The Humble King Who Rules the Nations: A Christmas Meditation

(by Dr. J. Mark Beach, professor of Dogmatics and Ministerial Studies at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, author of "Piety's Wisdom: A Summary of Calvin's Institute" and "Christ and the Covenant")

Christmas hardly has a chance nowadays! The community of unbelief has trampled underfoot the meaning of Immanuel - God with us. The community of faith, of course, still knows the meaning of Christmas. Luke 2 - the more earthly perspective on Christmas - shows us David's descendants (Mary and Joseph) scurrying off to Bethlehem because the Roman king ordered them to do so. Caesar taxes them to oppress them. It's a story of humiliation and obscurity which highlights the ordinary humanness of Christ's birth, of God come in the flesh, even amidst the stench of a barn.

By contrast, Revelation 12 - the more heavenly perspective on Christmas - presents David's descendents (the woman about to give birth) shining forth with the glory of the celestial bodies and crowned as royalty. She gives birth to the Ruler of all nations, the Seed of the woman who crushes the head of the Serpent. Here we witness the power and divinity of this birth. Luke's swaddled infant is Revelation's head-stomping Sovereign.

So what is Christmas? Does it still have a chance? Against the voice of unbelief Scripture gives us two perspectives to console us and to consign us to action. Our Savior walks with us in humility in order to bring us to glory. The newborn lying in a feed-trough is the Savior-King who heals the nations - even you!

The Gain of Godliness

by Terry Johnson (a Tabletalk article on August 2009 available at http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/gain-godliness/)

Rich people are materialistic. We all know it. All they care about is their money and things. Or so I thought. My background consists of a blue-collar neighborhood and an inner-city high school in Southern California. My quick judgment of wealthy people, when first I encountered them, was that they were superficial, worldly, and materialistic. They were caught up in things and appearances. They lacked the simplicity of the virtuous poor, the salt of the earth, among whom I numbered myself.

“The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil,” says the apostle (1 Tim. 6:10, NASB). He warns not of money per se, but the “love of money,” and “longing for it.” He addresses not the rich so much as “those who want to get rich” (v. 9), among whom we could add those desperate to hang on to their money or multiply their money and become richer yet.

The money problem that the apostle Paul is addressing is a human problem, not the exclusive hang-up of the upper classes. Often the rich, having grown accustomed to wealth, pay little attention to it. Old money is notorious for modest housing, old cars, and shabby clothing. The acquisitive impulse often is more evident in the poor, the middle class, and the newly wealthy. These classes of people both envy and idolize the rich and famous. They dream of limitless wealth and conspicuous consumption. They become obsessed with getting wealth and long for the opportunity to ostentatiously display it. The reverse snobbery of people of modest means, who loathe people of substance while they pretend virtue, cannot mask the reality that we ordinary folks are not exempt from the apostle’s warnings. We all struggle with the “love of money,” rich and poor alike.

Both then and now there are preachers who will justify materialism and even preach a “health and wealth” gospel, at the heart of which is the promise that “godliness (usually a warped form of godliness) is a means of gain.” The apostle complained of such preachers then, and we still hear of such preachers today (1 Tim. 6:5).

Genuine Christianity offers a different perspective and a better alternative: “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment” (v. 6).

The gain of godliness is spiritual, not material. True godliness is accompanied not by wealth but by contentment with one’s lot. Contentment is found in becoming indifferent towards wealth. Money is fine. Use it if you’ve got it. But don’t be consumed with its pursuit. Don’t long for it. Don’t love it. Why not? Because we can’t take it with us, the apostle reminds us.

“For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either” (v. 7). Life is short and eternity is long. Why spend one’s life accumulating things that must be left behind, that are useless in eternity? Also, nutrition and shelter should be enough. What else do we really need? “And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content” (v. 8).

Plus, money is a huge distraction and dangerous deception. Many “fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches” (v. 17). Wealth presents many a “temptation and snare.” It arouses “many foolish and harmful desires” (v. 9). Like what? Covetousness, materialism, pride, self-sufficiency, idolatry, selfishness, greed, fraud, deceit, abuse of others, neglect of others, neglect of the soul, and so on. These desires “plunge men into ruin and destruction” (v. 9).

Contented people live simply; they live quietly; they live peacefully. Those who wish to accumulate or preserve wealth are tortured by their options: vacations, cars, houses, clothes. Poor folk don’t wrestle with their options because they have so few of them. The rich are concerned with the progress of their investments and things. They’re terrified of losing it all. Poor folk have little to lose. The rich fear con-artists taking advantage of them, cheating them, or using them. Poor folk are confident that their friends and acquaintances are genuine. Wealth and its pursuit easily becomes an obsession, an idol, which can destroy the soul. The “worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word,” Jesus warned (Matt. 13:22). Didn’t Jesus say something about the futility of trying to serve God and mammon? Didn’t Jesus say something about the futility of laying up treasures on earth rather than in heaven? Didn’t Jesus say where our treasure was, there would our hearts be also (Matt. 6:19–24)? Some who “long for it,” for money, the apostle says, “have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Tim. 6:10).

Modernity is materialistic. Every day the modern world lies to us in saying that happiness will be found in more things, bigger things, and better things. It projects a very seductive image of satisfaction through consumption. Regrettably, many professing Christians fall prey to the world’s counterfeit vision.

God's Indescribable Gift - Part 3

God's Indescribable Gift - Part 3

(Another meditation on 2 Corinthians 9:15. Thanks once again to Rev. Andy Spriensma for the seed thought of the series of these meditations.)

I would like to add that there is a great encouragement in this passage. There is great comfort in what Paul is saying that God’s gift, Jesus Christ, is indescribable, because it makes us think that Paul could identify with us – whether we are a lay person, a Bible teacher, a pastor or preacher.

If you are a Bible teacher or preacher and, for example, in the middle of the week you are working on a certain passage trying to understand its message and the Spirit illumines the text on your desk in front of you and the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ begins to shine brilliantly, so you end your study with a prayer of thanksgiving.

But then the next part comes, when you have to write your lecture or sermon and you have to do so in such a way that the gospel shines just as beautifully as it did earlier to you, if not more. And you have to do it in such a way that it lasts no more than 30-40 minutes. Otherwise people would get bored and will start asking themselves, “When is he going to stop?”

I tell you, it's not easy to be a pastor or preacher because week after week, preachers have to see to it that God's people know Jesus Christ better than the last sermon or Bible study. Week after week, preachers would labor in their sermon preparation to know Christ better and to describe Him to the congregation who is indescribable, to express Him who is inexpressible, and to speak of Him who is the unspeakable gift of God.

Constantly preachers must think of new ways of saying and new ways of proclaiming and illustrating the same old, glorious truth, the gospel of our salvation, so that God's children would fall in love with Him more and more and give their everything and do everything they can do for His honor and glory.

Author John Piper, speaking about imagination, said this, “Preachers don’t make God’s beauty more beautiful. They make it more visible. They cut through the dull fog of our finite, fallible, sin-distorted perception, and help us see God’s beauty for what it really is.”

So please pray for your pastor every week that by the Spirit of God he would be able to describe to you more visibly the unspeakable gift of God, who is our Lord Jesus Christ. Pastors and teachers of the Bible, let this be our goal every week. May our sermons or lessons be beautiful.

But not because of fancy technique or impressive knowledge or powerful delivery. May they be beautiful because they portray Christ, in ALL His glory. May they be beautiful because they present the gospel in all its wonder. And to do this, use every technique you learned, every skill you acquired, and every God-given gift that is in you.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if you come at some point in your Christian life to a notion that there is boredom and monotony in reading or meditating on the Bible, remember, you have not yet fully grasped the gift of salvation. Fellow preachers and teachers, if you come at some point in your ministry or teaching the Bible that there is drudgery, remember, you have not yet fully described God's gift of salvation.

Twenty-four years in my Christian life and ten years of ministry, including 3 years in seminary, still I have not yet fully grasped nor described God's gift of salvation. That is the encouragement. There’s still room to know Christ better and deeper.

Every Bible passage we read or teach presents Christ as our Lord, Redeemer and Mediator. May we know Him all the more as we seek Him daily and weekly in the Holy Scripture. And as we know Him more and more, may we learn to grow also in giving more of ourselves to others, in keeping ourselves humble and in encouraging ourselves to persevere in our Christian life and service, whether as a layman or as an ordained minister in the church of Jesus Christ.

God’s Indescribable Gift - Part 2

(part 2 of my meditation on 2 Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" Thanks to my friend Andy Spriensma, whose thoughts I have borrowed a lot here.)

God’s indescribable gift does not only make us generous. It also keeps us humble. Here we are going to focus on that word “indescribable.”

We need to understand that when Paul mentioned about God’s indescribable gift, he was referring to none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. He is God’s ‘indescribable gift.’

In preaching and teaching the Word of God, what is it that we do but tell of this gift. We describe this gift. And that is the proclamation of the gospel, the preaching of the good news.

Pastors like me have been trained to be preachers of God's holy Word in the pages of the Bible. The whole Bible reveals this gift of salvation. Preaching is especially the telling of that gift!

Probably no one understands this better than the apostle Paul himself. He has traveled vast portions of the known world of his time preaching the gift of Jesus Christ. He has proclaimed the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, slaves and rulers, friends and foes. Yet he says that this gift from God, our salvation in Jesus Christ, is “indescribable” (ESV says, “inexpressible” while KJV “unspeakable”).

Now the word “indescribable” has an interesting background. First, it appeared only here in the whole New Testament. Second, it is not found in the Greek version of the Old Testament or in any Classical Greek literature. It was until later, near the end of first century, that an early Christian bishop used the word.

So did Paul just make the word up? If so, ironically here, Paul cannot find a word to express the fact that he cannot fully express or describe the gift of God in Christ.

Thus what Paul really meant to say in using that word is this: We cannot fully express God’s gift. Jesus Christ cannot be described in exhaustive detail. Even the paraphrase The Living Bible translates this verse this way: “Thank God for his Son - His Gift too wonderful for words.”

Now while the Living Bible is not an accurate translation of the original texts it grasped, however, the right meaning of the text. Paul is saying that the gift of God is too glorious and too wonderful for words to do full justice to it.

Paul has seen this gift in the person of Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. The Holy Spirit has revealed to him the great plan of salvation. He has entertained visions from heaven. He has witnessed the power of Pentecost in his work and he can testify that God’s promises are being brought to completion.

Because of this he has an even greater burden to put all this into human words. But certainly God’s glory cannot be contained in the Greek or the English language, not even in my own language or in any language of the world.

God’s marvelous works of grace cannot be limited to any language. The mystery of the gospel cannot be completely decoded in human language. No matter what distinctions or systems we make of it, the gift of salvation, the Son of God, is “indescribable.”

So in order to keep us from bragging how great and exhaustive our knowledge of Christ is and how effective teachers or preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ we are, Paul is reminding us that God’s gift is beyond our words.

As teachers or preachers, it is always enticing to hear from students and parishioners how good we are in explaining and applying the Word of God in their lives. That is why preachers and teachers of the Bible must remember that however splendid their sermon or teaching is, no matter how good their points are, no matter how well they have excelled in their interpretation and how creative and articulate the presentation of their ideas is, still, their glorious sermon or lecture pales in comparison to the glorious Gift they are called to proclaim and teach.

Jesus Christ and how He has saved us from our sins, how He was sent from heaven above according to the great electing love of God the Father to come down and rescue us from our sin and misery, to suffer in our flesh, and to die upon the cross for our sins, is too wonderful and too humbling for words.

Yet we speak about Him who was raised on the third day and who declared victory over sin and death, over Satan and the whole world, who has all the power and authority given to Him, and who is our only Savior and our great God. This is the Gift we speak about. And what or who we speak about will always be far greater than how we speak about Him.

This serves as a warning to all of us who think we already know Jesus Christ and do not need to study the Bible or hear about Him more. It keeps us humble because no matter how long we have been a Christian or no matter how long we’ve been reading, studying or teaching the Bible, still our knowledge of Christ is still lacking. We don’t fully know our Lord and Savior yet. Even the apostle Paul admits that God’s gift, our Lord Jesus Christ, is ‘inexpressible,’ ‘indescribable,’ He’s beyond description.

God's Indescribable Gift

2 Corinthians 9:15: "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

There is much that is said in this verse. Certainly, in the overall context of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 the central focus is on giving and Christian charity. As you may remember, the church in Jerusalem was in need and the apostle Paul called upon the other churches to help.

The Macedonian churches had already helped, giving more than they could really afford. As 8:3 says, “…they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.”

Now the Corinthian believers had begun the work already a year ago, but had lapsed in completing the collection (see 2 Cor 9:2). They pledged to give to the poor Jerusalem church a year ago but there had been a problem of collecting the money that was pledged!

So in this letter Paul exhorts the Christians to give what they have promised. Paul is sending a team ahead of him to collect their pledge, knowing that they are ready and eager to fulfill what they have promised (2 Cor 9:5). In order to motivate the Corinthian believers for the collection, Paul reminds them of the grace and the gift they received from God.

Paul encourages them in this manner in chapter 8:9, exhorting them to pattern themselves after Christ, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” The same principle is said in 9:14b.

Then Paul concludes this whole section of his letter with a brief doxology saying, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” It is that last verse, that last sentence that I would like to focus on with you here. Let us consider how that truth might influence our lives and service to the Lord, especially in making us generous.

There are those times in our life when we read the Bible or listen to a sermon that the Holy Spirit turns on the light in our mind and we see clearly the glory of Christ. In one chapel devotion on this passage, I was drawn all the more to God’s gift, our Lord Jesus Christ.

As I was listening to the speaker, he came to this verse where Paul says God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ is “indescribable.” Suddenly it hit me. The reason why these Corinthians are so generous is because they understand that in Christ they have everything. In Him they lack nothing.

In Christ, God has given them the greatest gift beyond words. And with Him, they have been given everything they need. Nothing comes to us, no blessing – whether material or spiritual – comes to us apart from God’s grace in Jesus Christ. He is the greatest gift of God to you and me. When you have Christ you abound in many other things.

Read 2 Corinthians 8:9 and 9:8 and you’ll see that God grants us His gracious gift and He promises abundance to us. But take note also that God has a purpose in blessing us. And what is that purpose? Clearly God promises to supply abundantly so that we would be able to give generously to others. Paul wants the Corinthians to be free from the fear that generous giving will leave them impoverished or financially broke.

So don’t you ever think that when you give freely and cheerfully to others, especially the family of God, you will become poor and broke. No. The truth is, before God, you will be rich and you actually cause others to glorify God as you live generously by the grace of God.

Let’s move the thought a little further. Why does God promise material abundance to those who cheerfully and freely give? It is in order that "you may have an abundance for every good deed" (9:8b). Note how Paul uses a "string of universals" in verse 8. "God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed."

God’s blessings are not only intended for our own benefit but really for us to abound in every good work, particularly in doing good works to others, especially those in the household of faith.

God's Judgment of Man's Senseless Life

(a meditation on Luke 12:20-21)

Luke 12:20-21
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

In v. 20, we can see God’s action in the parable. He looks at the man’s life and His judgment is quite sobering. It's very serious. God calls the man “fool!” The word fool here is not the same word which Jesus forbids His disciple to call a brother (Mt. 5:22). Rather, this word is similar to that term which the book of Proverbs likes to use in contrast of people who are wise. The word fool here therefore may also carry an immoral kind of life.

So in God’s judgment, the rich man’s selfish pursuit of wealth and personal happiness, without any regard of God, is plain senselessness or vanity, a ‘striving after wind,’ as the book of Ecclesiastes calls it.

This is so because, as Jesus said in Luke 12:15b, “a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." The man in the parable obviously did not consider God in all his plans. He did not even think about death or about the life to come. He is preoccupied with all his riches and the pleasures he can get from it.

I am not saying that seeking pleasures is absolutely wrong. But when pleasures are sought apart from serving God and loving others, these pleasures are illegitimate and selfish.

The point here therefore is that, a life that is worth in God’s sight is one that ‘lays up treasure’ not for one’s self but for God and for His kingdom (cf. Luke 12:21).

Foolishness characterizes the lives of those who seek to please and live for themselves in the here and now only. But blessed are those who seek to please God and store up heavenly and eternal treasures for they will surely be satisfied at the right time. Be on your guard against all kinds of materialism!

May the grace of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, enable us to overcome and displace this idolatry of greed in us. May we learn to follow Christ with contentment and simplicity, always seeking to serve Him by serving others.

Man’s Selfish Quest for Earthly Possessions

(a meditation on Luke 12:16-19)

Luke 12:16-19
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

The agricultural setting and terminologies of this parable perfectly fits the situation in Jesus’ life and time. Undoubtedly, the images Jesus presenting to His audience were understandable to them because Israel was largely a rural and agricultural community. So what’s the point of this parable?

The parable can be divided into two sections. Each section contains one major point. Each point is derived from the action of each character mentioned. The two characters are the rich man (v. 16) and God (v. 20). The division would be: (1) the rich man’s selfish quest for earthly possessions (vv. 16-19); and (2) God’s solemn judgment of man’s senseless life (vv. 20-21).

The first section tells us of man’s good agricultural harvest (v.16) and his boasting about the kind of life which he can enjoy as a result of his great material success (vv. 17-19). The second section, however, gives us a sad picture of man’s destiny in the hands of God who will demand a reckoning of his life. This second section is notably marked by the contrasting word ‘but’.

The Rich Man’s Selfish Quest for Earthly Possessions (vv. 16-19)

The point of the first section of the parable is not to show the readers that acquisition of material wealth is sinful, nor to remind them that good stewardship of one’s wealth is wrong. The Bible itself does not condemn money or any earthly goods. What is ‘foolish’ in the rich man’s action was his selfish or covetous pursuit of acquiring wealth.

Covetousness is surely a sin, a breach of the essence of the tenth commandment that says, “You shall not covet.” This surely hinders one’s relationship with God for as Paul says in Col. 3:5, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: ... covetousness, which is idolatry.” A selfish quest for wealth is indeed idolatry for it draws man away from God unto mammon.

Greed also destructs one’s devotion to God for as Paul again warned Timothy in 1 Tim. 6:10 that, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

Indeed the rich man in the parable is preoccupied with self and his quest for more wealth for selfish indulgence. This is obvious by the text’s repeated use of the personal pronoun “I” and the words ‘relax, eat, drink, be merry,’ which also imply a kind of life void of godliness.

In general, the point here, as one author puts it, is that, “A purely selfish accumulation of possessions is incompatible with true discipleship.” The problem with this man is that, in his great material success he did not bother to ask, “How much shall I give to the cause of God?” Nor did he inquire, “How much of this shall I give to the poor?”

Let us always remember that everything we call our own comes from God and they belong to God. He gave them to us in order to serve Him and others better. One day we will give account to Him for the use of these things, whether money, talent or gifts.

Jesus is saying, “If you want to follow me, you must be willing to give up the things in your hands. You must be willing to suffer loss. You must be willing to assume other’s loss and trust me to repay you. You must make me your greatest treasure in life and in death.”

Unless we accept this challenge, we cannot be true followers of Christ. Do you really want to follow Christ? You must be willing to die yourself so Christ could live and rule in your heart. Instead of striving for your self, work hard to help others as well, especially those who are in the family of God.

Giving up our pride is necessary to be able to consider others as important as we are. Sometimes as a pastor, I have the tendency to present myself as if I know a lot. The truth is, I don’t. There are certain areas that others know more than I know. Women know a lot about housekeeping, cooking and baking. I know very little. Our children know more about computers and how to use them than we do.

The world does not revolve around us. We are not the most important people in this world. We must therefore learn to give up our rights and privileges in order to serve others in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let's use our time, our talent and our treasures not to boost our pride but in order to serve our neighbor and fellowmen. Give up anything Christ requires from you. Put Him first. Stop saying, “I will do this and I will do that so I can be happy.” Instead say, “If this is pleasing to the Lord and beneficial to others, I will do it.”

A meaningful and successful life is a life that obeys the will of God and cares for the welfare of others. Christ Himself exemplified this life by living and dying for the glory of God and the redemption of His people. God defines success in life. He is the judge who evaluates our lives. What kind of life do you live? God judged the man in the parable. God’s judgment of this man’s life is that it is a senseless life.

Jesus' Warning Against All Kinds of Greed

(a meditation on Luke 12:13-15)

After Jesus warned His disciples about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees (verses 1b-3), He started to teach them many things that pertain to Christian discipleship in the face of hard realities in life. Jesus’ ‘teaching session’ with the disciples was shortly interrupted by someone in the crowd.

The man asked Jesus to act as a judge or an arbiter in an inheritance dispute between him and his brother. The man calls Jesus a “Teacher.” This is significant because the title reflects the people’s common view of Jesus, that is, a respected rabbi.

The man’s request was not totally illegitimate because as a recognized rabbi, Jesus may do such task, as expected from any teacher of the Law. But Jesus declined this man’s request. His response to this man carries the idea of rebuke. The word He used to address the man (“Man”) is harsh in their context. Jesus also recognized that the man’s request is not in line with His mission.

We can also glean from Christ’s next statement the motive behind the request. At the heart of man’s request to divide the property between him and his brother lies greed. Jesus warns those who follow Him to be on guard of this. Excessive focus on possessions or the desire to have more is destructive. It can destroy relationships. It can cause disagreement among brothers.

This is the man’s situation with his brother. Many people do not mind bringing their relatives to court in order to get what they want from them. They usually become insensitive toward others. They do not mind destroying the good relationship with their friends, neighbors or relatives, as long as they can get what they want from them. This insensitivity is usually motivated by greed.

So Jesus warned the people of this danger. Life is more than accumulating wealth. It is far more than having a dream car, brand new house in a lush village, hi tech gadgets, branded clothes, jewelries, and other material things. In Jesus’ words, “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possession.”

Our life is not measured by the number of things we own. If you think that life is better if you own everything you want, you are deceived. This is plain covetousness and this is not compatible with Christian discipleship.

So after Jesus refused the man’s request, He immediately turned to the people around Him and sternly warned them against ‘all kinds of greed.’ Obviously, Jesus reinforced this warning when he told the people the parable of the rich fool.

Beware of Greed!

(a meditation on Luke 12:13-21)

Setting the Context

The Christian life is like a journey. There are road signs we need to observe and follow. Otherwise we will be in danger of accident or arrest. As followers of Jesus Christ, there are certain danger signs we need to be particularly aware of. Once ignored these danger signs can bring fatal destruction in our lives as believers.

One of these danger signs is greed or covetousness. The modern term is closely related to materialism. Sometimes we think that only rich people struggle with this problem. But greed is universal. It comes from the heart of every man (cf. Mk 7:20-23), young or old, rich or poor. It enslaves everyone whose ultimate purpose in life is to accumulate things of this world.

Once we measure success or blessed life by the number of material things we possess, by the income we receive, by the clothes we wear, by the cars we drive or by the size of our houses, greed has crept into our hearts.

The good news is, Christ has defeated the power of greed at the cross. He nailed it there. Being united with Christ by faith, we also had been set free from the power of greed. But as a power, as a master who wants to control our heart, we still struggle against it.

Many people today use the name of Christ in order to get rich. There are some people we know who are able to build big houses, even kingdom, using the name of Christ. They look very religious. They are well known. However their lives do not reflect Christ in His self-sacrificing love, compassion, kindness, humility and real concern for others.

Oftentimes these religious men use and manipulate people to achieve their personal agenda. Such selfish people are not worthy to be called Christ’s disciples. They may profess to be His followers but their lives betray their profession. Beware of such people!

In Luke 12, Christ is instructing His disciples to watch out for few things. First, He calls His disciples’ attention to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He compared their hypocrisy to that of the yeast. Why yeast? Yeast is a baking material. A small amount of it can cause a small dough of flour to rise up to several times its original size.

In Scripture yeast is almost always a symbol of evil (cf. 1 Cor 5:6-7). This is why Jesus told His disciples to be on their guard against the ‘hypocrisy’ of the Pharisees. They appear to be godly but deep within they are burning with pride and envy. They seem to follow Christ but their intention was to kill Him and to persecute His followers.

Christ is a threat to their cause and religion. This explains why Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee, was so zealous in persecuting the church. This is something scary! So Jesus warns them. But He also said not to be afraid for God the Holy Spirit will take care of them. Trusting Him is all they need to do.

There is real danger in following Christ wholeheartedly. This makes Christianity a radical religion. If you follow Christ consider yourself to be dead. If you want to stand for God's truth and live for the sake of the gospel you will be persecuted. It can cost your life. Remember John Huss? Remember Guido de Bres and many others who stood for Christ and the Christian faith? They professed and lived out their faith in Christ in the hands of their enemies.

Remember our Lord Jesus Himself. He suffered the greatest injustice ever committed by man for the truth of the gospel. He, the sinless Son of God, was unjustly condemned as a worse criminal. Are you willing to suffer the same for the sake of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and for His gospel?

The Blessing of Trusting in God's Goodness

(A meditation on Psalm 84:9-12)

9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed!
10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!

The psalmists here add a third blessing in this psalm. This blessing is the blessing of trusting in the Lord. Verse 9 opens with a prayer that God would see. “Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed!” The Anointed is none other than the Son of David, the king, the Messiah.

The sons of Korah declare that the Lord's anointed is their shield. Of course we sing this psalm and we say that the Anointed, the Son of David, is our Lord Jesus the Christ. He is the Good King who is our Shield and Protector until the end.

So we pray, “O God, when you look upon your people, do not look at our sins. Do not look at us! Rather, look on our shield look on the face of your Anointed!”

As we walk on this pilgrimage, as we pass through the Valley of Tears, we ask that our God would look upon the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because it is that face that we adore! It is that face that we behold with unveiled faces as we look into the word of God, and see Jesus exalted at God's right hand.

“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.” One day with God is better than three years anywhere else. Do you believe that?

What we do in public corporate worship is designed to be a reminder of this. We hear God's voice speaking in his word. We see Jesus as He reveals Himself in the breaking of the bread. We share in the joy of the Holy Spirit as we sing the praises of the living God. We come to the heavenly Mount Zion, the New Jerusalem, and we gather with all the saints from all ages, and we hear the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed.

“A day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere! I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” I'd rather be a servant, a doorkeeper, someone who has to stay by the door and be ready for unexpected guests, than being a master in the tents of wickedness.

You see, there is no menial task in the house of the LORD. Everything we do before God is glorious. To serve Christ is no small thing. If your hearts are tuned to worship God, it doesn't matter whether you're a doorkeeper or a teacher in the house of God. Each one is important!

In verse 11, we can see clearly that the one who comes to worship the living God comes with the expectation that God will bestow favor and honor. We come to worship with eager anticipation that our loving Father will speak to us, that our beloved Lord Jesus will feed us, and that we will be filled with His Holy Spirit.

We need to believe that the Triune God fulfills what He promises and bestows favor and honor upon His people. And He does this by His Word and Spirit.

He gives all good things to those who walk uprightly. Jesus reflects on this when He says that the Father will give the Spirit to those who ask. As you go or drive to church on Sunday morning, do you ask God to give good things to His people?

Finally, the psalmists say, “O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!” This verse fits beautifully with what our Lord Jesus said about the Psalms that speak of Him, because Jesus is the blessed man who trusted in the Lord of hosts. He is the one who sang this Psalm throughout his life, throughout His pilgrimage on earth. He longed for the courts of the living God! He knew that a day in the heavenly courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.

And because Jesus is the blessed man, therefore God looks upon the face of His Anointed, and grants His favor and honor to those who trust in Jesus.

As you come to worship, come with longing! Come with joy because you know that here you will meet with the living God. Here you will gain strength in His courts so that you might journey from strength to strength, until the day that you appear before him in Zion.

You see, life’s true purpose, its fullest joy, its deepest satisfaction is found in communion and worship with God together with His people. It is in serving the Lord in complete dependence and delight in Him and in trusting His gracious provision and protection.

You need to understand that this God whom you worship is everything to you. He has supplied your deepest needs and desires. So who would not want to be with God and commune and worship with Him? He is God our blessedness. He is our delight!

To those of you who have been in the church since you were a little child, I'm sure it breaks your heart every time you can't be in the house of the Lord and to be with His people to worship Him. I'm sure that by the grace of God, you will never get tired of serving Him in His house.

I tell you there’s no place I’d rather be on the face of this earth than in the assembly of God’s people, worshiping God, gathered to praise His holy Name Lord’s Day after Lord’s Day.

The saints and servants of God delights being in the house of the Lord. So did these temple servants and doorkeepers, the sons of Korah. They loved to be in the house of the Lord for there their trust in God is nurtured and strengthened. And no good thing will he withhold from those who walk in wholehearted devotion to Him. How blessed is the man who trust in the goodness of God!

The Blessing of Living in God's Strength

(A meditation on Psalm 84:5-8)

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
8 LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob!

There’s a second blessing that the psalmist mentions in Psalm 84. You see it in verses 5-8, and this is the blessedness of having the Lord as your strength and your desire. Notice v.5: Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

In the original language it is quite clear that the blessed one is in singular, not plural as in ESV, “Blessed are those....” Rather, it should have read, “Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, in whose heart is the highways to Zion.” So while verse 4 says blessed are those who dwell in your house, verse 5 proclaims a blessing on the one who has the highways to Zion in his heart.

Many Bible scholars wrestle with the statement, “in whose heart are the highways to Zion.” What’s that referring to? Does it mean that in his heart he wants to go to Jerusalem to worship? Maybe. Or does it mean that in his heart there are highways that lead him to God?

However you interpret it, the point is that the blessed man is the one who dwells far from God's house, but who longs to be in Zion with God. That’s his ultimate goal. He wants to know God. He wants to fellowship with God. He wants to praise and worship God, and in his heart there’s this single-minded focus on communing with God.

That’s the blessed man. He knows that there’s one thing that he wants, and that is to see the beauty of the Lord. There’s one thing he desires, and that is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. His dependence and delight is in the Lord.

Again, that’s very important for us today. One of the things that John Piper has so often reminded our generation is that we often look at God as the greatest means to our own ends. In other words, we view God as the One who can get us the things that we really want, instead of the One who Himself is the greatest end, and thus the One that we really want the most.

Quite often, because we view God as the best means to accomplish our ends, we miss the greatest blessing of the gospel, which is union and communion with God Himself, delight in God Himself, reveling and enjoying God Himself. Again, this union and communion is through our Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is our mediator to God. He is God in the flesh, the God who lives among us.

As you may know, three times each year, all the faithful Jews from all over the world were to gather in Jerusalem according to the word of God. As the people of Israel dwelt in their towns, they were to keep the road to Jerusalem in their hearts.

And yes, we have the great privilege of worshiping every week in the heavenly holy of Holies, but that should not cause us to be forgetful of Zion throughout the week! On the contrary, our access to the holy of Holies, which we have every day in prayer, should produce even greater devotion to God than we see here in the sons of Korah! Because the real question is where do you find your strength? And the text says, “Blessed is the man whose strength is in you [Lord].”

While we have access to the holy of Holies, we don't dwell there, at least, not yet. We are elect exiles, chosen pilgrims who are granted a glimpse of heavenly glory. But still we walk by faith and not by sight. And as we journey in this life, the LORD is truly our dwelling place, our refuge and our fortress. But as we look around us the prospect is far from comforting. We see the Valley of Baca (verse 6), which is the "the valley of tears."

Some old hymns use the phrase, the "vale of tears," as a reference for this life. Well, Psalm 84 is where they got this phrase. As we walk on this pilgrimage to the heavenly Jerusalem, just as the pilgrims go through the Valley of Tears, we make it a place of springs. How? How do you transform the Valley of Tears into a place of springs?

If your strength is in the Lord, then you may go from strength to strength. The pilgrim in the valley of the shadow of death still walks in the strength of the Lord. The pilgrim who appears before God in Zion arrives there in the strength of the Lord (v.7).

The goal of your pilgrimage is to appear before God in Zion. And as you walk through the Valley of Tears, the Valley of Baca, remember that the Lord is your strength.

So where do you find strength for the pilgrimage? You find strength as your soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord. You find strength as your heart and your flesh sing for joy to the living God.

The strength of the blessed man is in the Lord. By His Spirit, Jesus Christ is our strength. His resurrection power energizes us to live the Christian life. And the Spirit of Pentecost enables us to proclaim this truth boldly, strengthening us daily as we pass through the valley of tears and valley of the shadow of death.

Dear friends, understand that it is God who holds you up in Christ. It is God who supplies you the ability to put one foot in front of another, to keep on going to the house of God, to keep on serving Him there. You are utterly dependent upon the Lord. He must supply the strength to you if you are to live the life of faith. You who depend on the strength of the Lord are supplied with the strength of the Lord. That's what makes you blessed.

Now think of the contrast. So often our culture celebrates the person who is independent, self-sufficient, and autonomous. The “self-made man” was a great myth of nineteenth and twentieth century; the man who doesn’t depend on anybody; the man who’s done it on his own; the man who is self-sufficient.

But the psalmist says in utter contrast. No, the man who is blessed is the man whose strength doesn’t come from himself. True strength is supplied by the Lord. Blessed is that man whose strength is in You, O Lord. You supply the power of his life.

The psalmist – these temple servants – understand what the believer delights in. The believer delights in the Lord. In his heart is a highway that leads Him to worship God. That’s the blessed man. He goes from strength to strength, and he appears before God in Zion. That’s his reward. He wants Christ. He wants to worship God in Christ, and God gives him that blessing.

Verse 8 concludes this second section with the prayer of the sons of Korah: “O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob!”

If God does not hear, then what is the point of walking through this valley of tears? But we can go forward, rejoicing towards the courts of the LORD because we know that God hears our prayers.

The Blessings of Worshiping God

(A meditation on Psalm 84:1-4)

1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah


The one longing of our heart all our life is the worship of God. We were created to give honor and praise to our God and Creator. About sixteen centuries ago Saint Augustine said that God has made us in such a way that we remain restless until we find rest in Him. Until our souls find comfort and joy in the true worship of God, our deepest longing in life will remain unsatisfied.

My hope and my prayer is that every Lord's Day, when we gather together as God's covenant people in worship, our deepest desire is fulfilled and we find rest in our soul.

There is tremendous blessing that awaits you and me when we seek the adoration of our God. Blessed are those who yearn to have fellowship and communion with the living God! Blessed are those whose desire is to dwell in the presence of God forever, serving and loving Him with all their heart, mind, and soul!

Psalm 84 is designed to draw the people of God into the vision of the living God in His holy temple. It speaks of the intensity of the psalmists' desire to worship God in His temple. Thus in Psalm 84 we see that God pronounces a threefold blessing upon those who worship Him. (The psalmist mentions the word "blessed" in vv. 4, 5, and 12).

The idea of serving God and worshiping Him in His temple is prominent in this psalm. And this theme of service or worship is paralleled by the idea of blessedness. As you may know, the idea of being blessed is the notion of the one who has found the fullest joy, the deepest satisfaction, and the truest purpose of life.

The person who is blessed knows and lives life’s true purpose. He knows that man is made to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Therefore the person who is truly blessed experiences the fullness of joy. Not that he’s happy in a superficial sense all the time or that nothing bad ever comes in his life experiences.

Rather whether he experiences triumph or trial in this life the blessed man is grounded in a deep joy because he knows God and he knows His purpose. He knows why he’s here and he finds deep satisfaction in God that cannot be taken away from him by any of his ever changing circumstances.

Whether your experiences in life are momentary joys and triumphs or continuing trials that tempt you to question the love and goodness of God, don't forget that you were made to glorify God. The person who knows life’s true purpose will experience its fullness of joy and will find its true blessedness regardless of the situation in and around him.

We will explore this threefold blessing that the psalmists talk about upon those who seek to serve and worship God. First of all, let's focus on the truth that those who worship God will experience the blessing of dwelling in God's house (vv.1-4).

Psalm 84 is a psalm of the Sons of Korah. Korah was one of the ancestors of the Levitical singers of the temple whom King David had appointed. So the Sons of Korah were singers in the temple. They serve in the temple. There are eleven psalms attributed to them. Most of these psalms give a prominent place to Zion, to Jerusalem, or to the temple. That is not surprising because the sons of Korah dwelt in the temple in Jerusalem!

But while the Sons of Korah write about things familiar to them, they do not write for themselves alone. As I've said, Psalm 84 is designed to draw the people of God into the vision of the living God in the temple.

In verses 1-4, notice how the psalmist focus our attention on the blessedness of dwelling in God’s house, especially when God’s people are gathered in worship. You see, the psalmist tells us that the person who is blessed is found in communion and worship with God and with His people.

The psalmist is saying that the people who get to be in the house of God and worship and praise Him are blessed. The people who long for God, who long to worship God, to know God, to praise God, they are the ones who are truly blessed.

That’s very important in our day and age. More and more churches are realizing that fewer and fewer people are interested in worshiping God when they come to church. So they are coming up with other things for them to do when they come to church because those people do not delight in worshiping God. And I want you to notice that God’s pronouncement of blessedness is not upon them. His pronouncement of blessedness is upon those who long to be with God, communing with the people of God in the worship of God.

That’s the first lesson for us out of Psalm 84:1-4. Of course, we don’t have a temple to go to anymore. We don't have to bring animal sacrifices for our sins. The building, the sanctuary where we gather for worship, is what we call God’s house because God dwells wherever His people are gathered.

God’s house is not a beautiful building built by Solomon in Jerusalem. We are told in the New Testament that God does not dwell in any place made by the hand of man. God’s house is God's people, redeemed by the blood of His Son. You and I are the house of God. He dwells among us by His Spirit.

So wherever God’s people gather, whether we gather here or in a gymnasium, when God’s people gather to worship the living God, there we find the dwelling place of God. We are God’s house. In Christ the living God has come to dwell among us. In Him the psalmist's longing for the house of God is fulfilled. Thus, our secure location and greatest joy is to be at home with God in Christ. Christ is the reality that we as believers enjoy. To be in Christ is to be blessed.

The psalmist will later say that there is no place on earth that he would rather be than in the temple of the Lord with the people of God, praising Him. And for the New Covenant believer, what we say is that there is no place that we would rather be than in Christ.

And how do we expressed our being in Christ? By being united with the body of Christ, the people of God, in fellowship and worship. We delight in our union with Christ through our worship of God and the communion of saints. There we find our fullest satisfaction. There we find our joy.

We long to be with God, singing and praising Him. But this is not possible apart from our Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God. That's why we sing and pray to God in the name of our Savior and Lord. Through Christ worship is the highest expression of our longing for God. And the psalmist said that’s true blessedness: the one who longs for God and to be with God’s people gathered in worshiping Him. That’s the person who understands life’s true purpose, who has experienced the fullness of joy, has found deep satisfaction, and has found communion and worship with God’s people.

Where do you want to be? Is your soul longing to be sitting in front of a ball game or show? Do you faint to see your favorite team's home court or the courts of the Lord?

You see, we were created for God. He made us for Himself, and so we have a God-shaped hole in the center of our lives, and we try our best to fill that hole with something. At the center of your being, what do you long for?

When you have seen and entered the dwelling place of the Lord of hosts you have no desire to be any place else. As the sons of Korah reflected on this, walking through the courtyard of the temple, beholding the glory of the courts of the Lord, they saw something that caught their attention. There, high up on the temple, perhaps in the latticework around the courtyard, were birds' nests.

Then they realize that all creation draws near to God in the temple. Here in the courts of the Lord, even the birds find a home. Not a sparrow falls from its nest, but the Lord of Hosts sees. If the Lord of hosts welcomes birds to nest in His courts, how much more will He welcome you who long for Him!

Because, as Hebrews 12 says, we have come to the heavenly Jerusalem; and because we have come to the courts of the living God, we may now dwell in the house of the Lord forever! And this is now a reality for us because our Lord Jesus Christ has brought us through the veil of the earthly temple and brought us into the holy of Holies, where we behold Him. We see Jesus, crowned with glory and honor, sitting at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. That is what we do in our worship.

We come into the very presence of God on the basis of the sacrifice of our great high priest, Jesus Christ. We then hear His Word, read and proclaimed, and made visible by the sacraments and we respond to His Word with praises and prayers. Then we are fed at His table and go forth with His blessing.

This is not merely an earthly assembly. When we gather for worship we gather with all the heavenly hosts, with all the saints from all times and places as the Spirit lifts us in the heavenly courts in order to sing the praises of our Triune God. That is our blessedness!

Key Principles in Interpreting the Book of Revelation

(Based on Dennis E. Johnson’s book "Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation")

1. Revelation is given to reveal. It makes its central message so clear that even those who hear it can take it to heart and receive the blessing it promises (1:1-3).

2. Revelation is a book to be seen, a book of symbols in motion. Because the appearance of individuals and institutions in everyday experience often masks their true identity, Revelation is given in visions full of symbols that paradoxically picture the true identity of the church, its enemies, and its Champion (1:11; 2:9; 3:17; 11:7; 13:7).

3. Revelation makes sense only in light of the Old Testament. Not only the visions of such prophets as Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah but also historical events such as creation, the fall, and the exodus provide the symbolic vocabulary for John’s visions. (Compare Chapters 1 and 10 with Ezekiel 1 and Daniel 9-10; Chapter 13 with Daniel 7; Chapter 11 with Zechariah 4).

4. Numbers count in Revelation. Since numbers are used symbolically in Revelation, we must discern the meaning they convey rather than trying to pull them as numbers directly into our experience, measured by calendars and odometers. Number 7 is very common. So are numbers 10 and 12 and their multiples.

5. Revelation is for a church under attack. Its purpose is to awaken us to the dimensions of the battle and the strategies of the enemy, so that we will respond to the attacks with faithful perseverance and purity, overcoming by the blood of the Lamb (See 2:10; 3:10-11; 14:12).

6. Revelation concerns “what must soon take place.” The book opens and closes with the announcement that it concerns matters that were to occur “soon” (1:1; 22:6,7,20). However, we must seek an understanding that touches the experience of our brothers and sisters in seven first-century congregations scattered in the cities of western Asia Minor. Revelation is not about events and hostile forces remote from their struggle.

7. The victory belongs to God and to his Christ. Revelation is pervaded with worship songs and scenes because its pervasive theme – despite its gruesome portrait of evil’s powers – is the triumph of God through the Lamb (See 4:8, 11; 5:9-10,12,13; 7:10-12; 11:15-18; 15:3-4; 16:5-7; 19:1-7). We read this book to hear the King’s call to courage and to fall down in adoring worship before him.

Keep On Praying!

(A magazine article by Vern Sheridan Poythress) For about fourteen years my wife and I have prayed that God would put a stop to abortion. For fourteen years we have prayed that God would end the persecution of the house churches in Mainland China. For years we have prayed for deep revival to come to our country. In all these cases, we haven’t seen much change. Are our prayers doing any good? Will there ever be an answer?

It is easy to give up hope if God does not answer our prayers right away. Jesus knew that we were prone to become discouraged, so he told the story in Luke 18:1-8. “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”1

How Do We Respond to a Hopeless Situation?

Jesus tells about a widow who had every reason to give up. We must picture a situation where some wicked person has wronged a widow. Perhaps he had taken over her home and kicked her out.2 Whatever the details, the widow desperately needs help.

The woman’s situation looks especially hopeless for several reasons. To begin with, she is a widow. Without a husband, she has no steady income or shelter in social situations.

She is also legally insecure. In ancient Jewish society the man who headed a family or clan would normally handle legal disputes. He would be familiar by experience with legal matters, and would probably know the judge personally. But this widow has no man to represent her—no husband, not even a father or a brother. She has to go herself, without the experience or social leverage that a man would have.

Now the situation worsens. The judge to whom she goes is unjust.3 He cares nothing for her plight. Can the widow perhaps hope to persuade him nonetheless? She can point out to him that God threatens to punish judges who pervert justice.4 But no, the judge does not fear God.5 Or the widow can argue that the people of the town will despise him for not helping her. No, this stratagem will not avail either. The judge “neither feared God nor cared about men.”6 He is indifferent to human opinions about him. Can she appeal to the man’s conscience, and make him realize how low he has sunk? No, the judge is already well aware of his position, and admits it freely to himself: “Even though I don’t fear God or care about men ... .”7 The judge has so hardened himself that no human appeal can get through. Apparently nothing that the woman might say will have the least effect. There is no hope for a change.

Have you ever suffered through a situation as bleak as this one? Have you felt despair because there seemed to be absolutely nothing you could do? “Just give up,” the Devil tempts us. “Curse God and die!” Job’s wife says.8 Jesus understands how despair may sometimes grip us like an iron vise.

Amazingly, though everything is against her, the woman does not give up. “For some time he refused,”9 yet the woman persists. She continues to bother him, to pester him. Finally, the judge wakes up to his own selfish interests. He decides to give justice, but only because otherwise she will “eventually wear me out with her coming.”10 The woman gets relief because she persevered.

What Kind of Perseverance Do We Have?

Now what is Jesus’ point? He tells us to pray and not give up. God will answer. Jesus says, “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.”11

Jesus is making a comparison. The persistence of the widow is like the persistence that characterizes “God’s chosen ones.” The widow cries out to the judge to give her justice.

Likewise, God’s chosen ones cry out to God to give them what they need. After awhile, the unjust judge gave justice to the widow. After awhile, God will answer his people, the chosen ones. Jesus gives the parable to encourage “God’s chosen ones.” To them he says, “Don’t give up. Persevere in praying to God. He will do what is right.”

How Does God Respond to Our Prayers?

But this comparison leaves many people uneasy. “What?” they say, “Is God unjust and reluctant and in need of being pestered like this horrid human judge?”

Jesus assumes that we know enough about God to see the point of the comparison. The Bible indicates that God is both compassionate and absolutely just.12 Far from being reluctant, God is like a father eager to give his children good gifts. “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”13

The comparison with an unfair judge shows how much more we can expect from God. If even an unfair judge can be persuaded, how much more can we expect God to answer us for our good? If even someone who has no love or care for us can decide to help, how much more will God respond to us in outpoured love? The Bible well expresses the depth of God’s love and commitment to us in Romans 8:32: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”14 How tremendous a commitment God has made! We are to come boldly to God, knowing that he will answer us fully and compassionately. He has proved his faithfulness and eagerness to provide for us by giving the most spectacular gift of all, his own Son!

Note that these promises all come to God’s children, his “chosen ones.”15 Not all prayers are equally acceptable. Speaking to hardened, sinful Israelites, God warns, “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen.”16 For our prayers to be acceptable, we must receive forgiveness for our sins and be cleansed by the blood of Christ.17 Then we may have confidence that God loves and receives us even as he receives Christ his only Son.18

For What Do You Pray?

Is God’s promise to answer prayer like a blank check? No, even an earthly father knows how to give good gifts to his children. Not everything that a child asks for is good. A wise father takes into account the whole situation. How much more so with God our heavenly Father! We can be thankful that God in his wisdom does not always give us everything for which we foolishly pray. God must renew our hearts and minds so that we begin to pray for his goals rather than for our own selfish goals.19

The story that Jesus tells in Luke 18:1-8 points to the same truth. The widow in the story asks for a fair resolution of her case. Likewise, your prayer and mine should be for God to establish his righteous will.20 God answers such prayer: “his ears are attentive to their prayers.”21

But now we must understand God’s justice, his righteousness. God cares not only for just decisions in human courtrooms, but for what is right in every sphere of life. Every mean remark from a child, every social snub, is a violation of God’s righteousness. Every instance of right living and self-control expresses his righteousness. We are to pray for nothing less than the coming of God’s kingdom, the coming of his rule in all aspects of life. We pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”22 “Come, Lord Jesus!”23 Come and set things straight, wipe out evil, and make a new earth.24

God is so perfectly righteous that he cannot ignore sin. He showed his zeal against sin by the terrible punishment that he inflicted on sin when Christ bore our sin.25 We have only to look at the meaning of the cross to understand that God is utterly serious about righteousness, and utterly serious about punishing sin.

But the suffering of Christ issues in victory, in the glorious achievement of right when he is vindicated in his resurrection. “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.”26

God now works out true righteousness in history as people submit to what he accomplished in Christ. He abolishes sin in the souls of abortionists and liars and disrespectful children alike as people submit to Christ’s rightful authority: “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”27 Thus, we are to pray for all people everywhere to submit to Christ’s universal rule, to acknowledge him as Savior and Lord. We are to pray even for those who sin against us.28 This is His command.

God’s plan is to exalt Christ. We can pray no greater prayer. So we pray for revival. We persevere in true prayer when we understand this goal and yield ourselves to Christ in our praying. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.”29 We pray for Christ to come and bring his reign to completion.30 We plead for righteousness to come in our own lives, and for others to be saved and come to Christ. When we are praying for these goals, the goals of God’s own kingdom, we can have confidence. God himself tells us to persevere. He hears. He will accomplish his purpose in us and around us.

We do not know the details. We do not know how long we will have to wait for God to answer a particular prayer, like the prayer for persecuted Chinese Christians. We do not know just how he will answer. But we know that God is all wise and full of mercy and love. He has shown it through giving Christ. We can have perfect confidence in him. Keep on praying!

________________________________________
1 Luke 18:1 NIV.
2 Such a seizure apparently took place in the case of the Shunammite widow in 2 Kings 8:1-6.
3 Luke 18:6.
4 Deuteronomy 27:19.
5 Luke 18:2.
6 Luke 18:2 NIV.
7 Luke 18:3 NIV.
8 Job 2:9 NIV.
9 Luke 18:4 NIV.
10 Luke 18:5 NIV.
11 Luke 18:7-8a NIV.
12 Psalm 119:137-144.
13 Matthew 7:11 NIV.
14 Romans 8:32 NIV.
15 1 Peter 1:1; Ephesians 1:4.
16 Isaiah 1:13 NIV.
17 Hebrews 4:14-16; 10:19-22.
18 Ephesians 1:6; John 17:26.
19 James 4:3.
20 Luke 18:7 NIV.
21 1 Peter 3:12 NIV.
22 Matthew 6:10 NIV.
23 Revelation 22:20 NIV.
24 Revelation 21:1-4.
25 1 Peter 2:24.
26 Philippians 2:9 NIV.
27 Philippians 2:10-11 NIV.
28 Luke 6:28.
29 Matthew 6:10 KJV.
30 Luke 18:8; 1 Corinthians 16:22.

This article was taken from Decision magazine, October 1998 [Published in Decision magazine 39/10 (Oct. 1998) 31-35]; ©1998 Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

God's Sovereign Election

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!"
- Psalm 33:12

The Lord God has indeed chosen us in Christ and has purposed our good and that He will not be frustrated in fulfilling that purpose. That is very clear in verse 12 as the psalmist shifts his thought from God’s active providence to God’s sovereign election.

Verse 12 reads, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.” John Calvin captures the connection between God’s providence with His electing love that is evident in this passage when he said, “The prophet, therefore, in proclaiming that they are blessed whom God receives into his protection, reminds us that the counsel which he had just mentioned is not a secret which remains always hidden in God, but is displayed in the existence and protection of the Church, and may there be beheld.”

The providence of God is clearly shown in the life and ministry of God’s people today, even in these trying moments of our history. The psalmist here highlights Israel’s unique status by using the word blessed. Israel is called “blessed” because among the nations of the earth God the Creator and Ruler of the universe chose her and made her His treasured possession. This privileged position of Israel is solely based upon God’s loving kindness and in keeping with His covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

God made a promise to Abraham that He will bless him and his descendants with great posterity and heritage in order that through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Calling to mind such privilege must evoke the people of God to praise and gratitude. And that’s what the psalmist is doing here in verse 12. He declares the blessedness of Israel as the nation whose God is the LORD, who out of His sheer grace, made Israel His own.

You and I need to understand that when Christ put His covenant seal in our baptism, He owns us. And we need to believe with all our heart and mind that we also are true descendants of Abraham by faith and recipients of those blessed promises of God (Galatians 3:26-29).

Just as God has His eye on Israel who hope and wait in Him in times of fear and danger, so God has His eye on us also, the church of Jesus Christ, who hope and wait patiently for His help and deliverance from our present anxiety and to lead us to a glorious future.

And that’s what really makes this psalm so appropriate to our situation because even though we do not know who wrote this psalm and the particular circumstance that prompted its writing, we can identify with the psalmist’s expressed dependence on God in times of need as he affirms in verse 20 that the Lord is “our help and our shield.”

Whatever was the situation behind Psalm 33, the author understands the truth that the Lord is the only One who can meet his needs. So he enjoins his fellow believers to praise God probably even in the face of death or the threat of famine (v. 19).

Oh how fitting it is that we should turn to this psalm in times of uncertainty. For the psalmist ends this psalm with confident trust in God. He concludes, “In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You” (vv.21-22).

So my dear brothers and sisters, would you, with confidence, praise the Lord for His faithful love to you? God delights in calling you His inheritance, chosen and called to be saints in Christ Jesus. God's sovereign election is clearly conveyed in verse 12.

That is what the psalmist calls a true state of ‘blessedness,’ to be called by God His own children, His treasured possession. It is not in your prominent status in society nor in the abundance of your material possession that you are blessed. It is not even in beautiful and secured houses or in the stability and security of your jobs and income. But your blessedness comes from the unchangeable fact that you and I belong to God by faith in Christ Jesus.

In His providence, the Lord will ultimately foil the plans of the wicked but He will bring to completion what He has purposed for us, that is, our redemption and eternal happiness with Him. And for that we rejoice!

Whatever kind of wickedness men have willed in their heart it will not prosper. Only God's purpose will succeed. God can use even the most wicked program of an individual or nation in order to accomplish His electing purpose and to advance His kingdom agenda. God alone can do this because He is the sovereign Creator and Ruler of all the earth. He rules the world and supervises the course of history for the sake of His elect.

While we do not know why the economy is getting worse and some businesses are going bankrupt, we know that these are in the hands of God. So while some of you may have been alarmed and distressed by the turn of events in our world, you should not lose sight of the fact that God continues to reign and rule over the nation and over the world. So you listen to God and to His Word for wisdom and direction. You turn to Him for comfort and assurance.

Seek refuge in His sovereign grace and mercy, for even in the most difficult time of our country’s history you and I will find perfect peace and rest knowing that God's purpose for us, as a body of Christ, will stand. If you serve the Lord faithfully and hope in Him only, no matter what the situation is, His promise remains in you which says, “Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 2:12).

God's Active Providence

"The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations."
- Psalm 33:10-11

The economic crisis is still felt by many. Others are declaring bankruptcy because of financial crisis or mismanagement. Many college graduates, board passers and other hopefuls will be added to our increasing unemployment and underemployment rates.

I understand that these stories do not bring positive note. I am no news analyst and I don't understand much of our economy. But by observing and listening to some people, I can tell that many questions cross their mind. Questions like “What else can our government do to improve our economy?” and “How long will our financial crisis last?”

Some of you might be wondering as to the future of our nation and our world with the kind of politics or the kind of politicians we have. The world has experienced Covid-19 pandemic. There's an ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine that has a global economic and political impact. Others are asking, "What would be the next tragedy that's going to happen?"

These are some of the questions you may hear floating around. Some of you may even asking, albeit silently in your heart, “Where is God in all of these? Is He really in control?” Others may simply wonder, “Where can we find hope? Where should we turn for stability and security?”

Difficulties and crises such as these must drive us to God. And as we focus our attention to Him and His character our worries are being transformed into worship. Our cares are turned into courage as God confronts us with His glorious character.

I pray that God would grant us a heavenly perspective of the things that are happening in our world. We need to view the current situation from God's vantage point and not from our limited perspective. So we humbly ask God to open our eyes to behold the splendor of His being and the greatness of His doing in the world and in the lives of His people.

As we look at Psalm 33:1-11, we want to focus on God's divine providence, which is His almighty and ever present power that upholds His whole creation.

In Psalm 33 Israel comes before the presence of God in congregational singing. Her gathering in the temple, singing in one accord the glories of her God, is part of God’s design in worship which is a wonderful sight to see. Take note how the lyrics vividly express an exuberant note exalting the glories of the Lord, seen in His divine perfections and mighty works. I can imagine children eagerly singing with their parents before God's presence in the temple.

Verses 10-11 boast of the plans of the LORD which stands forever. Several verses before these, the psalmist has been rehearsing the glorious character of God and His mighty power in creation (vv.4-9). Now he turns to God’s sovereign rule over the affairs of peoples and nations.

This rule of God is what we call His providence. God’s providence is portrayed here as active. In His divine providence God foils, He brings to nothing, the plans of the nations. He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. Do you believe that God can bring the plans of the nations and the peoples to nothing?

From the very beginning, God has been governing and guiding all events and circumstances in history, including the very acts of men, to its appointed goal. Nothing happens in the world that is not under the providence of God. He's been doing this in order to complete His redemptive plan in and through His Son Jesus Christ as made known to us in various parts of the Bible, particularly in Ephesians 1. God’s ultimate purpose of course is “to unite all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph. 1:10).

Verse 11 says His plans 'stand firm forever' and 'the purposes of His heart [stand firm] through all generations'. Take note how the psalmist talks about the plans of God which stands forever in contrast with the plans of the nations which God brings to nothing. God’s purposes stand firm because His providence, His activity as the Sovereign Ruler and Sustainer of all things, prevails over creation and over history. So be assured dear believer that God's throne is not shaken by the instability of the economy or the collapse of many big companies.

Because God is in absolute control not only in the creation of the world but also in all the events of history, we know and we can confidently say that the recent events in our history are under His powerful providence. He is in complete control of the situation. The economy may fail, our government may not be able to protect and support our country, but nothing can hinder God’s purpose in establishing His rule on earth and in your life.

God’s overarching decree, which Psalm 2:7-9 also declares, right at the beginning of the book of the Psalter, is that His Son would reign in justice and righteousness over the nations of the earth. Or as the Lord’s Prayer puts it, God’s decree is that “His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

It is amazing how God uses the powerful yet wicked rulers, even the devil himself, to fulfill His sovereign purpose. Remember that when it appeared as if Satan and the rulers of the world had won the victory by having Christ crucified, when it seemed like this was sure to be the world’s and the devil’s greatest hour, the Son of Man wearing a crown of thorns, despised and rejected by men, forsaken by His own Father, has triumphed over His enemies, making His crucifixion the moment of God's greatest conquest.

For in the death of God's Son our salvation was accomplished. Christ's death has set us free from the power of sin and death. In Christ's resurrection death was forever vanquished, the devil was finally disarmed, and eternal life was definitely secured for you and me, people of God. As believers of Jesus Christ, we revel in this truth, we live in this truth and we proclaim this truth, don't we?

Now think about this: the God whom you serve can turn evil for the good of His people. Now if you have a contrary view of God, or even a lesser view of Him than this, you may not join the righteous believers in singing this psalm. For at the heart of praising God in His divine providence is the confession that says, “I believe in God who is in complete control not only in the affairs of the nations but also in the lives of every person in this world, including my life.”

So if your confession, if your lifestyle betrays the sovereign rule of Christ, you better be wise. You need to humble yourself before the Lord and admit your act of insubordination, or worse still, of worshiping another god. “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment” (Psalm 2:12).

So fear God reverently, just as all the earth ought to fear Him and stand in awe of Him (v.8). You don't need to be paralyzed by the seeming success and the remaining threat of evil in our society. God is still the Ruler of the universe. So we can praise Him with the hymn writer who says, "This is my Father’s world; O let me never forget, That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my Father’s world; Why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King, let the heavens ring! God reigns; let the earth be glad."

Therefore what verses 10-11 boldly declare is that, historical events are not decided in the halls of the nations’ capital or in the secret headquarters of wicked men but in the holy chambers of heaven where God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, has drawn out an eternal plan realized in history’s event.

This history will culminate in the final overthrow of God’s enemies. Today it seems that wickedness is gaining the upper-hand. And we need not be surprised if lawlessness will intensify as history progresses and life in this world becomes more difficult. Just don't forget that God's Word declares that the rulers of this world will not win no matter how great and horrifying pain and terror they will inflict upon the earth. God's eternal purpose will ultimately prevail.

Remember the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Thess.1:8-10 that those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus will suffer eternal destruction in the fullness of God's wrathful presence, away from the glory of His grace and might.

As your friends and neighbors ask your opinion about the current situation, tell them that even though you do not have all the answers as to why the economy is not getting better, you know that our Almighty God plans and orders things, even the crises and tragedies we face, for the good of those who trust Him (Rom. 8:28).

Remind yourself and others that when the Son of God comes again in glory, He will set up His eternal kingdom here on earth where you and I will live and enjoy the gracious reign and eternal communion of our great King Jesus Christ. But warn the unbelievers that those who disregard the law of God, those who do not submit to His authority will experience the most terrible punishment in the hands of the Almighty God. This is the purpose of the Lord that shall stand forever!

So we live with that confidence in God burning in our heart. We go back to our places of work or learning with the sense of trust in the providence of God. Remember that God’s plan aims for our good, for the reign of perfect peace and order in the world, where true “justice roll down like waters and righteousness like ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24). That time is yet to come.

I cannot emphasize enough that this truth really calls us to respond in praise to God, praise expressed not just in words but also in hopeful trust, especially in this time of distress and crisis.

Author Jerry Bridges says, “Our first priority in times of adversity is to honor and glorify God by trusting His heart.” It is right therefore for us to praise God even in this time of national and global distress because God has chosen us in Christ and has purposed our good and that He will not be frustrated in fulfilling that purpose.

Prayer: Perfumed by His Blood

(An article on prayer by Douglas F. Kelly)

It is easy to speak about Christianity and doctrine and theology and morals and ethics. But in their hearts, many people want to know, "Can God be real for me? Can I touch Him? Could He touch me? Can things in my life be different because of God’s moving and making that difference?" Let me ask you, "Would you like some things to be different? Do you have things on your mind and heart that you are not able to change?" Maybe it seems that some things that concern you are beyond any human help you can think of. If so, you are reading the right article. God has brought this to you.

The first nine verses of Revelation 8 show us how things can be different; things which seem to be beyond any human power any sort of mastery of the will, or quite beyond any worldly circumstances. God uses word images here to help us understand profound spiritual truth—He can intervene! God can change your situation! God can make it profoundly different!

These verses let us see what lies behind the obvious, what makes things happen in this world we live in. It is very much like we are attending a stage play. As we take our seats, the curtains are drawn. As the curtains draw back, we see the set and the actors. The beloved apostle John, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is drawing back the curtains which separate the unseen world from the visible world. He is showing us God’s way of ordering history, God’s way of determining what happens in our lives.

A Highway

In one sense, we can say the Bible teaches us that prayer is like a highway running between two worlds. We inhabit a material world. God created it. But there is another world also, one we do not see with our physical eyes. Nonetheless, this other world — the spiritual world, the heavenly realm — is just as real and is even more powerful and significant than the world we do see. Revelation 8 shows us the connection between the spiritual world we do not see and the material world we inhabit. These two worlds are interconnected and what happens in one impacts the other.

If we see Revelation 8 as a stage play, there would be an upper scene and a lower scene. And the spotlight shifts between the two scenes.

The action begins in upper scene, heaven. The spotlight focuses on an angelic being opening a seal. Without going into the prophetic significance of this, we can say that God has the initiative in history, that God really is in control. Behind all of history is the throne of God. He has never relinquished His control.

But in verse three, the spotlight leaves heaven, focusing on this material realm you and I inhabit. We see Christians praying and their prayers are ascending before God. As far as God’s operation of the universe is concerned, the meeting of believers to pray in the name of Christ can be more powerful than transactions of the New York Stock Exchange, the movements of an army, the rising and falling of interest rates or the meeting of a legislature, or a parliament. Simple, ordinary, frail, weak men and women who every day have to ask Jesus to forgive them, make them clean and renew them are praying. Those praying may feel nothing, not one thing. But something important is about to happen. Watch out!

Ascending Prayers

The spotlight suddenly shifts away from the earth and goes back up to the heavenly realm. As the believers’ prayers ascend to the Supreme Court of the universe, to the Lord and God who created all things out of nothing, something remarkable, something wonderful, something beautiful is happening.

An angel is adding a very special incense to the burning coals in a golden censor. We see him broadcasting the fragrant perfume as he walks around before the throne. The fragrance from the golden censor "perfumes" the saint’s prayers, causing them to be sweet smelling in the nostrils of God.

We are reminded of the golden censer the high priest used in Old Testament times. It was right beside the ark of the covenant which enshrined the law. The ark was covered by the mercy seat on which blood was sprinkled to "cover" the people’s sin until the Lamb of God should come and die on the Cross for their sins. In order to make the praises and the lives and the prayers and the worship of an imperfect and sinful, complaining, worrying, frail people acceptable to God, the high priest was to take coals from the altar of sacrifice, place them in the golden censer and sprinkle special incense on them. He would then walk around the holy place swinging the golden censer, wafting the fragrant incense over the mercy seat. This demonstrated that our worship does not smell good because of our sin. Because we are so frail and imperfect and bring so much dirt with us every time we worship, our prayers, our praise, our devotion, our reaching out to God in and of ourselves are not acceptable before the perfectly awesome, holy, pure God of God, Light of Light. So God commanded the high priest to do something to make the people’s praises "smell good" to Him, to make them acceptable.

Entrance Through the Wounds

A biographer of General Stonewall Jackson recounts a very moving scene which occurred the day before Jackson’s funeral. Very much a believer, Jackson had been accidentally shot by his own troops during the War Between the States. As his body lay in state, thousands and thousands of people filed by for a last look at this great southern general. Many threw flowers on his coffin as they passed silently by. Late in the day as the sun was sinking, the marshall gave orders to close the doors of the great chamber even as hundreds of people were still thronging to get in. As the big brass doors began to close, a rough bearded veteran in a tattered grey uniform began pushing his way to the front of the line. The marshall, at this abusive behavior, was about to push the man down the stone steps for his insolence. Suddenly, the grizzled veteran, with tears running down his cheeks raised high the stump of his arm and cried, "By this right arm which I gave for this country, I demand the privilege of one more time seeing the general under whom I served." The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia standing nearby said to the marshall, "Let this veteran in. He has won entrance by his wounds."

Your prayers and mine cannot win entrance to God by our own wounds. But our prayers do win entrance to the very throne of God by the wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Incensed Prayers

Something happens to believers’ prayers when we pray to the Father in Jesus’ name. As our prayers reach heaven, it is as though angels sprinkle perfume on our prayers, making them smell good. They become delectable, delightful things which our heavenly Father is thrilled to receive.

But what is this incense? The incense, the perfume, the fragrance put onto our prayers is actually the merits, the worthiness of life and particularly the atoning death of Jesus in our place.

When we pray it is as though our prayers are taken through the wounds of Christ’s body. They are made acceptable, they are made beautiful, they are made fragrant, they are incensed, they are made things of power. This is what it means to pray in Jesus’ name. It is not just a ritual, not merely a form. It is more than that.

It is a way of saying, "Lord, hear me through the merits, through the worthiness, through the death, through the wounds of Your Son. Perfume my prayers as they pass through the holes in His hands and feet. Make them worthy. Cause all my worship and all my desires to serve Thee worthy through what He has done in my place."

Too often Christians are hindered from praying by the sense of their unworthiness. They believe God will not hear them because they are too imperfect. God’s Church is being robbed of tremendous power right now because His people feel too unworthy to continue persevering in prayer until they see the answer. Our culture is slipping and disintegrating because so many in the Church have been robbed of our prayer power. We know that our own worthiness is inadequate, so we don’t pray much.

Yes, we are imperfect. Yes, we are unworthy. Yes, we have sinned. But we do not pray in our own names. We pray in Jesus’ name. We stand on His merits. We plead His blood and righteousness. And our prayers go up through His wounds.

Your prayers, the prayers of every believer are perfumed, are incensed when they go to heaven. Something powerful happens to our prayers when they get to heaven because of what Jesus has done and is doing. The Epistle to the Hebrews shows Him continually interceding for us. That is Jesus’ primary work since His resurrection and Ascension. Jesus is concerned with taking the prayer of His people through Himself to the Father.

Fire On the Earth

Back at the theater, the spotlight leaves heaven where the prayers are being perfumed and shifts back to the earth. When the saints’ perfumed prayers reach heaven the angels are given authority to cast fire onto the earth.

There is powerful movement between the two worlds. Revelation 8 shows the burning up of ships, illustrating that prayers can turn the tide of battle. There is nothing of any concern, whether physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, whether in the realm of personal relationships—there is absolutely nothing that God’s people cannot take to Him in prayer through the wounds of Jesus.

Fire can be cast into this world against doors closed to the Gospel’s influence. Praying can bring down the fire to burn away those doors. Corruption and iniquity from the depths of a heart opposed to God can be purged away by the fire. God’s fire can fall into the heart of someone for whom we are praying, transforming that heart of stone into a heart of flesh.

Believe It!

What concerns and areas in your life need the fall of God’s fire? Where do you want to see the fire of God, the power of God, the changes of God to fall? You can take them to Him. You can join with other Christians to take them to the Father through Jesus. There is a highway between this world and heaven. Prayer is that highway.

God can make that fire fall. When saints pray, fire is cast into the earth. It all depends upon the worthiness of the Lamb who died for us though Him, in Him, with Him, our God. Lord, teach us to so pray!

This article originally appeared in the May, 1994 PCA Messenger.

Persistent Praying Presupposes Faith

1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary....And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
- Luke 18:1-8

The main thing that we need to see in the parable and the concluding statement made by our Lord Jesus in verse 8 is that God will vindicate His elect. God will give justice to His people who have been crying out day and night for vindication. In other words, we can keep on praying for the kingdom of God to come because God will surely hear us and will deliver us from all our woes in this life.

Notice that in the parable, the idea of giving justice or vindication is quite prominent. There are two main characters in this parable. One is a helpless widow who desperately cries out for justice because someone had wronged her.

The other character is an ungodly and uncaring judge who keeps on denying and putting off the widow's request for justice. He was refusing to grant her request for a while because he doesn't care for her. But the widow would not take 'no' for an answer.

So when the widow keeps on coming to him to the point of bothering him and wearing him out, he finally yielded to her request.

I like the way one pastor described a modern version of her persistence. He said, “[The judge] no sooner leaves the courtroom to go home for lunch, than this woman dogs his steps all the way to his house. When he comes out to go back to work, there she is. When he goes home at night, she’s there again. Every morning she is parked at the door of the courthouse, waiting for him to show up. Every day he tells her to get lost, but she keeps coming back. He can’t get rid of her! She’s beginning to dominate his life. He begins to hate going to work, because he’s going to be confronted by this nagging woman!” That's a good description of her persistence.

The judge realized that the only way to get rid of her is to grant her request. So he said to himself, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”

And what's the point that Jesus made out of this parable? It is this: If an unrighteous judge can be moved to grant justice to the persistent widow for the wrong reason, HOW MUCH MORE will the Righteous Judge vindicate His people who cry out to Him day and night out of His love and compassion for them?

Indeed, God is unlike the unrighteous judge. In fact He is the opposite of everything the judge was. God loves us and takes care of us as His children in our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we were enemies of God because of our sin and disobedience. Yes, we were dead in our sins and trespasses and were objects of His wrath.

But because of His great mercy and grace, God freely saved us from His wrath through the propitiatory [wrath-removing] death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of His kindness He forgave us all of our sins, justified us and made us His children by faith in Jesus Christ. Such is the love of God toward us, dear people of God.

Don't you ever think that He has forgotten you when you're suffering and struggling in your life! Don't you dare to say that Christ doesn't care when you are assaulted by the world and the devil each day! Don't even think that God leaves you when you're tempted. No!

Even though Christ is in heaven and waiting for the right time to return, He doesn't leave us like a widow or an orphan. He is not totally remote and uninvolved in your daily struggles. In fact, as the book of Hebrews says, Christ sympathizes with us and he prays for us in time of need. He looks at us with compassion and He does something for us so we can deal with our struggles and pains. When sometimes God is silent to your prayers and longings, don't give up.

Again this is where you must see the role of the Holy Spirit as vital in the Christian life. We confess that both the Father and the Son have sent the Spirit as our Comforter and Enabler. The Spirit's work in us and through us is part of God's providential care so we will not give up but persevere in prayer. The Spirit empowers us to do the will of God and to resist every impulse of our sinful nature to sin (Gal 5.16-25).

He helps you and me to endure every trial and affliction even with joy (1 Thess 1.4-7). He strengthens you in your weakness and even intercedes for you when you do not know what to pray (Rom 8.26-27) and do not WANT to pray.

So you see, Christ's compassion toward us moves Him to equip us with His Spirit so we can keep on praying at all times in spite of the many trials in life.

But dear brothers and sisters, Christ is coming again. We do not know when but He tells us to be ready at all times. And the way to prepare for His coming is to be always on our knees praying, “May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

When Jesus comes again He will completely and swiftly establish His eternal kingdom of justice and righteousness. He will put an end to all our pain and suffering and to all our struggles against the forces of this world. But when He comes will He find us persistently praying? Will He find FAITH in us? That's the challenge of Christ's instruction to persevere in prayer.