Peace

Peace is like a colorful rainbow.

Peace looks like a white dove.

It sounds like the peaceful wind, and

It can be a soaring eagle, but

Peace is always Heavenly.

By Samuel Rickett


I thought that I share this beautiful poem from my son. Peace is Heavenly for it is from God through the person and work of Jesus Christ. For those who put their trust in Jesus we are no longer at war with God and His enemies but are at peace and His friends. Awesome News!

Pursuing Ethnic Harmony

Friends,

Pastor Lance Lewis has offered a thought provoking question on his blog that I think directly relates to what City of Hope Church is striving toward. I've taken it as the impetus to make the first post on my blog which has been sitting dormant for over a year.

Pastor Irwyn

The Power of the Resurrection: Jesus Makes All Things New

Last night at our Easter Celebration Service, I encouraged you with the good news that because Jesus Christ has risen we have a new record and identity, a new heart and power, and a new hope and inheritance.

New Record and Identity
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Eph. 1:3-10)

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:21)

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

What these verse means is that God promises to save from sin’s penalty those who believe in Christ and consider them as His righteous, beloved, chosen children forever.

We have a righteous record - As the Just Judge, God promises to accept the sacrificial work of Christ as satisfying his just wrath against humanity and consider humanity’s sin imputed to Christ and Christ’s perfect righteousness imputed to us. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are declared righteous and are seen as righteous before God!

Additionally, we are part of God’s Family - As the Gracious Father, God promises to accept and love those who believe in Christ just as He accepts and loves His one and only Son. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are forever adopted into God’s family!

Because God is satisfied with Jesus (in all he is and all he has done), he is satisfied with us!

New Heart and Power
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

This passage means God also promises to save those who believe in Christ from sin’s domineering power over their lives by freely giving them a new heart and a new Spirit to empower them to know God, honor and enjoy Him forever and follow Him and His ways.

Although you can never be free from sin’s ongoing influence until heaven, God promises through Christ to deliver you from sin’s domineering power today. The Holy Spirit gives you the power to grow in Christ-likeness; to fight sin; and to freely live out His righteousness.

New Hope and Inheritance
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Eph. 1:11-14)

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Rom. 8:2-30)

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; (Titus 1:1-3)
54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15:54-58)

God promises that one day all of your struggles will be over and he will bring you to your eternal home--a place where he will wipe away every tear from your eyes and make all things new. We have hope NOW for a future inheritance!

So What? What differences does it make in our lives that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has provided us with a new record, new heart and a new hope.

I shared with you last night when I trusted Jesus as my Savior and Lord that God changed the way I responded after playing tennis poorly. Before I was a child of God and had this new record, heart and hope, you can say that my language was pretty foul when I messed up a serve or a forehand return. I would put John McEnroe to shame. So when I became a Christian, the Holy Spirit convicted me of this bad behavior and enabled me to turn from it (repent) and often refrain from the foul language. But as I grew as a Christian, the Holy Spirit convicted me even further that the struggle with this particular sin is much deeper than the bad behavior of cussing. He showed me that I needed heart surgery that He alone could do. Because of this new heart and power, I began see the reason why I cussed: I didn’t believe that this new identity was enough and found my satisfaction in how well I played and looked to others. How I looked and played meant more than resting in Jesus Christ. You see, I was not resting in my new identity in Christ but resting in my performance and appearance. Because Jesus has risen, the Holy Spirit enabled me to repent not only of my foul language but also of my heart struggle of finding my acceptance and satisfaction in what I did and how well I did it. The bad behavior is only the result of a deeper problem—where am I going to find life, satisfaction, and identity. Do I believe that Jesus is enough for me even when I fail and that all I need is found in Jesus even when I look bad to others? Or do I believe that I need other things to complete or satisfy me? How about you?

What can be so exciting for the Christian is that we have hope that God is at work continually changing us into the likeness of Jesus Christ until we die or He comes again.

We are and will be made new in both soul and body and delivered not only from sin’s domineering power but even its presence. Presently, we live on the continuum between slavery and freedom.

Moreover, this new life God promises us is also cosmic. The good news is that because “Our God reigns” there is a new world coming where all things that are now crooked in our lives, churches and culture will finally be made straight.

God promises that one day all of creation will be made new as he makes his invisible kingdom visible over every sphere of life. And in this promised new heavens and earth there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order will pass away. Paradise will be restored.

This vision of the good news of the coming Kingdom accomplished by the Resurrected Christ is meant by God to serve as a fuel for the gospel flame in our hearts to spread through our church and to our city and to all the nations for the glory of God.

In Christ, we have everything. We don’t need anything else to fill us up—we have Jesus Christ! This is truly mind-boggling when we consider the greatness of our glorious, mighty, gracious and holy God.

You are the temple of God and God resides in you through the Holy Spirit. You are his and he is yours!

The Resurrected Jesus has accomplished this for us! Giving us a new record, new heart and new hope so that as we live in this world, we will influence and impact it for good. He is making us more like Him to live godly lives in a world full of temptations and vice.

We are empowered with His resurrected power partnering with God to make all things new!

On a final note, as I was running this morning these thoughts came to mind:

Because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, He enabled the early church to survive and thrive during much pain, hardships and persecution. They only had the Old Testament and the oral traditions and the apostles’ teachings about Jesus Christ, and yet they changed the world. John Piper encourages, “The disciples were ablaze boldness, risking their lives by preaching that Jesus was alive”.

I sometimes wonder if Christians should have a bonfire to burn up all the “Christian self-help” books for I believe they distract us from truly resting in Jesus Christ and needing Him alone. We often depend upon the techniques and principles these books espouse than Jesus Himself to fight our battle with sin, become who we are in Christ and make a lasting impact in our community. Personally, how many books have I read that I even remember what it says nonetheless apply.

What do you think? I am sure I struck a nerve and hope a good discussion.

Remember we have all we need in Jesus—a new record, a new heart and a new hope!

Warmly,
Pastor Jeff

Marriage & Weeping

I tuned in to an interesting discussion on ESPN radio earlier. A popular talk show host was going on about the need for marriage to “evolve” in this country. What he’d like to see is marriage vows take the form of sports contracts. Just like athletes know that after five years they’ll be free agents, it would be good for husbands and wives to know that they could opt out, upgrade, or choose another team. All of the callers I heard get on the air, both male and female, were in agreement with the host. Think of the benefits they said. Husbands and wives would be much more health conscious and physically active. If you knew that you and your spouse would become free agents, you wouldn’t let yourself go physically. You’d lay off the fries and go to the gym more often to keep yourself marketable for your current spouse or potential others. Everything else in society has evolved, claimed the host; technology, culture, etc. It’s time for marriage to do the same.

Now, even though he didn’t give any indication that he was joking, I’m not sure whether or not he was being absolutely serious. He may have just been trying to provoke some controversy.

What his and the callers comments speak to is a clear admission of the unreasonably high divorce rate in America. The host, who is divorced, even talked about how great his relationship is with his ex-wife now that they’re divorced. Since men and women are going to get together, the solution to the divorce problem is not to change people, but to change marriage. It’s unreasonable, they said, to expect men and women to stay together for 20, 30, 40 or, God forbid, 50 years.

“Solutions” like this one are really interesting because they are a veiled admission of hopelessness, the hopelessness for the human enterprise to fix what’s wrong with this foundational institution for society. Frankly, this is symptomatic of the “it’s all about me” disease that we human beings suffer from.

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday. It’s a day when we look back on Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding on a colt as the crowds spread palm branches along the road and shouted, “Hosanna!” It’s a day when we also look forward to his coming again in glory. I’m reminded of Luke’s account of the triumphal entry in chapter 19 of his gospel. He tells us that as Jesus drew near to Jerusalem he wept over it. He said, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from you eyes.”

When I hear off-the-wall “treat marriage like a sports contract” solutions to the divorce epidemic in our day, there is a weeping in my heart. We are still blind on this day to the things that make for peace. They are still hidden from our eyes. Sometimes the brokenness of this world makes us laugh at ourselves. Beneath the laugh, however, is a desire that the brokenness be made right.

Are you married? Are you thinking about getting married? Are you re-married? Are you single because of the dissolution of a failed marriage? Whatever state you find yourself in relative to this God ordained institution, learn from Jesus the things that make for peace, peace with God. Learn from him that his overriding concern for your marriage is that it glorify him by your growth in holiness. Yes men, that might mean that you won’t get to play as much golf or tennis as you’d like. Yes ladies, that means that the human relationship you ought to pursue most vigorously is the one with your husband, not your girlfriend.

May God, by his grace, begin to cure us of the “it’s all about me” disease.

In Christ’s love,
Pastor Irwyn

Faithfulness ≠ Fanaticism

In his book The Reason for God, Belief in an Age of Skepticism, Tim Keller responds to one of the major deterrents to Christianity for those who are skeptical about this faith. That deterrent is fanaticism.

I am, without a doubt, a football fanatic. I help to coach my son's youth football team. Frankly, I'm happy that he wants to play football since it gives me an opportunity to coach. I have recently overspent in procuring NY Giants Super Bowl XLII paraphernalia. My body convulsed in scary ways when Eli Manning escaped a sure sack and David Tyree caught the football on his helmet as Harrison was hanging on his arm. I take what I'm sure is a sinful joy in wearing my NY Giants Champions cap in Borders and Starbucks at the Cap Center, right up the road from FedEx field. Though I did not play one single down, nor break one bead of sweat during training camp, I walk around saying we won the Super Bowl. The absurdity of it all!

There is a difference, however, between being reasonably obnoxious (in my opinion) as a football fanatic and what Keller describes as a Christian fanatic. He says on pp.56-7,

"When arguing for their faith they often appear intolerant and self-righteous... A fanatic is someone who is thought to over-believe and over-practice Christianity... Think of people you consider fanatical. They're overbearing, self-righteous, opinionated, insensitive, and harsh. Why? It's not because they are too Christian but because they're not Christian enough. They are fanatically zealous and courageous, but they are not fanatically humble, sensitive, loving, empathetic, forgiving, or understanding⎯as Christ was."

What then does intense, radical commitment to Christ look like? It starts with the recognition that I'm a Christian by sheer grace alone, and that I'm preserved to persevere in the faith by the power of God alone. If God left me to myself, I would fall away from the faith. As one preacher reminded me a few months back, "If God relaxed his grip upon us even slightly we would spontaneously combust in to all kinds of sins."

I think about Abraham's journey when I consider what faith in the Lord looks like. The first time the Lord spoke to Abraham is recorded in Genesis 12, and the last time is recorded in Genesis 22. In between, we see the ups and the downs of his life of faith. He lies about Sarah being his wife on two occasions. He leads his 318 men to rescue Lot, is blessed by Melchizedek, and refuses to take any of the spoils of war from the king of Sodom. And on it went. My point is that there were times when his faith was strong, and times when his faith waned. Yet, in chapters 12 and 22, the texts that frame, or bookmark Abraham's life of faith we see the overall character of that faith. His was a true faith that expressed itself in a willingness to radically obey God's word and commands even when it made absolutely no sense to him. He wasn't just offering up lip service when he said that he trusted the lord. He could be bold with the king of Sodom, but still intercede before God on behalf of that wicked city.

This balance of boldness, humility and compassion is hard for us to strike. That, however, is what will make a Christian stand out. Not because we're fanatics, but because of a humble yet unwavering commitment to this God who binds us to himself by sheer grace.

In Christ,

Pastor Irwyn

A Good Word

Folks,

Check out Pastor Lance Lewis' post here. It's a good word and good advice on pastoral ministry and shepherding.

In Christ,

Pastor Irwyn