Because He Cares for You

This coming Lord’s Day, I’m planning to move into 1 Pet. 5:6-7 in our exposition Peter’s great letter:


Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you”.

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, what a glorious and comforting truth to be strengthened by:  in the great sufficiency of Jesus’ saving work, God cares for you!  The assurance of such a truth enables us to humble ourselves under His mighty hand, confidently casting all our anxieties on Him.  Oh, how infinitely great is the love of God for His own!

 

A.W. Tozer, in his classic book, The Knowledge of the Holy, dwells upon the impact of God’s sovereign love:

 

“The world is full of enemies, and as long as we are subject to the possibility of harm from these enemies, fear is inevitable.  The effort to conquer fear without removing the causes is altogether futile.  The heart is wiser than the apostles of tranquility.  As long as we are in the hands of chance, as long as we look for hope to the law of averages, as long as we must trust for survival to our ability to outthink or outmaneuver the enemy, we have every reason to be afraid.  And fear hath torment.

           

“To know that love is of God and to enter into the secret place leaning upon the arm of the Beloved – this and only this can cast out fear.  Let a man become convinced that nothing can harm him and instantly for him all fear goes out of the universe.  The nervous reflex, the natural revulsion to physical pain may be felt sometimes, but the deep torment of fear is gone forever.  God is love and God is sovereign.  His love disposes Him to desire our everlasting welfare and His sovereignty enables Him to secure it.” (pg. 99)

 

Beloved, may your knowledge of, and faith in His infinite, immeasurable love continue to increase –   Eph. 3:14-21!

 

Because He lives and loves,

Greg

God’s Handiwork in Redemption through Jesus

Do you ever pause to marvel at the wonder and beauty of God’s handiwork in creation?  We are surrounded by it every day – a breathtaking sunrise or sunset, the vibrant colors of fall, the seemingly endless varieties of plant and animal life, the complexities of our human bodies, the incomprehensible magnitude of the stars in the heavens, and on and on.  Amidst the vast diversity of God’s creation, there rings out a harmonious anthem of praise to Him – “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above declares His handiwork.”  (Ps. 19:1)

 

Certainly, God’s handiwork in creation is a fitting illustration of His design to receive even greater praise through the diversity of His blood-bought people.  Every believer has a part to play in this symphony of praise, as we faithfully minister to one another “…as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Pet. 4:10).

 

Beloved, how much more should we marvel at the wonder and beauty of God’s handiwork in redemption through Jesus Christ!  And how eagerly and earnestly ought we to love and serve one another, for the glory of the One who saved us, and for the proclamation of His excellencies to those yet lost in their sins (1 Pet. 2:9-12).

 

Because He lives,

Greg

Sober, Saturated, Steadfast, and Standing

A week has now passed since the United States Supreme Court announced its historic decisions regarding homosexual marriage.  Though we are rightly saddened and troubled by the continual outworking of sin in this world, we should not be surprised.  The activity of man’s rebellion against God Almighty has been multiplying ever since Eve ate the forbidden fruit (Hos. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 3:1-5).  As the moral fabric of our country keeps eroding at a breathtaking pace, God’s will for us as His people is clear and unchanging.  By His strength, we must be sober about sin and God’s judgment (Rom. 1:18-32); saturated with God’s grace and truth in Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:14-18); steadfast and humble in our calling as God’s “mercied” ambassadors (Titus 3:1-8; 1 Pet. 2:9-12); and standing firm in the eternal hope of God’s grace in Christ (1 Pet. 5:12).

 

For some additional perspectives about the Supreme Court decisions, and how Christians should respond, you might read the following:

 

 

Beloved, God has called us to be fully assured in the hope of the Gospel (2 Pet. 1:10-11), fully unashamed in the saving power of the Gospel (Rom. 1:16), and fully committed to the ongoing proclamation of the Gospel (Acts 1:8).  Our message and mission on this earth has not, and never will, change.  For a solid reminder of the sweeping, eternal grandeur of the Gospel, check out this 10-minute video from Matt Papa.

 

In the Living Hope of Jesus,

Greg

The Evangelistic Priority

A few weeks ago, while sharing in corporate worship at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, I listened to Dr. John MacArthur preach from 1 Pet. 3:13-17.   This, of course, is the same passage I’ve been preaching from the last two weeks (for the record, I think Pastor John did a pretty good job 🙂 ).

 

Pastor John rightly emphasized that the church’s mission in this troubled, terrifying world is not simply to survive, but to evangelize.  As the distinct people of God, our calling is not to defeat and destroy unbelievers, but rather to love them and seek to win them to Christ.  This “evangelistic priority” is clearly stated by Peter when he says that believers are always to be ready to humbly give an answer to those who ask about the hope that is in us (1 Pet. 3:15-16).  Here’s the amazing, life-altering truth for us to grasp:  God sovereignly orchestrates persecution in our lives, so that we might show and tell the excellencies of Jesus Christ to the very ones who persecute us (see also  1 Pet. 2:9-12)!

 

A glorious example of the significance of this truth is found in the testimony of Rosaria Butterfield, in her book The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (Pastor Steve referenced this book a few weeks ago.)

Rosaria was an outspoken lesbian activist and tenured English professor of “Queer Theory” at Syracuse University, when Jesus Christ transformed her life.  While the Lord did the work in Rosaria’s heart, He used the faithful, humble, loving, patient witness of a Christian pastor and his wife, Ken and Floy Smith.  Though the Smith’s might have been tempted to see Rosaria as an enemy, they instead seized the opportunity, over many years, to share the love and hope of Christ with this lost soul.  Rosaria tells it this way, recounting her first visit to the Smith’s home for an unhurried dinner:

 

“Ken and Floy did something at the meal that has a long Christian history but has been functionally lost in too many Christian homes.  Ken and Floy invited the stranger in – not to scapegoat me, but to listen and to learn and to dialogue.  Ken and Floy have a vulnerable and transparent faith.  We didn’t debate worldview; we talked about our personal truth and about what ‘made us tick.’  Ken and Floy didn’t identify with me.  They listened to me and identified with Christ.  They were willing to walk the long journey to me in Christian compassion.  During our meal, they did not share the gospel with me.  After our meal, they did not invite me to church.  Because of these glaring omissions to the Christian script as I had come to know it, when the evening ended and Pastor Ken said he wanted to stay in touch, I knew that it was truly safe to accept his open hand…Before I ever set foot in a church, I spent two years meeting with Ken and Floy and on and off ‘studying’ scripture and my heart.”  (Page 11, from the book.)

 

Oh beloved, I say to you as I say to myself, and as God says to us in 1 Pet. 3:15-16:  Go, and do likewise!

 

Because He lives,

Greg

Singularly Fearing Christ

Every child of God knows what it is to be tempted and troubled by the fear of man.  Threats real and imagined abound, and the fear of man can wreak great havoc in our souls if it is allowed to penetrate.

 

How kind and good of God to speak to these very fears, and to make so clear how they are to be resisted.  The answer is as profound as it is simple: “fear God, not man”.  Quoting from Is. 8:12-13, this is Peter’s main point in 1 Pet. 3:14-15, “…have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy…”.

 

G. Campbell Morgan (1863-1945), British pastor, and predecessor of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel in London, provides these helpful insights:

 

“The simple meaning of the injunction is that at the very centre of life there is to be but one Lord, and that is Christ. To do this is to ensure the unification of being, consistency of conduct, and accomplishment of purpose. We are divided in our own life, inconsistent in our conduct, and ineffective in our service, when our loyalty is divided. This is so self-evident a truth that it hardly seems necessary to argue it. Nevertheless, while holding the truth theoretically, how constantly we are in danger of failing to live by it!  Other lords are permitted to invade the sanctuary of the heart, and to exercise dominion over us. Our own selfish desires, the opinion of others, worldly wisdom, the pressure of circumstances, these and many other lords command us, and we turn from our simple and complete allegiance to our one Lord, and give ourselves up to the false mastery of these things.  The results are always disastrous. We become storm-tossed and feverish; our conduct is not consistent; our work is spasmodic and devoid of power. Therefore the urgency of the injunction. To hallow the heart by excluding all other lords save Christ Himself, is to be strong, true, and effective. His knowledge is perfect, of the heart, of the circumstances, of the true way of life.  To be governed by many lords is to be in bondage to them all, and to be desolated by their conflicting ways. To be in bondage to Christ, is to be released from all other captivity.” (from Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible)

 

What comfort and courage is found in singularly fearing Christ!

 

Because He lives,

Greg

Trusting Him with Our Hurts and Fears

Here’s a couple of questions:  what do you do when you are deeply hurt by others?  Or, what do you do when you fear being deeply hurt by others?

 

Think about the potential dangers that lurk behind any relationship with other humans:  abuses of various forms (physical, emotional, sexual, verbal, spiritual), rejection, misunderstandings, betrayal, slander, disappointments, broken promises, unmet expectations, sins, and on and on.  Further, we all know by painful experience that such hurts can come from both Christians and non-Christians alike.  So what do you do, both with the fact, and the fear of being hurt by others?

 

Our answer to these questions reveals everything about how we view and trust God.  If we are trusting God’s sovereign rule and care, we learn to take our hurts and fears to Him in faith.  Then we are freed to obediently forgive and bless those who hurt us, imitating the reaction of our Lord Jesus to His enemies.  But if we are not trusting Him, we sinfully take out our hurts and fears on those who hurt us.  We do this either by actively seeking revenge and retaliation, or passively avoiding our responsibility to fervently love others.  In both instances, we greatly dishonor Jesus Christ.

 

Beloved, such are the very issues that Peter addresses in  1 Pet. 3:8-12.  And as Peter’s exhortations are so deeply grounded in the same from King David in Psalm 34 (especially vs. 12-16), we see that this fundamental matter of trusting God with our troubles – with our hurts and fears – is at the center of everything.  So David says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”  (Ps. 34:8)  Peter echoes this thought (1 Pet. 2:1-3), and also says, “…casting all your anxieties upon Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Pet. 5:7)

 

May the Lord give us ongoing grace to magnify the excellencies of Christ by trusting Him with our hurts and fears!

 

He is all we need,

Greg

Growing Together in Christ-Exalting Attitudes

As we saw this last Lord’s Day from 1 Pet. 3:8, true people of God long to grow with each other in the Christ-exalting attitudes of unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, tender hearts, and humble minds.  Our longing in this is for the excellencies of Christ to be more fully displayed and proclaimed through us 1 Pet. 2:9-12.  We are to lovingly work for each other’s joy in Christ (2 Cor. 1:24), so that He would be exalted.

 

This implies, of course, that there is to be a tenacious, sacrificial, unquestionable loyalty between believers, especially in the local church.  Referring to the special bonds of biological families, we often say, “blood is thicker than water.”  If this is true, how much more should it be so for the family of God in a local church, purchased through the precious blood of Jesus Christ?

 

With this in mind, what a rich and special time we shared during our Members’ Meeting last Sunday evening.  It was encouraging to be with so many of you (we missed those who couldn’t make it!), and sense the active attitudes of 1 Pet. 3:8 as we considered the Lord’s work among us.  One tangible evidence of overflowing hearts, and an eagerness to practically love each other, occurred with our Benevolence Offering.  Almost $3800 was given!  What a kind and generous expression of care, indicative of Christ’s love growing among us, and being proclaimed through us!

 

Beloved, we are imperfect people, who are a part of an imperfect local church.  But our supremely perfect Chief Shepherd is working among us for our eternal good in Him.  We sometimes experience His painful pruning care, but always with the joyful assurance that His design is to bring forth much fruit for His glory ( Jn. 15:1-8.)

 

I love you in Christ, and count it a great privilege to share life in Him with you at RCG!

May We Each Be Found Faithful

It was a privilege to attend the Memorial Service for Steve Fernandez this past Saturday.  Tim and Willie Ingrum joined Laurie and me, along with over 1000 other folks.  Though the service of course concerned Steve, the distinct focus was on the Lord Jesus, and His gracious work in and through Steve’s life.  Video of the entire service is online here.  It was lengthy (2 ¾ hours!), but very edifying and encouraging.

 

Among many biblical truths that have been on my mind regarding Steve, one of the prominent ones is 1 Cor. 3:5-9:

 

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

 

 

It is right to honor and appreciate the people whom God uses (1 Thess. 5:12-13), but it is equally right to worship and adore the God who uses people (Rom. 11:33-36)!  As every single believer is a unique steward of God’s varied grace 1 Pet. 4:10-11, He calls us to faithfully labor and serve together for His glory in Jesus Christ.

 

By God’s grace, Steve was a marvelous example, albeit imperfectly, of Christ-exalting faithfulness.  May we each be found so faithful, until the day that Christ returns, or we go to be with Him.

 

Because He lives,

Greg

To Live is Christ, and to Die is Gain

As most of you know, our brother Pastor Steve Fernandez entered glory in the presence of Jesus this last Sunday evening, March 31.  What a way to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior!

 

By God’s power, Steve faithfully lived, and often quoted (even in his final days), these words from the Apostle Paul in Phil. 1:21 – “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  To strengthen your understanding and embracing of this powerful resolve, let me encourage you to read, think upon, and pray through the following:

 

 

Brothers and sisters, each of our lives on this earth will one day end, either by death, or our Lord’s return.  May the Lord enable each of us to truly live with this same Christ-exalting resolve!

 

Because He lives,

Greg

Living Hope in Christ

The powerful truth of believers’ eternal, living HOPE IN CHRIST is prominent throughout the letter of 1 Peter:
“…he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (1:3)
“…set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  (1:13)

“…always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” (3:15)

 

Not only is this living hope the blessed privilege of every child of God, but it is intended by God to arouse the curiosity of unbelievers, who sadly have no such hope.

 

With this in mind, let me encourage you to seize the opportunities of this Easter season to speak to your non-Christian friends and family about the hope found only in Jesus Christ.  In particular, this coming Lord’s Day is a great opportunity to invite them to gather with us for Corporate Worship.  I’m planning to preach from Acts 5:27-32, a passage that says much about the courageous hope that is found in our living Lord and Savior.  We also have a number of printed materials that are helpful evangelistic resources, and these will be available for your use this Sunday as well.

 

As we grow in the knowledge and assurance of our hope in Christ, may we be all the more faithful in sharing the truth of the Gospel with those who yet live in hopelessness.

 

Rejoicing in Him with you,

Greg

Our True Hope

Is there any hope in the new pope?  Short answer:  NOPE!  (too cutesy I know, but it does rhyme, along with a few other key words…)

 

As the world gawks and gloats over the man in the funny white hat, there’s nothing funny about the false religious system he presides over, nor the destructive false hope that Roman Catholicism propagates.  We must ever be crystal clear about the true hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ, declared in God’s authoritative word.  Such clarity is necessary for our own souls, and for those we’re called to evangelize.  Contrary to the thinking of many Christians, all that’s “Catholic” is often not Biblical – particularly regarding the central issue of how sinful, unrighteous people can be reconciled to a holy, righteous God.  Thus Christians need to be biblically discerning of the errors of Roman Catholicism, and humbly winsome and wise as we talk with those ensnared in its clutches (see 2 Tim. 2:24-26; 1 Pet. 3:15-16.)

 

Pastor John MacArthur’s opening sermon at the recent Shepherds’ Conference provides an excellent exposition of John 3:1-12.  This passage reveals how Jesus carries out the work of evangelism (an example we should follow), and how it is that a sinner can be reconciled to God (including self-righteous, spiritually dead religious leaders…like the pope.)

 

Additionally, Pastor Steve has written a couple of helpful blogposts, providing biblical perspective about the new pope:   Humble Popes Don’t Exist, and  Alleviating the Protestant Inferiority Complex.

 

Beloved, these are treacherous, yet exciting times in which we live.  May we be all the more bold, compassionate, and faithful in making a defense for the hope that is in us (1 Pet. 3:15), that others may come to know this true hope as well.

 

Until He comes,

Greg

To Live is Christ, and to Die is Gain

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  (Phil. 1:21, ESV)

 

Many of you have been praying for my dear friend, Steve Fernandez (Pastor of Community Bible Church in Vallejo, and President of The Cornerstone Seminary).  He was diagnosed last September with an inoperable brain tumor.  In the perfect wisdom and providence of God, it appears that Steve will soon be experiencing the gain of dying in Christ.  The Lord alone knows the timing, but Steve’s condition is indeed worsening.

 

Please continue to pray for the Lord to give strength and comfort to Steve, his wife Karen, their children, and all the folks connected with the church and seminary.  Pray that Christ would continue to be exalted in Steve’s life, and in his death.  And pray that each of us would passionately and increasingly live with this singular resolve – that to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

 

Here’s a brief video of Steve speaking to his congregation last October about A Brain Tumor and Exalting Christ.

 

And here’s a wonderful song based on Phil. 1:21, To Live is Christ.

 

Because He lives,

Greg

Essence of Submission

As we considered this past Lord’s Day in our study of 1 Pet. 2:13, the essence of submission is “willingly and joyfully obeying the will of another.”  God calls us to submit to Him, and the human authorities He has established.  The test of faith in this is that often, in the providence of God, our submitting will result in our suffering on this earth.  How can we learn to faithfully submit, even when it means suffering?

 

Jesus Christ alone is our hope!  Let me encourage you to spend much time meditating and praying through 1 Pet. 2:21-25, looking to the pattern and sufficiency of Christ!  He is not only our preeminent example in submitting and suffering, but He is also the One who now strengthens us to follow in His steps.  He shepherds us by helping us learn to humble ourselves under God’s mighty, caring hand, continually casting our cares upon Him (1 Pet. 5:5-7.)

 

Growing with you in His grace,

Greg

To Us a Son is Given

Isaiah 9:6,7 (ESV)

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The Goodness of God

GOD IS GOOD!!

 

Do you believe this?  Deep in your soul, are you so convinced and overwhelmed by the goodness of God that you are quick to “…give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever”?  (Ps. 106:1)

 

Where do you look to discover the goodness of God in your life?  All to often, we only look at our immediate circumstances.  And frankly, we then evaluate God’s goodness according to our experience.    “Are things pleasant for me right now, and going the way I’d like them to?  If so, well then, God sure is good!  But if not, well, so much for God being good!  Even if He really is, He’s not being very good to me!”  Ever identify with this wrong way of thinking?  I sadly do sometimes.  When we have such unbelieving thoughts, we become all the more vulnerable to the false and deceptive “goodness” of sin.  Oh, beware!!

 

Beloved, knowing and rejoicing in the goodness of God is a matter of faith in who He has revealed Himself to be.  In and through His Word, He has revealed Himself to be eternally, infinitely, perfectly GOOD.  His goodness is displayed in His works of creation, providence, and most fully in His redemption through Jesus Christ.  “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared…” (Titus 3:4)

 

Stop looking at your circumstances to try and discern God’s goodness!  Look instead by faith to the One in whom He has displayed His goodness and love for all eternity!  Then “…give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever”!

 

Learning to look at Christ alone with you,

Greg

Cleave to the Mightiest Things

Through the Apostle Peter, the Lord calls His people in 1 Pet. 1:3-16  to think much upon the riches of His glorious, life-transforming mercy in Jesus Christ.  Focusing our minds upon these truths in God’s Word strengthens our faith, enlarges our hope, intensifies our joy, and motivates our obedience.  In a sermon entitled  Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing, Alexander MacLaren offers these encouragements:

 

“The reason why so many Christian people have only religion enough to make them gloomy, or to weight them with a sense of burdens and unfulfilled aspirations and broken resolutions, and have not enough to make them glad, is mainly because they do not think enough about the [great truths] in which they might ‘greatly rejoice.’ I believe that most of us would be altogether different people, as professing Christians, if we honestly tried to keep the mightiest things uppermost, and to fill heart and mind far more than we do with the contemplation of these great facts and truths which, when once they are beheld and cleaved to, are certain to minister gladness to men’s souls.”

 

Let’s be praying for, and encouraging one another to think upon, and cleave to the mightiest things!

1 Peter 1:3-9

 1 Peter 1:3-9

   “(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (4) to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, (5) who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (6) In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, (7) so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; (8) and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, (9) obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”