DEFENDING THE HELPLESS

            In my devotions today I read Psalm 10.  The theme of the psalm is the wickedness and evil of those who prey on the innocent and murder the helpless.  The abomination of abortion came immediately to my mind.  The psalmist had something else in his mind as he wrote but it could surely apply to the evil of abortion.  Reflect with me…

            “In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God” (verse 4).  What do the pro-abortion people say?  They say the embryo is a blob of cells.  It is not a human life.  It is not a creation of God.  No, God had nothing to do with this pregnancy.

            “His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him” (verse 5).  The laws of God have no place in the abortion clinic.  Again, what do these medical procedures have to do with God?  Thou shalt not kill.  But this isn’t a life.  We are not killing anything!

            “His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength” (verse 10).  The victims of the abortionist are crushed and torn and ripped apart.  What strength do they have to oppose the power of the killing tools?  How are they to resist the attack?

            “Why does the wicked man revile God?  Why does he say to himself, ‘He won’t call me to account?’” (verse 13).  The doctor denies that he is reviling God.  He is simply providing a requested medical procedure.  He claims his medical oath requires him to care for his patient.  It’s not his fault or responsibility.  He will never be called to account.

            Nothing could be farther from the truth.  God sees.  God is just.  God will call into account.  “But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand.  The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless” (verse 14).

            It would be a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the avenging God.  We should not forget that he says, “Vengeance in mine; I will repay.”  The inspired psalmist says, “Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out” (verse 15).

            Those of us who love God and seek to walk in his ways should always pray the words of verses 17 and 18.  “You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.”  Let us pray that God will intervene and in his justice put an end to the slaughter of innocents.

            Here is the psalm in its entirety.  Let us read it prayerfully together.

Psalm 10
¹ Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

² In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
³ He boasts of the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
⁴ In his pride the wicked does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
⁵ His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws are far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
⁶ He says to himself, “Nothing will shake me;
I’ll always be happy and never have trouble.”
⁷ His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
⁸ He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent,
watching in secret for his victims.
⁹ He lies in wait like a lion in cover;
he lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
¹⁰ His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
¹¹ He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
he covers his face and never sees.”

¹² Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
¹³ Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
¹⁴ But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness
that would not be found out.

¹⁶ The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
¹⁷ You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
¹⁸ defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

 

GOD GAVE THEM OVER

Romans 1

            January 8, 2011, Tuscon, Arizona.  Gunman attempts to assassinate Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.  Kills six people and wounds thirteen others.

            July 20, 2012, Aurora, Colorado.  A man enters a movie theater and opens fire on the people in the theater killing 12 and injuring 58 more.

            December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary school, Newtown, Connecticut.  Young man forces his way into the school and shoots and kills 20 children and six staff members

            These are just three of the most recent mindless massacres here in the United States.  There have been a number of others and each time something like this happens our news stations embark on a veritable flood of interviews and panel discussions talking about why these events are happening and seem to be increasing in frequency.  Voices are raised demanding stricter gun laws.  Other voices call out for more security in our schools and armed security guards in public places.  And there are the psychiatrists and psychologists who go on news and talk shows who say we need to pay more careful attention to mental illness and identify the warning signs.  You all know the drill.

            As a pastor, I have more reasonable conversations with people.  I have found people all over town who want to talk about what is happening to our country.  They ask questions and offer opinions and then inquire as to what I think.  I tell them that the answer cannot be found in gun control, increased security, or mental health.  The problem is human sin and the solution is Jesus Christ.  Some people listen politely and walk away, inwardly shaking their heads at my simplicity.  Others nod in agreement.  Most of the people in our church recognize the truth I share with them and we talk about how we can help our community.

            The explanation for what is happening in our world is found in Romans 1.  We don’t read these verses with any sense of smug self-satisfaction or “I told you so” attitude.  We read them sadly, realizing that apart from God and the gospel of Jesus Christ there is no hope for our society.  From the beginning people have turned away from what God has revealed to them about himself (v.21).  Instead of accepting the wisdom of God, men decided they knew better and claimed to be wise (v.22).  In their “wisdom” they created their own gods and the Lord let them go their own way (v.23).  The result is all manner of sin and wickedness.  Look at verse 29, “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.  They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.”

            Paul recognized the problem and he laid it out for the church in Rome.  The problem in our society is that we are unwilling to admit that human sin is at the root of all these problems.  We would prefer to say it is mental illness.  Even the news commentators who were willing to refer to such things as “evil” were rebuked, chastised, and ordered to use other words. 

            There is hope.  There is good news.  This Sunday I am preaching on the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector who went up to the temple to pray.  The Pharisee was self-righteous and honored himself in his prayer.  But the tax collector stood away from everyone else, repeatedly beat his own breast, and prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”  Jesus said that this man is the one who went home justified.

            The hope is in Christ.  If we humble ourselves, confess our sin, and plead with God for mercy he will welcome us into his kingdom and transform us from guilty sinners into his own children.  Those who reject Christ will continue in the way mankind has been going since the beginning.  But the truth has to be told.  Sin has to be called sin and people have to humble themselves and repent and turn to Christ.  Real change and transformation will be found in him alone.

THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL

Romans 1:16, 17

            I serve on the board of directors for India Rural Evangelical Fellowship, a ministry dedicated to evangelism and church planting in South India, especially in the state of Andhra Pradesh.  Every year we send teams of pastors and medical professionals to our home base in Repalle, Guntur District.  The pastors speak at large evangelistic meetings in Repalle and surrounding villages while the medical team provides care for thousands of students in our schools that range from grade school through high school.

            Our team is in India right now.  Upon arrival they were confronted by the police from Guntur and forbidden to preach publicly.  This opposition is not entirely new but it reflects an increased opposition to Christianity in a region where historically we have been free to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Our team continued with the meetings on our own campus and many have come to Christ this past week.

            Opposition to the gospel is common in many places around the world.  Countries controlled by communism and Islam forbid Christians from evangelizing and many seek to outlaw gatherings of Christians.  In many other places the power of Satan and paganism has bound peoples who then attack the presentation of the gospel.  It seems a formidable barrier.  What is the Christian attitude to such opposition?

            The apostle Paul lived in the Roman Empire.  The city of Rome was the center of the Empire militarily, socially, economically, and intellectually.  It was the very picture of human power and wisdom.  And that is where Paul wanted to go!  That is where Paul wanted to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the shadow of all that human power and intimidation!  He wanted to go into the very heart of the Empire and make the good news of Christ known.

            What was Paul thinking?  He tells us in the opening of his letter to the church in Rome.  “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.  For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’”(Romans 1:16, 17).

            Paul was not afraid to bring the gospel to Rome.  Rome did not intimidate him.  The philosophers of Rome did not shame him.  The gospel is the power of God!  It reveals the power of God to save any person who believes in Jesus Christ, Romans included!  What is the power of Rome against the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead?  What is the intellectual and philosophical wisdom of Rome compared to the wisdom of God?  What are the gods of Rome going to do against the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel?  Paul saw that Rome really had nothing to stand up against the gospel and the power of God and he longed to go there to “have a harvest” (v.13).

            Where are you living out the gospel?  My friends and I are working here in Shafter, CA.  We do not face the opposition our team in India is facing.  We do not face political opposition.  What we face is the opposition of simple secularism; people who live for today and just don’t care.  I want to grasp Paul’s attitude toward the world around me.  There is only one name under heaven by which my friends and neighbors in Shafter can find salvation and that name is Jesus!  His good news is the power of God for salvation and no power on earth can stand against it.  I am not ashamed of the gospel!

TRYING TO CONVINCE

 

 

Acts 28

            Paul finally arrived in Rome after a long, arduous, and dangerous journey.  He rented a house and was allowed to live on his own with a Roman soldier guarding him.  The first thing he did was contact the leaders of the Jewish community and asked to speak with them (28:17).  He explained to them why he had been brought to Rome as a prisoner.  The Jews were not put off by Paul and reported they had heard nothing from Jerusalem about him.  They had heard many negative things about “the Jesus sect” but they wanted to hear more from Paul.

            So Paul set a date with them and the Jews showed up in huge numbers at his house.  Then we read, “From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets” (28:23).  Two things jump out at me from this verse.  First, can you imagine spending an entire day pointing out the Old Testament evidences that Jesus was truly the Messiah?  I can’t begin to wrap my head around that.  I might, maybe, be able to fill up a couple of hours referring to the Law and Prophets and showing how Jesus fulfilled the prophesies.  What an amazing grasp of scriptures Paul had!

            The second thing that strikes me from verse 23 is that Paul tried to convince them.  He was not merely giving out information.  He was in debate mode and was working hard to present the information in such a way that they would be persuaded of the truth and begin to follow Jesus.  The great apostle Paul gave them everything he had and took the whole day doing it!

            What was the result?  “Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.  They disagreed among themselves and began to leave…” (28:24, 25).  The crowd ended up divided.  Some were persuaded while others would not believe.  Notice, their unbelief came from their own unwillingness to believe the truth.  How do we account for these results?  Even the brilliant Paul was unable to convince people who would not believe.  He knew the results lay in the hands of the Holy Spirit.  That’s why he quotes Isaiah in 28:25-27:

            “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet:

‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.’

For this people’s heart has become calloused;

they hardly hear with their ears

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.”

            Nobody will believe apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.  Paul understood that.  He also understood the hardness of Jewish hearts, the deafness of their ears, and the blindness of their eyes.  Nevertheless, those who saw, heard, and understood, were saved.  Paul did not fail to try to persuade them even though he knew it might be fruitless.

            Our society and our culture seem very similar to the Roman Jews whom Paul tried to convince that day.  As I look around me I see hardened hearts, clogged ears, and blinded eyes.  Does it seem like sharing the gospel is hopeless sometimes?  Does the lack of response discourage us?  Do we often feel like throwing up our hands in frustration while shaking the dust off our feet?  Yes.  But we never, never, never give up!  The results lie in the hands of God!  Some will be convinced!  Some will believe!  Let us not grow weary of doing good but let’s keep sharing the good news.  Remember the last two verses of the Book of Acts, “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.  Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 28:30, 31).  He didn’t give up!



THE ADVANCING KINGDOM

David and all the Israelites marched to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus).  The Jebusites who lived there said to David, “You will not get in here.”  Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, the City of David…And David became more and more powerful, because the LORD Almighty was with him.  (1 Chronicles 11:4, 5, 9)

David was the newly crowned king of Israel.  He set his eyes and heart on the hilltop fortress of Jebus which would come to be called Jerusalem.  He marched on the city and as he stood outside the walls the people called down to him.  They were confident.  They were powerful.  They would do everything in their power to defeat David in his quest.  They were certain they could prevent him from conquering their city.

In spite of their confidence and their efforts, the Jebusites failed.  The Chronicler simply states, “Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion…”   We can use our imaginations to see the battle and the efforts of the Jebusites.  As David and his men stormed the walls the defenders threw down stones and poured out hot oil.  They shot arrows and threw spears.  They used every strategy they could imagine.  Yet David captured the fortress, made it his capital, and it came to be known as the City of David.

The explanation for David’s success is found in verse 9, “And David became more and more powerful, because the LORD Almighty was with him.”  David and his men stormed the city and pressed the defenders with all their energy.  They fought valiantly and skillfully.  But they did not conquer the city because of these things.  They won the victory because God was with them.

As I read this passage in 1 Chronicles 11 a New Testament passage came to mind.  “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it” (Matthew 11:12).  Jesus told his disciples that the kingdom of heaven had come to earth.  They may not have been able to see what was going on in the spiritual realm but Jesus told them the kingdom had been advancing forcefully.  The Enemy was losing territory as the kingdom of heaven moved ahead.  Certainly Satan was doing everything in his power to stop or slow the advance of God’s kingdom but he was failing.  The Son of God was on earth and with his presence the kingdom’s advance could not be foiled.

Jesus also said that “forceful men lay hold of it.”  David was a forceful man.  He was courageous and did not care about the numbers or strategies of his enemy.  He pressed on, determined to lay hold of the kingdom that had been promised him.  And so it is with the kingdom of heaven.  One does not find himself in the kingdom accidentally!  Nobody will open his eyes and look around and ask how he ever entered into the kingdom of heaven!  Only those who fix their eyes on the prize of the kingdom and pursue it energetically without concern for the opposition will enter the kingdom. 

The kingdom of heaven continues to advance today.  Perhaps many people do not perceive the way God is working in this world.  The Enemy works to blind their eyes.  He uses every strategy he can think of to prevent the advance of the kingdom.  Those of us who are Christ followers are the army of the King.  We are the forceful men who have laid hold of the kingdom and are fighting to spread the rule of our Lord.  We will not fail because the LORD Almighty is with us.  So we press on without growing weary!  We proclaim his kingdom and his victory in spite of the efforts of the Enemy to hinder us!  The good news is that the victory has already been won and we cannot be defeated!

EXALT HIS NAME TOGETHER!



I was meditating on Psalm 34:1-3 this morning and it stopped me in my tracks…

I will extol the LORD at all times;

His praise will always be on my lips.

My soul will boast in the LORD;

Let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the LORD with me;

Let us exalt his name together.

We have some folks at New Hope who are going through some very difficult times.  I was praying for them this morning as I thought about Psalm 34.  How hard it is to extol the Lord at all times!  What about when you are enduring a lot of physical pain?  What about when you are watching people you love suffer?  What about if you are the caregiver for someone who is suffering?

So I went and did a pastoral visit this afternoon.  We have a dear lady in hospice at home and I went to see her.  Here’s how our conversation went…

“So how are you doing today?”

“I have good days and bad days,” she responded.

I asked her, “Is the Lord still taking care of you every day?”

She nodded.  “Oh yes!  He is still making me more and more like Jesus!”

“So even in your hard times you are still growing closer to the Lord?”

Again she nodded.  “I’m suffering but Jesus suffered too.  He suffered for me so I could have life!”

“Ah,” I wisely replied.  “So you are able to keep thanking him and praising him even through this very trying time?”

She nodded.

The Lord is worthy of our praise.  What he has done for us coaxes adoration and worship from our hearts even when we are going through the hardest of times.  But here’s what struck me.  Am I the kind of person who has an infectious praise life?  Do the suffering hear my praise and rejoice with me?  When I am meeting with people do I draw them into glorifying the Lord together with me?  Do we end up exalting his name together?

That’s the kind of person I want to be.  The Lord laid that on my heart this morning so at breakfast tomorrow I will try to get my friend to exalt his name together with me so God will rejoice in us!

THE DAMAGE DONE BY SIN



Joshua 7         

            In Joshua 7 we have the account of Achan who broke the command of God about taking booty from the city of Jericho.  All the treasure of Jericho was meant to go into the treasury of the Lord as firstfruits from the land of Canaan.  But Achan stole from God and hid his treasures in the ground under his tent.  The ramifications of his sin are significant!

            Achan’s sin led the people of Israel into more sin!  I have people argue so often, “Look, what I do is my business!  Even if I am hurting myself I’m not hurting anybody else!”  We discover that this just isn’t true.  When people sin it has a great affect on others!  Joshua sends more spies up to the next city they were to conquer, Ai.  The spies checked out the city and came back with the report found in verse 3, “Not all the people will have to go up against Ai.  Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary all the people, for only a few men are there.”  Where’s the sin here?  They have already forgotten the lesson learned at Jericho that the Lord is the one who fights the battles and the battles have to be fought according to God’s direction!  They have concluded they will be able to take Ai easily on their own with only a few of their soldiers!  There’s yet another sin here.  Joshua listened to the spies and agreed to send about 3,000 men!  Joshua failed to seek the Lord and he acted on his own and that led to defeat!  When only a part of the army was sent to Ai the body was divided.  We need to always remember that sin leads to division and division leads to weakness and failure!

            Achan’s sin led directly to defeat and death.  The spies led Joshua to act apart from the guidance of the Lord so the Lord did not go up before them to fight against Ai.  Just as God had warned Israel in 6:18 they had made “the camp of Israel liable to destruction.”  So Achan, who may have thought that his sin would not affect anyone else, brought disaster.  It brought defeat and death, the first deaths of Israelite soldiers in Canaan!  What a huge difference there is between fighting in our own strength and having the Lord fight for us!  Jericho, that great fortified city, went down like a pile of children’s blocks while the dinky city of Ai with just a few men sent the Hebrew army scurrying back with their first defeat and their first experience of death. 

            Here’s something stunning!  Achan was the only one who had sinned by stealing the things devoted to God but the sin of Achan was attributed to all Israel!  Joshua tore his clothes and fell on his face and began to beseech the Lord.  He was discouraged by the defeat and he thought God had abandoned them into the hands of the Amorites (Joshua 7:6-9).  I love how God addresses Joshua in verses 10, 11, “Stand up!  What are you doing down on your face?  Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep.  They have taken some of the devoted things…they have stolen, they have lied…”  God was telling Joshua the people had sinned while Achan was the only one who stole.  So even though only one sinned they all suffered.  Thirty-six soldiers were killed.  The hearts of the people melted and they lost faith.  Joshua fell on his face and grieved.  All because of one man’s sin!  This is so similar to the sin of Adam.  Only Adam sinned but the sin of Adam affected the whole human race!  All humanity inherited guilt and punishment and death because of the sin of the one man!

            When I think about the sin of Achan I can’t help but see lessons for all of us!  Achan’s sin was a secret.  Most of our sins are secret, right?  Most of the time nobody knows about the sins we commit.  We keep them in our hearts and minds.  Or we’re very careful that we aren’t seen or caught in the act.  Achan’s secret sin affected the entire nation and our sins affect the entire church.  We are familiar with the concept of the church as a single body.  No part of the body is independent of the rest of the body so when one person sins that sin has a negative effect on the health and strength of the church!  Israel went into battle in this weakened condition and suffered defeat without knowing why.  A church can go on and on, struggling and failing, without ever knowing why.  That’s why each one of us needs to take care of our own lives so we don’t bring God’s judgment on our church family!  We need to be close to one another and encourage one another so we can build each other up in the strength of obedience and holiness!  So be careful never to think that your own secret sins are hurting no one but yourself!