Musings about Light and Darkness and the Importance of Pressing On

Sometimes I find myself thinking: "I failed, I blew it, I just never get it right . . ." sometimes it seems like I can't get it right even if I try. It is a recurring and almost living nightmare. Yes, it hurts to let others down, and nobody wants to feel like a failure. Here's some truth I'm trying to learn: The shadow proves the sunshine. The shadow is evidence of light shining, and that is true for each of us. Life doesn't always go the way we hope, and sometimes we get the distinct impression it is all our fault. I don't have magic words to fix the problem, but I am aware that there is a Light. We need to move from darkness to Light, but sometimes it is hard. Know this, you are not alone here, and the shadow being cast points to the existence of that Light. Head towards the Light, let him be your guide and help. Take it in your stride . . . further up and further in.

Or maybe we think: "Sometimes I feel invincible, but sometimes I feel invisible." Take this as a word of encouragement. You are known and noticed. I know people don't say it often enough, and I know it isn't always obvious. Nonetheless, we see you. You feel invisible, but your presence often encourages the rest of us. We see how you handle hard times, we see how you care for others, and we see your struggle complete with victories and sometimes defeat. Nonetheless, we see you. We see you get up again, and we derive hope. "If that person can do it, so can I" we think in our sometimes overstimulated and worn out minds. Your willingness to get up, to continue, to "fight the good fight" causes courage and hope to rise up in many of us. And we are grateful. You are not invisible, but you are a hero to many of us.

As we press on to the Light, may we find encouragement in the fact that Jesus is the pioneer of our faith, he is the one paving our way forward. Yes, times may be hard and darkness may seem to win, but the Truth will win in the end. Please remember this--obedience to Jesus is success. Your obedience even in the hard times is a blessing to others. Thank you, and keep moving forward. Head to the Light, Jesus is there and you'll find your rest with him one day. Mourning last for the night, but joy comes in the morning. Let's keep moving forward to joy and rest. 

Thanks for reading! 

Advent 2017: Waiting on Joy

We are almost one week away from Christmas! Are we ready? Have we experienced hope and love as we intentionally take time to reflect on the season? This week’s advent focus is joy.

Eugene Peterson says “Joy is nurtured by anticipation.”

The third Sunday of Advent marks a shift away from the solemn tone of the previous two Sundays to a more joyous atmosphere of anticipation and expectancy. The third candle we light on the Advent wreath reminds us that our waiting is almost over, and we can hardly contain our joy.

This is the joy candle because “The LORD had done great things for us; we were joyful.” (Psalm 126:3). The coming of Jesus our Savior and Lord gives us joy. 

Psalm 126:1-6 "When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Our mouths were filled with laughter then, and our tongues with shouts of joy. Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." The LORD had done great things for us; we were joyful. Restore our fortunes, LORD, like watercourses in the wilderness. Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves."

This Psalm starts out with the exiles rejoicing. They had experienced deliverance and blessing from God, and they were almost giddy with joy! We all like living in the times when we feel the blessing of God’s provision and our hearts respond with praise. Of course, the Psalm doesn’t stop there, and neither does real life. Verse four reminds us of the need for restoration. No matter how much we enjoy God’s goodness in this life, we know that this isn’t all there is. This life has areas that aren’t “restored”, that aren’t as they should be. During Advent, we find ourselves waiting for that promised joy, that restoration.

This Psalm talks about dry times, it mentions wilderness times, it reminds us that we have to wait for some things. Like a farmer who sows seeds, we must persevere in doing what we must do, but we must also wait for growth, for watering, for refreshing. Two water images are found here—the gushing forth of mighty streams in the wilderness, and the patient ongoing work that sometimes requires tears.

Jesus had a time of tears, and Scripture reminds us that his time of sorrow also produced great joy. Hebrews 12:2 reminds us that we should “keep our eyes on Jesus, the source and completion of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God's throne.” We must remember that Jesus was born to die, that he was born (as the prophet reminds us) as a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”. Yet he faced the cross, this grim situation, with joy. Jesus looked beyond the cross to a joy that was ahead of him.

What was that joy? Maybe it is the development and growth of his Bride, the Church. Jesus knew his sorrow and suffering would reap a fine crop of restored lives and renewed relationship with God. He saw joy in spite of the hard times. His suffering provided the greatest reason for rejoicing—as he gave his life as a ransom for our sins, he provided for us the opportunity to be adopted as children of God. Jesus rejoiced at the hard labor that faced him, for he knew that God had promised to bring joy through his sorrow, to bring life to the dead.

So it is in our lives. We may enter this Advent season with heavy hearts. We may find ourselves laboring, sowing seed with tears, and enduring hardship while looking forward to a future harvest. Or, we may find ourselves enjoying the presence and the joy of our Lord. We may be in a season of restoration where God is making all things new and pointing to the promise of his kingdom: that future kingdom of love and peace where full fellowship with God is restored and all will be brightness and life.

We all have that hope, even if we aren’t always living in the joy of that kingdom.

As we enter this season of Advent, we may be living in both parts of Psalm 126.  Hearts overflowing with God’s provision and goodness—but still crying out for restoration in some dry areas of our lives. Take heart! There is still reason to rejoice! A flood may be coming our way, and the promise of God’s kingdom is still true.  Rejoice! There may be a slow, seed planting that is watered by our tears and prayers. If so, stay in the field. Persevere. Plant and water. Because even the lone farmer sees his harvest and will break into song. This is a season to celebrate joy.  

Let us not hurry our lives through Advent. Let us be patient with the in-between and not-yets in our lives. Let’s praise God for the goodness flooding us and plant seeds in the barren spots.  As we enter the season of Advent, let us look forward with hope, love, and joy. Let us take a moment to rejoice over those things God has done and will do. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. 

Thanks for reading! 

True Worship, Pslam 95

Here are the notes from my lesson for G.A.P. (Graduates and Professionals) at Thomas Road Baptist Church. This lesson was presented on September 11 and 18, 2011. I hope it is a blessing to you! Please feel free to leave a comment or contact me if you have any questions.

›True Worship: Psalm 95

›Introduction

›Today’s topic is worship. Remember, a few weeks ago we discussed the issue of “Committed or Complacent?” while looking at the early church in Acts 2:41-47.

›In Acts 2:42, we noted that the early church was continually committed or devoted to three things: the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, and to worship.

›We have already looked at the need for continual devotion to God’s Word (sound teaching), and the last two weeks we looked at the issue of fellowship.

›Today, our topic is proper worship.

›Let's look at the Word

›Below there are three texts listed. Each one deals in some way with our topic today.

›I want the class to break into three groups and take 5 or 10 minutes to consider one of these passages and answer the following questions:

›What does true worship look like?

›What are the components of true worship?

›Psalm 95

›John 4:19-24

›Acts 17:22-31

›Some background

›Now that we have all discussed several passages on worship, let me point out that this word appears in some form in almost 200 passages of the Bible.

›Apparently the issue of worship is very important to God.

›In some cases, worship results from passion.

›Everyone is passionate about something, right?

›Name some things people about which people are passionate

›When it comes to worship, however, we must realize that passion is not enough. The thing we worship must have weight, it must be worthy, it must be more than a mere emotional attachment.

›To worship means to give worth to something.

›Our passage today calls us to worship.

›Our Passage

›Psalm 95

›We have already discussed this passage in our groups, but let me give you a bit of background before we look at three aspects of worship found here.

›Psalm 95 was used in a particular time of worship in the life of Israel called The Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. It happened in the fall, and people would go outside and live in little huts that they made.

›They would take their meals there for seven days to remember that they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.

›And they would remember their mistakes that led to the wilderness.

›And they would remember God's grace as well.

›This Psalm then is a reminder to worship God for who he is and what he has done.

›This worship has three aspects

›Joy, Awe, and Obedience

›In each of these remember—Worship is a right response to God

›1. Joy

›Psalm 95:1-5—The psalmist reminds us to “sing for joy to the Lord.”

›What does this look like?

›Shouting

›Giving thanks

›Singing

›Did any of you watch football games yesterday?

›Are you like me?

›When I watch a game, it is not a “quiet” or “laid back” enterprise.

›All of me gets involved

›I yell, I stand up, I raise the roof

›When my team scores, I don’t sit quietly by and say, “Good job.”

›In fact, at football stadiums all around our country yesterday, when the home team scored, pandemonium probably erupted

›Yet when we worship God, we seem to act as though what he has done is worth less excitement than a touchdown

›I’m not saying that we need cheerleaders or a marching band at church (although the band thing could be cool, right?).

›What I mean is that we should show some excitement at what God has done

›Our worship should involve some emotional and joyful expressions

›What is the source of this joy according to Psalm 95? What has God done?

›He has given us salvation

›He is a great God (he is the best!)

›He is the High King over all Kings

›He holds the whole world in his hands

›He made everything, and it all belongs to him (Hebrews 1:1-4)

›Our God is worthy of our joy, of our excitement, of our worship

›True worship includes a joyful response to God’s person and work

›2. Awe

›Psalm 95:6-7—Now we see the tone shift a bit. The Psalmist goes from excitement and loud rejoicing to a more subdued tone.

›Worship, bow down, kneel—you can almost feel the action slowing down. We’ve had our shouting moment, now we are called to reverence, to quiet reflection, to a recognition of God’s presence as an awe-full experience

›Think of Isaiah 6:1-6—how did Isaiah respond when he saw God in the temple?

›He pronounced “woe” on himself

›He felt undone

›He got as low as he could in the presence of a holy God

›Throughout the Bible we find these kinds of responses

›Moses

›Daniel

›John the Apostle

›These people understood the need to get low before their mighty God

›They understood God as their creator, as the holy one

›Our passage contains that kind of feel.

›Yes, it is appropriate to come to God with rejoicing, dancing, shouts of joy, and excitement.

›But sometimes we need to slow down, to wait in his holy presence, to just sit still in front of the one who made us (the one who provides for us)

›What kinds of things cause “awe” in you? Why do you feel that way?

›Usually awe or a sense of reverence is caused by something “bigger” or “grander” than us

›That is how the psalmist sees God

›That’s how we should see him

›Like last week, we need to have a humble heart before our God (Hebrews 12:28-30).

›We are receiving from God the amazing gift of salvation and citizenship in his unshakeable kingdom.

›We didn’t earn it or buy it, we were given it by his grace and mercy

›Therefore we should show gratitude and awe

›We should respond with humble service to God

›True worship responds with reverence to God

›3. Obedience

›Psalm 96:8-11—the sense of awe and reverence should lead to an offer of acceptable service to God (remember Heb. 10?). This is the final point of our passage. True worship requires obedience.

›In the end of verse 7, our author calls us to pay attention, to give heed to the voice of God, while verse 8 warns us not to harden our hearts.

›The call here is to hear and obey. To hear and disobey or to ignore is not only dangerous, it may be deadly (cf. James 2:21-25; Hebrews 2:1-4)

›Note the change in tone again in verse 9.

›God is speaking now, and he does not sound happy!

›Worship has moved from our communications to or about God to God’s communication to us.

›God is speaking, we must hear and obey.

›God now tells us what happens when hearing his Word is not mixed with faithfulness and obedience (Heb. 4:1-2)

›In verse 10 he says “I loathed that generation.” Other translations say, “I was angry with them.”

›The word “angry” has to do with God being disgusted

›Verse 11 reminds us that a lack of obedience may lead to a strong rebuke (Heb. 3:7-12 quotes these verses; Heb. 4:11-13)

›We must be careful not to harden our hearts to God’s Word

›We must respond with obedience

›True worship waits for God to speak, then responds with obedience

›Conclusion

›True worship then involves at least three things:

›Joy at who God is and what he has done

›Awe in the presence of God’s character

›Obedience to God’s Word to us in worship

›In other words, when we worship God, we should include exuberance for his kind gifts, quiet reverence at his enduring holiness, and expectant hearts to hear him speak and to be quick to obey

›If only it was that easy, right?

›Worship can actually be very messy.

›Too often we focus on only one aspect and miss the others.

›We are too loud and never reverential.

›We are always quiet and never rejoice.

›We simply do not listen for God’s voice.

›If the truth were known, we would realize that worship “in Spirit and in truth” (John 14) can be serious stuff.

›If we understood the gravity of it, we would center our lives on seeking to worship a worthy God in a worthy manner

›Every thought and act would be connected to that desire

›So, how do we do it?

›First, let’s find a way to, as A. W. Tozer says, develop “an everlasting preoccupation with God.” It is not an option, it is our calling! Where do you need to remove obstacles that keep you from being preoccupied with God? What keeps your focus off of Jesus and his accomplishments on your part? This week take some time to look for and to remove those obstacles. Become obsessed with Jesus!

›Second, spend some time in corporate and individual worship. Read the book of Hebrews aloud this week. Hear the admonitions from that author to hear and to obey God. Pay attention to the amazing attributes and surpassing superiority of Jesus. Focus on that. Be obsessed with that. Make special time this week to pursue this worship.

›Finally, obey what God has told you. Share his message of grace with others. Love your brothers and sisters. Spend time living the life of Jesus among and toward others. Get involved in community by investing time and energy in blessing those in your life.

›True worship is a right response to God.

›Thanks for reading!

Theology Matters: A Good Foundation Brings Joy, 1 John 1:1-4

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline and questions for our meeting on July 11 and 18, 2010. We started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." As a result, I have a little introduction of the letter before the lesson. The lesson then looks at 1 John 1:1-4 and discusses the theological foundation for real joy. We looked at the issue of the incarnation and how our relationship with God must begin with a proper doctrinal understanding of who Jesus is and what he accomplished. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Theology Matters
And What We Do With It Matters Too
1 John

Introduction to 1 John

Author
a. Probably the apostle John, the author of the Gospel, Revelation, and two other epistles
b. Internal Evidence—similarities to the Gospel
c. External Evidence—Polycarp (associate of John), Irenaeus (disciple of Polycarp), Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian—all claim John as the author of this work
d. The author claims to be an eyewitness

Date—depends on who you ask
Could be anywhere from AD 66 to AD 90.
Probably written around the time of the Gospel

Recipients—churches in Asia (Rev. 1-3) or perhaps Ephesus

Main theme—1 John 5:13 (cf. John 20:30-31)—”that you may know”—the goal is eternal life and an assurance of that life

Life Situation of 1 John
a. The author has responsibility for a circuit of churches (probably located throughout Asia, see Rev. 1-3), and he addresses his fellow Christians as “little children” since he is now aged. The churches appear to be engaged in an ideological struggle that involves the possibility of interpreting the Christian faith as just another philosophy. More specifically, the problem revolves around the character of Jesus of Nazareth. Some were saying that he was not the Son of God come in the flesh. This belief is known as Docetism (a belief similar to later Gnostic ideas) and is directly addressed in 1 John. 1 John may also be written as a cover letter to introduce the Gospel of John.

b. There is a doctrinal issue here. Some folks have declared an elitist position that seems to put them in possession of “special knowledge” or “revelation” or even “anointing” that sets them off as better prepared that others (1 John 2:18-24; 27).
These opponents of John also claim that Jesus was not really a human being. He only “appeared” to be human (i.e., Docetism). Like later Gnostics, they seem to claim that only spiritual things matter, therefore physical is evil. As a result, the Savior cannot be physical. John explicitly addresses this especially in 1 John 4.

Purpose of 1 John:
(a) To introduce the Gospel of John and apply its truth to certain practical situations. 1 John deals more directly with spiritual problems and false teaching than the Gospel (cf. 1:3-4; 2:1; 4:1; 5:13).
(b) To strengthen Christians who were perhaps weak in faith or who required a word of encouragement (cf. 2:1, 7, 12-14; 4:1, 7, 19; 5:13, 21).

Several “so that” statements show purpose:
1 John 1:3-4—”So that our/your joy may be complete”
1 John 2:1—”So that you may not sin”
1 John 2:26—”So that you may not be deceived”
1 John 2:28; 4:17—”So that you may have confidence”
1 John 5:13—”So that you may know that you have eternal life”

That brings us to the prologue of our book and our passage for today—1 John 1:1-4

A Good Foundation Brings Joy
1 John 1:1-4
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
A good foundation
The opponents of John’s message had been proclaiming a message that was not true
That message was causing division and doubt in the believers in Asia
John wrote to tell them the truth and to help them regain confidence and joy
John knew that a good foundation can bring joy

Three things in our passage
a. The Foundation
b. The Fellowship
c. The Resulting Joy

Joy begins with truth

1. The Foundation
1 John 1:1-2

The Incarnation as foundation for good theology
“From the beginning” (cf. John 1:1, Genesis 1:1)
What “beginning” is in sight here?
It is either “creation” or the “beginning” of Christ’s ministry

Eyewitness and first hand experience of John (Acts 4:19-22)
John is telling them what he heard, saw, studied (“look at” or “gaze upon”), and touched. How much more thorough could he be?
John is establishing the veracity and strength of his doctrine
This is not something he made up, it has a history and is tied to real life
The “Word of Life” is tied to historical events—it can be studied, even proven

The “Word of Life” (John 5:19-29; 10: 10-18; 11:25-26)
a. Life revealed—it was manifested to and in us
b. Life proclaimed—it was announced and discussed, it is not a secret
c. Life eternal

The Incarnation is tied to Jesus’ relationship with the Father (John 1:1-5)
Good theology starts with the solid foundation of the Trinity and the Incarnation
Without Jesus (“fully God and fully human”) we cannot have relationship with God/eternal life

Joy is built on good theology

2. The Fellowship
1 John 1:3 (cf. Acts 4:19-22)

What we have seen and what we have heard—that is what we proclaim
John reminds us that as important as good theology is, good practice must also follow
If we know good theology, we must proclaim it
We must stand for what we know to be true
We must announce what God has done in and for us

The concept of koinonia
Fellowship (Acts 2:42; Philippians 2:1)
Having things in common
Sharing a “ship” (story of sailors)
Koinonia implies sharing a life, indeed sharing the “Life” that only comes from God and the relationship between the Father and the Son

The Fellowship of the Father and the Son (1 Cor. 1:9)
The unity of the Godhead
The order of the Godhead
The relationship between Jesus and the Father (John 17:3)

The Fellowship of believers

Joy is found in God’s fellowship

3. The Result: “Joy”
1 John 1:4—textual variant—”our” or “your” joy (cf. John 15:10-12)

Proclamation of true doctrine and the practice of real fellowship leads to the experience of true joy
Note the progression—good doctrine (knowing what God says, knowing the truth), acting on it (proper fellowship and proclamation), and then experience (joy)
We do not start with experience only
We do not rely only on practice or application
We must start with a proper foundation

Joy is built on the foundation of truth and the fellowship only God can provide(John 15:10-12)
For joy to be complete, we must act on what we know
In order to know, we must learn and act

We need time in God’s Word (doctrine), time with God (fellowship), and time with likeminded believers (more fellowship)

Joy is complete when we know truth, live truth, and proclaim truth

Application
How do we respond?

Story of student who didn’t want to spend time learning things he thought were useless

Theology matters
A bad foundation leads to a crooked or cracked house.
The same is true of our lives. A good foundation will lead to joy

This week
a. Learn the truth
Read through 1 John every day (it is only 5 chapters)
Look for the “so that” statements and the “these things we write” statements. Pay close attention to the theological issues John raises

b. Spend time with God
Make a special time each day to be alone with him. Listen, pray, meditate. Let the truth of his existence pervade all you do and think. Fellowship with God.
Spend time with others

c. Find ways to be with likeminded believers. Let them challenge you in the truth.
Find ways to bless others, to share the “Word of Life” with them

Theology matters
True joy comes in knowing and doing the truth

Discussion Questions
1. What is that which was from the beginning? How does the beginning verse (1:1) in this epistle compare to the beginning verse in the gospel according to John?

2. What did John say he had done with this? In what ways can we do these things with the Word of Life?

3. Who or what is the Word of Life?

4. What does John testify regarding this Word?

5. Why does John declare this Word to us? How should we declare this word to others?

6. Who needs to hear the Word of Life in your circle of influence? How can you proclaim this truth to them and help them come to a relationship with God?

7. If we have fellowship based on this Word then with whom do we have fellowship? How does fellowship with the Word enhance or increase fellowship with other believers?

8. Why did John write these things?

9. What is the message that John seeks to get across?

10. What message do we need to believe and live?

11. Why does theology matter?

Thanks for reading!