The Lighthouse Christian Fellowship

POEM OF THE MONTH

A Psalm of Praise
by Richard Baxter

Ye holy Angels bright,
Which stand before God's throne,
And dwell in glorious light,
Praise ye the Lord each one.
You there so nigh
Are much more meet
Than we the feet,
For things so high.

You blessed souls at rest
That see your Saviour's face,
Whose glory, even the least,
Is far above our grace;
God's praises sound,
As in his sight
With sweet delight
You do abound.

All nations of the earth,
Extol the world's great King;
With melody and mirth
His glorious praises sing.
For he still reigns;
And will bring low
The proudest foe
That him disdains.

Sing forth Jehovah's praise,
Ye saints that on him call;
Magnify him always;
His holy churches all
In him rejoice;
And there proclaim
His Holy Name
With sounding voice.

My soul, bear thou thy part!
Triumph in God above!
With a well-tuned heart
Sing thou the songs of love.
Thou art his own
Whose precious blood,
Shed for thy good,
His love made known.

Though human help depart
And flesh draw near to dust,
Let Faith keep up my heart
To love God true and just;
And all my days
Let no disease
Cause me to cease
His joyful praise.

Though sin would make me doubt,
And fill my soul with fears,
Though God seem to shut out
My daily cries and tears,
By no such frost
Of sad delays
Let thy sweet praise
Be nipped and lost.

Away, distrustful care!
I have thy promise, Lord.
To banish all despair,
I have thy oath and word.
And therefore I
Shall see thy face,
And there thy grace
Shall magnify.

Though sin and death conspire
To rob thee of thy praise,
Still towards thee I'll aspire,
And thou dull hearts canst raise.
Open thy door;
And when grim death
Shall stop this breath
I'll praise thee more.

With thy triumphant flock
Then I shall numbered be;
Built on the eternal rock
His glory we shall see.
The heavens so high
With praise shall ring.
And all shall sing
In harmony.

The sun is but a spark
From the eternal light;
Its brightest beams are dark
To that most glorious sight.
There the whole Chore
With one accord
Shall praise the Lord
For evermore.

THOUGHT OF THE MONTH

Grace often times in Christian circles is generally considered to be God's
unmerited favor, leniency, forgiveness, pardon, mercy towards us in Christ. But
grace is not only pardon, it is also power. Grace is the power of God moving into
fallen lives and fixing them powerfully overcoming all their resistance and saving
them and transforming them. God's grace is meant to have amazing effects in
our lives.

One of the great passages that demonstrate the power of grace is 2 Corinthians
8.
"We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given
among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their
abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of
generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify,
and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the
favor of taking part in the relief of the saints- and this, not as we expected, but
they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us." ( 2
Corinthians 8:1-5)

Paul writes to the Corinthian church about the grace of God revealed and the
effect that grace had upon the churches of Macedonia. God's grace came down
upon the Macedonians. "We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of
God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia..." (verse1). Notice
that grace has been given and Paul says that there is something that grace has
done and not done.
"For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme
poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave
according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own
free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the
saints..." (verse 2-4).

What was the effect of God's sovereign grace upon the churches of Macedonia?
Grace in the lives of the Macedonians (and in ours) resulted in abundant joy
overflowing into willing generosity. Notice their joy was not in circumstances. It
came first in "a severe test of affliction". Grace came to them and things got
worse. Oh how often times things go worse for us when we are Christians, not
better! Not only were they being afflicted, but they were suffering "extreme
poverty'. God didn't pour down money. The economy didn't pick up. There was
no rise in the stock market. They didn't win the lottery. In short, when they
became Christians they were still struggling financially. So circumstances weren't
the source of their joy.

They were very strange compared to most of us. And oh how I want to be like
them! I guess because often times I am so unlike them. If my circumstances are
difficult; if my finances are struggling; the word that would describe me is most
certainly not abundantly joyful. But that was what these people experienced. So
what is the difference between them and us? They knew God's grace and were
experiencing the power and overflow of God's abundant grace lavished and
being lavished upon them in Christ. Therefore their joy was not in life itself,
money, people, ease, security, or prosperity; it was an overflowing joy in God.
Whatever the circumstances were was not the source of their joy. The
source of their joy was in God and from God.

What did that grace producing joy produce in their life?"...have overflowed in a
wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I
can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly
for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints-and this, not as we
expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of
God to us." (2 Corinthians 8:2-5)

Do you see what has happened? They "overflowed in a wealth of generosity on
their part". They had fallen in love in God and they had fallen out of love with
money. They begged earnestly for an opportunity to contribute to the needs of
poor saints. These people are so very different aren't they? They are asking Paul
for a second offering to be taken. "Let us give even more to the poor!" Only
grace can do that to a person.

John Piper says, "What makes Jesus look valuable is that you, in your love for
Jesus, sacrifice yourself for the good of others so that it is unquestionably
apparent that your treasure is not on this earth."What is grace going to look like
working in your life? How are you going to live a lifestyle that doesn't just look
like a carbon copy of the world?

Jesus said, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they
may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
(Matthew 5:16)

Good deeds are a part of grace working in our lives and in helping others see the
light. But not alone in themselves because lots of people who aren't Christians
do good deeds. Note the context of this well known statement of Jesus.
Verses 10-15 show the context of our light. Blessed are those who are
persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all
kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your
reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were
before you. "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall
its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown
out and trampled under people's feet. "You are the light of the world. A city set
on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket,
but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house."

Our light is a rejoicing and a being glad in the day of persecution. What shines in
the world is when you are being beat up by circumstances or other people and
you don't murmur, grumble, or avenge yourself, but rejoice. That is the light and
salt that people see. The world has never seen anything like this. It cannot do
it. But if you do it, the world will awaken. “Where is that joy coming from? It’s
not coming from their circumstances.” When good deeds are done at great cost
to you and everyone expects self-pity but there’s only joy, you just might say it’s
from God. We are to be sorrowful, yet always rejoicing (2 Cor 6:10) and we do
that in the power of amazing grace and the result of that grace is overflowing
joy!

When God graces us in our affliction and poverty He is not calling us away from
joy but into joy. Jesus says in John 10:10, "I came that they may have life and
have it abundantly." I have come here for your maximum, everlasting joy." Psalm
16:11: In his presence is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. John Piper
says, "Joy in God overflows in sacrificial, self-denying acts of love."

Truly grace is amazing in not only its pardoning from sin but in its empowering to
live joyfully and to sustain us in generously grace giving to others.
Pastor Bill