FAITH Glorifying GOD - Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Abraham staggered NOT at the promise of GOD through UNbelief; but was MADE STRONG in/by FAITH, giving GLORY TO GOD; and being FULLY persuaded that, what He had promised, He was ABLE also to perform. (Romans 4:20-21)

(The following are notes from Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermon, FAITH Glorifying GOD.)

Abraham LOOKED TO GOD. And he looked AT GOD. He kept his eyes ON GOD... GIVING HIM GLORY. Abraham considered GOD. He considered WHO GOD IS. He considered WHAT GOD IS. Abraham glorified GOD just by REALIZING WHO and WHAT GOD IS. He contemplated ALL the GLORIOUS ATTRIBUTES of GOD.

We glorify GOD by realizing the TRUTH about Him and worshiping Him because of that and committing ourselves to Him in the light of that TRUTH.

Abraham considered the ETERNITY of GOD... that GOD IS JEHOVAH -- the Eternal "I AM THAT I AM." He contemplated, meditated, dwelt on the ETERNALITY of GOD.

 

He also meditated on the MAJESTY of GOD. And the GLORY of GOD (the ultimate attribute of GOD -- the ineffable GLORY of GOD, beyond our comprehension, dwelling in UNAPPROACHABLE light).

Abraham thought about GOD's OMNIPRESENCE -- GOD is EVERYwhere. There is NO place in the WHOLE cosmos where GOD isn't. (see Psalm 139)

The OMNISCIENCE of GOD. GOD KNOWS EVERYthing. There is NOthing that GOD doesn't know. He KNOWS the End and from the Beginning. ALL things are always present before His sight and His scan. He KNOWS ALL and NOthing can happen ANYwhere but that GOD has known it BEFOREhand. His OMNISCIENCE, His foreknowledge is COMPLETE knowledge, without ANY gap or without ANY blemish or any defect whatsoever... OMNISCIENCE -- EVERYthing is KNOWN to Him.

The OMNIPOTENCE of GOD. There is NO LIMIT to the POWER of GOD -- ABSOLUTELY NONE whatsoever! "Is ANYthing too hard for the LORD?" Is there ANYthing GOD cannot do? NOthing! There is NOthing that GOD cannot do. There is NOthing that can withstand Him. HIS POWER IS ABSOLUTE. It is ETERNAL... it is ALMIGHTY. HE IS OMNIPOTENT!

GOD's RIGHTEOUSNESS... His JUSTICE... His TRUTH... His HOLINESS... His UNchangeability... His EVERlasting and eternal CONSTANCY.

Abraham looked at GOD... he looked at these attributes of the Being and the character of GOD, and went on looking at them -- that's HOW he gave GLORY to GOD. Abraham deduced that because of WHO and WHAT GOD IS -- that GOD never makes a PROMISE lightly or loosely... or thoughtlessly. GOD KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT HE IS DOING. Abraham knew that GOD does NOT change His mind. GOD is the Father of Lights, where there is NO variableness or shadow of turning. GOD is EVERlastingly the SAME. What GOD has promised, He will SURELY perform. GOD CANNOT LIE (see Titus 1:2) because of WHO and WHAT HE IS -- ETERNAL Righteousness, UPrightness, TRUTHfulness.

GOD's ABILITY -- Abraham was "FULLY persuaded that, what He had promised, He was ABLE also to perform." With GOD, NOthing is impossible!

Abraham concluded that because ALL these things were TRUE about GOD -- NOTHING ELSE MATTERS AT ALL! What mattered to Abraham was that GOD has spoken -- He made a PROMISE. And there's nothing more INSULTING to GOD than NOT to BELIEVE Him. The TERRIBLE thing about UNbelief is that it's an INSULT to GOD!

 

FAITH IS that which ALWAYS GLORIFIES GOD. FAITH is to believe GOD simply and solely because HE IS GOD. FAITH is ultimately that which gives GLORY to GOD by seeing the TRUTH about Him and TRUSTing it utterly and and ABSOLUTELY at ALL costs. 

FAITH IS the SUBSTANCE of things HOPED for -- the EVIDENCE of things NOT seen. "HAVE FAITH IN GOD" -- translated by Hudson Taylor is "HOLDING ON to the FAITHFULNESS of GOD." The reference is TO GOD.

FAITH does NOT look AT itself. FAITH NEVER looks TO itself. FAITH is never interested in itself nor talks about itself. It doesn't look at the person who's exercising it. FAITH LOOKS AT GOD -- holding on to the FAITHfulness OF GOD. The big thing about FAITH is NOT what i'm doing, but GOD's FAITHFULNESS -- giving GLORY to GOD. FAITH is interested in GOD only; and it talks about GOD, and it praises GOD; and it extolls the VIRTUES of GOD.

The measure of the STRENGTH of a man's FAITH is ultimately the measure of his KNOWLEDGE about GOD. FAITH ALWAYS GLORIFIES GOD! Abraham knew GOD so well that he was the friend of GOD -- and when a man is the friend of GOD, he's a man of GREAT FAITH! Strong FAITH is not weak and he does not stagger -- but it's not the man, but the KNOWLEDGE of GOD, the attributes of GOD. And he's looking at GOD and thinking about GOD -- not the problem or the difficulty, BUT GOD... and he's RESTing there. 

To be STRONG in FAITH -- it's about becoming a certain kind of person. You can't have STRONG FAITH without HOLINESS and without OBEDIENCE. 

HOW to have STRONG FAITH -- 

1) KNOWLEDGE of the Bible. Read your Bible -- beginning to end. Concentrate on the revelation that GOD has given of Himself and of His character. Notice what you get in prophecy, watch His promises, see them being fulfilled. Be GROUNDED in all this. Read the history in the Bible; read the examples (see Hebrews 11 -- they KNEW GOD and gave GLORY to GOD). Meditate on all that. 

2) Strong FAITH is a KNOWLEDGE of GOD PERSONALLY. Praying. Spending time in His Presence. Waiting upon Him. 

3) APPLY it all in PRACTICE to the particular cases as they arise in your own life and experience.

Abraham "staggered not, but gave GLORY to GOD." That's the SECRET of FAITH -- to GLORIFY GOD. 

RICARDO NAVALTA -- 88 1/2 Earth-Years

Uncle Ric isn't even my Dad -- so WHY am i mourning over his death MORE than i did over my own father's death?

On Sunday, April 17, uncle Ric was rushed to Sharp's E.R. He was in ICU for three days, then Comfort Care until he passed away, Saturday, April 23. But prior to this, Uncle Ric was in and out of hospital- and rehab-stays, due to a bad fall late January. i saw Mom's faithfulness first hand as she visited him every day, even staying overnight during the last two nights before Uncle died.

When i finally visited Uncle at the last rehab facility, he was almost comatose and was driven into Sharp's ER, where he was stabilized and hospitalized a couple weeks and then back to the same rehab facility. Visiting Uncle more often -- giving him massages and helping out with his occupational therapy (playing blackjack with him...LOL!), i got to see the stage of life when we become SO dependent, SO helpless, SO fragile. i saw Uncle at his weakest... and it wrenched at my heart.

At Sharp's ER, in a private room, i sang "HE's got the whole world in His hands" over and over. And all throughout the week, i sang this song to Uncle -- also telling him of JESUS' love for him and that there's no need to fear when he has CHRIST at his side. i shared with him Biblical truths about heaven -- that "GOD Himself will wipe away every tear from his eyes; there'll be no more death, or sorrow, or crying. There'll be no more pain. ALL these things are gone forever." (Revelation 21:4)

Many were praying for Uncle's recovery... even for a miracle. On Tuesday, April 19, this flower bloomed in the backyard garden that Mom and Uncle tended together. GOD spoke to me through His creation -- how fearfully and wonderfully made is each soul! And yet how brief is our time on earth... "Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone--as though we had never been here." (Psalm 103:15-16) For a brief time, on this Tuesday, uncle Ric "bloomed" -- became conscious of his surroundings -- of family and friends who came to visit him. He was himself, though but a weak shadow, about to fade away...

The days of our lives are seventy years;
and if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
for it is soon cut off and we fly away.
(Psalm 90:10)

ALL flesh is grass. 

And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it;

Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the Word of our GOD stands forever.

(Isaiah 40:6-8)

By GOD's grace, i shared the Good News with Uncle -- that he can receive peace with GOD through CHRIST JESUS, the Son of GOD. JESUS Himself said, "I AM the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the FATHER except through Me." (John 14:6) And it is written: "ALL have turned away; ALL have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!" (Psalm 14:3) EVERYone has sinned -- we ALL fall short of GOD's glorious standard." (Romans 3:23)

Keeping it very simple, i explained to Uncle that we ALL have done wrong things in our lives, and we need to be forgiven by GOD through JESUS' death on the cross... that He takes away our sins by dying for us, that he rose from the grave and is now in heaven. i told Uncle not to be afraid, that all he has to do is to call out, even if it's just in his mind -- "JESUS, help me!"

Uncle Ric was able to say, "GOD, forgive me..."

During this week of watching Uncle slowly fade away, i read to him Psalm 23 and Psalm 139. Though he was unable to speak, i prayed that GOD would allow Uncle to hear and understand and be reassured that the LORD JESUS is the Good Shepherd who will walk with him through this valley of the shadow of death... that He will make him to lie down in green pastures and lead him beside still waters... that He will restore His soul!

May GOD have allowed uncle Ric to also hear and to understand Psalm 139 as i read this Word of TRUTH:

"O LORD, you have examined my heart and know EVERYthing about me. You KNOW when i sit down or stand up. You KNOW my thoughts even when i'm far away. You see me when i travel and when i rest at home. You KNOW EVERYthing i do.

You know what i am going to say even before i say it, LORD. You go before me and follow me. You place Your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is TOO wonderful for me, TOO great for to understand!

i can NEVER escape from Your SPIRIT! i can NEVER get away from Your presence! If i go up to heaven, You are there; if i go down to the grave, You are there. If i ride the wings of the morning, if i dwell by the farthest oceans, even there Your hand will guide me, and Your strength will support me.

i could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night -- but even in darkness i cannot hide from You. To You the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to You.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank You for making me SO wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous -- how well i know it. You watched me as i was being formed in utter seclusion, as i was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me BEFORE i was born. EVERY day of my life was recorded in Your book. EVERY moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

How precious to me are Your thoughts, O GOD. They cannot be numbered! i can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when i wake up, You are STILL with me!

Search me, O GOD, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out ANYthing in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."

My dad Romeo is gone... so is uncle Ric. Yet Uncle's passing has touched me more deeply. When JESUS experienced the dying of His earthly father Joseph, how much MORE was the pain in His heart! When the apostle John watched His Beloved Teacher and LORD gasping for breath as He agonized on the cross -- how much MORE the apostle's pain! When Mary, the mother of JESUS, watched her Son die that excruciating death on the cross -- how much MORE a mother's pain! 

When GOD the FATHER watched His Only Begotten Son -- the Lamb of GOD, CHRIST JESUS -- being crucified as atonement for our sins, how much MORE... how unfathomable the pain in His heart! "For GOD loved the world SO much that He GAVE His One and ONLY Son, so that EVERYone who believes in Him -- CHRIST JESUS -- will NOT perish but have ETERNAL LIFE." (John 3:16)

For it is written: "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD.  "And My ways are far beyond anything you can imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom!
(Psalm 90:12)

GOD who is LOVE and who is ALL-Wise... He has the whole world in His hands!

Now may the GOD of Hope
fill you with all JOY and PEACE in BELIEVING,
that you may abound in HOPE
by the POWER of the Holy SPIRIT.
(Romans 15:13)

IF and SO -- Two GREAT, Two-Letter Words

IF my LORD GOD had not timed it JUST-so, SO that the stoplights would be green or red, SO that i would arrive at Palm and Dennery on a red light, SO that i can look around as i caught my breath (early Thursday morning, as i biked to work)... (Luke 1:37)

IF the alive-within SPIRIT had not caused my eyes to focus and alight on the sight of a crumpled piece of green, while at the same time causing all traffic to be properly stopped or turning away from my direction, SO that i can pick up the recognizable greenback in safety... (Romans 8:14)

THEN i wouldn't have felt that boost of JOY, which energized my body to tackle the rest of the uphill ride with hallelujah praises singing in my heart and bursting forth out of my lips. (Nehemiah 8:10)

JESUS my Beloved LORD knew my spirit wasn't light that morning, which caused my body to feel heavy as i pedaled up Palm -- lacking energy because i was lacking His JOY, which is my day-to-day source of strength in ALL things, in ALL circumstances. (Philippians 4:13)

SO my ever-compassionate LORD JESUS gave me a perk in the form of a one-dollar bill, which perked me up in my spirit, which sparked the waiting storehouse of JOY within, which infused the cells of my body with palpable, energetic happiness because of the IN-sight that GOD was speaking to me in my real-time circumstance. (Hebrews 13:8)

The LORD SPIRIT spoke into my heart -- "See, rln, how money has such power over people, even you? See how highly energized you got from just a mere dollar? Can you understand more clearly then, the literal "high" of someone whose god is money?" (Matthew 6:24)

"Yes, LORD." (Romans 10:10)

i also knew (that GOD knew that i knew that He knew! -- for He knows at ALL times, ALL the WHATevers within my heart and mind and body) that it was a "GOD-speak" event in the momentary circumstance. i knew without a shadow of doubt that it was a GOD-given gift of serendipity, a GOD-governed provision, a GOD-gladdened lesson. (Psalm 139)

What else was there for me to do, but to sing aloud thankful praises for my heavenly Father -- for His higher-than-the-heavens wisdom, His tenderhearted ways, His compassion-in-action LOVE...His ALL-mightiness in ALL things, in ALL circumstances, in ALL ways...always! (Philippians 4:4)

Thank You, my LORD GOD, for cleansing my heart more and more and more with your Light -- The TRUTH of The Word -- SO that i may see Your glorious holy beauty more and more and more with the eyes of my heart in these unexpectedly delightful moments that abound in Your creation! (Matthew 5:8)

Hallelu-JAH for the greatest "SO"! \o/ For GOD SO loved the world that He gave His one and only Son JESUS, that IF anyone trusts in Him -- he or she will not perish into eternal hell, but will have eternal Life! The SO has been demonstrated in HIStory -- the IF is your chosen story... (John 3:16-18)

Dear reader: may the SPIRIT of GOD blaze the TRUTH of the Good News into your heart, SO that you may choose for your self TOday to receive in all humility and genuine repentance, the utterly AMAZING GOD-given gift of GRACE -- your REDEMPTION through CHRIST JESUS -- SO that you may enJOY a GOD-governed life with GOD-gladdened days forEVERmore as your greatest SO in answer to your IF.

AMEN -- in the ALL-mighty Name of the LORD GOD JESUS CHRIST!

GOD Is BeautiFUL In ALL Ways, Always!

"Naked i came from my mother's womb, And naked shall i return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21)

"Shall we indeed accept good from GOD, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:10)

...they saw JESUS walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." (John 6:19-20)

For You are my lamp, O LORD; The LORD shall enlighten my darkness. (2 Samuel 22:29)

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. (Psalm 23:2)

Bless the LORD, O my soul! All that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul! And forget not all His benefits... Who redeems my life from destruction... (Psalm 103)

As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. (Psalm 103:13)

And we know that GOD causes everything to work together for the good of those who love GOD and are called according to His purpose for them. (Romans 8:28)

Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you. (Psalm 55:22)

The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. (Psalm 34:10)

...though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil; for You are with me... (Psalm 23:4)

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:2)

Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? (Romans 9:21)

i know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. (Job 42:2)

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (James 1:2-3)

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

If i take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:9-10)

Where can i go from Your Spirit? Or where can i flee from Your presence? (Psalm 139:7)

(GOD's creation expressed beautifully in Matei and Naselesele area -- Taveuni, FIJI)

ALL Children Are GIFTS From GOD

Children are a gift from the LORD,
They are a reward from Him. (Psalm 127:3)

You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb.

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.

My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them. (Psalm 139:13-16)

Triple Threat from San Diego...the Three Musketeers.

German version of Hang in there, baby!

Kristika, with the Mona Lisa smile...all the way from Taveuni.

She (and her family) goes to the Assembly of GOD church in New Town, Taveuni. CHRISTian Indians are a rarity in Fiji, as most of the Indian population are Muslims.

Ema's from Naselesele Village -- she is a beautiful inside and out!

Another little cutie from Naselesele Village...probably in Kindergarten this year.

Some of the wonderful children of Naselesele Village Primary School.

Little Beni...from the Naselesele Village, Taveuni. He's my friend.

And this is little Jo. He is like a grown man in a toddler body...he is strong-willed and outspoken already! He lives with his grandmother and three young cousins.

Filo, Talei, with baby Ligani...another baby brother, still "in the oven," was not yet born when this photo was taken.

Leone, chowing down on his birthday cake. He's about 5 years old today...feisty, to say the least!

Deep in thought...i sometimes wonder what goes on in "little people's" minds.

This boy was so feisty, i had to kickbox with him...literally! And he beat me to a pulp!

i met these kids when i was in Paunzhausen, Germany. What polar opposites, compared to the kids from the Village.

Curly headed bundle of joy!

Rarotonga (Cook Islands) beauties...i heard it said that the kids in the Cooks learn to dance before they learn to walk!

Best of friends...they were inseparable...glued at the hip (or cheek, from this photo)...from Bibi's HideAway -- Matei, Taveuni (Fiji)

What if any of these children were "terminated" while in the womb, each one already a live person, just living inside another's body? What if any of these children were "clinically removed" because they were just a "bunch of cells"? What if any of these children were "aborted" because the birth control method failed and this is the last-resort "birth control" method?

From Creation (egg and sperm joining together to make one live, growing, beginning of a human being) to final exhale -- is GOD's arena. He created, He alone can un-create. The Divine Designer has final say on the outcome and longevity of His design. Those who play at god do not know GOD. He is a loving Father who keeps His eye on all children. Premeditated murder (for how else can one interpret the word abortion? Killing -- "aborting" -- an unborn child is not accidental...it is an act that is planned in advance and by appointment) is a heinous crime...and no amount of justification or excuses will relieve that person of guilt, for it is written and engraved in every person's heart, Thou shalt not kill. And GOD has promised, Vengeance is mine! (Romans 12:19)

And yet, for a guilt-ridden killer, there is pardon. The same loving Father who avenges His little ones provides merciful forgiveness through His Son, CHRIST JESUS. In CHRIST alone is salvation. In CHRIST alone is pardon.

All children are gifts from GOD.

You were once a child. You were once a baby. You were once a "bunch of cells." You were once an egg and sperm organism...and you were NOT an accident, for GOD had created you even before you were created in your mother's womb...you were created in His infinitely intelligent Mind. All children are gifts from GOD, including you.

(Please read Lying Words Never Profit from Rapture Alert.)