This is the Creekstone Sunday message from May 27, 2012.

Romans_11_33-36_•_Encountering_Glory.mp3 Listen on Posterous

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Most of us have tried to pack a present in a box that wouldn’t fit. The gospel is that way. We just can't contain it. We never really grasp it. As Paul says, because of the vastness of its dimensions, God's love for his people "surpasses knowledge."

“16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” ~ Eph. 3:16-19

Getting grace is like knowing God. The finite seeking to understand the infinite. Yes, God is knowable, but not exhaustively knowable. The same is true with the gospel. 

I heard someone say recently that we may be aware of about 4% of our sin, which means we probably get (and this is in my opinion a great overstatement) 4% of God's grace. This means we have plenty of gospel learning to do—which means we have plenty of gospel preaching and hearing to do. 

So, if you are a preacher, lift up the cross of Jesus tomorrow and give them pure, undilluted, unmixed grace. Give them Jesus.

And if you will be attending a gathering of believers, listen well. Listen for the cross and believe. Listen for grace and believe. Listen for the Savior and believe, so that "you may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ."

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The gospel gives us freedom to be honest. Honest with ourselves, with others and with God. Psalm 13 describes an anguished David, wresting with his present life experience and the role of God in it. His emotions are being tossed like a dinghy on the waves of a storm. But when his heart finds anchor in the gospel promises of the Lord, he is steadied, sustained and able to face his distress with new hope.

Here is the Psalm:

1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?  How long will my enemy triumph over me? 

3 Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; 

4 my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 

5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 

6 I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me. 

Take-aways for me today are:

1. Sometimes it seems as if God is far off, uncaring and unresponsive (it's okay to admit that's how you feel) - v. 1
2. Emotions are powerful and can overwhelm us to despair - v. 2
3. When emotions weigh down with despair, look up to God for grace in prayer (talk to him out loud, not just in my mind- have a real conversation) - vv. 3-4
4. When emotions weigh down with despair, remember that God's love is "unfailing" (his covenant faithfulness is relentless and unwavering - Romans 8:28) - v. 5a
5. Sometimes we have to fight for faith ("I WILL TRUST!" - I need to learn to say "but") - v. 5a
6. Meditating on the cross of Christ (actively remembering and personalizing the cross) is a source of great hope and is the anchor for my soul (since Jesus experienced this same seeming abandonment for me, I can know that I will never be abandoned - he is the one who slept in death in my place) - v. 5b
7. Singing the gospel has a uniquely powerful way of reviving the heart - v. 6a
8. Since God has been good to me, he will continue to be good (Romans 8:31-32) - I am his beloved son - v. 6b

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Reading this moring in The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers, one struck me as particularly helpful for re-aligning the heart with God's sufficient, sustaining grace at the beginning of a day. It reflects the heart of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7-12:

7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,t a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Here is the first part of the prayer. 

O Lord of Grace, 

The world is before me this day, and I am weak and fearful, but I look to Thee for strength; If I venture forth alone I will stumble and fall, but on the Beloved's arms I am firm as the eternal hills; If left to the treachery of my heart I shall shame Thy name, but if enlightened, guided, upheld by Thy Spirit, I shall bring Thee glory.

Here are five take-aways for me today from this prayer:

1. God is a God of grace - he is a glad and generous giver 
2. I am weak in every way
3. God is strong in every way
4. Without a conscious awareness of my weakness and his strength, I will fail and fall hard and often
5. But walking close to Jesus, by his Spirit's power, I can face my fears and obstacles (those from without and within) with supernatural power and peace and glorify God, as the giver of saving and sustaining grace

Soli Deo gloria.

The Valley of Vision daily devotional may be found here.

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Romans_11_25-32_•_Lessons_from_a_No_Wake_Zone.mp3 Listen on Posterous

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Hello friends,

As some of you know, I help out with a theology discussion group that meets at the Mellow Mushroom in Gainesville, GA, on the third Thursday of each month. It is based on the White Horse Inn radio program led by Michael Horton. Tonight we begin a discussion of apologetics. So, if you are interested, we'd love to have you come out and join us tonight for pizza and apologetics, as we learn not only to defend the gospel, but even more importantly, to commend the gospel. You are welcome to bring friends, and even children and teens who might enjoy the topic. We begin at 6:30 and go 'til around 8:00.

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Trying to think through some categories for living a cross-centered life that focuses on the person and work of Jesus. To download, just click on the image.

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In my study today lots of things are percolating. One idea is how the gospel brings radical newness into our lives. Here is a sample:

The Old —> The New

Radical guilt to radical forgiveness
Radical justice to radical mercy
Radical enslavement to radical freedom
Radical hopelessness to radical hope
Radical anxiety to radical peace
Radical despair to radical joy
Radical self-centeredness to radical God-centeredness 
Radial law-focus to radical cross-focus
Radical fear to radical courage
Radical pride to radical humility
Radical insecurity to radical confidence 
Radical orphanhood to radical sonship

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Hey everybody,

Tuesdays are sermon prep days in my world, along with Thursdays and Saturdays. So today, I am deep in my basement study working in Romans 11:25-36 for this coming Sunday's message. After feeling like I kinda blew it on Mother's Day... I don't know, sometimes you just get a feeling that the message wasn't focused enough, was too long or whatever. Anyway, a sense of failure is not always a bad thing. If repitition is the mother of learning, failure is the father. :)  It makes us go back and improve—rethink the goal and the process.  It also wakes us up to idolatry. I received an email this morning that addresses this precise issue, where my friend, Dave McCarty, says, 

My flesh loves to get life from ministry success, and so Jesus frequently thwarts my plans/efforts so the pain of the failure snaps me back to reality, where freshly convicted of my [idolatry]. I also realize that He is lovingly re-training me in a better way to live: dependent on Him, not needing any performance of my own, hardly caring about anything else in my life, but Him. The Jesus in me is only contagious to others, when I've been freshly convicted of my sin, so I'm freshly humble, freshly enjoying Him, others, myself, and my circumstances, just as they are.  Miracle.  Priceless.

The idea is that I will either try to get righteousness from ministry performance or will receive it from Jesus. I will rest in my job well done or in his job well done. So, as I prepare for Sunday, I am grateful that I have a fresh sense of the gospel's reality for me in the present. I'll keep you informed on how the week progresses. I'm already exited about this week's message, which I do think is going to be helpful, a bit more focused and maybe even shorter. We'll see. :) Pray for my prep is you think about it. 

Until Sunday, let's continue to fight the good fight to live by grace, remembering that we are fully forgiven, eternally loved and fully accepted in Jesus. This is good news.

McKay

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Last night at dinner I talked with my kids about doing the impossible. Now, it was not a pop-psychology, self-esteem message about how you can do anything you set your mind to do. Actually, we can't do anything we set our minds to. We cannot do the impossible, because the impossible is, well, impossible. But as Jesus said, "Nothing is impossible for God." 

So I asked the kids what the largest tree in the world is. They replied, "The Redwood." Since I didn't know the answer, I went with it. Now, what if I were driving down the highway (obviously not in Georgia) and discovered a massive Redwood that had fallen across the road. I couldn't go around on either end. The tree was just too large—impossible for me to move.

Now, imagine that I heard a voice from heaven. It was God. He was telling me to get out of the car and move that tree. Say what? "Yes, move that tree out of the way." So I get out and walk up to the tree. The law, "move that tree," simply re-emphasizes my inability to do the impossible. But God really does plan on me moving that tree. But how? What does he expect of me?

One thing of which we can be sure is that he does not expect me to pick up my end. He is not planning merely to help me, coming along side my ability with his ability. He wants me to walk up to that tree in my weakness, appeal to him for strength, grab hold of the bark and lift. This is where nothing is impossible with God. My hands lift the tree, but not my strength. It is as Paul said in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." By the way, Paul wasn't talking about a personal self-achievement kind of "all things," like achieving a professional football career or writing the next great American novel, but being content in all circumstances, which is beyond dificult.

Other impossible things that I hear God say are "love your wife, bless your enemies, forgive those who sin against you, repent to those whom you hurt, give generously and gladly, have the mind of Christ who emptied himself of his own glory and put the interests of others before his own, tell the truth even if it hurts, don't gossip, take the log out of your own eye, etc." How am I to approach these instructions? What am I to do in the face of the impossible?

First, I must know that I am not saved by my doing any of these things. Jesus fulfilled the law for me. He did what I could not do. He worked for me. He did the heavy lifting of my salvation himself. I believe this. Now, as a forgiven, perfectly righteous son, he tells me to follow him. It is no longer a Judge's voice, but my Shepherd's voice I now hear—a voice that guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake, and for my blessing. But with every directive he provides, it is as though I come to a Redwood. In myself, I'm still weak and unable to do the good that is before me. Now, if I don't do it, I'm no less saved—no less loved, forgiven or accepted. But in my weakness is the big opportunity to abide even more closely in Jesus, relying on the grace of the Holy Spirit to fill me, and enable me... to do the impossible.

And when the tree moves, I get the joy, others are blessed, and God gets the glory. 

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Staying_Connected_How_to_Make_Spiritual_Progress_•_Romans_11_13-24.mp3 Listen on Posterous

Below are the Sermon Resource Pages that contain the outline, discussion questions and bonus notes.

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I read a blog post from Bill Kynes this morning that was really helpful. It encouraged pastors to focus on the one thing that they can uniquely contribute to the church—their role as a physician of the soul. The medicine, of course, is the gospel, and it must be dispensed in every possible way—from preaching, to leading, to counseling, to casting vision, etc. Here are a few take aways:

• We must not be jack of all trades. We must focus on what we have been uniquely gifted and called to do—minister the gospel through teaching and preaching. 
• "For this reason, I believe the most important thing for a pastor to be good at is deepening his grasp of God's gospel and its implications for every area of life. That is, we are to be gospel-centered in our thinking, in our living, and in our pastoring."
• "We are to be models of Christian living, not just Christian working, for the gospel calls us to make Christ Lord of all. So how the gospel affects our marriages and family life is just as much a part of our ministry as our public preaching. The gospel is lived out at home through the self-giving love for our wives and raising our children with grace and truth. All this is included in a gospel-centered life."

I have Dr. before my name. My youngest has always said that I am a doctor who can't help anybody. "He's just a book doctor." :)  And she is so right. I can hardly diagnose a head cold, much less treat it. But in my calling as a pastor, I am a spiritual cardiologist—a physician of the soul. I still can't help anyone. But the medicine can, because it gets us connected to the ultimate physician, Jesus.

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Below are questions that John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN, compiled for folks considering marriage. It is not exhaustive, but a good start. 

Theology

• What do you believe about...everything?
• Perhaps read through [the Gospel Coalition's theological summary] to see where each other is on various biblical doctrines.
• Discover how you form your views. What is the reasoning-believing process? How do you handle the Bible?

Worship and Devotion

• How important is corporate worship? Other participation in church life?
• How important is it to be part of a small accountability/support group?
• What is the importance of music in life and worship?
• What are your daily personal devotional practices? Prayer, reading, meditation, memorization.
• What would our family devotions look like? Who leads out in this?
• Are we doing this now in an appropriate way: praying together about our lives and future, reading the Bible together?

Husband and Wife

• What is the meaning of headship and submission in the Bible and in our marriage?
• What are expectations about situations where one of you might be alone with someone of the opposite sex?
• How are tasks shared in the home: cleaning, cooking, washing dishes, yard work, car upkeep, repairs, shopping for food, and household stuff?
• What are the expectations for togetherness?
• What is an ideal non-special evening?
• How do you understand who and how often sex is initiated?
• Who does the checkbook—or are there two?

Children

• If and when, should we have children? Why?
• How many?
• How far apart?
• Would we consider adoption?
• What are the standards of behavior?
• What are the appropriate ways to discipline them? How many strikes before they’re...whatever?
• What are the expectations of time spent with them and when they go to bed?
• What signs of affection will you show them?
• What about school? Home school? Christian school? Public school?

Lifestyle

• Own a home or not? Why?
• What kind of neighborhood? Why?
• How many cars? New? Used?
• View of money in general. How much to the church?
• How do you make money decisions?
• Where will you buy clothes: Department store? Thrift store? In between? Why?

Entertainment

• How much money should we spend on entertainment?
• How often should we eat out? Where?
• What kind of vacations are appropriate and helpful for us?
• How many toys? Snowmobile, boat, cabin?
• Should we have a television? Where? What is fitting to watch? How much?
• What are the criteria for movies and theater? What will our guidelines be for the kids?

Conflict

• What makes you angry?
• How do you handle your frustration or anger?
• Who should bring up an issue that is bothersome?
• What if we disagree both about what should be done, and whether it is serious?
• Will we go to bed angry at each other?
• What is our view of getting help from friends or counselors?

Work

• Who is the main breadwinner?
• Should the wife work outside the home? Before kids? With kids at home? After kids?
• What are your views of daycare for children?
• What determines where you will locate? Job? Whose job? Church? Family?

Friends

• Is it good to do things with friends but without spouse?
• What will you do if one of you really likes to hang out with so and so and the other doesn’t?

Health and Sickness

• Do you have, or have you had any, sicknesses or physical problems that could affect our relationship? (Allergies, cancer, eating disorders, venereal disease, etc.)
• Do you believe in divine healing and how would prayer relate to medical attention?
• How do you think about exercise and healthy eating?
• Do you have any habits that adversely affect health?

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