New Church and a God upgrade

It has been a few weeks since I last posted. It is only because I am so busy with work and family. Now there is a new distraction to draw me away from this. We are starting a new church here in Chico. Maybe this will actually help to get me writing more. I was able to a lot when I was pastoring full time. Now I have another job (still delivering produce) which I actually love.

I have written a mission statement, which was much more difficult than I thought it would be. Here it is:

We exist to:

Worship God in all of His glory,

Enjoy Him in all of His fullness,

Spread a passion for His truth to all peoples,

That Jesus might be praised forever.

            We do not have a name yet, and we are already meeting on Sunday nights at my house. If you are in the Chico area, consider yourself invited. We meet at 776 Cleveland Ave. We will begin to meet on Sunday mornings towards the end of summer.

            As for my last post I would like to continue here with just one short thought. How big is your God? I know that most people would not even hesitate to say that their God is very big. Yet when you begin to ask questions and probe a little, you quickly realize that not only do they have a much smaller God, but they have a greatly inflated view of man. Let me illustrate.

            In the book of Romans, Paul is arguing for the all-sufficiency of God in salvation. In fact he goes so far as to say that God is the one who saves and not man by his choice.

Romans 9:6-13, “But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belongs to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son." And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call—she was told, "The older will serve the younger." As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

God chose who He would work His promise through not according to any foreknown works but purely because God’s election is based on His good purpose. Paul anticipates the response if the person who thinks his God is big.

Romans 9:14-18 “What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”

This doesn’t sound like the American “come just as you are,” “try God,” or “raise your hand and pray a prayer,” kind of evangelism that I am used to, says the small God believer. I have heard people say if that is God I would not worship Him. That is scary, especially because I have really only quoted scripture. This IS the God of the Bible! Well Paul also anticipates this response from people.

Romans 9:19-24 “You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?"  Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?”

Notice what Paul says in response to the small God-er, “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?” I wonder how many people get this far and then either would simply close their Bibles or retreat to a more comfortable part of scripture never to return.

I would encourage you to read this passage over several times. In fact, read all of Romans over several times. Think about what it says in chapters 1-3 in regards to the deadness of man. Think about what it says in chapter 8 about God’s electing purpose in predestination, and how God in His sovereignty calls those He has chosen. Think about how God keeps those who are His, never to fall away or be lost. Think on the bigness of God and how He ought to be so big that you have a hard time reconciling Him with your fallen sense of right and wrong. He should defy your logic. He should inspire a measure of fear, after all, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Do not neuter God. Thoughts of Him ought to overwhelm you. If they don’t, then perhaps you are in need of a God upgrade.