Who Would Be a Father?

Behold the stereotypical modern American father -- flabby body planted firmly in the LazyBoy, nose buried in the newspaper; the sum total of his communication with his family consisting of an occasional grunt without not so much as a glance away from the sports page, showing signs of life only during the Super Bowl and the World Series.  Intellectually, he is unaware of all that goes on around him. culturally, he is a barbarian. Socially, he is a couch potato. Morally, he is comatose. Others are rearing his children, and his glad to have it so. 

"My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments; for length of days, and long life, and peace shall they add to thee." Proverbs 3:1-2

The words of the wise man are strange to us for they picture a godly father who actually talks to his children. Furthermore, his conversation is not frivolous; but serious, profound, pholosophical, peaceful, and life-giving.  This wise father talks with his children of laws, of commandments , which will give them length of days, and long life, and peace with God and man. The words of this wise father are health and strength and knowlege to his children. Seems so strange.

Samuel Miller writes:  "The man who becomes, by any means, instrumental in guiding a single youth to knowledge, virtue, piety, and true happiness, is a rich public benefactor; for the training of evry such youth is a precious blessing conferred on is generation....Not only are his contemporaries rendered much his debtors; but future generations also will have reason to rise up and call him blessed."

Such words sound strange to us today, when the manly art of theological and philosophical discussion has all but vanished, when the patriarchal duty of tenderly and wisely counselling the younger generation has passed. Perhaps it is time that we set aside the newspaper, turn off the tube, and gather the family around the dining room table and see if we can revive the old tradition of family conversation. After a little bit of practice, we might even be able to give a bit of good advice.  

"Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also and said unto me, Let ting heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom and understanding; forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdomis the principal thing; therfore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many."  Proverbs 4:1-10

I think these are the issues that differentiate between a father and a sperm donor. No answers out loud please, which are you?

Shall We Again Reverence the Word of God?

I was reading tonight and was struck by a powerful moment in the Scriptural record- I hardly know what words to use to describe it. However, I have a deep rooted conviction that in the brief passage I read is the key to an earth shattering and a church shaking move of God. As I read the passage something physical happened to me. I did not fall down on the floor, nor go into a trance; I did not shake, but I might (and I emphasize might) have had a vision, a vision of a day I long to see in the Body of Christ and for a moment, it took my breath away:

(Nehemiah 8:1 ff) - And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel."  A large multitude - a gathering of over 40,000 persons -- assembled at the square in front of the Water Gate, a site near the rebuilt temple, and asked Ezra to bring out "the book of the law of Moses." He stepped forward before the people with the Scriptures in hand, mounted a wooden platform, and unrolled the scroll. And as he did with reverential awe, the people instinctively stood to their feet.........................they recognized the divine authorship and sovereign authority. They knew that what they would be hearing was not the idea of a man, but the VERY WORD OF GOD. 

I will not add further commentary here for it is not required. Those who have ears to hear will hear and those whose ears are filled with wax will continue in their apathy. But I will retire to my bed tonight with a profound vision in my mind; of a mighty nation of saints who stand in breathless awe before the Word of God......

A Message to Fathers

A long time ago, there was a pernicious fellow named Arius who troubled the church. He taught that our Lord Jesus Christ was not the eternal God, the Second Person of the Trinity, but rather a created being, not of the same essence with the Father. Arius wrote, "The Unbegun made the Son a beginning of things originated; and advanced Him as a Son to Himself by adoption."  Needless to say, the foul heresy, if accepted by the church, would have destroyed Christianity.  

     The Council of Nicea met in 325 A.D. to resolve the challenges put forth by Arius.  Over 100 leaders of the church gathered; some were followers of the hertic Arius, others held to the orthodox doctrine. Arius and his disciples were eloquent in their defense of their blasphemies - so eloquent that some of those who believed the orthodox doctrine were intimidated into silence. Who would defend the deity of Christ?

     A relatively young man, small of stature and great in faith and intellect, was in attendance. Athanasius by name. Technically, he attended as a scribe, not as a leader of the church.  When others were silent, Athanasius arose and delivered a powerful, irrefutable defense of the orthodox doctrine. This great champion of the faith won the day, and the Nicene Creed proclaimed, "We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father."

    During this tremendous challenge to the faith Athanasius virtually stood alone. Others believed as he did, but none fought as he fought. At one point, a friend said to him, "Athanasius, the world is against you."  This warrior replied, "So be it. Then Athansius is against the world!"  Athanasius contra mundum --Athanasius against the world.

     Athanasius seems strange to us today because he believed in something. He believed in something, and believed it to the point of personal inconvenience. He almost single-handedly defended the orthodox doctrine at Nicene. He boldly challenged the ambivalent Emperor Constantine, who wanted Arius re-instated to the church. Athanasius was falsely accused of sabotage, witchcraft, graft, murder, was attacked in his church several times, and was banished from the realm on at least five separate occasions. Athanasius no doubt could have lived a quiet, peaceful, comforatble life, except for one little problem - he believed something. 

     Athanasius believed something, and thus was willing to defend that which he believed. Athanasius believed something, and thus there was no thought given to his own personal comfort when that which he believed came under attack.  Athanasius believed something, and that something was the Truth of God, and thus he received the grace to stand against the world in defense of God's Truth. Athanasius believed something, and that made a difference. 

    The 21st Century, no less than the fourth, has heresies which would supplant the Truth of God. Idols which would receive  the worship which is due to God alone; pagan philosophies which would deform and destroy the people of God. In the 4th century one man prepared himself to stand for God, and the purity of the church's doctrine was preserved. Today there are innumerable abominations which would seek to capture the minds of God's people. And who will arise to defend God's Truth?  Perhaps we will not have our names written n the history books as did Athanasius, but every father can stand before his family as God's representative, and proclaim and defend God's Truth.  Perhaps our efforts will not influence the entire church, as did Athanasius, but our efforts can bless and prosper our family.

     Perhaps we will not turn back the forces of darkness from every corner of the world, but we can say, "In this my house, God's Truth will be established, and honored, and praised.  The blasphemies of the world will not breech the sanctity of my home.  When pagan philosophies of our age seek to capture my family, I will stand against them, and by the grace of God, defeat them, and destroy them.  

     Athanasius went to the Council of Nicea as a scribe, and a helper. He left as the Champion of God's Truth. He was prepared, and his preparation was rewarded.  Every father has a little flock to guard, and nurture, and cherish. Fathers must be prepared, must study God's Truth, because the enemy will seek to snatch the lambs from the the little flock. Little lambs can't fight this fight; they need a shepherd, a guardian, a champion, a warrior to protect them.  They need someone to stand, if need be, against the world.  Father contra mundum -- Father against the world! 

Hurrumph....

He then, for the lack of an adequate word, fell silent; trusting that the stillness would avail more than the incessant chatter; praying that the quiet would allow reason to pierce through the insanity - and this all failing at least he would not be a contributor to the cacophony of those who find the sound of their own voice pleasure enough to not require truth.

Sometimes if I shut up...........I can hear God

(Images in my spirit from Psalm 42 offered without commentary, outline or application.  Just some vivid images the Lord impressed upon my spirit as I was driving home from out of town yesterday.  

David, son of Jesse, sat in the depths of the Cave of Adullum, afraid even to light a small fire to take the chill from his bones, lest some small wisp of smoke should escape the mouth of the cave and alert Saul's men of his whereabouts. He is a man on the run; on the run from the fury of a man driven mad by his lust for power.  Even though David has been anointed as the next king over Israel - he is more like an animal being hunted by the hunters.   

     David knows the wilderness in which he hides better than any man for it is in these same arid tracts that he tended his father's sheep as a boy. He knows every shade tree and every cave where one can escape the scorching heat. He knows every stream and every watering hole for he has depended on that knowledge to care for Jesse's flocks.  Many starlit nights have been whiled away playing his lyre lying on a sheepskin bed, looking at the heavens and writing praise songs to Yaweh. He has stood for hours before a juniper tree practicing with his sling until he could knock out a knot with deadly accuracy. He has attacked the same bush over and over again with his staff pretenting it to be a bear or a lion - practice which stood him in good stead when the sheep were threatened by the real thing - and once again will sustain him before a mighty giant.  

     But now.................now he is a hunted man, running for his life and daring not to stop for too long in one place lest the hounds catch his scent and the horsemen run him down.  For a few moments the darkness of the cave hides him and he can rest.  But as he sits in the hollow of the earth, gasping for breath, despair leaps upon him, "God why have you forgotten me?"

     He thinks, "If I were to die here in this forsaken place no one would know. Perhaps a shepherd boy might one day find my bones in this anonymous grave. I am utterly alone."

     Suddenly in the mouth of the cave, at the pool fed by a spring he hears, a sound.  There, silouhetted by the blazing sun outside is a hart - a mighty deer.  He himself is fleeing the hunter and dares only to stop for a moment to quench his raging thirst.  As heaving chest cries out for air and a parched gullet screams for water this powerful beast is a ruler in the wilderness, and yet he is hunted and must flee the arrow that would strike him down.  For a moment, their eyes meet and then in a flash the powerful hooves carry the beast away and David is alone again. 

     In the eerire calm that remains, young David realizes that even though he is utterly alone,  God knows where he is, for their is no place a man can run that God is not already there.  He realizes that God has orchestrated his training in this very wilderness to prepare him for this very moment. Every night spent in the desert, every blistering day in the heat; the stench of the lion's breath in his face as he is locked in mortal combat and the rumble of the earth beneath the feet of the bear - every stone flying toward its woody target; all of these have forged a man of iron, a warrior of superlative skill; a king who must first learn to rule himself before he can lead a nation. 

     David rises to his feet and moves to the water pool at the mouth of the great cavern - unaware that he will shelter here again as he trains his mighty men that will serve valiantly with him in battle.  He drinks deeply from the pool and as he does he lifts his eyes and upon on the hillside alert for danger stands the mighty hart as David whispers words of profound understanding, "As the deer pants for the waterbrook so my soul longeth after thee. My soul thirsts for God, the living God......" Then rising to his feet with renewed strength and invigorated spirit he strides out into the blazing furnace of his affliction, knowing that God is crafting him for another day. 

From my Father's mouth to my spirit to your heart, may the Lord bless you.

Michael Gantt

 ·  

A Book Review - Famine in the Land by Steven J. Lawson

     I have a friend who is a voracious reader, capable of dissecting a book in minutes, digging out all of the salient truths (or lack thereof) with laser precision.  The wonderful part is the fact that he often does book reviews, so that those of us of slower wit can decide whether a book is worth reading, and where whatever pitfalls there might be may lie.  I read quite a bit, but don't so often remember to recommend a great read or to warn people off of junk.


     I recently read, "Famine in the Land" by Steven J. Lawson (subtitled: A Passionate Call for Expository Preaching,) and I don't want to be remiss by enjoying as I have such a passionate and scholarly work; a challenging book which has renewed my own passion for being faithful to the Word of God in my own teaching and preaching, without sharing it with others.  

     
     Steven J. Lawson is the founding pastor of Grace Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama. He is author of numerous books and commentaries, and serves as a guests lecturer in expository preaching at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, The Master's Seminary, and the Expositor's Institute at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California. 


     In this small book, Lawson has packed a powerful outline of teaching into a very streamlined and well documented (structurally) format.  He begins in his introduction with a quote from Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones: "The most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching, and as it is the greatest need in the Church, it is the greatest need in the world also."


      Lawson states his case in the first chapter with these words: "Influenced by corporate mergers, towering skyscrapers, and expanding economies, bigger is perceived as better, and nowhere is this "Wall Street" mentality more evident that in the church. Sad to say, pressure to produce bottom-line results has led many ministries to sacrifice the centrality of biblical preaching on the altar of man-centered pragmatism."  


     From this platform, Lawson launches into what truly lives up to his sub-title; a passionate call for expository preaching.  He first defines it by way of J.I. Packer in "God Has Spoken:" The true idea of preaching is that the preacher should become a mouthpiece for his text, opening it up and applying it as a word from God to his hearers, talking only in order that the text itself may speak and be heard."


      The outline of the book is powerful in its simplicity. After defining what expository preaching is he instructs us from the patterns provided by four different sources.


1.  Feast or Famine?: The Priority of Biblical Preaching - in this section he shows that the early church established a paradigm for biblical preaching early on (modeling what they had seen in Jesus). The first inkling of church life is found in Acts 2:42 where the people steadfastly attended to the apostle's doctrine. 


2.  The Need of the Hour: The Power of Biblical Preaching - in this section Lawson does a careful analysis of the preaching of Jonah. It is a masterful analysis of the work of Jonah in that Assyrian City and the response of God to His own Word.  


3.  Bring the Book!: The Pattern of Biblical Preaching - Ezra is the focus of the third bit of analysis (and its also my favorite.)  As Lawson, dramatic fashion, brings to life the ministry of the Word through Ezra from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.  This is powerful stuff, presented in a very clear format. 


4.  No Higher Calling: The Passion of Biblical Preaching - perhaps one of the most enthralling portions of Lawson's work is in this segment; for in it he examines the preaching ministry through the very clear instructions of Paul to young Timothy.


     Throughout Famine in the Land, Steven J. Lawson also refers numerous times to the opinions of some of the great minds of church history; Luther, Moody, Spurgeon, Calvin, and many others.  


I would recommend this book to anyone because it is interesting and valuable reading. 
I highly recommend this book to any preacher or teacher because it will challenge you again to be faithful to the high calling of "preaching the Word."
I urgently recommend this book to young preachers who have not yet honed their skills, nor have discovered the "method" of preaching they consider to be their own. This book will be of immense help. 


Michael K. Gantt
Brattlebor, VT
June 28, 2011

Precious Memories - June 18, 2011

     My mom died last week at the age of 81.  She had been failing in health for some months, almost 2 years actually, but significantly in recent days.  We had had a number of very direct conversations (you that know me can understand this), regarding her end of life wishes. She had been very clear that she did not, under any circumstances, want her length of life extended when the quality of life was gone.  We had talked about a number of specific circumstances and had settled upon a very clear cut course of action - no extraordinary means were to be taken to extend her life. When her body was ready to die, I was not to allow anyone to interfere.  I was clear and settled and ready to carry out her decisions. 

     On the 8th of June I received a 6:30 a.m. phone call informing me that my mother was suffering from "significant respriatory distress"; the doctor was on the way in and wanted me to meet him at the nursing home.  I arrived within minutes to find that significant might have been an understatement.  My mother was in severe respriatory distress and it was clear that she was dying.  

     Calling me aside, the Doctor and I discussed options.  When he was done I said to him, "Make her comfortable and do not interfere in any other manner."  I understood what that meant and was fully prepared to make that decision on my Mom's behalf.  As we were talking I turned to look at my Mom and something powerful happened.  Our eyes met and I could see that she knew she was dying and that I was going to do nothing to interfere.  I was going to let her die.  I am also aware that to not be able to breathe is one of the most terrifying circumstances a person can experience.  When I looked into my Mom's eyes, she was looking directly at me and there was a look of terror that I am inadequate to describe.  It was momentary, and then the medicines began to take effect and she was able to lie back and rest.  Her breathing relaxed and as she did, the life began to slowly ebb out of her and within an hour, she was gone. 

My Mom - Martha Joyce Gantt around 1936

     However, for me - that terrified look that was in her eyes was frozen in my mind.  It was like that instant we shared was seared into my consciousness and devastating beyond words.  I spent nearly a week absolutely unable to close my eyes, because each time I did all I could see was my Mom struggling to breathe and knowing I would not intervene.  Even though I knew I had made the right decision, the compassionate decision, the decision my Mom wanted - it was like a knife that pierced through every fiber of my being.  

     My family thought all week that I was "down" and "grief-stricken" because of my Mom's passing.  I wasn't - I was horrified and guilt ridden because of that image that remained of those last moments.  It was a like a moment frozen in time, that just wouldn't go away.  I was so concerned as the day of her Memorial service approached that I would not be able to honor my mother properly because I would be devoured by that image - and I so wanted to present a service that would honor this great woman.  I prayed, I cried out to God, "I cannot do this unless you help me not see that look of terror in her eyes."

     Last night, my wife urged me up off of the couch to go out to the storage shed where much of my mom's "stuff" has been stored.  We are going through that difficult time of sorting, separating; what should be given to who, what should be sold, what should be given away or thrown away."  I didn't want to go, but I did any way.  As we were getting readly to leave, I spied yet another photo album that I had not looked through that was filled with photos of one of the cousin's wedding.  I remember thinking, I should just throw it away or mail it back to my cousin.  I flipped through the empty pages in the back and a flash of color - sepia - caught my eye.  To my amazement as I looked more slowly I found a tiny little photo that was obviously quite old.  It was in fact a photo of my mother at around age 7 - as I looked closer I realized what a beautiful young girl she was and how much one of my granddaughters looks like her Nana.  In an instant, the Lord gave me a precious image to replace that look of terror that was seared into my consciousness. 

     Today, I sought to honor my mother, by telling the truth.  A lot who know her little realize the childhood she had, and the familly curses she overcame with the help of God to become the caring and nurturing mother and grandmother she was.  She was a woman of intense inner beauty and strength of character and it was only made obvious by the telling of her story.  

     I am so grateful to God who in His tenderness said to me last night, "Here, son, is a picture to replace the one that has been haunting you all week. My gift to you."  Thank you Father for your goodness to me - and to my Mom.