Jesus Strong and Mighty

Posted on by metroupe

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“The popular image of Jesus is that He is not only kind and tender but also soft and prissy, as though Jesus comes to us reeking of hand cream. Such a Jesus can hardly steel the soul that is daily assaulted by the enemy. We need to learn the catechism of Psalm 24. Question: Who is the King of glory? Answer: Yahweh, strong and mighty! Yahweh-mighty in battle! (Ps 24:8). We must catch the vision of the Faithful and True sitting on the white horse, the One who ‘judges and makes war’ in righteousness (Rev 19:11-16). No mild God or soft Jesus can give His people hope. It is only as we know the Warrior of Israel who fights for us (and sometimes without us) that we have hope of triumphing in the muck of life.” (Ralph Davis, “Joshua: No Falling Words,” p.82)

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Inconvenience, Complaining, and Opportunity to Open My Mouth for Christ

Posted on by metroupe

I am amazed at how often I forget simple truths that I have learned. As a young Christian I learned that God often works through trials in our life. Victories and triumphs come through difficulties large and small. When we moved into our new house I was frustrated with the process of getting the Internet hooked up. I arranged for DSL to be installed, and after a delay that was unacceptable to me, the equipment arrived and I found out that it was too slow. So I arranged to have Cable Internet installed instead. The Cable Company sent out 2 workers who could not do the installation because the connection was on a pole that was too high, and the box had become the home of a wasp’s nest. The next available appointment was a week away. As a domestic missionary, my goal is to knock on every door I can, and speak to every person that I meet -hoping to find room to talk to them about Jesus. I did have a chance to speak to both of these men briefly and invite them to church, and I gave them both a gospel booklet. However, I still fretted instead of thanking God. I had dismantled much of my office to make the connection possible, and now I would have to set it up, just to take it down later. Deep sigh.

The next cable guy came out unprepared to deal with the problem, which produced more delays. They hadn’t dealt with the problem and it was becoming a major inconvenience to me. The young man at my home was in his mid twenties, a rough looking man who was covered with tattoos. I spoke to him, and found out that he was a skeptic about spiritual things. Both of his parents had died and that left him sour. I also invited him to church and spoke to him, giving him some reasons to believe. I also gave him a tract “Jesus for Skeptics.” But, in my mind the internet problem was still an albatross hanging off my shoulders and I wanted it to be dealt with. After explaining to the customer service representative on the phone that I was not happy, and could not spend the rest of my life waiting around for the right crews to show up, I managed to get a crew out to the house that could install the internet.

Two more men arrived later in the evening. One man was the supervisor who helped to fix the problem and then leave. I was able to quickly invite him to church as well and hand out another booklet. The other man had to stay to finish the installation. He was a young black man named Chris. I had a huge opportunity to speak to this man. He ended up staying at our home for 2 and ½ hours- slowly working to fix the problem. After some discussion I learned that this was his last call for the day. I stood next to him almost the whole time as he worked, asking him about his life and spiritual things. He was eager to listen and even asked some questions. On a stretch, I invited him to stay for dinner. To my amazement he accepted, and I rushed to ask my wife to prepare a dinner that would include our guest. I felt like Abraham asking Sarah to go kill the fatted calf. He ate with us and we talked. I spoke to him very boldly about Christ and what He had done on the cross, and our need for him. I told him my own story of salvation. I asked him if I could call him and meet him sometime in the next week for coffee or dinner and speak to him more about spiritual things. To this he agreed and he left his number. I asked him if I could pray for him, and he agreed.

As he left I was in disbelief. This was one of the best opportunities I have ever had to share the gospel with a stranger. My goal is to speak with at least 20 people every week in an evangelistic way. I spoke to about 23 people last week, but not with so much clarity as with this man. This was a clear answer to prayer, an answer that came through a malfunctioning cable connection. If the cable had worked the first time, I would not have had a chance to meet Chris, or speak to the other four cable employees. But God works through mysterious ways, and I am humbled at the privilege to open my mouth for my savior, and ashamed at how forgetful I am of the simple lessons that I learned as a new believer.

All Sanctification comes Through The Cross

Posted on by metroupe

There is no victory over the indwelling power of sin, and there is no pardon for the guilt of sin, but as the soul deals with the blood of Christ. All true sanctification comes through the cross.

Seek it there. Go to the cross—oh, go to the cross of Jesus. In simplicity of faith, go. With the strong corruption, go. With the burden of guilt, go, go to the cross.

You will find nothing but love there—nothing but welcome there—nothing but purity there. The precious blood of Jesus ‘cleanses us from all sin.’ And while you are kept low beneath the cross, your enemy dares not approach you, sin shall not have dominion over you, nor shall Satan, your accuser, condemn you.”

—Octavius Winslow, Morning Thoughts (January 8)

Lawmakers, All of Us

Posted on by metroupe

“It is a common saying that every man has a pope in his own bosom. That is, the disposition to Lord it over God’s heritage is almost universal. Men wish to have their opinions on moral questions made into laws to bind the consciences of their brethren.”

Charles Hodge
(Systematic Theology, 3:265)

Fasting for the Father’s Reward

Posted on by metroupe

Here is a great 30 minute message on Fasting by John Piper. It deals with the great temptation of wanting to be seen by men and addresses the answer: Doing what we do to be seen and rewarded by our father. Very good stuff. If there is to be blessing and success in church planting it will come through seeking God in prayer and fasting.

Effort is REQUIRED!

Posted on by metroupe

“As well might a poor man expect to be rich in this world without industry, or a weak man to become strong and healthy without food and exercise, as a Christian to be rich in faith and strong in the Lord without earnest endeavour and diligent effort. It is true that all our labours amount to nothing unless the Lord blesses them (Psalm 127:1), as it also is that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). Nevertheless, God places no premium upon sloth, and has promised that “the soul of the diligent shall be made fat” (Proverbs 13:4). A farmer may be fully persuaded of his own helplessness to make his fields productive, he may realize that their fertility is dependent upon the sovereign will of God, and he may also be a firm believer in the efficacy of prayer; but unless he discharges his own duty his barns will be empty. So it is spiritually.”

AW PINK

What to Preach?

Posted on by metroupe

I know that so many around the world have been waiting on pins and needles, pacing in restlessness wondering what I will be preaching when I get to Fresno. Well, pant no more! I am going preach one of the gospels: either Mark or John. I chose this because I believe that the foundation of the church is the historical events of the life of Christ. The gospel is basically “NEWS” of what God has done to reconcile the world to himself. It is NOT primarily advice to follow, but truth to believe. I was convinced to take this path, at least in part by Tim Keller’s message on the implications of the gospel for ministry. You can get it from the Gospel Coalition

BTW, I think the picture above is just fabulous. I don’t know what the sculptor had in mind- but I find this to be a great visual of what Biblical preaching should be: a chance for us to point all men, again and again, to the truth.
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The Hard Road

Posted on by metroupe

I get prayer emails from Johnny Farese. He is a quadriplegic who serves the Lord from his bed. you should visit his site, farese.com to hear the whole story.

You can listen to some of his story below:

He sent this quote the other day:

“In the world ye shall have tribulation.”
— John 16:33

“There are some among us teaching there will be no tribulation, that the Christians will be able to escape all this. These are the false teachers that Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days. Most of them have little knowledge of what is already going on across the world. I have been in countries where the saints are already suffering terrible persecution. In China, the Christians were told, “Don’t worry, before the tribulation comes you will be translated – raptured.” Then came a terrible persecution. Millions of Christians were tortured to death. Later I heard a Bishop from China say, sadly, “We have failed. We should have made the people strong for persecution rather than telling them Jesus would come first. Tell the people how to be strong in times of persecution, how to stand when the tribulation comes – to stand and not faint.”

Corrie Ten Boom

Corrie Ten Boom was a dutch christian who was sent to a concentration camp in WWII for helping Jews to hide. Her sister and father died while imprisoned. She knows something of what it means to suffer for her faith in Jesus.

The Big Picture of the Bible

Posted on by metroupe

Mark Dever is a pastor in Washington D.C. He is a great preacher, and some time ago he took his congregation on a journey through the whole Bible. First he preached on sermon on the big message of the whole of scripture. Next, a message on the New Testament, and then another one on the Old Testament. Each message trying to summarize the major message of God’s word. After this he preached a sermon on each book of the Bible, OT and NT.

You can find them here.

Jesus, a Hypocrite’s Worst Nightmare

Posted on by metroupe


The Anti-Hypocrite

Hypocrisy is an old game. At the bottom, it means being an impostor, a deceiver. And there are many ways to express it. It is easy for modern Americans to limit the idea of hypocrisy to the kind expressed by those great modern philosophers the Beastie Boys: “Your pop caught you smokin’ and he said no way, that hypocrite smokes two packs a day.” And they are correct; that is one of the worst forms of hypocrisy.

This was alive and well in Jesus generation, “ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25). Consistently Jesus opposed hypocrisy. In modern parlance, He is the “anti-hypocrite.” It occurred to me with some freshness that Jesus is not just opposed to this kind of deceitfulness with his words. He opposed hypocrisy by the way he lived His life.
I was reading Mark chapter 10 this morning and saw something important. James and John were trying to position themselves for greatness as cabinet members in what they thought was Jesus coming administration, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory” (v. 37). Jesus dialogues with them, and concludes with some magnificent words on greatness. “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant” (v.42-43). Translated into modern language, everyone wants to call the shots. Power is the world’s view of greatness. Jesus almost always turns things on their head. Real greatness comes from being a humble servant.

Here is where we see Jesus as the “anti-hypocrite.” Jesus is not prescribing medicine that He won’t take. He concludes this discussion with these words, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (v.45). First Jesus tells them how to be great, and then he shows them. Jesus is the ultimate servant, and the best example of greatness. Jesus is the perfect example of sincerity. There is no show or deception with Christ. He is exactly what he appears to be. No pretense, no stage. He is the embodiment of virtue!

But there is something else. Jesus opposes hypocrisy by His teaching and life, but he also promises to render a full accounting to every hypocrite on the last day. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known” (Luke 12:1-2). Hypocrisy thrives in the shadows. The same Jesus who preached against hypocrisy, and lived a life of sincerity, will one day broadcast the truth on the evening news of the judgment day for every hypocrite. Jesus already knows what goes on behind closed doors, and he will one day pull back the curtain for the whole world to see. He elsewhere said, “the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 24:50-51).

When I read this, I rejoice that I have such a savior. It is no wonder to me that Paul says of Jesus, He has been given the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9-10).