His Judgment Cometh, And That Right Soon...

Last night at seven:ten (the college ministry at evbc), Tyler Johnson delivered a phenomenal message on a topic that is very difficult to accurately present and clearly communicate. The subject he was speaking on was none other than the judgment of God. The key passage he drew from was at the end of wisdom literature written by King Solomon:

"The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil" (Eccl. 12:13-14).

Tyler spent most of the message comparing our typical view of an earthly judge versus what God reveals in His word about the Lord as a perfect, holy, and just judge. His basic points were as follows:

• A judge is a person with authority. A judge has the ability (and the right) to assert authority over an individual because they are bound by the law. Similarly, God has authority over heaven and earth, including authority over every human being, because they are His creation. He is the potter, we are the clay.
• A judge is identified with what is good and right. Moses describes God as such, "The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He" (Deut. 32:4). Tyler made a great point that you would never want a neutral judge. Although it's becoming increasingly popular in our culture for a judge to maintain an attitude of neutrality ("claiming" to hold to no specific beliefs) when discerning every court decision, a judge whose convictions rest on neither side of an issue is unable make fair judgments. For example, let's say your best friend was mugged by a thief with a baseball bat and beaten to a bloody pulp. He manages to survive the atrocity but serious brain damage destroys his mind and he becomes a human vegetable, barely recognizable as the friend you once knew. Now, in court you stand in his defense and seek for justice to be done to the man who committed this terrible crime. But the judge cannot say whether or not what the man did was actually "bad" because he may have been the victim of a mental disorder or was the product of an imperfect society. The judge decides not to pass sentence. You would instinctively cry out that the judge was unjust and unrighteous in his decision. No one wants to stand before a neutral judge. But God is not neutral. He is good and righteous and holy. Indeed, He is the very source of all that is good and upright. He will not do violence to justice...
• A judge is a person with wisdom; that is, a judge is able to discern the truth in a matter. God being omniscient and filled with all wisdom and knowledge clearly separates Him from others. David confesses in Psalm 139 that he can not escape God's presence. Whether he ascends in to the heavens or makes his bed in Sheol, he cannot escape Him. The prophet Jeremiah proclaims something very similar: "'Am I a God who is near,' declares the Lord, 'and not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?' declares the Lord. 'Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?' declares the Lord" (Jer. 23:23-24). God knows our very thoughts. We are utterly naked and layed open before Him. He knows the truth, and there is no denying the judgments He makes concerning us.
• A judge is one who has power to execute sentence. Because God is good and loves righteousness, he must punish evil. Sin must be paid for in only one of two ways. Either by Jesus on the cross, or by the sinner in hell. But praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself as a ransom for our sins.
  
  It was deeply convicting to be reminded of the seriousness of God's judgment against sin. David Crowder wrote these powerful words:
  
  

  "We speak easily of Jesus as our pal--our friend who comes to us on bended knee to wash feet and bring hugs-- but we forget, with little difficulty, that it was God's justice, the necessity of His holiness, that brought death to givelife. It is His holiness that required the shedding of blood, the losing of life, to be the only way to make things right."

  
  Anyway, Tyler gave a great message that moved my heart to repentance for treating God's acts of mercy and grace with subtle disregard so much of the time. It also made me pray deeply for my friend Kaitlin who has been coming to seven:ten for a couple of weeks. I don't know whether or not she is a Christian but my assumption is that she is not. She was there when Tyler gave this message (a very difficult one to swallow if you're not a believer). Please pray that God would bring her to repentance and faith.
  
  Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
  
  Jonathan

Hope Rising

Currently Listening to:
Shawn McDonald
Simply Nothing
http://www.shawnmcdonaldmusic.com/

Hello Again!

I've been working my way through the book of Hebrews lately and this morning I stumbled upon a passage that made me stop and think. The author has just finished the infamous "Heroes of the Faith" chapter and begins the 12th chapter with what should be our response to this message:

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entables us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right had of the throne of God" (1-2).

A great many preachers have spent much time on these verses and have delivered volleys of inspirational and challenging messages, but this wasn't the part that caught my attention. The next two verses are ones that I have read before, but never gave the time to let them sink in...

"For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;" (3-4).

God was made flesh, veiling His majesty, and humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross. This is our Savior, this is our Hero. Christ endured more than any of us, yet He did it all without any blemish of sin. Earlier on in Hebrews (chapters 2-5), the writer speaks of Christ as our great high priest; one who can relate to us because He was fully man, and was tempted in every way that we are but without sin, and one who was an acceptable and pleasing sacrifice to God because He was fully Divine. I find so much comfort from these truths. Because Jesus was a man, he knows full well the pains and sorrows and temptations that we suffer. And so it is Him we look to for perseverance and hope.

Verse four convicted me deeply. Read it once more, "You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin." Think about it: how often do we, when temptation arises, resist it to the point of "shedding blood?" I find myself at many times apathetic when it comes to battling sin and temptation. But the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to persevere and to daily fight the good fight.

So often I find myself growing weary and losing heart in my struggle against the world, my flesh, and Satan. But when I read this I was so needfully reminded that I need only to look to Christ and His struggles to be given hope. The psalmist encourages us:

"Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord." (31:24)

and...

"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth... The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard you going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever." (121:1-2,7-8)

The News in Brief

Life is crazy; everyone knows this. Juggling responsibilities can leave you complacent and tired, so I have created this blog with one intention of liberating myself from the mundane... all the while keeping YOU updated on what's new in my ever-so-interesting life.

With that in mind, here's the latest news:

• I'm finishing up my research paper for my eng 102 class. I'm glad I picked a topic that has relevance in my life... I'm writing about whether or not Evolution should be taught exclusively in public schools. My presupposition is (as most people who know me may have already guessed) that it should not be taught because it's ridiculous. But don't you worry, I promise I have better arguments than that in my paper ;) I'll be sure to post it around next Tuesday (the 15th) for all to enjoy.
• Something that has been on my mind for many years has now been moved to the forefront of my thoughts... I have decided that I must pursue film making. Now, whether or not I will make a career out of it, I do not know. But I am convinced that it will always be a hobby at the least. In fact, I met with Jordan Bennett last night and we were discussing possibly collaborating on a project soon. It makes so much sense... It's like all my life I've had loads of crazy ideas in my head and now I can finally communicate them in one of the most interesting mediums. So I'm saving up money right now for a decent camera, but I already started working on a script... It's all so inebriating!

I know... That's not much news, but I promise to henceforth be more diligent in keeping YOU updated.

I'll close with the quote that I found t'other day... It made me think:

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” —G. K. Chesterton