Review of Body Broken by Charles D. Drew

When I first picked up this book I cringed a little. Not because I didn’t like the catchy cover photo or the title, it was more the subtitle that got me. The subtitle is: “Can Republicans and Democrats Sit in the Same Pew?” The reason for my cringing on a subtitle like this is that I live in Canada. We don’t have Republicans and Democrats. In fact we don’t cloak our political leanings with fancy names; we’re a little more blunt (how unCanadian). For most of Canada’s existence there has been two main political entities: the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party.

Once my initial aversion was overcome, however, I began to read Charles Drew’s book. To my delight and surprise, he doesn’t only focus on the issues that matter to American voters (although he does speak to them). His words cross the border into Canada and affect our political situation as well.

Anywhere you have people who disagree on issues related to politics, community, governance and law, you usually have a Republican/Democrat divide. Drew’s appeal in the book is not that we abandon our conservative or liberal leanings, but that we begin to listen to each other and learn about each other. It’s a great idea.

I did get a little frustrated at Drew’s lack of engagement on particular issues. For instance, a couple of times in the book he says that certain problems – which he brings up – are “outside the scope of this book.” I was hoping to see how his plea for dialogue and understanding might actually look when applied to a thorny political issue.

However, the book serves as a great primer for a conversation on how the left and right treat each other. My prayer is that it will open gospel-centered conversations between those who lean in different political directions. There are none so deaf, after all, as those who refuse to hear.

The Challenge of Praying

Sometimes it is hard to get any praying done…you hardly have a chance to pray and someone is looking for you. In the previous verses, Jesus had risen early in the morning, walked alone to a quiet place and was praying there to his Father. But when his disciples get up, they start looking for him (Mark 1:36). No sooner are you being refreshed in the presence of God and here come your friends – demand, demand, demand. That’s how Simon frames it…everyone is looking for you.

I read a subtle jab from Simon in these words.
“Lord – what are you doing out here praying?”
“What do you mean by taking time for you to pray to your father.”
“Don’t you know there are pressing ministry demands here?”
“There are things to do, people to see”
Why is it that prayer is one of the first spiritual disciplines to fall off the list when there are things to do? Prayer seems to be an expendable practice. Is this not true in your life? You could read if you were called upon to do so. You could watch a DVD if that was required, you could visit with friends, catch a nap, go fishing, do just about anything. But pray? Sure, I’ll get to that – eventually.

But, prayer should not be optional. Prayer should not be expendable. Praying should not only happen when it is convenient. As you read through the life of Jesus in Mark, you are going to see that prayer was critical. Jesus carves out the time to pray. In fact, he will sometimes ignore pressing needs to get praying done. Not always. But often. Learn the lesson here. Don’t be a Simon. In Simon’s world people won out over prayer any day. Busyness with people won out over solitude with the father every time. But with Jesus prayer was a legitimate form of ministry, and an essential ingredient in successful ministry. Remember that sometimes, prayer is more needful than ministry to people!

Review of Loving Well (Even if You Haven’t Been) by William Smith

Smith’s book was released in 2012 by New Growth Press. I saw it advertised, wanted to buy it, but had other financial priorities at the time. Then, one day a package arrived on my desk addressed for our former assistant pastor, John Banks. I contacted him and asked him what he wanted me to do. He said to go ahead and open the books, and see what they were. Smith’s book was one of them. He told me to keep them and contact New Growth Press and see if they wanted the books back. So I did. They told me that as long as I promised to blog about them, I could keep them.

First, let me say a hearty thanks to New Growth Press. I buy nearly everything they publish and read it. But it was nice to get the freebies! Second of all, let me tell you I love this book! Now let me explain why.

William Smith has done us all a favor by reminding us of the need we have to love. Even if our experience of human love has been deficient, our experience of divine love has not. This encourages us to press on in loving others well. I particularly enjoyed the frank reality of chapter 5 on longsuffering love. Anytime I read an author who says, “Nearly two years later, their marriage fell apart again. Life is like that, isn’t it? Very few of us – none of us – live fairy-tale endings (page 70)” I know I am in the presence of someone who has experienced the sting of counseling relationships that don’t end well. The honesty is refreshing, and this book is saturated with it. When the ideal is being upheld, you are told so. When the grit of grace is required, you’re told so. That connected with me.

Smith’s words speak truth, minister grace; provide hope and give biblical insight into how love reaches operates in our lives into the lives of others. If you have not yet read this book you should. If it is on your list, but not at or near the top, it should be. It will help you to show Christ’s love to others as he showed it to you.

The Story of Death

As far as stories go, this is a difficult one to listen to. It is a story with a happy ending, that’s true, but the actual story itself is still difficult to hear. The story I am going to tell you is the story of planet earth. It involves the people of planet earth, the animals of planet earth, the trees and vegetation of planet earth; it is a story that involves the entire created order. It’s a story that touches all the earth at all times and through all time. This story touches everything. It’s even a story that touches God himself. What is the story? It’s the story of death.

The story of death begins when time begins. God, a good, kind, loving and righteous creator makes a perfect world out of nothing. Into this world he sets, among other things, the only thing he creates which is made in his image. It’s two people, a man and a woman. Adam and Eve. He places Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, a lush, vibrant garden full of every kind of vegetation imaginable. Succulent fruit trees, fragrant blossoms and flowers colored so brilliantly that they likely defied description. This garden was an amazing place. Adam and Eve are presented with this garden and told that they may live in it. It is their home. Perfectly climate controlled, beautiful to look at, enough plants and fruits and vegetables to feed them for a life time. They could live rent free, only they are asked to tend the garden, to keep it, to make it look as good as possible.

Now, our two protagonists are only given one rule. The rule is simple. In the middle of the garden there is a tree. They are told that of all the trees in the garden they may eat, but they may not eat of one. One solitary tree in the midst of a forest of trees. Its fruit is forbidden. Attached to that command – that directive from God that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil may not be eaten – is a consequence. If you eat of it – the moment you eat of it, you will die. We are hardly introduced to the main characters in the story, we are hardly at home in the garden of Eden – we have hardly started reading our bible and we hear the word. Death. There it is, the first time it is mentioned in the Bible is in the second chapter of the first book.

But it’s not the last time it get mentioned. Not by a long shot. In fact death dominates the pages of the Bible. The word die appears 462 times, the word died appears 189 times, the word death appears 346 times, the word dead appears 338 times, for a grand total of 1335 times the word death or one of its cognates appears in the Bible. My Thomas Nelson King James Bible only has 1044 pages, so do the math. Death appears more than an average of one time on every page of the Bible. It’s one of the Bibles dominant themes. People die. Vegetation dies. The stain and stench of death is everywhere in the Bible.

All because that original couple, the couple God created to fill the earth with people and to enjoy him forever, the original couple broke the one rule God gave them and plunged the world into sin. When that happened – look how Romans 5:12 puts it, death passed upon all men. Everyone is affected. Because of sin, death arrives into God’s creation. Death remember is the consequence for sin. And according to Rom.3:23, everyone sins. And so, death marches through the pages of human history with relentless monotony. The main characters of the Bible they die. Adam dies in Gen.5:5; Noah dies in Gen.9:29; Abraham dies in Gen.25:8; Isaac dies in Gen.35:29; Jacob dies in Gen.49:33; King David dies in 1 Kings 2:10. Like a song you get stuck in your head and can’t get it out, death is never far from our thoughts when we read the Bible. Each verse of the song of someone’s life may sound different, but the chorus is still the same. He lived to be this old, and he died. She lived to be this many years, and she died, Death, death, death. According to Hebrews 2:15, it holds all of us captive through fear. Even the central figure of all human history, the person of Jesus Christ, he comes to earth and guess what – he dies too.

But his death is unique. Not because it was on a cross – many people throughout history have died on a cross. Not because his death was painful – many people have died a painful death. Not even because of when or where it occurs, because death is no respecter of persons or places, Rich die and poor die. People die in slums, they die in mansions. That’s just the way it is. Jesus death is unique because for the first time in human history, someone dies not because of sin, but for sin. Jesus dies not because he deserves it, but because you did. According to Heb.2:9 he tasted death for everyman. Jesus death is not because of Jesus sin, because he did no sin (2 Cor.5:21). Jesus death is for your sin (Rom.6:10). Jesus dies like everyone else dies, but his death is different because of why he died. He died for you. He died for me. And his death is the way to life.

His death for us is our escape from death.

You can listen to this sermon here: http://www.fundamentalbaptistchurch.org/media.php?pageID=10

Pastor Herb

Taste and See

Every Psalm was written in a particular circumstance. Sometimes they are written during a particular circumstance, sometimes after the circumstance is over. There is something about a change in circumstances or a period of extended reflection that makes the heart poetic. Sometimes, however, we are surprised to read psalms the context of which is not consistent with the circumstances in which it was written. Consider Psalm 34 as a case in point.
As David rose to kingship of Israel, he was chased by the reigning king Saul who hoped to take his life. On one such occasion David fled to Achish the king of the Philistines. But, when he gets there, one of the servants of Achish relates to the king how David is revered in song for his military exploits (1 Sam.21:10). Apparently it’s one thing to have a political refugee seek help from a foreign government. It’s something else to have a trained military assassin residing in the palace. Fearing for his life, David pretends to be insane. He spends his day scratching the doors of the gate and drooling onto his beard (v.13). Apparently, Achish the king already had enough insanity among his own people (v.15), so he banishes David.
David then goes from Gath to the cave of Addulam. Once there, he is met by a group of misfits who gather to him and anticipate he will be their ruler 1 Sam.22:2. During this time, a time of fear, uncertainty, and then the arrival of every miscreant Israel had to offer, David writes the words of Psalm 34. Remember – sometimes the content of a psalm doesn’t match with the context in which it was written…Listen to the words of Psalm 34:1-8 with the circumstances of David in mind.

I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

This psalm oozes praise and worship. David’s circumstances have not affected his ability to sing God’s praises. Too bad they so often do with us. David says something in these verses that has captured my attention and which I think connects us directly to the Lord’s Table. In v.8 David calls for the reader to taste and see.
Taste is a wonderful sense isn’t it. Think about good food. I don’t mean the kind that comes mass produced out of a box, laden with salt and every kind of edible chemical compound known to man. I’m not talking about food with the first ingredient as Sodium Glutamate or food that has ten different ingredients none of which have less than fifteen letters. I’m talking about good food. Real food. Food that you perhaps grew yourself. Think about those foods. Taste is a blessing from a good God. After all, food is simply fuel. You need food to fuel the processes of your body. So, it is possible that God could have simply made people without the sense of taste, and make one kind of food, something that looked like oatmeal, which was tasteless and then ask us to live on that. But God doesn’t do that. He fills the earth with an abundance of plants and animals and tells us that they are for us to enjoy (1 Tim.6:17; 4:4). Notice – enjoy. Not just to fuel our bodies but to enjoy. The sense of taste is a gift from a good God.
Now David wants you to taste God. Don’t rush this experience. Don’t think about the next activity, the next worry, the next crisis. Relax. Sit, take a deep breath. You have time. Now, taste. Allow the flavours of God’s goodness to fill your soul. Let the rich textures of his grace, the sweetness of his mercy the bitterness of his wrath sit on the soul’s taste buds so that you experience all the fullness of who God is.
This bread is a way for you to do that. As you put it in your mouth, allow to sit on your tongue before you chew it. While it sits there and the unusual flavour of a cracker baked with no yeast fills your mouth, think about this – what was it like to be beaten? What was it like to be whipped? What would it be like to have your body torn? The juice is no less potent, no less tasteful. As you drink the juice, don’t gulp it down. Let the liquid fill your mouth. Swish it around. What was did it taste like to have your mouth fill with blood as you were struck on the face? What was it like to have the sweat of exertion run down your forehead and into your open mouth. What was it like to have vinegar placed in your mouth – sour, pungent, acrid taste as you hung on the cross. Don’t rush this. Moments with the Master are meant to be savoured. Even the difficult ones.
As the taste of the bread and the juice lingers, remember that you are told here to taste and see. You are to see. Sight too is a wonderful gift. God has filled the earth with light, with contrasts, with darks and whites, with shades of color that defy description. Drink in the sight. Look at what God has made. He could have made everything grey. He could have filled the sky with dullness, and coloured everything in monochrome. But he didn’t. Sometimes God does things for glory and for beauty (Ex.28:2, 40). See the colours of his world and rejoice in what he has done. God has created in Technicolor.
But now look at what is in your hand. A small piece of cracker, a small cup of juice. These things which you can see burn visually into your mind the realities of the cross. a broken body. Look at the broken cracker, When we see its jagged edges our minds are taken to the bruising he received (Isa.53:3). We cannot look at the broken cracker, see its condition and not be drawn into this contemplation – Jesus did this. It was real, visual. If seeing is believing, then see and believe. Jesus, the divine son of God in human flesh really did die. He really did suffer. See it and believe it.
Look at the cup. The deep rich purples of grape juice and the scarlet tinge remind us of blood. Shed blood, spilled blood. Blood that drained from his body through the lashings he received. Blood that poured from his side (John 19:34). Look at it! – It is designed to connect you in a sensory way to what happened to Jesus. Blood spilled out and life left him.
But in all your looking, remember the point. You taste and you see the goodness of God. The gospel says that we look on Christ’s suffering and we see God’s goodness. We look on him whom we have pierced. And we know this was for us. This is how we see the goodness of God in the darkness of the cross. This was not a waste. This was not a death died in vain. For in his death he brings many sons to glory (Heb.2:10). Jesus death – taste it and see it – it was for you. To redeem you. God’s wrath over your sin poured out on a substitute. A perfect lamb – the lamb of God who takes away sin. Do you taste God’s goodness yet? Do you see God’s goodness yet? You were lost, condemned, full of sin. You hated God and you proved your hatred by doing things contrary to his law (Col.1:21). Do not think of your own goodness – do not protest your own innocence. You were guilty by nature and by choice; you offended the God of the universe; you rebelled against him and the cross, the broken body of Jesus and the shed blood of Jesus demonstrate the consequence of your sin. Now, taste and see God’s goodness. The goodness of God is best displayed at the cross. So taste, my friend, and see my friend. When you taste and see the goodness of God, you will not be disappointed.

Been Thinking About Faithfulness…

Nehemiah had a big job. He was planning to rebuild the wall that surrounded the city of Jerusalem. He overcomes the obstacle of opposition to get the job done. Nehemiah deals with two kinds of opposition. First, his enemies in chapter 6 send him letters and request a meeting, but he knows they intend to entrap him and distract him. I find this kind of opposition to be prominent nowadays. There is always some distraction. Distractions are nothing more than a form of opposition to the work of God.

Also in chapter 6 you see that Nehemiah’s enemies spread rumours about him. The rumour, circulated through means of an open letter, insinuate that the Jews only intend to build a fortified city so that they might rebel. This is plainly false, but that does not matter to Nehemiah’s enemies. Untrue rumours are also a form of opposition. Rumours discourage people and cause them to get off track. Don’t allow the opposition of untrue rumour or the opposition of distraction keep you from doing what God wants you to do.

Nehemiah perseveres however, and he finishes the wall (Neh.6:15). With the task complete, Nehemiah sets out to leave some people in charge of the city, to guard it and to watch over it, in case it comes under attack. Who does Nehemiah choose? Well, in Neh.7:1 we learn that two men are chosen. One is Hannani, the other Hannaniah, the ruler of the palace. Why were these men chosen and not the other men who were there in Jerusalem? Well, one of them had connection to Nehemiah – in fact it was his bother. We are also told that the other man was well connected politically, perhaps having some influence in the palace. But these are not the reasons the men were chosen. They were faithful and they feared God (that’s what 7:2 says) they were. Sometimes it would be good to look at both of these phrases, but tonight I want to not only one – they were faithful. These are the kind of people Nehemiah wanted. Why? Because faithful men are men you can count on. Men that do not leave when things are tough. Men who don’t get disinterested when things get boring. Men who do not get distracted by other possibilities. Faithful men and faithful women stick with it. They see a job through to completion. They can be counted on.

That’s why one of the requirements of stewards is that they be found faithful. In 1 Corinthians 4, Paul says that stewards have this call to faithfulness. The word steward is not a word we use much nowadays except to refer to someone who serves you drinks on an airplane. But the word steward is one that means manager or administrator. You see, you and I have been given a task by God. We have a gospel to share, we have a priceless treasure in an earthen vessel (2 Cor.4:7), so that we will go and share the good news of Christ with others. This management responsibility is governed by one particular need. You must be found faithful. In fact, faithfulness is a requirement for those who are managers called of God. Every Christian has a job to do – but it will only be the faithful ones who get it done. After all, aren’t these words the words the very words which we long to hear one day from Jesus (Matt.25:21)?

Faithfulness is not something that you wake up one day and discover you have. It is not something that magically appears. It is not necessarily a trait that is passed down through the genes. Faithfulness is developed daily. Essentially faithfulness is prolonged obedience. It is a daily decision to follow God and do what he says. I daily die to sin, I daily die to self. I make a decision each day to do what God tells me to do. Too many believers try to be faithful with a onetime decision that has some lifelong impact. I don’t believe faithfulness works that way. Each day I determine to walk by faith. Each day I recognize my need for God and dependence on him. Each day I commit to doing what he has asked. I don’t try to achieve life long faithfulness with a single decision. I just get up in the morning, look to God for strength for the day (Matt.6:25), and then I proceed in obedience throughout my day. Faithfulness is a lifetime of daily obedience’s.

Exploring the Glories of the Gospel – Holiness

God is Holy. But what is holiness? Holiness, simply defined is sacredness. Something set apart from that which is common and usual. Something separate from the normal. And this is God. God is holy. He is sacred, set apart from us. We are not God, and God is not us (Num.23:19). He is different from us, completely and totally “other.”

God is so pure, he cannot even look on sin or tolerate it in his presence (Hab.1:13). So, we need holiness to see God (Heb.12:14). We need holiness to relate to God.

This call to holiness can be seen in Old Testament worship. When you came to the tabernacle or the temple to worship and saw the priest, you would have seen, emblazoned on the gold band which encircled his forehead the Hebrew words, qodesh l’yahovah. The words, translated from Hebrew mean, “Holiness unto the Lord.” You couldn’t really escape this pervasive message in tabernacle worship. God was Holy – and you weren’t.

Even the temple furniture communicated God’s holiness. For instance, there was an enormous basin in the tabernacle courtyard which was used for the washing (2 Chr.4:1ff). Why was it there? Well it was there partly because there were washings required so that worshippers would be ceremonially clean to participate in the particular act of worship that they were supposed to undertake. The worshipper washed, the sacrifice was sometimes washed, and the priest washed (2 Chr.4:6). The message was incessant…God is holy, you are not, God has a standard of holiness, and you must meet that standard if you hope to have his worship accepted of you.

The problem as every Jew knew was that holiness did not last. If you touched something unclean, then you became unclean (Lev.5:2). Men or women. But women felt this more acutely. According to v.19ff Menstruating women were considered unclean. Men who touched menstruating women were considered unclean. Objects that menstruating women sat on were considered unclean. You see, unholiness, uncleanness and impurity always flowed out in the Old Testament.

This is why people took such care in the New Testament too. Remember the story of the Good Samaritan? Why did the Priest and the Levite pass by the man who was beaten on the other side of the road? Because you couldn’t touch someone who was a bloody mess and still be clean. What if he was dead? Defilement that came from touching a dead body would last for days. No priest would risk that. So, rather than be defiled so that they were rendered unholy for worship, they simply passed by.

And so holiness was always something you needed but didn’t have. It was a constant challenge and a struggle to stay clean and pure – to maintain holiness. Especially considering that ungodliness, uncleanness flows out from the unclean and stains everyone who comes in contact with it.

But with Jesus, all this changes. How does it change? Consider the woman in Luke 8. In v.43 we are introduced to her. She has an issue of blood. This meant one thing. For 12 years this woman has been unclean. Unholy. Unable to come to God. She knows this and she has spared no expense in trying to find a diagnosis and cure. The doctors have bankrupted her. She is desperate. Since she is unclean she carefully comes and sees to it that she has a chance just to touch him. And what happens? Well, we should expect – every Jew would have expected it – that now Jesus is made unclean. But that’s not what happens is it? Virtue goes out from Jesus. Because Jesus makes what is impure pure. Jesus makes what is unacceptable to God acceptable to God. Holiness flows out from Jesus.

Who cares, you ask? Well you should. You need holiness to see God. In your sinful fallen state you need cleansing so you can stand before God. How can you possibly get that? You aren’t holy enough to come to God. You aren’t holy enough to have God look on you with favour, but there is one who is. It’s Jesus. He gave himself for you, so that you can be made clean. The stain of your sin which renders you unholy and unfit to meet with God can be cleansed by Christ and you can be declared righteous! (Rom.3:22ff; 1 Peter 2:5). So, come and accept him and be cleansed. His purity flows out, sweeping away the unholiness that is true of you and allowing you to stand – as a result of his holiness in the presence of God.

A Pastoral Admission

Hi. My name is Herb and I am an approval addict.

There, I said it. Admitting you have a problem is the first step in solving it. So, I admitted that I crave the approval of people too much.

This adduction has cause me to respond in unhealthy ways to the news that someone wants to meet with me. You know how it works. Someone casually walks over to you and tells you they would like to get together to talk; or they would like to meet to discuss concerns they have. Suddenly your stomach tightens. You feel lightheaded. Your mind begins racing through anything you possibly could have done to make this person upset with you.

If you’re like me, you immediately begin imagining apocalyptic scenarios where rumours about you spread and the church empties of people within a week. You do a mental run through on every conversation you had in the past month.  You agonize over every possible conversational blunder you might have made in the past month. In extreme cases, your hands get clammy. Your antiperspirant stops working. You want to go hide.

And yet, you know you can’t. You know that conversations in the past have all ended well. You have a track record of working through problems and dealing fairly with people. Even when those difficult conversations happen, you have found that in the past they have not been as bad as you thought they might be. And yet…you fret. Maybe I’m the only one this ever happens to, but I don’t think so.

Now, in the midst of my struggle with approval addiction, insert the passage found in Matthew 12:10 (and the few verses that follow it). Jesus is at the synagogue. It is the synagogue, according to Matthew 12:9 where some of the Pharisees that had dogged him earlier in the passage attended each Sabbath day. Jesus went to the place where those who opposed him were. Wow. I would have avoided their synagogue. Not Jesus. He never passes up an opportunity to teach and do well. So, Jesus goes. We learn that there is also in that congregation a man with a withered hand. Don’t know what that means exactly, but this man had some kind of physical deformity in one of his hands that was noticeable to everyone. The Pharisees know it and ask Jesus if it lawful to heal on the Sabbath.

Now, this is the “I need to meet with you” statement for me. The Pharisees are ill intentioned, and so they ask Jesus if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath. Their beady, self righteous glares are designed to make Jesus feel uncomfortable. Doesn’t he know that he will be departing with established religious traditions? Doesn’t he know that he will be trampling underfoot years of careful scrutiny? Doesn’t he know that there is a danger he will be circumventing his father’s law? The Pharisees look condescendingly at Jesus. A little smugness, I suspect, sneaks into their posture. They dare him to challenge them. At this point, I freely admit, I would have been paralyzed with fear. My courage would have withered. Face with so much disapproval, my own response would be to say something humorous to diffuse the tension and then look for the nearest exit. After making a couple of statements that would set the pahrisees to thinking (verses 11-12), Jesus calls the man with the withered hand to hold it out (see verse 13), which he does and it is healed.

In the presence of possible disapproval, Jesus did what was right. He did not cave to pressure. He did not turn and run. He did not go and hide. He did not refuse to do good because he feared the disapproval of others. He healed despite the pressure to do otherwise. With all his detractors standing there, Jesus does the right thing.

I have to tell you, this story amazes me. It humbles me. It encourages me. It challenges me.

So if you have ever struggled with approval addiction, why not pray with me today…

God, help me to love you more then I love myself. Give me the grace I need to move towards people, whatever their issues. Guard my heart with truth, protect my mind with peace and lead me in the path – to the situations – where you can show yourself mighty through me. Teach me to love you supremely. Teach me through the example of Jesus, and by your Spirit change me.

In His name

Amen.

Your Marriage and the Grace of God

When someone loses hope for their marriage, there is usually a corresponding abandonment of grace. Here’s how it works. A marriage full of unresolved, unpardoned sins can leave a spouse feeling worn down. While they may have been willing to overlook these sins early on in marriage by seeking God’s grace, time tends to distract them from the daily pursuit of grace. They wonder if things will ever change. Their focus shifts from their neediness to their discomfort. In this process they lose sight of God’s grace. They come to believe that their marriage cannot survive. So, they start looking around. They compare other marriages to their own. They begin to believe the lie of the devil that their spouse is the source of their unhappiness. Then, they leave looking for greener pastures, which they inevitably never find. They forget that there is in Christ enough grace to deal with the sins of their marriage. There is enough grace to deal with a lazy husband. There is enough grace to deal with a nagging wife. There is always enough grace to deal with the sins that a close relationship like marriage brings to the surface. Romans 5:20 tells us that where sins abound, grace abounds more. There is always enough grace. But you must come to God, ask for it, and watch him supply the grace that is needed! You can’t become inactive. You must move toward your spouse, seeking to know God’s grace to deal with the challenges of this sanctifying relationship!

An Ordination not a Coronation

Laying Hands on Pastor Joel Eastwood

I participated in an ordination service for Pastor Joel Eastwood on Sunday night, Nov.13th. I am posting an edited version of the sermon I preached for that occasion. Congratulations to Joel on his ordination!

The nation of Judah, the southern kingdom, was a mess. In 686 BC, King Hezekiah had died. He was a godly king. In fact, because of his repentance, he was granted an extra 15 years of life during which he prospered greatly. But, in 686 BC he died and his son Manasseh ascended the throne. Hezekiah’s son Manasseh did not follow in his father’s footsteps. His rule was marked by vice and wickedness. He was a scourge, a blight on the good name of his father. Manasseh ruled the nation of Judah for 55 years – the longest reign of any of the Judean kings. 2 Chron.33:1-9 is a good place to find a summary of this reign.

Now, Manasseh had a son, and although he became the king, Amon was no better than Manasseh. The chronicler actually tells us in 2 Chronicles 33:20-23 that Amon was as bad if not worse than his father. He was so bad, that after 2 brutal years his own servants assassinated him.

In 640 BC, however things improve. A full 57 years after the death of his great grandfather, the young Josiah becomes the king of Judah. Josiah was a great king. In 2 Chron.34:1 we read that although he was only 8 when he started to reign, his reign began well. When he was 16 he sought after God (v.3). When he was 20, he began a national campaign to stamp out idolatry (2 Chron.34:3). But, this isn’t the only good thing Josiah does. Breaking down the high places and the private places of worship that had sprung up was just the beginning for Josiah. When he was in the 18th year of his reign, at age 26, he began a renovation of the temple. Manasseh, the wicked king had used the temple as a shrine for worshipping the heavens, and it needed to be repaired. And so the stimulus money was announced and work on the temple began. Stones were cut, flooring was laid (v.11). As workmen are scurrying about preparing the building, Hilkiah, a priest in the temple makes a remarkable discovery. He finds a copy of the law. I often wonder what it might have looked like. Was it covered in dust bunnies, as though it had lain behind the fridge for years? Was it frayed on the edges? Had it been nibbled on by the temple mice?

Hilkiah the priest finds Shaphan the scribe and gives him the copy of the law. Then Shaphan, realizing the value of the document brings it to Josiah the king. Shaphan then proceeded to read it aloud to King Josiah. But Josiah was not only going to hear the words of the Law, he was determined to keep them. After finding a prophetess to inform them what God would do to the people for not obeying the law, a prophecy announced in 2 Chron.34:24-26 we learn that Josiah will be spared the misery of watching this judgement.

How is it that Josiah secures the blessing of God on his life? Well, v.27 provides the answer to that question. Because Josiah’s heart was tender before the Lord. Because Josiah’s heart was – notice – humble. When Josiah heard God’s law – he was humbled.

Now, this is not a coronation, but an ordination. Joel is not a king, and last time I checked, we are in Lepreau, not in Judah. But there is a disposition which Josiah displays that transcend location, time, place and circumstance. Isaiah 57:15 says that God dwells with those who are of a humble and contrite heart. Joel, if I could tell you one thing tonight as you are about to be ordained to the gospel ministry, I would tell you this. Learn the lesson of humility. Pride is a canker. It will fester in your heart and spoil your ministry for the Lord more completely than anything else. You may become one of the greatest preachers in all the land. You may be possessed of a brilliant and keen intellect – and I think you are. You may amaze people with your insight and dazzle them with your wit. You may have people clamour for your advice. But that will all be burned up if it is done in pride and for self glory.

If you long to have a ministry among people that bears eternal fruit, you must learn the lessons of humility. You have a great teacher, for Jesus humbled himself (Phil.2). Jesus humbled himself and became obedient unto death. Learn that lesson. Don’t forget it. Bind it to your mind and heart. Nothing will ruin your ministry faster than a heart of pride. Pride is like a wildfire. It consumes everything in its path.

A ministry which is characterized by pride will result in ashes. No one wants to stand before Jesus with a fistful of ashes to offer as the fruit of your life.

Just because you are a pastor you will not be immune to the temptation of pride. In fact, 1 Peter 5, which is written to elders says this, (1 Peter 5:1-3; 5-6). Joel, pride will be the greatest threat to your ministry. Many people have fallen because of it.

What makes a great king – humility according to Josiah’s life. What will make a great pastor? Well, I’m a big fan of education – but it won’t be education that makes you a great pastor. I am glad to see you pursue and finally be ordained. But ordination doesn’t make you a great pastor. I’m glad you are loving pastor and I am glad to see that you have built and are building relationships in this community, but it won’t be relationships that will make you a great pastor. It will be humility. Because if you will humble yourself, then God will exalt you in due time!

Humility, I might add is not only for the pastor, but also for the congregation (v.5). That means that you must approach your pastor in humility. God resists those who are proud. But together, humbly moving toward each other and humbly moving toward your God will be able to accomplish much to the glory of God – because you will not be seeking your own glory.