Since this week has been a particularly difficult week for me physically, yesterday's lovely day at the Byron Nelson with my darling Teeny Tiny (a.k.a. Michael, our eldest son) wore out my already frail body. But it was worth it!
One of the numerous things that I've come to thank God for during these 13 years of constant physical pain and weakness, is the revelation that pain is not, and cannot be the determining factor of when and why and how I choose to live—only the Word of God determines that. Physical pain and weakness and suffering are not even close to being the worse thing I, nor anyone on this earth can experience. A life lived outside of God's good and perfect will, is the worse thing anyone (both rebellious believers and unbelievers) can experience.
Because I'm so weak and in much pain today, my darling husband, once again, planned what we call "home church service". We always use a sermon from Parkside Church (www.parksidechurch.com) because we trust Alistair Begg's soundly biblical preaching, and because Parkside posts the entire service (announcements, prayers, worship songs, sermon, closing benediction). Providing the entire worship service, is a refreshing gift to people like me.
Today, my darling husband prepared the lyrics to the songs (as always), and the sermon from a couple of weeks ago, given by one of our beloved teachers/preachers, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson. He preached on Romans 8:28-32 and reminded his hearers that it is not sufficient to preach the Gospel to ourselves daily, but we need to preach the Gospel to our circumstances as well. For in the Gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed (Rom 1:16-17) and thus, renews and transforms our minds and hearts to rightly view all of life with the awe-inspiring and healthy fear of the LORD.
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have good understanding. His praise endures forever!"~Psalm 111:10, ESV
In this wonderfully exhorting sermon by Dr. Ferguson, I received a much needed and comforting reminder that there is nothing that I have, nor will ever experience in this life, that my good and faithful and loving Father God has not providentially ordained...all for my greatest good...the good of my eternal soul.
If my Father God has not even spared His one and only Son for my sake, how then can I ever disbelieve and question that He will not work all things, far less important than my salvation, for my ultimate good? Since my Father has already demonstrated His amazing love in which my finite mind cannot fully grasp, how then can I worry and bemoan any day to day trial that comes my way? I cannot. I must not. The only right response, and one in which Christ suffered and died and rose again to free us from, is the freedom to fall on our faces with immense gratitude toward the Almighty for His great mercy on us (Lk 6:35-36).
"These are the charges leveled against us before the judgment seat of God: That I have committed blasphemy and have made myself the center of the universe and sought to dethrone God. And I have committed treason because I have breached and rebelled against His lawfully constituted authority."~Dr. Sinclair Ferguson
The worst crime, the worst sin, is unbelief. Because essentially, all who refuse to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus is foolishly accusing God the Father of hating His one and only Son. And that is blasphemy. Because Christ pleaded with His Father, if there was any other way to save our wretched souls, to please spare Him this terrible suffering and death, would the Father not do it? Yes, of course He would! Which brings us to only one conclusion: There was no other way to save our souls from the eternal and just wrath of God.
Consider this, anything and everything filthy (dirt, vomit, feces) in creation, can be washed and cleansed with something else that God has created. But our sins, our crimes against the holy, righteous, and only true living God, are so vile, so putrid, that there is nothing in all creation (not soap, lye, hyssop—nothing) that can cleanse our souls, our consciences, from our sins. Even one occasion of sin is so vulgar in the sight of our good and just God Almighty, only the Creator Himself, the second Person of the Trinity, in human form, was able to cleanse us by washing us with His perfect and pure blood.
While I was at my weakest, in flesh and spirit, Christ died for me (Rom 5:6-11). Therefore what can any man, any spirit, any hardship, or any pain do to me? Nothing. For I am hid in Christ my Lord, my Rock, my Shelter, my Redeemer. And I am therefore glad to be found worthy to suffer anything for the sake of knowing Christ, and making Him known.
While I was at my weakest, in flesh and spirit, Christ died for me (Rom 5:6-11). Therefore what can any man, any spirit, any hardship, or any pain do to me? Nothing. For I am hid in Christ my Lord, my Rock, my Shelter, my Redeemer. And I am therefore glad to be found worthy to suffer anything for the sake of knowing Christ, and making Him known.
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