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Longing for Jesus’ Reign…

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I feel like Spurgeon, who in this letter to his father from September 19, 1850 said:

Yes, where Jesus comes, He comes to reign: how I wish He would reign more in my heart; then I might hope that every atom of self, self-confidence, and self-righteousness, would be quite swept out of my soul. I am sure I long for the time when all evil affections, corrupt desires, and rebellious, doubting thoughts shall be overcome, and completely crushed beneath the Prince’s feet, and my whole soul be made pure and holy. But so long as I am engaged within this house of clay, I know they will lurk about, and I must have hard fighting through the victory by grace is sure. Praying is the best fighting; nothing else will keep them down.
– Spurgeon’s Autobiography (Volume 1, p.189)

I read this and felt like it was another restatement of what we looked at this morning and thought you might enjoy it.

Put It To Death!

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Today’s sermon is now online. In it, we look at Peter’s denial from Mark 14:66-72. Gotten some good feedback and how this made our battle with sin and temptation come alive, so thanks for that. Some might wonder about that quote from Sinclair Ferguson on killing sin I alluded to in discussing the way sin seeks to master us from Genesis 4:6-7. You can find the quote here. Hope you have a good week fighting sin and temptation to the glory of God.

Some trust in horses, some in chariots, but…

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we will trust in the name of our God (so goes Psalm 20:7). In doing sermon prep for this coming Lord’s day, I’m working through Hosea 5 and came down to v.13 which says, “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king. But he is not able to cure you or heal your wound.” Seems kind of staggering doesn’t it? I mean picture that, the God who had done so much for these people to redeem them, rescue them, stand by them, was abandoned for a foreign king when the stress was high.

You may think that you would never be guilty of such a thing, but to what idols do you run when things are tough? Maybe you are stressed so you run after chocolate, a stiff drink, a friend who will listen to your gossip, or you simply take out your stress on your friends and family. We do the same thing: we run after other kings to help us.

Here’s a course, though – God’s Word tells us that the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous man runs into it and is safe (Proverbs 18:10). Next time the stress is building, don’t compound your problems by running after things that won’t help. Turn to the name of the Lord — the very embodiment of all that He is and does. Run to Him. Find safety and rest for your soul there.

Fight Sin…

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Somehow yesterday’s AM Sermon and PM sermon came together. The over-arching thrust of both messages was how we should strive to be holy.

In the AM, we were looking at Jesus in Gethsemane from Mark 14:32-42. Jesus was the model of spiritual strength, submitting to the Father’s will and demonstrating humility in His actions. Meanwhile, the disciples were asleep. Jesus encouraged them to “watch and pray” that they might not enter into temptation. The word “watch” speaks of a diligence or a passion to stay alert. We must exercise some passion in our striving to be holy.

In the PM, God had a contention with His people due to their adultery and wickedness in Hosea 4:1-19. They had forsaken Him. The leadership failed to direct the people to holiness. Men had failed to take leadership in their homes. God was going to punish the people to warn Judah from the same plight. Holiness was not the direction of the people, therefore, they were languishing in wickedness.

This weekend inspired my passion to strive to be holy. Hope that is the case for you as well.

How Will Your Practice of Thanksgiving Be Distinct?

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This is the question my friend Brad Russell asked me on the phone a few minutes ago. He was on a good roll. It went something like this: “Picture the typical Christian family’s celebration of Thanksgiving. As this is described, ask yourself, ‘How is this any different than the world?’ We will get together with family, some of whom might be annoying. We will sit down and pray over the meal, maybe discuss some things we’re thankful for, eat until we’re stuffed. The ladies will head off to the kitchen to clean up. The men will head off to watch the game. Children will go to play. Then we will go home and be done. So, how is it any different?”

Some may object, well, the prayer will be more God-centered. Ok, but that should be happening year round. Some will say, when we give thanks for the good things God’s done, the glory goes to Him, and lost people aren’t oriented that way. Sure. Some aren’t. Lost people get stuff though and have reasons for giving thanks. What makes our celebration of this holiday distinct?

As a church, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend:

Friday Night at HomeWord, we will be discussing what should motivate our roles in marriage and one of the foundation motivations (according to Colossians 3) is thankfulness.

Sunday Morning Worship, we will be exploring Isaiah 12 and hear a call to thankfulness from God Himself. We will also celebrate thankfulness in remembering the Lord’s work on the cross for us through the Lord’s Supper.

Sunday Evening Dinner, we will join together for a meal and share what God has done in the life of our church, expressing thankfulness to God.

So, join us this weekend for this and let’s seek to make our practice of Thanksgiving distinct and utterly Christ-exalting.

“All Change Is Not Sanctification…”

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…says Stuart Scott, in a Pastoral Counseling class the elders are viewing. We can easily confuse a change in life for a progression in holiness. But what sets sanctification (our pursuit of holiness) in a class by itself is the truth that it exists to make us more like Jesus Christ. Looking more like Jesus is Biblical change and, thus, true sanctification.