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.

Transitory Obsessions

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“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…”
(Philippians 2:9-10 ESV)

We are a people easily obsessed with the transitory.  Something new and sparkly catches our eye and we say, “Ooh, that’s nice.”  Over time, we begin to picture ourselves owning/using/wearing whatever caught our attention, and we think, “I’d really enjoy having that.”  Next we begin to think about all the good things we could do with this new object, how we could use it to help others, to make their life enjoyable, or simply to make ourselves more enjoyable to be around because we have “IT”.  Then we begin to obsess, we put “IT” on our wish list; we drop hints to family and friends when birthday/Christmas/anniversary is approaching; we become sullen and disappointed when we don’t get “IT” immediately.  We know we won’t be satisfied until we have “IT.”  Then we get “IT” and the world seems right.  There is nothing more we could need to be happy.  Then, something new and sparkly catches our eye…

The pleasures this world have to offer are gifts from God, gifts to be a blessing in our lives and to be enjoyed.  The problem is, because our hearts are so inclined to idolatry and evil, every good gift from God has the potential to become an idol for our hearts.  We become obsessed with the things that can only bring momentary pleasures, fleeting joys.  We think, “If only I can have “IT”, then I will be truly happy.”  But when we have “IT”, happiness quickly escapes us, and we are left disappointed and wanting more.

The simple reason for this is there is only one thing that can really satisfy our longing for true and lasting happiness in life.  We look for happiness in all the wrong places.  We look for happiness in the names we know – our relationships, our circle of influence, our social networking.  We look for happiness in the names we possess – name brand clothing or products – after all, “the label makes the man.”  We even look for happiness in the names we are called – the respect and honor given to us by our peers – “He’s a good man,” “She’s a beautiful woman.”  If you look to find your happiness and satisfaction in any of these, you will be left empty.

There is only one name that can truly bring us satisfaction and peace – that is the name of Jesus.  Only Jesus can answer the deepest longing of your soul, that need for completion, for fulfillment, for lasting joy.  How does Jesus satisfy?  The opening chapter of Hebrews tells us:

  1. He is the heir of all things… Here the word “Heir” is synonymous with the title “Lord.”  Everything that has ever been created has been created by and through Jesus, and therefore He is the Lord, the possessor, of all things.  Whatever we might need, Jesus can provide.
  2. He is the radiance of God’s glory… Man was created to reflect the glory of God.  Because we have sinned, and each of us knows our sins, for they are always before us (Psalm 51), we have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  Falling short of God’s glory means that we do not bring glory to God as we ought, but it also means that we have lost sight of God’s glory.  We despise His glory and want it for ourselves.  We fear His glory and want it diminished.  We are blinded to His glory, and cannot recognize its beauty.  But Christ comes as the radiance of God’s glory, as the rays shine from the sun.  A.W. Pink wrote, “Were there no rays, we should not see the sun.  So, apart from Christ, the brightness of God’s glory could not be perceived. Without Christ, man is in the dark, utterly in the dark concerning God.  It is in Christ that God is revealed.”
  3. He is the imprint of God’s nature – All that God is, in His nature and character, is expressed and manifested, absolutely and perfectly, by the incarnate Son.  All we need to know about God, about His love, about our salvation, is clearly revealed in Jesus.
  4. He upholds the universe by His power – We teach our children the song, “He’s got the whole world in His hands,” but then we grow up and leave such thoughts behind.  We have a hard time swallowing the truth that Jesus is the central force that holds all things together.  But Jesus stands in the middle of it all, and holds everything together.  We were created to orbit Him, for our lives to revolve around Him.  When they don’t, that is when we begin to unravel and spin out of control.
  5. He has atoned for our sins – Only Jesus has paid the price for our salvation.  By coming to be with us, bearing our sins upon His cross, He has set us free from the guilt of sin and the power of death.  Now He sits at the right hand of God and intercedes for us, prays for us, and promises to bring us to Him.

What other name can do all that?  Can your childhood sports hero claim any of these titles that have been given to Christ? Can the labels you wear do any of the things that Jesus has done?  Can the thing you want satisfy your soul in the way that Christ has?

Let us leave behind these transitory obsessions, and “fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith!”

How the Holy Spirit Works… (Part 2)

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“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God…”
(1 John 4:1 ESV)

A couple of months ago I posed the question, “How does the Holy Spirit work?”  The question was particularly relevant (and remains relevant) as I was about to embark on my first experience at the General Assembly of the PC (USA).  Entrenched advocates for both progressive and traditional views on every issue claimed to have the power and influence of the Holy Spirit.  Nearly every forthcoming decision was said to be the “will of the Spirit,” even those that were passed by very narrow margins. 

I just recently finished the book, A Quest for Godliness: the Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (J.I. Packer), which I had been reading for a pastor’s study group.  Within the discussion on the nature of revival and evangelism within the church, Packer turns to Jonathan Edwards.  The prevailing question of Edwards’ day was the same as ours, “how do we know when the Holy Spirit is moving?”  Edwards preaching brought great revival, but many in his day dismissed the claims that the revival was authentic because of the emotionalism and experimentalism (i.e. experiential) nature of the revival.  To answer his opponents, and following the teaching of 1 John 4:1-6, Edwards distinguished the marks of the work of the Spirit of God as follows:

  1. When the operation is such as to raise their esteem of that Jesus who was born of a Virgin, and was crucified without the gates of Jerusalem; and seems more to confirm and establish their minds in the truth of what the gospel declares to us of his being the Son of God, and the Savior of men; it is a sure sign that it is from the Spirit of God… The devil has the most bitter and implacable enmity against that person, especially in his character of the Savior of men; he would never go about to beget in men more honorable thoughts of him.
  2. When the Spirit that is at work operates against the interests of Satan’s kingdom, which lies in encouraging and establishing sin, and cherishing men’s worldly lusts; this is a sure sign that it is a true, and not a false, spirit… It is not to be supposed that Satan would convince men of sin, and awaken the conscience.
  3. The spirit that operates in such manner, as to cause men a greater regard to the Holy Scriptures, and establishes them more in their truth and divinity, is certainly the Spirit of God… A spirit of delusion will not incline persons to seek direction at the mouth of God.
  4. The spirit operates as a spirit of truth, leading persons to truth, convincing them of those things that are true… that there is a God, and that he is a great and sin-hating God; that life is short, and very uncertain; and that there is another world; that they have immortal souls, and must give account of themselves to God; that they are exceeding sinful by nature and practice; that they are helpless in themselves…
  5. If the spirit that is at work among a people operates as a spirit of love to God and man, it is a sure sign that it is a Spirit of God.

These criteria could be, and ought to be applied to any movement within the church.  Does this program, message, mission, statement, etc., raise our esteem of Jesus and bring others to faith in him?  Does it mortify sin and lust and promote righteousness and truth?  Does it stand in accord with a straightforward and clear understanding of God’s word, and call us to a greater reliance upon Scripture?  Does it lead us to greater truth about God and ourselves, and our ultimate and absolute dependence upon God?  Does it promote love, love to God and to man, a love that is pure and holy?

I Kings and 2 Chronicles both retell the story of the prophet Micaiah.  Micaiah was summoned to King Ahab to tell the king whether he would be successful in battle.  When pressed, Micaiah told Ahab that he would fall in battle, and that the people would be scattered like sheep without a shepherd.  The rest of Ahab’s prophets had given a favorable vision, so Ahab asked why Micaiah was such a trouble maker.  This is his reply:

“I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another.  Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’   And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’   Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you” (I Kings 22:19-23 ESV).

Judging by the direction our denomination seems intent to take, I am left to wonder if God has not sent out a lying spirit into our midst to entice us.  When a church puts truth on the level with a lie and promotes moral turpitude and humble piety as equally valid options for life, which spirit are we following?

What the church needs now, as much as ever, is an outpouring of the Spirit of God.  We don’t need a spirit of inclusivity.  We don’t need a spirit of peace.  We don’t need a spirit of unity.  While the Holy Spirit surely includes those who have been outcasts; while the Holy Spirit brings peace where there has been enmity; while the Holy Spirit brings unity where there has been division; what we need more than anything else is true communion with God through Jesus Christ our savior in the power of His Holy Spirit.  No judicial action, no legislative position, no assembly’s decision can replace our need for the authentic and powerful presence of God’s Spirit in our church.

May God’s Spirit move upon our church today!

SDG