Hypocritical Smiles and Fatal Stabs

Berean Baptist on September 28, 2015

Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts. (Psalms 28:3)

 Fifty-four years ago when I was saved, I was more than blessed with my salvation. I was also blessed to be born into a family with a pastor as my father. Not only was he a pastor, but he was a diligent man who helped to shape my theological training and gave me the right perspective of the word of God. I believe the most significant part of my training was his teachings on the sovereignty of God. I learned that God is in control of every minute detail of His creation, and whether good or evil God works all according to His eternal plan. Much of the time, if not most of the time, we cannot see this because we can only deal with the here and now and have no ability to discern how all contingencies play their part in the whole.

Two years ago, the largest casino in the State of California opened in Rohnert Park. The roads were clogged for hours—at one point peaking with a 24 mile backup on highway 101 to highway 37 in Novato. Nearly every day I pass this casino on my way to work and I am amazed how interest has not waned. At all hours every day the parking lot is full. I must confess I do not understand how a casino in Rohnert Park figures into God’s eternal purposes. I thought about this for a while until I read the 28th Psalm and realized how perfectly suited this Psalm is for this magnificent building. God has His eyes on these things as well and uses them to accomplish His purposes. You might wonder how I could possibly see a casino in the 28th Psalm!

Obviously, there is not a picture of that nearly one billion dollar building in my Bible, but there certainly is a word picture of those that operate it. Notice verse 3: “Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.” How perfectly descriptive of the devious leaders of the Graton Rancheria. They speak so eloquently and make such wonderful promises of how they will help the city of Rohnert Park.

The owners and managers busily sow the seeds of goodwill by donating to charities and promising funds for numerous social and governmental services. They appear to be doing wonderful works for the community, but the real intent is to suck the life out of those who can least afford to gamble their family’s income away on their vices. It is no secret that these devilish enterprises prey on the poorest of the community. The casino leaders can afford to sprinkle a little cheap goodwill here and there while they reap the millions taken in from glassy eyed fools hoping to beat the house. One such fool was quoted in our newspaper. He was asked how long he was going to stay. How long? His reply, “Until I run out of money!” He was dumb enough to stay when he was sure he would not beat the house! “A fool and his money is soon parted” is an old English proverb surely based upon the wisdom of Solomon. “The workers of iniquity speak peace to their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts.”

How does this work into God’s eternal plan? I do not know the smaller details, but I can see the big picture. At least I can say this: If God needed vindication for the destruction of the greedy and selfishly wicked, He established another count for indictment in His court of justice. We prove every day by the defiance of His Holy Commandments that we fully deserve the fires of hell. Surely the flames are higher and the heat is intensified for those that put wickedness in front of their neighbor and entice him to imbibe.

The depravity of man is on display in Rohnert Park in all of its deplorable radiance. Some have said our city will never be the same. I do not think it has changed at all. The crud that was always beneath has simply been exposed to reach the surface.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Blessing of Bible Study

Berean Baptist on September 21, 2015

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. (Psalms 27:4)

 One of the greatest pleasures I have as the pastor of this church is the time it affords me to do in-depth Bible study. Although I believe every Christian should take time to read and meditate on scripture, I know it is not possible for most of you to spend the kind of time it takes a pastor to study the word and prepare sermons. Since I do have the time, and you expect that I should use it, I am blessed to read and study the word along with the writings of many good men of God.

I have heard some preachers criticize the use of commentaries and other aids saying a man should get his instruction straight from the word and allow the Holy Spirit to speak directly to his heart. I would never deny such a method is excellent, but I also believe it would be foolish to reject the wisdom of good godly men who have also been spoken to by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps you have never thought of it this way, but a good commentary acts as a preacher’s preacher. My sermons to you are commentary on scripture, so why should I be deprived of commentary on scripture?

My whole point here is to come to this—in reading commentaries, I often come across golden nuggets of thought that are a particular blessing to me. I was looking over the 27th Psalm when I read William MacDonald’s commentary and I was truly blessed by his treatment of the text. He took each verse and showed how the Lord Jesus may have thought on this Psalm in the hours before He was taken to the cross. I do not have space to rehearse the entire Psalm, but I can give you a few examples of how MacDonald handled the comparison to Christ.

In verse 1, the Psalmist said “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” MacDonald remarked that when the chief priests and the elders of the temple came to take Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, He said, “This is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53). While He said this, Jesus consoled Himself with the words of the Psalm, ”The Lord is my light and my salvation.”

Verse 2 is interesting. In John 18:6, the scripture says when Jesus spoke to the men that came to arrest Him, they heard His voice and they went backward and fell to the ground. Compare this to “When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.”

The intention of Christ’s enemies was to take Him to trial, condemn Him, and then lift Him up between heaven and earth by nailing Him to a cross. MacDonald says as they planned to do this Jesus was anticipating another kind of lifting up. Notice verse 6 of the Psalm: “And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.”

When Jesus was arrested, great fear came on all the disciples and they forsook Him and fled. When all your friends forsake you and when no one is there to stand with you, on whom do you depend? Would Jesus think on the words of verses 9 and 10? “Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.”

This is just a small sampling of the commentary, but how blessed I was to find this little jewel in the hundreds of books in my library. Bible study is interesting, uplifting, exhilarating—and fun. I hope you delight in God’s word and use every opportunity to learn more about our great God and the salvation He provides in Jesus Christ.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

 

The Secrets of the Lord

Berean Baptist on September 14, 2015

The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. (Psalms 25:14)

 As I was looking over the 25th Psalm, my attention was drawn to the 14th verse. This is an intriguing verse as David speaks of the secret of the Lord. What did he mean when he said God shows secrets to those that fear Him? The first thought that came to mind is how God’s people have a special relationship with Him that is unknown to unbelievers. There is no way to explain how it feels to know the Lord, and to have full confidence He controls your life. In Matthew 6, we are told not to take thought for our lives. There really shouldn’t be anything that worries us because the Father has promised to take care of us. No one apart from Christ can get rid of fears and anxieties because they handle all their burdens themselves. They have no idea there is a God who faithfully performs for His children and takes all their cares away. This is secret territory hidden to the faithless uninitiated.

I have no doubt this is true and I believe every child of God knows and can claim this secret of God’s providence. However, I tend to believe there was more on David’s mind as he thought about God’s secret. There are higher levels attained in the Christian life and there are other secrets obtained as you pass these levels. For example, the understanding of scripture is a secret until the Holy Spirit enlightens our eyes by faith. Many Christians live their entire Christian lives without unlocking many of the Bible’s secrets. There are doctrinal matters you will never understand until you decide to lock yourself down into the study of God’s word. You need not expect to reach the level of your teachers until you have spent the time they have in the word. The secrets of the word are not intentionally kept because God wants only a select few to know them. No Christian is without the capability of being a Samuel or a David or an Isaiah.

But I also believe there is still another higher level of God’s secrets. I do not believe these secrets are revealed until we truly learn to give God our whole heart, mind, soul, and body. This is when we reach the level that we truly mean, “For to me to live is Christ.” Christ consumes us at this point. Who are those that have reached the level of receiving God’s best kept secrets? I believe they are men like Daniel. Daniel’s eyes of understanding were sharp and clear, so that he saw the future world. He saw from his time to the end times. Daniel pinpointed the first advent of the Lord to the exact time He would come. Read about Daniel’s life and how he would not defile himself with the pleasures of Babylon. He steadfastly turned his face towards Jerusalem to pray to the living God.

Another such person was John. He is self-described as the disciple Jesus loved. There was a special bond between Jesus and John. John was the apostle of the secrets of Revelation. No one has seen what John saw. There was something very special about his character and his love for the Lord that opened up secrets only such servants could know.

And then I think about Paul. Think how many times Paul spoke of mysteries, secret things, God revealed through him: the mystery of the hidden wisdom of God (1 Cor. 2:7); the mystery of the rapture (1 Cor. 15:51); the mystery of God’s will in the doctrines of grace (Eph. 1:9); the mystery of the church (Eph. 5:32). There was so much he knew and was able to tell the church because God opened His secrets to him.

What level are you on? Do you know some things you could not have known before? All the secrets I have spoken of are in the Holy Scriptures, so do not expect to get the new kind of revelation the apostles and prophets received. There is more than enough in the Bible that you do not know to occupy the rest of your life. Secrets are not found out by treasure maps and cryptic messages. Learning God’s secret is a function of your dedication. The less you give of yourself, the less you will now who God is. Consider your ignorance—why don’t you know more than you do?

Pastor V. Mark Smith