The Best Portion

The correct answer is pecan pie. At least, that would be my answer if you asked me what portion of pie I would like to be served at my Thanksgiving Day meal. Because I am an adult, I will probably get some say-so in whatever portion of the food items get put on my plate. If you’re a kid you might have your portion chosen for you and handed to you on a plate. You might like your portion, or you might wish you had a better one.

Since this is Thanksgiving, I can’t think of a better time to consider some of the godly wisdom from our Puritan forefathers. The Pilgrims were Puritans after all. And although Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) lived about a century after the original Puritan settlers came to New England, I believe his words are especially appropriate for us as we consider what we are most thankful for.

Below are excerpts from Edwards’ wonderful sermon, “God the Best Portion of the Christian.” His main point is that of all the things we could ever want for our ‘portion’ in life, the best we could ever desire is God Himself. No other good thing, on earth—or even in heaven—compares to Him!

"Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee." -- Psalm 73:25

. . . the psalmist takes notice how the saints are happy in God, both when they are in this world, and also when they are taken to another. They are blessed in God in this world, in that he guides them by his counsel. And when he takes them out of it, they are still happy, in that then he receives them to glory. This probably led him, in the text, to declare that he desired no other portion, either in this world or in that to come, either in heaven or upon earth. — Whence we learn, That it is the spirit of a truly godly man, to prefer God before all other things, either in heaven or on earth . . .

Now, the main reason why the godly man hath his heart thus to heaven is because God is there; that is the palace of the Most High. It is the place where God is gloriously present, where his love is gloriously manifested, where the godly may be with him, see him as he is, and love, serve, praise, and enjoy him perfectly. If God and Christ were not in heaven, he would not be so earnest in seeking it, nor would he take so much pains in a laborious travel through this wilderness, nor would the consideration that he is going to heaven when he dies, be such a comfort to him under toils and afflictions. The martyrs would not undergo cruel sufferings, from their persecutors, with a cheerful prospect of going to heaven, did they not expect to be with Christ, and to enjoy God there. They would not with that cheerfulness forsake all their earthly possessions, and all their earthly friends, as many thousands of them have done, and wander about in poverty and banishment, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, in hopes of exchanging their earthly for a heavenly inheritance, were it not that they hope to be with their glorious Redeemer and heavenly Father. — The believer’s heart is in heaven, because his treasure is there . . .

If God were not to be enjoyed in heaven, but only vast wealth, immense treasures of silver, and gold, great honor of such kind as men obtain in this world, and a fullness of the greatest sensual delights and pleasures; all these things would not make up for the want [lack] of God and Christ, and the enjoyment of them there . . .

Edwards also has some powerful questions in the “application” section at the end of the message.  Here are two to think about:

If you could avoid death, and might have your free choice, would you choose to live always in this world, without God, rather than in his time to leave the world, in order to be with him?

Were you to spend your eternity in this world, would you choose rather to live in mean and low circumstances with the gracious presence of God, than to live forever in earthly prosperity without him?

Finally, consider this beautiful application:

Application: First, hence we may learn, that whatever changes a godly man passes through, he is happy; because God, who is unchangeable, is his chosen portion. Though he meet with temporal losses, and be deprived of many, yea, of all his temporal enjoyments; yet God, whom he prefers before all, still remains, and cannot be lost. While he stays in this changeable, troublesome world, he is happy; because his chosen portion, on which he builds as his main foundation for happiness, is above the world, and above all changes. And when he goes into another world, still he is happy, because that portion yet remains.

May God give you a hunger and a desire for Him above all else. And may God feed your soul along with your body this Thanksgiving! 

Isaiah 40 and Our Incomparable God

I recently finished a series of teachings from the book of Isaiah. In the last four messages I preached through Isaiah 40, focusing on the incomparable greatness of God. (The third one, "Incomparable Craftsmanship" is probably the best of the bunch.)

The Incomparable Word from First Baptist Middleville on Vimeo.

Isaiah 40:1-8. Because God knows the future with certainty, His Word will stands firm and we can take comfort in it.

Behold Our God: Incomparable Might from First Baptist Middleville on Vimeo.

Isaiah 40:9-17. Behold our God who can hold the oceans in the hollow of His hand.

Incomparable Craftsmanship from First Baptist Middleville on Vimeo.

Isaiah 40:19-26. Behold the incomparable God who created the stars.

Incomparable Endurance from First Baptist Middleville on Vimeo.

Isaiah 40:27-31. Incomparable endurance comes from the incomparable God.

The Most Beautiful Painting in the World

Imagine that you were the owner of the most beautiful painting in the world. Without a doubt, this is the most beautiful work of art ever to be created. It brings joy and delight to everyone who looks at it. When people behold this magnificent work of art, their lives are forever changed because of the breathtaking beauty of this work.

Now, if you were the owner of this painting, what would be the more loving thing to do? Would it be more loving to take that painting and lock it in a big vault in your attic where it will be kept safe and where no one but you could every look at it? Or, would it be more loving to put the painting on display for everyone who is willing to come and delight in its beauty, and then to go out encouraging others to come and to behold the life-changing beauty of the painting?  

Now consider this: It’s not merely as if God has the most beautiful painting in the world; God is the most beautiful being in the world! Therefore, the most loving thing for God to do would be to put His magnificence on display for everyone to see. The most loving thing for Him to do would be to exalt Himself and insist that people come and find their delight in Him. God is the source of infinite and eternal joy.

God is glorified when people's hearts delight in Him. For God to be glorified is appropriate and God-honoring, because God deserves it. It is also the most loving thing for God to offer people.

"One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord..." 

-Psalm 27:4

A God-Centered Discipleship Reading List

These are some of the very best books that I recommend for Christian growth. These books also correspond to areas in the God-Centered Philosophy of Discipleship I developed. Together they form a discipleship curriculum that I commend to believers as a reading plan. 

I have used many boxes of these books for discipleship over the last few years. None of these books are difficult to read. I have used them both with adults and high school students. You could read them in order, or you might want to start with Transforming Grace or Seven Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible.

Glorfy God
The Holiness of God, by R.C. Sproul
Outside of the Bible, this is one of the top three Christians books I have ever read. You will not see God the same way after reading this book. If you get the message of this book you will realize that everything is God-centered. 

Treasuring Christ
When I Don't Desire God, by John Piper
This is one of John Piper's best books for describing how God is glorified when we delight in Him as our highest treasure. This is also an incredibly practical book that helps us to learn how this is if hindered or helped.

Prophet (Teacher)
Seven Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible, by Erwin Lutzer
Treasuring Christ as Prophet means hearing the voice of Scripture as the voice of God. This is a very readable book that will help you have confidence in the Bible as God's own Word. 

Priest (Savior)
Transforming Grace, by Jerry Bridges
This book does an excellent job of clearly explaining that salvation is by grace alone and that the Christian life is based on grace as well. 

King (Lord)
The Joy of Fearing God, by Jerry Bridges
Along with Sproul's The Holiness of God, this is the best book I know of for helping believers stand in awe of God's majesty. This books is deep, and warm, and will cause you to bow the knee to God with reverence and joy. 

Change in Thinking and Actions
How People Change, by Timothy S. Lane & Paul David Tripp
As Christians, we need to learn to be students of the human heart. This book does a very good job of showing how real heart-change takes place. 

The Bible itself is the only book that is essential to read, but excellent non-inspired books can still be a major benefit to your Christian growth. There six books are great ones to start with for a solid, God-centered foundation.

Related: A God-Centered Philosophy of Discipleship

Death as an Argument for God

Death is usually viewed as an argument against the existence of God. A good God wouldn't allow suffering and evil and death, or at least so the argument goes. However it struck me that there is something about death that actually makes it a good argument for God.

If evolution caused the seemingly infinite variety of life forms and intricate biological functions that we observe, why is it that in the billions upon billions of adaptations found in nature, evolution has not found the one adaptation that--by far--would be the most beneficial to a species, namely, a lack of mortality?

I do not mean immortality in the sense that an animal could fall into a volcano and live. What I mean to ask is why there is not one single organism, from cockroach to man to bacteria, that does not possess natural mortality? Certainly pre-programmed death cannot be more beneficial to a species than an unlimited lifespan? Nor is there any inherent reason why, with as much complexity as life has, could it not find a way for at least one single organism to sustain itself indefinitely?

If blind nature can supposedly find a way to create eyesight and consciousness, then why couldn't it find a way for one simply organism to just keep on living unless meets a violent death? All that would be necessary for this would be the adequate repair or replacement or parts. Certainly that would have been easier for blind nature to achieve rather than biological reproduction--especially when it involves two different gendered parents. If blind nature can find a way for life to build itself automatically from a single cell after conception, then why can it not find a way for one organism to sustain itself indefinitely?

But death is a fact. And it is a fact that is explained by a Biblical worldview. Human death, at least, came into the world when Adam rebelled against God and cut himself off from the source of life (Genesis 3; Romans 5). Death is part of the curse that is now over this world, and which one day will be lifted because of Jesus' death on the cross. The existence of death is better explained by a Biblical worldview than by blind naturalism, and thus strangely enough death is actually an argument for the existence of God