Author Archives: Pastor Tommy

When faced with important decisions in life, what is the formula you use or template you put over your decisions to help you make them?  Now, if that question sounds strange, it’s likely you’re making some strange decisions and getting some very strange results!  Let’s take a look at the formula Jesus used, not only in His wilderness experience, but as a way of life.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”  But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”  Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”  Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”  Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan!  For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”  Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.  (Matthew 4:1-11)

Regardless of the decision that needed to be made, Jesus always weighed it against the Word of God.  Decisions to teach, minister, heal, judge, justify, rebuke, restore, speak up, or remain silent . . . He based every decision on the truth of sacred Scripture.  And when facing the temptations proffered by the devil—temptations which are common to us all—Jesus went to the fountain of Truth, the Holy Bible, in deciding how to respond.

The first temptation brought Jesus to a point of decision regarding meeting the physical need of hunger.  Clearly, Jesus was hungry after a forty-day fast.  There was nothing wrong with satisfying His hunger, except for the fact that the devil was suggesting the wrong way to satisfy it.  Our Lord refused to use His divine power to turn stones into bread to satisfy His hunger; instead, He surrendered fully to the will of His Father and responded with, “IT IS WRITTEN!”

The second temptation brought Jesus to a point of decision regarding the human emotions of pride, presumption, and protection.  The devil sought to cause Jesus to question whether God would protect Him if He threw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple.  Would Jesus put God to the test?  Or would He simply trust Him?  Once again, Jesus surrendered fully to the will of His Father and responded with, “IT IS WRITTEN!” 

The third and final temptation brought Jesus to a point of decision regarding the psychological needs for significance and personal importance.  The devil offered the whole world to Jesus and all the trappings of significance and personal importance if He would simply bow down to him.  The divine decision-making formula of our Master would not allow idolatry to interfere with His passion and purpose in life.  For the third time, Jesus surrendered fully to the will of His Father and responded with, “IT IS WRITTEN!” 

Jesus used the Word of God as the template He would place over every decision.  When faced with the question of whether or not God would meet His needs, Jesus trusted in the faithfulness of God by resting in the promises of God.  He relied on the “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17) to make every decision; and He was victorious every single time.

One final point must be made.  It is not enough to simply know the Word of God and be reading our Bibles.  Satan knew Scripture and even quoted it back to Jesus.  The devil was in the Word of God, but the Word of God was not in him!  The Word of God must be in us if we are going to profit by it.  We must be seized by the Word and surrendered to it; when we are, we will be able to say what Jesus said when we are facing any decision in life: “IT IS WRITTEN!”  

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

There is a wonderful verse in the book of Joshua that offers God’s people profound comfort, security, assurance, and encouragement: “All of the good promises that the Lord had given Israel came true” (21:45).  What a powerful witness to the faithfulness of our God!  When He makes a promise, He keeps it—past, present, and to come.  As one wise writer observed, “God will keep all his promises whether you believe them or not!”

So . . . what do you need to believe God for today? The list of His promises is long enough to fill a thick book!

Feeling Anxious?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:6-7)

Feeling Guilty?

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  (Romans 8:1)

Feeling Fearful?

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.  (John 14:27)

Feeling Financial Strain?

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  (Matthew 6:33)

Feeling Stingy?

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Feeling Hopeless?

Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  (1 Peter 1:3)

Feeling Sick?

Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well.”  And instantly the woman was made well.  (Matthew 9:22)

Feeling Alone?

Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.  (Matthew 28:20)

God has promised to meet all of your needs.  However, it’s important to understand He has not promised to provide all of your wants and desires.  You may want a new car . . . but you may not need a new car.  You may want a bigger house . . . but you may not need a bigger house.  You may want a higher paying job . . . but you may not need a higher paying job.

It serves the Christian well to meditate on the promises of God daily and rest in the truth that every promise made by God is both ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen’ in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20).  John Piper writes, “The question that God asks us is this: Are you living in the fullest enjoyment of God’s YES to you in Christ Jesus?  Or to put it another way: Have you said yes to all of God’s YES to you?  Is there any of God’s YES to you to which you are saying NO or MAYBE or NOT NOW?”

Remember, if you are not standing on the promises of God, you are simply not standing on solid ground!  You are standing on shifting sand and will continually be at the mercy of the strongest wind that is blowing at the time.  Let the truth that God has never broken a promise—and never will—cause you to build your life on the solid rock of Jesus Christ.  Nothing in the universe can shake this foundation.  You have His Word on it . . . His Word that was true then and now!

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

Yesterday we celebrated the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to the honor and majesty of His Father in heaven.  On the first Easter Sunday, death and the grave could not hold our Lord.  The Roman soldiers and the religious leaders could not scheme to keep Him in the tomb.  No power in the universe was powerful enough to render Omnipotence impotent. Paul prayed for all believers:

[T]hat you may know . . . what is the immeasurable greatness of [the Father’s] power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.  (Ephesians 1:18-20)

When Jesus was raised from the dead, death was driven into the ashes of defeat once for all.  Death, which for a little while held Him in the grave, is now rendered powerless forevermore.  And the power that raised Jesus from death to life is the very same power that raised you from death to life.  Charles Spurgeon wrote:

The resurrection is the cornerstone of the entire building of Christianity.  It is the key-stone of the arch of our salvation.  It would take a volume to set forth all the streams of living water which flow from this one sacred source, the resurrection of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; but to know that He has risen, and to have fellowship with Him as such—communing with the risen Savior by possessing a risen life—seeing Him leave the tomb by leaving the tomb of worldliness ourselves, this is even still more precious.

Because we have been raised with Christ, we have been given the power to live a risen life.  Peter assured us that “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV).  Having been buried with Christ in the grave we have been raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

To be sure, there is much that can be said about this risen life, but one fact reigns supreme: this life you have been given was a gift of grace and not due to any of your good works—regardless of how “good” you think they may be!  Mercy sought you; mercy caught you and bought you.  It had nothing to do with your merit.  Every time we seek to find our acceptance—not in the Beloved, but in our behavior—we wander back into the dead works of religion . . . we wear the grave clothes of self-righteousness.  A risen life is a life that rises above seeking God’s favor and blessing based on how we relate to Him.

Who reading this right now would feel any confidence in approaching the Great White Throne on the basis of your own performance?  On your “good” days, perhaps you don’t feel too badly about it.  But what about on your “bad” days, which (if you are anything like me) far outweigh your good ones?  God’s favor and blessing do not flow to us based not on how we relate to Him, but rather on how Jesus related and continually relates to us.  It was His perfect, obedient life and sacrificial death that causes God to look upon us with pity, compassion, and love.  It was the precious blood of Jesus that cleansed us and connected us to the Father.  The just (Jesus) died for the unjust (you and me), giving to the unjust what only the just could give.

• His death is our death, which frees us from sin and death.
• His resurrection is our resurrection, which frees us to walk in the newness of life.

A risen life is not a life that is busily engaged in doing more and trying harder to please God.  It is a life that dives more deeply into the truth of the Gospel, applying it to every area of life, knowing that we are already pleasing to God because of Jesus.  As my good friend Steve Brown likes to say, “God is not angry with you.  In fact, He is quite fond of you!”  Only the truths of the Gospel can free us to live a risen life, where we live out practically (obedience and holiness) what we already are positionally (a child of the Most High God).

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.  (Romans 6:11)

Augustine profoundly pronounced this truth more than 1,500 years ago when he wrote in his Confessions, “Give me the grace to do as you command, and command me to do what you will! . . . [W]hen your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we receive the power to obey them.”

Our salvation and our sanctification are all the work of God’s grace and power.  “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).

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

When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.”  And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”  And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.  And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:33-39)

In Jesus’ day, they counted the hours of the day from the time of sunrise.  The sixth hour would be noon or midday, and the ninth hour would be 3 p.m.  The Scriptures tell us that at midday it became as midnight, as darkness covered the whole land.  Having endured the beatings, the crown of thorns, and the nine-inch nails driven through His feet and hands, hanging spread-eagle on the cross, Jesus now enters into the most horrific aspect of His crucifixion, which can easily be missed.  In a word, it is unfathomable.

The darkness mentioned here in the Scriptures reflects the separation of the Father’s fellowship from His precious Son.  From all eternity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existed in a perfect relationship of fellowship, love, and glory . . . until now!

It was one thing to suffer at the hands of men who were used of God to punish the sinless Savior for the salvation of sinners like you and me; but now the Holy Father unleashed His unimaginable wrath and judgment on His beloved Son, who was hanging on the cross, bleeding and dying, to pay the penalty for our sins—all our sins.  Because God’s eyes are too pure to look upon evil (Habakkuk 1:13), He turned his back on Jesus, who had become sin on our behalf so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).  The physical pain Jesus endured during His crucifixion—we get our English word excruciating from the French word for crucify—is truly difficult to imagine.  That shuddering, gasping agony is reduced to the level of a mosquito bite, however, compared to the shattering supernatural anguish He experienced when He suffered something no Christian will ever have to experience: being forsaken of the Father.

This terrifying darkness at the sixth hour was not the result of some natural phenomena, such as an eclipse or dust storm, primarily because it was intended to be a supernatural sign from God to the watching world.  At the time when the sun would normally be at its brightest, midday became as midnight, and God judged the One who had never known sin in the place of those who had known only sin since Adam and Eve’s catastrophic fall in the Garden of Eden.

Luke’s Gospel describes the darkness thus: “The sun was darkened” (Luke 23:45).  In the original Greek text, we would read this statement as “the sun failing.”  The One who called the world into existence and hung it on nothing, who spoke light into existence, sent this supernatural darkness so that we might understand the blackness of our sin and the damage it had caused.

Darkness in the Scriptures is often associated with judgment against sin and wickedness.  The prophets spoke often of God’s judgment against sin that would be demonstrated in the form of darkness.  Who can forget the darkness God sent to cover the land of Egypt as judgment against Pharaoh when he refused to let the Israelites go (Exodus 10:22-23)?  Darkness is also used as a description of hell: “Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).

For three solid hours, from the sixth to the ninth hour, God poured out His cup of wrath and judgment on His precious Son, who was paying a debt of sin He did not owe for those who owed it but could not pay.  Jesus hung on that cruel cross, forsaken by His Father, and endured the unthinkable darkness of sin and hell.  The light of eternal love between the Father and the Son had been utterly extinguished.  On that day, Jesus experienced the “outer darkness” that we will never have to experience when He willingly took our place as our Substitute . . . our Savior.  J. C. Ryle profoundly wrote:

It was meet and right that the attention of all around Jerusalem should be arrested in a marked way, when the great sacrifice for sin was being offered and the Son of God was dying.  There were signs and wonders wrought in the sight of all Israel, when the law was given on Sinai.  There were signs and wonders in like manner when the atoning blood of Christ was shed on Calvary.  There was a sign for an unbelieving world.  The darkness at mid-day was a miracle which would compel men to think.

Today is Good Friday, and it is “meet and right” that you and I take some time to reflect on the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for our sins.  As we reflect on the unimaginable price Jesus paid, let us not merely remember the physical pain our Lord endured, but the searing supernatural pain of separation from His Father that He experienced so that we would never have to.  Jesus experienced midday at midnight so that all our midnights would be as midday!

Truly, Jesus is the Light of the world.  Is He your light?  By God’s grace may it be so.

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

Here is a phrase frequently attributed to members of the medical profession: “Take two tablets and call me in the morning!”  Well, the Great Physician has something similar to say to all of us, “Take two tablets and call me anytime!”  Coming from a doctor, this would be called your daily medication; from the Great Physician, this can be called your daily meditation.

With countless voices vying for our attention throughout the day—radio voices, television voices, advertising voices, friend voices, co-worker voices, family voices, our own internal voice—it is critical that we spend time each day meditating on the only voice that really matters: the voice of Truth (John 14:6).

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.  (John 1:1-3, 14)

Initially, when we think of the Law, we recall the two tablets of the Law that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai.  This is good and right, because the Author of Life knows the best way for His people to live life and gave us His Ten Commandments as our guide.  As my friend Steve Brown likes to say, “The Ten Commandments tell us where the land mines are located.”  In other words, God’s Ten Commandments guide us safely through this life as pilgrims passing through on the way to the Celestial City.  But we are never to camp out at the base of Mount Sinai, because all Scripture is to be read, studied, and meditated on for our profit and our progress.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.  (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

So . . . how much time have you been spending in the Word of God?  I don’t ask this to frustrate you, or to cause you to feel like you are falling behind or even failing.  A question like this is simply designed to get us to examine ourselves and see if we are on track or off track—the track that God has called us to run our race on.  We must remember that God could easily have left it up to the Holy Spirit to encourage, inspire, motivate, teach, and train us . . . but He did not!  He gave us His holy, infallible, inspired, and inerrant Word, contained in a book called the Bible so we would read it.  Let me say something quite profound:

THE BOOK YOU DON’T READ . . . WON’T HELP!

Now, reading good books and magazines can be enjoyable, and even quite profitable.  God delivers truth in a variety of ways and through a variety of different means.  But these resources should never take the place of God’s Word.  If you miss the next best-selling novel that hits the book shelf or anniversary issue of some magazine, your life probably won’t suffer.  But if you miss the Word of God, life not only suffers, it begins to spiral out of control.

As a pastor, it’s not uncommon to hear people say that portions of the Bible are hard to read and even harder to understand, so they stay in the shallow waters of the familiar.  Sure, some portions of Scripture are not easy to understand, but Jesus calls us to venture out into the deep waters of His truth.  As we do, the Spirit of God will illuminate us to understand and apply that truth.  Jesus promised His disciples (and that includes you) that the Holy Spirit would come and “guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13).

And the most important truth is Jesus!  The entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, tells the story of Jesus—how God in Christ came into this world to save sinners.  This is the reason to read the revelation of our Redeemer.  This is the reason to be able to say of sacred Scripture, “I make it my guide by day and my pillow by night.”  By God’s grace, may this be our daily experience, regardless of the cost or circumstance.

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

Wikipedia relates that April Fools’ Day is celebrated annually in different countries around the world on April 1.  Sometimes referred to as All Fools’ Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but it is widely recognized and celebrated as a day marked by the commission of good-humored or otherwise funny jokes, hoaxes, and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, teachers, neighbors, work associates, etc. So, did anyone pull an April Fools’ Day prank on you yesterday?  Did you do it to anyone?

The Bible says nothing about an April Fools’ Day, but it plainly marks the contrast between the fool and the wise.  Throughout the book of Proverbs, the wise preacher Solomon draws a clear distinction between wisdom and foolishness.  The way of a fool always seems right in his own eyes.  He never asks for help, seeks counsel, or accepts advice.  The fool trusts in his faulty beliefs, false judgment, and faithless sense.  He has been bewitched by his corrupted, carnal reason to the point that he not only thinks he is the smartest man in the room, but he is convinced that he is the only smart man.  He thinks more highly of himself than he ought and believes he is a notch above the rest.  Scripture strongly warns us against this way of thinking:

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.  (Proverbs 12:15)

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.  (Proverbs 14:12)

Standing in direct opposition to the fool is the wise, and the Bible clearly describes the foundation upon which a wise life is to be built.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.  (Proverbs 1:7)

Where fools have no fear or reverence for the Lord, the wise build their lives upon it.  This fear of the Lord is not a cowering fear—fear that is absent of love, trust, and faith, and which causes men to run and hide from God.  That kind of fear leads down the road of dread and despair, the kind James tells us the demons have who know that there is only on God and shudder in terror (James 2:19).

The fear of the Lord that the Scriptures exhort the wise to possess is a fear that bows low before the Creator of the universe, marveling at the knowledge of His unconditional and sacrificial love, and recognizing Him as the only wise, good, and holy source of all that is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.  Jerry Bridges writes in The Joy of Fearing God regarding the proper attitude of a child to a parent: “Fearing one’s parents and knowing that they love you are not incompatible.”  He continues, “There was a time when committed Christians were known as God-fearing people.  This was a badge of honor.  But somewhere along the way we lost it.  Now the idea of fearing God, if thought of at all, seems like a relic from the past.”

As we embark on a new month, known at its onset for foolishness, we have a moment by moment choice to make: we can either be wise or be foolish . . . we can either bear the beautiful fruit of wisdom or the putrid fruit of foolishness.

So . . . when all is said and done at the end of April, what would you like said about all that you have done?  If we look to Jesus and not to ourselves, and if we lean into Jesus and not on our own understanding, our lives will be marked by wisdom.  The apostle Paul told us that Christ Jesus “has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV).

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

If you are a disciple of Christ, do you know what happened when you said “I believe”?  You were engrafted into the body of believers and immediately went from believing to belonging.  To be sure, you were saved as an individual, but you were saved to community.

This truth is troubling for many in a society that prizes independence and individualism.  We live in a culture where the demands and desires of the individual trump the demands and desires of the community, group, organization, or family.  It is not uncommon to hear new believers admit that they fear losing their independence to the church; they’ll say things like, “I love Jesus but not the church” and “I am spiritual but in no way religious.”  When people say such things, they are actually asserting that they have no interest in giving up their own personal rights, desires, wants, and preferences to anyone, including their family members in the church.  It is the clear and present evidence of a self-centeredness that has a stranglehold on them.

I’m a pastor, and I have heard a great many horror stories of believers who have been hurt by the church.  It has been said—all too often with complete justification—that the church shoots its wounded.  Christians can be mean and hurtful.  I know; I’m part of the church, and the church is made up of broken, fearful, hurting people just like me and you.  Yet the church is the body of Christ, and we simply cannot have the Head without His body.

Jesus intended our salvation to be worked out in the context of community.  Remember, our story ends with a wedding (Revelation 19:6-9), and I have never seen or officiated at a wedding with only one person present.  A wedding is a celebration of hearts being united to beat as one, and this is the environment God has created for His people in His church: to live, love, work, grow, serve, and suffer, each for the other.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.  For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

For the body does not consist of one member but of many.  If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.  And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?  But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.  If all were a single member, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”  On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,  and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.  If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.  (1 Corinthians 12:12-26)

This really is good news!  You belong to something that transcends your own life; you are part of the family of God.  Yes, your family is a little messed up and a bit dysfunctional, but Jesus loves them and died for them—all of them—and you are to love them . . . yes, even lay down your life for them, just as Christ loved you and laid down His life for you.  Keep in mind that the church is the only organization in the world where membership is limited to those who are unqualified for membership.  We get in only because of the One who sought us, bought us, and brought us in.

One last important point: it is only as a member of the body that you will ever get to truly know your Savior.  You see more of Jesus the more you see, interact, and relate to the ones He came to save.  You also see more of yourself the more you see, interact, and relate to the ones He died to save.  As my friend Steve Brown likes to say, “Everybody who belongs to Jesus belongs to everybody who belongs to Jesus.”  Believe and belong; it’s worth the effort!

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

I know what you might be thinking: Pastor Tommy has lurched past the line of sanity in linking the words “privilege” with failure!  I mean, who in their right mind would consider it a privilege to fail at anything?!  I encourage you to read on.  I think you will find today’s message a great comfort—regardless of where this finds you.  There are countless places in Scripture to root this message, but I have chosen the point where Jesus foretells Peter’s denial.

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.  And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”  Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”  Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”  (Luke 22:31-34)

In this passage we can clearly see that Peter was not only given the permission to fail, but it was a privilege to do so!  Now, I am not suggesting that we go out and do our best to fail in serving our Lord.  What I am suggesting is that when we do fail Jesus, we see it as a privilege.  Why?  Because of the One we are failing!  Jesus called Peter into service, knowing from all eternity that Peter would fail.  In this narrative we see both the permission and the privilege in our failure.  Permission means Jesus knows we are going to fall short of the mark at times . . . many times.  Privilege simply means Jesus is the One we are serving, and we should always see it as a privilege to serve Him, whether we are succeed or fail.

How often we are like Peter!  We resolve to win the day for Christ, no matter what hardship or opposition may come, but along the way we stub our toes and collapse in hopeless defeat.  We set out to walk on water, but all too quickly we take our eyes off the Lord and quickly sink into defeat and despair.  Our falls do not catch Jesus by surprise.  He told Peter exactly what was going to happen before it happened.  He is telling us the same thing today.  There will be times when we fail.  Failure is a part of daily living for broken people living in a broken world.  But our failure is never final.  Satan asked for Peter but Jesus said no.  Final, complete failure is not an option for those who are in Christ.  And that is what makes it a privilege to risk for Jesus, regardless of the outcome.

You see, the privilege to fail brings with it the grace of forgiveness and permission to try again and again and again.  We serve the God of second chances . . . and third chances . . . and so on.  The unconditional and eternal love of God removes any dread we might feel about a mistake or a failure.  Permission to fail frees to reach and risk—to advance the cause of Christ without constantly looking over our shoulder to see if God is coming after us for past errors.

Remember, after Peter’s abject failure—calling down curses on himself in an attempt to convince a servant girl that “I do not know the man”—Jesus restored him to fruitful service . . . but not perfect service!  Scripture relates the occasion when Paul rebuked Peter for refusing to eat with Gentile believers because of the disapproving scowls from certain Jews (Galatians 2:11-14).  Jesus was not angry with Peter’s failure at that time either, and He did not send Peter away.  He urged him and encouraged him to continue to strengthen his brothers. Jesus loved Peter and died for Peter’s sins—all of Peter’s sins, just as He loves you and me and died for all the sins you and I did, do, and will commit.

Scripture doesn’t explain why, when Jesus appeared to Peter after His resurrection, He asked Peter three times if he loved Him.  Many scholars believe it was because Peter had denied Jesus three times, and Jesus was sending this message: “Regardless of the number of times you fail me, I want you to remember that you are never disqualified from serving me and feeding my sheep.”

Now that is a comfort we need to be reminded of daily: we don’t only have permission, but the privilege to fail the One who has forgiven every failure.

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

That’s a funny combination isn’t it?  Yet that’s exactly what we are—both unworthy and invaluable.  This is the truth the Bible teaches, and no one made this point more clearly than did the apostle Paul.

I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  (1 Corinthians 15:9)

Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.  (Ephesians 3:8)

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.  (1 Timothy 1:15-16)

Paul says he was both unworthy and undeserving to receive his place of service in God’s kingdom, yet Scripture assures us that he was invaluable to the advancement of it.  Guess what?  So are you!  Now, I am not suggesting that you will be used by God to pen some special revelation.  The Cannon of Scripture is closed.  What I am suggesting is that God has a perfect plan—a plan for you to be used to further His purposes in this world.  Even though you, like me, are unworthy, you are still invaluable.

You may not be preaching the Gospel from the pulpit, but you are preaching it with your life every day.  People are watching you closely, checking to see if your walk matches your talk.

Please don’t think for a second that I am suggesting you or I can achieve a life of perfect living.  Spend one day with me, and you will know I am not suggesting that!  Sin no longer reigns in the life of the believer, but it still remains, as Romans 7 so eloquently reminds us.  What I am suggesting is that the believer desires, more than anything else, to live a life that is pleasing to God.  And the more we see just how unworthy we truly are, the more we consider the unimaginable price Jesus paid for our salvation, we see just how invaluable we are to Him.

Think about this: we are not needed, but we are wanted.  In the eyes of the world, you could be needed but not wanted.  But in your life with Christ, you are not needed yet still wanted.  Now, if that thought doesn’t light the fire of your faith, your wood’s wet!  In Romans 12:6 Paul writes, “We have different gifts according to the grace given to us.”  Note three things contained in this verse:

1. Everyone in the body of Christ has been given a spiritual gift.

2. This gift is different and unique to us.

3. The gift was given according to grace, not good works . . . mercy not merit.

Have you ever received a gift and left it unopened?  How would you feel if you found out a gift you gave to a friend remained in the box unopened and unused?  Would you be hurt? Perhaps even highly offended?

So . . . what have you been doing with the gifts God has given to you?  Peter instructed that “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10).  Though unworthy, you are invaluable simply because you are Christ’s.  Jesus paid an unimaginable price for you, one that you could never have paid for yourself, simply because He wanted you to be His.

The Gospel teaches us these truths: undeserved favor was lavished on unworthy people at an unimaginable cost simply because of God’s incomprehensible, unconditional love.  Like Paul, we are to acknowledge our unworthiness . . . but in the same breath we receive the truth that we are invaluable to Him and to the advancement of the cause of His kingdom.

Jesus has given you everything you need to do everything He has called you to do.  Don’t wait for the perfect time—it never comes . . . or for the perfect opportunity—it never knocks.  Just trust in the One who has called you and equipped you for that calling.  What He began in you He will finish (Philippians 1:6), and He is not finished with you yet.  If He was, He would have called you home.

Unworthy and invaluable—what a wonderful combination!

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

My years in Men’s Ministry prior to planting Cross Community Church made it painfully clear that there is great confusion within the Body of Christ regarding biblical headship.  Today I would like to make a few distinctions to begin to dispel that uncertainty.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.  (Ephesians 5:25)

First, let me make it crystal clear what headship is not: it is not justification for men to control, demean, and enslave their wives in the name of religion.  Sadly, many men in the church mistakenly believe this to be true and yank countless Scriptures roughly out of context to support their misguided thinking.  Kent Hughes has something to say about this.

God’s Word in the hands of a religious fool can do immense harm.  I have seen “couch potatoes” who order their wives and children around like the grand sultan of Morocco—adulterous misogynists with the domestic ethics of “Jabba the Hut” who cow their wives around with Bible verses about submission—insecure men whose wives do not dare go to the grocery without permission, who even tell their wives how to dress.  But the fact that evil, disordered men have perverted God’s word is no reason to throw it out.

Now to you men who thought you were off the hook because you have not tried to control, demean, or enslave your wife, listen up!  A life of passivity is not the sacrificial living you are called to as the head of your home.  Expecting your wife to take the lead, to be responsible for the upbringing of your children, and to be the model of Christian commitment in the home is a gutless abandonment of the biblical responsibility set forth in Scripture.  Many wives have shared with me in great distress that their husbands are in no way demanding or demeaning; they are simply disconnected.  They refuse to take on the responsibility biblical manhood requires.  Rarely will they make decisions, provide direction, or even be open to discuss the matter.  They live more for the weekend and themselves than they do for their Savior and their families.

What they fail to see is the true Head and how He demonstrated headship.  He is forever to be our model.  Jesus gave Himself to make the church holy, radiant, and blameless (Ephesians 5:25-27), to the point of sacrificing Himself on the cross for her.  The man who is living a self-centered, self-focused, and self-absorbed life is not living the life he has been called to and the life Jesus lived for him.  Jesus made it clear that “holy headship” was more about the body than it was about the Head.  Sacrificial living is the foundation upon which holy headship is to be built.

To be the head is to be in authority.  Yet the right to exercise that authority exists to the degree that it reflects the King and the advancement of His kingdom.  Headship authority exists to further the agenda of Christ, not our own, and it is demonstrated in the way we lay down our lives for the good of our home and everyone in it.  With authority comes the issue of submission.  To understand headship we must understand that everyone is to submit to Christ first and foremost.

When it comes to the submission of the wife, this is to be done only as the Word of God instructs and approves.

Headship is holy when it demonstrates the character of Christ to encourage and equip everyone in the home to love, honor, and glorify God, love each other, and experience the blessings that naturally flow inside of this kind of environment.

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