Jonah: God’s Sovereign, Unfailing Love (PART 2)

Empty Hopes and a Sovereign Savior 

Diagnosing the Problem 

I can’t discern which comes first, discontentment or idolatry. It seems like the two feed upon one another. When I am discontent I am so tempted and prone to turn to things that are not God for comfort, encouragement, hope to save me from pain, melancholy, and despair. Simply put, I turn to created things to give me life. And Yet I also know the product from me turning to created things to give me what they were never intended to give me is discontentment, pain, melancholy, and despair. These are the confessions of a Christian who finds himself fundamentally guilty of the same sins as the polytheist.

Martin Luther taught that the reason the first commandment was against idolatry was because it was impossible to break the other nine without first committing idolatry. The monk turned protestant was certainly on to something. And I agree with him. John Calvin, a contemporary to Luther, stated, “The human heart is a factory of idols.”

So what is idolatry? Whenever anything or anyone captures our heart, mind, and/or affections more than God we are guilty of idolatry. And Hopelessness is a sure sign symptom that someone has a bad-case of idolatry. The more devoted the worshipper the harder the crash or despair.

The danger is idolatry is that we rarely make idols out of straight up evil things. In fact our idols never are. Idolatry fundamentally takes the good things God made and perverts and twist them.

“To the pure all things are pure. But to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.” (Titus 1:15 ESV)

Did you see the connection between unbelief and defiling? When we fail to believe in God, we defile or profane good things. Idolatry seeks to turn a created thing into a god. It pursues a created thing to yield what only God can give. To profane something is to treat something with irreverence or disrespect. And when we put the responsibility of our happiness on a cheeseburger we are doing just that. But why do we do this? Why do we put our hope, happiness, comfort, encouragement, joy, and ultimately our lives in the hands of created things?

Wrong Thinking Leads to Wrong Worship

Today we live in a functionally polytheistic culture (poly- many; theo- god). Allow me to explain. To argue this, I must begin with the truth and then we can identify the perversion of it known as Polytheism.

First, The Christian Worldview believes that there is only One God who exist eternally in three distinct but not separate persons (Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit). Second, This God created everything. He made the heavens and the earth. He made that which is seen and unseen. He made angels and men. He made plants and animals. He made the sea and dry land. There is nothing that was made that He did not make. Third, God not only made everything but also sustains everything. In other words, everything is dependent upon Him. Fourth, God is separate and distinct from that which is created. Though everything points to His glory and is a manifestation of His attributes, it must also be remembered that God is wholly other than that which is created. Fifth, therefore everything receives its: value, purpose, function, ability (power), and results from God and apart from God; everything and everyone have none of these attributes intrinsically.

Polytheism fundamentally does not believe in two forms of existence. It denies there is one God who is supreme over everything and everyone. Instead all things are on the same plane. Some things will have more value, power, or influence. But there is no supreme wholly other source from which everything comes. Rather Polytheism believes that persons and things in and of itself possess their own intrinsic value, power, function, etc. Therefore, polytheist (those who believe in polytheism) will give themselves to money, sex, relationships, causes, work, and etc. This is because polytheist believe there is something to be gained from created things in and of themselves. They believe those created things are a source of themselves.

When we fail to recognize that all created things are mere windows for us to look through in order that we may behold the Glory of God we are thinking and acting like a polytheist. When we fail to recognize that no created thing is meant to be a path to itself but rather a path that leads us to the true end; worship of the Supreme Sovereign Creator. Then we are guilty of polytheism. When we fight wars over whose god is more important or more powerful to bring unity, peace, happiness, and life to all things. We are playing the polytheist. And when we do this, we fail to see that no god or combinations of gods (a created thing with limitations) is big enough to do this. Polytheist are bound for disappointment. Because Polytheist give themselves to so many things and none of those things can deliver.

Sadly, because there are endless possible gods in a polytheist world, they never run out of possible new options to chase after. “Perhaps,” the polytheist thinks, “that I had the wrong combination of gods. I need to exchange the god of career for a god of family. And maybe I should put a little more effort into the god of fitness and a little less worship into the god of chocolate.”

Jonah 2:8 (ESV) says, “Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.”

Created things have limitations. And so they can only offer you what God has assigned or ordained for them to offer you. No god will be able to give you “steadfast love.” And so, everyone who chooses the polytheistic path also chooses to turn away from the only One who can give “steadfast love.” This is why God’s call to repentance is a call of love. He is calling us away from destruction and to life everlasting.

Salvation Belongs to the LORD!

There is only one God. And that God in and of Himself is intrinsically: all-powerful; all-knowing, all-present; infinite in beauty; and is the designer; creator; and sustainer of all things. This God is infinite in love. He is the source of all good things! Therefore this God is worthy of ALL our hope, faith, love, and devotion. In fact, God rightfully demands it from us. However, in this case, its good news that He calls us to this kind of devotion. Jonah 2:9 explains why.

“But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!”

We learned in the last post that Jonah foolishly tried to run from God who made the heavens and the earth; the sea and dry land. But God was prepared to move heaven and earth to make sure nothing stood between Him and Jonah. Not even Jonah’s rebellious heart could come between God and Jonah. God humbled and broke Jonah and brought him to nothing so that Jonah would recognize his “vain” hope was no different than that of the “vain idols” of the sailors. And after God had humbled Jonah and brought Him to nothing then God showed Jonah that He alone gives life and He alone saves. Here’s how Jonah 2:6 says it,

“I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet You brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.”

God hurled a great wind into the sea. Then God hurled Jonah into the deeps of the sea. And when Jonah had finally hit rock bottom (pun intended) God called a great fish to do His bidding and save Jonah. Jonah’s participation in his deliverance was NOTHING. Even Jonah’s prayer is a prayer of “thanksgiving” “from the belly of the fish” after he had been saved. And all of this was to demonstrate to Jonah and to us today that “salvation belongs to the LORD!” And to demonstrate to us that “those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.”

God saved Jonah by hurling all of Jonah’s idols into the sea. And when Jonah found there was nothing left to rest his foot upon, he found himself in the sea sinking down…down…down. And it was there that Jonah found his feet rest upon the sure foundation and rock the LORD. Perhaps if Jonah knew the hymn he would have sang, “On Christ the Solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground in sinking sand.”

God saves us the same way from our idols today. God turns us over to our idols, allows them to crush us, disappoint us, disillusion us, afflict us, and abandon us. And when we have found we have nowhere else to turn. We see Christ as that sure rock and foundation. We find Him as the source of ALL life.

Simon Peter answered Him (Jesus), “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69 ESV)

How foolish it would have been for Jonah after being saved to worship the great fish rather than the God who sent it. That would be polytheism. Indeed, this is the very god the Ninevites worshipped. Dagon, the god of the fish. But Jonah, by God’s grace, believed in the One to whom the great fish pointed to. Let us not be people so foolish and wicked to run from the “steadfast love” of the LORD. Let us run from all our “vain idols” and into the sovereign unfailing love of God our Savior!

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”

–Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:3 ESV)

A Conversation On How We Ought To Think About The SCOTUS Ruling On Marriage

Our next segment is two parts dealing with how we ought to think and live in light of the SCOTUS ruling on marriages on June 26th 2015. Hope this serves you!

Blessings!

A Conversation On What God-centered Living Looks Like

A fellow brother and pastor and I recently discussed the topic of what God-centered living looks like practically in our personal life, marriage, family, and church.  I trust this video will be a blessing and serve you.

Blessings!

Putting Words in God’s Mouth: Part 4 of How to Know God’s Will

Link to: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

“Mom said, ‘you can’t eat that.”  She said.

“No she did NOT.” He replied.

“Yes huh!” She retorted.

He responded with “Then I am going to check and see.”

My friend confirmed that his younger sister had merely put words in their mom’s mouth to get what she ultimately wanted.  He was enjoying the last piece of a delicious treat.  She, in an attempt to get what she wanted, appealed to a higher authority to get it.

My fear is that, in an effort to have assurance, peace, and justify the decisions we make, we may be responsible for putting words in God’s mouth.  Only in this case, doing so is a much larger deal than merely putting words in our mom’s mouth.

Consider with me for a moment what we explicitly and/or implicitly state when we claim God told us we were to do such and such.  We are linking God to our decision.  In other words, the choice we made was literally perfect, without any error or room to examine.  We are also assigning that decision now to a moral status.  In other words, had we done otherwise it would have been a sin.  Thus, God and we are now morally culpable for the decision we made.  After all, God “told” us to do it.  Of course, God cannot be judge by us.  Which leaves the decision we made “off limits” to challenge or question.  When someone refuses to break God’s commands, one does not need to prove his reasons for doing such.  The decisions are to be accepted on the basis of the one who commands.

Let me illustrate how this can work through an artificial conversation.

“Nice car!” Bob said.

“Thanks, I just got it yesterday.” Justin replied.

“How exciting, how did you find it?” He asked.

“Oh man, the LORD just showed me the right car to get!” Justin exclaimed.

“Wow!  How did you know to get it?” Bob questioned.

Justin explained.  “Well, while I was at the dealership I walked around and was looking at all the cars in the dealership and I asked God to show me the right car to get.  Well after looking at a number of cars with the car salesman he showed this one.  As soon as I sat in it I just knew it was the one!”

Even though this particular conversation is made-up, I have heard countless conversation just like this one.  And when we examine the implicit and/or explicit statements being made, we begin to see the tragic implications of what we are saying.  When we claim, “God told me ‘X’” we linking God to our decision.  We are claiming our choice was perfect and cannot be challenged.  We are claiming our choice was indeed a moral one (i.e. had Justin not bought that car, Justin would have sinned).  Now please do not misunderstand me.  I am not claiming that everyone who says, “God told me” is meaning all this.  I am arguing that whether they intend to be saying this or not, that is indeed what they are saying.  In addition to all of this, how many of us have encountered someone who told us, God told them to do something or not to do something, that God has already made very explicitly clear in His Word?

This is why I believe we must be careful not make such statements.  Not because God doesn’t do such things, but rather because he can and does.  But when we relegate so many decisions on a regular basis to “God told me” it removes the miracle of the Word of God and when God does miraculously lead His people. 

So is God indifferent to the choices we make?  I believe God does care!  But if God does not regularly tell us what to do on a regular basis in this way, how do we go about making decisions on a daily basis with things such as: what house to buy, what car to buy, who to marry, what school to go to, should I even go to school, etc.?  How can we know God cares and what we are to do?  In my next post I hope to provide a clear and helpful way, defended from Scripture, of how we are to do just that.

Blessings!

Satan’s Great Ploy

I know I will likely be misunderstood or understood and disliked for this post. Mostly because what I am going to write goes against most evangelism methods and common practice among professing believers. But my conscience burdens me and Scriptures compels me to share some thoughts that have ministered to me this morning!

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4 ESV)

Is it right to have unbelieving friends?

I know even asking this question makes me sound like I am from 1720. But what does Scripture say about you as a child of God in comparison to those who have not received Jesus Christ as LORD?  Take a look at just a handful of Scriptures passages and what they say.

“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,” (Colossians 1:21-22 ESV)

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV)

”Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” (Ephesians 4:17-19 ESV)

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15 ESV)

Do we believe these truths, that those who are not Christians are hostile towards the one true God? And those who are not born-again are rebels of our LORD and Savior and are children of the Devil.

Perhaps Satan’s greatest ploy is in deceiving His enemies that there isn’t really a war going on between his kingdom and Christ’s Kingdom. Make no mistake brothers and sisters, those who reject Jesus as LORD are no friends to Him. They dishonor and shame Him. And if they do not submit to Him, they will suffer judgment and eternal suffering in the Lake of Fire!

Here’s what I am saying, the importance to understanding the animosity and hostility between Christ’s Kingdom and Satan’s is crucial for the health of the individual Christian as well as the Church. Here’s a few ways this doctrine will impact the Christian life:

• give the Christian a proper perspective on how we should view our life and practice.
• give Christians a fresh zeal for the ministry entrusted to us
• put a healthy fire under our feet to evangelize to the lost
• protect the spiritual health and purity of young Christians as well as the matured
• and protect us against idleness and unprofitable practices

Here’s what I am not saying, just because we acknowledge the enmity between us and the unbeliever doesn’t mean we are to be uncharitable to them. Scripture is clear, we are to love our enemies and pray for them! But let’s not pretend they’re not our enemies either!

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (Matthew 5:43-44 ESV)

We are to love the lost, pray for them, serve them, and even care for them! But we are not friends with them. There is a difference. And they must know they are at enmity with God and His people. We do not have peace with them. But we long to have peace with them. They are enemies of God and friends to the Devil. As long as we pretend God’s word isn’t true and believe the lie that there is peace when there is no peace, the lost will get the wrong message and will not sense the weight of their rebellion against Jesus Christ. And if we ever get around to sharing the Gospel with them our practiced friendship with them will have contradicted the message we long for them to believe!

Money, Baking, and the Gospel

Have you ever tried to bake brownies in a microwave?  I haven’t.  But I imagine it wouldn’t go over so well.  My father-in-law always says, “cooking is chemistry.”  I think he’s right.

As silly as it is to microwave brownie batter I think we try to microwave the Gospel into our hearts rather than slowly bake it.  In our fast food society we take the mentality that quicker is always better.  But that simply isn’t true.  I have learned from people older and wiser than me that typically the things that matter most need “baking time” not “microwave time.”

This is particularly true with seeing the Gospel at work in our lives.  The Gospel is not a magic wand you wave or a pill that you take once a day.  It’s something we need to think on regularly throughout the day.  It is something we pray over, pleading with God to give us greater understanding of.  It is the discipline of pleading with God to stir our hearts with the truths of the Gospel.

The Gospel will often bring quick and big changes.  But when it comes to things like money, we need to steep in the Gospel and give it time to permeate throughout your whole being.

Because money is the currency of the world, it brings so many different forms of temptation.  Perhaps one person loves money so they hoard.  Another person loves money and so they spend it as fast as they can.  The difference is one loves money for the security it brings while another can love it for the pleasure or status it brings.  In both cases the problem is the love of money, but how you address each is different.

Each of us must examine what we love about money.  Then we look to God to seek understanding how the Gospel offers something better! When we seek security in money rather than in God it’s idolatry, and when we seek joy and happiness in money instead of God, it’s idolatry.

The Gospel says, “keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.'”  So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

When we truly believe that our safety and security is in God, not money, we will be freed from the trust we put in money.

Jesus says “…lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.”  Those who seek joy and happiness in money rather than in God don’t really believe this.  They think if they selfishly spend their money on themselves they will have just as much “treasure” than if they gave all their money away.

The idols we all carry along with us can be so deep.  That’s why we must make every effort to believe all that God has for us in Christ Jesus!  He is not calling us to lesser: joy, security, and riches, but greater.  Christ is all we need!  But God knows, we can not know that until we see He is all we have!

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Jesus

Blessings,

Stephen

P.S.

Kudos to Josh Fenska for the illustration of comparing baking brownies and dwelling on the Gospel!

The Gospel Makes Us Different.

In the last post my goal was to show that the only engine that will be strong enough to pull the heavy train of Christian living to its destination is the Gospel.  Any other engine substitute will putter out (I am using the word engine as an illustration for motive or fuel for living the Christian life).

In my short twelve years of being a Christian I have seen a lot of engine substitutes.  Most of the time they are used with right motives.  It seems that many believers don’t know what else to do.  I have seen believers use: fear, guilt, condemnation, consequences, motivational speaking, hype and excitement, rules and the list goes on as ultimate ways to make Christians behave in a certain way.

But let’s be honest, how long do any of those motivations really last? A parent who uses fear always to motivate their children will not see them reach the goal.  Most likely by 15 years of age, parents have already lost their child.  Pastors who always use guilt and condemnation to cause the sheep to love will kill any sense of joy and community within the flock.  Organizations (camps, conferences, etc.) that use hype and excitement will lose their grasp as soon the excitement fades or a new fad comes along (in my experience, the faster the hype comes the quicker the crash).  I think you get the point.

Please don’t misunderstand me, I do think there is a place for most, if not all, of those things.  They all have their role, it just should not be intended as an ultimate means to accomplishing the task set before us.

But how can we see true reform from the inside (our hearts) out (our behavior)?  How can parents capture their children’s hearts?  How can pastors motivate their sheep to love and obey the Great Shepherd?  How can organizations properly motivate a genuine joy?

The Gospel.

The Apostle John writes, “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).  The word “because” there informs us of the purpose or reason for our love.

The Apostle Paul states, “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?—just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”  Here Paul links the faith that justifies as the same way one continues in the faith (sanctifies).  In other words, the same faith that brings you into the faith is the same faith that aids you in the walk of faith (see also Col 1:11-14 where Paul teaches that we are strengthened “with all power” as we give thanks for all we have in Christ).

The Apostle Peter teaches, “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”   Peter believed that the way for faithful obedience in suffering was by setting our minds on grace!  Please don’t breeze past this truth.  The Gospel tells us that Jesus is coming back for us and He brings His reward with Him!

Here’s the point.  The only real motivation for us, that God has given, is all the blessings promised and accomplished in Jesus Christ!  And it is more than enough.  The good fight of faith is striving to truly realize all that is promised in Jesus is ours if we simply trust in Him!

The Power of God for Salvation!

“I think I can. I THINK I can. I THINK I CAN!” 

Or so the children’s book says.  But is this really something admirable that we Evangelical Christians want to adopt as a motto to Christian living?  I really think we all know intellectually and existentially (by experience) that the Christian life cannot be lived successfully by sheer willpower and determination. 

But in all honesty really, what can we put in its place?

I believe Scripture is resolutely clear that what we are to substitute in their place is faith/trust/confidence in the Gospel.  Now when I speak of the Gospel, I am using it as shorthand referring to Jesus Christ’s: life, death, resurrection, ascension, and return (I get that definition from 1 Corinthians 15:3-5). In other words, Scripture teaches that the means for sanctification (the process of becoming more like Jesus) and Christian living is by trust in all that God has done for us in Christ Jesus.  I believe and I am going to defend from Scripture that the way we learn to love our spouse, to work hard for our employers, to be faithful to our children, the way we actually learn to keep the law is by simply believing on Jesus!

Argument 1

In John 6 Jesus feeds 5,000 men (plus women and children).  He leaves, and the next day the people find Him and He rebukes them by stating the only reason they came to him was for food (vs. 26).  He then tells them the food they ought to labor for is the food that endures to eternal life (vs.27).  The crowd replies with “What labor should we do so that we can eat that food?” (vs.28).  In verse 29 Jesus replies, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

WHAT?!?!?!?  That’s it?  Just believe!  This is “the work of God” according to Jesus that allows for the believer to eat food that gives eternal life.  YES!  It is the work that God the Father has given us to do.  If you continue in the chapter, Jesus then equates the daily manna that was needed for life and strength for each day to His flesh and blood.  He then instructs that we must also daily feed on Him by believing in Him (vs. 33, 35). In other words, THE work the Father has given to us is to daily believe that what Jesus has accomplished in His flesh (vs.51) is the power of God to nourish us into maturity.

Argument 2

In John 15 Jesus teaches His disciples that they can accomplish nothing.  But if they abide in Jesus they will actually bear much fruit!  This is truly awesome but we often miss how incredible this statement is because we want to bear much fruit.  And we know the way to do that is by abiding in Jesus. BUT no one ever tells how to abide! So we leave discouraged and not helped.  We end up going back to just trying harder and adding more disciplines or rules.  Not because we want to, but because we don’t really know what else to do. However, Jesus has not left us in the dark as to what abiding in Jesus Christ means.  If we go back to John 6:56 he says, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”

Do you remember from above how we feed on Jesus?  By believing on Him (John 6:35).  So if we believe in Jesus we are abiding in Jesus.  Thus, according to Jesus, if we trust in Him we will bear much fruit!  I think that is incredibly comforting and really cool!  Don’t you?!

Hang with me.  I know this is getting long but allow me to go to John 15 and quote to you some of the verses instructing us to “abide” and substitute the words “trust”,”confidence”, and “believe”.

“Trust in me.  As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it trust in the vine, neither can you, unless you have confidence in me.”

“I am the vine; and you are the branches.  Whoever believes in me, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

“If anyone does not trust in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers…”

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Believe in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will trust in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and have confidence in his love.”

Isn’t John 15 so powerful when we understand what Jesus is really calling us to?

—I have more reasons for why I believe that trusting in the Gospel is the way to holiness but I will refrain. Instead I will leave an invitation for those who want more reasons to personally ask me.—-

I know many are interested in where this is going but are still wondering what this looks like very practically.  That’s OK, because that’s what this series is setting to accomplish.  The following post will be dealing with very common life situations and what it means for us to trust in the Gospel for everyday living.

Blessings,

Stephen

“This is War!” – Paul David Washer

This video was a blessing to me.  It has me stirred within me a fresh passion to glorify my God in all I do!

Blessings,

Stephen