18 years ago today, nearly 3,000 people stepped into eternity.
How many of those people were ready to take their last breath on this side and their first breath on the other?
Are you ready? Have you been cut to the heart because of your sin, which is a stench in the nostrils of a holy God?
Have you cried out to this holy God, falling at the foot of the cross, confessing your sin, pleading for forgiveness, acknowledging that there is nothing of any worth inside of you that should merit His favor save for His marvelous grace?
We are all, every one of us, a sinner. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). None of us are righteous in God's eyes. "None is righteous, no not one" (Romans 3:10). No one is "good". "All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one" (Romans 3:12). Because we are sinners deserving God's just wrath, we need a Savior. If we wish to escape what every one of us deserve because of our sin, we need a Savior. And we have one. "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6). "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ" (Ephesians 2:4-5). "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" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
"The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent." (Acts 17:30)
"...Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel'" (Mark 1:14-15).
If you have not done this, do it this day.
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Sovereign Over All or Not Sovereign At All
Pain and suffering...
Disaster and heartbreak...
Death and loss...
These things are, sadly, a part of life. These things WILL come. They will knock on the door of life and barge in like a Jehovah's Witness on a Saturday morning. It is not a matter of IF. It is simply a matter of when.
These events are not random. There is a God who sits on His throne in heaven, orchestrating what takes place in our lives, both good and bad. As the late R.C. Sproul said, "If there is one maverick molecule in all the universe then God is not sovereign. And if God is not sovereign, He is not God." What he is saying is that if God is not in control of the most minute detail in all the universe, a molecule, then God is not in control of anything. And that would mean God is not God.
A lot of Christians will readily accept any good that comes from God but will balk at the idea that God would send, or even allow, trouble. They immediately pass that off as an attack by the devil, which may be altogether true. But, the truth is that the devil has no power that he hasn't been given by God. He can do nothing outside of being on a leash. God controls Satan.
I want to share two examples...one here today and one next time. One is from the Scripture. One is personal. One shows God sending trouble. One shows God allowing trouble. Both end with God and His glory being magnified.
Job was "blameless and upright". He "feared God and turned away from evil" (Job 1:1). Satan presented himself before the LORD (1:6). The LORD asked Satan, "From where have you come?" (1:7). Satan answered, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it" (1:7). Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job?" (1:8). Let's take a look at that for a second. What is happening here? God knows what Satan has been doing. He created him. He knows that Satan has been roaming the earth, looking for someone to attack and destroy. In the New Testament we have further confirmation that this is what Satan does. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
God knows His servant, Job. He knows he is upright and blameless and that he fears Him. The LORD also know Satan and his schemes. Knowing these things, He basically gives Job over to the devil but the devil is not impressed. He asks, "Does Job fear God for nothing" and then gives a litany of reasons for Job to trust God (1:9). He then tells God to touch all Job has and he would curse God to his face (1:11). God tells Satan that everything Job has is in his hands; only do not touch Job himself (1:12).
The devil goes to work, taking Job's possessions, his servants, his animals and, ultimately, his children (1:13-20). Job reacted in this way. He tore his robe, shaved his head, fell to the ground and worshipped. He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD" (1:20-21). Job did not sin or blame God for any of this (1:22).
Some time in the future, the Bible does not specify how much time had elapsed, the same thing takes place in heaven. Satan came in, God asks where from, Satan says from wandering around and God asks if he had considered Job. God says, "He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason" (2:3). Satan then says to God, basically, that a man will give up his possessions for his life. "But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face" (2:5). God says, "Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life" (2:6).
Satan left the LORD and struck Job with horrible sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Job had a piece of broken pottery to scrape his sores (2:7-8). Job's wife said, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die" (2:9). Job politely told her to be quiet, that she was talking like a fool, and said this, "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" (2:10). In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.
There is a bunch to take away from this. But, for the purpose of this post, we are going to focus on God's sovereignty and Job's response to it. God told Satan what he could and could not do in both cases. The 1st time, Satan could do what he wanted without harming Job. The 2nd time he could do what he wanted to Job, sparing Job's life. God ordained that. God set the boundaries. Also, notice this at the end of verses 1:12 and 2:7 after God had told Satan what he could and couldn't do..."So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD." Satan didn't leave until God had given him his marching orders. Satan was like a private in boot camp, waiting for the drill instructor to dismiss him. He is under God's control. Make no mistake about that. Far too many Christians give the devil far too much power. He does have power. He is a powerful being. He cannot wield this power if he is not allowed to do so. Satan is not sovereign. God almighty is.
Not a lot is said about Job in these first couple of chapters. We are told he is blameless and upright. We are told in chapter 1 that he made sacrifices for his children in case they had sinned and "cursed God in their hearts" (1:5). But, most importantly to us here, he acknowledged God behind the terrible things that had taken place in his life. He said God gives and takes away. Blessed be His name. He said shall we take good from God and not evil? Those statements are a recognition that God is behind everything that happens to us. God is sovereign over all.
This is enough to chew on for now. Some people may not have thought about God's sovereignty like this before. Some people may not like what they have read. I can hear people saying something like this, "That's not my god". And, they would be right because their god is an idol, made up in the idol factory of their own heart. He is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is sovereign and in control.
If you have a problem with this, ask God in prayer to give you understanding. Believe me, this is not something that my wife and I had been taught or would've believed. But it is something we had to come to grips with because this concept hit us right where we live. That is for next time...
Disaster and heartbreak...
Death and loss...
These things are, sadly, a part of life. These things WILL come. They will knock on the door of life and barge in like a Jehovah's Witness on a Saturday morning. It is not a matter of IF. It is simply a matter of when.
These events are not random. There is a God who sits on His throne in heaven, orchestrating what takes place in our lives, both good and bad. As the late R.C. Sproul said, "If there is one maverick molecule in all the universe then God is not sovereign. And if God is not sovereign, He is not God." What he is saying is that if God is not in control of the most minute detail in all the universe, a molecule, then God is not in control of anything. And that would mean God is not God.
A lot of Christians will readily accept any good that comes from God but will balk at the idea that God would send, or even allow, trouble. They immediately pass that off as an attack by the devil, which may be altogether true. But, the truth is that the devil has no power that he hasn't been given by God. He can do nothing outside of being on a leash. God controls Satan.
I want to share two examples...one here today and one next time. One is from the Scripture. One is personal. One shows God sending trouble. One shows God allowing trouble. Both end with God and His glory being magnified.
Job was "blameless and upright". He "feared God and turned away from evil" (Job 1:1). Satan presented himself before the LORD (1:6). The LORD asked Satan, "From where have you come?" (1:7). Satan answered, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it" (1:7). Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job?" (1:8). Let's take a look at that for a second. What is happening here? God knows what Satan has been doing. He created him. He knows that Satan has been roaming the earth, looking for someone to attack and destroy. In the New Testament we have further confirmation that this is what Satan does. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
God knows His servant, Job. He knows he is upright and blameless and that he fears Him. The LORD also know Satan and his schemes. Knowing these things, He basically gives Job over to the devil but the devil is not impressed. He asks, "Does Job fear God for nothing" and then gives a litany of reasons for Job to trust God (1:9). He then tells God to touch all Job has and he would curse God to his face (1:11). God tells Satan that everything Job has is in his hands; only do not touch Job himself (1:12).
The devil goes to work, taking Job's possessions, his servants, his animals and, ultimately, his children (1:13-20). Job reacted in this way. He tore his robe, shaved his head, fell to the ground and worshipped. He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD" (1:20-21). Job did not sin or blame God for any of this (1:22).
Some time in the future, the Bible does not specify how much time had elapsed, the same thing takes place in heaven. Satan came in, God asks where from, Satan says from wandering around and God asks if he had considered Job. God says, "He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason" (2:3). Satan then says to God, basically, that a man will give up his possessions for his life. "But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face" (2:5). God says, "Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life" (2:6).
Satan left the LORD and struck Job with horrible sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Job had a piece of broken pottery to scrape his sores (2:7-8). Job's wife said, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die" (2:9). Job politely told her to be quiet, that she was talking like a fool, and said this, "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" (2:10). In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.
There is a bunch to take away from this. But, for the purpose of this post, we are going to focus on God's sovereignty and Job's response to it. God told Satan what he could and could not do in both cases. The 1st time, Satan could do what he wanted without harming Job. The 2nd time he could do what he wanted to Job, sparing Job's life. God ordained that. God set the boundaries. Also, notice this at the end of verses 1:12 and 2:7 after God had told Satan what he could and couldn't do..."So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD." Satan didn't leave until God had given him his marching orders. Satan was like a private in boot camp, waiting for the drill instructor to dismiss him. He is under God's control. Make no mistake about that. Far too many Christians give the devil far too much power. He does have power. He is a powerful being. He cannot wield this power if he is not allowed to do so. Satan is not sovereign. God almighty is.
Not a lot is said about Job in these first couple of chapters. We are told he is blameless and upright. We are told in chapter 1 that he made sacrifices for his children in case they had sinned and "cursed God in their hearts" (1:5). But, most importantly to us here, he acknowledged God behind the terrible things that had taken place in his life. He said God gives and takes away. Blessed be His name. He said shall we take good from God and not evil? Those statements are a recognition that God is behind everything that happens to us. God is sovereign over all.
This is enough to chew on for now. Some people may not have thought about God's sovereignty like this before. Some people may not like what they have read. I can hear people saying something like this, "That's not my god". And, they would be right because their god is an idol, made up in the idol factory of their own heart. He is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is sovereign and in control.
If you have a problem with this, ask God in prayer to give you understanding. Believe me, this is not something that my wife and I had been taught or would've believed. But it is something we had to come to grips with because this concept hit us right where we live. That is for next time...
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