Voddie Baucham Publically Endorses Ron Paul

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America, Christian Politics, Endorsements, honest questions, passing comment, political posts, President, Ron Paul, texas congressman, Voddie Baucham Jr.

Here’s is the complete statement from Rev. Voddie Baucham Jr.:

Voddie, because I have a great respect for you and your opinion I would really like to know why you are voting for Ron Paul ? I have not liked some of the things I have heard him say and I am wondering if I missed something?” -Pamela Wolfe (via Facebook Fan Page)

Since posting a passing comment on my Facebook fan page about Ron Paul, I have been inundated with questions and concerns about my support of the Texas Congressman in the current Republican Primary race. In one of my many political posts (frequently, I post videos, news articles, etc., in an effort to show the importance and influence of worldview), I simply stated that I voted for Dr. Paul in the last election, and planned to vote for him again.

The result was hundreds of comments; more than any other post I’ve ever submitted. Most of the comments were positive. However, several were extremely negative. Some vowed never to follow, or support my ministry any further, while others simply communicated their dismay. Still others, like today’s questioner, just asked honest questions. As a result, I’ve decided to explain my position, and this seemed like the best place to do it.

Let me say ahead of time that I do not believe that politics will save America. Nor do I believe there are any perfect candidates. There never have been, and there never will be. Moreover, it is not my goal to answer every objection to the Paul candidacy as I know that there are those who, for various reasons, will not be persuaded, and more importantly, that’s not my job. My goal here is to offer insight in to my own reasoning as I wade through another political season and make a personal choice.

I. Ron Paul is a Christian Conservative

While I am not looking for a “Pastor-in-Chief,” it is important to me that the man for whom I cast my vote be a Christian, if at all possible. And though I recognize that there is not always a clear Christian choice (i.e., the 2008 election), I agree with Chief Justice John Jay who wrote, “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”[1] For indeed, “Before any man can be considered as a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governour of the Universe.”[2] John Witherspoon concurs: “Those, therefore, who pay no regard to religion and sobriety in the persons whom they send to [public office] are guilty of the greatest absurdity and will soon pay dear for their folly.”[3] I think we are seeing this on display right now.[4]

My desire is not to see a president who will usurp the authority, responsibilities, or privileges of the Church. However, I do not wish to see those things hindered either. I also want to know that the foundational ideology motivating a man’s decisions is biblical. I know it will not always mirror my own, but I trust God’s word, and appreciate those who look to it for aid in making decisions. To that end, I support Dr. Paul because he is not just a conservative, but a Christian Conservative.

Dr. Paul does not beat his Christian faith like a drum in his public/political life. Unfortunately, that is off-putting for the “Christian Right”. However, in a world full of ‘posturing’ in an effort to win over evangelicals, I find Paul’s public demeanor refreshing. And it is not as though he is a ‘closet Christian,’ either. “I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, and I endeavor every day to follow Him in all I do and in every position I advocate,” wrote Paul on his Web site.[5] I have also had the privilege of talking with both him, and one of his five children about his faith and how it influences his policy positions.

Nevertheless, the more important aspect is the fact that this Southern Baptist (raised Lutheran) is a regular church attender. What would motivate a man to attend church, but not beat a drum about it in an effort to win over evangelicals in an age when political figures play at Christianity (while living totally contradictory lives, and holding heterodox beliefs) in order to assuage the fears of the Christian Right? Having met and talked to Dr. Paul, I would say it is authenticity, and humility more than anything else. He wants “to avoid any appearance of exploiting [his faith] for political gain.”[6]

II. Ron Paul is a Constitutional Conservative

Not only is Ron Paul a Christian Conservative; he is also a Constitutional Conservative. He holds himself accountable to the Constitution of the United States, even when it means he has to vote against legislation that may be otherwise beneficial. This has cost him on numerous occasions as people use the “Ron Paul voted against so-and-so” tactic to paint a caricature of him and play “gotcha” politics.
This is actually an important quality in a President. I don’t want a man in the White House making decisions based on what “feels” right. I’m not looking for a conscientious King; I want a Chief Executive. I want a man whose decisions are predictable because of a long track record of constitutional conservatism. I may not always agree with a man like that, but I will always know why he did what he did, and I can live with that. Especially in several crucial areas facing our Republic, like money, war, States’ Rights, and foreign policy, for example.

Constitutional Money

I support Ron Paul because he has a constitutional view of money. He is the only candidate consistently to confront the Federal Reserve Bank (which is not federal, has no reserves, and is not a bank), and address the issue of fiat currency (a.k.a. unjust weights and measures; Lev 19:36; Prov 16:11), which debases the dollar, manipulates business cycles, creates inflation, and always benefits the rich at the expense of the poor and disenfranchised. And he talks about the issue in just those terms.

Congressman Paul is also the only candidate who has a budget that will cut a TRILLION DOLLARS in spending in year one.[7] He is the only candidate who has committed to defund and eliminate expensive, unconstitutional agencies. This is crucial for a country headed for an economic cliff. Our debt is larger than our GDP and we simply must address it NOW (Luke 14:28)! This is arguably the most important issue we face, and while others want to tinker with the status quo, Dr. Paul wants to do the hard thing; the right thing; the biblical thing; the constitutional thing.

Constitutional War

I support Ron Paul because he is a military veteran (yup… he refuses to beat that drum too, which is why you may not have known that little tidbit). And though I do not believe it is necessary for a man to have served in the military for him to serve as President, the fact that Congressman Paul knows and hates war lends credibility to his desire and commitment to ending the wars and bringing our troops home. Moreover, he has a constitutional understanding of war (only Congress can send us to war), and a Christian commitment to historic Just War Theory (rooted in the Sixth Commandment… HIS WORDS).[8] He, unlike other candidates, can be counted on not to commit to acts of war without congressional authority (i.e., unilaterally deciding to bomb a sovereign nation if they advance their weapons technology in a region several thousand miles away from the U.S., under the watchful eye of a nation with over 300 nukes who can stop them in a heartbeat… but I digress).

There is a reason Dr. Paul has received more support from members of the military than all other candidates (Republican and Democrat) COMBINED! The top three employers of Ron Paul’s donors are the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, respectively. Dr. Paul will not use our military to hunt down and overthrow heads of state without Congressional authority (i.e., Libya), kill American citizens without warrant,[9] detain citizens indefinitely without benefit of a trial,[10] or chase warlords in central Africa.[11] When it comes to war, Dr. Paul understands that, “Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.” (Proverbs 26:17)

Constitutional States’ Rights

I support Ron Paul because he not only understands, but believes in the Tenth Amendment. I know many Christians have been scared off by the “Ron Paul wants to legalize drugs, gay marriage, and abortion” rhetoric. However, looking beyond the rhetoric reveals Paul’s true constitutional conservatism (and biblical understanding of jurisdiction). He has personal convictions, but those will not be allowed to steer him away from his constitutional oath. The presidency, and the Federal Government have limits.

The President is not “Pastor in Chief.” It is not the President’s job (or the job of the Federal Government) to set such policies. The “War on Drugs,” for example, has been a monumental, unconstitutional, fiscal failure (to the tune of more than $3 BILLION)![12] The Federal Government must be held within the confines of its enumerated powers. This is important for Christians because we will not always have people in the White House with whom we agree (in fact, politicians will always let us down). What happens when we send a man to the White House with the express purpose of “changing the moral standards” of America in our favor, then, down the line we have a president who uses the same un-cheked powers to promote moral standards with which we disagree? How’s that workin’ for ya’?

But what about the moral issues to which we, as Christians, must speak? First, we must speak to them at the local level. I have no right to look to Washington, D.C. for remedies when I am not preaching on Mars Hill at every opportunity. The Roe v. Wade, for example, started in Texas; not D.C.. Furthermore, there is not a single institution more prolific in the spread of moral decay than the government education system, and Ron Paul is the only man who plans to get the federal government out of that business by ending the (unconstitutional) Department of Education IMMEDIATELY (Luke 6:40).

Beyond that, if there are issues we wish to address on a federal level, we have a federal remedy, and it is not the election of a President; it is the amendment process. This is less favorable to those who do not wish to do the hard work of changing hearts and minds in the marketplace of ideas. However, the alternative is a quasi-monarchy (or oligarchy) that changes with the wind, and a view of the presidency that is both unbiblical and unconstitutional.

Constitutional Foreign Policy

I support Ron Paul because he has a constitutional view of foreign policy. Ironically, our foreign policy has been so unconstitutional for so long that many people recoil at the idea of getting it back in line. Moreover, the semantic game Paul’s opponents play (using “isolationism” as opposed to “non-intervention” to define his position) doesn’t help. For most Christians, this is where they believe I’ve left the reservation. They may not say, “We have to be the world’s police force,” but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “Do you know his position on Israel?” “Surely you can’t support a man who doesn’t support Israel!”

Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Ron Paul does support Israel. It is our current foreign policy that does not support Israel! However, there is a deeper issue here. There is a sort of misplaced Dispensationalism that governs people’s sentimental attitude toward Israel. Let me state clearly that I do not believe the Bible demands that the U.S. support Israel. I do, however, believe that it is wise to do so for geopolitical reasons. To do so for theological reasons, I believe, is actually misguided, and quite dangerous. Nevertheless, Israel is our only true ally in the Middle East, and that is important.

But there’s a more important question: “What does it mean to “support” Israel?” Does it mean that Israel remains God’s “Chosen People,” and we must stand with them in anticipation of the coming Armageddon? Is the President to act as “Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces” and “Supreme Defender of Israel”? Or are we simply to make sure the foreign aid dollars don’t stop flowing? Here are a few things I took into to consideration in evaluating Congressman Paul’s foreign policy.

1. Israel is the most powerful nation in the Middle East… BY A LONG SHOT! In fact, Israel could potentially defeat all the other military powers in the Middle East simultaneously if they had to.
2. We not only give money to Israel; we give money to their enemies as well. That is not supporting Israel! That is using money to buy influence in a region thousands of miles away from us in the name of oil, when we happen to have the largest repository of oil on planet earth right here in the US, but refuse to go and get it (in the name of Earth-worshipping environmentalism)!
3. Israel is a sovereign nation, and we have no right to treat her like a child. Our foreign aid has been a tool used to influence Israel’s domestic policy for far too long. If we are their friends, we should allow them to exercise their sovereignty without our interference, and certainly without our condemnation. Who do we think we are? No, I disagree with my Christian brothers and sisters who think a country who supports Israel’s enemies, interferes with Israel’s domestic policy, condemn’s Israel in efforts to keep ties with oil-rich countries in the region, and helps to destabilize and radicalize one of Israel’s historic foes lurking on her southern boarder is engaging in a foreign policy that supports Israel.

III. Ron Paul is a Consistent Conservative

Finally, I support Dr. Paul because he has been a consistent conservative. He has been married to the same woman for more than fifty years; delivered over 4,000 babies as an OB; never performed a single abortion; has never voted for an unbalanced budget, a tax increase, or a bailout; forecasted the economic debacle long before it happened;[13] and gave back $140,000 last year through his office to pay down the national debt (100,000 in 2010). This man is so principled that he refuses to claim his congressional pension!

Ron Paul is the real deal. He is not perfect. He needs a savior just like you and I do (as noted by his trust in Christ as his redeemer). But when it’s all said and done, he is a man with whom I agree in principle. I know where he’s coming from, and it’s not based on his “personal story,” or his sense of what’s going to get him elected. It’s the same thing he’s been running on (and governing from) for over three decades; the Constitution of the United States (viewed through the lens of a basic biblical world and life view). And I’m glad to support a man like that.

_______________________________________________________________________________

[1] The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, Henry P. Johnston, ed., New York: Burt Franklin, 1970, 4:393 [to John Murray, Jr., October 12, 1816].

[2] The Papers of James Madison, Robert Rutland, ed., Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1973, Vol. 8, pp. 299, 304, June 20, 1785; cited in Barton, p. 120.

[3] Witherspoon, Works, Edinburgh, J. Ogle, 1815, IV:266-67, from “A Sermon Delivered at a Public Thanksgiving after Peace.”

[4] I realize that President Obama professes Christianity. However, his theology, as well as the theology of the church he attended for more than twenty years is heterodox (committed to neo-marxist, Black Liberation Theology. There is little in his worldview that commends his profession of faith.

[5] http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/statement-of-faith/

[6] Ibid.

[7] http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/ron-paul-plan-to-restore-america/

[8] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5nGCpzel6o

[9] http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/30/501364/main20113732.shtml

[10] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/15/americans-face-guantanamo-detention-obama

[11] http://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00014859.html

[12] http://actionamerica.org/drugs/wodclock.shtml

[13] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5nGCpzel6o

2011 in review

Tags

annual report, excerpt, helper monkeys, new york city subway, nyc subway, subway train

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for me.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,100 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Israel and the Land.

Tags

1947, Abrahamic Covenant, Bible, Israel, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Leviticus, Matthew, Mosaic Covenant, Moses, Muslims, Palestine

I have pondered this for a couple of years now.  I am wondering if any of you could help me out with this question.  It concerns Israel and the land.  I don’t doubt Israel being a unique people group that God has made promises to and will keep.  I don’t doubt a future for them.  My hope is that someday God will bring about a great revival once again in the Jewish people.  However, in my study of the covenants, people, and the land I do not understand the insistence that 1947 is somehow the fulfillment of that.  Or that Israel is currently entitled to the land now.  And here’s where my pondering begins. In the Pentateuch  God makes the promise with the Patriarchs of land, seed, blessing.  Throughout the Pentateuch we see God’s providence in bringing this about for the people of Israel.  When God is beginning to bring them into the land he warns them, that if they insistently rebel against Him, He will discipline them.  He doesn’t break the covenant.  But if they disobey this is what He says, He will do:

But if in spite of this you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to me, then I will walk contrary to you in fury, and I myself will discipline you sevenfold for your sins. You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. And I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars and cast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols, and my soul will abhor you. And I will lay your cities waste and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing aromas. And I myself will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled at it. And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.

Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its Sabbaths. As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, the rest that it did not have on your Sabbaths when you were dwelling in it. And as for those of you who are left, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf shall put them to flight, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword, and they shall fall when none pursues. They shall stumble over one another, as if to escape a sword, though none pursues. And you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. And you shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And those of you who are left shall rot away in your enemies’ lands because of their iniquity, and also because of the iniquities of their fathers they shall rot away like them.  (Leviticus 26:27-39 ESV)

We this promise come true throughout the rest of the Old Testament.  Whenever Israel insist in rebellion God takes a wicked nations, destroys their land, temple, etc. and uproots them from the land.  And should they repent of their sin then God says this:

“But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.  (Leviticus 26:40-42 ESV)

We see this also throughout the O.T.  Israel wakes up from a stupor of Idolatry and confesses their sin and God amazingly turns the hearts of wicked kings to bless Israel.  So let’s flash forward to the New Testament.  The long awaited Messiah, the fulfillment of ALL the covenants in right before their eyes, and the leaders and the people reject Him.  This would be a good place to read the parables with this all in mind.  They will begin to make a lot more sense to you with this history in mind.  Scriptures aren’t in a vacuum; they always have a context and history behind them.  Here’s example of what I am talking about.

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.  (Matthew 22:1-10 ESV)

In the Old and New Testament God the King continued to send “servants” or prophets to the people who had the land “farm.”  Israel the tenants continued to kill of the kings servants.  The last one was Jesus.  As a result Jesus says that the King will be angry (sound like Leviticus 26:27?) and will destroy their city and give the land to someone else( sound like Leviticus 26:31-33?).  Then after some more parables, Jesus gives his woe cries against the leaders of Israel and the nation saying:

Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.  (Matthew 23:32-36 ESV)

What generation would fall into “this generation?”  The generation Jesus was speaking to of course.  Well Jesus is making some bold prophecies here! Did any of them come true?  Well, if you know your history you know what happened to the generation Jesus spoke to in 70 A.D.  Israel as a nation was scattered into their enemies land.  Their city was burned and destroyed.  And their temple demolished.  All as God in Leviticus and Jesus promised.  So here’s my question.  Why then do we now insist that Israel has rights to the land when they have yet to repent?  They have not received the Messiah.  In fact, they think less of Jesus than the Muslims.  Both wrong I may add, because Jesus is God and the Messiah.  But back to the question, what has Israel done, that we believe would remotely fulfill what God, who is currently disciplining Israel, calls them to?  There’s the question, your thoughts?

Dear Elealeh

Tags

Children, Death, family, Jesus Christ, loss, miscarriage, Sorrow, Sovereignty of God

Dearest Elealeh,

Today is the day we anticipated as the day you would enter the world and fill our arms and our hearts. A special due date of 11/11/11 made even more special by the fact that it would have been your great-grandfather’s birthday. A due date close to your uncle and grandfather’s birthday, my own birthday, Thanksgiving, and your little cousin’s birthday. A time of much celebration would have been made even more joyous by your eagerly awaited arrival. Instead, I enter the month of November with a hollowness in my chest, an emptiness in my arms, and an unspeakable sense of loss.

I remember the morning I found out you were on your way. I couldn’t sleep for anticipation of waking your Daddy to tell him we were going to have another baby. As usual, we couldn’t contain our excitement that we were expecting you, and we joyfully spread the news as quickly as we could. Knowing you were a little girl gave us such a thrill, too! We could hardly wait to see what your little girl face would look like and how you would resemble each of us and your brother.

Months before that joyful morning, I had felt the Lord whisper to my heart that our next little girl would be named Elealeh Grace, a Hebrew word which means “The LORD has ascended and reigns.” When I saw the second line appear on that pregnancy test and we realized you were a girl, I knew that you were Elealeh, our little Elsie, that would grace our home with your beautiful presence.

But you were named Elealeh for a reason only God knew at the time. The Lord knew your name before the foundations of the earth, and he gave you the name of His Sovereignty to comfort us in the days ahead.

When we thought we might be losing you, Elealeh pointed us to the One who was in control of all things, even this.

When we knew we were losing you, Elealeh reminded us that our reigning King is the giver of all good gifts, and no good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

When we had lost you, Elealeh reminded us that no sorrow could overwhelm us that our hope in Christ could not overcome.

People told me it would get easier. It hasn’t. People told me as soon as I was pregnant again I would be comforted and get over your loss. I am not. Comforted, yes, by God’s goodness in giving us another good gift. But how can the promise of another baby fill the void of a life that is lost? I am expecting your brother or sister, yes, but I will still never hold you. I will never see your face, I will never stroke your hair, I will never know what color your eyes were, or if you have your daddy’s nose. I will never hear your name called in our home or read you the Elsie Dinsmore books from where you got your nickname.

It is tempting to dwell, especially today, on all of the things that “might have been.” But the truth is, you lived out exactly the number of days the Lord ordained for you to have on this earth. In reality, there is no “should have been” or “might have been.” There is only what is. And we choose to accept your loss with the faith and hope that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

We are so thankful for the gift that God gave us in you, my sweet Elsie, even for the brief time I held you close inside of me. We wouldn’t trade the weeks we had with you to escape the lonely sorrow that envelops us now. We wouldn’t trade the dreams that were never realized to have never dreamt them in the first place. We are so thankful for every minute we had you. And we anxiously await the day when we will, Lord willing, see your darling face and finally hold you in our arms.

Love always and forever,

Mama and Daddy

Back in the Day …

Tags

adventures in odessey, alex laird, andrew laird, Ashley Nicole Willcox, Jenna Woestman

Back in the Day ….

New Beginnings (via Organic Matters)

"You hear, o LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry." Psalm 10:17 A couple of posts ago, I mentioned the fatigue Stephen and I have been experiencing due to the rigors of his job and the toll it is taking on our family. He was emotionally, spiritually, and physically exhausted from it, and I was pulling further and further into myself from the isolation and loneliness his long hours caused.  We found th … Read More

via Organic Matters

Hunger, Broken Appetites, and Idols

Tags

American Christianity, Appetites, Bible, Born-again, Bread of Life, Good Shepherd, Hunger, Jehovah God, Jesus Christ, John 6:1-71, Light of the World, new creation in Christ Jesus, new heart, Preaching, Regeneration, Religion, Satisfaction, Sermon, The door of the sheep, the gospel, The Life, The Resurrection and The Life, the True Vine, The Truth, The Way, Thirst

Preface

I preached a sermon on John 6:22-71 last Sunday.  I thought I was going to be teaching on one thing going into it.  However, as I continued to study the text I was leveled with how purposely offensive Jesus was.  I was shocked with the weightiness of His teaching.  Typically whenever I preach, I carry this burden around with me. After preaching I feel a relief that I have shared the message that was heavy on my heart.  Not so true with this one.  I feel as though what Jesus is teaching in John 6:22-71 is a message incredibly relevant to our Christian culture in America.  So please allow me to use this post to be another venue of sharing this message from Jesus.

Background

In John 6 Jesus feeds about 5,000 men.  It is likely that they were accompanied by women and children.  Thus, Jesus may have fed as many as 20,000 or more people.  He did so from a young boys  small lunch.  These people were following Jesus prior to the feeding because they saw the signs of healing (vs.2).

However, after the feeding John writes that the crowd said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”  They realized they were not simply following another prophet.  But rather, they were following “the Prophet.”  This is a ref. from Moses (Duet. 18:15,18) concerning the coming Messiah or Christ.

Here, the Jews are perceiving that Jesus is the Messiah!  Not only this, but the next verse tells us that they want to make Him their King (vs.15)!  Wow!  They got it!

Or did they?

The end of verse 15 tells us that Jesus perceiving they wanted to make Him king “withdrew again to the mountains by himself.”

Huh?  I thought this is why He came.  The story is seemingly interrupted with another story of Jesus walking on water (vs.16-21).  And then picks up again in verse 22.

***Message***

The crowds still “seeking” Jesus decide to take boats across the sea to find Him.  When they get to the other side they see Jesus and ask when He had gotten there (they knew there was only 1 boat the day before and he wasn’t on it).

Here’s Jesus’ response, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.“  Can you imagine what His disciples were thinking?  “Uh, Jesus don’t say that they might leave.”  “Jesus, you will never be king if you keep on offending people.”  “Jesus, shouldn’t we try to keep the people here among the ‘Christian community’ maybe they’ll get saved if they are here long enough.”  “After all, it is better for them to be here, then out there in the world or with the Pharisees, right?”

However, perfect love in flesh acted differently then we would expect.  Should this really shock us though?  I mean God is not like us.  His ways and thoughts are so far above ours.  We worship a HOLY God (Is. 55:8-9, In fact read the whole chapter there are some surprising similarities to this chapter and John 6)!

Jesus goes on to tell them they are not only coming to Him with wrong motives but that their appetites are broken.  “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.  For on Him God the Father has set His seal.”

You see, they may have saw the signs Jesus was performing but they misunderstood them.  That’s why we see in vs. 2, 14  they saw the signs but Jesus says in vs. 26 they didn’t see them.  They saw Jesus doing these signs and thought, “Man, Jesus is seriously powerful, He is the one Scriptures spoke of coming, and He could be incredibly useful!”

Anyone, would love to have a president, king, leader, or ruler who promises to meet all their common wants and needs.  This is how the people saw Jesus!  And this way of seeing Jesus did not at all appeal to Him.  In fact, it disgusted Him.  In other words, they didn’t see the signs.

Jesus not only cares about what we seek, but why we seek it.  He shows Himself in vs. 1-15 that He and He alone is the means/way to the bread.  But in vs. 22-71 He is teaching that He is the bread.  This is how they were to interpret the signs.

This teaching not only disappointed the crowds, but upset them.  They loved to follow, seek, and believe in Jesus as long as He would be there ticket to whatever they wanted.  But as soon as they realized Jesus was teaching them that He was the ticket to Himself, well, they complained and murmured (vs. 35-36; 41-42; 52-58).  They didn’t see Jesus all-satisfying in it of Himself.  They only saw Him as precious as the stuff He could do for them.

Jesus refuses to be the ticket to ultimately something else.  He is the ticket to Himself.  Otherwise, the thing the ticket permits access to receives the worship and not Jesus. He is not only the bucket to the well, but the water you thirst after.  We cannot merely believe that Jesus has the authority and power to give eternal life, but that He is the eternal life (John 17:3).  He does not simply provide for all our needs, He is all we need.

We don’t so much need more as much as we need new.  Jesus did not come to fulfill all our unregenerate “needs”.  He came to give us new desires, affections, passions, appetites. 

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” -Ps. 37:4

“As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When shall I come and appear before God?” Ps. 43:1-2

“The LORD is my strength and my shield;  in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him.” Ps. 28:7

We do not sing, “From Christ alone my hope is found, from Him is my light, my strength, my song…”  Even though it does come from Him.  However, it does not merely come from Him, but more clearly stated, “In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song…”

And if we see Jesus as the ticket or genie to something else then He will hide away in the mountains from us (John 6:15)!

Have you always and only seen Jesus as simply the way to get out of your problems and not seen that not knowing Him was your problem?  There is a BIG difference.  And this is what Jesus is pointing out to the crowds.

Jesus is ultimately calling the people to seeing Him not only as the accomplisher of their salvation but in doing so becoming their salvation.  Jesus, Son of God, leaving heaven, taking on human flesh, living sinlessly in the power of the Spirit, serving, healing, praying, teaching, dieing for sins, resurrecting, ascending, and coming back not only accomplishes salvation for “all the Father has given”  Him (vs.37).  But in the process fully discloses to us who He is.  And in so doing, He becomes our treasure!

Thus, the Gospel is not something we tack onto our lives, but rather, in seeing it with new hearts; becomes our life!

Scripture teaches us that man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  The “word” represents God’s revelation of Himself.  Therefore, man’s life depends upon the knowledge of God.  Do you think in this way?  “My life depends upon knowing God and more of Him!”

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most exhaustive and clear revelation of God.  Thus your life depends upon knowing and understanding more and more of the Gospel!

This is what Jesus is telling the crowd in vs. 27-29.  The work (there’s only one) God the Father has given us to do is believe that Jesus revealed in the Gospel is all-satisfying!

This work cannot merely be done by sheer will-power or discipline or decision or even a strong resolve.  Those attributes have their place.  But What God is after is a new appetite.  A new longing.  A new desire.  A new passion.  One that delights in the Savior.  A hunger and appetite that sees and knows that only Jesus Christ will satisfy! 

This work can only happen should the Father draw you (vs. 37-40; 43-45; 63-65).  Should the Father give you a new heart (Ezek. 36:26).  Should the Father give you a new nature.   Should the Father by the accomplished work of His Son through the power of the Holy Spirit cause you to be born again (John 1:13; 3:6).

It is at this teaching that the majority of the people left.  John tells us in vs. 66, “After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.”  They stayed with Him even through His calling them to feed on Him.  But when He told them of their bondage to idols of broken appetites and their profound need for God to act, well this is what they could not hear.

Has God done this work in you?  Is He now working in you as you hear of your need for Christ?  I do not know where you lie.  Nor does it change what God the Father calls you to do right now.  He calls you to come and satisfy your soul in His Son Jesus Christ!

COME!  He is the all-satisfying “Bread of Life!”  COME!  He is the “Light of the World” by which you see all other things!  COME!  He is the only “Door to the Sheep!”  Oh will you not COME!  He is the “Good Shepherd”  who lays His life down for the sheep!  COME!  He is the “Resurrection and the Life!”  Please I beg you and command you in the name of LORD to come!  He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life!”  COME to Christ!  He is the “True Vine!”  How long will you refuse to come?  Come!  Come!  COME to Him!  He is the Great JEHOVAH God!  He is the great “I AM!”  And He summons you to receive Him! To cherish Him!  To delight in Him!  To hunger after Him!  He calls you to satisfy your soul in HIM!

Christ-Centered Preaching

Tags

Abiding in Christ, authority, Christ Centered Preaching, Christianity, Counterfeit Faith, Evangelical, First Baptist Church of Silvis, Gospel, Gospel preaching, Jesus Christ, John 15:1-11, John 6:22-71, Judging, Love of Money, marriage, parenting, Preaching, Religion, Stephen Willcox

I did some preaching the last two weeks.  The preparation is time consuming.  And I always feel extremely exhausted afterwards.  I sometimes feel light headed immediately after finishing.  However, I thoroughly enjoy preaching.  I love it!  I am grateful to my pastors and church for inviting me to speak and hope to fill the pulpit in the future.  I did two sermons last week on Gospel-Centered Living, a sermon on John 6:22-71 and John 15:1-11.  You can check them out here.

Blessings,

Stephen

Authority, Parenting and the Gospel

Tags

Children, complaining, family, Gospel, Gospel of John, Gospel-centered living, Humility, Jesus, parenting, Religion, whining

“Jeshuah, no whining,” I commanded.

Seems like a good thing to teach your children, right?  No one likes a whiny kid.  Besides, sometimes when Shuah is complaining it can be wearisome.  However, as I was instructing my son, I think my Father began to instruct His.

Motive questions began to enter my mind.  You know the ones.  “Why do you want him to stop whining?”  “Are seeking to serve your son here?”  “What exactly are rebuking Shuah for?”  “And what is your goal for him?”

The truth is that it will always be easier to see our place of authority as a means for benefits than for service.  Do you find yourself in the struggle?  I didn’t want my son whining because it annoyed me.  I didn’t want Shuah whining because it looked bad for me.  I didn’t  want him whining because ___________ (insert selfish reason here).

But is that why God made me a parent?  So that I could have a person I could control, manipulate, and boss around for my benefit?  I guess when it is put like that, of course not.  But it sure can be so easy to see our role as parents in this twisted way.

God put me as an authority over my son to serve and honor God first, and then my son.  Yes, I shouldn’t want my son to whine.  But the reason for this is because it is a sign of ungratefulness to God. Not because it bothers me.  I shouldn’t allow my son to whine because it is a fruit of rebellion against God and the authority He has placed over him.  Whining scorns God’s goodness and kindness to us.  Whining is a form of covetousness.

You see, the scary thing is, I can often be instructing my son with God’s Word in mind while doing so without Biblical motives.  It is a distinction worth making.  It will lead to a host of sins such as: setting a bad example for my son, frustrating my son, creating a spirit of hypocrisy in the home, averting my son’s eyes from God to me, etc.  In this warped view, God begins to represent me and serve my agenda of helping me get my child to serve me.  Rather than me being a representative of God and an extension of His rule.

So what does the Gospel have to do with any of this?  Jesus defines for us what authority and leadership should look like.  He didn’t leave us when we failed Him.  Nor did He simply damn us.  Instead, he lead by example to follow and provided a way to Salvation by serving to the point of death.

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” -John 13:1-5

In this narrative Jesus gives us a real life parable.  It is a parable of Jesus in glory, humility, and exaltation.  The Son of God was not always a man.  Before He became a man He was arrayed in all the glory of God.  Millions of fiery brilliant angels laid prostrate before Him in fear, awe, and worship!  They served Him night and day.  He dwelt in heaven where all obeyed Him perfectly.  There was no sin or death; all was as it should be.  But the Son of God laid aside all His glory (Phil. 2:6), became a servant, and entered this sin-filled world.

Jesus didn’t cease to be God.  His authority had not changed.  But His appearance did.  He took the form of  a servant.  Jesus purchased and saved, lead and discipled, and changed His sheep by serving in humility.  He sought the glory of God rather than the petty praise of man (John5:41-44).  And in doing so His people were marked by incredible change.

“When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.  If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.  Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.  If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.‘” -John 13:12-17

After Jesus’ humiliation came His glorious exaltation.  Jesus provides for us an example as we seek to be God honoring parents.  We start seeing our God-given authority as a responsibility to serve and no loner as one of being served.  Ironically, this frees us to actually lead better!

I want my son to obey because I want Him to obey God and because God hates sin.  My ambitions ceases to be one of concern for how my son affects my image before man and one for concern for  how I am honoring God’s. My goal is to train my child to love Jesus and want to obey Him from the heart.  And the only way I can do that is, with each correction, point him to the law of God and how there is only hope found in God’s Son Jesus Christ.

So rather than simply saying, “Shuah, no whining,” I say something like, “Shuah, God hates our complaining. When we complain we deserve God’s anger.  But you know what?  He has given us His Son Jesus to die for sinners like you and me.  If you trust in Jesus, God will forgive you, and give you a heart to love Him and is thankful!”

Rather than directing my Son’s gaze to action and what I don’t like.  I have directed his gaze to God and what He doesn’t like.  And then provided hope in Jesus.  That’s the goal!  And that’s what the Gospel has to do with parenting.

Blessings,

Stephen

Miscarriage, Suffering, and the Gospel

Tags

Ashley Nicole Willcox, baby, Christianity, Elealeh Grace, family, Gospel, Gospel-centered living, Jesus, Matthew 7:9-11, miscarriage, Pain, Religion, suffering

“I think I miscarried our baby,”  my wife said.

“Are you sure?” I questioned.

“I think so….”

I was sitting in my work truck in the parking lot of Wal-Mart just about to make some deliveries.  I didn’t cry right away.  I didn’t really know what to do.  I didn’t know how I was supposed to process the loss of my first baby girl, the one we’d named Elealeh Grace.  The rest of the day at work I just kept praying, “LORD, please be gracious to us.  Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy.  Please don’t take my baby girl.”

Jesus said, “which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” -Matthew 7:9b-11

Elealeh Grace died.

When I got home from work my wife and I sat on our cranberry red couch in our living room and cried.  “I just wanted to meet her and hold her so bad!” I cried.  “I wanted to see Shuah be a good big brother and teach him to lead by love and humility.”

Two nights before Elealeh Grace died (at this point we had suspicions of a potential miscarriage) my wife and I laid in bed and prayed.  After praying, I looked over at my wife and said, “Isn’t it crazy that God knew our baby in eternity past, numbered her days, and loves her more than we do?  She won’t live any shorter or longer than He sees is good.”

“Yeah, it is really comforting,” she replied, smiling softly.

It’s been 4 months since the miscarriage.  I don’t think I will ever be the same.  There are still moments (like while I am writing this) when I am reminded of the loss.  And it hurts so badly.

But without sounding flippant about our loss, I never doubted God’s love or care for us.  The strange thing is, I kept being overwhelmed throughout the whole season with how incredibly blessed I was to be entrusted with such a trial (please note this is extremely abnormal for me.  I can have an ungrateful heart for simply being stuck behind someone driving slowly in front of me). God was very present in the suffering.  The Holy Spirit continually brought Scripture to mind to comfort.

What did the Gospel have to say about this circumstance?

First, God can relate.  He also lost His Son on the cross.  Second, even if I never had the joy of having any children I have received far more than I deserve.  For I was a rebel and wicked servant only worthy of God’s wrath.  Third,  God not only could relate to me but He willingly sacrificed His Son so that I could be delivered from my penalty and be in a right relationship with Him.  Fourth, if I surrender all I have and trust in His sacrifice, I become a co-heir with His Son.

I know most (if not all) of us understand these statements.  But it is another thing to believe them. God was so good to me and gracious to give me the faith to trust in Him and His promises in the storm.

Our battle as Christians is not to grit our teeth and just work through it.  Nor is it to simply “let go, and let God.”  Our hope is God.  To where else will we go?

Let us humble ourselves in the sight of the LORD, and leave all our burdens with Him.  Let us plead with the LORD that He will fill us with a knowledge and love for the Savior.  Let us confess to the LORD that we don’t trust Him as we ought.  Let us confess that His promises don’t stir our hearts as the common things of this world do.  And let us fix our gaze on the cross until He acts!

Jesus promises that our Heavenly Father will give us good gifts if we simply ask Him.  I believe that passage even though Elealeh Grace died.  I asked Him for a fish and He didn’t give me a snake.  I asked Him for bread and He didn’t give me a stone.

But you know what? He didn’t give me a fish or bread either (that is to say he didn’t give me what I asked for).  He gave me something so much better.  He gave me Himself!  A treasure I would NOT trade in for all the world and it’s treasure!  God gave Himself to me in a way I could not have otherwise had without the loss.

“On CHRIST the solid rock I stand!  All other ground is sinking sand.  All other ground is sinking sand!”

God was removing the sinking sand of my heart and fixing it more fully on the solid rock that does not change.  Dear friends, will you trust Him?