Month: December 2010

We welcome everyone to our services today and we trust this Christmas holiday season has been a blessing to you. There has been much hard work in preparing for Christmas in the church and we thank each person that helped in the ministry to make Christmas special. Our special thanks go to Bro. Gary Moline and the choir for the cantata presented in last week’s service. Many weeks of preparation were spent to bring us the music for our Christmas service. Our faithful choir members are much appreciated.

I also want to thank Dave Morrow for building the props for the school Christmas play and Donna Miller for working on the costumes for the children. Also, Steve Miller and his company blessed us by donating expensive work on our candelabras for the Christmas Eve service. And then, we cannot forget about the many members that gave so generously to our special Christmas offering. This year we will send a check for over $3000 to our Missionary Tim Ekno for his work in the leper colonies of India. This is remarkable for our church especially when so many of you are having difficulty in these tough economic times.

These acts of sacrifice show how a church works together to accomplish God’s work. We are reminded of Paul’s words to the Corinthian church as he told them of the sacrificial giving in the churches of Macedonia. He said, “In a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves.” Giving time, energy, and resources to God’s work is a marker of healthy Christianity. Too many people are looking for what they can get out of church rather than what they can contribute. This church is blessed by those who faithfully continue to give to the ministry.

As we look forward to the New Year, God’s people must continue to step up. Most people have very little confidence that 2011 will be a better year economically. Recently, the newspapers reported that our area of California will not see much improvement for at least two years. If our spirituality were tied to the economy, then we would be depressed by the outlook. We are not depressed, however, because God has promised to supply our needs. The next two years can be the greatest Berean has ever experienced if we will continue to put our hands to the work.

I suspect that at the end of next year we will still report that the economy is bad. But I also suspect that we will look back and see more sacrifices made for the ministry, more people stepping up to bear the burden, and more saints determined that God’s work will continue here in Rohnert Park. Let us pray that every member will do their part to make the next year in Berean a truly great one for God’s kingdom.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

We welcome everyone today to our celebration of Christmas. Today the choir will sing beautiful hymns that celebrate the birth of Christ. I will preach a sermon that goes back to the beginning of creation and tells the story of original sin and how Christ came into the world to restore man to the paradise that was lost in his fall. On Christmas Eve, there will be a special candlelight service in which I will speak on the great announcement of the angels, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace good will toward men.” And then finally on Sunday night, December 26th, the message will be “The Miracle of the Virgin Birth.”

The songs, the sermons, and the celebrations are done each year because of the exceedingly great love of God for man. None of us will live long enough, we will never go through enough Christmases, we will never sing enough songs, and we will never preach enough sermons to adequately praise God for such love! To think that Jesus Christ, God Almighty, would step down from His exalted throne in heaven to become a baby, to live in this sin cursed world, and then to die an agonizing death for us is too far beyond our comprehension. If we were good people that always honored God and loved Him as we should, perhaps we could make a somewhat reasonable argument why He should do this. But we did not love Him and we did not honor Him. We rebelled against Him just as our father Adam did. The scripture says that we are enemies of God; and yet while we were in this condition estranged from Him, Christ came to die for us.

I really don’t believe there are many people that think of this at Christmas. We concentrate on the goodness of man. We supplement the Christmas story with tales of man’s triumph over his selfishness, pettiness, and greed. Charles Dickens did this with his famous story, “A Christmas Carol.” While the story is a classic piece of literature, the transformation that took place in the main character’s life, Ebenezer Scrooge, was not because of the miracle of the New Birth in Jesus Christ, but because of dreams and ghosts that tormented him into a change of heart. Dickens’ carol is really the alternative gospel of self reformation. Christ is not needed in such a scheme. Rather than restoring the true spirit of Christmas that was lost, Dickens perhaps unintentionally for modern generations replaced the nativity with a secular naivety that helped push Christ farther out.

We must return to the truth of the real gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to do what man cannot do for himself. He came to restore us to the righteousness of God. He came to change us from enmity towards God to peace with God. This is only accomplished by faith in the sacrifice of Christ at Calvary. Jesus gave His life’s blood that we might be restored. This is the Christmas that must be recovered. We do not need to recover man’s innate goodness. There is no such thing. Rather than being reminded of how “good” man is, we must be taught how gracious and loving God is! Ghosts and bad dreams cannot change us. God must do it through the cross.

This season when you hear “Happy Holidays,” please remember that a holiday is not good enough. Our happiness is because of Christ and His redemption. “Merry Christmas” is much better as long as we recall what happened to the Saviour instead of what happened to Scrooge.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

12/19/10 The Plan To Reclaim Paradise – Genesis 3:1-24

This past week we said goodbye to one of the finest Christian gentlemen I have known. Brother Grant Evans was a great friend, and a wonderful servant of Jesus Christ. Grant was saved late in life, but as soon as he received Christ he became a committed Christian. I have often said there are some people that you can really tell their salvation “took.” That may not be a theological term, but it does describe the type of person that lives so much like Christ that there is never a doubt Christ lives in them. Their salvation permeates every aspect of their lives. I learned this very quickly about Grant more than 13 years ago when I first met him.

I met him after he was retired from his business as a contractor, but he had taken those years of construction knowledge and had transferred them into a new occupation—construction and maintenance for Jesus Christ. His old blue pickup truck was filled with tools, ladders, paint cans, drop cloths, anything that was needed to keep the physical plant of Berean Baptist Church in good working order. There is nothing in our building that does not have Grant’s fingerprints on it.

This was his way of serving Christ. I never knew him to preach a sermon from the pulpit, but he preached sermons every day with his life. He showed what retirement should be, a great opportunity to use his time for Jesus. So every day like clockwork, he was up and on his way here to spend his day taking care of any needs we had. Our school children were as familiar with him as they were with their teachers. Whenever there was something to be fixed they were told, “Go fetch Mr. Grant” and they knew he was somewhere in the building working and would come and take care of the problem. For many years he was always around, but not once did he receive a paycheck for his efforts. His life was one of giving, not taking. He always said the pay was poor, but pay was not what he was after. Heaven was his reward; and if they swing hammers in heaven, Grant will have one in each hand.

It was my joy to be Grant’s pastor. I will always remember when he was ordained as a deacon and the excitement of that ordination service. He wanted to be sure he knew exactly what he should do and was in the right place at the right time. As he grew older and no longer felt he could be as active as he wanted, he felt he needed to retire from the deacon board. We couldn’t let him go entirely, so we made him accept the title of Deacon Emeritus. His only limitations in service were the limitations his physical body imposed. As long as he could, he did all he could. We did our best to slow him down for his own good, but his own good was rarely his concern. This ministry and this building were his love and he stuck with it until it was physically impossible.

There is so much to say about Grant. He was always faithful to every service. Three times per week he showed up in a suit and tie always seated in the same place, and always attentive to God’s word. At some point the most faithful of God’s servants will have their detractors. Some cross word of complaint will always find its way to my desk, even about the best of the best. But never did I hear complaint from Grant or about Grant. He was a rare breed of physical toughness mixed with humble gentleness. He was loved by all.

He loved his pastor from the beginning and supported me as his choice to pastor this church. I will never forget him for this. I preach to you today in some part, and perhaps as God only knows in large part, because of Grant Evans. I will miss Grant; but I am always happy to see God’s saints promoted to glory. When I get there, I will look for him and enjoy his company for eternity!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

One of the thrilling aspects of studying the Bible is learning how the Bible fits perfectly together to give a complete revelation of God’s message to man. The Bible is a composite book; there are many component parts that at times may seem independent of others, but when studied correctly and interpreted correctly the Bible will come together to reveal God’s intended message. We see this often when using our method of preaching God’s word. We have three separate studies going on in three different services, and yet we find the themes often overlapping and accentuating one another.

I cannot say that with intent I began a study of 1 John thinking it would fit perfectly with the same themes that we were studying in Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount. Nor did I purposely choose Revelation for the Sunday night series because both Matthew and 1 John have bearing on that study. Some would say this must be coincidence, but I prefer to believe God knows the plan far before I do.

In our study today in Matthew 8, the common theme of scripture blends together in another compelling story. This is the demon infestation of two men in Gadara. The salvation of the two men would probably be the thrust of most sermons on the subject, and we will speak of this in the next message, but I have chosen for two weeks to discuss another aspect. This is the authority Jesus has over the powerful forces of darkness. Some believe that God and Satan are opposing yet equal beings. We often see good and evil depicted as equal opposites with man being the determining factor over which one wins out in his life. This clearly is not the teaching of scripture.

Although Satan is a very powerful creature, more powerful than we can imagine, still he is just this—a creature. He is subject to the Creator of all things visible and invisible (Col. 1:16) and only exists by the divine permission of God. His demon cohorts are the same, and they must surrender to the authority of Christ (Matt. 8:29).

In this story of demon possession, we find a precursor for our Revelation study. We are very soon approaching the 20th chapter which reveals the incarceration of Satan. As easily as God spoke the worlds and all creatures into existence, He is able to banish Satan and his co-conspirators. This is not a struggle that God wins with difficulty; it does not put a strain on Him. As we see in the 19th chapter, the King of kings and Lord of lords rides forth on His white horse and by the sword of His mouth, the spoken word of God, His enemies are vanquished. The response of the demons in Matthew 8 shows no resistance. They are very much aware of who they are and who Christ is. They know they are subject to Him and they do not mount a defense. They also know their inevitable fate; they are doomed to the torments of hell. Luke reveals they plead with Jesus not to cast them prematurely into the abyss.

These themes in Matthew and Revelation work perfectly together. The devil and His angels must surrender to Christ. There is a final day of destruction for them because it is Christ’s intent to banish evil forever. Matthew’s design is to establish the Kingship of Christ and this miracle of casting out demons to demonstrate His authority is one more step in that process.

I love this type of study. If you do not attend the Wednesday evening and Sunday evening services, you are missing important information that will reveal the comprehensiveness of scripture. If you miss this, the component parts remain nothing but components, or at the very least will be a much harder and longer process to assemble for your complete understanding. I often say that with only three services per week I will not live long enough to teach it all. With only one service of attendance, you are way behind the curve!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Today we have a special opportunity to express our thanks for the many blessings God has given us through this year. For Christians with heart and mind focused on the eternal God, we know there are more blessings to be thankful for than we can enumerate. Despite this, I am sure there are some who think they have not much to be thankful for because this year has been one of the toughest economically we have seen in a long time. This seems to be the bane of modern Christianity especially in America because our minds are transfixed on the material. We always equate our blessings with material prosperity. In fact, there is a whole system of theology developed around this idea. It is a false gospel that is fueled by discontent; it says you are not blessed unless you are free from financial difficulty.

The proof texts against this wicked reasoning are so abundant that the Bible must either be ignored or twisted in more ways than a circus contortionist to avoid the truth. One sentence from the apostle Paul should be enough to dispel such notions. He wrote to the Colossians, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (3:2). “Things on the earth” encompasses a broad spectrum of inordinate affections not the least of which is the anxious pursuit of wealth.

Jesus often taught on this subject because the Jews of his time thought wealth was always an indication of God’s favor. Imagine their shock when he told them it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven (Matt. 19:24). Interestingly, some have tried to explain away this statement by saying the “eye of a needle” refers to a small gate or opening in a city wall by which a camel could enter with great difficulty by kneeling down and crawling through. This completely misses the point. This is the language of hyperbole and indicates utter impossibility. The “needle” is just what you think it is—a sewing needle. The person that is possessed by possessions can no more get into heaven than a camel can go through that tiny eye in a needle.

The scriptures do not leave us wondering how it is possible to be thankful in the midst of economically tough times. We are continually reminded that our citizenship is in heaven and that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ. The mind of a Christian has been reordered and those that are still struggling with contentment on a physical plane will never find true happiness. The world can never satisfy God’s people, so this is why the prosperity gospel continues to fuel discontent. If the mind is reordered to the spiritual, how will the physical ever satisfy?

This brings me back to my main premise. The mind that is focused on the eternal God realizes it is impossible to thank God enough. We cannot wait for one day per year to praise Him for His benefits. We live to glorify Him. As David said, “Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever” (Ps. 145:2).

Pastor V. Mark Smith

11/21/10 The Blessing of Sharing, Luke 12:16-21