“They found it just as he had told them”

“They found it just as he had told them”

           This morning while I was eating breakfast, I listened to Luke 22. That's the story of how Peter and John prepared the borrowed Upper Room for Jesus and His disciples to eat the Last Passover together (which included the First Lord's Supper). As I was listening carefully, one phrase captured my imagination.
⁷ Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸ So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” ⁹ They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” ¹⁰ He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. [That's the first unusual part of it because usually it was women who carried the jars of water from the spring or well and not men.]

          Follow him into the house that he enters ¹¹ and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹² And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” [What sort of contact Jesus had earlier with this man, we are not told, but we do know that Jesus had made all the arrangements. It was God's time and He was ready.]

^{13 “}And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.”

        All this is preliminary, of course. The really important part is what happened after they met for the Passover Meal and Jesus washed their feet and ate the Passover meal with them and gave them those wonderful promises that we all love so much from John 13-16.  But what gripped my attention this morning were these marvelous words which seem so ordinary and perhaps expected: ”And they went and found it just as he had told them,”

         Isn't that what you would expect? Well, yes it is, of course. But think of how we can apply this to ALL the words that Jesus tells us. Haven't you already found that true?   Remember how Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation.” Hasn't that happened to you? But don't forget His words of comfort which are also true, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

         And through one of His servants He told you, “No temptation [or testing] has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let [or, allow] you to be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Cor. 10:13 ESV And you found it just as he had told you.

          And you received with joy Jesus' legacy that He left for us when He said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. . . . Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27 ESV And you found it just as he had told you. You found that you didn't have to allow yourself to be troubled or afraid.

          Some of you are getting older and more tired. And you realize the truth of 2 Cor. 4:16, that we are “outwardly wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” That's a promise and you found it just as he had told you. And some of you find your strength ebbing away as the years progress and the demands of life seem to multiply. And you remember the promise to Asher, “as thy days, so shall thy strength be.” Deut. 33:25 And you found it just as it was told you.

           You thought you didn't have any strength and then you remembered this promise, ^“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 You waited on the Lord and you were of good courage and He did strengthen your heart. You found it just as it was told you.

          And with anticipation and expectation you read of Jesus' promise, John 14:3 (ESV)
^“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” How comforting to your heart to look forward to that blessed day you enter eternal life in His Presence. And you will find it just as He told us. He will take you to Himself that you may be where He is.

The Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ

The Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ

            The Glory of God is “the highest of all topics and the grandest of all subjects.” To display God's glory was God's purpose in creating the entire universe and its people. And in the process His grace is central so we sing praise to His glorious grace ^“That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:7

            The Glory of God is who He is in His essential Being and all that He has done and is doing. The visible manifestation of the Glory of God is the glorious light that surrounds Him. God “alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light. . . .” 1 Timothy 6:16 ESV Moses and the children of Israel saw the glory of God as the Shekinah Glory led them through the wilderness. The glory of God was in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. It showed itself as the Glory Cloud during the day and as a pillar of fire at night. Moses saw the Glory of God in the burning bush and on Mount Sinai when God gave “the Law of Moses.”

             The Hebrew and Greek words for glory are both weighty and beautiful. That's precisely what scripture says: ^“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” 2 Corinthians 4:17 And there is no greater majesty and splendor and inherent beauty than the glory of God.

            Used of man, glory speaks of radiance and praise, reputation, and wealth. Vanity and pride is associated with it. It is finite, transitory, and fickle, dependent on the whims of the crowds and the image makers. “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” 1 Peter 1:24-25 ESV And so does the glory of God in His absolute perfection. His holiness, his majesty, his character, His power, His works all contribute to His glory.

           And the glory of God was demonstrated in the Person of Jesus who is the highest revelation of God. He is “the image of the invisible God,” Colossians 1:15 ^“the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholds all things by the word of his power when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3

             In the Incarnation “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 They all saw the excellence of His character, and Peter, James, and John saw the visible manifestation of His glory in the transfiguration. He “was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun,” “and his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow. . . .” Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:3 Years later Peter wrote, “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” 2 Peter 1:16

           There is also the glory of God's beautiful creation. ^“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1 ESV ^“There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.” 1 Corinthians 15:40-41 ESV

          Does man have intrinsic glory? Well, yes, he does! God gave it to him when He created man in His own image, to reflect in a small, finite way, SOME of the things God can do though infinitely different, still man can think, feel, act, love, make moral and ethical judgments, be creative, love beauty, accomplish worthwhile projects, build, improve. All of the things God gave us to do in the cultural mandate of Genesis 1:26-27. That is the dignity and worth of mankind.

           ^“For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.” Psalm 8:5-6   So man created in the image of God should be accorded the deference and dignity that God has conferred upon him. That's why we should treat everyone with dignity and respect, because we know who they are!--created in God's image.

           But fallen man's conception of “glory” is quite different from that. And to describe it we need a Greek word quite different from doxa which means glory. For this we must use kenodoxos which means man's desire of praise, being conceited and boastful. Man wants to be the center of his own universe and claims to be autonomous or independent of God. When the truth of the matter is that we cannot even breathe our next breath without God.

           In the Graeco-Roman world of Bible times fame and glory were among the most important values in life. And the Jewish rabbis also highly esteemed the honor and praise of man—characteristics that Jesus warned against. In contrast the apostle Paul told the Thessalonians, “We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.” 1 Thess. 2:6

         The Glory of God and the Beauty of God are so closely related they could almost be used interchangeably. Here's how Sam Storms expressed it, “God’s glory is the beauty of God unveiled. Glory is the resplendent radiance of His power and His personality. Glory is all of God that makes God God, and shows Him to be worthy of our praise and our boasting and our trust and our hope and our confidence and our joy.”

“Glory is the external elegance of the internal excellencies of God. Glory is what you see and experience and feel when [you see the beauty of the works of God in creation.]

“Understanding God is but a means to enjoying God. We tell others of this glory and [thus increase our joy and theirs] at what we have told. . . .

“Treasure God. Prize Him. Delight in Him. Enjoy Him. In doing so you magnify Him, you show Him to be the most wonderful and sweet and all-sufficient being in the universe.

“. . . Enjoying God is not a means to a higher end. This IS the end. Enjoying God is not a pathway to the pinnacle. It is the pinnacle, the purpose for which you and I live. As such, it is the solution to our struggle with sin. The antidote to apathy is the enjoyment of God. It is the divine catalyst for human change.”

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

--Sam Storms, One Thing: Developing a Passion for the Beauty of God. Christian Focus Publications 

“What is the chief end of man?” “To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”

–Westminster Shorter Catechism, 1643

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord. . . .” Psalm 27:4

“Swallowed up by Life”

What is the purpose of life? Who are you? Why are you here? How did you get here? Where are you going? What are you supposed to be doing while you’re here? Those “basic questions” have puzzled and tantalized people throughout the ages and most people never find the answers because they are looking in the wrong place. But God gives us answers in Scripture. There are many “purpose statements” in various places in scripture. One of the clearest and one of my favorites is in 2 Corinthians 5:4 ESV “For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.”

The Greek word is katapino and it means “to drink down, i.e. gulp entire (literally or figuratively).” The reference is Isaiah 25:8 ESV “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces.”

Death is the entry into eternal life. We will no longer be “pilgrims and strangers”; we will be “home at last”!

“Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose. . . .” That’s why God created you in the first place, to share the glories of eternal life with you in fellowship with Him and with those whom you love. Jesus prayed to the Father, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3

The Westminster Catechism has it right: “What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever!” Let’s do both–right now!

2 Corinthians 5:1-9 ESV

For we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. [2] For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, [3] if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. [4] For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. [5] He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. [NIV: He has “made us for this very purpose.”]

[6] So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, [7] for we walk by faith, not by sight. [8] Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. [9] So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

[What is your ambition in life? Always to “please Him”? Ironically, that’s where you will find true happiness–as a by-product of pleasing Him, you will “please” yourself! That’s just another example of God’s grace! But if you focus on yourself, you will never find true happiness or “fulness of joy”–which is what Jesus prayed for His disciples: “so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” John 17:13 NIV]

The Pleasure of Reminiscing and the Comfort it Brings

The Pleasure of Reminiscing

and the Comfort it Brings

Have you ever noticed when you haven't seen someone for a long time how much the two of you or several of you talk and laugh about what happened to you a long time ago? Do you remember this or that? And the warm-hearted memories cheer the conversation. That's because when you love someone, you want to share the good things of life with them—and the good memories. And Minnie often quoted Elisabeth Elliot's book “All That Was Ever Ours. . . .” [Still is!] That's because you carry those things in your heart and in your memory and they have become a part of who you are. Whatever was yours, still is. The memories remind you of your love for one another and the faithfulness of God. They are an intrinsic part of who you are.

But have you also noticed how quickly our wonderful experiences slip from the present into the past? I'm presently on another very rewarding project. During the 1970's and 1980's Minnie and I took pictures mostly as slides and only had a few of them printed to put into our photo books. So I'm going through hundreds of slides—probably 2000 or more—and having many of them transferred to CD's or DVD's. The resulting resolution is excellent and the whole family can now have copies to see on their computer screens what had been only a sampling of small photos in the photo books. So I'm thankful to the Lord for technological improvements making it easy to share with others.

And yes! There's an important theological and practical lesson to this experience. Those wonderful pictures of happiness and joy with all those sweet grandchildren the Lord gave to Minnie and me can be enjoyed again in our memories while seeing them again on the screen. But—and this is profound! And should be pondered—those sweet little children are not sweet little children anymore! They've grown into adulthood and have their own families. And yes, we still love them and are close to them. And yes, they're still a joy to be with! But the little ones are not there any more. And yet we haven't lost them! And there's where the deep profound theology comes in! In a very similar way, I haven't lost my wife either—and you can make the application to your own life. She is with the Lord and all the wonderful growing together and building into each other's lives has taken fruit and made us both into the kind of persons we actually are. And through it all God was working out His purposes in our lives and gradually transforming us more and more into the image of Christ from one degree of glory to the next. (2 Cor. Chs. 3 & 4)

Now for Minnie, she has actually seen the Lord face-to-face and has become like Him! just as scripture promised. And we have the reassurance that we will see her again someday! What an enormous comfort it is to know where she is and with Whom and that we will see her again not many years from now. And all the good things God has poured into our lives in Christlike character is still there and always will be. Time doesn't erase, it just adds on more of God's blessings for us to enjoy in eternity future.

--Pastor Burnside

Rejection--how to deal with it

How to Deal with Rejection

           When I was a pastor of a little Baptist church and my wife was suffering with pancreatic cancer, I told our congregation that one of Satan's principal weapons against us was discouragement. As a roaring lion he seeks to devour us with discouragement so that we will throw in the towel and say, “Oh, what's the use?” He works on our motivation. I didn't realize it but C.S.Lewis said the same thing many years ago, “If Satan's arsenal of weapons were restricted to a single one, it would be discouragement.”

          And Steven Lawson described it this way: “A discouraged person loses all sense of perspective, choosing to believe the worst rather than the best. At the center of a discouraged heart is always an ungrateful spirit—one that has lost sight of God's blessings and focuses instead on the burdens.” “A thankful spirit is never overcome with despair.”

          And then he showed how to deal with rejection, which is one of the principal causes of discouragement.   “How does a person overcome being rejected? We are all subject to discouragement and despondency. How do we rise above such a low spirit?

“1. Rest in God's greatness. No matter how great our trial or suffering may be, God remains greater still. As Jesus came walking on the waves to the disciples, so He comes to us as sovereign over our storms. Even in the midst of life's greatest strugglews, God remains infinitely greater as Lord over all. Nothing is beyond His control. 

“2. Rest in God's goodness. Faith must remain confident in God, who is always working for the good of His people. Never will God deviate from His eternal purpose. Even when times are tough and difficulties are many, we must remain unwavering in the assurance that God is working all things after the counsel of His own will. Eph. 1:11 No matter how threatening the circumstancesor how painful our losses, God remains enthroned in the heavens and is committed to working through our trials. . . .

“3. Rest in God's grace. In the midst of life's threatening storms, know and believe that God gives a greater grace. In our weakness His strength is made perfect. It is when discouragement threatens to overwhelm us that God's grace is multiplied in lives that are yielded to Him. No matter how great our disappointments, God's grace is greater still.

         “Prayer. God, our Father, we praise you for your sovereign, providential watchcare over every detail of our lives. Thank you for your infinite love that carries us through the refining fires of affliction as you purify us and present us faultless to stand in your presence. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.”

                           --Steven Lawson, Commentary on Job, pp. 64-65

"Therefore . . . we do not lose heart"

“Therefore . . . we do not lose heart”

           We have a large extended family and many friends from all over the world. So I talk to a lot of people and exchange e-mails with many more. It burdens me that so many of them seem discouraged much of the time and dissatisfied with so many things in their lives. And of course we all have to contend with “the world, the flesh, and the devil.” But you should be able to do that without losing heart and getting discouraged, shouldn't you? After all, “we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” and “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:37, 28 We have the Holy Spirit who indwells us and Jesus has promised, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” And the anticipation of the glories and joys of heaven that await us should fill us with awe and give us a desire to know more about that which is yet to come.

           So why do we get discouraged? “Why art thou cast down, O my soul and why art thou disquieted within me?” Psalm 42 And more importantly, what can you do about it? As with so many other everyday practical things, scripture has a lot to say about the problem. One category of verses are those which say, “Therefore . . . we do not lose heart.” Let's look at about 4 of those today. 1- Jesus' words in Luke 18:1 esv are so simple and so practical:

“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” When we are tempted to be discouraged, we should automatically go into the prayer mode, talking to the Lord as we go our way in a sort of unbroken conversation with the Lord, even while we do our daily work. You're focusing on Him and His glory and what He can do about your problems rather than stewing about the problems themselves.

2- 2 Corinthians 4:15-16 (ESV) For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. God is at work extending His grace and working in and through us and for that we should be thankful to be servants of the Most High God, using us for His glory.

And then he goes on to tell us in verse 17 what our problems and afflictions are bringing about, what they are accomplishing: ^'For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. . . .” They are doing something, they are accomplishing what God set out to accomplish.

3- Hebrews 12:3 (ESV) “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” Keep your focus on Jesus and think about Him and what He did and how He acted and reacted so that you do not lose heart.

4- Isaiah 40:31 (ESV) “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Wait on the Lord. Look expectantly to Him. Expect Him to renew your strength because though our body is getting older, the Holy Spirit renews our inner person day by day.

So hold onto those 4 principles to deal with discouragement:

1. Pray always. Always pray.
2. Realize God is accomplishing something of value through your afflictions.
3. Focus on Jesus and set your mind on things above
4. Wait expectantly on the Lord, expecting Him to give you renewed strength.
5. And add a 5^th principle: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
6. And a 6^th: “Rejoice in the Lord always!”

The Man Born Blind

The Man Born Blind

John Chapter 9

In the story of the man born blind Jesus gives us one of the major reasons why you and I and all of us in this fallen world have so many afflictions, tribulations, and suffering. He doesn’t answer all the questions. He didn’t intend to. But with this passage and many more in scripture the answer begins to form and take shape. God in His grace has revealed in the pages of scripture many reasons for the suffering that is so much a part of human history and life.

We pick up the story after Jesus has been teaching in the Temple complex during the Feast of Tabernacles and walked away from the hostile Jewish leaders who actually picked up stones and tried to kill Him. But God would not permit them to harm Him because “His hour was not yet come.” It was not yet God’s time for Him to die. So Jesus simply walked through their midst and left the Temple grounds. That account is in John chapter 8. John 9 begins this way: “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, ‘Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”

          The disciples understood from the Old Testament why there exists sickness and suffering and pain and death in the world. It is because of the Fall and the Curse which followed as a result when God pronounced His judgment on the world in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and chose to do that one thing that God had prohibited: they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and immediately died spiritually and brought into existence physical death. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12 “The wages of sin is death. . . .” Rom. 6:23

We all share in the suffering brought on by sin and God’s judgment. The Fall of Man and the curse of God on the world was basic truth that the disciples well knew, but they were confused on the application of the truth that we are fallen creatures in a fallen world. Sin and sorrow, pain and death come as a result of sin in the world, and if a person is sick or infirm, he/she is sharing in the fallenness of this world.

In the situation before us the disciples wanted to know, “Who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus’ answer is dramatic and sweeping and greatly reassuring to us: “Jesus answered, ‘Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.’” John 9:3

Jesus is obviously NOT saying that they were sinless (for that would contradict scripture such as “All have sinned” “There is none righteous, no, not one,” etc.) His point is very clear: this man’s blindness was NOT the direct result of his own sin or that of his parents. He was born blind; he hadn’t done anything good or bad before he was born while he was in his mother’s womb.

But what was the reason for his blindness, then? Jesus gave us the answer!

“that the works of God might be displayed in him.” That answer gives all of us a very important reason why God sends affliction and suffering our way. To be sure, we must all share in the suffering of this fallen world, but God is doing much more in your affliction. “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” 2 Cor. 4:17 And in the NIV: “for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” So God is doing something, producing something through our sufferings. Elsewhere in scripture we are told many of the things He is doing. Just one example: He is making us more like Christ as we share in His sufferings and He strengthens and comforts us in our sufferings.

And what was the means–and this is very important!–that God used to bring the man to Jesus? A terrible affliction–he was blind from birth. How many times do you suppose he told others, “Once I was blind but now I see” –and realized what happened to him spiritually as well as being given his physical sight. (Which was unheard of since the creation of the world!) That man surely was thankful that he was born blind because that was the way God gave him his spiritual sight and salvation in Christ and eternal life.

The means God uses to bring countless people to Christ is affliction and problems and troubles so that they will realize their inadequacy and lostness. Then when they hear the gospel, they can repent of their sins and turn to Christ with their empty hands of faith and Christ will receive them.

And once the Lord succeeds in bringing a person to Himself–usually through “much tribulation” and reaping the results of their folly, then the lost sinner falls on his face before a holy God and repents and cries out to Him, “God, be merciful to me a sinner and save me for Jesus’ sake.” When that happens, then God has begun His good work in you. So we are back to the work of God being manifest in us.