Thy People Shall Be Willing

Berean Baptist on October 30, 2017

Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. (Psalms 110:3)

At the end of Matthew’s gospel is one of the most familiar of all texts concerning the work of the church. It ends with the commission of world evangelism given to the apostles by the risen Christ. The task of preaching the gospel to the nations was daunting to say the least, and seemingly unreasonable given the nearly wholesale rejection of the Lord’s own ministry. He was despised, rejected, beaten, humiliated, and crucified which was no indication the message He preached would gain widespread acceptance.

There was, however, a very important factor that made the task possible. It was His resurrection from the dead which told the disciples that anything was within His power. He was “declared to be the Son of God with power…by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). If the risen Christ commanded world evangelization, it was therefore possible. Jesus further declared the success of His commission by saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18).

This brings me to the 110th Psalm with its powerful message of the authority of Christ. In verse one of the psalm, David wrote, “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” This is a conversation between two persons of the Godhead. God the Father spoke to God the Son promising He would receive all authority in His kingdom. The suffering and death of the cross would result in His exaltation to the right hand as the King of heaven and earth.

This psalm holds the distinction of being the most quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament. The importance of it cannot be overestimated especially as it relates to the closing verses of Matthew. There are two critical factors for the success of the commission of Matthew 28:19-20 that arise out of Psalm 110:3. The psalmist wrote, “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power…” As witnesses of the gospel, the disciples were not much willing as they forsook the Lord and despaired in His death. They saw no hope of a dead Messiah fulfilling His promise of being the King in an earthly kingdom. However, their hope was revived with the resurrection. The power of the risen Christ and His promise to remain with them by the presence of the Holy Spirit gave them the sorely needed motivation for gospel preaching. They were willing to attempt an impossible task because the strength to accomplish it was not their own.

It is wonderful to have courage induced by the strength of Christ, but as impressive as this is, it is not enough to complete the task. This alone will not turn wicked sinners with depraved hearts to Christ. The factor of a willing soul-winner is needed but another factor must also accompany it. The second factor is a willing lost soul. This is equally impossible without supernatural ability because no souls are willing to come to Christ. Man’s will is bent away from Christ and will be forever unless it is changed by the Holy Spirit. This is what the Holy Spirit does in regeneration. He brings dead sinners to life and enables them to choose Christ in repentance and faith. When scripture says, “Thy people shall be willing” we know the gospel will be successful because God makes it so. He empowers the soul-winner with the courage to preach and then guarantees the success of the preaching by empowering the sinner to believe.

This is a topic that requires much more time and space, but it should be noted the word says, “Thy people shall be willing.” No others become willing except those who have been chosen by God to believe the gospel. This powerful combination of enabled soul-winners and enabled lost souls is far more than enough to convert those intended to be reached. Thank God none of this depends on our power. There is no success without God’s power and nothing but success with God’s power.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Fires and Fears

Berean Baptist on October 16, 2017

Those of you reading from outside the immediate area have probably heard the news about the devastating wildfires that occurred in Santa Rosa and much of Sonoma County where our membership lives. While the images on television were horrifying, it is impossible to understand how deeply we are impacted unless you see it firsthand and speak with those who experienced it. Officials say that we have lost more than 5% of our housing in Santa Rosa alone. This severely exacerbates a problem we already have. There is a shortage of rental units and houses for purchase without the massive increase in demand from this tragedy. We are deeply concerned about displaced families.

Our church is small compared to such a massive problem. However, the good people of our church have pledged to do what we can to help our community. We have offered to house some transitional families until they can make suitable arrangements. We are also linked to efforts by the Santa Rosa Bible Church and their Christian school ministry to aid displaced church and school families. Offers of help have poured in from across the country. The short-term need is for cash donations for unexpected expenses. Though some of the most expensive neighborhoods in our area were burned and those families may have other resources, there are thousands more that are just like you. They struggle to meet family budgets and have no resources for sudden calamity. Each day is a struggle for survival. If you can help, we urge you to click the links on our homepage to give.

One more note. As Christians, we are not in despair. We see the good in God’s sovereign plan. Disasters are inherent in a world charged with sin. It is part of the curse of the fall. While we do not claim to know how everything works in God’s purposes, we know they are always good for His people. In this tragedy, we see opportunities for the gospel. We see the grace of God reflected in His people who have an opportunity to obey the second table of the law—“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

We also see a clear warning for repentance and a call to faith in Christ. God is gracious to send another visible sign that salvation is only in Jesus Christ. He gives time to repent and we must heed the warning. The good news is that all can escape the judgment of sin and may inherit a new home that can never be touched by a fire or disaster of any kind. This home is for those who give up self, change their minds about their goodness, and cling to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He provides this righteousness for imperfect, sinful people by His perfect life and sacrificial death.

For anyone who reads this, especially those in our area affected by the fires, if you want to know more about faith in Christ and peace in your troubled life, please let us know. The results of the fire cannot be taken away, but the anxieties of what you will do next can be by trusting in the sovereign God.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith