A People for His Name

"I Will Praise Thee"

June 4, 2011

In Psalm 139, God gives to us His mind concerning our bodies. Since He made our bodies, to view our bodies as He would want us to view them is vital. To that end, consider this: how would you compare God’s work of making our bodies to His other works?

Now compare your thoughts with the revelation of God in Psalm 139. When the Holy Spirit wanted to reveal to us the mind of God about our bodies, He did not think that one word was sufficient. He piled up three striking words one upon another in quick succession in the same verse to indicate the magnificence of His work in creating the human body: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

A carefully examination of each of these three words highlights the importance of our having a proper viewpoint of our bodies:

(1) “Fearfully” – “The same Hebrew word . . . and the same idea of God’s infinite power, being such as to inspire reverential fear, occurs in Ps. lxv. 5; 2 Sam. vii. 23.” (A Commentary, Vol. II, 395) When we consider our bodies, are we moved to an awe of God? Does the fear of God come upon us when we think about our bodies? Does the fear of God control our decisions pertaining to our bodies?

(2) “Wonderfully” – Do we recognize the extraordinary nature of our bodies? Have we ever been gripped with astonishment and wonder at what God has done in making our bodies?

(3) “Marvellous” – God uses this same word in Psalm 119:18 about what is in His Word, and in Psalm 118:23, He uses this same word to speak of His work in raising Christ from the dead! How many of us view what God has done in making our bodies as being even remotely at the same level as what He has done in these other works of His?

Let us praise our God for His wondrous work of making our bodies the way He has!

In Interpretation

Guitar Music for "Like A River Glorious"; Sermon

June 3, 2011

Melody and chords for Like A River Glorious in my format for guitar.

My sermon from Wednesday night: Honor God by Being Filled with the Holy Spirit

In Guitar Music, Ministry, Preaching

New Honor Students and Sports Champions on Judgment Day?

June 2, 2011

Many students have cheated on assignments, tests, and projects over the centuries that there have been schools. Many of them have been caught, but many have not. Will they not be held to account for their cheating?

How many teachers have played favorites with students and not graded assignments, projects, and exams impartially? Will God not one day expose them for their favoritism? If so, will honor rolls, dean’s lists, and award recipients in schools and colleges be changed and will students who were cheated out of honors that they had earned finally be honored the way they should have been?

Many athletes have cheated in sports competitions and not been caught. Will they not be held to account for their cheating at the Judgment?

Only God knows how many unrighteous referees have knowingly made bad calls to favor certain teams and players. What will their being brought to account mean concerning the crowning of new champions for both individual and team sports?

In college, my floor hockey team was in the championship game. I had a penalty shot that I know went into the top corner of the net. My team should have won that game. Because the referee, however, said my shot was not a goal, my team ended up losing the championship in an overtime that never should have happened.

I am not saying that the referee knowingly made a bad call in my case—I would like to think that he did not. I wonder if I will ever find out whether or not we were the real champions that year.

In the 2009-10 NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics lost the championship to the Lakers in the seventh game. I believe that Pau Gasol of the Lakers should have gotten a foul for going over the back of Rajon Rondo for a crucial rebound late in the game. Similarly, I believe that Gasol should have been called for another key infraction late in the game.

Had those calls been made the way that I think they should have been made, the Celtics would likely have won the game. If my perspective on those two calls proves to be right, will the Celtics yet be crowned the NBA champions for 2009-10? Perhaps, instead, there will be so many changes in the scores of the games that some other team will be crowned the actual champion for that year as well as for many other years.

I wonder how many such changes there may be in individual and team honors on Judgment Day.

In Theology

Honor God by Being Filled with the Spirit!

June 1, 2011

Tonight, I had the privilege of preaching at my church, Mount Calvary Baptist, in Greenville, SC. I preached from Acts 6-7.

This passage reveals at least four ways that we are to honor God by being filled with the Holy Spirit:

The record of his initial selection to his ministry shows emphasis on Stephen’s being filled with the Spirit (6:3, 5). His being first on the list of exemplary men among the multitude of disciples shows that he was a man whose life openly honored God (good reputation; full of faith, wisdom, and power). He thus first exemplifies the truth that God wants us to honor Him by being filled with the Spirit in our daily living.

Stephen honored God in his subsequent ministry because he was filled with the Spirit (implicit in the miraculous ministry that he had [6:8] and explicit in the irresistible ministry that he had [6:10]). His irresistible ministry through the Spirit was a fulfillment of promised help from Jesus (Luke 21:15; Mark 13:9).

Like Stephen, second, God wants us to honor Him by being filled with the Holy Spirit in our ministering for Him. The gospel is to come to people through us not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance (1 Thess. 1:5).

Because of his faithful ministry for God, Stephen faced persecution by unrighteous authorities (6:11-8:1). He honored God in how he faced such persecution.

Stephen faced his persecutors by confronting them with a lengthy message (7:2-53) that showed that he had allowed God’s words to dwell richly in him. The Spirit guided him as he defended the faith, using the truths that he had no doubt stored up in his heart over the years.

Stephen bore abundant testimony to God and Christ by speaking of God more than 30 times. Through a lengthy recounting of Israelite history, he challenged these people about their always resisting the Holy Spirit, even as their fathers had (7:51). His doing so implies his being filled with the Spirit.

He then bore testimony to the chief way in which they had resisted the Spirit: they martyred the Just One of whom the prophets had spoken (7:52). They were persecuting Stephen for his testimony to Jesus about what He would do to the temple and the Law; Stephen turned the tables on them by showing how God does not dwell in temples made with hands and that they therefore had a misplaced focus on the physical structure (7:48-50) and how they had not kept the Law themselves (7:53).

His testimony climaxed with testimony to Christ as the One standing on the right hand of God. Luke’s record emphasizes that truth through two successive statements (7:55-56).

Stephen’s Spirit-filled identification and glorification of Jesus as the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God was another fulfillment of Jesus’ promise (Mark 13:11). His use of both Daniel 7 (passage from the OT that is the most used by the NT writers) and Psalm 110 (passage from the OT that is the most quoted by the NT writers) shows strong emphasis on Jesus as the Judge at the right hand of God (cf. “And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man” [John 5:27]).

In the midst of gross injustice, Stephen bore Spirit-filled Christlike testimony to Jesus as the Judge at the right hand of God. Powerless to resist their perversion of justice, Stephen entrusted himself to the One who is ready to Judge the living and the dead.

From his Christlike example, we see, third, that God want believers who, for their faith, face persecution to honor Him by bearing Spirit-filled, Christlike testimony to Jesus as the supreme judicial Authority at the right hand of God.

Because he honored God in defending the faith in the midst of official persecution, Stephen was martyred (7:57-8:1). From his example, we learn fourth that God wants believers who face martyrdom to honor Him by Spirit-filled Christlike prayer.

Jesus had prayed, “Father into Thy hands I commend My Spirit” (Luke 23:46). He thereby entrusted Himself to the One who judges righteously (1 Pet. 2:23). Stephen’s first prayer (7:59) displayed his entrusting himself to the One whom He believed judges righteously, Jesus as the God-exalted Son of Man.

Stephen’ second prayer honored God by displaying his Christlike desire and request that his persecutors would not have their sin laid on them (7:60). Jesus had prayed for His persecutors, “Father forgive them” (Luke 23:34). Stephen prayed to Jesus, the Son of Man, who, even when He was on the earth did supernatural works to prove to people that He had authority on earth to forgive sins (Luke 5:24-25). Having been given all authority in heaven and earth, He now is the Son of Man at the right hand of God who forgives people’s sins.

Stephen’s unnatural prayer—he did not pray for vengeance—revealed the control that the Spirit exerted in his life so that he was what Jesus wants us all to be: people who “pray for them which despitefully use [us], and persecute [us]” (Matt. 5:44).

His prayer displays the heart of God who does not take any pleasure in the death of the wicked and does not want anyone to perish; in fact, He is a God who delights in mercy!

Through the account of Stephen’s life and martyrdom, God wants us to learn to honor Him by being filled with the Spirit 1) in our daily lives, 2) in our ministering for Him, and 3) in our facing persecution (and perhaps even martyrdom for some) for the faith by bearing Spirit-filled Christlike testimony and praying Spirit-filled Christlike prayers.

Let us all honor God by being filled with the Holy Spirit!

In Discipleship

The Incredible Mercy of God!

May 31, 2011

Brought before the Jewish Council (Matt. 26:57-62), Jesus bore testimony to them that He was the Christ, the Son of God (27:63). For His affirming that truth, they condemned Him to die (27:65-66).

Some time later, Stephen was brought before the Jewish council (Acts 6:8-12), which no doubt at that time still had on it many of the same people who were on it when Jesus was brought before them. God then allowed many of the same people who had condemned Jesus to death to hear the same truth from Stephen (7:56) that they had heard from Jesus (Matt. 27:63) but rejected. They responded by putting Stephen to death (Acts 7:57-60).

Through Stephen, therefore, God allowed many of those who had been responsible for condemning His Son to death to hear again the truths that they needed to hear to be saved. Sadly, however, they rejected the truth yet again.

For these people who had in a horrific way more than once rejected God’s salvation, Stephen, as he was dying, prayed that their sins would not be laid to their charge (7:60). Through Stephen’s remarkably gracious prayer, God testified to them His desire for them to be spared the punishment that they so richly deserved for their sins.

The incredible mercy of God shines forth brilliantly in His dealings with these who put His Son to death and martyred Stephen. Truly, He is a God who delights in mercy!

In Interpretation

Prayer Testimony

May 30, 2011

In high school, I suffered at the hands of a few people who persecuted me although I had never done anything wrong to them. In study hall one day, one of these thugs came up behind me and punched me in the back very hard.

I hated him for years after that incident. I remember my wanting to take a baseball bat and smash his head in because of how he had unjustly injured me.

After I was saved, God changed me so that instead of wanting revenge, I prayed for his salvation. Through His Spirit’s work in my life, He made me one who prayed for my persecutors the way Jesus taught: “Pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44).

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). Praise God for His marvelous grace!

Has God made you a new creature in Christ? If He has, there will be real changes in your life.

Have you experienced such changes? If not, I urge you to turn to Christ while there is yet time.

In Prayer

The Gospel Ministry of John the Baptist

May 29, 2011

Luke relates the message (3:7-17) of John the Baptist, the God-appointed predecessor of Christ (3:3-6). In fulfillment of the prophecies in Isaiah 40 and Malachi 3, John was “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (3:3; cf. Mark 1:2-3).

When multitudes came out to be baptized by him, John challenged them about the need to bear fruit in their lives to show that they had truly repented (3:7-14). His challenge included clear statements about future wrath (3:7, 9).

John’s preaching climaxed with a statement of Christ as God’s judicial agent: “His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (3:17; cf. Mark 9:42-49). As the coming Judge, He will both save and destroy.

In 3:18, Luke states that John the Baptist continued to minister the gospel (εὐηγγελίζετο, imperfect indicative) by preaching many other things (πολλὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἓτερα παρακαλῶν εὐηγγελίζετο τὸν λαόν). This concluding statement shows that the Spirit recorded John’s identification of Christ as God’s judicial executor (3:17) as the final statement of this record of John’s proclamation of the gospel.

The parallel account in Matthew 3:7-12 ends with the same statement of Christ’s judicial agency. Both Matthew and Luke, therefore, teach that John’s ministry of proclaiming the gospel included proclaiming Christ as Judge.

After centuries of silence, God directed John the Baptist to begin declaring a message that powerfully challenged people to repent and believe (cf. Acts 19:4) in Jesus in view of His judicial work as God’s Christ. The New Testament record shows that later Christ (Matt. 4:17, 23; 5-7) and His apostles (Acts 2) preached the gospel with messages very similar in content.

The precedent established by John’s message as well as the messages of Christ and His apostles argues for the continued evangelistic proclamation of Christ as God’s judicial agent.

In Dissertation, Evangelism, Gospel

"Burnt Alive"

May 28, 2011

As Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons went to sleep in their station wagon on January 22, 1999, they surely had no idea what was soon to happen to them:

. . . [Dara] Singh and his mob approached [them] at around 12:20 a.m. . . ., running [in] from the fields, armed with lathis [sticks] and trishuls (tridents – three-pronged spears). . . . [A]s they approached [the station wagon], they began screaming.
Singh struck first, wielding an axe at the tyres, deflating them. The others broke windows and prevented the Staines from escaping. Graham was beaten mercilessly and his boys were not spared either. All three were pierced with trishuls. Singh then put straw under the vehicle and torched it. In seconds, the vehicle was on fire. Graham held his two boys close to him. Anyone who knew him would say that the one name on his lips would be—Christ Jesus.
The killers stood there and watched the three roast alive as the fire consumed the vehicle.

—Burnt Alive: The Staines and the God They Loved, 35

As the news of the martyrdom of this great man and his two sons spread around the world, speedy and widespread criticism abounded for this horrific display of inhuman wickedness. The authorities dealt with the perpetrators, punishing them for murdering these helpless people.

Graham Staines and his sons suffered martyrdom for the sake of their faith. Let us allow the memory of their martyrdom to motivate us to be true to Him even as they were.

In Quotes

Guitar Music for "Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart"

May 27, 2011

Melody and chords for Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart in my format for guitar.

In Guitar Music

The Only Inspired Record of the Final Words of a Christian Martyr

May 26, 2011

The final verses of Acts 7 provide us with the only inspired record of the final words of a Christian martyr. The uniqueness of this revelation is interesting because Scripture informs us that other believers were also martyred (James [Acts 12:2]; Peter [John 21:18-19]), but God for some reason did not choose to give us any information about their final words.

Luke records the two prayers that Stephen prayed before he died:

And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep (7:59-60).

Both prayers address someone as Lord. Both prayers parallel prayers by Jesus on the Cross (Luke 23:34, 46).

The first prayer was to Jesus as Lord and concerned Stephen himself. The second prayer concerned Stephen’s persecutors.

When I wrote my dissertation, I argued that Stephen prayed both prayers to Jesus. I was challenged by a committee member who held that Stephen prayed his second prayer not to Jesus, but to the Father.

Whom do you think that he prayed to (Jesus or the Father) and why do you think that way?

In Dissertation, Interpretation, Prayer

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