Getting What We Need

Sometimes a dad gives a son or daughter what they need and not what they want. And, I am convinced, this is what God always does for us. He always has a bigger goal in mind. His desire is for your holiness and for your celebration forever of His grace towards you. The way this plays out isn't always how we would expect or even immediately want. John Newton understood this mystery. Sometimes we pray that God would just magically change us or rid of us sin but instead God gives us a glimpse of how utterly sinful we actually are. It is a treacherous experience but the end result is a bigger reliance on God's grace. Read through these verses and feel the weight of how God deals with sinners like us.

John Newton:

I asked the LORD that I might grow

In faith, and love, and every grace,

Might more of his salvation know

And seek more earnestly his face.

Twas he who taught me thus to pray,

And he, I trust, has answered my prayer;

But it has been in such a way

As almost drove me to despair

I hoped that in some favoured hour

At once he'd answer my request,

And by his love's constraining power,

Subdue my sins, and give me rest

Instead of this, he made me feel

The hidden evils of my heart,

And let the angry powers of hell

Assault my soul in every part.

Yea, more, with his own hand he seemed

Intent to aggravate my woe,

Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,

Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

"Lord, why is this?" I trembling cried,

"Wilt thou pursue me to the death?"

"'Tis in this way," the Lord replied,

"I answer prayer for grace and faith."

"These inward trials I employ

From self and pride to set thee free,

And break thy schemes of earthly joy,

That thou mayest find thy all in me."

I feel that. The harder I try the more my gourds are blasted. My pride has such a grip on all that I do. Worst of all it feeds so much on my ministry and my religion. I can accomplish on my own... I don't need God (I don't really mean that, but by my actions I live it). In His providence he lays me low. That I may be broken off from schemes of earthly joy and find my all in Him.

Apostasy

What a weird word huh? What does it mean? Well, in a sense it means to turn away. In the use the bible employs, it is that strange thing that some do when they turn their backs on the faith.

It is a tough one to wrestle through. We need to have a good understanding of grace, repentance, reconciliation, and restoration... the neglect of these things leads us towards apostasy. The other option is a frustration leading to abandonment. We all sin and the closer to glory we get the more we see our sin as pervasive and dominating every area of our lives. What do we do with sin? We must learn to appropriate God's grace through repentance. If you never learn that elementary Christian practice then you are flirting with disaster. You either have to be unrealistic and pretend your sin doesn't exist, or you just blatantly sin in the face of God. Both, of those will eventually lead you down a path you do not want to see the end of.

Let me recommend a couple resources:

"All of Life is Repentance" by Timothy Keller

This is a beautiful article on the picture of the Christian's life of repentance. Every Christ follower needs to recognize the necessity of repentance... daily.

"Jesus is Better: Don't Apostatize" by D.A. Carson

This is a sermon/lecture from the phenomenally difficult passages in Hebrews 5 and 6. It is a call to be faithful to Jesus and to persevere.

Acts 15- It is Through Grace of Jesus

Circumcised or not? If a gentile becomes a believer shouldn't they have to participate in circumcision according to the custom taught by Moses?

This was a real huge question that the early church had to deal with as more and more gentiles became followers of the way. And the question still looms over us today as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

The issue isn't just about circumcision, it is about yoke. "Why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?" (vs. 10). What was happening was that when Gentile men professed Christ as Lord and were baptized some of the Jews were saying, 'yeah they are followers, yeah they got baptized, now what they need to do is get circumcised just like the rest of us.'

This led to a council at Jerusalem where the disciples had to make a decision. And the result; "we believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are" (vs. 11b). It is by grace that we are saved not by works so that no man may boast. In eternity no one will be boasting about how their circumcision grants them favor with God. We all will be boasting about the grace of Jesus Christ.

Sounds like a dumb Bible times problem right? Wrong! We still place yokes on ourselves and others and we offend the grace of Jesus. Let us walk through a couple examples and then you can figure out what your yoke is that you need to repent of.

Salvation by church attendance: We put a yoke on Christ-followers that to be a true christian you must attend our church and swear allegiance to our organization(the church) and if you do miss for a couple weeks then you are letting God down. That is a yoke. We are saved by grace not by presence at church. Is meeting with the assembly of God's people a good idea? Absolutely! But, it does not give us salvation.

Salvation by moral behavior. It is common in church culture that to be a christian means, 'you don't drink, smoke, cuss, or chew or date girls that do.' We can overemphasize these moral behaviors to the point that they become a yoke. We can give 'not behaving in certain way' more importance than Jesus Christ and His gospel. When someone is advocating this yoke they don't really care how you think of Jesus they just want to make sure you are behaving decently. Parents beware that you don't place this one on your kids. Christianity is so much more than behavior modification.

Salvation by small group. This says that you are saved by attending a small group. Sounds something like, "if you are not attending a small group then you are not experiencing all that God has in store for you." That is a yoke. There was no small group ministries in Jesus day. People just hung out with one another and loved one another. They didn't need a program for that to happen. Don't let a small group program become your yoke.

Salvation by service. If you want to be a real Christian then you have to serve. Be careful that you are not earning your favor with God through the different ways that you serve Him at church or in our community. We do not earn favor with God through our works. We earn favor with God at the cross of Christ.

These things are not bad in and of themselves! I am not saying that you should skip church, that you can behave however you like, that you should avoid small group opportunities, and that you should avoid serving. What I am saying is that you shouldn't elevate anything to the level where it competes with the cross of Christ. The gospel is the most important thing in our lives and in eternity. Do not crowd out the importance of the gospel with yokes that "Christians" can place on each other. "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them" (Luke 11:46). Jesus rebukes when we place burdens on one another. So let us not elevate works to the level of the cross and impose on one another heavy yokes.

"We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved" (vs. 11). Ephesians 2 teaches us that one day we will be standing in heaven singing praises about the one who graciously saved us and brought us to eternal life. And it also says that no one will have any ground to boast. No one in heaven will say, "look at how I conducted myself on the earth. Wasn't I so good? I earned this!" No! Everyone will sing the praise of the lamb that slain. Everyone will marvel at his grace for eternity. "God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:6-9).

Do not try to add to the grace of Jesus Christ. It is sufficient. There is not a yoke that needs to be added to your faith in Christ. There is nothing left undone that you need to finish up to earn your salvation. Just Jesus Christ and him crucified. He is enough. He saves. We need to accomplish nothing else. Isn't that good news?

Acts 14- Testifying to the Word of Grace

Paul and Barnabas "spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed" (vs 1). After the city was stirred up they fled to a different city... "and there they continued to preach the gospel" (vs. 7). Here we have two men captured by the grace of God. They are changed men that are in love with their savior. They are called to be proclaimers of the gospel. And, that is what they are doing wherever they go and to whomever they go to.

I know that Acts 13 teaches us about the special calling of Paul and Barnabas for frontier missions. They have a special task of helping people come to know Christ by traveling and preaching, but we all receive at least the first part of that call when we recieve Christ as savior. The elders that were left behind in chapter 13 also had the responsibility of proclaiming Christ like Paul and Barnabas. The difference was travel.

So, we should learn from Paul and Barnabas to be single minded about Christ. We need to decide to know nothing other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor 2:2). Then our words and actions should be about Him no matter where or what is going on.

Is your life singularly focused on Christ? Is your day timer plans for the day reflecting that Christ is preeminent? Are they reflecting that Jesus is the most important thing to you? Does Jesus come up in conversation? Do you testify about His grace? The message is no less exhilarating for you today than when you were saved.... maybe even more! I need Christ to free me from bondage to sin and to liberate me today and it excites me to think that grace is mine! How can I not share it?!?! So, take a moment to refocus and set your heart your mind your being to proclaim Christ in word and deed today. Make Him known.

Guess What? I'm a Pharisee

The most dangerous pitfalls of spiritual leadership are that I judge others and I also tend to think progress in the faith is based on my effort. Isn't it a shame that I can take the gift of grace, that was freely given to me, and then condemn others?! Or in the second case I abandon grace to progress by my fleshly attempts and religion!? Those are my specialties! I sin wickedly then cry out for mercy and God grants it. From that point I take the grace of God and apply it to myself, and after receiving grace upon grace I pick up my religion stick and beat the crap out of anyone who dares to sin against God.

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed."This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:23-35)

For those of us that feel like 'we've got it,' I am with you in the struggle. It is difficult to guard yourself from self-righteousness. It is difficult to guard against arrogance that thinks that we know best. I pray that God would deliver us from the error of taking what was freely given to us and slamming the door of heaven in peoples faces (Matthew 23:13).

Grace

What is your understanding of Grace? Does it absolutely humble you? Have you completely bent your knee under the understanding that you do not deserve the grace that has been dealt you?

Grace is given so we can magnify Christ's goodness. It is not given so we can decide what we think fair is. We do not want to ask for fair. We wouldn't want fair... we deserve eternal damnation for our willing rebellion against our good God. So getting what we deserve is not what I am after... I am after a deeper appreciation of grace. Let me point to a couple scriptures that help me to understand this:

"it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:5-8).

"he did this [namely extended grace] to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory- even us, whom he also called..." (Romans 9:23-24).

"then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:

"Worthy is the lamb, who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" 

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all that is in them, singing:

"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!""

All of eternity we are going to look on The Lamb who was slain because of our sin and we are going to worship Him because He so graciously set His affections on us and made a way. We will not boast in heaven save the cross of Christ. There will be no ground to stand on save the ground of the Cross. The only boast and the only praise will be so intimately tied to the work of the Cross that to boast on your own achievements would be to emulate the Great Serpent. We are going to sing the song of the slaughtered Lamb that conquered death and stands! If that doesn't make your heart leap for joy then beg God that he would open your blind eyes to see the beauty and beg him to fibrillate your dull heart. When grace conquers it fills with joy and praise. Are you experiencing the riches of his kindness and magnification of the One who is Worthy because he had mercy on someone so unfit for mercy... you and I. Lord, I am a sinner. Lord have mercy on me. Let grace dwell in me deeply.

The bride eyes not her garment,
But her dear Bridegroom’s face;
I will not gaze at glory
But on my King of grace.
Not at the crown He giveth
But on His pierced hand;
The Lamb is all the glory
Of Emmanuel’s land.

God help us to marvel at the King of Grace. Help us to appreciate what He achieved for us at great cost on Calvary. Prepare us for our role of eternal celebration. Cultivate in us a spirit of gratitude.

Acts 12- Deflecting Praise

How do you deal with praise? What happens in your soul when someone says something great about you? Herod gives us a great example of what not to do... "On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died" (Acts 12:21-23). 

What can we make of this? The first thing that I want to say is that there is a parallel between this text and the text of Isaiah 14:12-14 where Satan was cast down because he thought he will ascend to heaven and his throne will be above the stars of God. Pride. It is the deadliest of sins. It blinds us of our need for God and robs God of His godness. It places yourself on the throne and is absolute tyranny of the King of Kings. 

When Herod received the praise of man for his god-like stature, you have to read into the text the sin of pride. "He did not give praise to God, [therefore] an angel of the Lord struck him down (vs. 23). So, Herod enjoyed the praise. He took it to heart. He ascribed to himself the stature that he obtained. Herod, in fact, was quite the leader. He did accomplish many things with his life. He had built infrastructures that we still marvel at in the twenty-first century. He even constructed a mountain!? So he must have felt that he in some degree was a god. He did accomplish so much that maybe the people were right... wrong! So he was layed low.

This is a serious text. Because, if we are honest, we all climb on the throne. It is my favorite past time. Sitting on the throne and addressing people as the authority in my life is natural. I do a lot of great stuff, I deserve praise, I'm the king. Be honest, you do this too. So, why is the real king so gracious to us?

What is astonishing about this text is that I am not dead yet. That Herod got what he deserved but I haven't. I am a tyrant. I am a rebel against the King and yet he is so patient and gracious towards me. That is why the Bible tells us that His loving kindness draws us to Him (Jeremiah 31:3). When we see our rebellion and know that our offense is punishable by death, it makes us realize that His dealings with us are totally unfair and unwarranted. He does the opposite of what we would expect. He loves us, forgives us, redeems us, and clothes us with honor. That's why we praise Him. He is so upside down and backwards. 

So, next time you receive praise, think about that every good gift is from above, everything you have every experienced that is good has been a grace to you. You know the King and He is so loving and gracious. So, worship Him and deflect all praise to Him, the One who is worthy.

Insufficient yet Necessary?

I was having a conversation with a friend a couple of winters ago... I had learned so much and was eager to share. I pretty much regurgitated so much of what God had been teaching me at the time about the nature of God and the absolute absurdity of casual Christianity. Looking back I probably could have said things in a much gentler way but I was fired up and passionate about supposed Christ followers taking the fame and glory and renown of Jesus more seriously. The last thing we need is for churches to crank out wishy-washy followers that can't last a week of actual following in the footsteps of Jesus. I was tired of nominal faith that can be lived from a sofa. I want something real. I still do. 

But after seeing that my friend was crying and obviously heartbroken by the scriptures I was sharing... I said, "whoops... maybe I should have just given you a sermon or a book, I didn't mean to be the bearer of bad news." But, her response was telling and revealing and it still haunts me; "No, I don't need a sermon... sometimes you need to be told by someone you know and trust." 

A light went on... for some reason God ordained that his ministry be dispersed by frail people. For some reason, unknown to me, God has orchestrated that his word is taught and proclaimed by people.There is something mysterious that happens when someone in proximity to you proclaims the word. God has designed that someone close enough to you teach the word. There has to be some sort of connection. I suppose it is proximity or at least rapport. Most highschool students in the Beloit area are not going to download Louie Gigglio or Francis Chan or John Piper unless they have heard about them... More realistically they might wander into a church service for students and hopefully hear the Word. So, as I turn that statement over and over in my head I am reminded that God chose me. He appointed me. For some reason he chose to make me necessary.

Here is the other side of the coin... insufficient. The words of the apostle Paul haunt me as well, "who is sufficient for these things?" If he felt that way then what hope do I have? I am not half the man that Paul was. I only dream of becoming like him. Here is the beauty of feeling the inadequacy of being a minister of Christ: Humility. There is nothing more humbling than proclaiming the word of God, spiritually leading others, discipling converts, and all the other tasks of the ministry. I may have done well as an athlete or as a businessman or in many other fields but as a minster I am dually unfit. First, I am a mere man with 'a thorn in my flesh.' 'I am a man of unclean lips and I come from a people of unclean lips.' I have flaws. As great as I ever thought I was, the ministry has brought me low. Secondly, I am given an impossible task. I am called to exclaim the glory of Christ to people that think the cross is foolishness(1 Cor 1:18). I am called to speak to a group that is def and blind(Isaiah 6:10, 2 Cor 4:4, 1 John 2:11). 

So, I am insufficient yet necessary. How does that add up? It adds up by God showing me the depths of his grace. I am made sufficient by the righteousness of Christ. I am clothed in glory and honor because of the magnificence of God and not Cory Williams. I am frail and humbled and insufficient but he chose to use me to show his greatness and worth and mercy and power. He is awesome! I am puny! I am a mess and God takes my little mess and is writing a beautiful story. I haven't earned what I have... I was chosen then equipped and not by my strength so I could boast in my greatness. But I was supplied a strength from Him. God is so good. I cannot even begin to tell you how good he is to me!? 

Luke 15 - Sought by Christ

In this chapter we see that tax collectors and "sinners" were gathering around Jesus to hear him but the religious leaders muttered, "this man welcomes sinners and eats with them." (verse 1-2)

Jesus then tells three parables in row. Boom. boom. boom. The parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and the parable of the lost son. In essence Jesus is defending his actions by showing the utmost value God puts on lost people. Unfortunately, a downside of being righteous is actually being cut off from the world. A real pitfall we face is feeling like we deserve more attention or respect or at least some sign of gratitude for our faithful service (vs 28-32). Jesus shows us that God is concerned with 'the dead coming to life' (verse 32). He is concerned with lost people being found, wandering sheep being brought back into the fold, and prodigal sons returning home. Jesus cares about seeking the lost.

Think about this in your life. How many times have you wandered. I love how in proverbs 3:3 it says, "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." If you want faithfulness you actually have to have it connected to you like a collar! If you want to be faithful to God it has to be branded on your heart. Because, we all like sheep have gone astray (1 Peter 2:25). We all wander. We all have turned our backs to God, left the fold of sheep, went into the open country and even spent our inheritance on 'wild living.' Thanks be to Jesus that He seeks you out and restores you. Thank Jesus that he drew near to you a tax collector and sinner. That he pulled up a chair at your table while you were dinning at the feast of worldliness. If it weren't for his compassion where would we be? We would be on the broad road that leads to destruction. We would be bounding our way towards the flames of Hell. Our hearts dead to the ways of God. Praise Jesus that He sought you out. Praise Him because He was so concerned that you were lost that He recklessly pursued you.

Grace

These verses have been rocking my world:



"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." -Peter 2:24-25



Think for a moment about the author of this verse. Play through your head what it must have felt like to be a close follower of Jesus. Hanging with him, watching him teach and heal, admiring Him. This was his passion, following Jesus was Peter's life. But, one unfortunate night Jesus said these words that had to sting so bad, "tonight you will disown me." I can't imagine how it felt to hear those words come out of his mouth, "You will disown me." He responded the same way any of us would, defensively, "Never! I will never disown you!"



Fast forward several hours and now Peter is warming himself by a campfire while he watches from a distance what is going to happen to his Lord Jesus. Then this ugly interaction took place... someone asked him if he was a Galilean? If he was a friend of Jesus? Peter responded quickly, ""Man, I do not know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly (Luke 22:60-62)."



Now many years have past and he has been completely forgiven by his Jesus. In fact, Jesus personally forgave him and reinstated him (John 21). Imagine with me how deeply affected he was as his pen wrote these words... "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.... by his wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24)." I can't even fathom it.

Now Jesus says to you these words reader, "you will disown me... you will break my heart... you will disobey me... you have offended my Father." You have broken God's commands and deserve eternal punishment. That is what you deserve. But Jesus, bore your punishment in his body on the tree. As he hung there he was paying for what you deserve. Every whipping he received was taking away your sin. Every curse that people spat at the undeserving Son of God was making you blameless. Every drop of blood shed that day by our Lord was earning you an eternal salvation. "By his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your soul (verse 25)."