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This week the girls over at GirlTalk have been doing a series of interviews with Noel Piper. The interviews go along nicely with todays sermon post about the calling of moms. Click here to read those interviews.
As we continue to look at some of the various callings in our life, I thought today we would focus on the calling of moms. This is an encouraging and rich sermon that John Piper preached on May 13, 2001. If you would rather listen to the sermon you can do that by clicking here.
To be a Mother is a Call to Suffer
by John Piper
Change of Plans for This Morning
I apologize for announcing one text and title for this message and putting all that off until next week and going in a different direction. Everything in me in the last few days has been moving in another direction. Almost all my thinking and all my emotional energy has been spent pondering and holding fast to the great reality of God’s sovereign goodness in the bitter providences of our lives.
There are at least five things that have conspired to crystallize what I believe God wants to say to all of us this morning, but especially to mothers. First, Mother’s Day every year brings up the memory of my mother’s death on December 16, 1974. It was a bus collision in Israel, and a very strange thing that my father sitting next to her lived. He was exactly my age when she died.
Second, I have had to think and pray a lot about the reality of $6.5 million instead of $9 million for our new educational building. And I thank God for every dream and every sacrifice in your hearts.
Third, Wednesday night’s vote did not go the way I hoped it would, and I have been steadying my heart with God’s sovereign goodness ever since.
Fourth, Christianity Today arrived in my mailbox on Friday, and the cover story is about the debate over “openness of God.” The introduction says, “A few theologians are now teaching that God doesn’t know the future precisely because the future does not yet exist. Thus, while God is very good at calculating the odds, he still takes risks – especially in dealing with his free creatures.” It is a great sadness to many of us that the leaders of our college and seminary do not see this unorthodox view of God as serious enough to exclude from what will be promoted as evangelical by at least of one of our faculty. And what makes the matter relevant this morning is that Christianity Today is exactly right to say, “These theological debates have enormous implications for piety and pastoral care – especially for how we respond to the tragedies that invade our lives” (Christianity Today, vol. 45, no. 7, May 21, 2001, pp. 39-40).
Finally, what put me over the edge in planning for today was reading the cynical Washington Post article in the StarTribune yesterday (Saturday, May 12, 2001, Faith & Values Section) about another mother who was killed, with her baby, while sitting with her husband in a single-engine Cessna 185 floatplane over the jungles of Peru about four weeks ago. The Peruvian Air Force mistook the missionary plane for a drug plane and opened fire. Missionary Veronica Bowers, age 35, was holding her seven-month-old daughter Charity in her lap behind MAF pilot Kevin Donaldson. With them were Veronica’s husband Jim and six-year-old son Cory. The pilot’s legs were shot and he put the plane into an emergency dive and amazingly landed it on a river where it sank just after they all got out. One bullet had passed by Jim’s head and made a hole in the windshield. Another bullet passed through Veronica’s back and stopped inside her baby, killing them both.
How Do You Handle Bitter Providences?
So the question is: How do you handle the setbacks, the disappointments, the abuses, the heartaches, the calamities, the bitter providences of your life? And I ask it specifically to mothers, because to be a mother is a call to suffer. When Jesus looked for an analogy of suffering followed by joy, he said (in John 16:21), “Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.”
To be a mother is a call to suffer. Not just at the beginning of life, but also at the end. Simeon said to Mary, Jesus’ mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed – and a sword will pierce even your own soul” (Luke 2:34-35). Mothers suffer when their children are born. Mothers suffer when children leave them and go to the mission field. Mothers suffer when their children die. Mothers suffer when their children are foolish. “A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother” (Proverbs 10:1). To be a mother is a call to suffer. Oh yes, it’s more. But it’s not less.
So what do we do? Do we go the way of openness theology to handle the disappointments and heartaches and calamities of life, and say with one popular writer, “When an individual inflicts pain on another individual, [one should not] go looking for ‘the purpose of God’ in the event . . . Christians frequently speak of ‘the purpose of God’ in the midst of tragedy caused by someone else. . . . But this I regard to simply be a piously confused way of thinking.”In other words, God had no particular purpose for taking Roni and Charity Bowers and leaving Jim and Cory. Were all the words of Elisabeth Elliot and Steve Saint and Jim Bowers at Roni’s memorial service a “piously confused way of thinking,” and no true ground for comfort and strength?
A Biblical Foundation
I’ll tell you what they said in a moment. But first let me lay a Biblical foundation, because in the end it is not the testimony of man that settles us, but the testimony of God in his Word, through Jesus Christ.
Consider two passages of Scripture, one from the Psalms, and one from the Gospel according to Matthew.
In Psalm 105 we have an inspired interpretation of an inspired Old Testament story, the story of Israel going down to Egypt preceded by Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers. We learn two crucial things from verses 16-17, “And [God] called for a famine upon the land; He broke the whole staff of bread. He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.” Notice two things: the governance of God over natural calamities, and the governance of God over the sinful actions of men. It says “God called for a famine” – that is a natural calamity that came on the world. And it says, God “sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.”
That was sinful of his brothers to do, and in that sinful act God had a purpose – so much so that the psalmist called their sinning God’s sending – just like it says in Genesis 50:20 (Joseph to his brothers), “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” When it says, “God meant it,” it says more than, “God used it.” This is the exact opposite of what openness theology teaches. God does have good purposes (good intentions, good meanings) in the hurts that others inflict on us. And we may and should take great comfort in this sovereign goodness in the setbacks and disappoints and heartaches calamities and bitter providences of our lives.
Then consider the words of Jesus on why missionary candidates should not fear to go to the hard and dangerous places, and why mothers should not fear to let their sons and daughters go – or even take them. In Matthew 10:28-31 Jesus says to his disciples to get them ready for suffering:
Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (29). Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. (30) But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (31) So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
Notice three things. First, Jesus knows that people will kill the bodies of his missionaries. This is going to happen. But, he says, don’t fear those who can only kill the body, and can’t kill the soul (verse 28). Second, he says that we don’t need to fear this hostility because no sparrow falls to the ground apart from God. And you, his disciples, are more valuable than many sparrows. So how much less will you be shot out of the sky apart from God! God governs the flight of a sparrow, and God governs the flight of arrows and bullets. This is the basis of every Bible story about the victory of God. “The horse is made ready for battle but victory belongs to the Lord” (Proverbs 21:31). Because bird flight and arrow flight and bullet flight belong to the Lord. This is the solid ground of our comfort in calamity: God’s sovereign goodness to all who trust him.
Testimony of Jim Bowers
Now listen to the testimony of Roni Bowers’ husband at his wife’s memorial service – and words of Steve Saint and Elisabeth Elliot. These testimonies don’t increase the authority of the Bible. But they do show the power of the Bible to sustain in a way radically different from the way openness theology tries to comfort.
Two weeks ago (April 27) Jim Bowers stood in front of twelve hundred people in Calvary Church of Fruitport, Michigan and said, “Most of all I want to thank my God. He’s a sovereign God. I’m finding that out more now. . . . Could this really be God’s plan for Roni and Charity; God’s plan for Cory and me and our family? I’d like to tell you why I believe so, why I’m coming to believe so.”
And then he gives a long list of unlikely events in and after the shooting, and alludes to God’s sending his Son to the cross. Here are some of the key sentences that only those who trust in God’s sovereign care for his own will truly understand. He said, “Roni and Charity were instantly killed by the same bullet. (Would you say that’s a stray bullet?) And it didn’t reach Kevin [the pilot] who was right in front of Charity; it stayed in Charity. That was a sovereign bullet. . . .”
He speaks of his forgiveness to those who shot at the plane. “How could I not,” he says, when God has forgiven me so?” Then he adds, “Those people who did that, simply were used by God. Whether you want to believe it or not, I believe it. They were used by Him, by God, to accomplish His purpose in this, maybe similar to the Roman soldiers whom God used to put Christ on the cross.”
Testimony of Steve Saint
Steve Saint was at the memorial service. In 1956, when Steve was a boy, his father was speared to death by the Auca Indians of Ecuador. Steve came to the microphone and looked down at Cory, the six-year-old boy whose mother and sister had been killed.
Cory, my name is Steve. You know what? A long time ago when I was just about your size, I was in a meeting just like this. I was sitting down there and I really didn’t know completely what was going on. . . . But you know, now I understand it better. A lot of adults used a word then that I didn’t understand. They used a word that’s called tragedy. . . But you know, now I’m kind of an old guy, and now when people come to me and they say, “Oh I remember when that tragedy happened so long ago.” I know, Cory, that they were wrong.
You see, my dad, who was a pilot like the man you probably call Uncle Kevin, and four of his really good friends had just been buried out in the jungles, and my mom told me that my dad was never coming home again.My mom wasn’t really sad. So, I asked her, “Where did my dad go?” And she said, “He went to live with Jesus.” And you know, that’s where my mom and dad had told me that we all wanted to go and live. Well, I thought, isn’t that great that Daddy got to go sooner than the rest of us? And you know what? Now when people say, “That was a tragedy,” I know they were wrong.
Then Steve Saint looked up at these twelve hundred people and told them the difference between the unbelieving world and the followers of Jesus. He said, “For them, the pain is fundamental and the joy is superficial because it won’t last. For us, the pain is superficial and the joy is fundamental.”
Words of Elisabeth Elliot
Finally, I mention what Elisabeth Elliot said to the family.
You wonder what God is doing, and of course, we know that God never makes mistakes. He knows exactly what He is doing, and suffering is never for nothing. . . . He has given to you, Jim, the cup of suffering, and you can share that with the Lord Jesus who said, “The cup the Father has given to me, I have received.”
She ended with a poem by Martha Snell Nicholson (a “mendicant” is a beggar):
I stood a mendicant of God before His royal throne
And begged him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own.
I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart
I cried, “But Lord this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.
This is a strange, a hurtful gift, which Thou hast given me.”
He said, “My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee.”
I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore,
As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.
I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace,
He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.
That’s where we have been in Romans 7. It isn’t law-keeping that justifies us before God. It isn’t first law-keeping that sanctifies us. It is the lifting of the veil so that we see Jesus for who he is, dying in our place and rising again so that we receive him as the treasure of our lives.
And if it takes a thorn to pin aside the veil – if it takes disappointment and loss and heartache and calamity and bitter providences – then, for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of our eternal joy seeing and savoring him, let it come. Amen.
Greg Boyd, Letters from a Skeptic (Colorado Springs: Chariot Victor Publishing, 1994), pp. 46-47.[2] All the quotes from the memorial service are taken from the internet on 5-12-01, http://www.abwe.org/family/memorials/service_michigan.htm
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Tonight our board is meeting to do the business of the church. Last month I posted an Piper article to help lead you in praying for our church leaders. I would encourage you to review those requests and pray tonight that our board would draw near to the throne of Grace.
Marks of a Healthy Church
The Calling of the Church
by
John MacArthur
All Rights Reserved
(A copy of this message on cassette tape may be obtained by calling 1-800-55-GRACE)
Ephesians 1:4-14 Tape GC 1284
IntroductionGrace Community Church is unique. It has been the subject of much discussion throughout the years among pastors, church leaders, laymen, and even secular authorities. Magazines have written articles about us. Several doctoral students have written their theses on our church. Many reports have tried to analyze us. We have been dissected, examined, studied, labeled, categorized, scrutinized, copied, blessed, cursed, defended, ignored, endowed, publicized, and even sued. What has caused all that attention?The key to understanding Grace church is not to analyze its pastors, staff, programs, methods, elders, congregation, growth, size, or location. All those things are essential to what we are, but the real issue is revealed in our very name, Grace Community Church. The world has such a difficult time understanding us because they don’t understand what a church is. The term church sets us and all other true churches apart from all other human institutions. We have been purchased with Christ’s own blood. No other institution in the world owes its existence to such a fact. A. The Calling of the Church Explained
Unfortunately the word church has lost its profound richness. Today it brings to mind a building of bricks and mortar on some corner. Or some think of the church as an institutional hierarchy of religious orders.
To understand what the church is, we need to look at its Greek counterpart. “Church” is a translation of the Greek word ekkl[ma]esia. The term is derived from the verb root kale[ma]o, which means “to call.” That is a good definition of the church: we are the called. In fact, Romans 8:28 wonderfully defines the assembly of believers as “the called according to his purpose.” We are a group summoned together by God for His purpose. We are not a human organization. We are not the result of man’s ingenuity or power. We were not built by good, religious people. Rather, we have been called by God into existence.
B. The Calling of the Church Expressed
That it is God who calls believers is emphasized throughout the New Testament:
1. Romans 1:6-7–Paul, writing to the church at Rome, said, “Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ; to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints.”
2. 1 Corinthians 1:2–”Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place shall call upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.”
3. 1 Corinthians 1:26–”Ye see your calling, brethren.” Paul described the character of those who make up the church.
4. Ephesians 4:1, 4–”Walk worthy of the vocation to which ye are called…. Ye are called in one hope of your calling.”
5. 1 Thessalonians 2:12–”Walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.”
6. 2 Timothy 1:9–”[God] hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace.”
7. 1 Peter 5:10–”The God of all grace … who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus.”
The entire church has been called into existence by God Himself. It doesn’t exist because of the genius of man, the charisma of leaders, the power of persuasive speech, the affluence of its membership, the effectiveness of its facilities, the wisdom of its committees, or the hard work of its members. It is ultimately the work of God. The true church is led by God’s Spirit through God’s Word in the lives of obedient people.
That helps to explain the church’s overall success and blessing. However its weakness and failures are because God has chosen to work through human agencies. When we succeed it is because of Him, not us. When we fail it is because of us, not Him. The main goal of the church is to let God work and build His kingdom as we obediently submit to His Word and His Spirit. Ephesians 1 helps us to understand the extent of what it means to be called by him to do just that.
LessonI. CALLED BEFORE: Election (vv. 4-5, 11)
“He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world … having predestinated us unto the adoption of sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will … being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.”
A. A Temporal Context
The church is not something that accidently came into being. It is the result of God’s predetermined, sovereign call.
The apostle Paul reiterates God’s election in 2 Timothy 1:9: “[God has] saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”
In the hymn “The Inner Life,” an anonymous lyricist wrote,
I sought the Lord and afterwards I knew
He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me.
It was not I that found O Savior true.
No, I was found by Thee.
The church is fulfilling a predetermined destiny, a calling from beyond space and time. In God’s mind, there is no time frame. Everything is an immediate eternal present. The church was as real to Him before the world began as it is now. God continues to add to the church those whom He predetermined would believe in Christ.
B. A Tremendous Confidence
That should give us a tremendous sense of confidence. Before I came to Grace church, I was a pastoral candidate for a large, well-known church. However, the leaders there concluded that I was too young and inexperienced for their church. Although I was open to wherever the Lord wanted me to go, I was disappointed. But God’s plan wasn’t for me to be there; it was for me to be at Grace church. Before the foundation of the world, God knew that He would use Grace church to redeem souls, and that I would be a part of that process. It thrills me every time I hear about someone being saved in our church because it is one more fulfillment of God’s predestined plan.
People aren’t saved by accident; the Lord is building His church. That takes tremendous pressure off me because I don’t have to build the church. Years ago a reporter asked me, “Do you have a great desire to build the church?” I said, “I have no desire to build the church because Christ said He would build the church, and I certainly don’t want to compete with Him. I just want to be a part of what He’s building.”
Grace church is Christ’s church. Consequently, there’s no sense of panic or frustration in my ministry. There’s no reason to seek worldly means to get results. All we need to do is rest in the Spirit of God and be faithful to commit our lives to Christ. He will surely build His church.
II. CALLED OUT: Redemption (vv. 7, 13)
“In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace … in who ye also trusted, after ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also after ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.”
A. Stated
Paul identified the church as those who have been graciously redeemed and forgiven. God has “delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Col. 1:13). We have been called out of sin, death, and the world’s system into life (Rom. 6:8-11; 1 John 2:15-17). We are a redeemed community, born-again by the Spirit of God. That is the only reason we are part of the true church. If we weren’t redeemed, we wouldn’t be a church in the truest sense of the word.
Unredeemed people who assemble under a religious banner with a title of “church” are not part of the church that Christ is building. There are so-called churches all over the world that appear to be alive, but they are dead (Rev. 3:1). Rather than being called out from the world, they are part of it–in spite of their religious exercises.
B. Related
Having a church membership that is truly saved is so important to me, I preached on that subject the first Sunday I pastored at Grace church. My text was Matthew 7:21-23: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven…. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?… And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me.” Perhaps you think I should have waited before I hit them between the eyes with a message like that! But I was concerned there were people who thought they were part of the church, but really weren’t.
A church needs to understand from the very beginning what it is so it can know what direction it should be going. As a result of that confrontive sermon, several couples left the church and we discovered that at least one elder was not a Christian. A church must do its best to distinguish between the wheat and the tares–the true and the false, those who play church and those who are the church.
How to Play Church
The title of my first sermon was “How to Play Church.” In Luke 6:46 Jesus says, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Reminiscent of that verse is a painting in the cathedral of L[um]ubeck, Germany, entitled “The Lament of Jesus Christ Against the Ungrateful World.” The corresponding text reads,
You call Me master, and obey Me not;
You call Me light, and see Me not;
You call Me the way, and walk Me not;
You call Me life, and live Me not;
You call Me wise, and follow Me not;
You call Me fair, and love Me not;
You call Me rich, and ask Me not;
You call Me eternal, and seek Me not.
If I condemn thee, blame Me not.
He Knew the Shepherd
I read about an old pastor who had been forced to retire because years of preaching had caused his voice to crack. Although a humble man, he was invited to a high-society luncheon by a friend.
The person heading up the luncheon requested a famous actor who was present to recite something for the guests. Agreeing to do so, he asked if anyone had a specific request. The old pastor thought for a moment and said, “How about the Twenty-third Psalm?” The actor replied, “That’s an unusual request, but I happen to know it. I’ll do it on one condition, though: you recite it after me.” The old pastor hadn’t bargained for that, but for the sake of the Lord, he agreed.
The actor stood up and recited the Twenty-third Psalm with the great intonation of his lyrical voice. When he finished, everyone applauded. The old pastor then stood up and went through the psalm in his humble way with a crackling voice. When he was done, there was not a dry eye in the room. Sensing the emotion of the moment, the actor stood up and said, “You clapped for me, but you wept for him. The difference is obvious: I know the psalm, but he knows the Shepherd.”
If there’s any one thing that a church must be, it is an assembly of people who know the Shepherd. Anything less is not a church.
III. CALLED FROM: Sanctification (v. 4)
“That we should be holy and without blame before him.”
A. The Requirement
As Christians, we have been called from the world to pursue holiness. First Peter 1:16 says, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” We are called to be separated from the world. We are to be non-compromising. The Spirit has instructed us to keep ourselves “unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). The Lord desires a church “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27). Paul’s desire was to present the church “as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2). God has called us to holiness, Christlikeness, and virtue.
B. The Responsibility
Christians are to manifest the holiness of our heavenly Father, our Savior, and the Spirit who dwells within us. We are to separate ourselves from complicity with the world (2 Cor. 6:17). We are not to practice the deeds of the flesh (Gal. 5:16-25; Col. 3:5). First John 2:15 warns us not to love the world’s system, which is opposed to God. We have been called to holy lives. Therefore as a church we must emphasize the importance of humility, the confession of sin, church discipline, and worship of a holy God so we might live in reverential fear of Him.
When a group is unholy, they may call themselves a church, but they are not a true church unless they face the issue of sin. Show me a church that doesn’t preach on sin and I’ll show you a church that’s full of unholiness. The church must not tolerate unholiness. A pastor can’t preach against sin yet do nothing about it. Otherwise people will think that biblical instruction and everyday living are unrelated. A church must seek holiness in the lives of its leaders as well as in the lives of those who follow them.
First Thessalonians 5:23-24 is a call to holiness: “The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” In our pursuit of holiness, we must first recognize the holiness of God and Christ that we might appropriately fear them. In the gospel accounts, people often feared Jesus when His glory and His holiness were revealed to them (Mark 9:5-6; Luke 5:8).
We are uniquely called according to God’s purpose, and part of that purpose is being holy.
IV. CALLED TO: Identification (vv. 4-6)
“He hath chosen us in him … that we should be holy and without blame before him, in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of sons by Jesus Christ to himself…. He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.”
A. Stated
The prepositional phrases “in him,” “before him,” “to himself,” and “in the Beloved” reveal that Christians are intimately identified with God and Christ.
B. Supported
1. 1 Thessalonians 1:1–This epistle begins, “Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God, the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ.” The church is called to an intimate identification with God Himself.
2. 1 John 1:3–Our personal union with God is a marvelous fellowship. According to John, “Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
3. John 17:22–Before His arrest, Jesus prayed that believers might be one with Him as He and the Father are one.
4. 1 Corinthians 6:17–”He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.”
5. Romans 8:14-17–Christians have become intimately related to God, having been adopted as His sons. That makes us joint heirs with Christ. The church isn’t a group you join by signing your name. It isn’t some kind of a society committed merely to a system of teaching.
6. Romans 6:4-5–When we were saved, we entered into a personal relationship with the living God through Jesus Christ. We are identified with Christ in His death, and raised with Him in His resurrection so that we might “walk in newness of life” (v. 4).
7. Galatians 2:20–Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” That is a clear statement of the believer’s spiritual union with Christ. In my own life I don’t know where John MacArthur ends and Jesus Christ begins. (But when I sin, I know that I am responsible!) Like Paul, I have been “crucified with Christ … and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God.” The life of Christ and your own life should be so intertwined that you can’t differentiate between them. It should be natural for you to see God at work in your life, sensing His power, experiencing His answers to your prayers, following His guidance, and being refreshed by His comfort.
We don’t believe God is some cosmic ogre waiting to step on us if we break one of His rules. Rather, we have an intimate love relationship with Him.
V. CALLED UNDER: Revelation (vv. 7-9)
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, in which he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will.”
A. The Practical Content of Revelation
God has filled us in on great spiritual truths concerning life, death, God, man, and eternity. He also has given us prudence, which is practical wisdom concerning earthly things like solving problems.
We are under the authority of the Word of God, which calls us to obey. Paul said, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col. 3:16). Christians are called to submit to the Word of God–we don’t chart our own course. When we meet together to plan, pray, and serve the Lord, there’s one thing that is central in our minds: What does the Word of God say about the matter? That should be the focus of everything we do.
B. The Personal Commitment to Revelation
On a particular occasion I was unable to attend a pastors’ luncheon I had been invited to. Someone made the comment that I didn’t go because I couldn’t find a biblical route to get there. I took it as a compliment!
The church I pastor has the same kind of reputation for having a biblical perspective. It also is thoroughly committed to the Word of God. My commitment to Scripture led me to seminary because although I knew what the Bible said, I didn’t know what it meant. In seminary I learned to understand the Bible. That prepared me to teach the Bible, which is a great joy for me.
Having a Mind to Submit to God’s Word
When I came to Grace church following the untimely death of their pastor, my candidating sermon was an exposition of Romans 7. Because I had a tremendous burden to explain that difficult chapter and was oblivious to all else, I spoke for one hour and thirty-five minutes. Afterwards, some of the people came up and said, “That’s what we want–but could you shorten it a little bit?” I thought, “If I get to preach here more than once, I can shorten it up all you want!”
One of the elders said, “We are ready to serve. We want to know what God wants us to do.” That has been the commitment of Grace church throughout its history. I discovered in those first few days that the people had a mind to submit to God’s Word. Since that time, the motto of the church has been “[equipping] the saints for the work of the ministry” (Eph. 4:12).
Christians mature by studying and applying Scripture: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God … that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Church leaders are to equip people with “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17).
More than merely owning a Bible, we’re to understand the Bible so we can use it as a weapon (cf. vv. 10-12).
A minister attending a pastors’ conference told me, “If I told my people to do what you have told yours to do, they’d throw me out of the church.” I said, “But it’s biblical.” He said, “It wouldn’t matter to them.” His church doesn’t have a right perspective on the authority of God’s Word. A church must be committed to biblical teaching and willing to serve under its authority.
VI. CALLED WITH: Unification (v. 10)
“That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ.”
The ultimate purpose of God is to gather all things together in Christ at the completion of redemptive history. The church is the symbol of that now. We are called to be one in the family of God. I grew up in a day when spiritual isolation was common. Everyone kept his spirituality to himself. It was something you didn’t talk about. You smiled the Christian smile, carried the zipper Bible, and went to Sunday school. People didn’t let anything out, or let anyone into their inner selves. Fellowship for most Christians was little more than red punch and stale cookies, and little old ladies with buns on their heads serving doughnuts and coffee! There was little depth to it. But we have been called into a marvelous fellowship of unity.
In Philippians 2:2 Paul says that Christians should be “of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” ([sc]NASB). Our love for others must be based in humility. That’s why Paul said, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others” (v. 4), which was beautifully exemplified by Christ, who humbled Himself (vv. 5-8). To have unity, we must love one another with a spirit of humility. As long as everyone looks out for himself, there’s no give-and-take relationship. When we recognize the reality of sin in our lives, we will realize how needy we are. Genuine humility is the result. That’s why I don’t preach the “self-help gospel,” which says, “You’re all right; think positive, be somebody.” Show me a church where that kind of message is preached and I’ll show you a church that doesn’t know the meaning of fellowship. Everyone’s there for himself–not for the benefit of anyone else. On the other hand, show me a church where you talk about humility and I’ll show you a church where people can love each other.
Love borne of genuine humility is not the result of people trying to improve their self-image. Rather, it comes from giving to others who have needs. A church is a group of people called to interact with each other. Christians are not spectators. They are accountable to minister to others in love. They are committed to teaching others to minister because ministry to others is a goal of the church.
VII. CALLED UNTO: Glorification (v. 11)
“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance.”
Peter described our inheritance as being that which is “incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4). Christians are committed to glorification. Our focus is future. We are not citizens of this world. Philippians 3:20 says, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” We’re not earthbound, tied to the evil world’s system. We have been made heirs of a boundless, eternal inheritance. That’s why I don’t preach purely political or social messages, for they have only temporal relevance. Christians belong to the kingdom of God, which is cutting its path by the power of the Spirit through the world of darkness. We look for a coming kingdom of glory.
Colossians 3:1-2 says, “If ye, then, be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above…. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” We look for Jesus to return and His kingdom to be fully established. Consequently, we’re not investing our lives and all our assets into this passing world. A church can have effective ministries only when people generously give instead of hoarding their resources to waste them on this passing world’s system (1 John 2:17). They await the fullness of God’s kingdom and a glorious eternal inheritance. In the words of Hebrews 11, we look “for a city … whose builder and maker is God” (v. 10).
VIII. CALLED FOR: Proclamation (v. 6)
“To the praise of the glory of his grace.”
We have been called to proclaim the glory of God’s grace. The world should look at us and say, “Look at that group of people! What a gracious God they have!” God should be glorified in how we live and in what we say. There’s a sense in which we proclaim God’s glory to Him and His holy angels, as well as to the world around us. We have been redeemed to the praise of His glory. Consequently, the world cannot understand us unless it understands the glory of God, for we are its primary manifestation.
The glory of God is the greatest theme in the Bible and our most important checkpoint in life. Ask yourself this one question when you come to a crossroad: Will my decision glorify God? The church was established to be to the praise of His glory. Our Lord put it this way: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).
Focusing on the Facts
1. Define the meaning of the word church as determined by its Greek counterpart in the New Testament (see p. 1).
2. Explain how the true church has always been led (see p. 2).
3. What is the main goal of the church in relation to the kingdom (see p. 2)?
4. When were the people who believe in Christ chosen by God (Eph. 1:4; see p. 3)?
5. What have redeemed people been called out of? What have they been transferred into (Col. 1:13; see p. 4)?
6. For what purpose have Christians been called from the world (see p. 6)?
7. What must a church emphasize so its people might live in reverential fear of God (see p. 6)?
8. With whom are Christians intimately identified? Support your answer with Scripture (see pp. 7-8).
9. What has God filled us with and given us (Eph. 1:8; see p. 9)?
10. When Christians meet together to plan, pray, and serve the Lord, what should be their central concern (see p. 9)?
11. How do Christians mature (see p. 9)?
12. How can a church experience unity? What happens in a church where a self-help message is preached? Why (see pp. 10-11)?
13. What have Christians been called to proclaim (see p. 12)?
Pondering the Principles
1. Colossians 1:13-14 tells that the Father has “delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” ([sc]NASB). That act of mercy is something we will be eternally grateful for. Thank God for having graciously redeemed you from the “domain of darkness” and granting you entrance into “the kingdom of His beloved Son.”
2. Meditate on Luke 6:46-49. When you find that the Bible says you should be doing something that you aren’t, or that you shouldn’t be doing something that you are, do you immediately attempt to make the necessary changes in your life? Or, do you procrastinate until the action you need to take no longer seems important to you? Commit yourself to applying biblical principles to your daily life so that you will have a solid foundation. Is Christ the foundation of your life, or is this passing world (1 John 2:17)?
3. The Christian message is one of hope. Jesus is coming to usher His people into the glory of His kingdom. Knowing that, as well as the fact that He has saved us from sin and empowered us to live for Him, be sure to seek “the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1, [sc]NASB). Is the majority of your time and energy put into things that have relatively little lasting significance, or do you spend your time on things that have eternal value? Are you a law-abiding citizen of heaven? Meditate on Philippians 3:17[ma]4:1. Are you following a godly example so that you might become a more loyal citizen (v. 17)? Are you eagerly awaiting our Savior (v. 20)? How should your hope in Christ affect your life now (4:1)?
Added to the John MacArthur Study Guide Collection by:Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 119
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
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Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986
This week I thought it would be a good idea to look at our calling as God’s bond servants. Yesterday, Pastor Rob preached on the life on John the Baptist. As Pastor Rob emphasized the call on the Baptist’s life he pressed us to be confident in God’s call on each of us who call on the Lord Jesus as LORD. So this Monday saints be encouraged that God says of you:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
To continue to meditate on this call let’s take a look at a sermon John Piper preached in 1982 titled, Calling all Clay Pots
A Celebration of Ministry
By John Piper September 12, 1982
2 Corinthians 4
I would like to try to persuade you of two things this morning: first, that every Christian has received a gift from God which he is responsible to use for the good of the church and for the glory of God; second, there are compelling reasons why we should really want to use the gifts God has given us. Then when I have done my best to persuade you of these two things from Scripture, we will take a few minutes for you to consider prayerfully the specific opportunities of ministry that exist here at Bethlehem.
Every Christian Has a Gift from God
First then, every Christian has received a gift from God and is responsible to use it for the good of the church and the glory of God. This is evident, I think, both from experience and from God’s Word. Experience teaches us that we are all different. And if we believe that there is a God who creates and sustains the world and everything in it, then our differences must be owing in large measure to him. And if our existence and diversity is owing to God’s mercy in creation and providence, then we certainly have the responsibility to thank and honor God in the way we use our distinctive personalities and abilities—and not only for God’s honor, but also for each other’s good, because it would be utterly inconsistent to be dependent on mercy ourselves and yet treat others cruelly or with indifference. So, it seems to me that experience alone teaches us that each has a gift and that we are responsible to use them for God’s glory and the good of other people.
But our interpretations of experience should always be confirmed by our interpretation of the Bible. There are at least two passages that make the point very clear. The first is 1 Peter 4:10, 11, “As each has received a gift, employ it for one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace . . . Whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies, in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” These two verses are a theology of ministry in miniature. All four parts of our first point are here: each Christian has received a gift, that is, some special work of God’s grace in your life; you are responsible to employ it; for whom?—for the benefit of others and the glory of God. Don’t miss the very personal and practical implication of this text for you. If you are a Christian, there is some special manifestation of God’s grace in you which can help other people in their life of faith and can honor God.
This is also clear in 1 Corinthians 12:7, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Notice again that it says explicitly, “to each is given a manifestation of the Spirit.” This is what I want to emphasize this morning. It is not just pastors, it is all the members of the body of Christ in view here. There are no exceptions. You have a gift from God, and you are not to squander his grace through negligence. You are responsible to use your gift for the good of the church and the glory of God.
Now perhaps you know that in your head, but you simply don’t feel any incentive to obey this command in 1 Peter 4:10, “Employ it for one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” So the second thing I want to do is try to awaken a desire for ministry in your heart by giving several compelling reasons why we should really want to use God’s gifts, rather than doing nothing with them. There are at least five of these reasons in 2 Corinthians 3 and 4 which I will mention briefly.
Ministers of a New Covenant
First, Christians who use their gifts are ministers of a new covenant, which means that ministry is not merely the keeping of regulations, but rather the experience of spiritual power. Look at 2 Corinthians 3:4–6.
Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our sufficiency is from God, who has qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, not in a written code but in the Spirit; for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives life.
The old covenant was the agreement God made with his people at Mount Sinai that if they would trust him, obey him, avail themselves humbly of his forgiveness when they sinned, he would give them life and prosperity. The new covenant is the agreement God has made with his people that if they trust Jesus and obey him and avail themselves of the forgiveness he purchased, he would give them eternal life. The terms of the covenant are not essentially different. What is different is that the spiritual power to overcome the hardness of men’s hearts was by and large not given in the old covenant (Deuteronomy 29:4; 5:29; Hebrews 4:2). But in the new covenant, after Christ has made atonement for sins once for all, God has seen fit to pour out his Spirit in large measure for the empowering of obedience.
This means that under the old covenant the Word of God (which is holy, just, and good) was by and large pursued without a reliance on the Spirit; and when that happens, the Word becomes a mere “written code,” a dead “letter” which kills. This is why Paul calls the law in verse 7 a “dispensation of death.” But in the new covenant the Spirit writes the law on our hearts through faith, so that it is no longer a deadly external constraint, but becomes the cheerful expression of our own will and purpose. And so the Spirit leads to life and not death.
Now what does this mean for your ministry, the use of your gift? It means that we are not involved at Bethlehem in taking dead biblical sentences and piling them on other people like weights. Ministry under the new covenant (where we live) is neither the explanation nor the application nor the implementation of barren biblical sentences by human strength. Rather, it is the explosion of spiritual power by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The first great incentive to use your gift is that thereby you are caught up into the great redemptive work of the Spirit in this age. You have your gift from the Spirit; you use it in the power of the Spirit; and therefore, the fruit you produce is the life of the Spirit. You are not left to yourself and your own sufficiency. The first thrilling incentive to find your gift and use it is that in using it you find yourself borne along by the Spirit. You feel great that you are at the center of God’s will; you know his wind is at your back; you know his angel is running before you; you finally know what you are made for, and you exult in the grace of God to include you as a minister of the new covenant.
True Servanthood and Greatness
A second incentive for stirring up our gift and using it for others is that this is what Jesus meant by servanthood; and servanthood is the path of greatness. Notice 2 Corinthians 4:5, “For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” When Paul uses his gift in ministry to the church, he says he becomes their servant for Jesus’ sake. They get the service; Jesus gets the glory. What does Paul get? Paul gets the joyful fulfillment of knowing he is becoming a great man of faith. For Jesus said, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Mark 10:43). True greatness in the kingdom of God is servanthood. Using your gift for others is the way God intends for you to serve. Therefore, if you have any aspirations at all toward true greatness, you have a good incentive to find and use your gift for Jesus’ sake.
Clay Pots and the Glory of God
The third reason you should use your gift for the good of others and the glory of God is that your ordinariness is no reason not to. Too many people say, “I’m so ordinary, so average and undistinguished. I can’t do anything significant.” 2 Corinthians 4:7 shows that this argument is wrong and why. It says, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels (or clay pots!) to show us that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.” God’s concept of ministry is so different from the world’s concept. The world stresses the classy container, not the glory of God in human weakness. If there is one thing that we are coming to learn together in this church, it is that God’s purpose to get the glory in all things determines how we do all things. Here God’s purpose is to make sure that we see that the surpassing power belongs to him and not to us. How does he do it? He puts the treasure of his gifts and his gospel in clay pots like you and me. Your ordinariness is not a liability; it is an asset, if you really want God to get the glory. No one is too common, too weak, too shy, too inarticulate, too disabled to do what God wants you to do with your gift. Take Jim Lindholm, for example. Not many of us are more confined and limited physically than Jim. But who do you suppose it was that surprised Carol Levy with 27 red and white carnations after her surgery to say we missed her? Jim Lindholm. And that’s not the only gift you have, Jim. I praise God you are using them among us. No matter what your condition, you have a gift, and the humble use of it in reliance on the Spirit will bring glory to God. It is no liability to be a clay pot in the kingdom of God.
Increasing Thanksgiving to God
A fourth incentive to use your gift is that it makes people thankful to God. In 2 Corinthians 4:15 Paul says that the use of his gift of apostleship “is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.” Peter said (in 1 Peter 4:10) that the use of our gift is a stewarding of God’s varied grace. Paul adds here that the spread of grace through the use of our gift causes thanksgiving to increase to God’s glory. The true reward of a Christian who uses his gift to help others is not that they thank him but that they thank God. What joy can be greater than to rely on the Spirit, use our gift to serve another person, and to have that person strengthened in faith and filled with thanksgiving to God? If we ever hope to win unbelievers to faith and gratitude and to transform grouchy saints into grateful ones, we will have to find our gift and use it for their good and to God’s glory.
Hardships and Greater Future Glory
Finally, one more incentive: whatever inconvenience, or suffering, or affliction you endure in the use of your gift, it is more than worth it. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “This slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” Paul’s point is not merely, hang on, it will be better by and by. He goes deeper. The affliction we endure makes our experience of the by and by better. Our affliction sustained in faith is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory. This is a tremendous incentive for Paul to press on in the use of his gift even when he tended to get discouraged. The hope that all his afflictions will only serve to increase his joy in the glory of God keeps Paul from losing heart. That’s what he says in verse 16, “So we do not lose heart.” We press on, in spite of everything, to use our gifts for the good of the church and the glory of God.
So now let me sum up what we’ve seen. First, we saw from 1 Peter 4:10, 11 and 1 Corinthians 12:7 that every Christian has received a gift from God which he is responsible to use for the good of the church and the glory of God. Then, we looked at five reasons why we should all have a strong desire to be good trustees of God’s gifts. First, by using your gift, you become a minister of the new covenant, not in the application of a mere written code which kills, but in the power of the Spirit which gives life. You are swept by the Spirit into the great river of redemption and are not left to your own sufficiency. Second, the use of our gift for others is what Jesus meant by servanthood; servanthood is true greatness; therefore, if you have any aspirations to godly greatness, find your gift and use it. Third, being ordinary or disabled is not a liability in the kingdom, but may be an asset if your aim is to glorify God and not yourself in the use of your gift. Therefore, no one is excluded from the call to all clay pots. Fourth, using your gift will change people and make them more thankful to God. And what better way to invest your life than to spend it increasing thanksgiving to God? Finally, whatever affliction you may encounter in the use of your gift, if you accept it in faith, it will only serve to enlarge your joy in the glory of God in the age to come.
© Desiring God
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Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
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As we come to the middle of the week, I hope you are still being encouraged to think about the eternality of your own soul. Today I stumbled across a NA (New Attititude) blog titled “Living as if Heaven were Your Home.” I’ve attached the blog below and there is a link to listen to a sermon by Randy Alcorn that he preached at the 2002 NA conference.
Friday, March 9, 2007
at 5:04 pm
Posted by the Na Crew
Our message of the month (and free download) for March comes from the Na vault. It’s a message by Randy Alcorn called “Living as if Heaven Were Your Home” from NA 2002 (It was “NA” back then and not cool, hip “Na”). For the next few months our messages of the month will be from previous Na conferences so you can get a taste of the conference and a taste of what Na is about.
Alcorn’s message is one of those big messages that just might change the way you live every area of your life because of the truth it contains. We get so caught up in the details of our lives that we forget to pull back and examine everything in light of scripture.
Stop for a minute and ask yourself a question: What are you living for?
What drives you to get up in the morning? What do you look forward to? Randy Alcorn sees it this way: Our lives are just a dot on the line of eternity. So don’t live for the dot. Live for the line.
Here’s another question: How often do you think about heaven?
Randy Alcorn gives us a compelling picture of heaven far from what we normally imagine. We think of disembodied spirits strumming harps. But scripture reveals that we were made for a person and made for a place. Jesus is that person. Heaven is that place.
This Sunday, Jeff graciously preched to us about the eternality of our own souls and urged us to dwell on the many implications of this. Last week, John Piper’s dad fell asleep and is now part of the chorus of saints alive and fully praising God in heaven. Shortly after his dad’s death he wrote in his journal a short narritive of the last hours he got to spend with this dad. I would encourage you to read it and be blessed as you think of the reality of eternal life.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007. 2 a.m.
The big hospital clock in room 4326 of Greenville Memorial Hospital said, with both hands straight up, midnight. Daddy had just taken his last breath. My watch said 12:01, March 6, 2007.
I had slept a little since his last morphine shot at ten. One ear sleeping, one on the breathing. At 11:45, I awoke. The breaths were coming more frequently and were very shallow. I will not sleep again, I thought. For ten minutes, I prayed aloud into his left ear with Bible texts and pleadings to Jesus to come and take him. I had made this case before, and this time felt an unusual sense of partnership with Daddy as I pressed on the Lord to relieve this warrior of his burden.
I finished and lay down. Good. Thank you, Lord. It will not be long. And, grace upon grace, hundreds of prayers are being answered: He is not choking. The gurgling that threatened to spill over and drown him in the afternoon had sunk deep, and now there was simple clear air, shorter and shorter. I listened from where I lay next to him on a foldout chair.
That’s it. I rose and waited. Will he breathe again? Nothing. Fifteen or twenty seconds, and then a gasp. I was told to expect these false endings. But it was not false. The gasp was the first of two. But no more breaths. I waited, watching. No facial expressions. His face had frozen in place hours before. One more jerk. That was all. Perhaps an eyebrow twitch a moment later. Nothing more.
I stroked his forehead and sang,
My gracious Master and My God
Assist me to proclaim
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of thy name.
Daddy, how many thousands awaited you because of your proclamation of the great gospel. You were faithful. You kept the faith, finished the race, fought the fight. “Make friends for yourselves with unrighteous mammon that they might receive you into eternal habitations.”
I watched, wondering if there could be other reflexes. I combed his hair. He always wore a tie. The indignities of death are many, but we tried to minimize them. Keep the covers straight. Pull the gown up around his neck so it looks like a sharp turtleneck. Tuck the gappy shoulder slits down behind so they don’t show. Use a wet washcloth to keep the secretions from crusting in the eyelashes. And by all means, keep his hair combed. So now I straightened his bedding and combed his hair and wiped his eyes and put the mouth moisturizer on his lips and tried to close his mouth. His mouth would not stay closed. It had been set in that position from hours and hours of strained breathing. But he was neat. A strong, dignified face.
I called my sister Beverly first, then Noël. Tearfully we gave thanks. Get a good night’s rest. I will take care of things here with the doctor and the nurses and the mortuary arrangements. I will gather all our things and take them back to the motel. “I wish I had been there,” Beverly lamented. Yes. That is good. But don’t let that feeling dominate now. In the days to come, you will look back with enormous gratitude for the hundreds of hours you gave serving Daddy. It is my turn to be blessed.
The nurse came to give him his scheduled morphine shot. As she walked toward me I said, “He won’t need that any more.” “Is he gone?” “Yes. And thank you so much for your ministry to him.” “I will notify the doctor so he can come and verify. I will leave you alone.” “Yes, thank you.”
The doctor in his green frock came at 12:40 and listened with his stethoscope to four different places on Daddy’s chest. Then he pulled back the sheet and said, “I must apply some pain stimuli to his nail base to see if he reacts. Then he used his flashlight to test Daddy’s eyes. “The nurse supervisor will come and get the information we need about the mortuary.” Thank you.
Alone again, I felt his cheeks. Finally cool after the fevered and flushed fight. I felt his nose, as though I were blind. Then I felt mine. I thought, very soon my nose will be like your nose. It is already like your nose.
The nurse came. No thank you, an autopsy will not be necessary. Mackey Mortuary on Century Drive. My name is John, his son. My cell phone is . . . . “You may stay as long as you like.” Thank you. I will be leaving soon.
Now I just look at him. Nothing has changed in his face here in the darkness of this dim light. Just no movement. But I have watched his chest so long—even now, was that a slight rise and fall? No, surely not. It’s like sailing on the sea for days. On the land the waves still roll.
He has four-day’s beard and dark eyes. I lift an eyelid to see him eye to eye. They are dilated.
Thank you, Daddy. Thank you for sixty-one years of faithfulness to me. I am simply looking into his face now. Thank you. You were a good father. You never put me down. Discipline, yes. Spankings, yes. But you never scorned me. You never treated me with contempt. You never spoke of my future with hopelessness in your voice. You believed God’s hand was on me. You approved of my ministry. You prayed for me. Everyday. That may be the biggest change in these new days: Daddy is no longer praying for me.
I look you in the face and promise you with all my heart: Never will I forsake your gospel. O how you believed in hell and heaven and Christ and cross and blood and righteousness and faith and salvation and the Holy Spirit and the life of holiness and love. I rededicate myself, Daddy, to serve your great and glorious Lord Jesus with all my heart and with all my strength. You have not lived in vain. Your life goes on in thousands. I am glad to be one.
I kissed him on his cold cheek and on his forehead. I love you, Daddy. Thank you.
It was 12:55 as I walked out of room 4326. Just before the elevators on the fourth floor in the lounge, a young man in his twenties was sitting alone listening to his iPod with headphones. I paused. Then I walked toward him. He stopped his music. Hello, my father just died. One of the greatest tributes I could pay to him is to ask you, Are you ready to meet God? “Yes, Sir.” That would make my father very happy. You know Jesus is the only way? “Yes, Sir.” Good. Thank you for letting me talk to you.
As I drove out of the parking lot, I stopped. The moon was a day past full. It was cold—for Greenville. I looked at this great hospital. Thank you, Lord, for this hospital. I will probably never lay eyes on it again.
© Desiring God
Please remember to keep Jeff in your prayers this week as he prepares to preach on Sunday while Rob is at the Shepherd’s conference.
Thanks Jeff for all the time and study you are putting into your message! What a great blessing to our body!
Today marks the beginning of the 2007 Shepherd’s Conference in LA. Our very own shepherd, Pastor Rob, is there and by the looks of the keynote speakers I’m sure he will be greatly blessed and encouraged. Tim Challies, who will be liveblogging the conference, wrote,
This really is an escape and a haven for many pastors. If your pastor is going to be at the conference this year, be sure to pray for him that God would grant him a time of relaxation, of edification and of joy as he sits under the constant preaching of the Word.
What a great exhortation for us! Let us be sheep who labor in prayer for our Pastor this week! I’ve included the conference schedule below to help guide you in praying for Rob. Also, if you want to be kept up to date on all the happenings of the conference you can check out Challies.comas Tim challies will post his comments on all the general sessions “as they unfold.”
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| Thursday, March 8, 2007 | ||
| 9:00-10:15 A.M. | General Session: Ligon Duncan | |
| 10:15-10:45 A.M. | Break | |
| 10:45-12:00 NOON | General Session: Q & A with John MacArthur | |
| 12:00 NOON-2:00 P.M | Lunch | |
| 2:00-3:15 P.M. | Seminar Session 2 | |
| 3:15-3:45 P.M. | Break | |
| 3:45-5:00 P.M. | Seminar Session 3 | |
| 5:00-7:00 P.M. | Dinner | |
| 7:00-8:30 P.M. | General Session: Al Mohler | |
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