Blessed are the persecuted
September 30, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Subscribe to Larry’s Sermons through RSS
Subscribe to Larry’s Sermons through iTunes
The Encouragement of the Saints
September 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Lar, Great to hear from you brother. Thanks for checking in. What was particularly good to me about your post was the simple reality that what we learn cannot help but inform the way in which we live. Of course, our learning has to be accompanied by an embracing of all that we learn, but I trust we all understand that. Plenty of people have stacked their heads full of knowledge (even much sound theology), but their hearts have not responded rightly to it. In fact, they have only gained more information. They have not really embraced that which they intellectually know.
You were encouraged by the witness of a few people who have embraced what they know. Our learning is meant to inform our living. And our living is meant to point the way to the worth and beauty of our God. Praise God for the examples we have been given. For in the end, it is examples that we most certainly need. I can only speak for myself, but I can honestly say that I reach certain points where I have had enough of information. I need to see the information lived out. Of course, I am frustrated at my own inability to do so - as I should be- however, I know deep down that what I need is some living embodiments of what I know to be real. For when I see what I know lived out by someone else, I will have a much easier time doing so myself.
O may the Lord grant us the grace to be living embodiments of our theology! If we, as Christians, could only live what we already intellectually know, I can’t help but think that the foundations of the world would tremble! Let us petition the Lord for much grace.
Keep enjoying your time out there brother. I am looking forward to a full report and an encouraged Larry Laz.
Thankful for learning and living,
Joe
Update from MN
September 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Joe,
I know I have been MIA in the blogworld, but it was a busy week for me as Michelle and I prepared for our trip to Minneapolis for the Desiring God National Conference.
We arrived yesterday at the house of Jeremy and Shannon Archer, who have graciously allowed us to stay at their house for four days so that we wouldn’t have to get a hotel room and incur extra cost. We were connected to them through Abraham Piper.
We got to the Archer’s at 11:30 yesterday morning, and within minutes had a chance to meet and spend some time with Molly and Abraham, who were out for a walk as we pulled up to the Archer’s (they live two blocks away). As you know, and as I posted earlier in the week, the Pipers underwent a huge loss this week when they found out that their baby girl had died inside Molly, just two days before the due date. Spending 20 minutes with them was an incredible blessing. Their hope and trust in a good, wise and sovereign God in the midst of such pain was a great encouragement to Michelle and me.
Spending time with the Archers was also a great blessing. Jeremy is pursuing full time ministry and has run into some bumps in the road which he has written about on his blog. Again, the time spent with them was a huge blessing. I don’t think I could go through what Jeremy is going through now with the same attitude that he is. Talking with him provided some valuable wisdom in dealing with my own ministry trials.
The time with both the Pipers and the Archers has been a wonderful beginning to a conference devoted to the theme of perseverance. When I look back on this conference after it is said and done, I am pretty sure that seeing them and talking with them in person, seeing their own perserverance before my very eyes, was every bit as meaningful and refreshing as the conference itself.
The Archers have left for Florida (they’re actually letting us make their home our home for the weekend, even though they’re not around!), and we now are looking forward to the start of the conference tonight.
Please keep the Pipers and the Archers in your prayers as they press on for the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Larry
Wise Words of Thanksgiving
September 27, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
I am thinking that you saw this short article that Piper wrote a week ago or so, but I thought I would post it here for those who have not. It is good to read through, for it reveals a personal aspect of things that often gets lost when you sit under a particular ministry, listening to sermons and reading things, etc. So here it is. Check it out.
Seeking Him with you,
Joe
So Slow to Believe
September 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Lar, I often save these thoughts for the Sinners Raising Saints blog, but it’s on my front burner now, so I will just link to it over there instead. After all, that blog has a lot less readers!
So Abigail is going through a season of constant concern for a big thing in her world: When I leave her bedroom after tucking her in, will I come back and will I leave the door a little bit open?
Yes, that’s right. Here are the big concerns in three-year-old land. Big enough concerns to pester her daddy every few seconds when I am tucking her own. She will ask, maybe a good 10-15 times or so, “Daddy, will you wake me up from my nap (and a nap includes a night’s rest in her world) and will you leave the door a little bit open?” Not only that, but usually, when I leave the room and go downstairs, she is quick to rush to the door to see if it is just right. Surely this is a touch of my touch of obsessive compulsive disorder, but it also points to something else: unbelief.
Yes, unbelief. Time and again I have told her that I will wake her up from her nap and that I will leave the door a little bit open. And time and again (with a few failures I suppose), I (and Erin) have proved myself faithful. Yet the question keeps on coming time and again. She is just so slow to believe. I mean, can you imagine such a thing?
Ok, so I am sure you know where I am headed now. For don’t we tend to relate to God in much the same way as Abigail relates to Erin and I? Sure, He has shown Himself faithful time and again–in generation after generation. Sure, there is even a written record that we study day after day. But will He open the door? Will He provide? Will He come back and grant His sustaining grace in the morning? Let’s admit it, deep within us these questions can’t help but come. We all tend to this heart of unbelief.
But the Lord is O so gracious and patient with us isn’t He? Time and again, He simply answers “Yes.” Yes, I will make good on my Word. And then He does make good on His Word. Again and again and again…. What a gracious God we serve!
So as a parent, this is what I must do: I must be patient as God is patient and then fulfill my word. Pretty simple yes. But not so easy for a fallen human being like myself. The difference surely will be that I will at some point have to repent, while God never will. Why then are we so slow to believe?! Maybe we need to do a better job of taking notes and then reviewing those notes. Maybe we need to do a better job of remembering….
Alright Lar, that is enough for now. Let us praise the Lord for His patience and continually search His Word until we live with hearts full of faith….
Seeking Him with you,
Joe
Giving Thanks
September 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Lar, First of all brother, happy birthday to you! He is 30 years old today everyone. I would have gotten on here sooner to tell the world, but I am sure you know why I am getting to it tonight (Erin is away, so I have the kids…). Anyhow, I give thanks for you brother. The Lord has been good to bless me with a friend and brother in Christ like you. Your consistent pursuit of the Lord is a consistent encouragement to me. The fact that I can count on you persisting in your pursuit of the kingdom gives me strength to do the same. I am also thankful for the way in which you refuse to settle for less than God’s best. Your willingness to study the Word of God and deal with it all is a gift to all of us, along with your ability to communicate what you find. Not only that, but this willingness translates into all of life. Let us leave no stone unturned brother, but instead, aim to see His kingdom come in every aspect of our lives for the good of the world and the glory of Hi name.
Second brother, great article. I actually saw it a day or so ago, but didn’t have the chance to read it through. I agree with him wholeheartedly and believe that I have moved beyond my Warren bashing days. Lord knows I wasn’t a big fan. Of course, that is not to say that you will see me out on the street corner selling his books, but Tullian’s point concerning his pursuit of the kingdom (particularly in relationship to social justice issues) should certainly convict people like us who are so sound in our theology, but so slow in our worldwide application. It seems best to applaud what he does well and to gently and respectfully clarify where we disagree and why. I suppose it seems best because it is humble. Now there is a place to start….
Well again brother, happy birthday. One of the greatest ways I think I can encourage you is to say that I praise God for giving me a friend (and neighbor like you). You are certainly a man I want my kids to know well brother. And if the Lord gives us breath, I trust that that will assuredly be the case.
Giving thanks,
Joe
A Challenging Word
September 25, 2007 | 2 Comments
Joe,
I’m not sure how to pronounce Tullian Tchividjian’s name, but I don’t have to know how to say his name to be convicted by his words. This post on Rick Warren was in my face, and I trust it will be in yours too.
Larry
The Goodness of God
September 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Lar, That is indeed sad and very humbling news. I will definitely be praying for them both and certainly am encouraged by their trust in the Lord, however much they may be struggling with it at this point (that is not to say they definitely are, but I know that I surely would be). What an encouragement it must be to them to have brothers and sisters in Christ around them who believe that God is in full control over the universe and actively working such a thing for their good and His glory. In such a difficult moment, such theological convictions become very practical, or better yet, they are plainly shown to be practical (for they always are).
I find such news humbling as well, because both Abby and Elijah were born with their umbilical cords wrapped somewhat tightly around their necks. Elijah, in fact, came out quite blue (and I was a little concerned). What can I attribute their lives to, but the sovereign grace of God? The Lord indeed does what seems good to Him. And whatever seems good to Him is. But when what is good to Him is to take the life of a child who has never seen the light of day, now that is difficult to accept. That is difficult to embrace. I just pray that the Lord would grant me the grace to trust Him if He were to ordain such a day for me.
Interestingly enough, I received an email from a friend of ours that linked to this video of Nick Vujicic, a man who was born with no arms and no legs, and born again to trust and rejoice in the Lord who made Him that way. Suffice it to say that I was encouraged.
Seeking Him with you,
Joe
Prayer Needed for the Pipers
September 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Very sad news from the Desiring God blog.
Keep Abraham and Molly and the rest of the Pipers in your prayers.
Spurgeon Says I’m Not Crazy
September 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Joe,
As you know, I was blessed yesterday by many of my close friends and family members at a surprise birthday party. The highlight for me was the time when many friends and family shared encouraging words about how they have seen me growing or how I have been a blessing to them. I hope this was a blessing not because it made much of me, but because it was so gratifying to hear people share ways in which Christ has been made much of through me.
One particular highlight was this quote which our friend Anthony shared with us from Charles Spurgeon. While Spurgeon is no infallible authority, I felt pretty good to be reminded that someone as tested and wise as the great Spurgeon affirms that I am not crazy for clinging passionately to something which is often called non-essential. For those who were there and would like to read the quote again (and for those who weren’t there who can be blessed by it!), here it is:
Let us hold God’s truth, but not with a slippery hand. If a doctrine be true, let us grip it [tightly], though the earth shake or the heavens fall. Christian men, where there is a love for God’s truth, God will bless his Church; but because this is a time-serving age, because we have not come out plainly with those things which distinguish us from each other, because we have paid too much deference to each other’s views, and have not boldly declared the great truths of his Word. - these are the reasons why God has to some extent deserted us. You say, “I do not see so much [value] in doctrines, after all.” Then you will not see much blessing. I love so much what I believe to be true, that I would fight for every grain of it; not for the “stones” only, but for the very “dust thereof.”
I believe that we ought not to say that any truth is non-essential; it may be non-essential to salvation, but it is essential for something else. Why! you might as well take one of the jewels out of the Queen’s crown, and say it is non-essential, but she will be Queen all the same! Will anyone dare to tell God that any doctrine is non-essential? Oh gracious Spirit, hast thou written what is non-essential?
Hast thou given me a Book respecting which I say, “My father and mother believed it all, but it is not necessary for me to believe it”? God has given me a judgment; am I to follow in the wake of other people, thinking I shall be sure to be right and that God will never ask me what I was? An easy kind of religion is this! It was not so in the days of good old John Bunyan and Berridge; they sang a far different song. But now people are saying, “I can listen to So-and-so and So and-so” - men who contradict one another. We cannot think [highly] of people, who can hear opposite opinions, and yet believe both to be correct. We cannot expect much growth unless you hold the truth, and take pleasure in the stones of Zion , and, “favor the dust thereof,” - every atom of [the truth].…
Do not follow a part of his orders, and neglect the rest. The Lord Jesus must be received as a whole, or not at all. Do not say “This is non-essential”, for such a speech is flat rebellion. I do not believe in any words of our Lord being non-essential. They may not be essential to our salvation, but every word of Christ is essential to our spiritual health; neither can we disregard the least of his precepts without suffering loss through our disobedience.
Thankful for a blessed day (and for confirmation from one of the great preachers of old that I am not crazy!),
Larry
Great Article on Mark Driscoll
September 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Lar, You may have already seen this one, but I wanted to draw everyone’s attention to it. Colin Hansen did a great job with this article on Mark Driscoll. Check it out when you have the time. It is definitely worth the read.
Peace,
Joe
Secret Work
September 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Lar, Thanks for that needed reminder. Continually I come back to the words C.S. Lewis once quoted: We need to be reminded more than instructed. Time and time again I need to hear the same truth. I need the same realities set before my eyes so that I might see as I ought to see.
Two things in particular struck me as I read your reminder. 1) To work effectively and powerfully in secret, we need to work in faith. That is, we need to look to God to do what He sees fit and to grant the grace that He sees fit. We work by faith and not by sight. It is rare we see immediate fruit from our labor. At least, that is usually the case when we are doing something significant. I think first of prayer. Jesus said that when we pray in secret, the Father who sees in secret will reward us. Working that is worthwhile is work that flows from faith and is done in faith. It is work done with a view towards God.
2) To work effectively and powerfully in secret, we need to be people of vision. This comes naturally to some more than others. It also might come more easily to us at different times. But this is a necessary reality. What is our goal? What do we want to see take place? Sure, we won’t have all the answers to these questions, but I think we ought to think big. After all, we know God. O may the Lord grant us the grace to be people of faith and people of vision. For it is only when we can put contours on where we want to be that we can know what we need to do next. Big-picture clarity brings next action clarity. We are wise to take time to dream.
That’s enough for now, though I surely could say more–as is usually the case. Thanks for stimulating my thoughts brother.
Seeking to work with faith and vision,
Joe
Serving in Secret
September 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Joe,
As you know, I had the opportunity to meet Bob Kauflin a few months back at the Sovereign Grace Leadership Conference. It was a joy to meet him, and his love for God and the Church were so evident in the short time we talked.
This post from his blog was an encouragement to me, especially the last sentence:
May you be encouraged by the thought that God may use what you’re faithfully doing in secret today to serve others you may never meet in the future.
Often it may seem like we are laboring in vain. But 1 Corinthians 15:58 reminds us that nothing we do for the honor of Christ is done in vain. Let us press on to serve others in the strength that He supplies, so that in everything He might be glorified.
Larry
More Piercing Words from Piper
September 20, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Joe,
I read this today on the Desiring God blog:
Lord, spare us the insidious ego deception that we love God when really we love being told that we love God. Forbid that our being thanked is the bottom of our joy, rather than Christ being praised.
What a humble, perceptive prayer. As someone who serves in public ministry, I am often thanked for sermons or other forms of ministry. How easy, and how deadly, it is to make oneself believe that they really love God when they really love being told that they love God.
Father, have mercy on me!
Larry
Lessons from the Life of John Newton
September 19, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Joe, Here’s a lengthy quote from John Piper from the introduction of his biographical message on John Newton that he preached back in 2001:
One of my great desires is to see Christian pastors be as strong and durable as redwood trees, and as tender and fragrant as a field of clover—unshakably rugged in the “defense and confirmation” of the truth (Philippians 1:7), and relentlessly humble and patient and merciful in dealing with people. Ever since I came to Bethlehem in 1980 this vision of ministry has beckoned me because, soon after I came, I read through Matthew and Mark and put in the margin of my Greek New Testament a “to” (for tough) and a “te” (for tender) beside all of Jesus’ words and deeds that fit one category or the other. What a mixture he was! No one ever spoke like this man.
It seems to me that we are always falling off the horse on one side or the other in this matter of being tough and tender—wimping out on truth when we ought to be lion-hearted, or wrangling with anger when we ought to be weeping. I know it’s a risk to take up this topic and John Newton in a setting like this, where some of you need a good (tender!) kick in the pants to be more courageous, and others of you confuse courage with what William Cowper called “a furious and abusive zeal.” Oh how rare are the pastors who speak with a tender heart and have a theological backbone of steel.
I dream of such pastors. I would like to be one someday. A pastor whose might in the truth is matched by his meekness. Whose theological acumen is matched by his manifest contrition. Whose heights of intellect are matched by his depths of humility. Yes, and the other way around! A pastor whose relational warmth is matched by his rigor of study, whose bent toward mercy is matched by the vigilance of his biblical discernment, and whose sense of humor is exceeded by the seriousness of his calling.
I dream of great defenders of true doctrine who are mainly known for the delight they have in God and the joy in God that they bring to the people of God—who enter controversy, when necessary, not because they love ideas and arguments, but because they love Christ and the church…
This is my vision: The great debaters on their way to a life-and-death show down of doctrinal controversy, so thrilled by the mercy and power of God in the gospel, that they are spreading joy everywhere they go. Oh how many there are today who tell us that controversy only kills joy and ruins the church; and oh how many others there are who, on their way to the controversy, feel no joy and spread no joy in the preciousness of Christ and his salvation. One of the aims of this conference since 1988 has been to say over and over again: it is possible and necessary to be as strong and rugged for truth as a redwood and as tender and fragrant for Christ as a field of clover.
Longing to be one who speaks with a tender heart and has a theological backbone of steel,
Larry
PS — The message can be read or listened to in its entirety here.
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Will on Hypocrisy
- Larry on Hypocrisy
- Will on Hypocrisy
- Gino on Cool Contest
- Ralph on Cool Contest
Joe's Current Book
Larry's Current Book
