Is God Holding You Back

Last week I was reading in Numbers, and a certain passage stood out to me. This passage is found in the story of Balak and Balaam. King Balak had asked the false prophet Balaam to curse Israel. Through the process, God grabs Balaam’s heart and Balaam refuses to submit to Balak’s request. As a result, we read the following:

And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the LORD has held you back from honor.” (Numbers 24:10-11 ESV)

As I’ve thought about this passage over the past few days, I’m reminded that non-Christians may often say to Christians, “The LORD has held you back from honor.” When Christians have opportunities to sinfully make a quick buck or to indulge in an age-old dream that would draw them away from God, people (even our own flesh) might say, “The LORD has held you back from honor.” These are words that, at the heart, are as old as the first temptation itself. Think back to the serpent’s conversation with Eve in Genesis 3. He tries to get Eve to believe that God is withholding some greater blessing. Eve takes the bait. She sins. She realizes the dire circumstances into which she ran. Balak is assuming and sharing that same lie, but Balaam rejects it when he says, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the LORD speaks, that will I speak’? (Numbers 24:12b-13 ESV).

Balaam realizes something profound. God’s word and way is worth more than a house filled with silver and gold. To put it another way, “

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36 ESV)

and

. . . whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. (Mark 8:35b ESV)

Anyone who surrenders to Christ will find true gain, and the gospel enables us to see this clearly. Ultimately, while Balaam’s example is nice, it’s not his example that will fuel us the rest of our days. (Keep in mind that Balaam's own experience did not maintain himself.) Christ’s sacrificial life, death and intercession will fuel us. Do you remember what the people said to Jesus while he was on the cross?

He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
(Matthew 27:43 ESV)

The accusation towards Jesus is very similar to that of Balak’s statement. In essence they said, “God probably does not care for you.” As Christians, we know otherwise. The Scriptures say, “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus despised the shame of the cross yet he looked forward to the greater joy that was ahead of him – sitting at the right hand of the throne of God!

If you find yourself right now feeling weak, look to Christ. The next time your flesh or somebody else says that God is holding you back, remember that he died to set you free. Trust him and look forward to the hope that is set before you. Then, you can say with the other saints through the ages that God is your treasure and you wouldn’t trade him for all the riches of this world!

When God Denies Deliverance, Part 2

If you haven't read the first interpretation of this passage, click here. This is the second of a two-part series on God's radical deliverance and also his withholding of deliverance.

In this story, the words of God, "'Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress'" (v. 14) must have rung with horror in the ears of the hearers. The Israelites just cried out for mercy and they received judgment. To a someone like myself who still faces sin daily, it is this sober phrase that tells me that God can do whatever He pleases and is in no way obligated to do what I tell Him to do.

But, what's the end of this story? We read one interpretation, but here's another one - one with which I'm more apt to agree (although the other interpretation is entirely feasible).

The Israelites response to God's words are the following, "'We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day'" (v. 15). The following verse goes on to say, "So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.

While it is entirely possible that their repentance was fake, and the writer of the book of Judges was merely explaining external religious conformity, I tend to think that's not the case. These words are too specific in detailing how the people of Israel responded. It seems like there really was repentance. They served the Lord and got rid of the foreign gods. And, the passage says that God became impatient over the Israelites misery. What I take that to mean is that God had pity on the people of Israel in their state of misery. He desired to deliver them.

The applications from this passage that I see are the following:

1. God can do whatever He pleases. In judgment, He is glorified. In extending forgiveness, He is glorified. Yet, in this passage, "mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13).
2. People who cry out to God for forgiveness don't demand forgiveness. The people of Israel knew that the sobering statement from God was completely justified. Yet, they entrusted themselves to Him and sought after His mercy - even though that mercy was not verbally offered.
   
3. Repentance leads to change. The Israelites put away their gods and served the Lord. No change, no repentance.
4. Repentance doesn't mean perfection. This might seem to contradict #3, but I believe it is more of a healthy balance. Even though the Israelites put away their gods, that didn't mean they did everything right. After this, in chapter 11, they chose what seems to be the wrong judge. This doesn't mean they didn't repent in the story in chapter 10. I believe this simply means that they are experiencing the Romans 7 reality.

In all of this, we see a God who fulfills His promise of Romans 10:13 - "For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" God, through Christ, freely grants forgiveness to those who know they do not deserve it and radically changes them by His grace. Although that change may come slowly, God's people will continue to grow and seek Him so that sin is more abhorred and God (and His righteousness) will be more adored.

What God can teach us through a 5 year-old

Last night, Isaiah professed his trust in Jesus to forgive him and give him a friendship with God. A definite praise!

I want to take a few moments of your time to share with you the thoughts and questions Isaiah posed over the last week or two before coming up to this moment. And, in doing so, I hope that you will be encouraged and challenged in your own faith.

About a week or two ago, more purposeful conversations started after I read a story to both Isaiah and Samuel about the Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Matthew 13:44) from "The Jesus Storybook Bible". At the end of the story, the author wrote that God is the treasure of ultimate value, and then the author also said that God's children are of great value to God. The way it was worded caused Isaiah to say (with a general excitement), "Is that us?! Is that us?!" So, I sat down and I asked him if he had trusted Jesus to forgive him of his sins. He said he hadn't done that yet. That night, we talked about what we deserve. I even talked about hell (that it is a very sad place where we will never be with God). He teared up because he didn't want to be away from mommy and daddy. I pushed that thought some and told him that it would be sad to be away from mommy and daddy, but God is the most important. He then quickly defended that thought by agreeing that God is the most important, but he just doesn't want to be away from us. We continued to talk, but then the conversation changed to something completely different. I said goodnight and let him drift off into sleep.

The next night, I told another story. Isaiah and I talked again. But, quickly, the conversation went off to something else regarding toys (or something like that). Again, I stopped the conversation and let him go to sleep.

Finally, we get to last night. I read the story of Jesus' death. While reading the story, I said that Jesus cried out "Daddy! . . . Daddy!" And, the author's words were something like, "and for the first and the last time, God didn't answer." At that point, Isaiah asked why that happened. I told him I'd explain in a little bit. I went on in the story. The story said that God's fierce anger rested on Jesus so that he could take our punishment for us.

After reading the story, I sat next to Isaiah and explained things. I told him that we deserve to be punished for our sin. I reminded him of hell. I also told him again that Jesus wanted to take our punishment because he loves us and he wants us to know how awesome God is. Isaiah acknowledged these things and he also acknowledged he couldn't rescue himself. And, he even went so far as to say that he couldn't turn away from his sins. But, he also said he didn't sin all the time. To the points about sin, I asked him if he thought he loved God like he should all of the time. He said he doesn't. But, I also told him that even for the people who trust in Jesus, we sin, but God always takes care of us and he says he'll never let us go. To that, Isaiah said, "Ooooooh!" (the idea that God was always there seemed to cause Isaiah comfort) In the midst of the conversation, Isaiah asked, "Why is God and Jesus so hard to understand?" He was referencing the Trinity. He doesn't get how Jesus is God and how God the Father is God. At that point I simply said that God is different from us. He's not like humans. Isaiah took the answer by faith and we moved on.

Finally, after these things (and maybe a few more issues), I asked Isaiah if he wanted to trust Jesus. He didn't hesitate. I did a brief review and then I said, "How could you show that you trust Jesus to forgive you?" His answer: to obey. Obviously that is correct, but I thought it would be good if he acknowledged it verbally in prayer to God; so, I suggested that. He was willing, but he said, "Daddy, could you help me?" And, that led us to pray together.

From this, what can we, as adults, learn? Here are a few that jump out to me:

1. Do you have doctrinal questions that seem to dog you? If so, do they limit your ability to really trust God? What I love is that Isaiah asked the question about the Trinity (which he has asked before), but that doesn't stop him from believing the truth of it. And, it didn't hinder him from trusting Jesus - which too often it does that for both believers and unbelievers.
2. We need to acknowledge that sin has grave consequences, but Jesus took our punishment so we can be friends with God. While I tell Isaiah (a five year-old) about these things, he doesn't see a contradiction in the character of God. Instead, he might be confused, but he also sees great love. This is the gospel! Do you see and savor God's love in this?
3. We sin all the time, but that should never keep us from going to Jesus. As Spurgeon once said, "God is more willing to forgive you than you are ready to sin" (paraphrase). Do you know that? Do you believe that? Even though we might feel like we can't stop sinning, like Isaiah said, that shouldn't stop us from running to Christ for his grace and mercy.
4. God will never let you go. If you have trusted in Jesus, God will never let you go. Psalm 25:8, "Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way." Do you qualify for God to show his goodness and justice to you? We all do! And, for God's children, nothing will separate his goodness and justice towards you (Romans 8:35-39).
   

Now, please hear me, this post needs to be all about God. As Isaiah so rightly pointed out, "I can't turn away from my sin." It's God's grace that leads us to repentance. It's due to the sovereign grace of God that my son is now trusting Jesus. So, last night, and everyday for the believer is all about him working through us by his kindness and grace.

Where do you find yourself today? Are you an unbeliever - focusing on all the seeming contradictions in the Scripture? Are you a believer and doubting God and his love? Wherever you find yourself today, Jesus has what you need. He says this, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Prayer/Desperation

(a repost from early this year)

The Scriptures say that we must pray without ceasing. God tells us that prayer is our communication to Him, our communion with Him, and that He always listens. I don't know about you, but my tendency is to become despondent - looking at myself more than Christ. There's a certain aspect of that tendency that's good in that I'm constantly reminded of my need of a Savior. With that tendency and other circumstances in my life, I've seen more of a need to pray.

Faith's most primary outworking is prayer. If you have strong faith, you'll have a strong prayer life. If your prayer life is weak, your faith is the same. Calvin once said, "...learn that true faith is only that which brings forth prayer to God; for it cannot be but that he who has tasted the goodness of God will ever by prayer seek the enjoyment of it" (Calvin's Commentaries, Romans 10:14).

We must be driven to our knees before God - not to try to prove to Him that we love Him. Instead, we must go to Him because He loves us and He delights in communion with His children. Hence we delight in communing with Him.

Do you believe He'll answer your prayers?
Do you believe He'll do exceeding abundantly above all that you could ask or think?
Do you believe He cares for you?
Do you believe He'll change you as you seek His face?

Seek the Lord. Be bold. Cast your cares on Him. When you fail, trust Christ and run to God.

Praise the Lord for His everlasting mercy and grace. While we're children of the King, and our prayers probably sound more like the googoo gaga's of children, God still calls us to draw near to Him. He'll change you through your relationship with Him. Run to the basics. Run to the Truth. Glorify God.

The Love of God

To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: ^Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Romans 1:7

Last week I wrote about the great grace of God working out an obedience with which God is satisfied.

This week I want to focus on one phrase: "loved by God". This verse clearly shows us that there is a special love that God has for those who are saints. While we would agree that God displays love to all humanity, we must also admit that God's love varies depending on the people. Here's an example of this in our own lives: you might be able to say that you love everyone in this world; however, you love your parents, wife, or children more than the person down the street. Now, you would certainly not say that your love for the person down the street is defective simply because you love your spouse or parents more than he or she. This type of varied love is natural.

God displays similar love. And, as you're reading this post, I'm wanting to focus your heart on the Father's love towards those who believe. This love is so grand love that it enraptures His children and radically changes their entire being.

1 John 4:19 says, "We love because he first loved us" (ESV). Let us not dare think that we are the initiators in a relationship with God. No, in fact, God, out of His great love, initiated our relationship. If He hadn't begun our relationship, if it were left to the saints to initiate, we'd still be reveling in our sin. And, despite our deserving eternal, holy wrath, God decided to display His love towards us.

So, we not only experience a loving pity that God displays to the entire world, but we also experience all the benefits and blessings of being in the family of God. We are loved as a friend and child. We are adopted and that can never be revoked.

To say you are loved by God (in the ultimate sense) is to say that you are eternally secure in Jesus - having been given an all-satisfying relationship with the Father because of Christ through the power of the Spirit.

Oh what comfort and joy in knowing we are loved by God! Savor this truth today and the rest of your life.

Adorn The Doctrine Of God

"...showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior" (Titus 2:10, ESV).

Last week this verse was pointed out to me as I was reading. Then, this morning, I was reading from two different books and almost the identical phrase "adorn the doctrine" was in both places. So, needless to say, I believe (at least to some level), God wants me to savor this phrase. With that in mind, I will try to communicate this truth clearly for your encouragement.

Paul is writing to Titus - telling him to encourage the slaves to adorn the doctrine of God. Now, while we may not be "slaves", we are all workers in some way. And, in everything we do, we should adorn the doctrine of God. As Augustine put it, "Preach the gospel, and if you must, use words."

Think about the word "adorn". Every morning, you wake up and get ready. You make yourself look good. You do your hair. You put on clothes that you think make you look good. You brush your teeth. You do all these things to make yourself look more presentable.

Now, Paul's not saying that the gospel isn't already beautiful in and of itself. But, he is saying that we're weak vessels, and the gospel is viewed by others as beautiful when we live it out. When we are adorning the gospel, we are "embellishing with honor" (Enhanced Strongs Lexicon). We are telling people that we not only believe the gospel intellectually, but the gospel has grabbed a hold of us and has radically changed us. When people see that type of change, they see more of the beauty of the gospel.

To give a negative example, we all know people who give Christianity a bad name. They have a critical spirit or greed or a desire to exalt their name above others. These people make Christianity look bad to the outside world. Paul refutes that type of living by calling us to embellish with honor.

You might ask, "How can I do this?" The answer comes in the following verses. "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age," (Titus 2:11-12) Do you see it? It's God's grace! His mercy and grace will teach you. It will train you to renounce the ungodliness in your life so that your life will not be a stumbling block. Instead, your spiritual walk will grow and become more of a shining testimony of God's mercy! When your life is radically changed by a gracious God, you cannot help but love to adorn the doctrine of God. Your heart will soar and you will delight in making sure that the gospel looks grand - as it is!

But, don't forget to verbalize who you live for - that's part of pointing others to Christ. As John Piper puts it, "...speaking the good news of Christ is part of why God put you in your job. He has woven you into the fabric of others' lives so that you will tell them the Gospel. Without this, all our adorning behavior may lack the one thing that could make it life-giving" (Don't Waste Your Life, p. 151).

So, focus on Christ. Seek to be satisfied in Him and seek to make others satisfied in Him! His grace will train you.

Worthy Of Our Calling

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (ESV)

"To this end we always pray for you, that our God may ^make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."

What is God's calling? It's a calling to Himself and to His family. It means we are heirs, children, priests and kings. It is perfect and complete. It's a statement that teaches us who we are and what we have yet to become.

As Paul talks about the Thessalonians faith in the midst of trials and the inevitable punishment the people afflicting them, he says that he always prays that the Thessalonian believers would walk worthy of God's calling. Why would he pray this? If the Thessalonians are already called God's children and a kingdom of priests, do they really have to attain to anything more?

The issue isn't about attaining. The issue is about living out what you truly are: righteous, perfect, complete in Christ. If you are a believer, you have a satisfaction in Christ that will grow as your faith grows in Him. As you become filled with Jesus on a regular basis, your desires change from being inward focused to outward focused (i.e. - you desire that Jesus will be viewed as preeminent in your life, not your own self).

But, how can we really live out the what God commands of us? The answer: just as our calling is given by God's grace, so is living it out. You and I cannot do anything apart from the supernatural work of God in our lives. Without Christ, we can do nothing (John 15). Verses 11-12 make this point clear. Paul prays that God will make us worthy of the calling by His grace.

So, do you desire to maximize the glory of God in your life? Do you have great resolves for good and yet become dissatisfied with the fact that you're not carrying it out (Rom 7)? If so, stop and meditate on these verses. Who do you view the main agent of change in your life? If your answer focuses on you, repent. Turn to Christ now and submit to God! Run to Him. Then, preach the truths of the gospel to yourself. When you're focused on Christ's work in you, the Spirit births greater desires and passions in you so that you cannot help but serve God!

"Dear Lord, strenghten us by Your grace. We are weak, but You are strong. We are Your children, but so often we fail to live out our calling. Help us, Father, to truly look to Christ and depend on Him for every desire and ability. Thank You for the Cross and the blessings that proceed from it. We praise You and love You."

Jesus Is The Light

This morning, as I was praying, I believe that the Lord has taught me something new. It's such an undeserved gift to have a relationship with the Eternal Creator!

You might have heard people explain passages on Jesus being the Light in these terms only: the light enables you to see things around you. You can see your own sin. You can see the sin of the world. And, the light enables you to know where to walk so that you are going forward on the straight and narrow path. All of these aspects are correct, but on my prayer walk, as I was enjoying the sun (up here in Michigan, we haven't had many sunny days this year), I was encountered with another truth relating to the light - it's enjoyable!

On my prayer walk I was merely basking in the fact that it was sunny and warm. Do you ever do that? Do you love beautiful days? When it's a sunny day, does your attitude change? Do you enjoy the light?

Now, let's apply this to Christ. He is the Light of the world. Not only does He give us what we need in order to fight sin and pursue righteousness. But, at a more basic level, He melts our icy hearts and causes us to delight in who He is.

So, are you growing in your delight of Him? Have you found any joy in Christ? Do you bask in the Son? I don't want to be "cheesy" with my choice of words, but I do want to challenge you to not merely know the facts about Jesus. I want to encourage you to move to the relational level with Christ. Has Christ melted your heart or are you content with an icy cold world?

Jesus is the Light! Lay yourself at His feet and seek satisfaction in Christ.

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" - John 8:12 (emphasis mine)

"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." - 2 Corinthians 4:6 (emphasis mine)

"and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel," - 2 Timothy 1:10

Prayer/Desperation

The Scriptures say that we must pray without ceasing. God tells us that prayer is our communication to Him, our communion with Him, and that He always listens. I don't know about you, but my tendency is to become despondent - looking at myself more than Christ. There's a certain aspect of that tendency that's good in that I'm constantly reminded of my need of a Savior. With that tendency and other circumstances in my life, I've seen more of a need to pray.

Faith's most primary outworking is prayer. If you have strong faith, you'll have a strong prayer life. If your prayer life is weak, your faith is the same. Calvin once said, "...learn that true faith is only that which brings forth prayer to God; for it cannot be but that he who has tasted the goodness of God will ever by prayer seek the enjoyment of it" (Calvin's Commentaries, Romans 10:14).

We must be driven to our knees before God - not to try to prove to Him that we love Him. Instead, we must go to Him because He loves us and He delights in communion with His children. Hence we delight in communing with Him.

Do you believe He'll answer your prayers?
Do you believe He'll do exceeding abundantly above all that you could ask or think?
Do you believe He cares for you?
Do you believe He'll change you as you seek His face?

Seek the Lord. Be bold. Cast your cares on Him. When you fail, trust Christ and run to God.

Praise the Lord for His everlasting mercy and grace. While we're children of the King, and our prayers probably sound more like the googoo gaga's of children, God still calls us to draw near to Him. He'll change you through your relationship with Him. Run to the basics. Run to the Truth. Glorify God.

Coming to Christ

This Sunday I'll be preaching on Romans 10 - a chapter which is beautiful in it's tone and perspective on God's sovereign choice and the way in which sinners come to Him. Needless to say, I've spent much grappling over the current subject for some time. And, I'm wanting to discuss it at further length with all of you who participate in my blog.

Let's focus on Romans 10:9-14: "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed?..."

In this passage, Paul is discussing what the righteousness of faith says to the world - Jews and Gentiles alike. In verse 9, Paul begins to discuss what is included in coming to Christ. I've found verses 9 and 10 to be somewhat confusing because Paul seems to distinguish between confession and believing and says that we're justified when we believe and then we're saved when we confess. However, in the context, these two words (justify and saved) are basically synonymous. According to R.C. Sproul, Paul changes the order of confession and believing in 9 and 10 to show the absolute necessity there is in linking confession with belief.

A question still remains - what about this "calling" that's mentioned in verses 12-14 (after which confession is not even mentioned)? How does calling relate to a believer's coming to Christ? Obviously, Paul "assumes that one must call upon the name of the Lord to be saved" (Systematic Theology, Grudem, p. 116). However, how does Paul separate "calling" and "confession" while still maintaining "sola fide?"

Here is where my studies have led me thus far. To quote Grudem again,

"Jesus speaks of 'coming to him' in several places. He says, 'All that the Father gives me will come ot me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out' (John 6:37). He also says, 'If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37).... In these passages we have the idea of coming to Christ and asking for acceptance, for living water to drink, and for rest and instruction. All of these give an intensely personal picture of what is involved in saving faith" (Systematic Theology, p. 711).

I will try to pull his quote together and support it with biblical insight. As we all know, the basic definition of faith is trust in or reliance/dependence on someone or some thing. But, what does that entail? And, again, how do we maintain "sola fide?"

"'J.I. Packer presents [faith] as an 'appropriating instrument, an empty hand outstretched to receive the free gift of God's righteousness in Christ'" (Christ the Lord, p. 103). Packer and Grudem describe faith as something which goes outside of the person to another for salvation. And, faith includes "calling" or "asking" for forgiveness from the individual it goes to. This is even obvious in passages like Joel 2, Romans 10:13, Acts 2:32, etc.

So, how is "calling" and "asking" not a work? The answer is because these two things are an outflow of what true faith is at it's core. If we truly posess faith, we must be depending on Jesus. And, that dependence looks like going to Him for salvation. As John Piper says, "Coming to God for salvation means believing on Christ in your heart for all that he has done for you, and then giving expression to that with your mouth by confessing him and calling on him as Lord" (www.desiringgod.org).

What I love about Piper's definition is that he puts this all together (using Romans 10). He states that confessing and calling are merely an expression of your faith. So, that is not a work. It's merely the natural verbalization of what you believe.

What can be said of those who "don't know when they were saved?" Again, it's the heart attitude that matters. The heart attitude is one that goes to Christ, and depends on Him by calling to Him for salvation.

With all of this, I will close with Calvin's quote on this passage:

"...the apostle, in order to show that true faith cannot be indifferent about calling upon God, has laid down this order: just as faith is born from the gospel, so through it our hearts are trained to call upon God's name [Rom. 10:14-17]" (Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion 2, ed. John T. McNeill, p. 850).