Who Needs Whom?

Berean Baptist on September 11, 2017

This past Monday I got up to start my day in the usual manner. Every day starts with a review of one of the sermons I will preach the following Sunday. I had just finished my Sunday morning review when I picked up the TableTalk devotional which is next on the list of the morning reading. To my surprise, the devotion for the day included this important statement: “God doesn’t need you! Never has. Never will. For anything. Ever.” This was an interesting assertion because I had just seen the same concept in my own sermon on the resurrection.

In this sermon, I examined the terrible lie that was concocted by the wicked religious leaders who tried to conceal the truth of the resurrection. I looked at their lie to wonder how would God deal with it. What could be done to fix it and how would people learn the truth when the most influential, powerful leaders of religion told a story in direct contradiction to the truth?

It’s a very good question considering only eleven uneducated men were given the responsibility to preach what the leaders so steadfastly denied. How were they to overcome such powerful opposition? As it turns out, God did not need them to fix things. Although God never lies, He certainly did set up all the circumstances that made this lie testify to the truth.

In His resurrection plans, God never allowed the disciples to dwell on the promise Jesus gave that He would rise from the dead. He told them many times, but it is as if they never heard it. They never latched on to it as a means of hope which is proved by two of them in their conversation with the resurrected Christ on the road to Emmaus. If they had believed it, they would have been a constant presence at the tomb eagerly waiting for the exact moment to see Jesus just as He came back to life. If this had happened, it would help make the lie the body was stolen more plausible. God did not want them anywhere near the tomb until it was over in order to make the leaders’ lie completely self-defeating.

It was the leaders who insisted that Pilate post a guard and put the Roman seal on the tomb. Their efforts were to ensure there was no way the body could be stolen. It was so tightly secured that when the resurrection happened, the lie the body was stolen was impossible to believe. God did not need the disciples to fix this for Him—the religious leaders did the job themselves and God directed them every step of the way.

Today’s theology is dominated by seriously bad thinking. The idea is that God cannot do anything without us. God sits in heaven crying because He is helpless. He is so disappointed because He created man and loved Him and now nobody will love Him back. So, God needs to be made happy and we are the only ones who can help Him. The truth is God does not need us. Never has. Never will. For anything. Ever. He doesn’t need you—you need Him. Always have. Always will. For everything. Forever.

This theology is proved over and over again in scripture. God is sovereign over all affairs and always has been. Adam’s fall was not a surprise. Jesus’ death was not a responsive afterthought. The lie about the resurrection was not a problem for God to overcome.

The author concluded with this thought: “God is not looking for ‘helpers’ to assist Him in saving the world…God has never commanded us to go save the world for Him. He calls us to follow Him as He saves the world through us.” You see, it is not about you—it’s all about Him.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Patience Will Pay

Berean Baptist on June 5, 2017

Psalm 89

Psalm 89 is a great reminder of the patience needed as Christians try to live for Christ in a very hostile world. As you read this psalm, you can feel the disappointment of the author as he wonders what has happened to the promises of God. He begins the first part with an expression of the faithfulness of God to the Davidic Covenant, and then continues with a repetition of God’s promise to preserve the throne of David to all generations. He reminds us of God’s promise to never recant and thus break this covenant.

The psalmist knows this is true as he wants to maintain his assurance with God, but the present circumstances seem too much until he finally asks, “Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in truth?” Whatever his present problems, they seemed to overwhelm his patience as he pleads with God to deliver him from his enemies.

This psalm contains many references to Christ because the exalted language could not refer to any other. Especially interesting is verse 27 which says, “Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.” This takes us beyond David to the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the firstborn of all creation, meaning He is preeminent over all—He is the highest in rank of all. The promise is that David’s throne would be made higher than all thrones, which will be fulfilled when Christ begins His glorious kingdom on earth.

I thought about our patience for this to happen as I studied for the message this week. When Jesus appeared before Pilate, Pilate asked Him if He was a king. Jesus replied that He was but His kingdom was not an earthly one. He meant that at that time He had no designs on overthrowing Rome or being involved in any type of political insurrection. However, His answer was not a denial that at some point Pilate and all of Rome’s Caesars and all powers on earth would bow to Him. He made this clear to Caiaphas just hours earlier when He said He would sit on the right hand of power and come in the clouds of heaven.

Jesus was patient for this to happen. There were steps to the kingdom that were ordained and each step had to be painstakingly fulfilled before He would claim His crown as the world’s king. His present suffering was one of those steps. We must think of this when we are prone to depression because we have so much suffering to endure. The call for patience is modeled after that of Jesus. Paul wrote that if we die with Him, we shall live with Him; if we suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him. Likewise, there are steps in our lives to be taken before we reach the final reward of our heavenly home. We are encouraged to faithfully endure each of these steps because God’s promise will not fail any more than Christ will fail to sit as the everlasting king on the throne of David.

Remember this as you pray. Pray that Christ’s kingdom will come and God’s will is done. But as you do, be patient and walk the steps God has planned for your Christian life.

Pastor V. Mark Smith