Mountaintops and Valleys

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight (Acts 1:6–9).

 

I think we can all relate to the disciples. Here in Acts 1:6–9, we see that the disciples are wondering if Jesus will finally restore the kingdom now that he has risen from the dead. Who can blame them. They’ve witnessed the miraculous! They’ve been to the mountaintop with their king! Death has been defeated! Surely, now is the time to set all things right permanently. But Jesus says,

“It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Essentially, Jesus tells them, “It’s not yet time. But it is time for you to get to work as my witnesses.”

 

Our small group reflected on this reality briefly just this week. God richly ministered to us as a church family through our very full Easter weekend. From our Good Friday service to a delicious, shared meal on Holy Saturday with some members to a very early and beautiful Sunrise service on Resurrection Sunday—which was followed by a breakfast feast with our whole church family!—to a beautiful, gospel-rich and Holy Spirit filled Resurrection Sunday service, God truly met us and blessed us this past weekend. Many of us felt we had been up on a mountaintop with God. And now that it was over, some of us had the post-Easter blues, and wondered, “What now?” Well, Pastor Coty reminded us that this experience is not unique.

In Mark 9:2–13, we see three of the disciples have a literal mountaintop experience. While up on a high mountain with Jesus, Peter, James, and John suddenly find themselves subsumed by Jesus’ divine glory as he is transfigured before their very eyes. The experience is so overwhelmingly glorious and terrifyingly rich that Peter—not knowing what to say but nonetheless still managing to speak—acknowledges the goodness of the situation and suggests that they build a hut for Jesus in order to stay up on the mountain! The glory of the heavenly mountaintop experience in Peter’s mind warranted remaining on the mountaintop. Now this was not a wrong desire, wanting to remain in Jesus’ glory, but the timing was not right. There still remained much left to do in the broken, sinful world before the kingdom of God would come in all its fullness with Jesus reigning in all his glory. And the very next scene reveals this.

In Mark 9:14–29, we see Jesus, Peter, James, and John descend the mountain to join up with their comrades below. There, the exact opposite of the heavenly, glorious mountaintop, a valley marked by faithlessness and demonic oppression, immediately confronts them. A father with a demon possessed son, whom the disciples could not deliver, meets Jesus. Jesus’ response to the overall situation testifies to the work that remains to be done on earth, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me” (Mark 9:19). In Jesus we see the desire to depart and be in the Father’s heavenly glory. And in light of this desire, Jesus gets to work and delivers the boy. Jesus, while ever-desiring to return to his glory and see the fullness of the kingdom of God come to earth, continues to go about doing the hard and necessary work of serving and ministering to those in need. And he would do so all the way to the cross, for his cross is the only way his glory and his kingdom would come. And his cross is the only way those in need could enter that kingdom. Jesus’ gospel mission, his service, his ministry is the only way a faithless generation becomes a faithful generation.

So in Jesus we have our perfect example. In Jesus, we see what we should do after a glorious mountaintop experience. We should go to work advancing the kingdom. We go back down into the valley of the world marked by faithlessness and demonic oppression in order to be agents of gospel deliverance. We go into the valley of the world as his witnesses, clothed in the power of the Holy Spirit whom he sent to us. We go all-in on serving, hands to the plow, never looking back. And we serve with our hearts ever-desiring one thing—seeing the king, our God, in his beauty (Psalm 27:4; Isaiah 33:17). Yes, we serve with our eyes firmly fixed on one person and one place—the author and perfecter of our faith in the everlasting city of God in that far heavenly country that is to come (Hebrews 11:10, 16; 12:2, 22; 13:14).

Thank God for the moments of mountaintop glory in this life, and cherish them. They are a sweet reprieve and boost of spiritual vitality. They are like a father sweeping up his child into his arms for a big hug. Indeed, that is what they are—our heavenly Father, sweeping us up into his joy and glory. But when the mountaintop passes, and earthly reality sets back in, keep your heart and mind fixed on the heavenly, while working with your hands in the earthly. Remember the glory you’ve seen, look to the glory that is to come, and continue on your pilgrimage to that heavenly city that sits high atop God’s holy mountain. And along the way, serve. And, by God’s grace, help deliver your enslaved fellow men in this dark valley below. You may not know the time of restoration, but restoration is sure. And your king calls you to be his witnesses. So tell people of the glory you’ve seen and of the glory that is coming.

Sowing in Tears

How do you respond to suffering?

During our recent trip to India, Karl Dauber and I taught several seminars on a biblical approach to suffering. Participants discussed this case study to help get at the issues:

Ravi came to faith in Jesus a year ago, after having a bad infection in his leg that was getting worse and worse. An evangelist came to his village, and was preaching the Gospel. Ravi, hearing him, mockingly asked, “Can your God heal my leg?” The evangelist replied, “Jesus Christ died and rose again so that you could become God’s child. If He can do that, He can certainly heal your leg.” He then prayed for Ravi – for healing, and for faith in Jesus. Nothing happened immediately – but the next morning, Ravi woke up and his leg was healed. He trusted Jesus, and began to meet with other Christians.

But since then his life has been tough. His parents disowned him and kicked him out of the house. Then, when Ravi began to speak the Gospel to his old friends, a group of them yelled at him, beat him, and drove him away. No one has come to faith through his witness. And now, the infection has returned. Other believers have prayed for healing, but nothing has happened.

Suppose you meet Ravi in his village, and he says, “Nothing good has happened since I started following Jesus. Even the initial healing seems to have gone away. I can’t witness effectively, I’ve been persecuted, I’ve lost my family, I’ve lost my home. What hope do I have? Why is God treating me this way?”

What would you say to Ravi?

Consider Psalm 126 in this context. The psalmist recalls a time when God worked in an amazing fashion to restore the Israelites after a period of defeat and failure – most likely, the return from Babylonian exile. He recalls the joy, the laughter, the amazement at what God had done:

Psalm 126:1-3 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.

But now the nation once again is in the depths. Now once again all seems lost. Now that past restoration of fortunes seems long ago. So the psalmist cries out:

Psalm 126:4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb!

“You’ve done it in the past, Lord! You have shown yourself faithful when all seemed lost! Please, Lord, do it again! The streams in the Negeb disappear in the dry season, but roar again when the rains come. Restore our fortunes like that!”

In the midst of his cries, in the midst of his pain, the psalmist, reflecting on the character of God revealed in the past, states His confidence in God’s future grace. Using a farming image, he pictures his nation’s current state as planting seeds in the midst of sorrow:

Psalm 126:5-6 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Note: They don’t wallow in their pain and do nothing. They are planting, even though they are hurting.

A farmer can make a thousand excuses for not planting:

  • The rains probably won’t come anyway.
  • Too much rain will fall and wash away the seed.
  • The seed probably is no good.
  • The insects likely will come and destroy the crop.
  • Raiders will come and steal the harvest.

So why go through with the hard work of preparing the field and planting? It seems like that hard work won’t yield any benefits anyway.

But the psalmist exhorts us: Put away the excuses. In your tears, sow. In your sorrow, step out in the work of the Lord. While you are hurting, minister to others. When God seems distant, act as if He seems close. And when you do so –  when you are faithful and trust in His faithfulness in the midst of pain – there will be a harvest. Indeed, there will be an abundant, joyful harvest. It may well look different from past harvests; it may well include pain as long as you are in this fallen world. But that sowing in tears will lead to reaping with shouts of joy. For God has promised.

So remember God’s promises. Ask for God’s grace to trust in those promises. And step out in faith to serve in your tears. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Lift your eyes to Him – and in your serving, you will be blessed.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead, Pressing On: Giving Thanks for 10 Years of DGCC

Ten years ago we held our first public service as Desiring God Community Church. This weekend, we celebrate God’s faithfulness over this decade under the theme, “Looking Back, Looking Ahead, Pressing On: Gospel Ministry for the Joy of our City and the Nations.”

As we prepare for the weekend activities, give thanks together with me:

  • To John Piper for bringing in to sharp focus the biblical command to pursue our greatest joy in God;
  • To Kenny Stokes, for friendship and prayers, humble service and effective leadership;
  • To Amanda Knoke for her initial boldness in suggesting a Charlotte church plant, and for dedicated, enthusiastic service to realize that dream;
  • To Matt and Michelle, Jacob and Karen, Scotty and Lisa, Jim and Michele, and Erica, for following God’s call to go out from DGCC long term for the joy of the nations and the glory of our Savior;
  • To Vijay Sastry, Paul Chintada, P. Swamy, Caleb Rayapati, Johnson and Babu, Shadrach, Thomas, Stephen, and Elijah for partnership in Gospel ministry for the joy of the peoples of India;
  • To Rio, Renata, Alicia, Ali, and Rosemary, for partnership in Gospel ministry for the joy of the peoples of Indonesia;
  • To Steve and Paula Rumsey, for ten years of friendship and quiet, faithful, God-glorifying service to our King;
  • To Fred Balbuena, for seven years of co-laboring for the Gospel, always faithful, exemplifying a servant heart;
  • To Ed Conrad for his willingness to move hundreds of miles to help fulfill a biblical vision, and for the deep love that he constantly displays for God’s people as he helps all the rest of us fulfill that vision;
  • To Karl Dauber for his friendship and wise counsel;
  • To my parents and Beth’s parents for constant support, love, and prayers through the risks and uncertainties of church planting;
  • To Kevin and May, Sunil and Jerlin, Johnson and Vimala, Mike and Lily, George, Bruno, and many others over the years who have crossed language and ethnic boundaries to become a part of DGCC, fulfilling what we wrote on the front of our first Sunday morning bulletin in March, 2003:

God is calling us to establish a church that builds true, joyful community among believers from the many people-groups God has brought to the Charlotte area. We thus aim to be a church of the nations, with ministries to the nations, both those in Charlotte and around the world.

  • To present members of DGCC who today are living out this biblical vision more and more fully month by month, year by year;
  • To past members of DGCC who labored diligently, prayed wholeheartedly, gave sacrificially, and served faithfully over this last decade;
  • To Beth, for standing beside me and supporting me, for correcting me and calling me to account, for constant love and faithful partnership, for wisdom and grace, firmness and gentleness, in all circumstances of our life together: for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, by God’s grace and in constant dependence on Him;
  • To God the Father through Jesus Christ His Son: For the great privilege of being part of a body of believers – a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession – brought together to proclaim with great joy the excellencies of the One Who called us out of the darkness we deserved into His marvelous light. Continue to use us, O Father, over this next decade, to spread that Gospel for the joy of the undeserving and the glory of Your Name, here in Charlotte and around the world.

Keeping the Word Central

(This is an outline and summary of one of the talks I will be giving next week to pastors in India. Thank you for your prayers and financial support for enabling this trip – Coty]

If you are to fulfill the calling to a Gospel ministry, you must keep the Word of God central. You must depend on the Word of God in all that you do.

2 Timothy chapters 2, 3, and 4 bring out this truth in five different ways:

1) God’s Word is not bound!

Paul writes this letter from prison. He is cold. He is abandoned. He is under sentence of death. But Paul knows that though he might be in chains, the Word of God is still effecting change:”I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!” (2 Timothy 2:9).

If you are to fulfill your calling, if you are to stand before others and speak the Word, you must have this type of confidence. You may be persecuted. Your speaking may be hindered. Your preparation may be cut short. Your sleep and rest may be taken away. You may be (actually: “will be”!) inadequate for the task Indeed, you, like Paul, may be killed. But God’s Word is mighty. God’s word will run and be glorified (2 Thessalonians 3:1). God’s Word will accomplish all that He desires (Isaiah 55:10-11). No one can stand against God’s Word and hinder God’s purposes. You may be bound – but God’s Word will never be bound.

2) God’s Word is able to make you and those you teach wise unto salvation

One of the purposes God will accomplish through His Word is the salvation of those He calls to Himself: Paul writes: “From childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).

Note carefully: What makes people wise unto salvation? Our programs? Our evangelistic techniques? Our cultural sensitivity? Our effective rhetoric? Our clever arguments?

None of these. God’s Word accomplishes His desires, and God’s Word saves His people.

So what is your role? This leads us to our next point.

3) Think hard about the Word, and pray to understand it.

Paul tells Timothy, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Timothy 2:7). This verse is a great encouragement. I trust you have often found the Bible hard to understand. But Paul tells Timothy, “Sure, this is hard. But God is right there with you to help you understand! So think hard – not because you have the mental capacity on your own to figure out what I mean, but because God works through your diligent study, through your serious thinking, to give you understanding.”

Your role, first, is to study the Word. It must dwell in you richly (Colossians 3:16). You must ponder it and pray over it. Like Habakkuk, you must query it and struggle with it, bringing your lack of understanding before the Lord, crying out, “I have to teach this to Your people! So give me understanding so that I might fulfill Your calling on my life.”

4) ALL of Scripture is useful and profitable and sufficient for the ministry

Paul goes on to tell Timothy that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). That is, the entire Bible is God’s precious revelation of Himself, telling us who He is, who we are, how we can be reconciled to Him, how we can fulfill the purpose of our creation, and where the world is heading. We need the Word in order to learn God’s character and God’s path of life. We need God’s Word if we are to reprove those who err in doctrine or practice. We need God’s Word if we are to straighten out those who are deviating from God’s path. We need God’s Word if we are to train others in how to live a life worthy of our calling. The Word alone is sufficient for such training and equipping. So we must depend on it if we are to be faithful stewards of the ministry entrusted to us.

5) Preach the Word!

Paul concludes his exhortations to Timothy with the most solemn command in the entire New Testament:

In the sight of God and Christ Jesus who will certainly judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly charge you: Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and earnestly exhort, with great steadfastness teaching all doctrine. For the time will come when they will not put up with sound doctrine, but will surround themselves with teachers to satisfy their own desires, to scratch their itching ears. They will turn their ears away from the truth, and to myths they will be turned aside. But you, be clear-headed in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of a preacher of the Gospel: that is, fully accomplish your ministry (2 Timothy 4:1-5, own translation).

According to Paul, the man called to a Gospel ministry must above all else fulfill this task: Preach the Word! Preach the Word! And Preach the Word! There is nothing more important, nothing more vital for advancing God’s Kingdom.

Every man called to ministry will be tempted in other directions. Many, as Paul says, will want him to preach something else, something appealing and uplifting. Others will want him to devote much time and energy to other tasks – including many good and important tasks.

But we must keep our heads, knowing what He has called us to. This will require enduring hardship, including having many walk away from us, deserting us – as they deserted Paul. But we must do the work of a preacher of the Gospel; we must fully accomplish the ministry to which GOD has called us. And He is the One who says: Preach the Word.

My brothers, you and I have nothing to say, nothing to offer our people, nothing to offer unbelievers, apart from the Word of God. So keep the Word of God central. Depend on the Word.

And when you look at other pastors, don’t be impressed by degrees. Don’t be impressed by titles. Don’t be impressed by those who have built big churches. Many with important degrees have abandoned their faith in God’s Word. Many with fancy titles have sought their own glory, not God’s. Many with big churches have built them by human methods, not through God’s means. Instead, be impressed with those men who faithfully and fully open up God’s Word. Make them your models. Pray for them, and emulate them. Then: Become such a man yourself. In this way, you will fully accomplish your ministry.

May God be pleased to bring that about in every man gathered here.

Minister, Rejoice, and Pray

In our small group this week, we considered 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18. On first reading, this passage appears to be a laundry list of isolated commands, but as John Piper argues in When I Don’t Desire God, there is an underlying logic that ties them all together. Here is the passage, followed by an extended paraphrase that elaborates on each command and draws out the logic of Paul’s thought. Meditate on these verses – and minister as God’s agent by His power for His glory.

1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

We strongly exhort you, brothers and sisters, to be involved in each other’s lives, responding as each person needs. Here are three examples: (more…)