"When we weep"

I realize this is a bit unusual for me to be posting again so quickly, but being off this week has afforded me more time for study and as a result I have found more things of interest to write about and more time to write. If I could only get paid for reading and writing I would think I was living next door to Heaven!

When we weep. This photo has been making it's way around the net for some time now. I latched onto it a few years ago, it seemed to stir my emotions and impress upon me the sacrifice that is often times demanded as a result of living in such a fallen world.

I titled it in my photo file simply "Sacrifice" but I was able to see it slightly different this time. The idea of sacrifice was not diminished, but perhaps to see slightly beyond the tears.

I was reading in John 20:11 (But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher,) and I took special notice of the fact she was weeping. It is hard for us to imagine the sense of lose she must have been experiencing. Mary has been connected in Christendom over the years as a lady of ill repute. There is no real evidence of this, but whatever her life was like before she met the Lord, it appears to have been a life of tragedy. It is said of her, that 7 demons were cast out. We can only imagine the oppression that was upon this lady's mind, the torment and confusion. Perhaps she was at times affected with fits, maybe constant battles with depression or living on the verge of insanity. I entertained the idea of posting a picture of a demon possessed person for illustration, but the pictures the search brought up deferred me from that idea. It would be safe to say, her appearance under such stress must have been heart wrenching.

But she had found peace in the Saviour, so it is similarly difficult to imagine the affection she must have had for our Lord. Very possibly the only, and most assuredly the greatest love she had ever known. Now through this series of events, it had all been taken from her. Have you ever lost the one person you had come to love the most? Do we not wonder how we can go on without them? Would it have been possible for Mary to wonder such about her life? Could she have wondered if the torments would return now that her Lord was gone?  This event in her life took my mind back to 3 events in my own that hurt deeply. Many carry with them memories of many more that, the Providential workings vary greatly in our lives, but we all share them.

 We find her here at a most dreadful place, a tomb. It was the place that brought her closest to her loss. Though it seemed an impassable sea between her and her Lord, yet she must stand upon the nearest shore and gaze across.

Throughout life's journey we will all from time to time find ourselves here. What we must take note of is what Mary could not see at first. Beyond the loss, beyond the hurt, beyond the tears, was the greatest gain, the greatest joy, the greatest hope. The gain, the joy and hope, were only magnified by the loss and hurt. It is these times that move us from the temporal things around us. We may work hours upon hours to learn and achieve levels of success to obtain our homes, cars, affluence, and securities of life. One of these moments, such as Mary's, can render all those things worthless. Their true value will be exposed, the home of one's dreams can be but an empty shell without the one you love to fill it, it's value worthless.

So what are we to make of these things? There is an error being taught in Theology today that tells us God desires us to live in health and prosperity. It tells us if we find ourselves lacking in these things we have been robbed of God's blessings.

For a moment I'm going to imagine, say from my teenage years, I found the secret of health and success. From that time until now I had not experienced any physical pain, I had not known any financial need or disappointment. Beyond that, I had amassed a wealth of surplus and have lived life at its best.

In fact, lets say I had been able to possess in fullness what the preachers of this message say God's wants me have.

I will just simply ask you to give a good guess as best you can, what kind of person now in my late 50's do you think I would be? Would I have character? Would I have a real understanding of compassion? Would servitude be the utmost of my desire? Solomon came the closest of anyone I know of obtaining all the things these preachers say God wants us to have and it brought him to ruin.

No my friend, in this fallen state, these experiences like Mary's are our greatest friends. For they are the means by which God works all things together for the good of those that love him (Romans 8:28). They turn our eyes away from this world and the attachments of it, and cause us to gaze upward to another world.

Look at Mary's situation for a moment, in her despair Jesus is standing ever so near. He does not rush in to try and save her from her grief, but simply ask, "Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?" and then awaits her answer, allows her to explain her dilemma. He seems to be in no hurry to relieve her of her distress and conceals the fact of his identity as she works her way through it. After the expression of her concern, he simply reveals himself by speaking her name, "Mary".

As you follow the discourse, Jesus seems purposely avoiding the issues that were distressing her, but immediately points her to heavenly things. He tells her he's still leaving and going to heaven. It was afterward that she would realize the dividends that lay beyond her tears were unmeasurable. In the Providences of God these things must be, 2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

My dear friend, if the things which are seen are troubling you, take heart, they are temporal. Turn your eyes heavenward, to all those things near you that are not seen, for they are eternal and weighty with glory.

Perhaps by providence you have found yourself reading this blog, but you are in a place obscure to the Gospel, you find these things strange to your ears. My wife reminded me of this the other day, that it is very possible in today's technology one could find this blog and wonder what these things mean. Let me explain,  Co 15:1  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1Co 15:2  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Rom 10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.   
Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  

If you find yourself attracted to these words, something in you inquiring, yearning for more understanding; follow it. Turn upward to heaven and ask for help! A simple cry for help will catch the ear of God. There may be no light around you, cry for help, God will move nations to reach a soul that cries out to him for help.

May the Grace of God be upon each of you,

David  



   

  

"Christian Unity"

As a Facebook user I have taken notice of what seems to be an unusual number of posts calling for Christian Unity in one manner of phrase or another. I have read so called prophetic messages giving warning of coming divisive factions.  As I have followed this for a while now and viewed the associated comments, it seems it might be of interest to write about these issues.

Facebook is a wonderful tool, but it can be a troublesome one. I would liken it to the use of a gun, guns are wonderful items, but you do need to know how to use one safely and effectively. Using a gun carelessly can hurt you and others, but used properly can be very enjoyable and life saving. Facebook as well can help or hurt, so caution is recommended with it's use. Because of the nature of Facebook I have chosen to use my blog as the venue to address this subject.

So what is Church unity? Perhaps it is better stated, what do we mean when we call for Church unity? It seems mostly what I hear is some variation of loving one another and agreeing to get along. Sometimes you hear something like, we just need to preach Jesus and lay aside all our disagreements. Then at other times it is said we need to agree on the all important things and the secondary things can be overlooked.

There is an element of truth in all of those statements. We do need to love one another and get along. We do need to preach Jesus and there are some things that are of the utmost importance. But those statements are surface statements and give very little substance to the issue.

Loving one another carries many aspects, sometimes loves requires confrontation. And if you are going to preach Jesus, I need to know what you believe about Jesus to be able to walk with you. So, this Church unity gets a bit more complicated than those surface statements that have a nice ring to them.

Paul does tell us in 1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1Co 1:11  For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. 

This certainly should be true of a local Church. Contentions in a local body is a very unsettling thing and a great hindrance to the effectiveness of that body of believers. That is why teaching sound doctrine is so important so the body can all be on the same page. You will also need to study on your own and not just depend on the teachings you receive, in other words be good Bereans (Acts 17:11). Having done so, don't go and nit pick every little detail you might discover and disagree with. But with issues of real concern, go to those you trust and converse with them. Many times these things are just mis-understandings of terms and phrases that lead to disagreements that in reality don't exist. Then there are real differences that arise as we grow and study together, and it is incumbent upon us to be patient as we attempt to work these things out over time. Getting angry and pulling up roots to find a more pleasant atmosphere rarely ever solves the problems.

Then Jesus tells us himself, Joh 17:21  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

As good as it would be, I think you would agree that more is indicated here than us just being able to understand scripture the exact same way. The truth is, from what we see in Scripture, find in Church history, and from our own experience, this unity thing is difficult. The Church has struggled with it from the beginning and we should not expect it to go away for us.

When you consider the nature of our fallen state, and the perfections of God in contrast, it is a wonder we agree at all. As He does in all things, God uses these difficulties to work in us and through us His good pleasure. It is out of the great errors and bad theology in Church history that the great documents of faith and doctrines of understanding were developed and refined. The error compelled us to search more deeply for the truth. As Scripture instructs us to walk in unity, the same Scripture instructs us to defend the faith that was once delivered to the Saints (Jude 1:3).

“In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight.” ~ John Machen (1881-1937)

"Indeed, truth cannot be stated clearly at all without being set over against error. Thus a large part of the New Testament is polemic; the enunciation of evangelical truth was occasioned by the errors which had arisen in the churches." ~ John Machen (1881-1937)

So, while we should be cordial to one another, and we must love one another, the focus is not unity at the expense of truth. Truth must be preserved or all is lost. I have heard it said that John MacArthur is divisive when he calls out the Charismatic groups, I say well done, seems like no one else will do it. We should all be challenged on our beliefs, and when we are, it should drive us to the Scriptures.

But it seems we are so fickle with our faith, if anyone challenges us on our modes of worship we just cry foul and publish how unloving and un-Christian one is for questioning our actions. The Gospel is stated so clear in the Scriptures you will need a lawyer to help you mis-understand it. The Gospel is also so deep and mysterious to the minds of men that the greatest theological minds of history have only touched the surface in all their struggles. We must remember it is not our understanding that saves us, it is but a means by which we are brought to faith, Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

So when you find someone you believe to be a true Christian, yet it seems you cannot agree; think that not a bad thing if it drives you both to converse with the Scriptures. Search out your differences, test them against the Scriptures, test them against sound church doctrines that have already been established, listen to the lessons of Church history, perhaps this battle has already been fought before. We can do all these things and still love one another. It will require grace, for we will have to exercise our patience with one another and bear with one another. The fruit of the spirit, Gal 5:22 . . . love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. These all will have to be exercised. What a great benefit this is to each of us as we wrangle with each other and the Scriptures to un-mine the wonders of the truth.

May the Grace of God be upon each of you,

David