Dwell 1: In the Beginning

Will God dwell with man on the earth? This is a critical question as we anticipate another celebration of Christmas. The coming of Jesus Christ is the Ultimate Answer to the greatest human need – the need to know God and to be with Him.

In the first chapters of the Bible, we read that God walked with Adam and Even in the cool of the evening. In the last chapters of the Bible, we read of an angel who says in a loud voice: Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:3).

At the beginning and at the end of God’s revelation to man, we understand that it is God’s design to dwell directly and immediately with the people that He created. What about all the time in between – the time that we live in? Will God dwell with man on the earth now in our sinful and rebellious state?

God is omnipresent. That is, He is everywhere at the same time. Speaking to pagan philosophers in Athens, the Apostle Paul said: 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring' (Acts 17:28). If we are all His offspring and we all live “in” Him, as He is everywhere, then what’s the point of talking about where God dwells?

God created man to worship and enjoy Him. God created man and pronounce this crown of His creation, “very good.” God took particular, personal care in making man and woman. The most important aspect to that care was the fact that God made man – male and female – in His own image.

Most of all, man is created for relationship with God – for worship, for adoration, for thanksgiving to God and enjoyment of God. In the beginning, God did indeed dwell with man in uninterrupted fellowship. That did not last. In Genesis 3, we read about a tragedy that we can’t fully comprehend. We have each been born into a fallen, sinful, broken and twisted world. It seems normal to us, and yet, even the atheist knows that things are not the way they’re supposed to be.

There is much beauty and goodness left in the world, yet everything has the stain of sin, and we know that death is a constant enemy. We know the story of the fall (see Genesis 3:8-11).

Note that even before the curses were pronounced, we read that something terrible had happened to Adam and Eve: Man hid from God – new realities of guilt and fear and self-preservation in the face of God’s holiness and goodness rushed to the surface and man ran from God.

It’s been the same ever since. Even religious man hides from God in his religion, even as he says he is seeking God. The golden calf that Aaron and the people made to worship in the wilderness is a classic example of religion at work. The God who spoke on Mount Sinai terrified them, so they made a calf of gold and then had a party.

Time after time in the history of the Bible, man hides in fear from the revelation of God’s holiness and creates idolatrous religion as a sinful substitute. Most people on earth believe in God. In spite of the press that the New Atheism has received in recent years, people who reject any concept of God are in a small minority. Religion is a quest for man to reach up to God. Religion is formed by man out of the brokenness of sin, it is a twisted form of worship designed by man to make God smaller and man bigger. Man wants to make the One True God into something he can control, but this is only an evidence of mans sin and arrogance.

So will God dwell with man? God has said, man shall not see me and live (Exodus 33:20).

Still, there is a longing for something divine, something eternal, and something significant in the heart of man, but sin stands in the way. Because of our sin – inherited from Adam but compounded by our own sins – we have hidden from God and God has, in His mercy, hidden His face from us.

Because God is holy, he judged sin. There was a sentence in the form of curses, these were the consequences of rebelling against a holy God. But even in that judgment there was mercy. This mercy came in the form of a promise

When was that promise to be fulfilled? It was not fulfilled with Cain. He proved to be the first murderer. Human accomplishment and the development of culture did not reverse the curse, it only amplified sin and underscored the distance between God and man. In Genesis 4-5, we see the sober pattern of the fallen world – the refrain of “and he died...”

In every stage of Old Testament history, we see that the distance remains. Through the prophet Isaiah, the LORD says: Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear (Isaiah 59:1-2).

What was the greatest thing that was lost in the Fall? The immediate presence of God! When God created man, it was for His glory and man’s good. It was for mutual enjoyment. God loves His people and He desires to dwell with us. That’s why we are still here. That’s why we have not been destroyed by His righteous judgment.

What about the curse? I said earlier that God promised that He would send one to end the curse and restore the blessing of the presence of God. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15).

The enmity between the woman and her offspring is plural – this has been the story of human history, hatred, violence, idolatry, disease and disaster of every kind. It seems like the serpent wins.

However, the one who will crush the serpent’s head is an individual, God become flesh. He shall bruise the head of the serpent. Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery (Hebrews 2:14-15).

God delights in His Son. It is because Jesus Christ has defeated Satan by taking upon Himself sin and, consequently, death, that He is able to be our Champion to reconcile us to God:
• He is the New Adam – this is the new beginning that we’ve been waiting for
• He Himself is GOD WITH US He is God who dwells with us
• He brings reconciliation, peace, grace and LIFE to the fallen sons of man.

The Christmas Hymn, Joy to the World has a great verse: No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow, Far as the curse is found.

“HERE HE IS” – Finally, the one that has come to rescue us from the curse.
• Incarnation – Immanuel: God with us; Jesus: God saves; Christ: The Anointed One
• Life – Perfect, righteous, the perfect law-keeper, identifies with our suffering
• Death – Takes on the curse, bears our sin, sheds blood to purchase our forgiveness
• Resurrection – defeats death, crushes Satan, guarantees our inheritance with Him!

God will dwell with man. He has come to dwell with us so that we may dwell with Him forever!
One day, we shall see the face of Jesus and be made like Him (1 John 3:2). In the meantime, we have a preliminary restoration through the knowledge of Christ. By His forgiveness and new life, we may dwell with God as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ is the light that stepped down from Heaven, God become flesh so that God may truly dwell with us and we may dwell with God forever. This is the true meaning of Christmas!

John Piper at The Village Church

Pastor Matt Chandler is beginning treatment for a malignant brain tumor that he had removed early in December. His testimony to God's goodness and sovereignty is a great encouragement. Continue to pray for him, his family and his church. (For background, see Matt's video testimonies to his church: Video 1, before the surgery. Video 2, after the surgery).

This morning, I listened to Dr. John Piper's message from The Village Church this past Sunday (12/27/09). Juanita listened to it this morning and highly recommended it, so I took some time at the office and opened my Bible to Romans 8 and took some notes.

Let me say, if you have ever struggled with God's goodness and sovereignty in the face of suffering and evil (and who hasn't?), take the time to listen to this message. Give it your full attention.

Here is a little excerpt:

God judicially sentenced the world to what it is today. It was a judgment on the world in response to sin. And I admit that you have to have – and I’m calling you to this, it takes years sometimes to get people to this – you have to have a very high view of God’s holiness, and justice and glory and deservingness and worth and a very clear view of the outrage and the horror and of sin and rebellion against that in order to keep this world from looking like an overreaction to Adam and Eve.

... It doesn’t make any sense unless you know how great God is (See Isaiah 40).


I don't think I'm exaggerating to say that the most significant lessons that God has been teaching me since Emily’s murder have been boiled down, condensed and presented in a precious and heartrending exposition in this message. I can’t overstate how good this message is, and how important it is that you digest the truth of Romans 8:18-25 in its biblical context in, before, and after suffering in this sin-soaked world. God has not left us without answers. God has not left us without hope.

P.G. Wodehouse

Both Josh and I received Wodehouse books for Christmas this year, among other things. We were both pleased. Wodehouse is great holiday reading.

I'm well into Leave it to Psmith. Wodehouse stores are predictable - blatant foreshadowing, typical characters, cringe-worthy predicaments - but the writing is so good that you are always looking for the next zinger. The rest of the prose, between the zingers, is worth basking in because it is so well-crafted.

Here's the opening paragraph,

At the open window of the great library of Blandings Castle, drooping like a wet sock, as was his habit when he had nothing to prop his spine against, the Earl of Emsworth, that amiable and boneheaded peer, stood gazing out over his domain.

A bit later, when Psmith informs his friend about his desperate financial situation, he says,

That low moaning sound you hear is the wolf bivouacked outside my door.

Good fun, that writing. Wodehouse is not for everyone, but I prefer to use it like dark chocolate - it's best consumed slowly along with a strong cup of black coffee.

Dwell

Every year I wrack my brain trying to think of a new idea for a Christmas series. There's nothing wrong with the traditional passages, and I probably preach on those every other year. Last year, I did a more traditional "Witnesses of Christmas" series, so this year, I wanted to do something different.

Our family went to a Michael Card concert last fall and he said something about God wanting to dwell with us, about what a wonder and encouragement that is. On the way home, Juanita and I talked about how that would be a good Advent sermon series, so, I stole the name from a NYC conference on urban church planting and the "Dwell" series was born.


The Dwell series was a flying tour of Scripture in five messages:

• Dwell 1: In the Beginning - Genesis 1-5


• Dwell 2: Children of Abraham - Genesis 15


• Dwell 3: The Promise of the Father - Luke 24:49


• Dwell 4: God With Us - John 1:14-18


• Dwell 5: Forever With the Lord - Revelation 21:1-5

For those without the time or inclination to listen to these messages (totally understandable), I'm going to do a brief synopsis of each message here in the next few days

Defiance

It was -30 this morning, so I put on my Hawaiian shirt. It seemed like the thing to do. I told my daughter Petra that I put it on in defiance of the cold weather. She said, "I don't think it will make any difference." I said, "I know it won't, but it makes me feel better."

That little exchange got me thinking on a more serious line on the way over to the church. Isn't that like so many people that reject God's claim on their lives? They have to know that there is a God, and that He has the right to judge them, but they put on their brave faces and assert their right to live their lives as they see fit, in defiance of His right to set the rules.

This assertion of human rights over God's right won't make any difference on That Final Day. God will judge everyone according to His law - both the written code and the code that He's written on the conscience of everyone.

Who will stand on that day?

The answer to that question hinges on the person and work of Jesus Christ, and upon Him alone. It is because of our rebellion against God's right to rule that Christ came. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). In Jesus Christ, God became flesh to rescue defiant rebels from God's just judgment. He is our ransom, our deliverer, our Great High Priest and Final Sacrifice. He is risen from the dead and the Father has appointed Him as judge over all.

Now, what will you do with Jesus this Christmas season?

Pray for the Chandlers

I have come to appreciate the ministry of Matt Chandler. I don't listen to all of his messages, but I have benefited from many of them. After brain surgery last week, Matt and his family just received the news that they did not want to hear. There will be more treatment ahead. You can read an update from his church if you would like more details.

We were moved by a video message by Matt recorded for his congregation just before his surgery. Juanita and I could identify with several things that he said. We, too, have been humbled by the outpouring of support from people in our trial. We have experienced that Christ provides strength when it is needed. We want to honour Him in everything.

Many bloggers are posting this news, but I particularly appreciated this post from Kevin DeYoung. It has a lot of content in a short post.

Please pray that Matt and his wife Lauren would grow deep and strong in God's grace and that God would restore Matt to many more years of preaching.

Holding on in the Face of Loss

I was asked by a friend for some advice about holding on to God through the

loss of a friend. I've removed the personal indicators, but I thought the body

of the letter might be of some use to others:

It’s hard to give “one-size-fits-all” advice about keeping God’s character and purposes in perspective, but there are some basics that we must cultivate in the good times so that when tragedy strikes, we have a Rock to stand on. Tragedy and loss will hit every family if we live long enough. It is possible to grow a theology of suffering in the midst of suffering, but it is much harder. All things are possible with God, however.

I was asked to share at our Baptist association's regional convention in May. I took the opportunity to tell the pastors there to prepare their people to die well. That might sound morbid to some, but is there anything else more important that a pastor can do?

I don’t know you well enough to know what you’ve been doing to prepare your heart for the shocks of this fallen, broken world. The message in much of popular Christianity is “happy, happy, happy,” but that’s not realistic, or biblical. I know you know that much, but in the past couple of years – even before Emily’s death – Juanita and I have been growing in our awareness of our own sin and the brokenness of the world. Things are not the way they’re supposed to be. The Bible teaches on suffering so much.

My testimony regarding keeping – and growing – my faith in the midst of loss boils down to this: 1. God is much bigger than I thought He was, and, 2. My sin is much worse than I ever considered. God is good. Because He is good, my sinful soul and body deserve Hell. Anything less than that is mercy. I am a sinner. Sinners die. That’s justice. That I would be transformed and live with a resurrected, perfected body with Christ forever is a mystery and an unspeakable wonder! The suffering and death in this world is the result of man’s rebellion against God. That evil is the “normal” of a fallen world. The joy of salvation, comfort in suffering, and the hope of eternal life are all gracious gifts from our good and loving God. The cross proves the evil of my sin and the love of God simultaneously.

The early church was accused of preaching a message that “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). That’s not quite it. The enemies of the Christians got it wrong. The world is upside down. Christians preach right-side-up, and the world doesn’t like it. The key to getting this is the cross of Christ. This is where we find God’s love, life and assurance. Christ has risen, and so shall we rise.

When you’re overwhelmed and angry at God, turn to the Psalms. They give us permission to express a wide range of emotions to God. Start with Psalms 42, 46, 62 and 73. Then look again to the cross. See the end of the Gospels and also Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. Also check out Isaiah 59. You’ll get a better appreciation of the depths of human sin and the extreme lengths that was willing to go to God in order to bring us forgiveness and the gift of righteousness.

Fear the 13th man

We watched the Grey Cup game yesterday with some friends. This is my son's Facebook status that he posted when we got home:

"One of the Riders' fans was carrying a sign during the game which said "Fear the 13th Man". Oh, the irony."

Well played, Josh.

P.S. My apologies to my American readers. If you're curious, you can Google for the rest of the story.

Bible Blitz

Crossway Books has made a package that includes an ESV New Testament available for a very low price. It comes with a door-hanger bag, so we went out this morning and hung a bunch of them around Edson. We, in this case, are volunteers from five churches in town. We had a good turn out and we distributed almost all of the 2500 kits that we ordered.

Being a cooperative project, we listed the names, service times and contact information for the churches that participated on the invitation sheet. I think that in itself says something to our community.

Thanks to Crossway for making this possible, Carol's Books in Edson for tipping us off to it and ordering the materials and to Pastor Steve and the Edson Alliance Church for leading and hosting the teams today.

If you're in another town, check out the possibility of distributing a bunch of Bibles before Christmas. Consider partnering with other churches to biltz your town or neighbourhood.

Now let's pray that people will read their new Bibles!

Paul's Passion for the Church

Last night we had a good Bible study on the book of Philemon. We finished a lengthy study of Philippians last week. Until Christmas we'll do some smaller books and thematic studies.

Philemon is a little jewel. One thing that struck me was Paul's between-the-lines betrayal of his ministry passion in verse 7:

For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.*

Paul is in prison as he writes this, but his source of joy and comfort is good news concerning people in one of the churches he planted. He isn't giving thanks for physical help or personal encouragement (though he does that elsewhere), but for the work of a brother who refreshed the saints.

I had to ask myself, "Is this what I live for? Is this encouragement and spiritual refreshment of the saints what gives me joy and comfort?"

As a cross-reference, we took a look at Paul's mission statement in Colossians 1:28-2:3:

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.*


I can identify with Paul's passion to some degree, but it is so easy to be distracted with "ministry" things that do not serve this goal of seeing the saints (and pre-saints that we are evangelizing) not only brought to a greater knowledge of Christ, but brought to the point where they are delighted in Christ and refreshed by His truth and love.

*All Bible quotes are from the ESV

Rejoice

My favorite Christmas album is Savior by Sovereign Grace Ministries. We've had the album for three years now, but I just started listening to it for this season last week - Thursday morning, to be exact. I listened to some of the album at the gym and then plugged my iPod into my car stereo on the way home. Just before I got home, the song Rejoice really got me. Here's the last verse:

All the church rejoice
For your King returns
On a white horse wearing a crown
He will break the sky with the angel's shout
Descending from the clouds
The the dead will rise from the land and sea
All His people will ascend
We will reign with Him for eternity
Rejoice, all the church, rejoice*

I was overwhelmed by the bittersweet reality of that awesome truth. The tears came because our Emily is now one of those dead, but she will rise. So will I - by God's grace - with all God's people. I am thankful that Emily, my dad and other believing loved ones that have gone ahead of us are present and alive with Christ, but what a glorious day awaits us all at the Resurrection!

We sang Rejoice at church on Sunday for the first time and it was well received. This is the first time I've told my story from the trip back from the gym, however.

By the way, you can buy the album at the Sovereign Grace site for $8 plus shipping, or download it there for $6 or buy it on iTunes. Highly recommended.

Don't Drift

I preached on Hebrews 2:1-4 on Sunday. The first few minutes of the sermon were not recorded. When I listened to the introduction as I was editing the file for upload, I thought the inadvertent edit improved the message. If you're interested, you can find it here.

Sax for Teeny

I saw the title of this post in the closed captioning in a hockey highlight package this morning at the gymn. The sound was down on that TV, but I knew what they were talking about as they were showing a fight from the Oilers game last night.

Only Oilers aware hockey fans will get this post, but I thought it was funny.

Catching Up

There's lots going on these days, but that has not been reflected here. Here are some highlights:

• A trip with Josh to Ontario and New York. Our Fellowship Baptist National Convention was in Niagara Falls last week, so I took Josh along and we met some friends and checked out a possible school for Josh in Toronto.
• Baptisms on Sunday. Excellent, God-honouring testimonies. We're thankful.
• A new sermon series on the book of Hebrews. Messages are going up at www.edsonbaptist.com

Much more could be said, but for the sake of getting something up, I'm going to post this without further elaboration.

Give Thanks. Seriously.

Thanksgiving is not just a byproduct of good times; it is a crucial Christian discipline. I’ve been slowly learning this, particularly in the last year.

Over the past two weekends, formal thanksgiving has been front and centre here. We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving (October 11-12) and then the 50th anniversary of Edson Baptist Church last weekend.

These formal times of giving thanks to God are right and good. Celebrations are good for the soul, and they train us to be thankful people when we come to them in humility and in a conscious attitude of dependence upon God for His grace.

It would be easy to blow off such events and say, “These are just days on a calendar.” This kind of nonchalance could even wear a mask of spirituality. However, God’s Word sets a pattern of formal thanksgiving and remembrance.

Formal thanksgiving is good, but it must not displace continual, heartfelt thanksgiving to God in our daily lives. Giving thanks is commanded by God in many places. This is one of those, “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” things. Thanksgiving is not a work by which we are saved. Quite the contrary, it is a recognition that all good things – and particularly our redemption – come from God as gifts.

To fail to give thanks is to rob God of His glory and deprive ourselves of joy. If you think I’m overstating this, do a word search in a concordance (or your computer Bible program) for “thanksgiving” and “give thanks” and tell me that I’m wrong. If you’re not convinced yet, then read Psalm 50 carefully and work out the logic. We read Psalm 50 in church on Thanksgiving Sunday this year and I was freshly convicted by it.

If you’re still not convinced that giving thanks is that important, I heartily recommend John Piper’s message from New Attitude 2007 on the kind of obedience that pleases God (free download).

If you don’t feel like being thankful, repent! And then dig into God’s Word and look for Jesus there. Contemplate who He is and what He has done for you. Think about what you would have if God had not given you something (hint: nothing). What do we have that we have not received?

Give thanks. Seriously.

Upcoming Events

I've been promoting a couple of upcoming conferences at our church, so I thought that I'd mention them here as well.

First, there is one that I won't be able to attend, but some me from our church may make the trip. It's a Sola Scriptura Conference at Cloverdale Baptist Church on October 22-24 featuring Jerry Bridges, Donald Whitney and John Crotts.

I won't be able to make it because I've been asked to speak at the first annual Mayor's Breakfast in Sylvan Lake, AB. on the 23rd.

However, I do hope to make it to the ReFocus Canada conference at Willingdon Church in Burnaby B.C. April 7-9. John Piper is coming back, as is Bruce Ware. Preston Manning is also a speaker this year - seeing that name in the lineup today was a surprise! It looks like registration is open already.

With One Foot Raised

I recommend all the messages at the recent Desiring God Conference (even though I haven't heard them all yet), but one that really left an impression was Sam Storms talk, The Final Act in Theater of God.

My blog title is from this Calvin quote, cited from a letter to a suffering friend:

"They [our physical afflictions] should serve us as medicine to purge us from worldly affections and remove what is superfluous in us. And since they are to us the messengers of death, we ought to learn to have one foot raised to take our departure when it shall please God."

This morning, I read a similar exhortation in Spurgeon's Morning and Evening:

"The hope which is laid up for you in heaven." - Colossians 1:5

Our hope in Christ for the future is the mainspring and the mainstay of our joy here. It will animate our hearts to think often of heaven, for all that we can desire is promised there. Here we are weary and toilworn, but yonder is the land of rest where the sweat of labour shall no more bedew the worker’s brow, and fatigue shall be for ever banished. To those who are weary and spent, the word "rest" is full of heaven. We are always in the field of battle; we are so tempted within, and so molested by foes without, that we have little or no peace; but in heaven we shall enjoy the victory, when the banner shall be waved aloft in triumph, and the sword shall be sheathed, and we shall hear our Captain say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." We have suffered bereavement after bereavement, but we are going to the land of the immortal where graves are unknown things. Here sin is a constant grief to us, but there we shall be perfectly holy, for there shall by no means enter into that kingdom anything which defileth. Hemlock springs not up in the furrows of celestial fields. Oh! is it not joy, that you are not to be in banishment for ever, that you are not to dwell eternally in this wilderness, but shall soon inherit Canaan? Nevertheless let it never be said of us, that we are dreaming about the future and forgetting the present, let the future sanctify the present to highest uses. Through the Spirit of God the hope of heaven is the most potent force for the product of virtue; it is a fountain of joyous effort, it is the corner stone of cheerful holiness. The man who has this hope in him goes about his work with vigour, for the joy of the Lord is his strength. He fights against temptation with ardour, for the hope of the next world repels the fiery darts of the adversary. He can labour without present reward, for he looks for a reward in the world to come.

Autumn

We've had a beautiful late summer and fall. In our country, the leaves are turning and falling even though we haven't had a real frost yet.



One week from today will be the 1st anniversary of Emily's death. It will be a hard day, but we're getting out of town for the weekend to be together as a family.

We're doing pretty well. I'm thankful that God has helped our family and that we are carrying on. I don't know how next weekend will be, but if Emily's birthday and the first Christmas without her are any indication, I think we'll be okay.

I was reading C.S. Lewis' An Experiment in Criticism last week and I came across a quote that arrested me. He was talking about the difference between real grief and the kind that you meet in a literary tragedy. He wrote, "Sometimes it remains for life, a puddle in the mind which grows always wider, shallower, and more unwholesome" (p. 78 in the Cantos edition).

I don't want that to happen, I don't think it's happening, but the very fact that this sentence leapt off the page at me warns me that it could very easily happen. At the very least, isn't this a picturesque way of putting the lingering bitterness that can remain after a loss?

I don't want to wallow in it, but the grief is still very real. However, God's goodness and grace shines ever brighter and I am thankful for the sure hope we have in our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Juanita found a poem about September that is, as she put it, bittersweet. We're enjoying a beautiful autumn, but there is a difficult anniversary to remember.

Sons & Daughters

I've been meaning to do a quick review of this new CD, but I'm going to be lazy and point you to C.J. Mahaney's review. Read the review and then go and buy it!

The Church - Sermon Series

It is the 50th anniversary of Edson Baptist Church this year. We are having a celebration weekend on October 17-18, but I thought I would lead up to this event by doing a sermon series on the church. The first message, an introduction, was not recorded.

I have posted a sermon on the church from January 2008 over at the church website (www.edsonbaptist.com) as a substitute.

I've also been planning to make some comments on Psalm 46. Perhaps tomorrow....