14 Responses to “Beauty for Ashes”

1. Perry Says:
   June 25th, 2007 at 6:05 pm

   I love the story of Joseph. It’s one of the clearest pictures of God’s sovereignty in the Bible. But I didn’t always see it that way. In fact, it has taken me 22 years to come to grips with the sovereignty of God. I’m not completely sure of all the reasons why so many believers struggle with the doctrine of God’s sovereignty but I think I understand why it was such a struggle for me. To put it simply, my theology was man centered instead of God centered. I thought God’s plan and purpose for my life was dependant upon me. I thought I had the ability to change God’s direction for my life. I don’t think that way anymore, but it took a very painful breaking process for the Lord to open my eyes to see the error of that way of thinking. I still believe that I have freewill and will be held accountable for what I do but I also believe that God can overcome my freewill and has done so at many points in my life. By opening my eyes to the knowledge of the sovereign hand of God the Lord has blessed me with an abundance of peace and joy and rest that I never had before. God does not have a plan B.

2. Mike Says:
   June 25th, 2007 at 10:34 pm

   Todd, I am “new” to CCGV. My wife and I just moved here after four years in Incline Village, but we have owned a home here in Alta Sierra for five years. A few years ago we visited CCGV and there was a different pastor. I loved his sermons. He was so cogent. His thoughts and the biblical authority were woven together like a fine fabric. Later we visited and you were there. After hearing a sermon, I thought, “Poor guy. He will never be able to fill the shoes that were left for him.”

   We moved to GV one month ago. I had to spend two weeks in New York, so I missed two of your sermons. However, the ones that I heard were amazing. We wanted to try out Christian Life since our move, but we have not been able to tear ourselves away from CCGV. We look forward to this Sunday.

3. Todd Says:
   June 26th, 2007 at 6:26 am

   Perry - Amen. Remember, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will.” (Prov. 21:1). If He does that with kings, He does that with poppers like us.

   Mike - The shoes were too big indeed, so I didn’t even try to put them on. God has seen fit to bless the shoes He gave me & I’m thankful to have seen His faithfulness to us at Calvary. Welcome back from the high country, and I hope to meet you one of these Sundays.

4. Perry Says:
   June 26th, 2007 at 2:31 pm

   Todd - Did you always beleived the way you do now about the sovereignty of God? It seems that for most of us, if not all, this doctrine is difficult to accept.

5. Todd Says:
   June 26th, 2007 at 4:27 pm

   Perry - The sovereignty of God is unavoidable and undeniable if you read the Bible with your eyes open. But so is human responsibility. I see both throughout Scripture and have long since been concerned to reconcile the two. Spurgeon called them “friends”, and you don’t need to reconcile friends.

6. Perry Says:
   June 26th, 2007 at 8:07 pm

   Todd - Well said. I think it was just a few months back, after feeling a sense of utter futility, that I gave up trying to reconcile the two myself. I came to the wonderfully freeing conclusion that greater intellects than mine have attempted to arrive at a full understanding of how these two seemingly contradictory doctrines can coexist in God’s economy, and have failed. I like Spurgeon’s “friends” analogy. The two work well together. You can’t have one without the other. Without man’s freewill we could not truly love God because love is a choice. Without God’s sovereignty the universe would be in chaos and how could we love, respect, and trust a Father who does not flex total control over all that He has made. The amazing truth about all this is that God’s sovereignty has given direction to my freewill.

7. Todd Says:
   June 27th, 2007 at 6:46 am

   I couldn’t have said it better myself Perry.

8. Lynn Says:
   July 1st, 2007 at 9:48 pm

   Todd - this morning i was very moved by the message on Joseph’s character; the chronology of the path God had chosen for him. Most pertinent to a current struggle in my life was the tied reference made to both Colossians 3: 12-14 and Ephesians 4: 31-32 as it truly is His will for us to be tender and have forgiving hearts; growth from that which requires the least understanding and the most faith in Him. I have been regularly attending CCGV for over two years. I’d like to say that the shoes are a right fit. And praise be to Him for your leadership and heart. What’s been offered as spiritual and intellectual brain food these last two years has been something I’ve looked forward to and will continue to learn from each week. As a fellow reader and parent, I am grateful for mentioned resources in addition to the vulnerability you have allowed as a testament to God’s work. God Bless and thank you sincerely.

9. Jeff Shore Says:
   July 2nd, 2007 at 5:31 pm

   Todd - Can you please post the hymn you read on Sunday. It was really powerful. Thanks.

10. Nicole Says:
    July 3rd, 2007 at 8:38 am

    Hi Todd-

    I have been reading through the Bible in a year in the Chronological order Bible-NLT. Some of the stories are in there twice in one day . For example, the story of the census & the 3-day plague is both in Samuel & Chronicals. My question is that some of the numbers are contradictary in each story. The amount that David bought the threshing floor for was 50 pieces of silver, and in the other story it was 600 shekels of gold. Also, the census count done by Joab was 800,000 & 500,000 in 2 Samuel 24, but 1,100,000 and 470,000 in 1 Chronicles 21. How do we as Christians reconcile this with the Bible being inerrant. I knew there were seemingly contradictions in the Bible, but I did not know there were actual contradictions. The research I did on this said it was a copying error, but I’m confused because I thought there were no errors. I would have asked you in person, but I’m going to be witnessing to a Jehovah Witness on Friday and would like to understand this before then if possible. Do you have any words of wisdom on this? Thanks.

11. Todd Johnson Says:
    July 3rd, 2007 at 10:19 am

    Jeff - I’ve created a post for the hymn. Enjoy.

    Nicole - Let me simply relay what is written as a possible explaination in a book by Larry Richards.

    There are not that many numerical errors given the frequency with which statistics are given in the Old Testament. Most discrepancies are relatively easily explained. Here (2 Samuel & 1 Chronicles) two sets of numbers are involved. 2 Samuel 24:9 gives 800,000 as the adult male population of Israel, but 1 Chronicles 21:5 says the population was 1,100,000. 2 Sam. 24 lists 500,000 for Judah, while 1 Chron. 21 makes it 470,000. One passage must be wrong. Well, perhaps.
    It may be, however, that an answer is suggested by the use in 2 Sam. of fighting men (warriors) and its absence from 1 Chron. 21. The smaller number may reflect the fact that while there were 1,100,000 men of military age available to Daved, only 800,000 were experienced troops.
    The discrepancy between the 500,000 and 470,000 troops may also be explained in the details of these texts. Chronicles tells us that Joab did not complete the census and, in fact, left out the tribe of Benjamin (21:6). The larger figure in 2 Sam. may include an estimated 30,000 troops from Benjamin to make up a realistic total. Thus these discrepancies may be more apparent than real, if the text is read carefully.
    The second so-called discrepancy is in the amount paid by David to Araunah. 2 Sam. 24:24 says David paid fifty shekels of silver for the threshing floor and oxen. 1 Cron. 21:25 says David paid six hundred shekels of gold, nearly two hundred times as much. How can we explain this? A threshing floor is a small, hilltip area, usually only a few hundred square feet in size. The much greater price recorded in 1 Chron. suggests that while David paid only fifty silver shekels for the oxen and the threshing floor, he also purchased the entire site - the larger area where the threshing floor was situated. As the temple was later built on this site and covered many acres, we have good reason to suppose that the 600 gold shekels were paid for the fields and hill surrounding the threshing floor; and not for that tiny location at all.

12. Todd Johnson Says:
    July 3rd, 2007 at 10:20 am

    Lynn - I didn’t mean to forget you. Thank you for the kind words. The greatest encouragement I receive is to hear how the Lord is using His Word to impact lives. Thank you for sharing that with me. The Lord bless you.

13. Ann Says:
    July 3rd, 2007 at 8:28 pm

    The example I get from Joseph that is so awe inspiring is that he was 22? years away from his family and those who shared his beliefs, no bible, and still he held steadfast to his faith, obedient to God, and an example, and again, with no fellowship! I get fellowship Sunday evenings and that’s it, and I struggle a lot with God’s sovernty. Joseph is a man right up there with Job’s righteousness.

14. Perry Says:
    July 6th, 2007 at 2:32 pm

    Ann - And yet, in the eyes of the Father, Joseph and Job are no more righteous than you.

    2 Corinthians 5:21
    For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

    Philippians 3:9
    …and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

    God gives each of us the strength we need when we need it. Joseph and Job were recipients of God’s strength and were no more worthy to recieve it than you. The Lord gave them all they needed to have victory in their circumstances because His goal was to dispay His glory in their lives. That’s His goal for you Ann, and He will not fail to fulfill that goal.

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