Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

It’s All Good

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
(Psalm 118:1)

by Kevin Tse

These days the word “good” can be taken many different ways. It can be used to describe a state of being, ability, or a character quality. Usage of the word “good” has also become rather relativistic, being used to denote that something is better than something else. The main issue with this usage of the word “good” is that it is completely divorced from the true definition of “good”, which can only be described as “that which is inherently God”.

God is good, and He defines what “good”-ness means. First, God is good because He is perfect (Matt 5:48). Second, God is good because He is a God of blessing, to believers and unbelievers alike (Matt 5:45). We all experience the common grace of God that sustains our lives on a daily basis. God particularly promises to bless the nation of Israel (Genesis 17:7-8), and the church (Eph 3:20-21). Third, God is good because He is righteous and holy (Is 6:3).

God defines goodness on His terms, and we all fall short of His goodness (Rom 3:10,23). This is called sin, and it is what separates us from God. Our salvation, therefore, cannot come from ourselves because we have no inherent goodness or righteousness of our own. We can only be saved because God, being rich in mercy, bestowed upon us the blessing of the righteousness of Christ. It is Christ’s imputed righteousness that is the ultimate manifestation of the goodness of God to us, and God’s imputed righteousness is what saves us from the punishment of sin (Phil 3:8-9).

Sometimes, even the strongest believer forgets the goodness of God (Ps 13, 73). This is what happens when we take our eyes off the eternal and instead focus on the present. Sometimes it appears that the wicked are getting away with anything they want (right before our very eyes!), while the believer is left to suffer. In those times, we must recall that we were never promised an easy life (John 15:18-20), but instead what we are promised is that our ultimate reward is an inheritance that is stored up in heaven with Christ, imperishable and eternal (1 Peter 3:7).

We have a choice when we are faced with doubting the goodness of God. We can choose to doubt the veracity of His promise that he causes all things to “work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:28). We can choose to ignore the answered prayers and faithfulness He has demonstrated to us in the past, and focus only on the present trial. We can choose to forget His eternal promise of blessings to those who have run the race faithfully (Rom 5:3-5, 1 Peter 1:3-9). But the Bible is clear that though we may choose to doubt, God is truly good from everlasting to everlasting.

In Psalm 73 we see that it is only when we can regain our eternal perspective by entering “the sanctuary of God” (Ps 73:16-17) that we are reminded of the goodness of God. Only then will we see that the wicked does not truly prosper (for their reward is a just punishment administered on their day of judgment), but also that our heavenly rewards are super-abounding and an overflowing reminder of the goodness of God towards us. Even more, God has not left us to ourselves, but has blessed us with His Holy Spirit who is continually with us. It is as if God’s infinite goodness lives within us (and walks with us) at all times. This is what caused the Psalmist to write some of the most comforting words in all of scripture, when he writes (Ps 73:23-28):

Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.

LBC Weekly SPARK – March 19, 2014

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear LBC family and friends,

Consider the following excerpt from Jerry Bridges’ Respectable Sins. I found this analogy to be extremely helpful in conveying the deadly nature of sin:

“Cancer! It’s a dreaded word, a word that often invokes a sense of despair and sometimes even hopelessness. . . . Another term for cancer is malignancy. Medically, the word malignant describes a tumor of potentially unlimited growth that expands locally into adjoining tissue by invasion and systemically by metastasizing into other areas of the body. Left alone, a malignancy tends to infiltrate and metastasize throughout the entire body and will eventually cause death. . . . Sin is a spiritual and moral malignancy. Left unchecked, it can spread throughout our entire inner being and contaminate every area of our lives. Even worse, it often will metastasize from us into the lives of other believers around us. None of us lives on a spiritual or social island. Our attitudes, words, and actions, and oftentimes even our private unspoken thoughts, tend to have an effect on those around us.”

With this analogy in mind, it’s no wonder the Lord Jesus called His disciples to deal with sin in a radical way (Matt. 5:29-30). Even unrepentant sin in the church, like a cancer, must be removed because of the deadly influence it can have (Matt. 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5:1-13; Titus 3:10-11).

As believers in Christ, it is not that we should walk around defeated because of our constant failures. Actually, we should rejoice in the grace of God that He forgives sinners (cf. 1 John 1:9). The problem is that all too often the opposite is true of our attitude towards sin. Instead of treating sin with seriousness, we have a flippant and casual attitude towards it. We justify our ungodly behavior with excuses and we cover up our sins.

We need to remember how dangerous personal sin is. We have been called to walk in holiness as God is holy. We are called to be set apart from this world, denying the flesh and its desires. We certainly aren’t going to do this perfectly (Praise God for His patience and grace!), but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t constantly strive for it. Instead of making excuses for our sin, let’s remember the amazing grace of God and our love for our Savior by fighting for personal holiness and excising sin from our lives with surgical diligence and precision.

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are some opportunities for ministry for this week:

  1. MIDWEEK BIBLE STUDIES. All of our regularly scheduled midweek Bible studies and fellowships will continue this week. This includes Kids’ Club, Lumos Youth, College, Singles, and Grace Life. Here is the schedule: Wednesdays at 6:30 PM – Single Life (Main Meeting Room), Thursdays at 6:30 PM – Kids’ Club (Room 108) and Grace Life (Room 107), Fridays at 7:00 PM – Lumos (Room 107) and College Life (Main Meeting Room)
  2. SUNDAY. With our collegians off for spring break we will not be having Sunday School classes this weekend. Classes will resume on Sunday, March 30.
  3. SUMMER MISSIONS. Applications are now available for our summer missions trips to Argentina and the Czech Republic. If you are interested in applying for missions, please talk to Pastor Patrick for more details and for an application. Applications are due by March 23. Pastor Patrick will contact the references once applications are submitted. You must have been a member of LBC in good standing for at least a year to apply.
  4. FLOCKS. March 26-29 is flocks week for LBC, so our regular Bible studies will be cancelled. For more information about flocks, please visit the church website.
  5. WOMEN’S SEMINAR. The Women’s Ministry will be hosting the last women’s event of the 2013-2014 term on Saturday, April 5, from 9:00am-12:30pm for all LBC ladies, youth group on up. The theme is “WORD-ly Wise: Building up the Body” and will be a study in Ephesians 4. Please email Mrs. Grace Lee to RSVP (gracelee357@aol.com). There is no cost to attend.
  6. GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE. On Friday, April 18, at 6:30 PM, we will be coming together for a communion service in observance of Good Friday. This will be a wonderful opportunity to remember the cross of Christ that has saved us. Be sure to invite family and friends for this time.
  7. RESURRECTION SUNDAY. Sunday, April 20 is Resurrection Sunday, so we will be having a special morning service focused on the resurrection of Christ and our hope in Him. That morning, we will also be having a breakfast fellowship in the parking lot starting at 7:30 AM.
  8. ANNUAL BANQUET. Signups are now being taken for the annual banquet. The cost is $35/adult and $15/child ($100 max/family). You can sign up with Cesar Vigil-Ruiz in the foyer on Sunday.
  9. ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND. Don’t forget to mark off May 2-4 on your calendars as we will be celebrating the church’s 15 year anniversary that weekend. Here is the tentative schedule:

FRIDAY, MAY 2
7:00 PM General Session 1 – The Mission of LBC (Pastor Patrick Cho)

SATURDAY, MAY 3
9:00 AM General Session 2 – The Vision of LBC (Pastor Jim Kang)
12:00 PM Lunch Fellowship (FREE!)
2:00 PM Break
5:00 PM Annual Banquet/General Session 3 – The Passion of LBC (Pastor Chris Mueller)

SUNDAY, MAY 4
9:00 AM General Session 4 – Reflections on 15 Years of Ministry (Pastor John Kim)
11:00 AM Fellowship and Refreshments (No Sunday School classes)

He Shall See His Seed; He Shall Prolong His Days…

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Isaiah 53:10

Plead for the speedy fulfillment of this promise, all ye who love the Lord. It is easy work to pray when we are grounded and bottomed, as to our desires, upon God’s own promise. How can He that gave the word refuse to keep it? Immutable veracity cannot demean itself by a lie, and eternal faithfulness cannot degrade itself by neglect. God must bless His Son, His covenant binds Him to it. That which the Spirit prompts us to ask for Jesus, is that which God decrees to give Him. Whenever you are praying for the kingdom of Christ, let your eyes behold the dawning of the blessed day which draweth near, when the Crucified shall receive His coronation in the place where men rejected Him. Courage, you that prayerfully work and toil for Christ with success of the very smallest kind, it shall not be so always; better times are before you. Your eyes cannot see the blissful future: borrow the telescope of faith; wipe the misty breath of your doubts from the glass; look through it and behold the coming glory.

Reader, let us ask, do you make this your constant prayer? Remember that the same Christ who tells us to say, ‘Give us this day our daily bread,’ had first given us this petition, ‘Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.’ Let not your prayers be all concerning your own sins, your own wants, your own imperfections, your own trials, but let them climb the starry ladder, and get up to Christ Himself, and then, as you draw nigh to the blood-sprinkled mercy-seat, offer this prayer continually, ‘Lord, extend the kingdom of Thy dear Son.’ Such a petition, fervently presented, will elevate the spirit of all your devotions. Mind that you prove the sincerity of your prayer by labouring to promote the Lord’s glory.

4.2p

LBC Weekly SPARK – March 13, 2014

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear LBC family and friends!

I hope this week has been a source of joy for you in the Lord and that you are seeking to honor Him in the everyday things of life. Last week, a number of our men had a chance to attend the Shepherds’ Conference with Dr. John MacArthur at Grace Community Church. It was a tremendous time of instruction, fellowship, and encouragement. If you have a chance, I would encourage you to check out the website for the conference. It includes a very helpful archive of audio from general session sermons and break out seminars from all the past conferences. Though you might not have been able to attend, you can still benefit from the instruction. As the seminars in particular cover a wide range of topics, you’re sure to find something helpful for your encouragement and growth. Check out www.shepherdsconference.org.

(Editor’s Note: Presently it looks like only the General Sessions for 2014 have been posted; the Seminars are sure to follow soon however).

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick

Here are some upcoming ministry opportunities!

  1. Bible Studies. All of our regularly scheduled midweek Bible studies continue this week EXCEPT for Single Life. This includes Kids’ Club, Lumos, College Life, and Grace Life. Single Life will NOT be meeting for Bible study because of their annual weekend retreat at Pine Valley Bible Conference Center.
  2. Sunday School. We will not be having Sunday School classes this weekend because of the singles retreat. Classes will resume the following week.
  3. Summer Missions. Applications are now available for our summer missions trips to Argentina and the Czech Republic. If you are interested in applying for missions, please talk to Pastor Patrick for more details and for an application. Applications and references are due by March 23. You must have been a member of LBC in good standing for at least a year to apply.
  4. Women’s Seminar. The Women’s Ministry will be hosting the last women’s event of the 2013-2014 term on Saturday, April 5, from 9:00am-12:30pm for all LBC ladies, youth group on up. The theme is “WORD-ly Wise: Building up the Body” and will be a study in Ephesians 4. Please email Mrs. Grace Lee to RSVP (gracelee357@aol.com). There is no cost to attend.
  5. Annual Banquet. Signups are now being taken for the annual banquet. The cost is $35/adult and $15/child ($100 max/family). You can sign up with Cesar Vigil-Ruiz in the foyer on Sunday.
  6. Anniversary Weekend. Don’t forget to mark off May 2-4 on your calendars as we will be celebrating the church’s 15 year anniversary that weekend. Here is the tentative schedule:

FRIDAY, MAY 2
7:00 PM General Session 1 – The Mission of LBC (Pastor Patrick Cho)

SATURDAY, MAY 3
9:00 AM General Session 2 – The Vision of LBC (Pastor Jim Kang)
12:00 PM Lunch Fellowship (FREE!)
2:00 PM Break
5:00 PM Annual Banquet/General Session 3 – The Passion of LBC (Pastor Chris Mueller)

SUNDAY, MAY 4
9:00 AM General Session 4 – Reflections on 15 Years of Ministry (Pastor John Kim)
11:00 AM Fellowship and Refreshments (No Sunday School classes)

Please don’t forget to pray for one another, for the leaders of the church, and for this ministry! Please also don’t forget about the opportunities to minister in our local community each week. Let’s continue to faithfully spread the love of Christ to those around us.

Judge with Caution

by Hansol An

Lighthouse Bible Church has always challenged our members with the depth and breadth of teaching offered. Many collegians have told me that they had not been exposed to the type of teaching offered at LBC prior to coming here. While that can be a tremendous blessing, for younger people it can also be a stumbling block, often without realizing it. When a younger person has been deeply impacted by a new teaching or revelation, there is a tendency to take that new found knowledge and want to share it immediately so that it can have the same type of impact on others. Naturally, friends and family are the first to hear what they have learned. At times that enthusiastic application of Scripture to others’ lives turns into premature passage of judgment and can cause unnecessary conflict in the process. That’s not to say we should not judge the lives of others, at all. The Bible clearly calls for believers to apply God’s standards to ourselves and others (e.g. 2 Corinthians 13:5, Matthew 7:16, John 7:24). But it also tells us to be careful how we do it.

Wise discernment starts with fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7). Those who do not take heed of their place before God will surely not show humility before others, revealing their foolishness. One cannot hope to judge others in a biblical manner without a biblical measure of humility. Pride exists where humility is absent. When applied to judging others, said pride can manifests itself through self-righteousness, detracting for whatever godly intent a person may have had. Pride can also keep us focused on ourselves and not on the other person’s situation, effectively blinding our spiritual eyes or at the very least, limiting our field of vision. When we are too focused on our own righteousness, we cannot give our full attention to another person’s situation. In general, we shouldn’t think too highly of ourselves (Romans 12:3) but especially when examining the lives of others. It would be ideal for a person’s humility to grow in direct proportion to their growth in knowledge but with young believers, that isn’t always easy. There is a reason the Apostle Peter specifically calls out “you who are younger” to be humble when exhorting the church (1 Peter 5:5).

Christ himself warns us to be careful in the Sermon on the Mount. In the 7th chapter of Matthew we see his warning:

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Before we begin to look at the deficiencies in the life of another, we need to make sure we don’t have any issues that can blind our judgment and make us look like hypocrites.

Another danger for collegians to consider is their own relative inexperience. Not having a broad base of experience–both blessings and trials–puts a younger person at a disadvantage when trying to fully grasp another person’s situations. This relative lack of experience means that a younger person is more likely to be limited in their ability to see all the possible reasons for someone else’s behavior, thus likelihood of misunderstand another person’s situation is greater. As a person gets older and goes through more in life, they have a greater pool of experiences to reference when carefully examining another person’s life.

Ultimately, when judging others, as in all things, it needs to be done in love. Without it we are merely “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13 describes the love that we are called to have. Examine whether or not your good intentions line up with the description of love in that chapter. If not, perhaps your intentions are not motivated by God’s love. We have to remember that God is the final and true judge to whom we will all answer to for our actions and words (2 Corinthians 5:10). He knows the intentions of our hearts better than we do. It would be wise to pray for his assistance in such matters, asking for our will to be aligned with his.

If you are convinced that your heart is in the right place to judge another, even then we need to proceed with caution. It can be easy to take in a lot of information and regurgitate it to someone and say, “Don’t you know that the Bible says…” but we forget that it also says, “… let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak…” (James 1:19). James warns us to not be so eager to teach others because doing so can have far reaching consequences (James 3). I have witnessed many instances of harsh judgment that have occurred over the years. Most were well-meaning and began with good intentions, but due to a lack of discernment, the judgment often did more harm than good, oftentimes resulting in a broken relationship. I’m sure that was not the intent.

Strange Fire Conference (Update #5)

by Stephen Rodgers

I’ve updated the original Strange Fire Conference post (again) with material that has become available since the original post went up.

This is a rather large update since I haven’t done this for a while, but I felt it was important to jam everything in there since there have been a number of very interesting responses and resources made available in the past several months.

Trekking On (With Maturity)

by Stephen Rodgers

There isn’t a new article from Peter today, but in case you hadn’t noticed, he’s been working on the same series since 2012. We’re now 15 articles into it, and this is a great chance for you to catch up on the one’s you’ve missed.

If you’re all caught up on that series, then now’s a great chance to check and see if there’s any other series that you’ve missed.

There are more articles in this series than there are Star Trek sequels because of Peter.
There is better punctuation in this series than there is on Star Trek posters because of Stephen.

 

Weekly Links (3/10/2014)

Study universal holiness of life. Your whole usefulness depends on this, for your sermons last but an hour or two; your life preaches all the week. If Satan can only make a covetous minister a lover of praise, of pleasure, of good eating; he has ruined his ministry.

Give yourself to prayer, and get your texts, your thoughts, your words from God. In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be success.

It is not great talents God blesses, so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awesome weapon in the hand of God. (Robert Murray M’Cheyne)

by Stephen Rodgers

A lot of folks are probably still recovering from Shepherds’ Conference last week, so we’ll keep this edition of the WL lean and mean so that people can get their free stuff and get back to the weekly madness.

  • The free book from Logos for the month of March is Bonhoeffer for Armchair Theologians. In general, that’s a pretty good series for getting a high-level overview of various theological figures, so grab this if you’re a Logos-er.
  • The free book of the month from christianaudio.com is Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee. I’m not familiar with this book, and I know Nee is solid on some areas of doctrine but sketchy on a few others, so listen carefully and compare everything back to Scripture…just like you would for anything else really.
  • Christianaudio.com is also giving away the Good News tracts collection for free. There are some familiar names on some good topics in there, so grab it if you think it might prove useful.
  • The new Tabletalk is out: John Knox and the Scottish Reformation. This is basically the inspiration for the M’Cheyne quote above. Mary Queen of Scots once remarked that she feared Knox’s prayers more than any army in Europe. Grab Tabletalk and find out why.
  • And last but not least, the free book of the month from Ligonier is Derek Thomas’ How the Gospel Brings Us All the Way Home. I have really been enjoying their monthly offerings, and I expect this will be no different.

Alright everyone. Have a good week! I’ll be back in my regular seat on Sunday, and I’ll hope to see you all there.

Pro Rege

He Answered Him To Never A Word

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

From Matthew 27:14

He had never been slow of speech when He could bless the sons of men, but He would not say a single word for Himself. ‘Never man spake like this Man,’ and never man was silent like Him.

  • Was this singular silence the index of His perfect self-sacrifice? Did it show that He would not utter a word to stay the slaughter of His sacred person, which He had dedicated as an offering for us? Had He so entirely surrendered Himself that He would not interfere in His own behalf, even in the minutest degree, but be bound and slain an unstruggling, uncomplaining victim?
  • Was this silence a type of the defenselessness of sin? Nothing can be said in palliation or excuse of human guilt; and, therefore, He who bore its whole weight stood speechless before His judge.
  • Is not patient silence the best reply to a gainsaying world? Calm endurance answers some questions infinitely more conclusively than the loftiest eloquence. The best apologists for Christianity in the early days were its martyrs. The anvil breaks a host of hammers by quietly bearing their blows.
  • Did not the silent Lamb of God furnish us with a grand example of wisdom? Where every word was occasion for new blasphemy, it was the line of duty to afford no fuel for the flame of sin. The ambiguous and the false, the unworthy and mean, will ere long overthrow and confute themselves, and therefore the true can afford to be quiet, and finds silence to be its wisdom.
  • Evidently our Lord, by His silence, furnished a remarkable fulfillment of prophecy. A long defence of Himself would have been contrary to Isaiah’s prediction. ‘He is led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.’

By His quiet He conclusively proved Himself to be the true Lamb of God. As such we salute Him this morning. Be with us, Jesus, and in the silence of our heart, let us hear the voice of Thy love.

4.2a

LBC Missions Fellowship Night

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Dear LBC family and friends,

Greetings from the Shepherds’ Conference at Grace Community Church! I wanted to send out a quick email to let you all know about a couple opportunities to learn more about our ministry partnership in Argentina. Matias Buldain is currently in Southern California for the Shepherds’ Conference. Matias and his father Eduardo lead the church planting ministry that planted the church in Tucuman with Pastor Jorge Ahualle.

On Sunday, March 9, Matias will be preaching at LBC Los Angeles. If you would like to attend their service, the church meets at Vision Christian Fellowship in Pasadena (1555 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91106). The service begins at 4:30 PM.

On Monday, March 10, we will be having a special fellowship night to give Matias a chance to get to know some of the people from LBC San Diego. This will happen at the LBC San Diego church building at 6:00 PM. At the fellowship night, Matias will be giving a brief presentation about his ministry in Argentina. If you would like to attend, PLEASE EMAIL ME TO LET ME KNOW YOU ARE COMING. We are asking $10/adult to cover the cost of food, but please only pay what you are able. We want you to be there!

If you are free throughout the rest of the day on Monday, I will be showing Matias around San Diego. If you would like to join us, please email me and we can try to coordinate schedules.

I hope many of you will be able to come out to these events. Matias is a dear friend and diligent worker for the gospel. We are so thankful for his ministry in Argentina and are thrilled that he could be here with us.

In His grace,

Pastor Patrick