I love Father’s Day. I absolutely love Father’s Day, but it’s not because I need another tie or gift card or anything else for that matter. I don’t need a thing. I love Father’s Day because I love being a dad, and now a grandfather. Wow, does that sound weird! How can I be a grandfather when I am so young? Ha! There is another reason I love Father’s Day and it is because it gives me an excuse to talk to men. Ladies can listen in, but on Father’s Day I get the opportunity to share God’s Word exclusively with men.
Men, I want you to know that I believe that you are the single greatest untapped resource for the Kingdom of God today. I say “untapped” because, for the most part, our influence, passion, resources, skills, time, and efforts simply aren’t being used for Kingdom work today. We have chosen to invest ourselves in other ways and in other places. (more…)
I woke up this morning full. Full of gratitude. Full of thanksgiving. Overflowing with an awareness of God’s goodness and mercy. Without that awareness of God’s grace, what would our days be like? I think we all know the answer to that question because if you are like me then you have made your way through many days without even a thought of how God’s provision is sufficient. Difficult days can do that to do us can’t they? Troubling times can take our eyes off of God and fix them on our troubles. I am learning, as the years rock along, that all of life is undergirded by God’s grace. The troubling times would completely unravel us if it weren’t for His grace. The tears would scar more deeply if it weren’t for His grace. The blessings of life would simply be categorized as “luck” if it weren’t for an awareness of His grace which causes us to stop and give thanks.
There is no time in life that we don’t have an opportunity to stop and give thanks. Give thanks when the sun is shining. Give thanks when the storms rage. Give thanks when you get to hold a new baby in your arms. Give thanks when you stand at the graveside of someone you love. Give thanks. Give thanks today because the goodness of our God is sufficient for every trial, every blessing, every moment of our life. Give thanks and consider the goodness of our God.
Connie, Nate, and I headed out to Mercy Hospital about 4:30 am so we wouldn’t miss a thing. When we got to the sixth floor we buzzed in and told the nurse that we were there to see Rachel Hays. She said, “We’re waiting for her to get here.” You would never know we were excited would you? ha!
In just a few minutes Dan and Rachel came walking off the elevator and they both looked like the cat that ate the canary! Bob and Carol, Rachel’s mom and dad, arrived right behind them. Before they took Rachel in for her C-Section we all joined hands and gave thanks for the Lord’s great work and our finally being able to see His handiwork. I had no idea just how marvelous His handiwork would prove to be!
When Dan came and got us we walked into the room and there was our double blessing–Kellen and Macy! Kellen weighed 6 lb. 13 oz and Macy weighed in at 6 lbs. Kellen looks like an outside linebacker if I’ve ever seen one and I’m certain Annie will have a tennis racket in Macy’s hand before she can talk. My heart could not be any more full!
The gift of life is so precious. God is so good. Being a grandparent is cooler than ice cream! I can’t wait to see these little ones grow and become the young man and young woman that God desires for them to. I want to be there every step of the way to spoil them rotten! ha!
Our family wants to thank all of you for your prayers during these nine months. It is one thing to welcome a new little life, or lives, into the world. It is an altogether different thing to celebrate those lives with those you love who have prayed with you during the wait.
The pool party tour of June has come to an end as of last night. I would like to thank Mike & Debbie Sullivan, Harriet Weirich, and Dwight & Debbie Von Feldt for their willingness to serve our youth! The 20+ wild and crazy kids of BCC loved every moment. Thank you for living out our mission BCC.
There are milestones that take place in our lives that should cause us to stop and consider. I’ve just experienced one of those milestones and it has given me the opportunity to stop and look back. Nineteen years ago last Sunday I preached my very first sermon at Britton Christian Church. I checked our website and there are now 480 sermons that have been collected. That number is probably a little more than half of the lessons that I’ve taught, but the internet wasn’t around back in the “old days.”
Nineteen years! That is a long time! There is so much that has happened in my life and in the life of our church during those nineteen years. The Lord has been so faithful. He has blessed me, and us, beyond our wildest imaginations. I’ve made so many new friends, seen so many folks give their life to Christ, stood at the caskets of too many of those I’ve grown to love, prayed so many prayers with friends who were going through a tough time, held so many new babies in my arms, and much more. Can you tell I’ve been reminiscing? Through it all God has been so faithful.
It’s good to look back, but it is also good to stand on our tip toes and look ahead. Some of my friends from across the country have asked me from time to time, “Mike, what are you still doing at that little church?” I don’t hesitate to answer: “I’m still having fun. Still being challenged. Still seeing God do His work. Why would I have any desire to leave a work where God is working?” I want you to know that I mean that with all of my heart. There is no place on the planet that I would rather be than at BCC!
As I look forward, (to the next 20 years? Wouldn’t that be awesome!) my heart is so full of expectations. If the Lord allows us to keep doing what we’ve been doing for the past 19 years then I fully expect that we will be found doing what we’ve been doing for the past 19 years–teaching His Word, caring for His people, and letting His light shine in our community. I can’t think of anything better to give my life to than that, can you?
Today we will begin our study of the tenth chapter of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. Paul begins the chapter with a prayer for his own people, people who are passionate, incredibly passionate, but misguided. Paul says that the problem is not a lack of zeal, but it is misdirected zeal. The problem is not a lack of belief, or conviction, but it is belief and passion that is misplaced. If this was a problem in Paul’s day then it is an epidemic in our own day.
As I began studying these verses early this past week I had been listening to reports that the abortion doctor, George Tiller, had been shot and killed while he was in church. Dr. Tiller was probably the most notorious abortion doctor in the nation. His clinic was the target of many protests throughout the years because he was one of the few doctors in the nation who performed late term abortions. George Tiller was a callous, money hungry doctor, who preyed on the crisis of young women, but nobody should be excited about the way in which he died.
On Sunday morning Dr. Tiller was at church when Scott Roeder walked up to him and shot him. Scott Roeder has been charged with first degree murder for killing Dr. Tiller. None of us had ever heard of Scott Roeder until last Sunday when he was arrested, but now we are learning more about his misguided zeal. According to stories I’ve read this week, Mr. Roeder was a member of an extremist group. He was anti-government and about ten years ago he became very “religious.” His ex-wife said, “He became adamant about his Old Testament beliefs and observed the Sabbath from Friday night through Saturday. Nothing could get in the way of that. Not soccer games when his son was younger. Nothing.”Time Magazine reported that he had a red rose, a symbol of the pro-life movement, painted on his car along with a “Jesus fish.” (more…)
Where would we be if it weren’t for His grace? That is a question that deserves our consideration each and every day of our lives. Where would we be if it weren’t for His grace? For those of you who have never really given that question much thought I want to encourage you to pay close attention this morning as we take a look at Romans 9:25-33. Let’s jump right in and get started. Turn to Romans 9 with me and let’s read our Scripture for today.
25 As he says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” 26 and, “It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ’sons of the living God.’ ” 27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. 28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.” 29 It is just as Isaiah said previously: “Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.” 30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” 33 As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” (Romans 9:25-33 NIV)
We have been working our way through Paul’s letter to the church in Rome for the past many weeks, but this past week I have been bombarded with a message that has captured my attention. The message has come to me in different ways and almost every day. As a result of my experience this past week, I’ve come to the conclusion that I have to share the message with you. Maybe some of you need to hear the message like I’ve needed to hear it.
Some of you have watched the video I uploaded to our website called, “Clayton’s Story.” Clayton McDonald’s family found out that he had leukemia when he was just seven years old. He underwent all kinds of treatment and his leukemia went into remission for awhile. Twelve years later, when Clayton was 19, he was diagnosed with leukemia for the fourth time and doctors said there was nothing more they could do. If you haven’t seen the video you should visit our website and watch it. At the end of the video Clayton is speaking to his high school classmates. He tells them that the doctors can’t do anything more to help him and then he says, (more…)
Sunday was such a special day for us at BCC! Each year at this time we always make a point to honor our graduates, and the wonderful teachers we have at BCC. This year we had some of the most outstanding graduates that you will find any where. The high school graduates pictured are: Amber Warner, graduating from Harding Charter Prep, Caitlin Bentley, Caitlin Ronck, and Adrienne Totoro, all graduating from Heritage Hall High School, Rolando Gardner, graduating from John Marshall High School, and Jordan Mitchell, graduating from Edmond Santa Fe High School. Our college graduate who is pictured is Cassie Sheffield, graduating from The University of Central Oklahoma. Lynda K. Powell is graduating from the Licensed Minister’s Program at Phillips Theological Seminary, and we have three young ladies who have just graduated from our G.E.D. program.
At Britton Christian Church we greatly value all of the wonderful teachers God has blessed us with through the years. On Graduation Sunday we also take time to honor all of our teachers. We want each of you to know that you are the bedrock of everything we do as a church. As you take time each week to prepare your lessons and then share them with us in your Bible studies, we want you to know that God is using you in a powerful way to teach us His Word. Thank you so much for all of the time and energy you put into teaching each of us. The teachers who are pictured are Karen Douglas, Lisa Curtis, Elaine Appleby, Tammy Agnello, Deana Basey, Jan Birsner, James and Saarah Joyce, Bob Edwards, Susan Taylor, Ashley Henderson, Heather Meldrum, Stacey Mitchell, Barb Munneke, and Kathy Jo Wicks. Thanks for all you do!
I was sent this link today and after watching the video about Clayton McDonald I wanted everyone to see it. Take the next 6 minutes. Shut off everything around you. Fix your eyes on the screen and listen and watch. The truth that kid speaks is riveting. “Don’t get distracted.” You’ll better understand the importance of that phrase at the end of the video.
I was at the Y getting in my morning run earlier today and Carrie Prejean and Donald Trump were making their rounds on the morning shows. You would have to have been locked in a closet not to know what has been going on with Miss Prejean. Miss Prejean shared her beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman and a firestorm was controversy ensued.
At the end of Robin Roberts interview she said to Donald Trump, “You have a young daughter. Is this the image that you want to have for the pageant? With the photographs and such?” What she was really asking is, “Is Carrie Prejean a role model for our young girls?” I have heard that phrase, “role model,” used about Miss Prejean several times in the last few days, but this morning, when I heard Robin Roberts question, I had a thought: “There is only one.” Carrie Prejean is not a role model any more than Michael Phelps is a role model, any more than Carrie Underwood or Oprah Winfrey is a role model, any more than… you fill in the blank. Charles Barkley, several years ago, did a TV ad in which he said, “I am not a role model.” Charles was right. There is only one role model that we can look to and not be disappointed and His name is Jesus. We are to follow Him, and if we do so we will never be disappointed.
I can appreciate Carrie Prejean’s boldness to be honest about her belief that marriage is not between a man and a man or a woman and a woman, but between a man and woman. I applaud her willingness to not compromise her beliefs for a crown. At the same time Carrie Prejean is not a role model for my daughter, your daughter, or anyone else for that matter.
They showed the pictures that are in question this morning while Miss Prejean was being interviewed and they fall far short of 1 Timothy 2:9, “I want women to dress modestly…” Last night, in another interview I saw, Miss Prejean talked about her Christian faith and her dream of being a Victoria’s Secret model almost in the same sentence. I don’t know about you, but that troubles me.
In the day in which we live we cling to anyone who appears to be larger than life. We look to them to be something more than we are, something different than we see in ourselves. We, as people, are “just” people. That goes for the wealthiest person in the world, the most beautiful person in the world, the most gifted athlete, musician, or intellect in the world. We are just people. Flawed at our core, needy in the truest sense of the word, and limited in so many ways. We need to keep this in mind when we feel the urge to make Carrie Prejean, LeBron James, or the next “American Idol” an “idol” we can look up to. There is only one whom we can follow and never be let down and never led astray. His name is Jesus.
On Thursday night, while Herman and I were sitting at the church during our “24 Hours of Prayer,” I was looking through old studies I had taught on Mother’s Day in years gone by. I ran across a study I did in 1996. The study I want to share with you this morning.
The thing that first caught my eye were some statistics that then Governor Frank Keating had shared with a group of pastors here in Oklahoma City. The statistics concerned the alarming rate of child abuse and neglect cases in our state. At that time, Governor Keating said,
We are doing everything we can to pass laws that will make it tougher on those who choose to abuse their children, but all of the laws in the world will not work because what we have is a spiritual problem. Our pastors need to address the subject.
The State had just published a 23 page booklet detailing the horrors of neglect and abuse cases in Oklahoma. Here is some of the information that was included in the report.
• In 1995 there were 11,700 confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect in the state of Oklahoma.
• In our city alone there were 2,666 cases of confirmed child abuse and neglect reported for 1995.
• In Oklahoma County there were 15 children who died at the hands of one of their parents.
• 76% of those abused were age 12 or under.
• 77% of those children abused were abused at the hand of their biological parent.
The government noticed that we had a problem back in 1996. With all of the resources—financial and human resources that the State has at its disposal, I would assume that the problem has now been eradicated, and today, as we celebrate Mother’s Day, our children are safe. That would be a false assumption. Let me update you. (more…)
I am so excited! At midnight tomorrow night we will kick-off 24 hours of continuous prayer at BCC. We will join with other believers from around the country in humbling ourselves before the throne of God and interceding for our friends, neighbors, community, nation, and world.
As I read Scripture I see two things very clearly. 1) God calls us to pray. Many of you know the Scripture from 2 Chronicles 7,
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. (2 Chronicles 7:14-15 NIV)
Or maybe you have read God’s Word to His people in Jeremiah’s day.
3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ (Jeremiah 33:3 NIV)
God calls us to pray. He knows that we face difficulties and He knows that He has the answers to what ails us. For us to find peace in the midst of the storm we must go to Him in prayer.
The second thing that I see so clearly in God’s Word is this: 2) Things happen when God’s people pray. The illustrations from Scripture are endless, but let me show you just one. In 2 Chronicles, the enemies of God’s people in Judah were too strong, too power, and too numerous. Instead of meeting in the “War Room” and coming up with a strategy, King Jehosophat went to God. He prayed.
12 O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” 13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD. (2 Chronicles 20:12-13 NIV)
When God’s people prayed, God answered. He reassured them of His presence. He consoled their fears. He reminded them that their enemies were not “God.” He established them in the land. God showed up. Here is the message He had delivered to the king.
15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. (2 Chronicles 20:15 NIV)
He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Our problems are no more than those who have gone before us, but we must follow in their footsteps and fall on our knees in humility as we cry out to God. I hope you will join me beginning at midnight tomorrow night.
Last Saturday night 34 of the BCC youth and adults had the privilege of hearing Joe White (President of Kanakuk Kamps) talk about purity. It’s no secret that over 50% of all marriages in the US end in divorce. Moreover, it is no secret that teenagers and adults alike are taken out by sexual sin everyday. As a result it is imperative that we as a church hit this topic right on the nose. Our kids need to know God’s wonderful plan for marriage and sex. I’m just so thankful that we still have Godly men around here who are proactive about making God’s perfect plan known!
How exciting? We had numerous teenagers commit their lives to Jesus and to a lifetime of purity!
For some time now we have been constantly reminded of the mounting problems that are ailing our nation. The economy, unemployment, teenage pregnancy, abortion, crime, drugs and addiction, the unbelievable number of high school drop outs in our cities, the threat of terrorism, and the list goes on and on and on. Now we have to deal with “swine flu.” As you listen to newscasts and read the newspapers you can hear the proposed solutions to all of these problems. There is one solution that is consistently absent from the list of proposed solutions being offered by our leaders. Prayer.
As you read God’s Word you run into numerous problems that were faced by God’s people throughout the 1500 years of history recorded from Genesis through Revelation. Each and every time crisis arose, God called His people to pray. To run to Him. To cry out to Him. To confess their need for Him and Him alone.
I am so looking forward to the National Day of Prayer this coming Thursday. I am praying that this Thursday will be a spark that ignites a holy passion within the people of God to come before His presence on their knees, broken over our personal sin, and the sin of our nation.
I will have the privilege of beginning our 24 hours of prayer at midnight early Thursday morning, but many of you have signed-up to pray during the 24 hours. I want to encourage you to fulfill your commitment. If you have forgotten when you signed-up then please call the church office and we will be glad to let you know when your time to pray will be.
We will have a “prayer list” in the prayer room for suggested prayer needs, but I want to encourage you to “be still” during your time of prayer and let the Lord speak to your heart about what He would have you pray about. This is going to be an incredible blessing for our church, community, and far beyond.
“The Blame Game” is alive and well in the good ‘ol U.S.A. today! There is no shortage of arenas where the game is being played. You can find a good blame game to participate in no matter where you live in our country. The topics that are being bantered around are endless. The economy? Well, we all know that it is President Bush’s fault. No, it’s President Obama’s fault. It’s the fault of the greedy corporate executives. That’s false; it’s the fault of toxic mortgages. Or could it be Wall Street that’s to blame? Someone else might say, “Well, these are all merely symptoms of the problem, but the real problem is ‘the American Dream.’ We want more than we can afford and we will do anything to get it.”
If economics are not your forte then maybe you want to enter the “blame game” of education. For the past several years there has been a lot of discussion about the poor achievement of America’s students. Our governmental leaders have recognized the problem and poured their money and programs into the problem. Less than one year ago, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to one study, only half of the high school students in the nation’s 50 largest cities are graduating in four years, with a figure as low as 25% in Detroit…Some new studies show far fewer students completing high school with diplomas than long believed. “Whereas the conventional wisdom had long placed the graduation rate around 85%, a growing consensus has emerged that only about seven in 10 students are actually successfully finishing high school” in four years, said a study by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, a nonprofit group based in Bethesda, Md. It was released this year by America’s Promise Alliance, a nonpartisan advocacy group for youth. In the nation’s 50 largest cities, the graduation rate was 52%. (Fields, Gary. “The High School Dropout’s Economic Ripple Effect.” Wall Street Journal, October 21, 2008. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122455013168452477.html)
We have a problem, but who is to blame? The students themselves, their parents, poor teachers, poor administration, lack of money, lack of accountability, lack of common sense, lack of initiative, society at large? Fingers of blame are being pointed in all directions and for those who like to play the blame game there’s plenty of blame to go around.
The talk of the nation right now is “swine flu.” Who’s to blame? Well, there’s no question about it now. The blame can be placed squarely on the shoulders of a little 5 year old boy named Edgar Hernandez who lives in the southern Mexican town of La Gloria. What are we to do with this kid? Who will be the first one to take him to court?
We love to play the “blame game” don’t we? We see it on television talk shows, we read about it in newspapers and magazines, and the blame game takes place in every venue known to man.
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The writer of Ecclesiastes said that there is “nothing new under the sun,” and boy was he right. The blame game has been going on since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. When God asked Adam if he had eaten from the tree that God told him not to eat from Adam gave God an answer. Read along with me in Genesis 3:12-13.
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me–she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12-13 NIV)
According to Adam it was Eve’s fault, or maybe it was God’s fault since He’s the one who gave him his wife. According to Eve, the fault could be placed on the shoulders of the serpent. Let the games begin!
If you will remember our study from last week I told you that Romans 9 really concerns two questions about God: His supposed failed promises to the Jews and the question of God’s justice. Is God fair? In our Scripture for today, which is a continuation of our study from last week, Paul puts a related question in the mouths of the Romans when he asks, “Then why does God still blame us? For who can resist his will?” The reasoning of the question goes like this: If God is Sovereign, which He is, then He is absolutely in control of everything, absolutely everything. If what God says about us, that we are sinners, a mess, incapable of saving ourselves, then this whole mess is really God’s fault. To strengthen the argument, if God saves whom He wants to save, if He is merciful to those He chooses to be merciful to, then why blame us? Let’s take a look at our Scripture and see if this is the whole story. Read along with me from Romans 9:19-24.
19 One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? 22 What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath–prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory– 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? (Romans 9:19-24 NIV)
The question that Paul places in the mouths of some of the folks in Rome is one of the most talked about theological questions of all—the relationship between the sovereignty of God and the choices we make. There are those who say that we have no choices at all, but we have searched God’s Word in past weeks and learned that God requires us to make choices in life. The primary, ultimate choice is whether or not we will reject Him or fall on our knees and worship Him as the one true and living God.
Some might say, “Well, doesn’t that negate God’s Sovereignty? Either God is absolutely in control or He is not.” We, as people, like to keep things nice and tidy, but a thorough study of God’s Word shows that both, the Sovereignty of God and the call to choose God are present in God’s Word. Let me give you an example. Turn to John 6:37-40 and let’s read together. Jesus says,
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:37-40 NIV)
In this passage we can see both truths at work. Jesus says, “All that the Father gives me will come to me.” God’s choosing at work. God’s Sovereignty on display in all of its glory. The very next phrase says, “…and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” We must come to Jesus. In verse 40, Jesus says that it is God’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life. I want to urge you to never ever let go of either truth or you will mangle the Word of God.
The other key ingredient that we must be mindful of as we approach our lesson for today is this: If God passes over some, or hardens some, as Paul says, it is not as if He is hardening innocent people. He only hardens those who are already hardened because of their own sin.
James Montgomery Boice, in his commentary on this passage, references a sermon by Jonathan Edwards called, “The Justice of God and the Damnation of Sinners.” In that sermon he raises the question, “If God should reject and destroy you, would that not be appropriate, considering how you have behaved toward both God and others?” I would encourage you to get a copy and study it thoroughly. I want to share some of the ideas of Edwards and Boice and hopefully they will have the same effect on you that they have had on me this week.
He makes mention that when someone is in love he or she thinks of the object of their love constantly and wants to be with the person at all times, doing whatever he or she can to bless the love of their life. Dr. Boice writes,
But you have not done that. You do not think often of God. In fact, you think of him hardly at all, except to blame him when things do not go exactly as you would like. You do not want to be with God. You do not go to church often or spend much time in prayer or Bible study. You do not try always to be doing something for God. If you have not shown any particular affection or love toward God, why should God be obliged to love you? Why should he be obliged to show you any favor whatsoever?
Again, you have slighted God in thousands of ways throughout your entire life. Everything you are and have comes from God. But you have not been thankful for it. Nor have you made any serious effort to find out why God has given you the abilities, advantages, and opportunities you have been given. You have used these things for yourself, trying to accumulate as much money or pleasure or praise as possible, without any thought of him. Why should God pay attention to you in any saving way when you are negligent of his bountiful gifts and favors?
You have also refused to hear God’s calls to you, even though they have come to you many times and in a variety of ways. You have heard the gospel preached. You have read the Good News. You possess a Bible. Has God never spoken to you, calling you from sin to Christ by these means? Have you never felt your heart moved, your will challenged by these truths? Some, in some parts of the world, have not received these calls, but you have received them again and again, and still you turn a deaf ear in God’s direction. You will not hear him. Why should he hear you, even if you should cry out to him in grief and desperation at the last day? (James Montgomery Boice, Romans: Vol. 3. Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI. 1993. pg. 1103-1104.)
Do these words have the same powerful effect on you that they have had on me this week? When I read them they pierced my heart. It is like he has been following me around throughout most of my life taking notes. At the right time, when the question of God’s fairness, or justice, is raised, he holds a mirror up to my heart. Oh, Lord how could You be so kind to me when I have put You off, neglected Your call upon my life, and taken Your blessings for granted over and over again?
After reading those words I was reminded of a time when Job had questions about God’s justice. Job said, “If God would just show up I’d have some questions for Him.” God did show up and after God put some questions of His own to Job we read,
1 The LORD said to Job: 2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” 3 Then Job answered the LORD: 4 “I am unworthy–how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. 5 I spoke once, but I have no answer– twice, but I will say no more.” (Job 40:1-5 NIV)
Job says, “I am unworthy. I’m just going to put my hand over my mouth and be quiet.” Do you know what that means? It means that Job came to his senses and realized that God is God alone. It means that Job realized that he didn’t know much of anything so it would be better for him to just be quiet and trust God.
Paul takes a similar approach in Romans 9. After he places the question of “why does God blame us?” in the mouths of his adversaries in Rome he doesn’t give us an answer as much as he appeals to the lesson of Job. Paul writes,
20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? (Romans 9:20-21 NIV)
From his opening words in verse 20 Paul draws a very clear distinction in the argument. He uses two important words when he writes, “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?” The first word I am referring to is the Greek word, “ἄνθρωπος” (anthropos), and it means, “a human being, whether male or female.” It is used also to distinguish man from animals and plants and from God and Christ. The second key word for us to notice is the Greek word, “θεός” (theos) which is “God.” Paul doesn’t stop at drawing his contrast between us, as mere humans, and the infinite, Sovereign God.
In verse 21, Paul presses the contrast even further by comparing the Potter to the clay. This contrast was not unfamiliar to those who were in Paul’s audience. Throughout the Old Testament we see many references to the Potter and the clay. In Isaiah 29:16 we read,
16 You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pot say of the potter, “He knows nothing”? (Isaiah 29:16 NIV)
In Romans, Paul had asked the question, “Who are you, O man, to talk back to God?” We see a similar statement in Isaiah 45:9-11. Read along with me.
9 “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’? 10 Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’ 11 “This is what the LORD says– the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? (Isaiah 45:9-11 NIV)
When we read these verses it should clear our thinking so that we might realize that we don’t have any idea what we are talking about. Our questioning God, and calling God on the carpet for the way He does things, is like a 5th grade science student badgering and mocking Albert Einstein about the theory of relativity. This is really what the words “talk back” means in this context in Romans 9:20. These are not sincere, humble questions, but quarreling with God.
The most familiar of all of the “Potter and clay” illustrations is found in Jeremiah 18:1-11. In this section of Scripture, Jeremiah is told to go to the potter’s house and he will get a message from God. Read along with me.
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. 11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ (Jeremiah 18:1-11 NIV)
Jeremiah saw the potter forming items at his wheel. When the potter didn’t like what he had formed, he formed it into something else, what seemed best to him. God’s message to Jeremiah was, “Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, as the potter has done with his creation?” God says that all nations are like clay in His hands.
I want us to notice something that goes along with the relationship of the Sovereignty of God and the choices God calls us to make. Do you see verses 7-11? God says that if He announces that He will uproot or destroy a nation and that nation repents of its evil, then He will not bring judgment on it. If, at another time, God announces that He will build up and establish a nation and then it does evil and refuses to obey Him, then God will reconsider His plans to bless that nation. God ends His lesson for Jeremiah by saying, “I am preparing a disaster for you (O House of Israel). So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.”
“Turn from your evil ways.” Why would God call His people to turn from their evil ways if it were not for the fact that He did not want to carry out the judgment He had planned for them? There are many in our society today who see God as a harsh, wrathful, angry God who is just looking for something in us so that He might destroy us. I want you to consider something for a minute. If this is truly God’s nature, how hard would He have to look to find something in you and me to justify wiping us all out? Not too hard huh? God is merciful. He comes to His people over and over again calling us to repent of the sin that is destroying us. In Ezekiel 18:23 we read,
23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? (Ezekiel 18:23 NIV)
It was a difficult time for the nation of Judah during the ministry of Ezekiel. The Babylonians came in and took the brightest and best into exile in Babylon as they destroyed the city. The people of Judah wondered out loud, “Where is God? Where is Your justice O Lord?” They would not face the truth of their own sin. They played the blame game. In Ezekiel 18:29-32 we read,
29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust? 30 “Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live! (Ezekiel 18:29-32 NIV)
“Repent and live! Repent and live!” That is still God’s word to us today—Repent and live! Before we get out of here this morning let’s take a look Romans 9:22-24.
22 What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath–prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory– 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? (Romans 9:22-24 NIV)
Paul has to still have Pharaoh in mind as he writes these verses. How many times did God show His mercy to Pharaoh? For how many years did God “bore with great patience” Pharaoh and his refusal to learn the lessons God had for him? Yet, Pharaoh would not listen and God’s wrath came.
I want to show you something very interesting to me as we close this morning. When we take a look at verse 22 and we learn about the “objects of his wrath,” we see that they are “prepared for destruction.” The word “prepared” is in the passive voice. God is not the subject doing the preparing. John MacArthur believes that Paul is being very precise in using this word to make it known that God did not create people to destroy them. What makes this really interesting is when we compare it to the same word that is used in verse 23.
23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—(Romans 9:23 NIV)
Here we read about those who are the “objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory–.” In this verse the word “prepared” is in the active voice. Who does the preparing? The subject doing the action is God. God does the preparing!
God bears with great patience those who have heard His call, those who have experienced His grace, those who have witnessed His power, and yet have turned a deaf ear to His voice of mercy. He bears with great patience, but He will not be patient forever. Today is the day of salvation. Today, if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts.
We need to stop playing the blame game. We need to spend more time becoming familiar with the hardness of our hearts, our hypocritical ways, and our shallow, feeble commitments and less time questioning the fairness or justice of God. God has come to you and me over and over again throughout our lives, giving us experiences and opportunities to turn from our destructive ways, but we put Him off, we’ve made excuses, we’ve refused to answer His call. Jonathan Edwards and James Montgomery Boice are so right—If we have no affection or desire for God, then why should He be obliged to rescue us from the prison we are constructing with our own hands? We need to stop playing the blame game and fall on our knees in confession before our gracious, patient God. Won’t you cry out to Him this morning? Won’t you confess your sin to Him this morning? Won’t you ask Jesus into your heart this morning?
Mike Hays
Britton Christian Church
922 NW 91st
OKC, OK. 73114
May 2, 2009
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“Justice,” defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity.” It is also described as “the quality of being just or impartial.” We often hear the cry for justice ringing out across the globe. People who feel that they are being treated unjustly protest with signs and raise their voices in unison as they cry out, “No Justice! No Peace.” Even if we do not join public protests, we sometimes think to ourselves, “that’s just not fair.”
Evidently, the justice, or fairness of God was being questioned by some in Rome. Before we get to our Scripture this morning let me ask you a question. Let’s say that during the fires of a couple of weeks ago, there was a house on fire with an entire family trapped inside. They were all doomed to die in the fire. A brave fire fighter was somehow able to break through the front door and rescue two of the little children in the house before he was overcome by the thick smoke on his way out of the house. Before he could get back inside the house, and rescue the rest of the family, all of them died. Would there have been a public outcry for the fire fighter’s job? Would he have been tried in court for allowing the other family members to die? No, we would have been grateful that he risked his life to save any of the family members. (more…)
Each year we have the best Easter Egg Hunt you can imagine. The kids have a blast and we try to capture the moment to share with all of you who weren’t able to make it. I hope you will enjoy. Thanks to our Children’s Minister, Dana Stevenson, and her wonderful crew for all of their hard work on this fun event.
Friday is called, “Good Friday” in our day, but there was nothing good about it almost 2,000 years ago. The hopes and dreams of all of those who had followed Jesus for three years had crashed to the floor as they watched Him hang lifeless on the cross. It was a dark Friday. A hopeless Friday. A day of despair and disappointment like Jesus’ friends had never experienced in their lives. By Saturday many of Jesus’ followers wondered if they would ever be able to escape the hopelessness of Friday.
There are still many among us who could be characterized as “Friday people.” Life has let you down. You’ve experienced heartache after heartache, disappointment after disappointment, and you wonder if things will ever change. You’ve let yourself down. You’ve made some horrible decisions that have cost you, and those who love you, in a big way. You wonder if you will ever be able to stop the insanity. Others have let you down. You’ve put your trust, your hopes, in people, only to be disappointed. You are wondering if there is even one person in the world that you can trust. All of this has shaped your soul so that now you are a “Friday person.” Gloom has taken the place of gladness. Sorrow has set in where there was once serenity. Pessimism has replaced the hope you once had of a brighter day. I’ve come to tell you today that you don’t have to live in Friday any longer. Sunday is here! (more…)
We are planning a big weekend for people of all ages at BCC. The fun will begin Saturday morning at 9:00 am as we have our annual Easter Egg Hunt for all of the kids. You sure want to be there before 9:00 because the eggs will be gone in no time. Be sure to bring your camera as this event always produces some of the most awesome pics you’ve ever seen in your life.
On Sunday morning we will have two worship opportunities for everyone wanting to celebrate Easter Sunday. Our services will be at 8:30 and 10:40 am. We want to encourage everyone who is able to park in the North parking lot so that we can leave room for those who will be visiting with us.
Squeezed in between the two worship opportunities will be an opportunity to quiet your hunger pangs and meet some new friends. Our Fellowship Committee and the Men’s Promise Keeper’s Bible Study are sponsoring an all-church breakfast beginning at 9:30 am in our gym. We want to encourage you to invite a friend to join us as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior.
It was the beginning of the end. Jesus was nearing the end of a long and arduous journey that would reach its apex of pain and agony on a rugged cross the very next day. To be more precise, it was Thursday, Jesus and His disciples gathered for their observance of Passover in what we call “The Last Supper.” The end was near and Jesus wanted to share His most important lessons with those who had followed Him most closely during the past three years. What would He do? Which lesson, out of all of the lessons He had taught, would He share? How would He deliver the message so that they would never forget it? Let’s take a look at John 13:1-5 and see what Jesus taught. (more…)
Darrell Newton and Mason Bush are zoned in to one of the man speakers at the Live Love Conference.
Fourteen of the BCC youth had the opportunity to attend a conference in S. OKC this past weekend. The conference revolved around LOVE. We learned how we are like resounding gongs or clanging cymbals (I Cor. 13) when our actions don’t match up we our words. We learned that our relationship with God is closely tied to our relationships with other people. Most importantly though, we learned about the magnitude of God’s love for us! You could say the conference was pretty *love.
*love - a new word for “great” or “awesome”…for all those adults who want to be “cool” with their kids.
