Author Archives: Pastor Tommy

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. (Revelation 3:7)

Our God is the keeper of the gate into glory. It is God who holds the key that unlocks the door leading to eternal life, and it is God who locks it behind us, keeping all who have entered eternally safe. This is the key of David, and it is designed to offer you both encouragement and comfort—not only today, but all the way into glory.

Here are some of the incredible implications of this verse:

Salvation is rooted in . . .

• God’s mercy – not our merit
• God’s grace – not our good works
• God’s good pleasure – not our posturing

The gate that allows access into eternal life is opened by God and God alone. He is the one who extends His invitation; He is the one who offers His mercy; He is the one who pours out His grace on His adopted children. And when we receive God’s offer of salvation, by grace through faith, we can be assured that our home in heaven is irrevocably secured (Romans 11:29).

In addition, the same gate that allows access into eternal life is closed and secured by God too. What this means is that eternal life is assured and judgment is certain. You see, today is a day of invitation for all those who stand outside the gate. God in Christ has extended His invitation to everyone who will trust in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. The promise is eternal life for those who will abandon their self-salvation projects and transfer their trust to the Savior. Jesus calls to all who will hear:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

The frightening flip side of this truth, however, is this: tomorrow may not be a day of invitation, because tomorrow may be that day when we breathe our last and the gate leading to eternal life is shut forever.

So if you have acknowledged yourself to be a sinner in need of a Savior and have transferred your trust to Jesus Christ, rejoice! Know that a banquet is being prepared for you this day; and one day soon you will be sitting at table with Jesus Christ.

To know that your salvation is secure is to know that there is nothing in the entire universe that can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39)—not your sins in the past . . . nor your sins in the future . . . not Satan . . . nothing! The door that was opened for you by your Savior has also been closed and locked behind you. You couldn’t turn around and walk back out again even if you wanted to! You are held securely and eternally in the hand of your Savior (John 10:28).

Does that truth not fill you with unimaginable strength for the day ahead? If Jesus has the ultimate authority as the keeper of the gate, He is absolutely sovereign over every detail of your life. Nothing happens to you that doesn’t first pass through His nail-scarred hands. And everything that happens to you, no matter how wonderful or dreadful it may seem in the moment, is taking place for two reasons: God’s glory and your eternal good.

Christian, you are held securely by the Keeper of the gate . . . you have His word on it!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, “My master was too easy on Naaman . . . as surely as the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.” (2 Kings 5:20)

The story of the prophet Elisha being used of God to heal Naaman of leprosy is well known by students of the Scriptures. There is another story, however, that is closely associated with this miraculous event that is less familiar and perhaps more profound in its message: the greed of Gehazi.

Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Syria. The Bible tells us that he was a mighty man of valor, but suffered from leprosy. One day he sought out the prophet Elisha in order to be cured. Naaman was displeased with the response he received from Elisha, but he did as he was instructed and went down to the Jordan, dipped himself in the river seven times, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child.

Naaman was hugely grateful for his healing and wanted to reward Elisha, but Elisha refused. Enter Elisha’s servant Gehazi, who had a leprous heart that was beating for things smaller than God. Gehazi ran after Naaman, requesting the reward that Elisha had refused. When Elisha discerned his servant’s actions, the prophet rebuked Gehazi for his greed, and Gehazi became as Naaman had been—a leper, with skin white like snow.

By nature, we all have a bit of Gehazi in us. We have leprous hearts that beat for the stuff of this world rather than our Savior. On the outside, Gehazi looked quite good to the watching world. He was a servant of the great prophet Elisha, which brought Gehazi close to God and God’s Word continually. He was immersed in an environment of all things eternal. But his leprous heart was beating for that which was temporal, and eventually, what he loved most rose to the surface of his life. It always does!

What has your heart been beating for lately? Things above or things below? What have you been running after? Do not be deceived as Gehazi was and think all is well inwardly simply because of your outward environment. As a servant of the prophet Elisha, Gehazi was close to God outwardly, but deep inside, his heart was far from God. Remember, it is not your religion—rooted in your church attendance, prayer life, daily devotions, and service to God—that guards you from a leprous heart. It is always and in every way your right relationship with your Redeemer, because the ultimate reward in both life and death is Jesus.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed (Jeremiah 20:7)

Over the decades of working as a coach and a trainer, I have been able to tell athletes that if they did certain things, they could expect certain results. For example, for those who had the goal of getting stronger, participating in a consistent weight training program would produce the desired result. For the goal of increasing speed, a systematic running and sprinting program would be the way to go. However, inasmuch as this principle is also at work for the Christian who desires a closer walk with Jesus, and who consistently engages in the spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer, corporate worship, service, giving, and so on, that Christian is likely to find that God often gives us something totally unexpected . . . perhaps even unwanted!

Today’s verse is an example of the unexpected. The prophet Jeremiah did not foresee the trials he would endure when God called him into his prophetic ministry; Jeremiah’s preaching ministry did not return the results he had expected. Jeremiah was faithful to preach the Word of God, but his reward was beatings and prison. While you and I may never see the inside of a dungeon, we often find ourselves in the same situation as Jeremiah: experiencing the exact opposite of what we had expected God to do in our lives. Tragically, when we are confronted by the unexpected, a root of bitterness may grow within us, diminishing God’s glory in our eyes and robbing us of the good God intended for us.

Our God is in the business of delivering the unexpected. Because God sees the beginning from the end, He knows what is best and He orchestrates events to produce His perfect results—which are often completely unexpected! Like Jeremiah, we do certain things and expect certain results. Without realizing it, we put our God in a box. And once we do that, we begin serving the “god” we wanted, rather than the God who is.

Here are three things to remember if we are going to have any measure of peace and joy in this life:

1. There is a God.
2. It is not me.
3. And I don’t get a vote!

Regardless of where this message finds you today, remember that God is in the business of delivering the unexpected. We all must keep these powerful words from our Lord before us: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). The better we become at “being still,” the better we will become at receiving the unexpected—and the freedom, joy, and faithfulness it is designed to deliver.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”(Acts 23:11)

I have a word of tremendous comfort for you today, which is rooted in the passage from which our verse was taken. We read in the book of Acts that the apostle Paul was in harm’s way after having confronted the hypocrisy of the Jewish religious leaders. The uproar was so furious that the Roman guard took Paul away and put him into their barracks for his own protection. While some of the religious leaders were plotting to kill Paul, the Lord Himself appeared to Paul and told Paul that he was, in a word, untouchable because God was not finished with him yet.

And the same is true for you and me! The Bible makes it clear that we are all “immortal” until our work is done. God’s purposes will be accomplished, and nothing and no one can stand in His way. It mattered not that the corrupt religious leaders had conspired to kill the apostle Paul. In fact, Scripture tells us that “more than forty men were involved in this plot” (Acts 23:13), but forty men were no match for God because God was not finished with Paul yet. The whole world could have taken its stand against Paul, but it would have been impotent to do anything to him while Omnipotence had more work for Paul to do.

Make no mistake, when your work for the Lord is done, He will usher you into His eternal presence along with all the saints of God. But that will not happen one moment before you have completed your assignment here on earth. So, as the angel of the Lord said to Paul, Take courage! . . . because God is not finished with you yet. As an ambassador of the Almighty, your safe passage is guaranteed while you are fulfilling your service for your Savior.

As a disciple of Jesus, you have been called to testify to the truth. Every child of God has been given the assignment of participating in the expansion of the kingdom of God. Is there anything keeping you from fulfilling your calling? Remember, the Lord is standing right by your side every step of the way into glory. He has promised never to leave you nor forsake you. So be at peace as you participate in the greatest work on this side of the grave: witnessing to Jesus Christ.

Let this truth sink in and ultimately set you free: He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion, regardless of the cost or circumstances you face. You can count on that truth as absolute certainty, because greater is He who is in you than the one who is in this world. No weapon formed against you will keep you from finishing the work God has set before you, because under the care of the Almighty, you are UNTOUCHABLE!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

Because we have been made in the image and likeness of God, we have been made to make a durable difference in the world around us. So the question before you and me today is this:

Are we truly making a difference that is durable?

To be sure, there are many things that get in the way of making a durable difference in the world around us. One of those things is our tendency to be more focused on pleasing men than on pleasing God. Make no mistake, people pleasers do not make a durable difference in the world! They find their deepest satisfaction when others are pleased and accepting of them. But this was not the life for the apostle Paul:

I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24 ESV)

These are the sentiments of a man who made a durable difference in the world. Now, it was not that the apostle despaired of life itself; rather, he despised the thought of living life without Christ at the center and circumference of it. And he was willing to set all other things aside—indeed, he considered them “rubbish” (Philippians 3:8)—in order to pursue the faithful and fruitful service of his Lord. Paul made no account of his life apart from the life that the Lord Jesus had called him to live when He appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus.

Paul’s goal was to accomplish or finish his course or race. He knew a durable difference would only be made when he crossed the finish line of life having given all he had and all he was as a testimony to the Gospel of the grace of God. Paul purposed to live a life for something bigger than just his life; he lived for His Savior. He refused to shrink the size of his life down to the size of his life. Paul lived to please God, not man, and in doing so, he made a durable difference as a disciple of Jesus.

Can the same be said of you today? Are you making a durable difference by the life you are living? Your answer can be a resounding “Yes!” . . . if you are living your life for the glory of God and the good of others. It matters not what your station in life is; what matters is who you are living for in your current station. When you are living for Jesus and pouring yourself out for the advancement of His kingdom, you can know in no uncertain terms that the life you are living is making a durable difference—even an eternal difference—in the world around you.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: He could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. (Hebrews 11:5)

Enoch lived such a holy and righteous life that God Himself testified to it—not once, but twice in sacred Scripture.

After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years. . . . Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. (Genesis 5:22, 24)

So pleased is God when we walk by faith before Him that He is committed to testifying to it as a fact before men. In essence, this is the testimony of God to a life well-lived before His face and in the presence of others. Enoch walked faithfully with God every step of the way into heaven.

Can the same be said about us? Is our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ a walk that is rooted in faith . . . or a walk that is rooted in sight? What would be the testimony of God about our lives?

Look at it this way; never do we more closely bear the image of our God than when we are walking faithfully with Him. And never is God more pleased with us than when we are bearing more of His image. To be sure, when Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, the image of God in them was stained by sin and that stain marred its perfection. Today, you and I bear God’s image imperfectly in everything we do, but we do still bear God’s image. And never do we bear it more than when we are walking faithfully with our God.

To walk with someone is to be in close proximity with them. As you walk, you talk together and your attention is focused on the one you are walking with. You are in step with that person and you share a time of intimate companionship with that person. This is what it means to walk faithfully with your God. We are in close proximity to Him; we are focused on Him; we are sharing a time of intimate fellowship with Him. When we do that, we are affirming that God is the greatest good in our life, and we live at the level described by A. W. Tozer: We “live in a state of unbroken worship.”

Walking by faith is trusting God even when we cannot trace Him. We walk in unwavering obedience to His Word and His will, regardless of the cost or circumstance. This was the confession of the life lived by Enoch. And Enoch was not alone in the biblical account. It is said of Noah that he was “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, he walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 6:9). This is God’s goal for every one of His children . . . and He is committed to testifying to it.

So be encouraged today by the example of Enoch! Make it your heart’s deepest desire to live a life marked by walking with your God wherever He leads, knowing that it will ultimately be for His glory and your good.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

I have a word of encouragement for you today that can be found in two simple yet profound words: “so loved.” Think about this for a moment; writing his gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the apostle John could find no better word than “so” to describe God’s love for you. So regardless of where this finds you today, remember that you are “so loved” by your God.

These truly seem to be the best of all words, because who among us could define just how loved we are by God? Words cannot describe the kind of love our God has for us in Christ Jesus.

• When we lived in sin and cared not for the things of God . . . we were so loved.
• When we were rebels on the run away from God instead of toward Him . . . we were so loved.
• When God sent His only beloved Son to take our place on a cross so that our sins could be forgiven . . . we were so loved.
• When God turned away from His beloved Son as He cried out from that cruel cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” . . . we were so loved.

Truly there is no human definition that adequately describes what it means to be “so loved” by God. This should be both an encouragement and a comfort for you today.

Perhaps this finds you in a season of struggle. Or maybe Satan has been sowing seeds of discouragement in the garden of your mind. Could it be that you have been doubting the security of your place in God’s family of faith? Regardless of what may be causing you distress, let me encourage you to meditate on and marinate in the truth that the apostle John penned for you 2000 years ago: you are “so loved” by God—right now, right where this finds you.

I pray that you will live this day and all the days God gives you in light of this truth. Whether the road ahead is filled with rough patches and potholes of painful providences or it is straight and smooth because of the tender mercies of God, remember that you are “so loved.” Now, that’s a truth that will set you free to be all God is calling you to be

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. (2 Corinthians 12:14)

When Jesus came into this world, He turned it upside down. The first became last and the last became first. The up were down and the down were up. It was far better to give than to receive. And Jesus Himself, who was sitting upon the throne of heaven, took off His outer garments, wrapped a towel around His waist, took a basin of water, and began to wash His disciples’ feet. The King of kings had taken on the role of a lowly servant. These are just a few examples of the radical transformation that our Lord wrought.

And yet, in a little over 2,000 years, far too many in the church of Jesus Christ have turned the world back in the other direction . . . and that direction is not the one we ought to be going in!

When I am sharing this concept with people in the church, they often ask how they can know for sure if they are living in the world that Jesus turned upside down . . . or if they are inhabiting the world that men have turned back the other way. It really is simple. Answer this question:

What do you seek after most in life? God . . . or the good gifts He gives you?

Now, I am not talking about what we all do from time to time—shifting our focus from our Savior to the stuff of life. What I am talking about is identifying the driving force in our lives. What is it that gets us up early and keeps us up late? Is it time we can spend with God and deepening our understanding of Him? Or is it time we can spend with the good gifts He has given us?

Go back over 2 Corinthians 12:14, our verse for today. The apostle Paul was making his third missionary journey to Corinth; look where his focus was. The love that Paul had for Jesus Christ poured out into the lives of those he ministered to, and because of this Paul could say, “What I want is not your possessions but you!”

Clearly this is a reflection of the heart of the great apostle. His world had been turned upside down by Jesus on the road to Damascus, and he chose to live in that upside-down world from that day forward. Never was he focused on the many good gifts God had given to him; Paul was always and in every way focused solely on God. He wanted more and more of his relationship with God; because of this burning desire deep within his heart, he focused more on people than he did on their possessions.

May that be the confession of our lives as we live in the upside-down world where we become servant to all and slave to our Savior. At this level of living, we will be able to say to God each day what Paul was able to say:

I WANT YOU . . . NOT WHAT IS YOURS!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Tomorrow will mark the 500^th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, which flared into life on October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther published his Ninety-Five Theses and posted them on the door of the church at Wittenberg. It was the goal of Luther, John Calvin, and the other Reformers to “reform” the Roman Catholic Church by reconnecting Christianity to the original message of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel . . . summarized in five Latin phrases, often called “The Five Solas,” which emerged out of the Reformation:

1. Sola Scriptura – Scripture alone
2. Sola Fide – Faith alone
3. Sola Gratia – Grace alone
4. Solus Christus – Christ alone
5. Soli Deo Gloria – To the glory of God alone

500 years later, Luther’s legacy under the lordship of Jesus Christ is enormous: there are 560 million Protestants world-wide, which accounts for more than a third of the world’s professing Christians.

I’d like you to consider some findings from a new Pew Research Survey that clearly demonstrate that American Protestants are distancing themselves from the fundamental biblical beliefs that undergirded the Reformation. At the very least, American Protestants completely misunderstand what those beliefs actually are.

Of all the Professing American Protestants . . .

• 52% believe faith and works are needed to get into heaven
• 52% believe church teaching and traditions are also needed
• Only 46% believe faith alone in Jesus is required for salvation (sola fide)
• Only 46% believe that the Scriptures are sufficient for faith and practice

How far we have fallen in 500 years! More than half of all professing Christians in America stated that faith in Jesus Christ alone is not enough for salvation; they believe that faith in Jesus plus their good works (church attendance, acts of mercy and service, giving, etc.) are required for eternal life. (Such an understanding, of course, is entirely unbiblical, running counter to the doctrine Sola Fide—by faith alone—which is expressed in Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 11:5-6, and elsewhere.) And more than half of all professing Christians in America believe the Bible plus the teachings and traditions of man are necessary for living a Christian life that is pleasing and acceptable to God, rather than trusting in the clear assertion of 2 Timothy 3:17 that the teachings of God’s Word leaves the believer “thoroughly equipped” for every good work.

What has brought us to this sad station? How did the wheels come off “The Truth Track”? To be sure, there are many factors, including our sinful nature, a stubborn belief in universalism, an increasing desire for things below rather than things above, and simple spiritual sluggishness. But I am convinced that the men who stand in pulpits all across our country bear the greatest weight of responsibility for our drift away from Reformation truths. When pastors find it more important to preach messages that meet people at the level of “felt needs,” rather than true needs, we have begun our return to the Dark Ages.

The whole counsel of God is the light that must be directed into this dark and depraved world, not “gospel-lite” messages. When the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is no longer preached from our pulpits, we allow the lies of the world, the flesh, and the devil to infect our congregations. And thus it is no surprise to see survey results like these in a “cultural church” context that sees the average professing Christian attending church once a month, abandoning any thought of attending Sunday School or Bible studies which would add another hour at church, and little or no time for family devotions and personal Bible Study.

And what starts as an infection that is barely visible festers and becomes an insidious disease that is emptying out our churches. Why? Because motivational messages, inspirational insights, and secular stories will not hold up when the storm winds begin to blow and the waves of challenge come crashing down on you. And those storms come with great regularity! As I frequently remind our congregation at Cross Community Church, there are only three stages in life on this side of the grave. Either you are . . .

In the midst of a storm

Heading out of a storm

Or heading back into a storm!

So what is the way forward? I would insist that, even after 500 years, the Protestant church must keep reforming! We must reclaim the pulpit for its intended purpose: preaching the wisdom of the whole counsel of God, not the wisdom of the world. When we preach messages designed to tickle ears, meet felt needs, and fill seats, we forsake souls; God will call those who hold the privileged position of preaching His Word to account for their empty messages.

On the eve of the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, it is my prayer that every pulpit will proclaim the inspired truth of Scripture alone, preaching salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

“He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” (Mark 16:7)

All of us who have worked in business have been involved in cancelled meetings, whether the meeting was cancelled on us or we cancelled the meeting ourselves. And there has undoubtedly been at least one time in our lives when a boss or coworker said to us, “Where were you? I sent you an invite!” And we realize that we have completely missed a meeting that did take place and that we were supposed to attend.

But there is One who never misses a meeting . . . and His name is Jesus Christ.

Not long before He was arrested and crucified, Jesus told His disciples that He would meet them in Galilee after His resurrection (Matthew 26:32). The women went to the tomb on that glorious morning, saw that the stone had been rolled away, and looked in. They saw an angel dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side of the tomb. They were alarmed, trembling and bewildered, as you might imagine. Then the angel told them that Jesus had risen from the dead and gone ahead of them into Galilee, where He had promised to meet them after His resurrection. Even death itself could not keep Jesus from His intended meeting.

You and I may miss meetings for any number of reasons, but make no mistake, the Master never misses a meeting! Jesus has promised to meet you in a myriad of ways in your daily living. He has promised to meet you continually in prayer. The throne of grace is always accessible to those who approach. He has promised to meet you in His Word. The Bible is “living and active” and is always available to meet you in your deepest place of need, whenever and wherever you are. He has promised to meet you in church. Corporate worship is one of God’s special meeting places where we meet with our Master.

But these are not the only meeting places ordained by our Master! We expect to meet our Master when we are on our knees in fervent prayer. We expect to meet our Master when we are meditating on and marinating in the Word of God. We expect to meet our Master when we come to His house to praise and worship His mighty name. We quickly give thanks to Him when we get good things happen: the promotion at work . . . seeing a beloved friend you hadn’t seen for years . . . deliverance from some health issue.

But Jesus often meets us in places we would never expect. Perhaps it is a divine appointment in the checkout line at the grocery store . . . you know the one: the shortest line with the longest wait! Maybe it is at a sporting event or a social gathering when you bump into someone you had not seen for years . . . and you hadn’t been missing that person all that much! Possibly you are at the doctor’s office . . . and the test results are not what you wanted to hear.

Now notice the words in our verse today, Mark 16:7—“He is going ahead of you.” Jesus always goes ahead of you. Jesus is always first in fellowship with His family of faith . . . and if you have trusted in Christ for your salvation, you are part of that family! His strength goes ahead of you. His grace goes ahead of you. His mercy goes ahead of you, because your Master never missed a meeting . . . just as He told you.

Perhaps it is time for you to look more closely for your Master in your meetings.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!