Author Archives: reveds

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About reveds

Occupation: Pastor, Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Lennox, SD Education: BS - Christian Education, Sterling College; MDiv. - Princeton Theological Seminary Family: Married, with Four children. Hobbies: Running (will someday run a marathon), Sci-Fi (especially Doctor Who and Sherlock), Theater, and anything else my kids will let me do.

Where is my assurance?

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I was asked recently by a young believer struggling in his faith, “How can I really know if I’m saved?”

I don’t know if it was any comfort to him, but I shared that this is a question that every believer will wrestle with at some point in their walk with Christ – sometimes quite often.

My guess is that our wavering faith often results from misdirected roots. 

  • We look to the times when all is well as the standard of what the Christian life is meant to be, so that when we are called to carry our cross we are convinced something is wrong.
  • We place our trust in our ability to figure things out, but when faced with difficult providence from the hand of God we begin to question His sovereignty and provision. 
  • We rest our confidence in our own ability to tame our wicked hearts, and are absolutely crushed when we fall into sin and our hearts accuse us with a long list of our many failings.

Our can-do attitude drives us to these things. If you want to have assurance, then you must do this. If you want to have assurance, you must not do that. If you want to have assurance, be a better Christian. Isn’t that essentially a doctrine of salvation by works?!?

When we hang our sense of assurance in salvation upon anything or anyone other than Christ and His perfect and completed work for us, we will always be disappointed. When you are struggling to find the comfort of assurance in salvation, the answer is not to look at what you’ve done, but who Christ is. If your assurance is in anything other than the perfect and completed work of Christ for you, whatever it is your basing your assurance upon has become your savior.

I was thinking through this while I was reading Wilhelmus à Brakel’s, The Christian’s Reasonable Service. In writing about the person and work of the Holy Spirit, à Brakel reminds us that,

Prior to their regeneration the elect are by nature as all other men, “sensual, having not the Spirit” (Jude 19). As it is only the Spirit who makes alive, they are dead in sins and trespasses, living in total separation from God, having neither perception of their sinfulness and damnable state nor of salvation and spiritual life, and having no desire for these things. That which is of the earth is the focus of all their soul’s activity and of all the members of their body. All their religious activity is of a mechanical nature, in order to quiet their conscience. They rest in what they have done, and hate all that which resembles light, spirituality, and true godliness—especially when their encounter with them is too close for comfort.

However, when the moment of God’s good pleasure arrives for the elect, God grants them the Holy Spirit, who illuminates and regenerates them and by faith makes them partakers of Christ and all His benefits. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6); “Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15); “Now we have received the Spirit which is of God” (1 Cor. 2:12).

Do you see how this is our assurance?

Apart from the love of God, the sovereign grace Christ, and quickening power of the Holy Spirit, we are without life, in total separation from God… resting in what we have done, and hating all that which resembles light, spirituality, and true godliness. But when God grants the working of His Spirit in the life of the elect, they are illuminated, regenerated, and made by faith to be partakers of Christ and all His benefits.

Salvation is God’s gift, given in Christ, and applied to our lives by the Holy Spirit. It is His work, not ours. We are simply to rest in and receive Christ as He is revealed in God’s Word. He is our assurance, our confidence, our eternal hope of glory.

In this life, our confidence can often be shaken. Like Peter, who stepped out of the boat to walk on water with the Lord, our eyes turn from the Lord to the waves, and we begin to sink. Sin lingers in our lives, causing us to stumble. Doubt plagues our minds, keeping us in darkness. Trials make us tremble, and our trust in God is shaken. 

Let us remember: Even the wind and waves obey him, so fix your eyes upon Him. He came into the world to save sinners, and he bore the punishment for every sin upon His cross. He is the light of the world, and has given His word to shine as a light upon our path. He is the Rock, the Cornerstone, upon whom we can stand. Whatever creeps into cause us to doubt, whatever difficulties we face, whatever accusation lies heavy upon your soul, these are meant to drive you deeper into the arms of the one who saves, Jesus Christ. Put your hope, not in anything you have done, but in His atoning work. Then you will rest in full assurance and peace.

SDG

How We Prayed on Sunday Night

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Lennox Ebenezer had the first of our regularly scheduled “First Sunday” prayer meetings last week, and I thought I’d share what this prayer meeting looked like.

This time of prayer is something that the Elders and I have been praying for and discussing for a while now, so it was such an encouragement to see it finally come together. We didn’t have a particular agenda, or one key item to pray over. Instead, we wanted to call the church together to come before God in a dedicated time of prayer, giving God all glory and seeking His grace and favor for the Church, our Community, and the World around us.

Here is a brief overview of what our service looked like:

We opened the prayer meeting singing “Holy God We Praise Thy Name.” I selected this hymn not just because it is familiar and easy to sing, but mostly because it is full of Biblical imagery, Trinitarian, and worshipful. The final phrase of the hymn even leads us into a time of prayer, saying, “And, adoring, bend the knee while we own the mystery” (of God being Three in One).

Following our opening Hymn I read Psalm 85:6–7: “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.” I offered a brief devotion on this passage, identifying some of the areas where we might seek God’s reviving work (personal godliness, sound doctrine, domestic religion, etc.), and emphasizing that God’s revival comes as He reveals His steadfast love in Christ, granting His salvation.

After sining “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” we entered into a time of sharing and prayer. I arranged our prayers into 3 Categories: Giving Praise to God for Who God Is, Seeking God’s Provision for the Church; and Intercessions for the Community and World around us.

What was wonderful about our gathering is that we spent time as a church sharing things for which we can give thanks to God, and sharing those concerns that weigh heavy upon us. While not everyone prayed outwardly, everyone shared their praises and concerns, and everyone joined to humbly seek the Lord.

Giving Praise To God

Our first portion of prayer was simply to give praise to God for all that He is. I asked those gathered to name the attributes or works of God for which they could give their thanks, and pictured you see their response. We are thankful that our God is:

Infinite, Good, Righteous, Unchanging, Divine, Just, Patient, Sovereign, Holy, Merciful, Loving, Accessible, Providential, Forgiving, Omnipotent, Omniscient, our Creator and Sustainer.

Praying for the Church

Next, we spent a good amount of time praying for the life of our congregation as well as the Church throughout the world.

Some of the concerns that we prayed for were:

  • A faithfulness and renewed piety in the Church.
  • A priority of faith in personal lives and family.
  • For growth, seeing more people come to the Church, as well as renewed spiritual hunger for God’s Word.
  • For renewed love and care for one another.
  • For a greater interest in mission and a witness to the community.
  • For the Pastor, Elders, Deacons, and ministries of Lennox Ebenezer.

Prayer for the Community and World

Finally, we concluded our evening of prayer offering up supplications and intercessions for our Community and World.

In this time we prayed for:

  • Those in government, that they may lead with justice.
  • Those in the media, that they may report the truth.
  • For the Immorality of our Current Culture, for the Lost, especially as the Sturgis Rally was taking place.
  • For our Schools, the Administrators, Educators, Staff, and Students of our local schools.
  • For our environment and climate, that we would be good stewards of God’s creation.

This was, as the hymn sings, “A sweet hour of prayer.” My prayer is that this is the first of many, and that one day we will look back and see how God began a mighty work at Ebenezer when His people sought His favor in prayer. I invite you to continue to pray for all that we listed at our meeting, and to join us on the first Sunday of September as we gather once again to pray.

SDG