God’s Wisdom for Parenting (Part 2)

by Pastor Patrick Cho

One of the places in Scripture to find a wealth of helpful principles for parenting is the Proverbs. Almost every book on parenting will reference these Scriptures repeatedly because of the wisdom they contain. Besides the plethora of verses that apply to parenting indirectly, several passages address parenting specifically.

“My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD or loathe His reproof, for whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects his son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:11-12)

Solomon knew the Lord’s discipline from experience. There was a keen awareness that God had purposed good for the one He reproves, and that His discipline is an act of love towards His children. While this passage is more about the Lord than it is about parenting, there is an important principle involved for parenting: Discipline, understood and exercised according to Scripture, is an act of love. When parents correct their children, the intention is always to be instructive and the motive is always to be love.

This is one of the many passages that speak against punishing children out of anger or without restraint. A loving father has a plan in his discipline, and he practices correction because of his delight in his son and not his hatred. When we as parents meet opportunities to help our children when they disobey, our first thought in the discipline needs to be, “Am I seeking to help my child in the Lord? Am I instructing my child toward greater godliness to love and fear God, or am I through my angry outbursts actually deterring faith in my child?”

One reason parents ought to discipline their children toward godliness is because this is what the Lord does for His children. Parents, then, can mimic the Lord and even represent Him through their loving and formative discipline. As their child grows up, hopefully they will come to appreciate their parents’ correction because they understand that they were being steered towards Jesus and away from the things that would take their hearts farther from Him. This is also the reason discipline must be accompanied and applied with prayer to orient a parent’s heart toward God and help curb sinful attitudes and emotions. Depend upon the Lord to use godly discipline to steer your child’s heart to Him.

@LBC (3/15/2017)

by David Zhang

Sermons

Introduction to Mark by Patrick Cho (Selected Scriptures)

  • How is the life of Christ the key for our living?

The Tragedy of an Undevoted Life Part 1 and Part 2 by Meinolf Mellwig (Judges 14-16)

  • What is human potential without a God-centered focus?

There Fell Down Many Slain, Because The War Was Of God

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

1 Chronicles 5:22

Warrior, fighting under the banner of the Lord Jesus, observe this verse with holy joy, for as it was in the days of old so is it now, if the war be of God the victory is sure. The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh could barely muster five and forty thousand fighting men, and yet in their war with the Hagarites, they slew ‘men, an hundred thousand,’ ‘for they cried to God in the battle, and He was entreated of them, because they put their trust in Him.’ The Lord saveth not by many nor by few; it is ours to go forth in Jehovah’s name if we be but a handful of men, for the Lord of Hosts is with us for our Captain. They did not neglect buckler, and sword, and bow, neither did they place their trust in these weapons; we must use all fitting means, but our confidence must rest in the Lord alone, for He is the sword and the shield of His people. The great reason of their extraordinary success lay in the fact that ‘the war was of God.’

Beloved, in fighting with sin without and within, with error doctrinal or practical, with spiritual wickedness in high places or low places, with devils and the devil’s allies, you are waging Jehovah’s war, and unless He himself can be worsted, you need not fear defeat. Quail not before superior numbers, shrink not from difficulties or impossibilities, flinch not at wounds or death, smite with the two-edged sword of the Spirit, and the slain shall lie in heaps. The battle is the Lord’s and He will deliver His enemies into our hands. With steadfast foot, strong hand, dauntless heart, and flaming zeal, rush to the conflict, and the hosts of evil shall fly like chaff before the gale.

Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
The strife will not be long;
day the noise of battle,
The next the victor’s song:

To him that overcometh,
A crown of life shall be;
He with the King of glory
Shall reign eternally.

6.8a

Weekly Links (3/10/2017)

by Stephen Rodgers

Alright…we’re back. Thank you for your patience in light of last week’s hiatus. So without further ado, here’s the good stuff…

  • The Gospel Call and True Conversion by Paul Washer (audio book) – Get it. Get. It.
  • The Risen Existence: The Spirit of Easter by Paula Gooder (Logos) – I have no idea what this is, but it’s free if you’re a Logos user with a collector streak.
  • Secularism (Tabletalk) – I’ve said it before…Tabletalk is a gem. People come up to me all the time and ask what I think about <insert goofy book or resource here>. Sometimes I lie awake at night and just wonder why they don’t read Tabletalk instead.
  • Credo Magazine – So this is a bit of a teaser, but Credo has said that all future issues this year will be thematically tied to the Reformation (given that this is the 500th anniversary of a certain monk and his mallet).
  • Shepherds Conference – The 2017 SC media is…not up yet. But the material from past years certainly is, if you need something while you’re waiting.
  • TMS Course: The Reformation – It’s likely that very few folks reading this attended the TMS Winterim and took the offerred church history class with Carl Trueman. But you know what’s amazing in our day and age? You actually can. For free. Just click, read, study, watch. And that’s amazing.

A Little More Time

by Roger Alcaraz

Not many of us have gone through a life threatening situation. My closest encounter with death was back in college when I was skateboarding down a hill. I had wanted to get on the left sidewalk but I was going too fast to get on it so I ended up rolling down the outer edge of the street against traffic when, suddenly, a bus was heading my way. I still remember the feeling of that bus passing me at a relative speed of 70mph. I remember the wind from the bus physically slowing me down as it passed just two feet in front of me. It was a vivid realization for me that skateboarding might not be worth the risk, and so I traded in my cool skateboard for an even cooler Razor scooter.

That was a close call, but no matter how many times we can cheat death, eventually it will catch up to us. Death is a reality that we will all face eventually, but it’s a reality we should all consider now. It can take us at any moment. For example, an earthquake can hit and bury you in rubble. Everyone in the world might see it as tragic, but the angels in heaven who see God would simply call it fair.

The Bible says “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) and “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20). Since we all sin, the question we should all ask is, “Why does God allow me to live?” And for that question, Jesus gives the following parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down’ ” (Luke 13:6-9).

The story is simple. If you planted a tree for the purpose of bearing fruit, and it failed year after year, you would probably say “Chop it down!” And that is what would have happened to this tree except that the vinedresser asked for one more year. If one more year has passed, and if it still doesn’t produce fruit, then cut it down. The fruit in view here is the fruit of repentance. It’s a picture of God’s great patience toward mankind in giving us more time.

In all this, what I find baffling is that God would even endure so long for people he knows will never repent. I would tell God, “If they’re never going to believe, why are you still forbearing? It’s only bringing you more sorrow.” But what this parable communicates is that it’s worth it to God to give you more time, even if it amounts to nothing, because his greatest desire for you is that you would repent and believe. So the answer to why is anyone still alive is because God is merciful and compassionate and patient toward sinners. What is the greatest gift of God’s common grace to humanity? It’s time–time to repent, time to believe.

As I think about the time I barely scraped by the bus and how I could have easily been killed, I think about how it was my freshman year and how I did not know Jesus. At the time, whenever something bad would happen, I would mock the goodness of God, curse directly at him, and feel no remorse or any fear since I thought of it like speaking to wind. God could have said, “This tree hasn’t produced fruit in 18 years. And the bus could have been God’s way of saying, “It’s time to cut it down.” But I praise God that he said, “I’ll give him more time.” And it was later that year that I surrendered my life to Christ and now God is even still gracious to give me more time.

Sadly, patience is often taken for granted. But his patience is there for a reason. It isn’t so you would grow tired of it or forget about it, but that you would be led to repentance, as Romans 2:4 says, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” The point is, there’s a reason you’re still alive–and that is because God is patient. And there is a purpose for his patience–and that is so you might repent from your ways and turn to him in faith. Tomorrow’s not a guarantee. So far, you’ve lived your whole life experiencing God’s patience. But there is a time when his waiting will end.

The parable tells us how God is giving us yet another chance to repent, but there is a definite warning that your opportunity to repent is limited. You don’t know when your end will come and when the wrath of God will fall upon you. And so while you have time, you need to call on Christ and be saved. If you trust in Jesus for salvation and follow him with your life, then the wrath of God that he endured on the cross would be done in your place. But if you don’t have Christ, then the last words of the parable are for you to hear, “Cut it down.” It’s an abrupt and sad ending for the parable, but it will be the ending for many. God’s patience is not something that should be taken for granted. And so while you have opportunity, repent.

Be Zealous

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Revelation 3:19

If you would see souls converted, if you would hear the cry that ‘the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord’; if you would place crowns upon the head of the Saviour, and His throne lifted high, then be filled with zeal. For, under God, the way of the world’s conversion must be by the zeal of the church. Every grace shall do exploits, but this shall be first; prudence, knowledge, patience, and courage will follow in their places, but zeal must lead the van. It is not the extent of your knowledge, though that is useful; it is not the extent of your talent, though that is not to be despised; it is your zeal that shall do great exploits.

  • This zeal is the fruit of the Holy Spirit: it draws its vital force from the continued operations of the Holy Ghost in the soul. If our inner life dwindles, if our heart beats slowly before God, we shall not know zeal; but if all be strong and vigorous within, then we cannot but feel a loving anxiety to see the kingdom of Christ come, and His will done on earth, even as it is in heaven.
  • A deep sense of gratitude will nourish Christian zeal. Looking to the hole of the pit whence we were digged, we find abundant reason why we should spend and be spent for God.
  • And zeal is also stimulated by the thought of the eternal future. It looks with tearful eyes down to the flames of hell, and it cannot slumber: it looks up with anxious gaze to the glories of heaven, and it cannot but bestir itself. It feels that time is short compared with the work to be done, and therefore it devotes all that it has to the cause of its Lord.
  • And it is ever strengthened by the remembrance of Christ’s example. He was clothed with zeal as with a cloak. How swift the chariot-wheels of duty went with Him! He knew no loitering by the way.

Let us prove that we are His disciples by manifesting the same spirit of zeal.

6.7p

Romans 7 and the Doctrine of Sanctification

by Josh Liu

Editor’s Note: Josh has once again graciously re-worked a seminary paper (or as I like to call it: “Pastor Mark’ed an article”), this time on the topic of Romans 7. For those who don’t know, this is a somewhat controversial chapter since opinions vary on exactly what Paul intended his readers to understand, given some rather interesting syntactical maneuvers.

On the offhand chance that anyone reading this paper also reads the blog over at the Gospel Coalition, let me just say that Josh absolutely describes Thomas Schreiner’s position qua BECNT accurately, but Dr. Schreiner does seem to have modified his view somewhat since that was published, as seen in his contribution to that blog series. Even theologians change their minds from time to time. But as Dr. Schreiner points out at the end of that article, the different positions aren’t that far apart in the greater context anyhow.

Enjoy!

Resounding Faith

by Pastor Patrick Cho

When one of our members resigns their membership at Lighthouse San Diego, we typically try to schedule an exit interview to bless them and pray for them. Over the years, these exit interviews have been a really sweet way to say goodbye and reaffirm the loving relationships that have been built up through the fellowship of the church. One question we ask during the interview is, “From your perspective, what is something that we can be doing better at Lighthouse?” By far, the most frequent answer is that the church could be more evangelistic.

Why is this a problem? Well, it’s a problem because one of the reasons the church exists is to proclaim the amazing grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even our motto at Lighthouse is that we would serve to be a beacon of God’s truth and love! So if our members are not seeing that the church is striving to be evangelistic, then this needs to be more of a focus of our ministry.

But this is also a problem because the measure of a church’s evangelistic ministry is directly proportionate to how evangelistic its members are. If the church’s members were devoted to evangelism and responded to the urgency of reaching souls for Christ, then surely the church would be characterized as evangelistic. In other words, evangelism is not firstly a program. Evangelism is the responsibility of each believer in obedience to the call of Christ and the command of Scripture.

Of course the church could initiate some exciting new evangelistic program. At first, many people might get involved perhaps because of the sheer excitement of it. But over time, we have seen that participation dwindles. The excitement fades. Sadly, enough time passes and the ministry is barely being held together by the faithful few who truly have a heart for it. How can this be avoided? It doesn’t begin with starting newer and better programs. Honestly, it must begin in the pulpit through the faithful preaching of God’s Word. Only there can the Spirit of God work through what is preached to light a fire in the hearts of the church’s members to love what the Lord loves and to commit to what the Lord requires.

This is the reason our theme for 2017 is “Resounding Faith” from 1 Thessalonians 1:8, where the Bible says, “For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.” The key phrase is “sounded forth.” It means to ring out and describes the blasting of a trumpet. The reputation of the Thessalonians was that they were faithful in their proclamation of the gospel to the extent the Apostles were hearing about their faith throughout all of Greece.

But what led to the Thessalonians’ commitment to being a faithful witness? It wasn’t some clever church program. They simply recalled the drastic life change that took place when God rescued them from their idolatry. They maintained a keen awareness of the effect of the gospel in their lives not just to bring them to salvation but also with its ongoing application. In v. 5, the Apostle Paul testifies of the power of the gospel and the work of the Spirit in their lives to bring about radical change. In v. 9, the actual transformation wrought by the gospel in their lives is undeniable. They had turned to God from serving idols. Having experienced so great a salvation, testifying to the grace of God became a natural outflow of their lives.

As we unpack this theme throughout the year, hopefully it will challenge the church to consider: 1) Do you regularly preach the gospel to yourself remembering how the Lord brought about radical change in your life? 2) Do you seek to grow in your understanding of the biblical theology of salvation so that you can better know who God is, what He does, and what He requires of you? and 3) Does your testimony and experience of conversion fuel your evangelism? I’m praying that the teaching we work through this year will cause the church to be bolder in their witness taking risks of faith to tell others about Jesus because of what is at stake.