Grace to Fortify You Against Satan's Temptations

Last night at our Wednesday evening service we talked about the fact that the death
of Christ also accomplished power over sin in this life for the Christian.

"From GRBC Doctrinal Statment:

We teach that on the basis of the efficacy of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the believing sinner is freed from the power of sin."

“For if you live according to the flesh you will die;
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
(Romans 8:13, NKJV)

I thought it was interesting this morning that the following prayer devotional arrived. It is helpful to both think through these concepts as well as pray through
them.



Pray for God's Grace to Fortify you Against Satan's Temptations
From Matthew Henrys Method for Prayer

We pray that we may not enter into temptation; Matthew 26:41(NASB) or, however,
that no temptation may overtake us but such as is common to man.
And may the faithful God never allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able, but with the
temptation provide the way of escape for us. 1 Corinthians 10:13(NASB)
Put upon us the full armor of God, so that we may be able to stand firm against the
schemes of the devil; Ephesians 6:11(NASB) to resist in the evil day, and having
done everything, to stand firm. Let our loins be girded with truth, put on us
the breastplate of righteousness, and let our feet be shod with the preparation
of the gospel of peace. Give us the shield of faith with which we may
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, and the helmet of salvation;
and let the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, be always ready to
us. Ephesians 6:13-17(NASB)Enable us to resist the devil, so that he may flee from us; James 4:7(NASB) to resist him, firm in our faith. 1 Peter 5:9(NASB) And may You, the God of peace, tread Satan under our feet, and may You do it soon. Romans 16:20(NASB)

Happy Thanksgiving

Psalm
100

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

1 Make a joyful
shout to the Lord, all you lands!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His
presence with singing.
3 Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who
has made us, and not we ourselves;
We
are
His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His
gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise.
Be
thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is
everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

Notice
the first three verses begin with a command. The commands to Praise, Serve, and
Know are not exclusive to the people of God. These are commands to all people
in all lands. Glorifying God in whatever we do (1 Cor. 10:31) is the duty of
all mankind.

Halfway
through verse three the attention focuses on “we” that is God’s redeemed
people. The people of God not only share the duty to glorify God with all
mankind, but delight in that worship because of their unique relationship with
God. God’s people receive protection and provision. We are the “sheep of His
pasture.” Consequently we delight to gather with His people at His place of
worship and praise His name. We respond in thankfulness and worship.

The
psalmist ends with three reasons why we should be thankful. First, God is good.
All that He does is for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28). Second, God is
merciful. His mercy is new every day. We know that because every day we receive
better than what we deserve (Lamentations 3:22-23). Third, God is truthful and
His Word will endure forever. God never lies or changes His mind. When God
makes a promise we can be assured that He will keep it (Numbers 23:19).

Thanksgiving
is the duty of all mankind, and the delight of all the redeemed!

Happy
Thanksgiving,

Wayne

Sins of Omission

James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do
good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Lying, cheating, lusting, and steeling are all sinful
activities. When we think of engaging in sinful activity, perhaps the first
things that may come to our mind is doing the things that we should not do. In
our text, James reminds us that there is another category of sinful activity to
avoid, the sins of omission.

Failing to do the right thing is wrong. The recent sexual abuse scandal surrounding the Penn State football program is a reminder of this fact. At this point there is conflicting information as to what did and what did not happen. The person who apparently first discovered the abuse allegedly reported it to his superiors. Given the nature of the crime it appears that he should have taken more aggressive action to prevent future abuse. He failed to act to the degree a reasonable person should act in protecting the most vulnerable. Those to whom the information was relayed likewise apparently failed to act in an appropriate way in confronting the abuser and reporting his actions to the police for further investigation.

Christians are called to a higher standard. We must not only not do the wrong thing, but we must also not fail to do the right thing.

Just Say No!

Ephesians 5:16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.


Every day I feel like I have to squeeze 100 hours of good things into a 24 hour day. It is just not possible. You have to SAY NO to some good things. You cannot do everything. Recently I was discussing this issue with one of our Elders at GRBC. He sent me a helpful article he wrote several years ago while he was a busy pastor in New York. Perhaps you will find it helpful as well. If so please pass it on.


Just Say No!
(First Baptist Church Johnson City, NY Sunday School Newsletter)
Spring 2003
Dr. Andrew T. Alexson

When my friend Esther approached me, I knew I should say no to whatever her request would be. But when she asked me to write an article on "How To Say No", how could I refuse?

There are two surefire biblical ways to get everything done that is in your Day planner. You can pray like Joshua in Joshua 10:12-14. Or while you are waiting for the sun to stop, you can say, "Yes"… "Yes" to God.

God's sovereignty means that He has both the power to stop the sun and the right to call us to serve Him. Saying no to the manifold demands of this world means saying yes to God's plan for our lives. It follows then that knowing God's plan is important. We have by our phone a list of prayerfully derived family goals (immediate, short-term and long-term) and a calendar. We use our posted goals to filter the good requests from the great. We use the calendar to schedule (guarantee) our priorities and activities. It is much easier to say "No" when the time has already been committed. By the way, this system of prioritization works with the checkbook, too!

For example, I have recently said "No" to a certain ministry activity request and a missionary support request. Both opportunities were very good, but they didn't align with how I believed God would want me to spend my time and money. I could easily say "No", because in essence I was saying "Yes" to God's plan for my life. It is vital to say, "Yes" to the GREAT things and "No" to the GOOD things. At the ripe old age of 44, I don't have much discretionary time left to spend on good things. The rest of my days should be spent serving God in great things.

Like Paul in Philippians 3:10-14 and Hebrews 12:1-2, we should know God's plan for our lives, drop all the excess baggage, and serve Him wholeheartedly.
This can only be accomplished by saying, "Yes" to God's demands, thereby letting good things pass on by choosing the best.

John MacArthur Biography

Review of John MacArthur Biography by Barbara Challies

I read Iain Murray’s recent biography of John MacArthur after my husband received it as a gift. As my reading tends to be mostly about, and by, “dead white men,” I had little direct knowledge of MacArthur, who is still very much alive. I did, however, know him by reputation and held him in the highest regard for the wonderful consistency and forthrightness I heard of from others. So, when Tim asked me to write a brief response to Murray’s book, I did it gladly, but as a MacArthur neophyte.

I had expected to read of a man who loves God’s word with his whole heart and is determined to serve him with all biblical faithfulness. That is exactly what I did find. What I did not expect to find, and I am speaking with all honesty, is someone so very interesting. Why was I surprised? To be honest, I think it is because he is a nice-looking man with a nice-looking wife and children from a big church in California. I thought “they” were mass-marketed, with little appeal to this serious (ex-patriate) Canadian.

So what have I found interesting about this man? If you don’t mind, that is what I will deal with in a few brief paragraphs. I take for granted you are familiar with his excellent, biblically-based theology.

Insight = Bible + History

The first thing is the level of his insight. Love of the Bible and a love of church history—MacArthur has both—always make people insightful. They enable a bottom-line, “essence of the essence” judgment of issues that seems prophetic. In reality, it is the weighing of alternatives on a very finely balanced biblical-historical set of scales. What seems effortless is really the product of much reading and contemplation. MacArthur, as a very young man, was able to see and articulate the problem with the modern American church—easy believism and lack of holiness. When the charismatic movement began to become mainstream, he spoke out against it on the basis of the bedrock of “Scripture Alone,” and his knowledge of similar movements in the past which had harmed the church. He saw immediately that Scripture and experience could not stand as fellow conduits to knowing God. One must engulf the other. Similarly, with Evangelicals and Catholics Together, MacArthur quickly grasped that the essential question—What is a Christian in the first place?—was left unaddressed. The essence of his understanding of each of these issues is so simple that it is easy to underestimate the complete clarity needed to reach them. Again, I will say it is the cumulative effect of immersion in biblical study and church history.

Family

The second thing that intrigued me about MacArthur is several unexpected aspects of his background and early life. MacArthur’s father, Jack, chose to pastor a church in Hollywood for a time. I find it interesting and commendable that, as a very conservative Christian, he would willingly and graciously go into one of the heartlands of anti-Christian America, taking his young family with him. MacArthur himself was an excellent athlete, with the potential of playing professional football. I love that commitment to share in, and appreciate, some of the best of our secular culture. I was amazed to discover that MacArthur had been friends with some of the black leaders of the sixties’ Civil Rights Movement—not engaging with them so much politically, as relationally—respecting their aspirations. How wonderful to identify with what was at that time very much a sub-culture. Finally, I appreciate that MacArthur and his wife were willing to take a very troubled young man into their own family, for a time—something totally “unnecessary” for the pastor of a large and flourishing church, but so very beautiful.

The Women in His Life

Another point of interest: God put many women into MacArthur’s early life. He surrounded him with them, actually! After John, his parents had three daughters and for many years, his grandmother also lived with them. We all know how important meaningful male relationships are for boys and MacArthur was very close to his father. What we sometimes overlook is the benefit of a strong mother-son bond. Margaret Truman, the daughter of Harry Truman, became convinced during her research that many of the American presidents had very close bonds with their mothers. The closeness seems, somehow, to give boys stability and “emotional energy” they take into their adult years. MacArthur recognized this when he said of his mother, “The degree to which I have enjoyed success as a father, as a husband, and as a minister of the gospel, is a result of the investments she made in me each day.” He also treasures his wife and respects her judgment. I am always impressed with a man who loves the women in his life sincerely and well!

A Man of Courage

One final, remarkable thing about John MacArthur is his courage. As Christians, we are called to stand—always to be found standing and ready to fight for truth. This is not easy, especially when most of the professing Christian world does not even seem to recognize the battle. MacArthur has often stood alone, or almost alone, and there is no indication that this will ever change. I don’t think he will be one of the Christian leaders that, in the words of a friend, “live too long,” and in his latter years undoes the good of his early life. May God continue to give him the courage of Athanasius as he said, “The world is against Athanasius. Then Athanasius is against the world” and of Luther, when he said in the face of the consensus of medieval Europe, “Here I stand. I can do no other.” Honestly, I think that lesson of courage is the most precious one he can bequeath us . May God help us all to be as faithful!

I Surrender All

Worldly Wisdom

Recently journalist Martin Bashir interviewed Rob Bell concerning Bell’s heretical book Love Wins in which Bell denies the existence of eternal judgment, thus paving the way to a Universalist Gospel. In light of the recent devastation in Japan caused by the Tsunami, Bashir began the interview by asking Bell to answer what he thought to be a theological conundrum.

“Either God is all powerful, but He does not care about the people of Japan therefore the people are suffering or God does care about the people, but He is not all powerful.”

When Bell finally got around to giving an answer, he just said it is a paradox.

It is not a paradox, the question is a loaded question, a logical fallacy.

This is akin to asking, “Have you stopped beating your wife”? You cannot affirm or deny, you must reject the question because it contains erroneous information.

Likewise in response to the devastation in Japan, to conclude that either God is all powerful and does not care or God cares and is not all powerful, is to state categories of factual error.The truth is:

• God is all powerful
• God is all caring

What God is doing in the world, what He has decreed to happen in the world, what He has permitted to happen in the world, seems foolish or weak to the wisdom of the world.

So from the perspective of man what is happening often does not make sense and sometimes seems to be foolish.

Some in the religious community may begin to point fingers and say, “well it is because of specific sins that these people were judged.” We do not know that and cannot make those types of categorical statements.

God is all powerful and He can stop any “natural” disaster that He chooses.

Isaiah 45:7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.’

Amos 3:6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?

God does things for His Glory and for our good.

Genesis 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
So from man’s perspective, worldly wisdom, all is Vanity

Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 2:17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
We simply do not fully know the answer to the question why God does what He does.

We do know that we are responsible for our sin, and that God deals with us with grace and mercy.

All men have sinned against God and are worthy of not just temporary judgment, but eternal judgment. We know that when disaster strikes it reminds us of our total inability to rely on our own ingenuity for our salvation. Events like this are a gracious reminder of coming day of eternal judgment.

Luke 13:4–5 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
Our response should be to make sure that we are in a right relationship with God. We should make sure our affections are towards God.

Worldly wisdom rejects such notions as foolish and weak. So the atheist denies the existence of God…at least the one revealed in Holy Scripture, and the religious create a God patterned after their own wisdom and not according to the Scriptures.