Category: devotional

The Cross is About God (John 12:27-28)

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John 12:27-28 – “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
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An old native American proverb goes something like this: Whatever a man is most filled with is what spills over when he is bumped. The concept behind this wise saying is that whatever is most in one’s heart is what will be on display when things get difficult. Granting the notion that this concept is true, we would expect that we can learn what was of great importance to Jesus when he faced his toughest moment. And John 12:27-28 illustrates for us Jesus’ response to the horrific time that faced him.

IN John 12:27-28, we are allowed a glimpse into the prayer time of Jesus. Clearly, God wants us to see what is on Jesus’ heart as he looks toward the crucifixion. For 11 chapters, Jesus has continually said that his “hour” had not yet come. Now, the “hour” is at hand. That “hour” is the time when the Son of God would sacrifice his own life in order to pay for the sins of those whom God would redeem.

So, what was on Jesus’ heart at this crucial moment? He clearly knew that what was to come would be awful. His soul was troubled. But he would not shrink back from the coming events. Why? Because something was more on Jesus’ heart than his own personal comfort—more than even the comfort of avoiding the infinite wrath of an infinitely holy God. Jesus was willing to suffer all the horror of the cross and the wrath of God over the sins of humanity (even though Jesus committed no sin) for one purpose. And, before we get too self-centered, let me make it absolutely clear that you and I were not that purpose. God loves us, no doubt, but we are not the central reason that Jesus willingly walked to the cross. The purpose is spelled out for us in verse 28.

Jesus said that it was for “this purpose” that he would go to the cross, the very purpose he came into the world to begin with. The purpose of Jesus and the Father was that God would be glorified. Jesus told the Father, “Father, glorify your name.” Jesus Christ died, first and foremost, for the purpose of bringing glory to the name of the Father.

Now, how is it that Jesus’ death glorified the Father? Take some time on your own to read through the book of Romans, and you will find the answer to that question. In Romans 3:23-ff, we see that Jesus’ death on the cross demonstrates that God is just, even just when he forgives the sins of people like you and me. In Romans 5:8, we see that Jesus’ death demonstrates God’s glorious love. The end of Romans 11 reminds us that all things are for God’s glory, which includes all that Jesus ever did. Thus, there is no true doubt that God’s glory is the central event and the central purpose of the cross.

“Why,” one might ask, “is this good news for me?” Taking yourself out of the position of being the central purpose of the cross is a bit painful. Old gospel songs declaring things like, “When he was on the cross, I was on his mind,” lose their theological accuracy when we see that God’s glory was primary in the focus of Jesus. And, it hurts a bit to see that it was not, after all, completely about “me.” But, there is something that is wonderful for us in the fact that the glory of God was at the center of the cross, magnified for all the world to see during the most important, most earth-shattering moment in human history.

Why is it good that the glory of God is the central purpose of the cross? God created us for a purpose: to display and enjoy his glory. Nothing will ever truly make us happy, nothing will truly satisfy our deepest soul longings except for one thing—the thing for which we were created. So, when God makes the cross about his glory, he makes the cross about the only thing that will truly give us joy and satisfaction in the deepest part of our being. The cross is for God’s glory, and that actually, when we grasp it, has the power to satisfy our souls more than any other truth in the world.

How can we make the fact that the cross is about the glory of God something we love? The only way that this truth will truly make our hearts happy is when our hearts are truly devoted to the glory of God. When our hearts are busily chasing after idols such as fame, success, money, earthly happiness, sexual gratification, etc., our hearts will not see the beauty of the fact that the cross is a bout God’s glory. But, when our hearts delight in God, our hearts will be fully satisfied when they see that God’s glory is depicted for all to see on the cross of Calvary (Psalm 37:4). Thus, for us to truly have the deepest happiness possible, we have to train our hearts to seek out and rejoice in the glory of God. As we learn to seek the glory of God, we will find our hearts truly satisfied by the glory of God. As our hearts are satisfied by the glory of God, our hearts will truly learn to rejoice in the truth that the cross, while demonstrating God’s love for us, is centrally about the glory of the Almighty.

So, make it a goal of yours to practice loving the glory of God. Look into God’s word to see his glory. Pray that God will make your soul happy by demonstrating to you his glory. Sing of God’s glory, and find the joy that can only come by doing what you were created to do. Read Christian authors who are focused on the glory of God, and let their writings urge you toward the glory of God (C.J. Mahaney, John Piper, John MacArthur, and Jonathon Edwards are all a good start). Do whatever you have to do to seek your own soul’s satisfaction in the one place that can truly offer that satisfaction, the magnificent glory of the Almighty.

Depending on God (2 Chronicles 16:7, 12)

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2 Chronicles 16:7 – At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you.”

2 Chronicles 16:12 – In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians.

Asa’s story is a sad story of a man who started well, but who finished poorly. In the early days of his life, Asa sought God. He relied on God for his needs to be met. Yet, in his latter days, Asa forgot the faithfulness of God, and he relied on his own strength, cleverness, and resourcefulness. It turned out that Asa was relying on the wrong things at the end, and the Lord was not pleased with him.

There is something greatly worth learning from Asa’s life. Asa relied on outside help instead of God when his army was in trouble. He relied on doctors instead of God when he got sick. I do not think that God is saying in these passages that we should never let others help us out or go to doctors. However, when we rely on others’ help or when we rely on doctors’ abilities to the exclusion of seeking the help of God, we dishonor God greatly. We need to seek God’s favor, his healing, his help first and foremost. We can seek God’s favor as we go to the doctor when we are sick, but we dare not forget to seek God’s help and rely solely on the advances of modern medicine.

In reality, we have lessons to learn from Asa for every part of life. Where do you rely on your own strength or the strength of others? Where is your trust? Are you thinking that you are safe and secure because your country has a strong military? Are you feeling like you will succeed because you are bright and energetic? Are you thinking you will remain healthy because you have a good doctor and a fine hospital? Do you think your church will grow because the pastor is gregarious and his sermons are riveting? If any of those things are your hope, without relying on God, you are dishonoring God just like Asa did. Repent, and recognize first and foremost that the Lord is the one in whom we trust. It is God who meets our needs. Only he is enough to care for us, and we must not think, even for a moment, that we can accomplish, even the simplest task, apart from him. Remember John 15:5: if we remain in Jesus, we will bear much fruit; but apart from Jesus, we can do nothing.

A Strange Display of Love (John 11:5-6, 14-15)

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John 11:5-6 – Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

John 11:14-15 – Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
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John Piper adeptly points out in The Blazing Center that the account of the death and eventual resurrection of Lazarus serves to teach us an invaluable lesson about the importance, the very primacy, of the glory of God. Lazarus, a good friend to Jesus, was sick. He was, in fact, dying. Jesus, rather than going to heal Lazarus the minute he received the news, instead chose to wait until Lazarus died before heading to the village.

Here are the obvious points to ponder: Did Jesus love Lazarus? Yes. Did Jesus love Lazarus’ family? Absolutely. Did Jesus love his own disciples? Without question. Then how in the world did Jesus let all of these people go through such pain, such sorrow, such tortuous agony of losing a dear loved one when Jesus could have prevented the entire situation? That last question is the one worth pondering.

It was more loving for Jesus to let Lazarus die and to let his family and friends suffer loss than it would have been for Jesus to have come and healed Lazarus. How? Because, when they all saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, they saw more of the glory of God than they ever would have experienced had they simply experienced a healing. Thus, it is more important for us to experience the glory of God than it is for us to be healthy, happy, comfortable, or even alive.

Do you have in your mind a list of things that God has to do for you if he really loves you? You had likely better change that list. God need only do one kindness for you to demonstrate his love; that kindness is that he reveal himself to you. God need only let you experience a relationship with him in order to give you everything you could ever truly need. “Let me know you! Let me see your glory! Let me experience your presence,” should be the cry of your heart. Do not keep comfort and ease as the tests for God’s love. God demonstrated his love for you when Christ died for your sins (Romans 5:8). And, God shows you ultimate love when he allows you to see his glory and power, no matter what pain you have to travel through in order to gain that glimpse of God’s glory.

A Lesson from Solomon (2 Chronicles 8:11)

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2 Chronicles 8:11 – Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the city of David to the house that he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, for the places to which the ark of the Lord has come are holy.”
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When God gives commands, his words are not unclear. The Bible, while perhaps not the simplest book ever written (it’s not Dick and Jane), is not beyond our ability to understand. Solomon was reported to be the smartest guy to ever reign in Israel. Thus, when Solomon took a wife from a forbidden nation, Solomon clearly understood that he was violating the commands of God.

The fact that Solomon knew that he had violated the commands of God is clarified by the fact that Solomon would not let his wife live in the house that David had built. Solomon knew that David’s house was a special place, a holy place, because the things of God had rested there. Solomon did not want to be dishonoring to God in that way, so he built his new wife a separate house to live in.

Here is the problem: Solomon knew he was dishonoring God by marrying that woman. Solomon knew that Pharaoh’s daughter could not live with him, because she could not be in a place God had made holy. Yet these were not enough reasons to keep Solomon from marrying this woman in the first place.

What might Solomon have been thinking? Let’s speculate a bit, as we might find some of our own hearts in view. We know that the Bible indicates that Solomon clung to his foreign wives in love. He deeply desired these women. He may have even “loved” them. Solomon allowed his desire to have these women to outweigh his desire for God.

Another thing to ponder here is that Solomon may have not seen the slippery slope down which his sin would lead him. Sure, he knew it was sin, but perhaps Solomon thought that he would draw the line at that point. You can just imagine the king saying to himself, “I’ll go this far, but I will not go one step farther.” Solomon, for all his wisdom, may not have recognized that, as many preachers have stated for many years, sin always takes us farther than we want to go.

Are either of Solomon’s two possible thoughts a danger for you today? Is there something you want so badly that it threatens to outweigh your desire for God? Is there a pleasure that you have in your life that dominates you? Ask yourself, is there something in my life that I will sin to get or sin if I do not get it? If so, you are in danger of becoming like Solomon; you are in danger of disobeying the clear commands of God for the desire of your heart. Repent, turn to God, seek his face, and make the Lord of all Heaven be the only true desire of your heart.

Perhaps you are in danger of the other angle we have taken on Solomon. Are you playing with a sin, thinking that you can stop it any time you want? If so, you are in deep trouble. There is no way that our sin-darkened hearts have the ability to intentionally sin and yet hold for our selves boundaries. Sin always leads us to push up against our self-imposed fences. We can not be willingly sinful in one area and then expect to live in righteousness everywhere else.

These issues got Solomon. By the end of King Solomon’s life, he was worshipping idols, marrying countless women, and losing most of the kingdom for his family. Solomon did not finish well, and this failure is mainly because he began with “small” sins like the one we read about above. Do not let this happen to you. If you are a believer, make sure that God is your chief desire above all other things. And be careful not to think that you can toy with sin. Sin is ugly, dangerous, destructive, and seductive. Sin will always take you much farther than you want to go, and you will not be able to defeat it if you are toying with it at the same time.

Man’s Fault VS God’s Glory (John 9:1-3)

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John 9:1-3 – As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
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This piece of text shatters for us two bits of false thinking that are quite common among those who believe themselves to believe the Bible. Jesus’ disciples, while walking with him in the temple area, point out to him a blind man—blind from birth. The apostles wonder if he is blind because of his own sin, or if it is the sin of his parents that has caused the man to be born blind. But Jesus lets the disciples know that it is not due to either the man’s nor his parents’ sin that he is blind. The reason that the man is blind is so that the works, the power, the glory of God might be displayed in this man’s life.

The first piece of false thinking that this passage does away with for us is the notion that all of our suffering is the direct result of our own sin or the sin of someone connected to us. I am not, by any means, arguing that never do we suffer as a direct result of our own sin. Suffering the consequences of sin is suffering that directly results from sin. So, a person who loses an arm because of an accident he had while driving under the influence of alcohol is suffering direct results of sin. I am also not arguing that no person suffers the chastisement of God for sins they commit, even if that chastisement does not appear to be connected to the sin in any way. And, of course, all human suffering is the result of man’s original sin in the garden. But what is clear in this passage is that we can never look at a person’s suffering and assume that their particular suffering is because of their particular sin. WE simply do not have that kind of insight into the plans and purposes of God.

The second false thought that this passage dispels is the one that I find more interesting. This passage takes away from us the notion that God would never allow his people to suffer. Many teachers and pew-sitters believe that, if they are good people who strive to live their best lives now, they will most certainly not suffer. They believe that God would never allow them to suffer blindness or some other form of disease if they are wholeheartedly devoted to him. However, this passage denies such a thought. God allowed this man to live a life of blindness. Why? Not out of the man’s sin, nor out of the man’s lack of faith; rather, God allowed this man to be born and live to adulthood as a blind person in order that God’s works might be seen in his life. God determined that it is better that this man suffer the difficulties of being a blind person in that first century culture if, by doing so, God might display to the man and to the world around him God’s own mighty power and awesome glory.

So, are you suffering? Two things you can not assume. First, you can not assume that you are suffering because God is punishing you or someone you know for sin. Second, you can not assume that God has nothing to do with your suffering. Instead, you should recognize that God, the very God who is in total control, has chosen to allow you this time of suffering in order that you might somehow demonstrate the glory of God. God wants us to realize that this world is not our home and its comforts are not ours. We are not made to exist for this mere 70 years of life. Instead, he has created us as instruments through which his glory will be displayed. When we experience that glory, we get a taste of the wonder and beauty of eternity; we get a glimpse of why we are created.

No one, at least no one normal, enjoys suffering. I’m certainly not trying to imply that we should either. But, if we will realize that our suffering is neither a punishment from God nor a sign that we have somehow missed his will, we will better be able to grasp that we can suffer to his glory. Since God’s glory is our souls’ satisfaction, the glory we experience outweighs even the pain.

Finally, if you do not know me, you might wonder how I could write such a thing. It certainly may seem that I am taking suffering like the man’s blindness and giving it very little attention. So, though I seldom point to my own life as an example of anything, I will be sure that you understand that I write this as a blind person. I was born legally blind, and my vision greatly diminished in my college years. At this point in life, I can not see my wife or children, and I do not use my eyes to accomplish any form of work. Yet, I understand, by God’s grace, that this slight and momentary affliction will be far outweighed by the surpassing glory of eternity. If I suffer, I suffer in order that the glory of God might be displayed. Such suffering is something I will willingly undergo if only I can be a part of displaying for the world the glorious works of my God.

What about you? What are you willing to suffer if only God’s glory might be revealed?

A Glimpse of Glory (2 Chronicles 5:13-14)

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2 Chronicles 5:13-14 – and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord,
“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever,”
the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
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This is a scene of some magnificence. As the temple was dedicated, just like when the tabernacle was put into service, the glory of God descended upon it as a cloud. The awesome glory of God was present in such a way that none of those assigned to work in the temple could actually do so. They were forced to simply sit back and observe the presence and the glory of God.

A couple of things here may be worthy of note. First, it is an interesting point to ponder that we never see this scene of smoke and the glory of God repeated in the scripture for the rebuilt temple after the Babylonian captivity. Neither the temple that Haggai and Zechariah saw completed nor the expanded version of that temple under Herod saw the glorious presence of God in the way seen above. However, Herod’s temple saw something equally amazing, the presence of God incarnate, Jesus Christ.

But, with that ponderous point out of the way, it is worthy of note to see what happened with this temple. The people of God obeyed the commands of God. They offered praise to God, as the song recorded in the above verses clearly indicates. They did all that God told them to do, and the result of their obedience to God was that they experienced something absolutely wonderful. They experienced standing in the presence of God. In Psalm 63, David says that, because he has seen God’s presence in the sanctuary, he longs even more to experience God’s presence again. So, those who experienced the glory of God at the moment described here in 2 Chronicles, experienced something beautiful, something wonderful, something they would long to experience.

The glory of God is awesome. The glory of God is frightening. The glory of God, when manifest, is not safe for sinful men. Yet the glory of God is something we long for. We were created by God for the glory of God. We have an insatiable thirst in our hearts to experience that glory, because the glory of God is all that can ever truly make us eternally happy. And, thanks be to God, he has sent his Son to grant us forgiveness of sin and the righteousness of God in order that we might glorify God and actually be able to experience standing in the presence of the kind of glory described above.

OK, these are neat facts, but how do we do something today that would be helpful because of what we have read? Simple. First, ask God to help you to have a true hunger for his glory. Such a desire is in line with his will, and thus this is a prayer he will most certainly answer. Second, hunger for God’s glory, and let that hunger drive you to seek that for which you hunger. Seek God’s glory. Obey God. Praise God. Worship God. Do the will of God. Live for the glory of God. Then, when God allows you glimpses of his glory, which he promises to those who obey him (John 14:21, 23), let the glimpses of that glory which you receive satisfy your soul and lead you to want to see even more of the glory of God.

A Lesson from the Sanctuary (2 Chronicles 3:8)

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2 Chronicles 3:8 – And he made the Most Holy Place. Its length, corresponding to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and its breadth was twenty cubits. He overlaid it with 600 talents of fine gold.
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It is sad that, when we read through the Bible about the construction of the temple, we so often want to nod off and wait for the slow stuff to get by. We tend to get ourselves fixed on the stories, and we miss the beauty of the important descriptions that God gives to us in the text. Second Chronicles 3 is a chapter that gives us description of how Solomon built the temple (though we must remember the he is following the plan David got from God and using the materials that David Gathered.

As we read about this beautiful structure, the question that we should rays is just what is it that God might teach us about him or about our worship. And I think verse 8 of chapter 3 (above) gives us something to ponder. Solomon made the most holy place, the holy of holies, as a perfectly square (actually cubed) room. It was 20 cubits by 20 cubits by 20 cubits. That comes out to being a room that was 30 feet by 30 feet by 30 feet—not a small little sanctuary. And the walls of the room were overlaid with fine gold (not just ordinary gold, fine gold). How much fine gold was used? Six hundred talents, with a talent being anywhere from thirty to sixty pounds depending on whose estimates you read. So, imagine, a room that is 30 x 30 x 30, whose walls are covered with at least 18,000 pounds of fine, jeweler-quality gold. The sight would have been spectacular.

Now, why? Why did God have Solomon make such a room? The extravagant use of such costly materials was commanded by God so that the place in which his holiness would be most centralized would also be a place where that holiness was clearly reverenced. There would not be a room like that holy place in the ordinary houses of the people. There would be nothing like it when a priest entered into that most holy room. There should be nothing like it, because that room was set aside for the glory of God.

One more question: So what? What are we to learn from this today? Surely we are not going to go out and build rooms that are coated by 18,000 pounds of gold, are we? I don’t think that would please God at all. But we should, as a people, make our lives reflections of God’s holiness. Whether you are in public or in private, your life should gleam like 9 tons of fine gold. Your character should shine out for the world to see that God’s Holy Spirit lives within you. Everyone should be able to observe a difference in your character because your heart is a dwelling place of the holiest.

Besides your character looking holy like we see in the temple, do you not also think that this room gives you a model for thinking about your worship of God? Far too often, we approach the worship of our God with a flippant attitude. We arrive at church in a rushed frenzy, grumble about who might be sitting in our seat, sing the songs we know with gusto and the ones we dislike with a mumble, and sit through a sermon with an eye on our watches. Do any of those things make our lives look like little holy of holies? OF course they do not. We need to learn to take the worship of our God, the privilege we have every Sunday morning, and treat it with the kind of awe and respect that Solomon did that room in the temple. Let’s learn to live our lives for the glorious act that we get to perform, the act of offering praise and worship to the God who created us and who saved our souls. Let’s arrive early enough to quiet our hearts. Let’s sing with passion that befits the King of kings, even when the song choice is not our particular style preference. Let’s listen to the message for what it truly is, the word of God being expounded for us to hear and obey (assuming, of course, that your pastor is committed to Biblical exposition). Let us enter our centers of worship, and treat those places like truly holy places (not because the walls are golden, but because the God we are worshipping is worth far more than gold).

Rewind (John 8:23-24)

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Wednesday, August 30, 2006

John 8:23-24 – He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
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I recently heard that a Christian teacher told his or her students that Jesus would never come to you and point out your sin. The goal of this was, I am sure, a desire to show Jesus to lost students as gentle, kind, and appealing. The teacher likely thought that the best way to help students to become Christians would be to show Jesus as their friendly supporter, not as one who would ever call them sinners. (I also have to say that, since this is a second-hand story, I could also have been given an unclear representation of the teaching.)

Regardless of what happened in that particular situation, one thing is clear: no presentation of Jesus that does not include pointing out that we are sinners is not a fair presentation of Jesus. Here, where Jesus was speaking to the Jewish leaders, he made it quite plain that they not only were sinners, but were going to die in their sins if they did not believe that Jesus is “he.” So, our own Lord Jesus told people that they were sinners, were in danger of dying in those sins, and that the remedy for their sin was to believe that Jesus is “he.”

In the issue of our sinfulness, we have to recognize and declare with honesty that we are all sinners, and Jesus knows it. There is no way to present the gospel without presenting man’s sinfulness. To call someone to salvation without presenting to them from what they must be saved is an empty, ineffective, and dishonest call. Christ never called people to come to him for forgiveness without expressing that they needed that forgiveness because of their sin. Likewise, Jesus’ disciples in their writings are unabashedly clear that we need Christ because we are sinful before him. The good news of the gospel is not that we are not sinners or that we are all OK, the good news is that God loved us so much that he sent his Son to die as payment for our sins if we will simply place our faith in him.

The other point of interest is that the way that people are saved is to believe that Jesus is “he.” Sadly, today’s Crosswalk reading cut off the passage before the end of John 8. At the end of the chapter, Jesus makes the clear statement for us to know exactly who he is. Besides telling us that he was the one sent by God, Jesus tells us, “Before Abraham was, I am.” In that simple statement, we realize that the “he” that we must believe is that Jesus is God. He existed before Abraham was. He applies to himself the permanent present of “I Am,” and that is a title that only points to God (see Exodus 3). Jesus believed himself to be God, and he demands that we see him as God to be saved.

So, what is the gospel, the good news? The good news is that you are a sinner who is in danger of dying in his or her sin. God, however, out of a desire to show himself glorious and gracious and loving toward you sent his Son, Jesus, who is God in flesh, to pay the price for your sins. Now, if you will put your faith in the person and finished work of Jesus, you will be forgiven. You are not forgiven by being a good person, you are forgiven by God’s grace as you place faith and faith alone in Jesus Christ.

Would Jesus ever come up to you and call you a “sinner?” He most certainly would. If he would not call you a sinner, he would not love you. Love demands that Jesus tell the truth about the danger you are in before God until you place your faith in him and his finished work to save your soul. He would call you a sinner so you could recognize your danger and come to him for forgiveness. He would never call you a sinner just to call you names or to hurt your feelings, but he would most certainly call you one to lead you to salvation. So, let’s not present Jesus as anything other than who he is, the perfect, loving, and honest Son of God who tells us who we really are in order to bring us to himself.

Lord Jesus, I thank you that you are never going to affirm me falsely. I thank you that you have always declared the truth about who I am before you, even when that truth was that I was a lost sinner before you. I know that I am a sinful person who has no hope on his own. My only hope is that you are God, and that you died to pay the penalty for my sin and to reconcile me to God. I trust in you and your finished work for my salvation. Thank you for your grace that makes me(not a good person, but ) a sinner saved by grace.

Giving for Joy (1 Chronicles 29:9)

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1 Chronicles 29:9 – Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
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Flying in the face of those religious teachers who claim that God wants to make us all rich so that we can live out our days in luxury while here on earth is the text of holy scripture. Everywhere you turn in the Bible, you see God blessing his people, but not necessarily with the kind of blessings our modern “name it and claim it” preachers would imagine. The blessing is not that the people of God had wealth. The blessing was that the people of God were given the honor of giving the wealth that they had to the service of God.

In 1 Chronicles 29, David was gathering materials for the building of the temple of God in Jerusalem. Though David was not allowed by God to put the house together, he gathered all the materials and made the building plans for his son, Solomon, to follow. In the process, David gave his royal treasury to the work, and he encouraged all the people of Israel to join him in doing this great work that had been given him by God to do. And the people gave. They gave willingly, freely, sacrificially, and joyfully. And when the giving was done and the materials gathered, the word of God tells us that King David and the people rejoiced greatly because they had given to the Lord freely.

It is not popular in our culture for preachers to talk about the need for congregations to give of their income. Of course, many are offended because they have seen the gifts that people given misused and abused by unscrupulous wolves in sheep’s clothing. But let us not deny ourselves the joy that should come from being a truly giving people. Let us learn to give freely, and to experience the blessing of God. No, I am not promising financial blessing for you when you give to the church. I am, however, promising you the same blessing that we see here. When the people of God give freely as an act of worship, they are blessed by God with the overflowing joy that comes when the God of the universe satisfies their souls. That is a joy worth having. So, let’s learn to give to the glory of God and receive joy in the process.

Jesus Believed in Sovereignty and Did Evangelism (John 7:37-38)

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John 7:37-38 – On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
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OK, so last time I cited Jesus, he said that no one can come to him unless it is granted to him by the Father (John 6:65). Now, in John 7, Jesus is making an open call for anyone who thirsts to come to him in faith, and anyone who comes to him in faith will have rivers of living water. Jesus says that anyone who is willing to come to him, believing in him, will receive salvation. Are these two thoughts at odds?

Those who would argue against the sovereignty of God in our salvation would say that John 7:37-38 clearly contradicts the idea that God first chooses those who will be saved. They claim that Jesus could not make such a call for people to come to him if in fact God chooses who comes. But let us recognize that Jesus’ words here say nothing about what God is doing here. Jesus’ open call is a promise that all who come to him in faith will receive salvation. No one who believes in election denies that truth. Nor does Jesus’ call eliminate the necessity for anyone who comes to him to have first been given that desire as a gift from God the Father.

One of the major, repeated, and false arguments against those who believe in predestination is that a belief in predestination eliminates a person’s evangelistic fervor. “If we believe that God chooses who will be saved,” the skeptic argues, “why would anyone actually do evangelism at all.” This is a false caricature of the position of those who believe in God’s sovereignty. Jesus, in John 6:65 said that no one (no person at all) can (has the ability to) come to me (believe in Jesus for salvation) unless it is first (before the belief occurs) granted to him (given as a gift) by the Father (God is the author of all human salvation). But that same Jesus boldly stood up in the next chapter of John’s gospel, and called for all who were thirsty to come to him for salvation. He made this call knowing full well that it would take a miracle from the Father for any of them to have the true thirst that would lead them to belief in Jesus and eternal life. Jesus’ evangelism was in no way stifled by his understanding that salvation, including the ability to come to Jesus in faith, is a gift granted by the Father.

“What about the lost person,” the skeptic cries. This passage as well as John 6:65 tells us nothing about them. Those without a thirst for Christ do not come—they do not want to. Instead, God allows them the perfect freedom to do what they desire. However, since the desire of men’s hearts is naturally to oppose God unless God breaks in and gives them the desire to come to him, no one dare accuse God of wrong doing in the case of those who do not come to him. If someone does not come, they have been allowed by God to live as they desire.
So, whether you are a Calvinist or Arminian, you are called by God to follow the model of the Lord Jesus in this passage. You stand boldly before a lost and dying world, and you call for all who are thirsty to come to Jesus and receive life. The only true question is, when people do come, whom do you glorify? Do you give 100% of the credit and glory to God the Father for saving the lost soul? Or, do you give 99.9% of the credit to God, while saving.1% for the person who, by their will, made the right choice? While I love those who disagree with me on this front and would certainly not find this as a reason for the breaking of Christian fellowship, I also believe that the position that says that salvation is all of God from start to finish offers the most glory to God and holds more faithfully to the Bible.