The Hardest Word To Hear

Yesterday, I went on a tour of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, which was a phenomenal experience. I had felt for a while that God was directing me there, and I feel that my suspicions have been confirmed. In addition, I also felt that God was leading me to a career in ministry in music. Today, through a series of events, I have felt that God has closed that door on me, and it is hitting me pretty hard.

So why is it so hard to hear a "no" from God? Why is it hard for us to hear a "no" from anyone for that matter? Could it be that we are so used to following our own preconceptions on things, that we assume that we know what we're doing better than others? While it is true that we know what is going on internally in our own lives better than others sometimes, it would be a horrid misconception if we presumptuously thought that a creation knows better than its Creator. Isaiah chapter's 29 and 45 have some pretty clear messages as to what God thinks of our audacious behavior:

The Lord says:
   “These people come near to me with their mouth
   and honor me with their lips,
   but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
   is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
Therefore once more I will astound these people
   with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
   the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”
Woe to those who go to great depths
   to hide their plans from the LORD,
who do their work in darkness and think,
   “Who sees us? Who will know?”
You turn things upside down,
   as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,
   “You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,
   “You know nothing”?
(Isaiah 29:13-16)

“Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker,
   those who are nothing but potsherds
   among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
   ‘What are you making?’
Does your work say,
   ‘The potter has no hands’?
(Isaiah 45:9)

I think this is a pretty substantial topic that we've discovered here. Why on earth do we think that we have the right to question God? We are nothing but "potsherds among the potsherds on the ground"! So why then do we think we know better? Why then do we say to God, "No! You don't understand! (Fill in the blank) is a part of who I am! Don't you see that? This is what I want to do!" ?

Doesn't it make sense to think that the God of the Universe, the Alpha and Omega, the great I AM, the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come, who knows all, sees all, and sent his Son to die for all, would have some sort of plan? I mean, come on. Isn't that just common sense? Our God is a God of Order, and order cannot beget chaos. Chaos by definition is "a state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order."  God is not chaotic; it goes against his very NATURE. He is the Sovereign Lord over ALL creation, and I think that the reason we question our Savior is because we forget that he IS sovereign.
I think we are all familiar with Jeremiah 29:11; "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Now, how many of us are familiar with what comes next? Read this closely:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart..." (Jeremiah 29:11-13, emphasis mine)

The context of this verse is incredible; for those of you reading this now who have not read the book of Jeremiah, and specifically Jeremiah 29, please do so. You won't regret it.
Many of the people of Israel have been carried off into exile in Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzer, and Jeremiah 29 is the text of a letter that Jeremiah sent to those surviving elders and peoples of Isreal. It tells how the Lord will rescue them and bring them back to Jeruselam, and deliver them from the hands of Nebuchadnezzer and the Babylonians.
In the same way, can we not reason with one another that the same God who rescued his nation of Israel will do the same for us? His own children, bought and paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ. That's who we are! And are we so doubtful to think that God will not be our champion and our warrior? Our Savior and Redeemer? We need to come back to the truth! We need to know the truth, for the Truth will make us free.


As I write this, God is doing a work in my own heart; I myself have doubted God, and for that I feel ashamed. But I know this to be true: That God is not finished with me. I am still learning what it means to be "confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 1:6). I do not know what God has in store for me, but I know that when he closes a door, there is another one standing open, beckoning us to enter that we may find the rich abundance of the love of Christ in what he has planned for us. Sometimes, we are so caught up in what we cannot have, that we don't even notice that which we truly need, and somewhere inside us, desire most. Today is a new day, and though the sorrow may last for the night, the joy WILL come in the morning.

Holy, Holy, Holy

Recently, I started a series of classes entitled The Holiness of God, based on the book and video sermons of the same title by R.C. Sproul. It has been a fantastic experience to see how incredible our God is, and it has opened my eyes to a great deal of things that God has been trying to instill in my life. Tonight, I finished the study guide for the first section of the series, entitled The Importance of Holiness, which was based out of the book of Isaiah, chapter 6. The insight that Dr. Sproul brings to the topic is absolutely phenomenal, and some of the later sections blew my mind as to how our God that we love has become so tamed in this day and age, if not already non-existant to the minds of those who have been blinded by Satan.

The big point that I wanted to share from R.C. is that the song the seraphim (angels) sing to God contains what Dr. Sproul refered to as the Trishagion. I'm not sure how you pronounce that word exactly, but lets take a look at the text. :)

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
   “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
   the whole earth is full of his glory.”
 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
(Isaiah 6:1-4)

Ok, so the Trishagion is the "Holy, Holy, Holy" that the angels sing to God, but what is the significance behind that? R.C. Sproul points out that in English, we emphasize with italics, underlining, or inflections, but the Bible emphasises in repetition. Examples would be instances such as Paul repeating important concepts in his letters, or Jesus himself saying "Truly, truly I say to you...", but the importance of this repetition here is that the only time triple repetition is used in reference to an attribute is with God's holiness. According to Dr. Sproul, "This is a dimension of God that consumes his very essence." So his holiness is not only worthy of triple repetition, but it is in fact who God is. As Thomas Brooks puts it, "God's holiness and His nature are not two things, they are but one. God's holiness is His nature, and God's nature is His holiness." That in itself wasn't the crux of Dr. Sprouls argument, but I think that its a very good insight into who our God is, and what his nature is as well.

In response then, how are we to view God in light of His holy nature, and holy name? The Israelites met it at times with rejection, rebellion, a kind of arrogant self-sufficiency, and questioning of God in the sense of asking him, "Do you have any idea of what you're doing, really?" Obviously, this is NOT the way we should respond to his holiness at all. God wants us to view his holiness with a repentant heart, an acknowledgement of his holiness in awe, with praise for what he has done, regarding him with fear, and looking to Him for salvation instead of the "gods" that we have set up for ourselves in this world. Even when we are so far from Him, God is forgiving and gracious in his spirit, but that is by no means an excuse to go sin. It isn't living with the mentality that since we have an "umbrella of grace" as it were, we are free to do as we please, and take that as a license to sin. By no means! Instead, we should be living in a right fear of God, viewing him as he ought to be viewed: Holy.

The entire series of The Holiness of God is absolutely fantastic, and I encourage anyone and everyone that is interested to go and get a copy of either the book, podcast, or video series. (I am actually quite partial to the videos, but that's just me. I think I connect better when the teacher is there for me to see, rather than a disembodied voice from an iPod or computer, but again, just the way I prefer it.) Thanks for reading, and I look forward to sharing with you soon.

God Bless.