Praise the LORD

Psalm 93

The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty;
    the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
    you are from everlasting.

The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
    the floods have lifted up their voice;
    the floods lift up their roaring.
Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
    mightier than the waves of the sea,
    the Lord on high is mighty!

Your decrees are very trustworthy;
    holiness befits your house,
    O Lord, forevermore. (ESV)

Psalm 93 is one of my favorite Psalms. I don’t know if you mark in your Bible, but I mark in mine. Off to the side I wrote this a long time ago, “What a great Psalm to pray to start any day.” Even today this statement holds true. The Psalm begins the succession of what is called the “Theocratic Psalms” (Psalms 93-100) and they are special because they are a collection of Psalms that declare the LORD reigns. Arthur Weiser states Psalm 93, “Using terse and powerful language, the hymn rushes along like the roaring water of which it speaks.”[1] What powerful imagery.

             One of the looming questions of our day is what signifies praise? What does God expect when praise is given to Him? The issue has indeed become muddied with the movement of contemporary music. And let me state here that this post isn’t necessarily about what music should be sung in church. Rather, my focus is this Psalm and what is in our hearts when we approach God with our praise.

            I think a good starting point as we look at Psalm 93 is its structure. Notice just a few points. First, verse one begins with and verse four concludes with the LORD. The Psalmists brackets the majority of the praise with one great reminder: God is indeed sovereign over all creation. He is sovereign not only of the workings of creation itself, but of our lives and of our hearts. God is all-powerful (omnipotent) and eternal. I don’t know about you, but for me this one thought alone provokes praise within my heart. How wonderful it is to know that I trust in the One True God who reigns over all creation. How magnificent it is to realize that by His spoken word everything is working, even my life, toward praising Him.

            Second, Psalm 93 gives us repetitions of the splendor of God. Notice the descriptive language used of God being robed in majesty, or clothed in majesty. God is majestic. He possesses dignity, authority, grandeur, and might. Unlike the majesty of earthly kings, God’s majesty and sovereignty are not just a show or display of grandeur and strength. All too often, we approach God with hearts not set on the fact of God being majestic in and of Himself. We tend to lean towards His “show,” His blessings, His miracles, or His getting us out of trouble. The problem with this is that it invokes in us a sense of putting on a “show” for God; that our praise needs to be embellished, exaggerated, and entertaining; whether corporate, or personal. When we approach God with our praise, our hearts need to be in tune with the fact that God is worthy of our praise just for who He is. God already has the attributes needed for our praise. He already has the qualities for our praise. His throne is established from of old, He is from everlasting. When we approach God with our praise in this way, we come with a sense of reverence and awe that ONLY God can claim for Himself. We come with knowing that God has always had these attributes and will always have these attributes.

            Finally, what makes Psalm 93 a great Psalm to pray to start any day for me is the imagery of the voice of praise. Soak this in with me: The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their roaring…. Many scholars take verses three and four as poetic descriptions of a chaotic world. The seas and rivers are pictured to pound and rise with their thunderous noise in rebellion against God. This may be true of a post-exilic Psalm looking back to Babylon from which the Jewish people were released. However, we must remember that the Old Testament is always looking forward to the Redeemer who would come to free mankind eternally. So I agree with Barrick who reminds us, “an alternative interpretation considers the pounding surf and surging seas as great natural phenomena that reveal the Lord’s great power and majesty. As awe-inspiring as the pounding surf can be as it breaks rocks and carves the shore, God is even mightier.”[2]  Have you lifted up the Lord in this manner, especially in light of Jesus Christ who is the Redeemer of our lives? The praise aspect is not a charismatic contemporary music issue, per se. This is a heart issue of standing before a mighty, powerful, awesome God who holds every aspect of our being in His hands and despite our sinful wretchedness still reaches down to save us and to call us His own.  Our praise is to One who is mightier than the sea, even in its most horrific tempest. Our praise is to God the Father, His son Jesus Christ our Savior, and the Holy Spirit that brought creation into being and continues to sustain it in God’s everlasting decree. Our praise is to the One True God who is worthy of our praise for the Lamb that was slain for our sins and is so powerful that He conquered death. Yes, indeed the rivers, seas, and all creation roar to give praise to God with their voice. Yet, our voice should be roaring much more the louder. Our hearts should be praising God. Every fiber of our being should be giving praise to the magnificence, majesty and mightiness of God.

One final thought on verse 5 that states, His decrees are trustworthy. Because of who God is; we can always, always, always depend on Him. His Word is true. He is Holy. There is nothing that is out of His control and nothing in His Word that gives us false hope. Often when life is hard, we are in the valley of despair, depression has set in, or worry is looming over us like a dark cloud; we forget that the LORD is still reigning on His throne and our lives and hearts lack praise. It is ultimately in these obscure times that we should be praising God. It is in these times that His trustworthiness will hold true. It is in these times that our faith is stretched beyond what we know and growth in Christ abounds. CH Spurgeon once said, “"When we reach the hilltops of heaven, and look back upon all the way whereby the Lord our God hath led us, how shall we praise Him who, before the eternal throne, undid the mischief which Satan was doing upon earth. How shall we thank Him because He never held His peace, but day and night pointed to the wounds upon His hands, and carried our names upon His breastplate!"

Yes, Psalm 93 gives me great encouragement to praise God in reverential awe and with all my being. May it give you great encouragement as well. May we, with the hymn, rush along like the roaring water of which it speaks in our hearts and in our voices.

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[1] Artur Weiser, The Psalms: A Commentary, trans. by Herbert Hartwell, Old Testament Library (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962), 618.

[2] Barrick, William D. Th.D., Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs: The Master Musician’s Melodies (Placerita Baptist Church, 2007), pg. 3.

Purify and Elevate: Waiting on the Lord

Purify and Elevate: Waiting on the Lord: "If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth ...

Waiting on the Lord

"If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord's people have always been a waiting people." - Charles Spurgeon

What is happening with your family right now?

We have had a blessed month. The Lord is good all the time and we truly are relying on Him. At present we are still in “fundraising” mode. Already God’s graciousness has been seen in the start of the church planting account. However, we are waiting to see in whose heart(s) God will impress this partnership upon. Who will be the churches, groups, and individuals to share this Kingdom initiative with? I don’t know, but it has been exciting to see what He has done so far and I can’t wait to see what He will do in the near future. Although we can’t wait to get moved to Myrtle Beach and start the work, we know it is His timing that we have to trust. In the meantime, I took a teaching position for the Fall semesters and will continue to fill pulpits when asked. I also am scheduled to speak at two mission conferences this fall: Faith, PCA – Myrtle Beach (September 18) and Greenwood, PCA’s (Sept. 23-25). Lisa, Jonathan and Katherine started homeschool several weeks ago. Finally, Tanner began his first year of college last week. We are staying busy until God’s time comes for us to go to the field…that is for sure.

"To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map." — William Carey, pioneer missionary to India

A Recent Success

God has truly been faithful to us in the initial months of raising support. However, we have a long way to go. Please be in prayer for the Lord to send churches, prayer/bible/small groups, and individuals who have a heart for church planting and the lost souls in Myrtle Beach to financially partner with us in this ministry.

Q: Why haven’t you moved yet?

A: This question is a good one and asked a lot. In our denomination (PCA), our home missions board called Missions to North America won’t allow its missionaries to move to the field until they have their first year of support raised. So that is the reason. Other than that we are ready.

"This generation of Christians is responsible for this generation of souls on the earth!" — Keith Green

Q: What Scripture are you relying on as you wait?

A: The Lord has impressed upon me 1 Timothy 1:12-17: “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (ESV)

These verses have blessed me because of the calling God has placed in my life to be a minister, but

also for the new calling to plant churches (or at least this one!). I know that there could have been many other paths that God could have chosen for me, for us as a family. However, with Paul, I give God abundant thankfulness for the strength He has given and the mercy He has displayed to allow me to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. I know that I could have been left spiritually and eternally dead in my sins, but He gave me new life in Christ.  Therefore, just as “Jesus Christ display[s] His perfect patience with me, I (we as a family) are displaying patience until He makes the way possible for us; until that appointed time for us to load the moving trucks is revealed. Yes, we are ready. However, He is not ready for us to go just yet. So we are doing only what any one of us can do and that is to trust Him.

"We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first." — Oswald J. Smith

What a Summer!!

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  – Luke 19:10

The seed that was planted in our hearts last October to plant a church is now beginning to produce buds for

flowers. This past month has been one of meetings and affirmations. The last newsletter gave you the update that we were assessed and approved by our denomination’s home mission organization called Missions to North America and of our calling to plant a church in Myrtle Beach, SC. This month I attended Pee Dee Presbytery’s MNA committee meeting to cast my vision for the church plant. I was approved by their committee and was issued a call by them for the work. That call was then approved by the Pee Dee Shepherding Committee. Finally, I had to go before Pee Dee Candidates and Credentials committee to be examined on my views about certain areas such as theology, sacraments, etc. Finally, I had to go before all of Pee Dee presbytery itself to give my testimony and be examined in order to transfer from my current presbytery (Calvary) to the one Horry County is in – Pee Dee Presbytery.

Now for my friends and family who are not Presbyterian, you may be asking, “why in the world does Mark have to go through all of this ‘stuff’?” The simple and best answer is that God is preparing us. I have been reading a great book this summer titled Prepared by Grace, for Grace: The Puritans on God’s Ordinary Way of Leading Sinners to Christ by Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley. On page two is this quote: “The Puritans urged people to prepare for many things: prepare to hear the preaching of the Word, prepare for conversion, prepare to partake of the Lord’s Supper, prepare to face trials, and prepare for the Lord’s coming in glory.” God is always preparing us for all kinds of things. The book primarily focuses on God’s preparing us to be saved by grace through faith in Christ alone by Scripture alone for His glory alone. However, as the quote above mentions, God prepares us for other things, not only the hearer hearing the preaching of the Word; but also the preacher preaching the Word, the evangelist sharing the Word, the church planter beginning a new work in a new community, and even you starting something new in your life if you are truly seeking the Lord’s will in your adventure.

I told you that to tell you this, the preparation is done for this portion of the work. I have been called, prayed over, assessed, examined and approved by all committees and agencies. There is nothing left to do here but to raise our support and then move to the field. So if you were asking, “What’s next?” That is it. MNA requires us to have the first year of support raised before we can move onto the field. At present, we are at about 26% of first year, either in pledges or cash given. We are reaching out to individuals and churches to partner with us in this ministry, to allow us to be an extension of their hands to do a great work in a spiritually dead area. You know the beach is a great place to work, live and vacation; especially if you are not saved. Myrtle Beach, as beautiful as it is, contains some of the highest percentages of vices: drug and alcohol addiction, sexual and pornographic sin, broken marriages, high percentage of teen pregnancy, high percentage of out-of-wedlock cohabitation, in other words – if you can name it, you can find it in Myrtle Beach. Our goal is not to go and just gather other Christians to form a church, but to gather the saints that are lost that God has been preparing to hear about His Son, Jesus Christ and bring them into His Kingdom.

Jonathan, Tanner & Katherine

It is not going to be easy. Beeke and Smalley quote the great Puritan Thomas Shepherd in the book mentioned above on page 91 stating, “Those that are saved, are saved with much difficulty…. It is a wonderful hard thing to be saved. The gait is strait, and therefore a man must sweat and strive to enter.” Shepherd wasn’t speaking about working to get into heaven. No, he was talking about how many fight God and wrestle with their own hearts when the Holy Spirit breaks down that heart of stone and turns it into a heart of flesh. We know God is calling us to witness to and be witnesses of His great work there. What can you do to partner with us? The first and most important is to pray, pray, pray. Below is some things for which you can pray specifically. The second is to help support us financially.  The instructions for doing this are to the right if God lays this on your heart. You or your church may pledge support for the three year work, or it may be more feasible for you or your church to give a one-time love gift.  Either way, please uphold us in prayer!
 

Relying On the Lord

“Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who

 greatly delights in His 

commandments!... Light dawns in the darkness of the upright; he is gracious, merciful and righteous… he is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord; his heart is steady, he will not be afraid.” ~ Psalm 112:1,4,7-8a

As we continue this journey that the Lord is leading us on called church planting, one theme that

continues to be shared with us is, “You know church planting is not for the faint of heart. Can YOU handle it?” My answer is always the same. “Well…actually…no.”

Ministry itself is not for the faint of heart. Let me remind you that being a Christian is not for the faint of heart! None of us can handle the pressures of the world, the flesh and the devil on our own. None of us can withstand the depression that comes with feeling like a failure at times, or the low self-esteem that is around the corner when our human plans are, well, not going as planned.

The Psalmist reminds us that to whatever and wherever the Lord has called us, we are to praise Him and be obedient to Him. It is in that which we receive His grace, mercy and righteousness. It is by trusting in Christ that our heart stands firm, is steady and we lose the fear that is before us.

Oswald Chambers reminds us in My Utmost for His Highest (June 3^rd): “Whenever there is doubt, stop at once. Never reason it out and say – ‘I wonder why I shouldn’t?’ God instructs us in what we choose, that is He guides our common sense, and we no longer hinder His Spirit by continually saying, ‘Now Lord, what is Thy will?’”

So can I handle it? No, I can’t. I will be the first to admit. However, I know the One who can. Lisa and I know that the Lord’s will for our life at this time is to plant a church. We also know now…and here is what many of you have been waiting for us to tell you… that the place He wants us to plant is Myrtle Beach, SC. We also know the area He wants us to plant the church is in the Carolina Forest community. You can learn more about this plant in what follows.

You may say, “Wow!! Myrtle Beach, I would love to live there! – the sand, the sun, the ocean.” I have to admit that Myrtle Beach is a wonderful place to vacation. However, what we are truly entering is a spiritually dark place. As you will see in our handout there is a lot of brokenness there – gambling addictions, drug and alcohol addictions, teen pregnancies is through the roof (higher than state average and a lot of repeat births), broken families and a non-commit to religion of any  kind. That is part of the reason why no one has wanted to take on this challenge for seventeen years. Yes, the sand, sun and ocean will be nice; but the reason we go is out of obedience to the Lord’s call and the lost souls who are broken that need to hear about the grace and love of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Let me ask you to partner with us in two important ways. First, and most crucial, is pray with us. Pray

fervently that God will go before us into this vast mission field. We need Him to “guide our common sense.” Second, pray about partnering with us financially. We begin with twelve percent of our goal. Ask the Lord if His desire for you is to give above the tithe to your church a three year committed support offering to reaching the lost in Carolina Forest. Even a one-time gift will go a long way in helping us get started toward moving on the field. Another opportunity may be for your church, Sunday School class, or small group/Bible study group to support us financially.

Finally, I want to close by telling you how much we appreciate you. We would not be where we are if it wasn’t for God placing you in our lives. Our friends and family have been very supportive in standing with us as we sought Him in this next step of our ministry. We love you and we pray for you.

God is Blessing

And the people said to Joshua, "the LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey." ~ Joshua 24:24

Yesterday (5/1/16) we were able to go back to Norris Hill, PCA in Anderson, SC to hear an old friend speak. In the middle of the family is Dr. Clarke MacIntosh. He is a medical doctor and missionary to the Sudan region in Africa. For the past seven years he has worked with the tribes in the area that have minor needs to major medical needs all-the-while sharing the gospel. He is a great guy and a very dear brother in Christ to us.

In his message yesterday he gave a quote that really hit home to us as we venture into church planting. In our family devotions Sunday night we discussed at length much of what Clarke said and particularly this by Denny Dyvigi, "We go into missions thinking we are doing God a favor, and in reality, He is calling us to go so that He can bless us."

This was a heart check for me; not because I desire God's blessings on this earth; but in reflection, I asked myself, "Am I doing what I am doing because I want to do God a favor?" This is a positive way of asking myself if I really think so highly of myself that God needs me for this work. Of course, the answer is no. One thing I've learned in my fifteen years of ministry is that God doesn't need me for anything. Our Sovereign LORD is perfectly capable of doing His will without me. And, when I often think too highly of myself, He has a way of letting me know.

The whole impetus for our family to church plant, and for me personally, is Joshua 24:24...obedience to His voice...serving Him. God has given us a place to go and we are excited about it. We can't wait to share with you where that place is. However, right now is the phase of meeting with Sessions and MNA Committees, making plans and getting materials together, and raising support. All of this preliminary work is vital to ensure a good start to the new church.

Finally, let me mention what has happened over the last two weeks since our last newsletter. I went to the Pee Dee Presbytery meeting to talk with some individuals about the church plant and introduce myself to others with whom I only have talked on the telephone. It was a very fruitful time being with these fathers and brothers in the faith. There was much encouragement and for that I am thankful. Also, I had a great meeting with the acting MNA Coordinator afterwards at Starbucks. We spent time together getting to know one another and sharing testimonies. This past weekend we went to Atlanta for our annual Teach Them Diligently home school convention. We heard Ken Ham, Steve Green and Stephen Kendrick speak on various topics. Tanner and Jonathan were interviewed by Todd Friel of Wretched Radio. I'll let you know when that episode airs.

So, we have had an eventful couple of weeks. To quote Mr. Beaver in Chronicles of Narnia, "They say Aslan is on the move - perhaps he has already landed." Amen to that!! God is on the move with this church plant. We are ready to follow when He gives us the signal.

We would love for you to partner with us in this ministry. See the side page for more information.