Bible

This book review by Terry Delaney appears on his website, Christian Book Notes (January 20, 2012). Used by permission.

Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Born of God: Sermons from John, Chapter One. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2011. 482 pp. $29.00.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) is well known by many in the Reformed circles of Christianity. This is because of his love for the Puritans and his deep exegetical and expository style of preaching. My prayer is that he would be well known throughout all of Christendom. He has much to offer today’s Christian. You can download sermons for free at OnePlace.com. I highly recommend you check out that website.

Summary

Born of God is a 32 sermon compilation of messages delivered by the late Dr. Lloyd-Jones as part of his last sermon series preached on Sunday mornings at Westminster Chapel. He started preaching through John in 1962 but health prevented him from ever finishing. Another lengthy treatment from the Gospel of John is found in his work entitled Living Water which I reviewed here.

In this particular work, the Doctor concentrates on two doctrines found in the first chapter of the beloved disciple’s gospel: Law and Grace and the assurance of salvation. He began the series with the comment, “Do you know what is the matter with us? I will tell you. We none of us really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ!” From there he explains what he means and shows with pinpoint accuracy how this is truly the case for most believers in Jesus Christ.

Review

 With his warning shot fired, Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows how we need to better grasp the doctrines we believe and allow them to have the desired effect in and on our lives. What is better is his continuous pointing back to Christ in all that he says.

Chapter fifteen is an excellent chapter in that he lays out in plain language how we become children of God. In my personal estimation, it is one of his more articulate evangelical sermons we have. Chapters 21-25 are of great value in and of themselves as they explain the importance of mortifying (killing) sin within you.

After reading Born of God, you will have a far greater understanding and appreciation for the first chapter of the Gospel of John.

Recommendation

As with all of the materials by and about Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, I highly recommend this compilation of sermons. I do not hide the truth that he has been most influential on my ministry and in my walk with the Lord. If you have never read anything by the Doctor, then start here with Born of God and be blessed. You will also be “hooked” so to speak on the ministry of the greatest preacher of the 20th century.

“Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?” (Zechariah 1:12). It may surprise you, but the Angel of the Lord asks this question, doing so in the Prophet Zechariah’s night vision. Israel had been exiled some 70 years by the Babylonians, shackled and hauled away in disgrace to their oppressor’s land. Jerusalem was in shambles; the wall was full of holes and the temple leveled. Henceforth the question from the angel, a question every Jew wondered to himself: “How long will You withhold mercy…?” Have you ever asked God that question?

The Lord answers the inquiry in the next verse. Zechariah over hears and records it for us: “[T]he Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel…” (verse 13). His “kind and comforting words” promised this: “[T]he Lord will again comfort Zion” (verse 17).

I was blessed devotionally a few days ago, when reading from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening:

History shows us that whenever God uses a rod to chasten his servants he always breaks it afterwards, as if he loathed the rod which gave his children pain. He feels the smart far more than his people. ‘Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities them that fear him.’ God has not forgotten us because he smites. His blows are no evidences of want of love…You may fear that the Lord has passed you by, but it is not so: he who counts the stars and calls them by their names is in no danger of forgetting his own children. He knows your case thoroughly as if you were the only creature he ever made or the only saint he ever loved. (Morning and Evening, evening devotional for February 24)

None of His children are immune from difficult providence. There is a season for us all; for most there are multiple seasons. In Zechariah, the question “How long, Lord?” is asked—did you note that the question isn’t chastened? God is not offended by the inquiry. In fact, it is His angel who asks. In reply, God offers “kind and comforting” words. We would hear similar if we would ask and listen.

“Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning,” sings the psalmist (Psalm 30:5). The Christian is never told the length of his night; but he is always promised a morning.

Pastor Rich Hamlin

May 3, 2012

I enjoy reading our paper’s “Letters to the Editor.” It provides a snapshot of what’s going on out there—a window into society’s soul. But one of this morning’s editorials (TNT, 2-29) provided a window into the soul of a local, mainline church. And I, for one, did not enjoy the view.

The editorial was entitled: “Religion: Not all Presbyterians unhappy.” It was in response to last Sunday’s front page article entitled “Dividing Point” (TNT, 2-26). That article chronicled some of the local Presbyterian Church (USA) and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America church’s response to their denomination’s ordaining of gay and lesbian pastors. The article mainly focused on a handful of congregations in the area who have either left their denominational affiliation or are in the process of doing so.

Which prompted this morning’s editorial from a Presbyterian minister who wanted Tacoma to know that he and the church he pastors feel much differently. He writes, “Several Presbyterian churches in Tacoma, including the one I serve, applaud the change which allows the ordination of GLBTQ folks called by God to ministry.” If you are not up on that acronym, it stands for “Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer.” I don’t recall the apostle Paul, when giving qualifications for an elder (pastor) in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9, using that acronym. I do know that he insists in both passages that the pastor is “the husband of but one wife.” The Apostle Peter doesn’t list GLBTQ sexual “options” for a pastor in his list of qualifications (1 Peter 5:2-4), either.

It is an amazing thing to watch churches self-destruct. They are so proud to be inclusive, diverse, and welcoming. The pastor’s editorial ended this way: “[We have] experienced significant numerical growth over the past two years, in part due to our inclusive and welcoming attitude.” I remind the pastor that free beer and topless dancers probably would draw a crowd, too.

I wished to know more about their inclusive and growing “church.” Their website talks about fighting hunger, working for justice, and improving the environment. They say they are a place that “blends spirituality with thoughtful reflection on what tradition and experience mean.” I think that means “we have fun and are at liberty to come up with our own truth”—but I’m not sure. If you detect sarcasm, you are correct.

If anybody over at the “GLBTQ Hunger, Justice, and Environment Church” ever stumbles across this blog, I just want you to know that I’m not homophobic, nor am I a “hater,” or a cross-eyed fundamentalist. I’m just a pastor of a local church who believes the Bible, the Gospel, and loves His church; I’m a sinner who gets things wrong and not for a moment thinks he’s figured everything out.

But I’m pretty confident about this one. You might be happy about the direction of your “church”–but God isn’t.

Pastor Rich Hamlin

February 29, 2012  

Have you seen it? It is difficult to describe. But if you look close, it’s almost always there.

Let me back up first; back up to an Old Testament minor prophet. Hosea prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel, just before its captivity by Assyria in 722 B.C. As a vivid object lesson, God tells Hosea to marry an adulterous wife, a symbol of Israel’s unfaithful relationship to God. Hosea marries Gomer, and despite bearing him three children, she still found her way to the street corner in the bad part of town. She prostituted herself to other lovers. Likewise, Israel tried to wed the worship of God to Canaanite religion. After all, Canaanite religion was a lot of fun—it deified sex—going to “church” was going to the brothel. God makes His assessment of His wayward people, “They consecrated themselves to that shameful idol [Baal] and became as vile as the thing they loved” (Hosea 9:10). What God is saying is that the character of what is worshiped rubs off; people become like the objects they love.

And this is the “look.” I have seen it many times. Masks and make-up can veil it for awhile, but in time, the unfaithful heart reaches the surface. People ensnared in sin or vice begin to look different. I’m not talking about the emaciated junkie. I’m talking about the effects of idolatrous sin on one’s countenance and even on one’s features.

Have you seen someone you may have known for years come to saving faith and before long, they look different? Once again, I’m not talking about someone getting a haircut or straightening their teeth, I’m talking about that new look in their eye or that new smile that reveals something very real and profound has happened inside of them.

But Hosea is talking about the opposite scenario. We actually take on the character of the idol or sin we bow to or fondle. People start to look different. I’ve especially seen it with sexual sin. If I may, people actually look uglier! It makes sense; sin and idolatry is acidic; unbeknownst to the deceived is that which they embrace is spiritually killing them. And what is happening on the inside begins to make its way to the outside.

Do you have the “look”? You don’t need to gaze in a mirror, simply be honest with God. Have you replaced Him with someone or something else? Have you downplayed sin in your life, perhaps even redefining it as something else?

Do you see the “look” in others? Do you love them enough to speak with them about it, doing so with humility and love?

Don’t think the “look” just goes away. What is behind it must be confessed: “Say to [God]: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips’” (Hosea 14:2). The prophet’s final words are these, “Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them” (Hosea 14:9).

Be wise and discerning, lose the “look.”

Pastor Rich Hamlin

February 9, 2012 

“Who is the Lord, that I should obey Him?” declared Pharaoh in Exodus 5:2.

“This day I defy the ranks of Israel,” boasted Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:10.

“I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High,” promised Babylon in Isaiah 14:13-14.

“Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” crowed King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:30.

The Scriptures are full of those who were full of themselves, setting themselves up as God. It appears Olympia is full of them, too. Politicians have been hell-bent for sometime to change God’s definition of marriage. This past week, twenty-eight Washington state senators did just that. Next week, fifty-some house members will add their vote of support to the new definition and then one beaming governor will sign it into law. They even had the gall to defeat a clause that would have put the matter on next November’s ballot. Their message was clear, “We not only don’t care what God thinks, we don’t care what the people think, either; we alone know what’s best.”

God said marriage is the union of one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24). Olympia said it’s also the union of one man and one man; and one woman and one woman.

What is ironic is that it is the Bible-believing Christian who is accused of arrogance. How is that? We just believe God’s Word; it’s not us who believes we can amend it.

On trial before Pilate, Jesus said, “For this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” At this, Pilate, who thought he could sit in judgment of the Son of God, scoffed, “What is truth?” (John 18:37-38). Just like Pilate, Olympia arrogantly believes it is whatever they want it to be.

Pastor Rich Hamlin

February 2, 2012

Times were difficult in the days of Daniel. Judah had been overrun by Babylon. Much of the nation had been deported—Daniel included. Babylon was quite proud she had destroyed Jerusalem and raided the temple of God. The people of God were defeated and discouraged. Was Marduk (the chief god of Babylon) stronger than God?

In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar (the king of Babylon) has a troubling dream; he wants to know what it means. He orders his cabinet, “Tell me its meaning.” But he also throws them a curve ball: “Tell me my dream before you give me its meaning.” When they protest and say that’s impossible, he orders them killed. Daniel finds out about the king’s decree when they come for him. That night, God gives Daniel the dream and the interpretation. The next day, he reveals it to the king.

In short, the dream was this: Nebuchadnezzar saw an enormous, dazzling statue with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and legs of iron with feet a mixture of iron and clay. Then a rock not cut by human hands smashes and levels the statue. Like chaff, the wind blows the broken pieces away. The rock, however, becomes a huge mountain and fills the whole earth (Daniel 2:31-35). It is understandable the king was troubled; the dream too much for his Tylenol PM.

After faithfully regurgitating the dream, Daniel tells the king the interpretation given him by God. The dream was about four great pagan kingdoms. Babylon was the golden head, now reigning. Three successive empires (Media/Persia, Greece, and Rome) would follow. All would enjoy their time until the “rock” appears smashing all subordinate kingdoms and reigning forever. That “rock” was Jesus (1 Peter 2:8), who comes six centuries later. He now sits upon the throne of God’s worldwide empire.

At the time of the dream, God’s people were in exile. Things were not looking so good. For six centuries, pagan empires were enormous—they looked dazzling. The Medes, who succeeded the Babylonians, let Israel go home. But shortly after their return, the Greek’s ascended to power and then the Romans began their ruthless reign. God’s voice was silent in Israel. For over six hundred years, it looked as if God, his people, and his Kingdom had lost. And then, the silence was shattered, when the “Word became flesh” (John 1:14)—the “rock” had arrived. The Kingdom of God was established and the mountain still grows.

I gave you a little from Daniel and a little from history to tell you this: it is easy to get discouraged by what we read, see, and hear. Culture sours and smells. Politicians play God. Even the church seems to be blowing in the wind, uncomfortable in its skin and seeking to redefine itself once again.

In times such as these, we must remember Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel concluded the interpretation this way: “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed… It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever” (Daniel 2:44).

Where is Babylon, where are the Medes and the Persians and the Greeks and the Romans? They are no more. As it was then; so shall it be again. Those who seem to wield the power only do so for a time. But they don’t even wield it at all. Nebuchadnezzar would learn this personally two chapters later, rightly declaring, “His dominion is an eternal dominion; His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him: ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:34-35).

The Rock won. The Rock always does.

Pastor Rich Hamlin

January 26, 2012

This book review by Terry Delaney appears on his website, Christian Book Notes (December 5, 2011). Used by permission. 

Sibbes, Richard. Josiah’s Reformation. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2011. 176 pp. $10.00. Purchase at Westminster Bookstore or Mongerism Books for less.

Introduction

Josiah’s Reformation is the latest in the Puritan Paperbacks Series published by the Banner of Truth Trust. This work was originally published in 1629. Sibbes “always sought to get under the superficial layer of his listeners’ behavior and deal with their hearts.” It is for this reason that Richard Sibbes is one of the more beloved of the Puritans by today’s readers.

Summary

Josiah’s Reformation is a compilation of four sermons preached by the Puritan, Richard Sibbes from Isaiah 57:15, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose Name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

In explaining the doctrinal truth behind this verse, Sibbes exposits for his readers from 2 Chronicles 34:26-28 and offers four keys to true personal reformation. He looks at the tender heart first and foremost as the only means by which one can be humbled. He next looks at the art of self-humbling and the art of mourning. Both are necessary if true reformation is to take place in the soul. The last sermon (4th chapter) is entitled the Saint’s Refreshing. Here the reader is treated to true nourishment for the soul.

Review

You do not pick up the Puritans and expect to read something light and fluffy that does not impact you for in the here and now as well as later on down the road. Josiah’s Reformation offers sweet nourishment for the soul on most every page. The chapter on self-humbling is much needed today with our “me-first” theologies. I have said that there is much pride in the pastorate and many will know this to be true. Sibbes sought to not only teach his hearers how to properly self-judge, but he also offers, from Scripture, the importance of keeping ourselves humble. The art is when we are able to maintain that proper humility.

Far from being a book that will “work you over the coals,” Sibbes will bring you time and again to worship the Lord who alone enables the Christian to accomplish anything resembling reformation.

Again, Sibbes offers a wonderful treatise on the art of mourning…over sin. Not just your own sin, but the sins of others including your own nation. When was the last time you grieved over sin? Chapter three on Josiah’s Reformation will take you to that place of grief over sin once again.

All in all, while the language may be tough for some to overcome, it is well worth the effort to take the time and read through Josiah’s Reformation. To do so will be to take a break from the craziness of the world and to bask in the glory of the salvation granted to those who believe.

Recommendation

I heartily recommend to any who call on the name of Christ as Lord and Savior this work by Richard Sibbes entitled Josiah’s Reformation. It may be best to sit down and read it one chapter at a time (there are only four which take about an hour or so to read), but it is also worth putting on your nightstand and reading a page or two in the evening and meditate on the contents while drifting off to sleep.

Reader: Please see last week’s blog; as this is a follow-up to that story.

Friends,

It seems but yesterday, but alas, it was nigh several years ago; yet I shall never forget what my animal eyes saw that night.

The evening was crisp and the wind was quick. Many summers I have cursed my fur; this night I was grateful for its cover. A young foal at the time, my work was still light; yet the days still long as I learned my beast of burden trade. I was tired and my body cried for rest. Breath steamed from my nostrils, condensing on my nose and served up an incessant drip of warm saltiness that only begged further my thirst.

Coming over the last hill, I began to froth freely; the day’s work taken a greater part of me than realized. Water, straw, and rest were my only thoughts.

As I drew closer to my shelter, I could see something was very much the matter. Busyness surrounded it. My animal friends encircled the stable. A dim light cast shadows of intruders within. “Of all nights, why clean the stalls tonight?” I groaned.

The closer I came, the shadows gave way to faces; one a man, the other a young woman. The woman, though seated, was uncomfortable; the man stood near. This woman was in labor with child.

The little family to be was not going to receive sympathy from me this night. I was cold, tired, and hungry; I was not the imposition, they were. I pushed through two cows and knocked over a sheep—positioned now to bellow my case. Before able to voice contention, the woman birthed the child. I paused as the man wrapped the babe in cloth and laid Him in a manger—my manger!

I had seen enough. What little sympathy I may have had vanished. I turned only to discover that more humans now found my stable. A few dressed stately, most were common folk from the fields. “What is going on?” No one responded to my inquiry. All were caught up in the birth of this human child. “What’s a baby doing with animals, anyway?” Again, no answer; all were lost in the still.

“Enough is enough,” I brayed. “I am tired, I am hungry, and I am cold. No baby is more important than a full belly and a soft bed.”

A pig bristled hard against me, “Donkey, don’t you know who this is? This is He who the prophets have spoken and man calls Messiah. Creation has groaned for this night yet you groan only for yourself. Bow your head, donkey; greet your King.”

Pig, never known for tact, got my attention.

And it is why I now write you. You humans celebrate this Messiah’s birth on Christmas morn. Let not your lives vale His. For as the Holy Scriptures proclaim: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

Celebrate His birth, my friend. I almost forgot; you mustn’t.

God Bless,

Donkey

Note to reader: A number of years ago, I began writing what I hoped one day would be a children’s book. It was penciled out to be 26 chapters (letters, actually) entitled “If They Could Talk.” It was to cover redemptive history from creation (Genesis) to the return of Christ (Revelation) from the perspective of animals commenting and reflecting as eye witnesses at key moments in biblical history. I finished 14 of them before parenting and pastoring caught up to me. This was one of them. 

Friends,

Four hundred years of silence, four hundred years of waiting; then it happened—and I was there. It was not my choice. I go where they tell me. I’m one of those, what do you call it?—compliant types. A shepherd’s crook tends to do that to you.

A Bethlehem hill, a winter’s night, a stiff Northeasterly; these are not a good combination, even for one with wool. If not for a hot fire and a warm conversation, I don’t know what our thinly clad shepherds would have done. On nights like this, I eat. It passes time and fills the belly, an enjoyable pursuit in an otherwise not so enjoyable situation.

Then it all happened so fast, I don’t know from which direction, or if there even was a direction. But they were there, everywhere. Bunches and bunches of them; and a holy light filled the cold Judean sky.

Heaven’s silence ceased when an angelic messenger spoke: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord!”

And we sheep looked at each other; all covered with awe and bursting from what we just heard. “It is happening,” one sheep bleated from behind. “Do you hear?” he continued, talking to no one in particular, “the Messiah, he is coming to bring man back to God.”

I cried. For I knew this was so. I was standing upon history’s hinge. God’s plan, promised for centuries, was unfolding. And I was there to usher its dawning. Next, more voices of no earthly tone; clear, full, and beautiful, rang forth from the rest of the gathered angelic host: “Glory be to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” And then they were gone.

Scurrying with excitement and falling over each other with joy, our shepherds tumbled and bounded down the hill to find Him whose birth had been foretold. It was then I found myself alone as my sheep friends also had run to tell of His birth to other animal friends.

A bright star still rested above. Its glimmering rays seemed to touch a small stable in the valley below. “He is born,” I whispered to myself. “He is here,” I breathed. “The King has come. O, how shall He be received?”

God Bless,

Sheep

Back to those “holes” in your backyard (please see previous blog: “Take a Drink”); those “cisterns” you’ve been drinking from in hopes of being refreshed. If you don’t know, a cistern is not a well. A cistern is a dug out reservoir to hold water; water directed to it from a nearby spring or more commonly, rainwater. Where a well generates its own water; a cistern is nothing more than a tank.

Very few people had a well in ancient Palestine; but virtually every home had a cistern. Jerusalem, in particular, had water issues. It is built mostly on a rock mount. Excavation into the rock and then often built up with stonework above ground gave the cistern the look of a well. But it certainly was not. A well replenishes itself; a cistern has a limited supply and often goes dry. In ancient Israel, a broken cistern was a common problem; the water simply was used up, evaporated, or more commonly, just leaked out the bottom.

This is the imagery God uses to charge unfaithful Judah with neglecting Him and chasing after other gods: “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken Me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jeremiah 2:13). They turned away from God (“the spring of living water”) and went looking for other gods to satisfy—false gods (“broken cisterns”) that were useless and empty.

Now back to your backyard. Over the years, most of us have dug a few “cisterns” ourselves. We don’t see them as idols, but that is what they become. When a bottle is used to calm or a joint or pill to sooth; we have granted them deity status. When a relationship becomes the basis of our worth or our job becomes our “chief end”; they have been given the role of a god. And when a friend’s approval becomes of first concern or “secret sins” become our source of pleasure; then we are bowing to a foreign alter. What also complicates and confuses is that “good things” can easily become “broken cisterns.” A growing church for a pastor or beautiful and successful children for a mother can become little idols, too.

In ancient Israel, empty cisterns were sometimes used as prisons or places of confinement. Joseph was cast into one by his brothers (Genesis 37:22). Those who did not like God’s prophetic voice “lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud” (Jeremiah 38:6). And that’s another problem with broken cisterns; they become prisons. Are you in one?

The exhortation is the same as the previous blog. Stop looking for water elsewhere, my friend. Jesus is enough. “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). Put down the shovel, get out of the mud, and drink from the only well that never runs dry.