Yuba-Sutter Grace Church
  • Info
  • Articles
  • Sermons
  • Location

Save us, Gather us, to Triumph in Thy Praise

5/13/2016

0 Comments

 
“Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise” (Psalms 106:47)

The Church of God prays for two things here, with an end goal in view: Save us; Gather us from among the heathen Gentiles; to this end: that we might give thanks to Thy name and triumph in Thy praise.

We are heathen Gentiles by birth, by nature and by practice (Eph. 2:2-3). But we have been taught by God the Father that our salvation is in Christ (2 Tim. 1:9; Rom. 8:1-4). We are not indifferent in this matter. We are burdened by sin and its consequences. Our deadly enemy is strong, and we are without strength against it and without hope in ourselves (Rom. 3:9-20; 5:6-10). Yet we have the words of Christ in the Gospel. It is His will to save His people. Salvation is His work. And He has issued His call to all who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him and be saved (Matt. 11:28-30; Isaiah 45:22). Therefore, with all of His people, we pray: “Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen.”

Do you ever tire of calling to your faithful Savior and God, our Lord Jesus Christ, to save you from your sins (Matt. 1:21; Rom. 6:14; 1 John 1:7-10; Jude 1:25)? May this heart and these lips of mine never cease to call upon Him as long as life remains in my body!

We pray to be saved and we pray to be gathered. Our coming is the effect of His gathering. “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’” We therefore say, “O LORD our God, gather us from among the heathen!” Gathering is the work of Christ (Jonah 2:9). The sheep of Christ hear His voice. They come when He calls by His Spirit in the Gospel (2 Cor. 3:6; John 6:63; 10:9; Eph. 2:4-ff). They come in faith and they follow in believing. We hear Him who is meek and lowly. We hear His call in the Gospel to come to Him, and thus coming, to find rest. His call is the sweetest music ever heard to all who labor and are heavy laden by sin. Our prayer goes up to Him who thus sheds His abundant grace on us, “Gather us from among the heathen!” O Lord, bring me to yourself. Bring us. Make yourself known. Cause us to abide fast by thy maidens, and not go into another field, but to wait for the Bread of Life that our Lord gives: His broken body and poured out blood, to be believed by ruined, lost sinners, with every saint, as all in our salvation (Ruth 2:8; John 6:33,35,51,53-54; 1 Tim. 1:15).


“To give thanks to thy holy name and to triumph in thy praise.” Our LORD must save us. He must gather us. It is His work alone. Yes, by nature we are heathen (Rom. 8:6-8). But by electing love, by distinguishing grace, we were adopted as sons of God the Father before time began, and in time, redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:4-7)! He has chosen us in Christ to be holy and without blame before Him in love. He justified, sanctified and perfected us in Christ (Eph. 1:3-6; Col. 1:21-22; Heb. 10:10,14). We were lost in Adam, ruined in ourselves. But He preserved us before in Christ Jesus (Jude 1:1; Num. 23:21). Despite this great grace, we are yet unable to utter a word of heart praise without that same grace given to us that saved us and gathered us. It is only the grace of Christ known in the heart that puts praise to Christ on our lips. It is grace that causes us to triumph in Christ (Rom. 6:14,17). It was for this purpose that we were redeemed: to the praise of the glory of the grace of our God and Father, His grace in Jesus Christ our Lord (Eph. 1:6,12,14,23).
Rick Warta
0 Comments

Strive to Enter

5/11/2016

0 Comments

 
“From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matt. 11:12).

"The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it" (Luke 16:16).

The kingdom of heaven suffers violence in one of two ways. Either by those who oppose it, or by those pressing to enter it (Luke 16:16). Whichever the meaning of the first part of this verse, there can be no mistake about the second. If the first meaning applies to the first part, then I understand it to mean that some oppose, while others enter the kingdom. That best fits the context. If the second meaning applies, then the phrase “suffereth violence” is explained by “the violent take it by force.” That is, the kingdom is assaulted by those pressing to enter.

John Gill offers an alternative translation to the phrase, "suffereth violence" as, "comes with force and power on the souls of men" (Gill).

However, I tend to favor the first meaning. Yes, the kingdom of heaven comes with force and power on the souls of men. Yes, it comes vigorously. But it seems to me that a contrast is drawn throughout this chapter (Matt. 11) between those opposing, rejecting and neglecting this paramount time in history, and the events and the two messengers -- John and Christ -- to their own damnation, and those, who, by the grace of God, eagerly pursue salvation in Christ alone. These latter "press into it" (Luke 16:16). They appear the least likely, the most improbable; yet they sue for mercy before Christ, and come to God with only Him as their confidence, sacrifice and righteousness. They argue for entrance by His gracious achievements for sinners, and abandon all hope besides what they have in Him. To them, there is an anxious pressing. And what is this, but the irresistible drawing of the gracious, almighty Spirit of God (John 6:44-45,63; 10:16; Psalm 110:3)?

Picture a gate to a city. Hordes of anxious people crowd before it. They want in. They will not take “no” for an answer. They are insistent and urgent and importunate. They need what’s inside. Their lives depend on it. They have no life outside. They have heard of God’s riches of grace for needy sinners by Christ alone, and they want to be found in Him. They strive to enter by abandoning all and coming to God by Christ alone (Luke 13:24; Acts 4:12; John 14:6). They labor by laying aside all but what Christ has done, to lay hold on eternal life by Him (Heb. 4:1-11). They come (Matt. 11:28-30). They cry (Psalm 34:15-17; 50:15). They give God no rest.

Christ is the door to the kingdom of God, the door of the sheep. All who enter, only enter by Him, and entering by Him are saved (John 10:9). Thus, not only at this time, but throughout the Gospel age, the Elect of God thrust themselves into the kingdom of heaven by coming to God by Christ, pleading entry for His sake alone, abandoning all other confidence, leaving all to have Him. Being thus found of Him and finding Him, they want only to be found in Him (Philippians 3:7-10). This is their one desire and effort. It appears that they thrust their way in, because by every outward appearance they should be barred from entry. Yet in coming, they have nothing and bring nothing but what God has said of Christ for sinners. They argue grounds outside of themselves, grounds found only in Christ’s obedience and death, and God’s acceptance of Him, and His acceptance of all in Him.

Haven’t you found it to be so?! Over your life, since you heard the Gospel, have you had any other question on your mind when you hear the preacher, or read the Bible or pray to God than this: “How can I be saved? How can I come to God and be accepted by Him? How can I know I have eternal life? What is my hope, my answer before God?” You are not interested in ancillary issues. You want Christ to know you, to find you, to bring you. And having been found and brought, you want to be found in Him and know Him. This is the thrust of your conscience and life! What is the explanation for this?! You are violent about it. Others, looking on, would say you are the least likely, the most improbable to come and enter here. But you have heard of free grace to ruined, lost sinners, and you find yourself described by that sad state. In the Gospel, you hear that Christ is the full and perfect provision for all such as you are. So you come to God by Him. And in so coming, by the instruction of scripture, you are comforted (Isaiah 40:1-2; 1 Tim. 1:15; Luke 18:13; Mark 10:46-52).

We are to strive to enter at the strait gate. You must enter by Christ alone. "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture" (John 10:9; Acts 4:11-12; John 14:6).
0 Comments

Save LORD! Let the King hear us when we call!

5/11/2016

0 Comments

 
​“Save, LORD: let the King hear us when we call” (Psalms 20:9).

This is the prayer of every believing sinner. It is always fresh. It is always appropriate (2 Cor. 1:9-10). It always describes my full need. It always applies to me. Most importantly, it is always welcome and heard by our Lord and Savior on the throne of grace (Joel 2:32; 1 Cor. 1:2; Rom. 10:9-13).

The LORD is our great Jehovah, our covenant-keeping, triune God: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Christ is the King. He is our Mediator. He is our Captain, our Advocate and Savior (Heb. 2:10; 1 Jn. 2:1; 1 Tim. 2:5; Matt. 1:21; Jude 1:24-25). He is the King of glory, the Son of God in our nature! What a Savior!

Our triune God saves sinners by His work and at His pleasure (Eph. 1:1-11; Matt. 11:25-27). We must never presume. We always feel needy. We have every confidence in Him, because we look, not to ourselves, but to Him whose work alone saves sinners by His sufferings, His death, and His interceding life (Rom. 5:6-10; Heb. 7:25; 1 Cor. 15:3-4,13-22).

This verse is the end of the Psalm. Whether the beginning or end of the day, whether the beginning of faith, during our walk of faith or at the end of our lives, this prayer is on our lips and in our heart: "Save, LORD: let the King hear us when we call!"
Rick Warta
0 Comments

A Divine Cordial

5/4/2016

0 Comments

 
"Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms" (James 5:13).

There is in Christ a refuge for the weary, a balm for the sick and a song for the merry. No matter what our outlook or circumstances, Christ is our divine cordial (a comforting, pleasant tasting medicine).

"Is any afflicted? Let him pray." I suppose there is no sweeter prayer ever prayed to the ear of heaven's Lord than that of a sinner who has nothing and trusts nothing in himself and seeks all in Christ (Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:13-14). Our Lord told the woman at the well, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water" (John 4:10). In all of our affliction, whether from within or from without, we are exhorted to pray. To pray is to come to Christ with open heart and lip, unburdening ourselves to Him, believing Him for all. To pray is to bring our need. To pray is to speak out our sorrow, to tell what we feel -- yes, to tell it all. It is to bring no pretense. It is to be honest about what we think before God, even though, and especially when, it shames us to admit it. Perhaps you think, "I have prayed, but it didn't do any good." Or perhaps, "When I pray, there is no answer." Just so. Have you told the Lord that burden of yours? Have you opened to Him your complaint? Have you, like Hannah, poured out your complaint to Him who knows your inmost thought and every need (1 Sam. 1:16)?

Prayer is the highest privilege we have. And we are here, in James 5:13, commanded to pray in our affliction. Christ is the well of Living Water (Jer. 2:13; Isaiah 12:3)! He is glorified when thirsty sinners come to Him for drink! Oh! That we would so obey our wise and gracious Master and call upon Him! This is the promise, "Whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call" (Joel 2:32). If you call on Christ, He promises to save you. He said so to the woman at the well. And He says so in Joel 2:32. He repeats His promise in Romans 10:12-13. Why are those who call saved? First, because they need to be saved. Second, according to Joel, it is because in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there is deliverance. Christ is there. He is the Deliverer (Rom. 11:26-27). Third, it is because the LORD will call His people, "the remnant whom the LORD shall call". If you call, it is because the LORD called you (1 Cor. 1:2). Our confidence, therefore, in calling, is that God has chosen and given His people to Christ, and that Christ has redeemed them, and now lives to save them to the uttermost by His death and endless life (Rom. 5:10; Heb. 7:25). Our confidence is that through the call of God in the Gospel from scripture to needy souls, spoken through His servants, His people hear of Christ. They hear of His accomplishments -- His glorious achievements for sinners -- and they, seeing Him as all in their salvation, call on Him to save them (John 6:37-40; 1 Tim. 1:15; Rom. 7:24-25).

"Is any merry? Let him sing psalms." Whether downcast, afflicted or merry, go to Christ! Take your burden. Cast it upon Him. Do you know that when you cast all your cares on the Lord that you are care-free! Are you glad?  Are you happy? Is your heart joyful and at peace? Then sing your song to the Lord. Let it pour forth in abundant praise. It is He who hath made us and it is He who hath saved us, and not we ourselves (Psalm 20:9; 100:3; Gal. 2:20; 6:14). This is the song of grace lifted in praise from the joyful heart who knows salvation is in Christ alone: full, complete, perfect, eternal! "Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works" (1 Chr. 16:9). There is provision in Christ for every mood, every circumstance, for the smallest and the greatest intellect. Let your intellect be satisfied with Christ and Him crucified for sinners to the glory of God!

Lord, hear my need. My prayers often seem to reach no further than my lips. I can’t even formulate in words what I feel and need. It seem that you don’t answer when I call, that God does not hear (Ps. 22:4). I am a sinner. I can’t believe. I hear the Gospel, but it doesn’t penetrate my heart. Hear me, O Lord, for Christ’s sake (Ps. 20:9)! As you have purposed and provided and purchased your people by the blood and obedience of your Son, so receive me in Him! Take away all iniquity! Receive me graciously (Hosea 14:1-4). Take glory to yourself and to your Son in saving this poor, wretched, foul sinner! Show me your glory in His salvation (Ps. 21:5)! Let the bones which you have broken rejoice. Let them rejoice in your salvation (Ps. 51:8; 13:5). Tell me, and then tell me again what Christ is to my soul (Matt. 11:4)!
Rick Warta
0 Comments

"If We Deny Him" (2 Tim. 2:12)

5/4/2016

0 Comments

 
It was when Peter determined he would not deny his Master -- though he allowed that the other disciples would -- that he then denied Him three times. Yet, the Lord Jesus prayed for him. Before satan entered his desire to sift Peter as wheat, Christ entered His counter plea. His Advocate and Mediator prayed that his faith fail not. In love, He restored him (Mark 14:29; Matt. 26:33,75; Luke 22:31-32,61).

All of the disciples forsook the Lord and fled (Matt. 26:56). Yet, Jesus appeared to them after His resurrection, telling them, "Peace be unto you" (John 20:19-21).

Thomas refused to believe without evidence. Yet, Jesus spoke peace to him, showed him His wounds, and commanded him not to be faithless but believing (John 20:27­-28).

Israel repeatedly turned from God to idols. Yet God called them to repentance (Hosea 14:1-­4,8). Israel cried that the LORD would turn them again by causing His face to shine, and by putting His hand on the man of His right hand, the Lord Jesus Christ (Psalm 80:3,7,17-­19).

Do we therefore -- because of these falls recorded in scripture or the weakness of our flesh -- seek an excuse to deny our Lord? Far from it! Do we not rather fear most the loss of the sense of our Savior's love and therefore seek mercy and grace to never deny Him?

Can a believer deny the Lord Jesus? Yes. "If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself" (2 Tim. 2:12­-13). The disciples did. Who among us can say they have never denied Jesus by their works or by failing to confess Him before men (Titus 1:16)?

Judas betrayed his Master. Let us learn from him. He neither cried for repentance nor did he repent. I ask myself this question: What would I say if the Lord Jesus told me, "You are lost!" Would I run from Him, or would I not rather run to Him and cry, "Lord, save me!" "Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil" (Jer. 17:17)!  Where else will I go (Jn. 6:68)?!

What is it to deny the Lord? It is apostasy from Christ (John 6:66-69; Heb. 3:6,14-19; Col. 1:20-23). This, a believer cannot do; they cannot apostatize from Christ. To do so is to deny His person as God and man (1 John 2:22-23). It is to deny His gospel (Gal. 1:8; 5:2-3). It is to deny His work. It is to deny His testimony of me, that I am a guilty sinner, justly condemned, helpless to turn, unable to obey, entirely dependent on justifying grace and sovereign mercy.

To deny the Lord Jesus is to deny His sovereign saving power to deliver me from my sins, from death, from the world, from satan. Do you believe that the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross -- by His obedience unto death and by His resurrection, His interceding life and reigning rule of grace -- is enough to save you from your sins without any help from you? Do you deny this?! Do you deny that salvation is all of grace, that it is all by the work of Christ, which He accomplished on the cross, and now reigns to freely give in righteousness? Do you deny that He actually -- really -- put away the sins of all of His people once and for all when He cried, “It is finished!” (John 19:28-­30)?

Can creation deny her Maker?
Can a disciple deny His Master?
Can a sinner saved by sovereign grace deny his Savior?
Can a child of God deny His Father?

Yes, in a moment of weakness, we can! Shameful and painful as it is! Yet, we who know and believe and love the Lord Jesus think there is no greater crime than to deny our Lord! What?! Deny Him who loved me and gave Himself for me!? What?! Deny Him whose cross is my salvation from sin, death, the law and judgment of God, from satan and the world? How could I be ashamed of the One who ever lives to save me to the uttermost?! How could I be ashamed of the power of God, the gospel of my salvation?!

By God's grace, we are preserved in Christ. In the weakness of our flesh, we may fall by denying our Lord. But we have this promise: "Sin shall not ­­-- it shall not ­­-- have dominion over you (Rom. 6:14)! We may fall, but as Jonah, we "will look again toward His holy temple" (Jonah 2:4). "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand" (Psalm 37:23-24).

Before his conversion, the apostle Paul denied Christ. The Jews denied Jesus to Pilate that they might put Him to death. Yet, to both of these, our Lord sent His gospel, granting them repentance to life by His sovereign rule and grace (Acts 3:13­-26). And what of the thief on the cross? At first he denied the Lord! But then, he too was turned to openly own Him as his Lord before the world! Believers may deny their Lord, but they will be recovered by saving grace and brought to repentance unto life. We are kept by the power of God. A sinner cannot deny -- cannot ultimately deny in unrepentant apostasy -- His Savior! Mephibosheth could not deny his king. No more can we who look to Christ to save us deny that He alone has and will yet save us to the uttermost by His death and reigning life. Nothing embittered Peter more than his denial of his beloved Master!

We confess before God, among His people, and to an unbelieving world, that Christ is our sin-­bearer, our righteousness, our only hope, and the love of our hearts! We confess that He is God, that He is man, and that it was by His becoming man, being made under God's holy law, and there bearing our sins and fulfilling our righteousness, that we are born as the sons of God (John 1:12-­14; Gal. 3:26; Eph. 1:4-­6). We freely confess that we are nothing but undeserving apart from our union with Him! A child of God cannot commit the sin of apostasy from Christ (1 John 5:4-5). We are in Christ (Rom. 8:1), and Christ is in us (Gal. 2:20; Rom. 8:9-10). He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim. 2:13).

Upon a life I did not live;
Upon a death I did not die;
I stake my whole eternity!
­­-- Horatius Bonar

“I am not my own. I have been bought with a price. In body and soul and in life and in death, I belong to my faithful Savior! (1 Cor. 6:19­-20)” ­­ Geoffrey Thomas
Rick Warta
0 Comments

    Author

    Pastor Rick Warta

    Archives

    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly