Do you want God to be rich?
September 28, 2006
I don’t do a lot of re-thinking about sermons I have recently preached. The upcoming deadline for the next one tends to crowd out such thoughts. However, I have thought more about Theft at Its Worst, my second sermon on the 8th Commandment, You shall not steal [Listen or download here.] The question on my mind has been the same one raised on the cover of a recent issue of Time: “Does God want you to be rich?”
The Lord promises abundant blessing on those who ‘bring the whole tithe into the storehouse,’ according to the Malachi 3 passage. Certain teachers, such as Joel Osteen (whose views are the focus of the Time article), are claiming that being rich is a sign of God’s blessing and thus a worthy goal of a child of God. Click here for a review of Osteen’s book Your Best Life Now.
I’ll cut to the chase. We want to be rich, but I don’t think our Heavenly Father cares about our net worth any more than I care about whether my son wears a green shirt or a gray shirt to school tomorrow. What I care about is what my son does when he is at school. In other words, asking the question ‘Does God want me to be rich?’ says a lot more about you than it says about the ever-blessed God our Father. Here is a better path:
Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
-Proverbs 30:7-9
The question is not Does God want you to be rich? The real question is Do you want God to be rich? Is he your greatest treasure? Is he the strength of your life and your portion forever (Psalm 73:26)? You and the entire universe were made to show the riches of God. You were made to see and savor the glory of God. The world is so messed up because we have exchanged the glory of God for a thousand other things (Romans 1:23).
What does Jesus ask the Father to give us: “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me” (John 17:24).
P.S. For my money (pun intended), I’ll take ‘Reverend Ike’ over Joel Osteen any day! (If you need me to tell you which one is which, well…never mind.)
P.P.S. A minister at FPC was recently praised by a visitor for his resemblance to Joel Osteen: a free peppermint for you if you can guess the identity of that minister…
Bringing up children and young folk in the faith
September 27, 2006
From The Rev. William Still, late pastor of Gilcomston South Church, Aberdeen, Scotland:
Every autumn I have a spate of letters from fond parents, teachers, guardians, and monitors, appealing to me to follow up on such and such a youngster who is away from home at college for the first time, and who has to be hunted, followed, shadowed, intercepted and driven to Christian meetings. I have scarcely ever know this desperate technique to work. I understand the panic of parents and guardians, but it is too late then to try high-pressure tactics. Prayer, example and precept, in that order, are the means of bringing up children and young folk in the faith. Nor will high pressure tactics and brainwashing techniques avail when young folk have gone off on their own. Some young folk, alas, will have their fling and sow their wild oats, and come at last to heel, sadly, like the prodigal son. It is where Christains pathetically put their trust in external techniques and artificial strategems that young folk go astray. Nothing takes the place of the realism of holy living and secret wrestling before God in prayer for our youngsters.“
LarkNews.com
September 25, 2006
At the risk of revealing too much about myself and what I think is funny, here is a link to LarkNews.com.
Jonathan Edwards resources
September 21, 2006
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said,
“No man is more relevant to the present conditions of Christianity than Jonathan Edwards…He was a mighty theologian and a great evangelist at the same time. If you want to know anything about true revival, Edwards is the man to consult. My advice is, read Jonathan Edwards. Go back to something solid and deep and real.’
Lord willing, I’ll finish my Wednesday night sketch on Jonathan Edwards next week (9/27). The good attendance and discussions and conversations that have followed are not only encouraging, but they also confirm for me that Edwards’ life, ministry and legacy are truly compelling and, as Lloyd-Jones asserted a few decades back, relevant. Edwards was and is a great blessing to the Church. Moment of self-disclosure: I harbor a secret fear that no ‘normal’ person is really interested in the dead men with whom I converse on a daily basis. I do have friends who are alive–really, I do!
Sweet Dropper readers may appreciate another opportunity to check out some of the Edwards resources I have recommended:
- Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography by Iain Murray. If you want a serious, in-depth study of Edwards from a Reformed admirer, then this is the Edwards biography for you. If you read only one Edwards biography, read this one.
- Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George Marsden. Marsden, who teaches history at Notre Dame, won a number of literary awards after the 2003 release of this book. Marsden tells the story well, but also deals with Edwards as a figure in the context of his own time. Marsden is not afraid to present Edwards in a critical light, but he never attacks or dismisses Edwards, as many biographers have done.
- A God-Entranced Vision of All Things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards (ed. John Piper and Justin Taylor) is a collection of essays that grew out of a 2003 Conference in Minneapolis sponsored by Desiring God Ministries. Like most collections, the quality of the individual essays is rather uneven, but they do set forth the continuing relevance of Edwards to Christian living and ministry today. Sherard Burns’ ‘Trusting the Theology of a Slave-Holder’ is excellent, as are the short expositions of Edwards’ major theological works, Original Sin, Freedom of the Will and A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections. [NOTE: This book is available also as an on-line book from Desiring God Ministries.]
- A Jonathan Edwards Reader (ed. John E. Smith, Harry S. Stout, and Kenneth P. Minkema). Better than reading about Edwards is actually reading Edwards! The editors of the Yale collection of Edwards’ works have assembled a fine paperback anthology which includes the major theological works, some sermons, and autobiographical material.
‘We shall break the cross and spill the wine’
September 18, 2006
Says who? Says a web statement of the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group led by the Iraqi chapter of Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda militants are vowing war on ‘worshippers of the cross’ and protestors are burning effigies of Pope Benedict XVI, who had the gall to quote 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who had the gall to point out the prophet Mohammed’s final directive to wage war until everyone confesses that Allah is God.
Islamic outrage is on the front page again, as it was earlier in the year when the Danish cartoons which mocked Mohammed provoked violent demonstrations in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. At that time, I read aloud in prayer meeting an outstanding article from the pen of John Piper called ‘Being Mocked: The Essence of Christ’s Work, Not Mohammed’s’. This latest ‘outrage’ against Islam makes me think it would be worth reading again. Piper puts his finger directly on the great difference between the Gospel and Islam–the cross! This short piece is a must read if you would understand the fundamental difference in the ‘DNA’ of the Christian faith and the false religion of Islam.
By the way, if you ever get worried that Islam will triumph, remember to read Psalm 2.
Four gods?
September 12, 2006
Research from Baylor University has prompted a front page article in USA Today entitled, ‘View of God can reveal your values and politics.’ It contains some very useful information regarding the way people think about God in various regions of the country. The article is written in the predictably bland, flat, simplistic style of USA Today (can you tell I’m not a subscriber?) and, like most newspapers, can only trace ideas back toward politics–ugh!
Having vented my literary snobbery for the day, let me add that the information in the Baylor study confirms a couple of stark realities of which we should be mindful: First, when we say the word God to our neighbors, it does not necessarily mean the same thing to us as it means to them. They may be bringing some pretty heavy baggage into the conversation. Being alert to this helps us speak about the gospel more clearly and intelligibly to others.
Second, it is rarely, if ever, useful to bring politics into our discussions of the gospel with others. We live in a politically-charged society. In other words, if we lead with our politics or believe that on every issue there is only one truly Christian view, people will be more ready to dismiss us as shills for a political party. But remember, the gospel turns everybody’s politics upside-down, for Christ’s kingdom is not of this world (John 18-36-38).
Third, it is as important as ever that the Christian faith makes all the difference in the way we live day-to-day. Evangelism is not putting sentences inside people’s heads and getting them to nod their heads in agreement. If God has such a broad range of meaning, then it’s not enough to put a tract into everyone’s hand. We must put the gospel on display all the time! We put the gospel on display in the way we love each other, the way we raise our families, spend our money, savor God’s good gifts, struggle with sin, worship, forgive and laugh–and all those other things I forgot to add to the list!
NOTE: This will be last blog until next week, as I am leaving Wednesday for RYM Board meeting in Fort Collins, Colorado. I don’t know if they have computers there or not.
On Being Presbyterian
September 7, 2006
If you want to get the land, you’ve got to go with the people. We need the fellowship that a community of believers in the local church provides. The church is not a personal trainer that I select to supply me with programs and pep talks to help me get on with the real work of being a Christian. The church truly is home. She is the household of the living God.
On Being Presbyterian (P&R, 2006) is a book by Covenant Theological Seminary professor Sean Michael Lucas that provides a survey of Presbyterian/Reformed belief, practice and history. We are currently using it in our new members’ class at FPC. It is useful not only as a introduction for new believers or people who come to us from other backgrounds, but it is also a helpful reminder to Presbyterians of long-standing of our identity and history in the context of the broader church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Click the image for ordering info.
The lone shortcoming of the book is that it tends to over-explain, and its vocabulary, while diverse and precise, stretches the reading level of many people. As a result, it affirms the stereotype that Presbyterian churches are enclaves of intellectuals and middle-to-upper-middle class folk–a stereotype that I believe creates a significant barrier to our reaching many people for Christ. Remove some of the over-explanations, and you have a book that is about 1/3 shorter and much more useful. Nevertheless, I recommend Lucas’ book. We need more like it.
Modesty and the wandering eye
September 5, 2006
I’ll pass along a couple of web resources that provide a lot of good, gospel-centered information on two matters that I sought to address in Sunday morning’s sermon on the 7th Commandment: modesty and pornography.
On the subject of modesty, girltalk is a blog hosted by Carolyn Mahaney and her three daughters. Carolyn’s husband and the girls’ father is Rev. C.J. Mahaney of Sovereign Grace Ministries. There are a number of entries on the subject of modesty, including this one on ‘Modesty and Your Wedding Day’ and a seven-part series on ‘Fashion and Following the Savior.’
On the subject of pornography, here is a link to a piece by Dr. Philip Ryken, senior minister of the Tenth Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Note the links toward the end of the article for some ministries that provide other resources to help us deal biblically with this serious issue.
