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Why Do the Nations Rage?

The answer to the question: because it works!  The world is large and scary, and although we see ourselves as Christians as great warriors for the faith standing our ground, it is doing a great job of containing the gospel and our works of service to the walls of our church buildings.  In the 21st century we fear the world more than we fear God (Psalm 2:1-12).

I. John 11:47-50.  “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” the psalmist asks.  After all, don’t they know that it’s useless to fight against the God that created the universe and sustains us? It didn’t stop those in power from scheming to put Jesus to death and thus falling into God’s plan to bring about redemption for mankind. God’s wrath for them is expected (Romans 1:18-23).  In the 1st century, Christians did not shrink back from the world’s attacks but were emboldened because they feared God (Acts 4:24-26).

II. Hebrews 1:2-8. It’s vain because God has set His Son on His holy hill in Zion, who will destroy His enemies with a rod of iron (Hebrews 10:26-31).  The best that the world could muster to oppose the gospel in the 1st century fell woefully short (Acts 4:27-28) because God had planned beforehand how to bring about such a salvation (Acts 2:23-24).  Since none can oppose His will, we should fear God and not the world.

III. Matthew 10:26-28.  It is with fear and trembling that mankind should approach God.  The world can only kill the body, not put body and soul in hell.  Therefore, it is God we should fear.  We should work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) and take refuge in God, not the false friendship of the world.  When the world sought to intimidate early Christians, they prayed for boldness and it was given to them (Acts 4:29-31).  We too must be of those who do not shrink back and are destroyed but of those who through faith preserve their souls (Hebrews 10:35-39).

Is the church (and not God) a refuge for you to escape the world or a gathering of warriors regrouping to battle the world?

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And They Prayed

One hymn we sing brings prayer into a never-ceasing part of our daily lives by asking us four questions:

Ere you left your room this morning, Did you think to pray?

When you met with great temptation, Did you think to pray?

When your heart was filled with anger, Did you think to pray?

When sore trials came upon you, Did you think to pray?

I. Acts 1:1-26.  Told to wait in their time of transition, God’s people prayed.  For about ten days, Jesus’ followers waited for the Holy Spirit to come upon them, and in that time they decided to find a replacement for Judas.  Rather than just picking someone whom everyone liked and might give their group a morale boost after Jesus had ascended, they prayed about it first, and prayer characterized Christians’ lives throughout Acts.  So, we who are waiting for our coming transition to eternity when Jesus returns (Hebrews 9:27-28) ought to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

II. John 14:12-14.  When God’s people don’t inquire of Him, bad things happen (Joshua 9:14-15).  On the other hand, we have record of great encouragement and growth when they do (Acts 4:31).  Jesus invites us to submit to Him in prayer, promising that He’ll do what is within God’s will and not our own (James 4:3-4), so that glory will go to the Father.  It pleases God when we pray without ceasing for ourselves and others to be filled with the knowledge of His will and are saved (Colossians 1:9-10).  But, we have to believe that God will work powerfully through our prayers for His purpose.

III. 1 Timothy 2:1-4.  We have to believe that powerful things will happen when His people pray.  When the Israelites sinned with the golden calf, Moses prayed, recognizing that their only distinction from other peoples in the world, was God’s presence working powerfully in them and through them (Exodus 33:15-17) and God did all that Moses had asked.  We in the New Testament time are told to intercede on behalf of others in all situations and circumstances because God desires all people to be saved.  So, are you praying that the saved may be strengthened and the lost led to Christ?

Jesus’ church today is a continuation of what we can read about twenty centuries ago.  Since prayer was so much a powerful part of their daily lives, shouldn’t we pray without ceasing as well?

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His Grace Reaches Me

When a parent praises a kid for fridge art, “help” repairing a car, or even a tiny fistful of dandelions, is it because of the kid’s ability or resources to provide a really great gift or service?  No, but to the parent, what the kid has given is precious because it is based in love and in the relationship the parent has with the child.

That is grace.  And each of us needs it from our heavenly Father (Psalm 86).

I.  Romans 8:31-34.  The nature of a servant is that we are poor and needy and must trust God to give us what we need.  We trust in His nature to be good, forgiving, and abounding in steadfast love.  He is the giver of grace as is evident in the title hymn:

Deeper than the ocean and wider than the sea, Is the grace of the Savior for sinners like me; Sent from the Father and it thrills my soul, Just to feel and to know that His blood makes me whole.

II.  Romans 8:35-37.  God is above all and works for the good of His creation that He loves.  This grace should be returned with worship from His creation.  We need God to teach us, walk with us, and provide us, who are more than conquerors through Him, with salvation.

Higher than the mountain and brighter than the sun, It was offered at Calv’ry for ev’ry one; Greatest of treasures and it’s mine today, Tho’ my sins were as scarlet, He has washed them away.

III.  Romans 8:38-39.  Others may seek to harm us, so we need God’s protection.  Because of His character, He helps us in His grace so that we are never separated from Him.  We display the grace He gives us by bringing Him glory in lives lived for Him.

His grace reaches me, yes, His grace reaches me, And ’twill last thru eternity; Now I’m under His control and I’m happy in my soul, Just to know that His grace reaches me.

All that we can offer our heavenly Father is like a badly scribbled crayon-drawing, the turning of a plastic screwdriver, or dandelions picked from the ditch.  Yet, He accepts them gladly out of love and gives us more grace.

 

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Made in your image

Father, you made us in your image.
And when we defaced it, you sent your Son, in the fullness of time, to restore it.
You love us and sacrificed for our good.
You sent your Spirit to help us and gave us your Word.
We accept, O Lord, your grace.
Keep us from denying your love.
Keep us from believing the lie that we are worthless.
We rejoice in your kindness and patience.
We confess our need and therefore we seek your Kingdom.
In Jesus’ name we pray and praise you. Amen.

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None of Self and All of Thee

In our relationship with God as in our earthly relationships, we would all insist that we love the other, but to what degree do we love?  The transition to love for God begins when we recognize ourselves in the first stanza of this song and obey the gospel:

O, the bitter pain and sorrow That a time could ever be,

When I proudly said to Jesus, “All of self, and none of Thee” …

[In brackets, I will tell the story of four Valentine’s Days or my spiritual journey: In our last semester of college while student teaching, my wife and I both obeyed the gospel on Sunday, February 14, 1993, just four months before we would graduate and be married, and thus we began our married life together as new Christians.]

I.  1 John 4:7-12.  Growing in our relationship with God, however, progresses from our second birth–just as a baby grows from his first birth or a marriage grows from a wedding.  Sadly, many Christians stagnate for years with a head knowledge of God and the gospel.  They can often cite book, chapter, and verse and can tell all about the love of God (Romans 5:6-8) without truly loving Him in return.  They are caught in the second stanza:

Yet He found me; I beheld Him Bleeding on th’ accursed tree,

And my wistful heart said faintly, “Some of self, and some of Thee” …

[On February 14, 1994, my wife gave me a study Bible to celebrate our first birthday in Christ.  I dove into knowing everything I could learn about it, God, and salvation, even completing a Bible degree.  While my wife was always a solid rock of faith–even through a cancer diagnosis of 2012 and a first brain tumor diagnosis of 2017, I used the gifts God gave me to teach and preach for the next three decades with a strong head love for Christ that went up and down through the years.]

II.  1 Peter 1:6-9.  In the Old Testament, God speaks about refining His people in the furnace of affliction.  In the New Testament, He speaks of using various trials to test the genuineness of our faith that hopefully leads to the salvation of our souls.  In most places today, the freedom to worship and general lack of persecution has made Christians complacent in our spiritual growth and content living with a low level of faith.  Struggles can stir us to a heart love for God as seen here:

Day by day His tender mercy Healing, helping, full and free,

Bro’t me lower while I whispered, “Less of self, and more of Thee” …

[The previous summer had my wife reacting to air quality, chemicals, surfaces, electricity, and wifi.  In desperation, she attended a naturopathic clinic in Kansas in January that showed a mold toxicity in her system.  I began mold remediation and reconstruction in the house to prepare it to sell while also cleansing, storing, trashing, or burning our possessions.  Living with a friend with similar issues, my wife met me for dinner on February 14, 2020, less than a month before her second diagnosis of brain tumors, where we spoke about our uncertain future.  Through radiation, a host of physical struggles, and months of hospice care, God gave us a last season together while He and I worked to break through my wall and I could grow in my heart love for Him.]

III.  James 4:7-10.  A total submission to God in a Christian’s head, heart, soul, and strength is required for him to truly love God and live (Luke 10:27-28).  This soul love can only come with a yielding of oneself to Him entirely and is beyond a head and heart love.  It comes through much prayer and perseverance.  When seeking of His kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33) is added to fear of God and the keeping of His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13), submission can be achieved.  It is beyond the first four stages of grief after a great struggle or loss: denial, anger, bargaining, and depression.  It is found in acceptance and is spoken about in the last stanza of the title song:

Higher than the highest heavens, Deeper than the deepest sea,

Lord, Thy love at last has conquered, “None of self, and all of Thee” …

[I did not arrive here when my wife died in mid-December.  It was only in the past couple of weeks when I finally gave up in my fight against God, no longer struggling to make provision for the flesh (Romans 13:11-14), that I awoke to that soul love for God and Christ, my Savior.  Not that I no longer face temptations, but I am wearing the armor of God while fully submitting to Him and seeking for Him.  And so, this is the lesson I am preaching this Sunday, February 14, 2021, on the 28th anniversary of when my wife and I first professed our love for God, having first realized His great love for us.]

Which stanza of the song do you find your love for God?

 

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Ask What I Shall Give You

Is it better to “grow up in the church” or to escape the world to seek truth on your own?  The first may not know the sharp edge of the world’s heartache, but often a personal faith is taken for granted and underdeveloped.  The second can create an abiding faith but a lifetime of overcoming sinful habits and baggage.  Inheriting the kingdom from his father, Solomon began well as someone who grew up in the church often does.  But, did he seek God or let his heart be led astray?

I.  1 Kings 3:3-28.  In the beginning of his reign, Solomon loved God and walked in the way of his father, King David, yet as he still worshipped at the high places, there’s a hint that his heart wasn’t fully after God’s heart like David’s was (Acts 13:22).  He asks for wisdom or discernment to govern God’s people, which pleased God, and he was granted many other blessings.  What can an abundance of God’s grace do in a heart, vulnerable to temptation and sin, that is not fully chasing God?

II.  2 Samuel 12:7-9.  When David had yielded to sin, the prophet Nathan tells him that God had given him much and would have given him much more, but David had repaid God’s grace by despising God’s Word.  This principle is carried out in the New Testament by Jesus (Matthew 25:29).  We must prove faithful in what we have been entrusted, so that God can use us in even bigger ways.  Sadly, Solomon did not do this, allowing his blessings, projects, and power (2 Chronicles 1:14-17) and the comfort found in sin (1 Kings 11:1-4) lead his heart astray.  Clearly, the wisdom he had to warn against such falling (Proverbs 5:1-9) wasn’t enough to safeguard his heart.

III.  Philippians 4:4-7.  If we seek God and His Kingdom first (Matthew 6:33) and ask for wisdom (James 1:5-8), we must still apply these things to our hearts to truly live for Christ and honor Him as holy (1 Peter 3:13-16).  How do we do this?  We must sell all that this world has to offer (Matthew 13:44) and press on to the goal despite obstacles (Philippians 3:12-16), holding on to what we have already obtained and adding to that in increasing measure (2 Peter 1:3-11).  Then God will guard our hearts.

What could Solomon have achieved if he hadn’t let his heart be led astray?  How could God use you if you used what you’ve already been entrusted with to seek Him and His Kingdom?

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Deserving Father

Our Father, you deserve
at all times to be praised
by happy voices raising
to the heaven of heavens.

Be glorified, O Son,
who gives eternal life,
through all the world of man,
to every distant isle.

What Spirit now abides
in hearts that hear your Word,
transforming earthly souls,
preparing them for you!

Among your joyful people,
we serve and speak and sing,
en route to enter your gates,
with praises on our tongues.

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Praying About Prayer

Some people, Lord, make running commentaries,
but I want to make a running prayer:
All I see, and everyone I meet
become a reason to speak to you.

Isn’t this to pray without ceasing?
Slow me down enough, O Father,
to raise up to you the thoughtful prayer,
be it thanks or requests or praise.

Is it strange to you, O sovereign God,
that I pray about prayer — is that a thing?
We can pray about the Bible, can’t we?
No subject is off limits, right?

For I want to be a man of prayer,
an often silent soldier at war,
engaging the foe in full gear,
erecting defenses for Kingdom gains.

O Heavenly Father whose name is Holy,
your plan to offer every soul
eternal life is the church’s work.
For that I need to pray about prayer.

Read more about prayer in order to practice prayer more and better.

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Make Gratitude Grow

Our blessed Father in Heaven,

Make gratitude grow in my heart for all your mercies.
You’ve walked with me in all my difficult journeys.
My every need you’ve satisfied in time.
I had no want, for you remained the same.
In highs and lows, Lord, you’re my constant stay.
What consolation! Under my Rock I lie.
Thank you, O God! To you I give my worries.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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The God of All

God of all comfort,

You are the God of all grace, of all power, of all knowledge,
the God of omni’s, the God of the little man squeezed out.
You are the God of the fallen, the broken, and the silenced,
the God who picks up the pieces and gives voice to pain.

You are the God of the forgotten, the doubtful, the confused,
the God of those who cannot look back for fear of the past.
You are the God of those without a future, without a hope,
the God who loves the loveless, among whom I am one.

For Jesus came for me. Amen.