is the 'sword of the Spirit' and is to be preferred before these ensigns of royalty."

(f) By talking about it: "My tongue shall speak of your word." (Psa. 119:172). As a covetous man talks of his rich purchase, so a godly man speaks of the Word. What a treasure it is, how full of beauty and sweetness! Those whose mouths the devil has gagged, who never speak of God's Word, indicate that they never reaped any good from it.

(g) By conforming to it. The Word is his compass, by which he sets his life, the balance in which he weighs his actions. He copies out the Word in his daily walk: "I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7). St Paul kept the doctrine of faith, and lived the life of faith.

Psalm 86:15

2009-06-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post it earlier but here is our fighter verse for the month:

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:15

I already have it memorized. It did not take very long. You can do it!

Every child is totally depraved

2009-06-11T22:28:00.000-07:00

The Quote below is from one John Angell James. I have found him to be quite helpful in things relating to church polity. His book The Church Members Guide was a great help to me over the years to come to a place of understanding God's plan for the church. The quote is from a different book, The Sunday School Teachers Guide. Imagine saying what he says to a group of Sunday School teachers in most churches today. You might not have a pleasant experience, which proves his point well.

It is important for you, in all your exertions (principally teaching children in Sunday School), to bear in mind the total and universal depravity of the human race.

By total depravity, I do not mean that people are as bad as they can be; for in general they lie under strong restraints--and most do not sin with reckless abandonment. I do not mean that they are all equally wicked; for some are less sinful than others. I do not mean that they are destitute of everything useful, and lovely in society; for their social affections are often strong and praiseworthy. I do not mean that their actions are always wrong; the contrary is manifestly true.

What I mean by total depravity, is an entire destitution in the human heart by nature--of all spiritual affection, and holy propensities. In this view, every child is totally depraved.

To change this state of the mind, and produce a holy bias; to create a new disposition; to turn all the affections into a new channel, and cause them to flow towards God and heaven, is the work of the omnipotent and eternal Spirit!

(J. A. James, "The Sunday School Teacher's Guide" 1816)

What is a Healthy Church?

2009-06-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

Would you know a healthy church if you saw it? Is it a large building with lots of people? Is it a socially conscious community? Does it have contemporary music? Is the Bible opened and read through with thoughts given on each passage? Does it have a good children’s ministry? None of these questions really gets to the heart of what is a healthy church.

What is a Healthy Church? That is the title of the book of the month for June. It is by Mark Dever, Pastor of the historic Capital Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. In it he explains what the nine marks of a healthy church are. Expositional Preaching, Biblical Theology, Church Membership, Church Discipline, Discipleship and Growth are some of the areas of discussion. He also covers such issues as when you should or shouldn’t leave a church, what a true church is and is not, and what your church says about your Christianity.

With a keen insight into the Bible and the heart of a Pastor Mark Dever helps believers to understand just what Jesus expects of His Church. A healthy church is a Biblical church. A healthy church is fulfilling its God given role in the lives of the Saints. A healthy church points people to Christ and His gospel. A healthy church exists for God’s glory.

All of Mercy

2009-05-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

From Matthew Henry's comments on the parable of the prodigal son.

"His father saw him-- there were eyes of mercy;
he ran to meet him-- there were legs of mercy;
he put his arms round his neck-- there were arms of mercy;
he kissed him-- there were kisses of mercy;
he said to him-- there were words of mercy;
Bring here the best robe-- there were deeds of mercy;

Wonders of mercy-- all mercy!

Oh, what a God of mercy he is!

Oh, what a precious reception for one of the chief of sinners!"

This kind of mercy we often take for granted. Tonight as I read it I was struck with the thought of God' s redeeming love for such a sinner as I. If I were to receive what I deserve, I would receive Hell. Yet for His own glory He has chosen to save me from this fate and place me into His beautiful kingdom. Amazing!

But God continues to express and deluge me with with such mercy as I seek to follow Him down the Narrow Road. I can't make it. He has. I stumble. He stands. I despair. He is steadfast. I am week. He is strong.

I will arrive safely home. Jesus has promised me this (John14:3). And when I get there He will continue to pour out His grace and mercy upon me forever.

Ephesians 2:5-7 "even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

Amen! Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Book of the Month

2009-05-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

I have heard stories from Spurgeon to Jim Cymbala about the effectiveness of their preaching being directly related to the prayers of their church members. I think that there is truth to this line of thinking. God, through prayer, inflames the affections of His people with with His own passion. Because God has seen fit to reveal Himself through the folly of preaching, He works into His saints a love for preaching. We should then expect to be a people who pray for our pastors and their sermon each week.

That brings me to the book of the month this month. "Praying for Sunday" by Dr. Michael Fabarez is a challenging little book. In it we are exhorted to pray earnestly for the transformational proclamation and eager reception of God's Word each and every Sunday. Bryan Chapell, President of Covenant Theological Seminary, says "When God's people pray for their pastor to be equipped for such moments, then preaching becomes something truly supernatural. The preacher will be strengthened by such prayer, and the people will hear sermons as they have never before have."

So this is not just a book for my benefit, as the Pastor, but for the entire congregation. My hope is that every member of our church would get a copy of "Praying for Sunday" an put it into practice. We will be a deeper, healthy, more mature, in love with Jesus, preaching loving church for it.

A thought from Calvin

2009-05-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

"Now there is a fear which would most willingly flee from the judgment of God but which, being unable to do so, dreads it more than ever. True godliness does not lie here. It consists, rather, of a pure and true zeal which loves God as a real Father and looks up to Him as a real Lord; it embraces His righteousness and detests offending Him more than it does dying.

And all those who have this zeal do not set about rashly fabricating a god in line with their own wishes. Instead they seek the knowledge of the true God from God Himself, and do not conceive of Him as being different from what He reveals Himself to be and what He makes known to them."

These words from the pen of John Calvin in his book A Truth for all Time (which is actually the original edition of the Institutes) caught my attention this afternoon. I have known many Christians that "hear from God". Whether this is a "peace" about a situation or the Lord "impressing" something on our hearts, it is all "fabricating a god in line with their own wishes." When pressed these folks usually admit that whatever they "felt" is not as authoritative as the Word of God and yet many are making decisions based on these subjective feelings rather than on the wisdom that comes from the Bible.

Those who have an awe-filled, God saturated vision of life are those who are spending the most time looking into the place where He has already revealed Himself, in the pages of sacred Scripture. The Word of God has everything that we need for life and godliness. Seek to know God more by carefully studying the Bible. Learn more fully from Him in His Book and leave the feelings and impressions to the foolish and thoughtless opinions of the falsely spiritual. They are an offense to God. We however would rather die than to risk offending our Father.

2009-04-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

As we are now in the Passion week I am recommending a book this month on the Cross. James M. Boice and Philip Ryken give a masterful exposition on the “seven sayings from the Cross” and several events from the life of Christ in their book, The Heart of the Cross. They clearly help to explain the significance and power of the gospel. We have a radical salvation that that provides a freedom over guilt and shame, death and hopelessness, sin and peril thanks to our precious savior, Jesus Christ. The more that we study and think upon the Cross the deeper our worship becomes. So grow with me this month as we read about our Lord’s victory over sin and His provision of redemption for His own people through the Cross.

Daylight Saving Time

2009-03-07T11:36:00.000-08:00

Daylight Saving Time starts tomorrow at 2 AM. Don't forget to set your clocks forward one hour before you go to sleep! (You might want to go to bed early.)

Paul Mathers's Sunday School class about the Puritans is at 9:30, and the corporate worship service starts at 10:30.

Book of the Month: The Legacy of Sovereign Joy

2009-03-05T22:07:00.000-08:00

The word grace can have multiple meanings. As we grow in maturity as believers we see it as withholding punishment from those who deserve it. We see it in Christ's command to forgive our brothers who sin against us. We see it in God's mercy towards all sinners who deserve to have been blotted out already. And we see it in the active saving grace given by God to those who are saved. This month's Fighter Verse, Eph. 2:8, 9 (ESV) says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Grace is not just a withholding of justice, but it is an actual active gift bestowed on us by which God provides us with a real change of heart, making us born again, causing us to see him as glorious and worthy of our all, and resulting in faith which is the first cry of the newborn soul.

The Westminster Catechism says, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever." This is a concise summary of the doctrines of grace, and those who understand this recognize that being a Christian is not about meeting a list of demands or living by a set of principles. The idea of "enjoying God" sets us apart from works-based religions, because we can only enjoy what we have a taste for, and this is not something we can control ourselves.

The necessity of enjoying God demands new birth.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezekiel 36:26-27, ESV)

This was certainly Augustine's experience of conversion; he was only able to give up his hedonistic lifestyle because God became infinitely more satisfying and pleasurable to him.

...during all those years, where was my free will? What was the hidden, secret place from which it was summoned in a moment, so that I might bend my neck to your easy yoke and take your light burden on my shoulders, Christ Jesus, my Helper and my Redeemer? How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose and was now glad to reject! 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... (Augustine, Confessions, IX)

Every year at his church's pastors conferences, John Piper prepares and gives a biographical lecture on an important figure in church history. These lectures are often published in his The Swans Are not Silent series. This month's book of the month is The Legacy of Sovereign Joy, which is about Augustine, Luther, and Calvin.

In the spring of 2007, when we were working towards planting our church (and did not yet have a name), Pastor Patrick and I both listened to the mp3 from John Piper's 1998 lecture on Augustine and were deeply impacted. I listened to it while hiking at Upper Park and as soon as I was finished I called him from the top of the North Rim (they weren't home, so I left a message with my now wife Christina). When Pat called me back he said he wanted us to call our church Sovereign Joy Christian Fellowship.

The content of this book is very closely linked with our vision for our church. Pages 54-74 provide a summary of the doctrines of sovereign joy in Augustinianism: how God changes our hearts so that we delight in him above all that the world and sin have to offer. This is where John Piper gets his concept of Christian pleasure-seeking in God, though it seems so scandalous and new. Personally, I find it very encouraging to be able to trace our doctrines not only to sacred Scipture, but also to the fifth century in church history. Christians have been teaching these truths for thousands of years!

Here is the blurb from Desiring God:

What freed Aurelius Augustine from bondage to sexual immorality? What gave Martin Luther lion-like boldness in defending the supremacy of Scripture? What fueled John Calvin's God-entranced preaching and writing ministry? A stoic, disinterested obligation to do what is right? No! It was white-hot passion for their Sovereign Joy: God. They were radically converted as they encountered the real, risen Jesus and his liberating gospel in the written Word of God. And for the joy of having found the Pearl of great price, they sold everything to obtain it.

This book is highly recommended.

Buy the book from Monergism.

Download it free from Desiring God.
You can also download the audio for Piper's 1998 lecture from Desiring God. Listen to it over and over again.

March Fighter Verse

2009-03-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

Blessed Lord's Day evening, beloved!

Our fighter verse for the month of March is Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV):

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

That's a good one!

Meeting God

2009-01-19T17:40:00.000-08:00

Last night we were blessed to have Bryan Gumpy teach on 1 John 1:5-10. At one point in the message he mentioned a story about a play that he was in when he was young. It was a church play and so at one point in the play a woman finds herself face to face with Jesus. She begins to jump around and leap for joy all the while clinging on to Jesus. After the play a women came up to young Bryan and told him that she thought that upon meeting her Lord and Savoir she would most likely fall down on her face and worship.

This not only stuck with Mr. Gumpy but is something that I have thought about a lot. Christians are far too lax in their thoughts and attitudes toward our King and God. In the Bible we certainly to not see people putting on displays of such silly enthusiasm when they encounter Jesus that would rival only the fans of the Phoenix Cardinals. When Mary Magdaline does cling to Jesus he rebukes her (John 20:17).

Here are a few other examples from scripture of people encountering God (this includes the resurrected Jesus).

Genesis 28:16-19 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it."And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

Exodus 34:6-8 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.

Judges 13:20-22 And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground. The angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God."

Daniel 10:5-9 lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.

Acts 9:3-9 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Revelation 1:17a When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.

Well there are more that I can think of but hopefully this should suffice to prove my point. Worship God with reverence, fear, awe, trepidation, passion, single-mindedness, for His names sake. Not in a self-styled way that reveals your true focus, Yourself!

Holy is the name of the LORD

2009-01-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

This weeks sermon is on the phrase in the Lord's Prayer "hallowed be your name". So I thought I would give a few quotes to help prepare for worship.

"Oh, but the holiness of God is a pure holiness, it is
a holiness without mixture; there is not the least
drop or the least dreg of unholiness in God! "God
is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5

In God there is . . .
all wisdom without any folly,
all truth without any falsehood,
all light without any darkness, and
all holiness without any sinfulness.

God is exemplary holy. He is the rule, example, and
pattern of holiness. "Be holy, as I am holy." 1 Pet. 1:15.
God's holiness is the copy which we must always have in
our eye, and endeavor most exactly to write after."

Thomas Brooks

"Reader, think of His incomprehensible greatness
and majesty. Think of Him as the High and Lofty
One who inhabits eternity—
the heavens His throne,
the earth His footstool,
the light His garment,
the clouds His chariot,
the thunder His voice!

Viewing Him thus—it will be impossible for you to
treat Him with indifference, far less with scornful
disdain. If you are only brought in some measure,
to realize the fact of God's greatness and majesty,
you cannot fail to acknowledge that He is greatly
to be feared, and to be held in reverence by all
His creatures. "

John McDuff

"The death of Christ, apprehended by faith, presents
the strongest motives to holiness—by setting forth in
the most vivid and striking manner . . .
the evil nature of sin;
the holiness and justice of God;
His determination to punish transgression;
the fearfulness of falling into the hands of the living God.

Not all the judgments God ever inflicted—nor all
the threatenings He ever denounced, give such an
impressive warning against sin, and admonition
to righteousness—as the death of Christ.

The torments of the bottomless pit are not so
dreadful a demonstration of God's hatred of sin,
as the agonies of the cross!"

J. A. James

"Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Matthew 6:9
This petition condemns much more than profane
language. Whenever we introduce the Divine name
in our speech uselessly and triflingly--when we
employ it to turn a sentence, or give emphasis to
a statement, or point to an anecdote--when we make
the Divine Word the subject-matter of jokes, punning
on solemn truths of Revelation, and quoting Scripture
with ludicrous adaptations to provoke mirth. And even
when we take this great name on our lips in worship
without any endeavor to feel the homage it demands,
we violate the spirit of this prayer."

Newman Hall

New Year And New Book

2009-01-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

Well it is now ot9 (is that how you spell 09?). My wife and I were talking yesterday about how when we were kids we expected there to be flying cars and personal rocket packs to get around by this time. Well there is one thing that never changes... the Gospel! It was, is, and will always be the power of God that saves all who believe. The 1689 gives a clear and concise statement on the power of the saving grace of God.

Chapter 11 Paragraph 3: "Christ by his obedience, and death, did fully discharge the debt of all those that are justified; and did by the sacrifice of himself, in the blood of his cross, undergoing in their stead, the penalty due unto them: make a proper, real and full satisfaction to Gods justice in their behalf: yet in asmuch as he was given by the Father for them, and his Obedience and Satisfaction accepted in their stead, and both freely, not for any thing in them; their Justification is only of Free Grace, that both the exact justice and rich Grace of God, might be glorified in the Justification of sinners."

To go along with the quote here are a few passages of Scripture to meditate on: Isaiah 53:5-6, Romans 3:28, 8:32, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 1:6-7, 2:7, Hebrews 10:14, 1 Peter 1:18-19. May the Lord richly bless the study of His Word.

On a different topic I have chosen a new book of the month. This book contains the collected writings of one of the twentieth century's foremost reformed theologians. I have read several selected works of his and this one volume is an excellent introduction to his writings. And he is a Baptist!

Roger Nicole was born in Germany in 1915 the son of a French Reformed Pastor. He came to the United States in 1938 where he earned degrees from Gordon Divinity School and Harvard. As an ordained American Baptist minister he pastored for many years in Massachusetts. He was a key figure in many of the theological controversies of the last century, including the debate on biblical inerency, American evangelicalism, and a founding member of the Evangelical Theological Society. Well you can read all about him and several of his essays in his book Standing Forth, January's Book of the Month

Advent messages now online

2008-12-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post a quick note to let everyone know that I have uploaded the messages from our Sunday night Advent series. Because of the timeliness of the subject matter, I thought it would be good to get it all online before the new year. If you haven't already subscribed to our Sunday night messages in iTunes, you can do so here. Merry Christmas!

Incarnation Thoughts

2008-12-23T22:30:00.000-08:00

This is from the Puritan Divine Thomas Watson. It is for your thoughtful consideration as we worship and celebrate this Christmas.

Why was Jesus Christ made flesh?

(I.) The causa prima, and impulsive cause, was free grace. It was love in God the Father to send Christ, and love in Christ that he came to be incarnate. Love was the intrinsic motive. Christ is God-man, because he is a lover of man. Christ came out of pity and indulgence to us: non merita nostra, sed misera nostra. Augustine. 'Not our deserts, but our misery, made Christ take flesh. Christ’s taking flesh was a plot of free grace, and a pure design of love. God himself, though Almighty, was overcome with love. Christ incarnate is nothing but love covered with flesh. As Christ’s assuming our human nature was a master-piece of wisdom, so it was a monument of free grace.

(2.) Christ took our flesh upon him, that he might take our sins upon him. He was, says Luther, maximus peccator, the greatest sinner, having the weight of the sins of the whole world lying upon him. He took our flesh that he might take our sins, and so appease God’s wrath.

(3.) Christ took our flesh that he might make the human nature appear lovely to God, and the divine nature appear lovely to man.

(1:) That he might make the human nature lovely to God. Upon our fall from God, our nature became odious to him; no vermin is so odious to us as the human nature was to God. When once our virgin nature was become sinful, it was like flesh imposthumated, or running into sores, loathsome to behold. It was so odious to God that he could not endure to look upon us. Christ taking our flesh, makes this human nature appear lovely to God. As when the sun shines on the glass it casts a bright lustre, so Christ being clad with our flesh makes the human nature shine, and appear amiable in God's eyes.

(2:) As Christ being clothed with our flesh makes the human nature appear lovely to God, so he makes the divine nature appear lovely to man. The pure Godhead is terrible to behold, we could not see it and live; but Christ clothing himself with our flesh, makes the divine nature more amiable and delightful to us. We need not be afraid to look upon God through Christ’s human nature. It was a custom of old among shepherds to clothe themselves with sheepskins, to be more pleasing to the sheep; so Christ clothed himself with our flesh, that the divine nature may be more pleasing to us. The human nature is a glass, through which we may see the love and wisdom and glory of God clearly represented to us. Through the lantern of Christ's humanity we may behold the light of the Deity. Christ being incarnate makes the sight of the Deity not formidable, but delightful to us.

(4.) Jesus Christ united himself to man, 'that man might be drawn nearer to God.’ God before was an enemy to us by reason of sin; but Christ having taken our flesh, mediates for us, and brings us into favour with God. As when a king is angry with a subject, the king’s son marries his daughter, and so mediates for the subject, and brings him into favour with the king again; so when God the Father was angry with us, Christ married himself to our nature, and now mediates for us with his Father, and brings us to be friends again, and God looks upon us with a favourable aspect. As Joab pleaded for Absalom, and brought him to King David, and David kissed him; so Jesus Christ ingratiates us into the love and favour of God. Therefore he may well be called a peacemaker, having taken our flesh upon him, and so made peace between us and his Father.

Update

2008-12-23T17:57:00.001-08:00

I have a few things to update here.

First, is the Book of the Month for December. Shame on me for not getting this posted sooner. Especially because this is one of my top three books I have ever read (excluding Scripture of course). Knowing God by J.I. Packer is worth it's weight in fine gold. His understanding and clarity on this topic is second to none. I can remember sitting in the Denver Airport and worshiping after reading the chapter on election.

Second, is that we are getting Trinity Hymnals this week. This is a joy because we have been praying for them sense we began worshiping together a year and a half ago. We will use them (Lord Willing) for the first time at our Christmas Eve service at the Lemos' House.

Third, Join us for our Christmas Eve service. For more info call the church. The number is on the main page.

Fourth, our Annual Members meeting is the last Sunday of January. If there is any issue that needs to be brought up before the congregation you need to speak to me in the next three weeks. On the table so far: the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith to be adopted officially therefore making us fully confessional, the choice to support a new ministry Alpha and Omega Ministries, giving out tithing records, voting on keeping the board the way it is or making changes. I think that that is all, but if there is any other issues or any questions about any of these issues contact me straight away.

Finally, a warm welcome to our new members: Keven and Angela Lemos, Larry Coleman, Rachel Sinclair (soon to be Gumpy) We love you and appreciate the great privilege of worshiping with you!

Thoughts on the Conference

2008-11-23T08:19:00.000-08:00

I got back last night from the Woodland Theology Conference on unity and diversity in orthodoxy. It was a great time. I am already looking forward to the next such conference. I have a few thoughts on what took place that I think will be helpful for our own church’s unity.

The debates that took place had two distinct flavors. The Baptism debate was generous and thought provoking. Schreiner and VanDurnen were a great example of how two men should disagree. It seems that the greater the knowledge of the whole of scripture along with Christian maturity tends toward a more unified and healthy body, even if there disagreements. On a side note I have yet to hear a Credobaptist loose a debate on Baptism.

The second series of debates, on eschatology, was disappointing. There was a lot less exegesis of the Bible and more defending against name calling and misunderstanding. DeMar and Horner are godly men I am sure but their presentations lacked a level of maturity that was exhibited on the previous night. In my opinion they should have simply stuck to the text and allowed their argument to stand or fall on the Biblical nature of their presentation. Both men at times made good points. DeMar’s discussion on Matthew 24 being fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD was quite compelling. Dr. Horner’s love for the Jewish people is encouraging and to be not only commended but modeled.

All in all it was a great time. The discussion at Wenershnitsal (I do not have any idea how to spell that) in the middle of the night with Jerrod, Ginger, Jim, Lesley, Gumpy, MoJo, Faith, and the Wife was a highlight. How can you go wrong with chili dogs and theology? It is good to hear your thoughts on these issues too. Anyways, my prayer for our Church is that when we do disagree we would not allow our emotions to rule the discussion but instead clarity, maturity, and most of all the authority of the Bible.

A Sunday Thought

2008-11-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a quote from Octavius Winslow. It is an excellent thought for meditation on the Lord's Day.

"In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ." Ephesians 1:11, 12

The doctrine of predestination is well calculated to confirm and strengthen the true believer in the fact and certainty of his salvation through Christ. Feeling, as he does, the plague of his own heart, experiencing the preciousness of the Savior, looking up through the cross to God as his Father, exulting in a hope that makes not ashamed, and remembering that God the Eternal Spirit only renews those who are chosen by God the Father, and are redeemed by God the Son, this doctrine is found to be most comforting and confirming to his faith. The faintest lineaments of resemblance to God, and the feeblest breathing of the Spirit of adoption he discovers in his soul, is to him an indisputable evidence of his predestination to Divine sonship and holiness.

Another blessing accruing from the doctrine is, the sweet and holy submission into which it brings the mind under all afflictive dispensations. Each step of his pilgrimage, and each incident of his history, the believer sees appointed in the everlasting covenant of grace. He recognizes the discipline of the covenant to be as much a part of the original plan, as any positive mercy that it contains. That all the hairs of his head are numbered; that affliction comes not out of the earth, and therefore is not the result of accident or thence, but is in harmony with God's purposes of love; and that thus ordained and permitted, must work together for good—not the least blessing resulting from this truth is its tendency to promote personal godliness. The believer feels that God has "chosen us to salvation through sanctification and belief of the truth;" that He has "chosen us that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love;" that we are "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them." Thus the believer desires to "give all diligence to make his calling and election sure," or undoubted, by walking in all the ordinances and commandments of the Lord blameless, and standing complete in all the will of God.

And what doctrine more emptying, humbling, and therefore sanctifying, than this? It lays the axe at the root of all human boasting. In the light of this truth, the most holy believer sees that there is no difference between him and the vilest sinner that crawls the earth, but what the mere grace of God has made. Such are some of the many blessings flowing to the Christian from this truth. The radiance which it reflects upon the entire history of the child of God, and the calm repose which it diffuses over the mind in all the perplexing, painful, and mysterious events of that history, can only be understood by those whose hearts have fully received the doctrine. Whatever betides him—inexplicable in its character, enshrouded in the deepest gloom, as may be the circumstance—the believer in this truth can "stand still," and, calmly surveying the scene, exclaim: "This also comes forth from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working. He who works all things after the counsel of His own will has done it, and I am satisfied that it is well done."

Good news

2008-11-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

I have a few links to check out.

1) James White has a very insightful commentary on the recent election of our new president.

2) Grace to You is offering all of John MacArthur's sermons free to download.

3) Some fun t-shirts.

4) R.C. Sproul the state of the church in our day.

5) If you are looking for a new podcast to listen to.

Book of the Month

2008-11-07T10:09:00.001-08:00

This month I have chosen a book that has caused no small controversy. It is Hard to Believe by John MacArthur. I do know of one man who had been in church all of his life and upon reading this book realized he was no Christian at all. Here is the publishers description:

Popular perception of Jesus Christ is that of a tempered, genteel man who walked the earth, offering nuggets of wisdom to His followers. But what we sometimes fail to recognize is that although Jesus Christ offered a message of forgiveness, He also spoke challenging, demanding words about what being a follower of Christ requires.

In contrast to the superficiality of much modern Christian teaching, Dr. John MacArthur serves up the unvarnished truth of what Christ taught and lived. In simple, compelling terms, he spells out what is required of those who would follow Him. Going beyond Jesus' life to include the crucifixion and resurrection, MacArthur shows readers that Jesus modeled the commitment and loving obedience He requires of us by making the ultimate sacrifice for humankind.

I would love it if our church read this book and began telling others of the difficult message of the cost of following Jesus.

Links

2008-10-14T22:59:00.000-07:00

Here are five links for your consideration until I can post a proper article on Friday. I hope your mind is provoked to think a bit.

Thoughts to consider about abortion from D.A. Carson.

A new Study Bible to ... covet?

Get your theological shovel out and start digging.

This is the e-1689 that I use.

Another great Bookstore.

Enjoy!!

5 Years

2008-10-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

5 years is not long enough. I do not think that all of life will be long enough. October 8 is the anniversary of the death of my son. It has not been long enough to get over the grief. It is more infrequent now but when it comes it is still intense. It does not last as long but in the midst of the sorrow it feels like it will never end. Over the years I have found a few things to be of great help to me in the valley. I hope that you will be helped by them.

1) Consider God’s goodness. Psalm 145:9 “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.” God has a good intention in all that comes to pass. Ephesians 1:11-12 “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”

2) Consider God’s providence. Jonathan’s life and death started a chain of events that continues to this day. When confronted with the prospect of our healthy happy Christian family being invaded by tragedy I began to rethink a lot of my basic presuppositions. I was taught that God does not mean for bad things to happen but He can make it work out for good after the fact. This was unacceptable to me. God is either in control of everything that comes to pass for His own glory or He is simply a responder to emergencies. Like a cosmic ambulance service arriving after the accident to fix and help. How this glorifies God I do not know. What I do know is that God works all things to His own glory. Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

3) Do not make any major decisions. When I am grieving and depressed I am not in the proper frame of mind to make calculated wise decision. Proverbs 16:24-25 “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Sometimes the way I am thinking during times of sorrow is exactly the opposite of what I ought to be thinking. So I need to be around good people who can help me. Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

4) Study Theology. This might sound odd but it is essential to my spiritual well being during times of sorrow. Grief is necessarily self-centered. We have lost someone profoundly important and we are tying to cope. This is not in and of itself a bad thing. It can turn, very quickly, into a pit of self-focus that is difficult to get out of. So during times of grief I need to get my focus back on God. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “ So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” Study! This is why I spend a lot of time reading books by men that have been dead for hundreds of years. There words still hold true and still bring my mind back to the Lord.

Well these are a few things that help me. Church, know that God is good, He is in control of all, He is our wisdom, and we need to have our thoughts focused on Him Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 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.”

Book of the Month

2008-10-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

I began to do the Book of the Month for our church for two reasons. First, I see a lot of bad books being read and recommended by Christians these days. One church I visited had a stand set up to display the Pastor’s book picks. Of the three that that were there one was a “Christianized Psychology” book on relationships, one by Dave Hunt who is so sensational and wild-eyed that it is difficult for a thinking Christian to take him seriously, and the third a devotional that was on how you can be a better you. This saddened me because it showed me what the congregation was getting taught and where the Pastor’s heart was at. Which brings me to my second reason, I want Sovereign Joy to know what is in my mind and heart as I think and grow as your Pastor. That is why I pick the books I do. We have had two so far, Lectures to my Students by Charles Spurgeon and When Grace Comes Home by Terry Johnson. My hope is that you would read these books and get to know God better and understand me as your Pastor better. Which brings me to this months pick.

As far as daily devotionals go I have found most of them to be rather shallow and unhelpful. The last thing I think a Christian needs in their time devoted to getting closer to God is to have a self-focused blurb that is “positive and encouraging”. Don’t get me wrong. I am all for what is truly positive and encouraging, but this is not found in the man centered fluff that adorns the shelves of many a Christian Bookstore and sadly many a Christian’s bookshelves. A truly positive and encouraging thought can be one about our utter inability in all things spiritual, our sin, the coming judgment, God’s holiness, the law, all of which put our attention right back upon God and not on ourselves. Most Christians blush and recoil from these topics though. So we need massively God centered literature to counter our massively self focused culture.

So this month my Book of the Month is a devotional. It is R.C. Sproul’s In the Presence of God. It is one of the few devotionals I have read all the way through. This one (like Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening) is written to get our minds onto that which matters most, God’s Glory in all things. The Latin phrase is to live Coram Deo, which is to say, before the face of God. God’s authority extends to everything from our family life to the work place to our times of leisure to even our thought and emotional life. We ought to live every moment with the awareness of His presence and rule. Sproul accomplishes this by going directly to the attributes of God. He takes the often difficult and abstract ideas about God and makes them not only clear but also applicable to our every day lives. This is a book I can gladly recommend and be quite confident that your spiritual life will be enriched as you get know God better.

Stones of Remembrance

2008-09-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

Joshua 4 has been on my mind the last week or so. It is the story of God once again bringing His people to the place of utter dependence on Him because circumstances left no other option. The Israelites are on the brink of entering the Promised Land but there is a great obstacle in the way. The Jordan River lies before them in a flood having overflowed its banks. God then commands the Priests to carry the ark into the water, God then performs a stunning miracle in true Exodusesque fashion. Joshua 3:17 “Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.”

Once the entire nation passed safely, and may I add dry to the other side of the river, the story becomes more interesting for me, at least at this time of the year. Joshua took twelve men, one leader from each tribe, and gave them a divinely inspired task. They were each to pick up a rock from the riverbed. That is right. God’s great plan is for each man to pick up a rock. How insignificant. How unusual. How easy to reject. How God- like. Here is what He says:
And Joshua said to them, "Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?' then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever." Joshua 4:5-7

Why has this passage been on my mind? What is the significance to me? Let me explain. There is a stone in my life that is such a memorial. Not that I picked it up from the bottom of a riverbed that God supernaturally dried up for me. Instead it is a stone of remembrance that when my children ask me of its meaning I am to declare the miraculous providence of God in the sustaining and keeping of my family during 20 days 5 years ago. The date on the stone reads “Sept 18, 2003 - Oct 8, 2003.” Each one of these days were filled with some of the most sweetest communion with God and the most bitter sorrow I have ever experienced. I am of course referring to the life and death of my son Jonathan.

Many of you are new to our church so I would like first of all to invite you to ask of me the question 'What does this stone mean to you?' I could take up more space than I think is appropriate, for a blog, in answering this question. But I would like to, so ask me sometime.

Second, I would like you to know that is not just a Mathers Family memorial. We are all part of this wonderful body called Sovereign Joy, and being part of this body means that God has done glorious things in our past and we need to be reminded of them regularly. I agree with Peter when he says “I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder” 2 Peter 1:13.

Thirdly, we need to minister to each other now with the comfort and strength we have already received from God through His Spirit. 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 is well worth taking the time to read over prayerfully this week. There are people hurting, grieving, going through depression, and spiritual attacks all right now in our little fellowship. Are you doing the work of the ministry and encouraging those around you through prayer, speaking the Word, and simply being there for another? If you do not know anyone who is in any of these situations then quite simply you are not being part of the body.

Finally, (and I mean it) we need to become strong by faith in the Christ Jesus now so that when the time comes that God brings us as a church before a flooded river, with no where else to go, we obey when He calls us to do the impossible. We have such stones in our lives to look back to, that give us the confidence in the great providence of God to press forward despite what apparent difficulties lie ahead.

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:3-6

Welcome to our Church Blog

2008-09-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

I am no stranger to blogging although it has been quite a while (a year to be exact) since I last posted anything at my old live journal. This being our Sovereign Joy website I am planning to write about things that will directly relate to our church life and growth as a body. This seems to be the most God glorifying way to write. Sometimes this will mean critiquing a book or ministry, discussing a theological topic, exegete a passage of scripture, talking about events in our body, making prayer requests known, giving my thoughts on a current event, even giving a word of exhortation or rebuke. My prayer is that this would be a great asset to our website and to our fellowship. If you are not a member of Sovereign Joy that does not mean that this is not for you. I think that what ever gets posted here will benefit any true believer in Jesus Christ and bring Him glory.

As a side note please feel free to comment on anything that you see here. Aaron has set up a moderating system so that if there are any comments made that are inappropriate we will not post them. We did have a problem with this once before so it seems wise to watch what gets said on our site. Having said that though, we love a good discussion and even debate from time to time, so even if you are in disagreement with me I would encourage you to comment. I will not be able to respond to everything I am sure but I will do my best.

With that all said here is my first real post. I have been thoroughly reading the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith lately. This is for two reasons. First, I would like us as a church to adopt this confession as our requirements of belief for anyone who would be in a position of leadership here. This would mean Deacons and Elders. We ought to expect our leaders to have a deeper level of understanding about the scriptures and this should be expressed confessionally for all to see. There is a shallow and weak leadership in the church in this country. We do not want to follow this path. We want depth and strength where the church needs it the most, in it’s theology! We find such resolve from a careful study of the scriptures and laid out in a confessional manner.

Secondly, in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Paul lays out a confession of faith. He says “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” Notice what Paul does. First he takes the theological truths of the gospel message and summarizes them. Second he adds scriptural basis for what he has asserted. This is an early, Biblical, apostolic, confession of faith. This is theology. This is, and passages like this (1 Thess. 2:13, 2 Thess. 2:15, 1 Timothy 4:13-16) are our basis for standing on the solid ground of such a historical document as the 1689.

Finally, let me close with the word of the confession Chapter 1, Paragraph 10. “All religious controversies are to be settled by Scripture, and by Scripture alone. All decrees of Councils, opinions of ancient writers, and doctrines of men collectively or individually, are similarly to be accepted or rejected according to the verdict of the Scripture given to us by the Holy Spirit. In that verdict faith finds its final rest.”
— 1689 A Faith to Confess

Mission Statement

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We exist "to worship God in all of his glory, enjoy him in all of his fullness, spread a passion for his truth to all peoples, that Jesus might be praised forever."

To this end we are committed to proclaiming the whole counsel of God contained in the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible.