by HARVEYOPP | Jul 11, 2014 | Paul Tripp
Have you had any sleepless nights lately? Do you struggle to lay peacefully in bed because something, or someone, is consuming your thoughts?
Maybe it’s a looming deadline and you’re putting all the pressure on yourself to make that big project a success. Maybe it’s a life-altering decision you need to make on behalf of your family and you just don’t know what option is best.
Maybe it’s an act of betrayal and deceit and the good thing you had been working towards is now destroyed by the corruption of another. Maybe it’s news from your doctor about a new physical affliction that’s going to drastically impact your life.
We all struggle to sleep at night, and to be fair, life in a fallen world is harsh and unpredictable. There are many outside factors that make life difficult and provide reason for restless nights.
But I’m deeply persuaded that in the midst of trial, we often abandon our theology. We quit believing that the Bible has the answers for life and we try to take the reins. With the weight of the world now on our self-appointed shoulders, we struggle to get a good night of sleep.
GET A BETTER NIGHT OF SLEEP
When you’re facing the harsh and unpredictable realities of life in fallen world, what should you do? Here are four actions that find their roots in the Word of God, but it’s important to recognize that these actions are not one-time quick fixes. As long as you’re facing difficulty, you’ll need to continually preach the gospel to yourself as you fall asleep.
1. Accept the Confusion
If you haven’t recognized it already, you have very little control over your life. You didn’t choose where you would be born or how your parents would raise you. You didn’t choose the color of your skin, the language you spoke, or how wealthy your family was.
The reality is that you have a miniscule amount of control in gargantuan universe. Add to that the sin and brokenness you face at every turn, and life gets overwhelming.
If you believe a false gospel of self-sovereignty and personal control, you’ll be kept awake when life doesn’t go according to plan. The first step in falling asleep is to accept that you don’t have much reason to sleep peacefully!
2. Evict the Imposters
When the waves of pain and difficulty come crashing down, you need to seek shelter. Sadly, so many of us seek shelter in all the wrong places.
Some pick up a bottle of alcohol or painkillers to physically numb their bodies; others drown out the pain with television and food. Others yet take a credit card to purchase items they don’t need, in the hope that material things will provide comfort for their soul.
If you buy into the false gospel of earth-bound treasures, you won’t have many restful nights of sleep. Evict the imposters and invite the Messiah to commune with your soul once again.
3. Pursue the Disciplines
In the midst of trial, it’ll be very tempting to abandon the spiritual disciplines of your faith: prayer, fasting, meditation/memorization of Scripture, and attendance at worship services/small groups.
When you abandon these disciplines, whether you intentionally mean to or not, you’re saying, “I don’t need God or His church – I can make it on my own!” That’s never a good idea; your heart is corrupt, and you need help to see yourself and your situation with accuracy.
If you believe a false gospel of self-sustainment, you’ll struggle to wake up each morning with energy. You weren’t created to live independently, even in a sinless world. Live with God – His Spirit, His Word, and His body of believers.
4. Trust the Author
All these other actions – Accept, Evict, and Pursue – make no sense unless one thing is true: God is the good and wise author of your story:
- Because God is the author of your story, you can accept the confusion and find rest, knowing that everything in the universe is managed with complete and specific authority.
- Because God is the author of all that is good, you can evict the imposters and find comfort in communion with Him, even in the midst of physical trial.
- Because God is the author of life, you can pursue the spiritual disciplines and find peace, knowing that God’s wisdom for your life is far better than pursuing it on your own.
You and I don’t have to crumble when we don’t understand; we don’t have to be paralyzed with fear because our plans have blown up in our face. We don’t have to dread what the next day will bring.
You and I can sleep because God is wise, loving, and powerful. He is in moment-by-moment control of every detail of our lives.
by HARVEYOPP | Jul 11, 2014 | Scott Henry
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
Our text says that Jesus came “to seek and save that which was lost.” The word “lost” in the Greek means completely destroyed, ruined or dead. In other words, man is completely unable and unwilling to seek after Jesus while he is in a lost state. That’s the very essence of being lost … you don’t know the right way to go. But it goes even further than this when we speak about spiritual deadness. The man who is lost spiritually doesn’t know where he’s going because he doesn’t think he’s lost and neither does he have a compass to help him navigate through life.
Paul wrote in Ephesians 2 that man comes into this world dead in trespasses and sin, walking according to the ways of this sinful world, which is according to Satan, and he lives according to the lusts of his flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and is by nature a child of wrath. 1 Cor. 2:14: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” And so we can clearly see on the testimony of Scripture that the man who is lost is neither willing nor able to seek after Christ. That’s why our text says “the Son of man has come to seek and save that which was lost.” Do you confess that Christ found you when you were lost? Do you believe that unless Christ came seeking after you that you would have no hope of escaping your lost condition? This ought to be the confession of every redeemed sinner because it’s the truth of Scripture.
Our confession ought to be that of the Prodigal son’s father in Luke 15: “…for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found”, or the blind man in John 9 who said: “One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.” Is this your confession? “I was dead, but now I live; I was lost but now I’m found; I was blind but now I see!” We didn’t make ourselves alive, found, or give ourselves sight … Jesus did! And if we don’t realize how bad off we are because of our sins we will never appreciate how wonderful the good news of the Gospel really is!
Do you see the point? Christ Jesus came to seek and save wicked people: convicts, murderers, thieves, rapists, drug dealers, prostitutes, liars, adulterers, homosexuals, idolaters & alcoholics. Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 6:9-11: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” Christ didn’t come to save good people … He came to save lost sinners. Jesus said, “I did not come for the righteous, but sinners” (Matt. 9:13). So I ask you, once again, is this your confession: “I was dead, but now I live; I was lost but now I’m found; I was blind but now I see”? If so, then praise God for His glorious grace in sending Jesus the Christ to seek and save that which was lost!
by HARVEYOPP | Jul 1, 2014 | Scott Henry
So often what we think comes out in our words and actions. We often think our thoughts are harmless, but in actuality, our thoughts have the power over what we do. This is especially true in our relationship with others. One characteristic of love is a pure mind as we see in 1 Corinthians 13:5: “love thinks no evil.” While you may never slander or speak ill of someone you love, your thoughts could tell a completely different story. However, true love not only speaks well of others, but it also thinks kindly of them as well.
Imagine if every thought you had was spoken the minute you thought it. Imagine if thoughts were no longer private, but everyone around you could hear what you were thinking. How would your thoughts change? Would people that you say you love hear that you find them annoying, self-centered, or irritating? Many times we think things we would never speak, but we must realize the danger of our thought life because our thoughts will eventually become our words. Proverbs 23:7: “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Jesus said in Matthew 15:18-20: “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man…”
Our thoughts are considered private, known only to us, but the truth of the matter is that God knows and hears everything we think. 1 Chronicles 28:9: “…for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts.” Psalm 94:11: “The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile.” Isaiah 66:18: “For I know their works and their thoughts.” Matthew 9:4: “But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” 1 Corinthians 3:20: “The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
Scripture clearly teaches that God knows our every thought, and He takes our thoughts very seriously. Jesus said in Matthew 5:28: “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Therefore guarding our thoughts and not thinking evil of others should be as important to us as what we say or do. This is why Solomon wrote in Proverbs 4:23: “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”
What are your thoughts concerning those you call your friends? Do you find yourself, on many occasions, degrading them in your mind? Our text is clear … “love thinks no evil” (1 Cor. 13:5). Take some time at this moment to ask God for forgiveness for your sinful thinking and ask Him to help you think of others in the same manner you would speak about them. As Jesus said in Luke 6:31: “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.”
by HARVEYOPP | Jun 28, 2014 | CH Spurgeon
“Looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2)
It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, “Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.” All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: he tells us that we are nothing, but that “Christ is all in all.”
Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee … it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee … it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument … it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul.
If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep thine eye simply on him; let his death, his sufferings, his merits, his glories, his intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to him; when thou liest down at night look to him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after him, and he will never fail thee.
“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”
by HARVEYOPP | Jun 28, 2014 | RC Sproul
“The sinfulness of sin” sounds like a vacuous redundancy that adds no information to the subject under discussion. However, the necessity of speaking of the sinfulness of sin has been thrust upon us by a culture and even a church that has diminished the significance of sin itself. Sin is communicated in our day in terms of making mistakes or of making poor choices. When I take an examination or a spelling test,if I make a mistake, I miss a particular word. It is one thing to make a mistake. It is another to look at my neighbor’s paper and copy his answers in order to make a good grade. In this case, my mistake has risen to the level of a moral transgression. Though sin may be involved in making mistakes as a result of slothfulness in preparation, nevertheless, the act of cheating takes the exercise to a more serious level. Calling sin “making poor choices” is true, but it is also a euphemism that can discount the severity of the action. The decision to sin is indeed a poor one, but once again, it is more than a mistake. It is an act of moral transgression.
In my book The Truth of the Cross I spend an entire chapter discussing this notion of the sinfulness of sin. I begin that chapter by using the anecdote of my utter incredulity when I received a recent edition of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations. Though I was happy to receive this free issue, I was puzzled as to why anyone would send it to me. As I leafed through the pages of quotations that included statements from Immanuel Kant, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and others, to my complete astonishment I came upon a quotation from me. That I was quoted in such a learned collection definitely surprised me. I was puzzled by what I could have said that merited inclusion in such an anthology, and the answer was found in a simple statement attributed to me: “Sin is cosmic treason.” What I meant by that statement was that even the slightest sin that a creature commits against his Creator does violence to the Creator’s holiness, His glory, and His righteousness. Every sin, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is an act of rebellion against the sovereign God who reigns and rules over us and as such is an act of treason against the cosmic King.
EVERY SIN, NO MATTER HOW SEEMINGLY INSIGNIFICANT, IS AN ACT OF TREASON AGAINST THE COSMIC KING
Cosmic treason is one way to characterize the notion of sin, but when we look at the ways in which the Scriptures describe sin, we see three that stand out in importance. First, sin is a debt; second, it is an expression of enmity; third, it is depicted as a crime. In the first instance, we who are sinners are described by Scripture as debtors who cannot pay their debts. In this sense, we are talking not about financial indebtedness but a moral indebtedness. God has the sovereign right to impose obligations upon His creatures. When we fail to keep these obligations, we are debtors to our Lord. This debt represents a failure to keep a moral obligation.
The second way in which sin is described biblically is as an expression of enmity. In this regard, sin is not restricted merely to an external action that transgresses a divine law. Rather, it represents an internal motive, a motive that is driven by an inherent hostility toward the God of the universe. It is rarely discussed in the church or in the world that the biblical description of human fallenness includes an indictment that we are by nature enemies of God. In our enmity toward Him, we do not want to have Him even in our thinking, and this attitude is one of hostility toward the very fact that God commands us to obey His will. It is because of this concept of enmity that the New Testament so often describes our redemption in terms of reconciliation. One of the necessary conditions for reconciliation is that there must be some previous enmity between at least two parties. This enmity is what is presupposed by the redeeming work of our Mediator, Jesus Christ, who overcomes this dimension of enmity.
The third way in which the Bible speaks of sin is in terms of transgression of law. The Westminster Shorter Catechism answers the fourteenth question, “What is sin?” by the response, “Sin is any want of conformity to, or transgression of, the law of God.” Here we see sin described both in terms of passive and active disobedience. We speak of sins of commission and sins of omission. When we fail to do what God requires, we see this lack of conformity to His will. But not only are we guilty of failing to do what God requires, we also actively do what God prohibits. Thus, sin is a transgression against the law of God.
NOT UNTIL WE TAKE GOD SERIOUSLY WILL WE EVER TAKE SIN SERIOUSLY
When people violate the laws of men in a serious way, we speak of their actions not merely as misdemeanors but, in the final analysis, as crimes. In the same regard, our actions of rebellion and transgression of the law of God are not seen by Him as mere misdemeanors; rather, they are felonious. They are criminal in their impact. If we take the reality of sin seriously in our lives, we see that we commit crimes against a holy God and against His kingdom. Our crimes are not virtues; they are vices, and any transgression of a holy God is vicious by definition. It is not until we understand who God is that we gain any real understanding of the seriousness of our sin. Because we live in the midst of sinful people where the standards of human behavior are set by the patterns of the culture around us, we are not moved by the seriousness of our transgressions. We are indeed at ease in Zion. But when God’s character is made clear to us and we are able to measure our actions not in relative terms with respect to other humans but in absolute terms with respect to God, His character, and His law, then we begin to be awakened to the egregious character of our rebellion.
Not until we take God seriously will we ever take sin seriously. But if we acknowledge the righteous character of God, then we, like the saints of old, will cover our mouths with our hands and repent in dust and ashes before Him.
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