Lord's Day Post To Cecelia And Lilly And Jeff....And A Few Others Whose Name I Did Not Get

Preface: The following was first posted on July 4th of last year....ten days before God took his faithful servant John MacArthur home. I bring it up here as a Lord's Day post. I met some nice people on vacation who I was able to give the URL to these posts....and I hope that they might listen to this wonderful sermon....on this day....the Lord's Day"

           In the afternoon of January 1, 2023 I booted up John MacArthur's church's streaming sermon....but he had taken ill. It was reported a few weeks later that there was some artery cloggage....a procedure was done....and the pastor would need a few weeks of rest. It has been 2 1/2 years since that day....and he has hardly been in the pulpit at all....as one new procedure would follow another.
           I check every week to see if he might be back in his pulpit....and I pray every day that he his lungs would function well enough for him to preach. I'm doing this in faith that God would....if it be in His perfect will...give us back the old John Macarthur as in the sermon YouTube that is below....which is pure John Macarthur...and one of the strongest evangelical sermons that I have ever heard him preach!
          John MacArthur is not perfect....nor was Spurgeon or Martyn Lloyd-Jones or any of the great preachers of the past. He fell for the lure of politics about six years ago...and he missed the false prophet that he had been warning us of for the past for decades....but God is merciful....or a wretch like me would not be typing here right now.
          We in evangelicalism are essentially shepherdess right now. God has taken most of his faithful shepherds home....Billy Graham and R. C. Sproul and Tim Keller and many others....men who would not have shrunk back and refused to warn....as all the others have today.
           It may be that John MacArthur would return to his pulpit....and not be the warning that I would expect him to be. That is in God's hands. As for me....I know that evangelicalism right now is in the dark....and they need a voice of warning....a trumpet!
           Have you come here and read my pitiful posts on the gospel of Jesus Christ....and been frustrated because it is not sinking in? Are you a long-time church goer and frustrated because you have never understood what all the fuss was about. Are you about to give up? Give it one more try....listen to this sermon by John MacArthur....because it is for you!

Three Weeks To The Shepherd's Conference

                My first post on John MacArthur's upcoming....Lord willing....annual Shepherd's Conference was three weeks ago....and at the time there were six weeks to the Wednesday March 6 first day of the conference. The second post on the topic was two Wednesdays ago....and the third post was last week. My purpose....my hope....and my prayer....was that God would shake up all the plans for the conference....wonderful as I'm sure they are....but we are at a time when we do not need....wonderful plans....we need the glory of God come down to shake up our wonderful plans. In that first post were these words...."As the weeks pass and the time for the conference draws nearer....God may be awakening all of us....MacArthur and Piper....(John Piper....a scheduled speaker at the conference)....and it may not turn out to be a typical conference....wonderful as the may be and usually are....but more of an emergency meeting of shepherd's....pastors.....seeking discernment....and much needed courage and determination....in the turmoil of this world."
                 I was not aware at the time that a controversy was brewing over controversial remarks that Alistair Begg....a scheduled speaker at the Shepherd's Conference....had made a few weeks previous....remarks that would go viral. You can easily Google this controversy if you want. It is still being widely debated...two weeks after the Cleveland minister and very popular radio minister and author had withdrawn from the conference....so as not to be a distraction....but a distraction of sorts was what I had been looking for...topics that need discussed now....but that we are too timid to even broach.
                 So today is the fourth Wednesday post on the Shepherd's Conference....three Wednesdays....Lord willing....before the conference begins. These many pastors will be gathered together....should the Lord still will it....with many denominations represented....but most of a Reformed and Calvinist theology....including the two top ministers of substance in the public eye today....John MacArthur and John Piper.
                  There is no longer a day that passes in these tumultuous and chaotic last of the last days....where there is not a high possibility of something earthshaking happening....a monumental earthquake for example....ot the beginning of a world war....or Trump finally saying something that even the blind mice of the Republican Party could not ignore....or with Joe Biden....or unfortunately any number of other disasters that our overall lack of vigilance has set the stage for.
                   Whether it be in this conference....or from the pulpits suddenly awakened with shock and awe....may God....if it be His will....take the veils from over our eyes....and the wax from our ears....that we might....look up....as we see our redemption drawing near!

Luke 21:28

Shepherd's Conference....One Week Closer....Lord Willing

                 Arthur F. Burns was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve back in the 70s when I was majoring in economics at Pitt. There is a story about him and his pipe smoking that has stayed in my mind over the years. As best I can remember it he was part of a delegation to the Vatican. He was the only one who was Roman Catholic as the delegation attended a Mass....so the others looked to him for help with all the standing and kneeling and hand symbols. Well....before entering the church Burns put his pipe in his suit coat pocket. I know what happened here folks for it has happened to me a number of times. Once...back around thirty years ago....my son and I were in downtown Pittsburgh and stopped into the original Blockhouse...from Fort Pitt during the French and Indian War. I put my pipe in my leather coat pocket. While inside...I could smell a little smoke....and so could the curator. I hurried my son out before anyone knew that a Kleenex in my pocket was smoldering. So back to Arthur Burns....during the Mass his pocket started to smolder a little....and he began to pat his suit coat pocket....to put out any smoldering.....and the men around him thought that he was simply performing some of the Catholic Mass rituals...so they all began to pat their suit coat pockets. 
               When I first came into the faith my emphasis was on Christian apologetics....defending the Faith....and particularly on the Jehovah Witnesses. I ran a message in the Personal section of our local newspaper that read...."Are you studying with the Watchtower organization. If so....please call me"....along with my telephone number. It was my attempt to reach people who were just beginning to be taken in by the JWs. I remember and greatly regret one day when two of their members stopped by our house on one of their normal neighborhood visits. We talked until they had enough. I remember offering them a copy of Crisis Of Conscience....by Raymond Franz....a member of their Governing Body....who had found the true gospel and left the organization. The man raised his hands and refused the book. I still have it here....and then I did what I regret....as they left I said...."God bless you." I had offered a blessing to members of an organization than worked feverishly in attacking the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. I can't take that back....but I learned from it.
               About twenty days ago I began to be overcome by an idea concerning John MacArthur's long-running and wonderful....yearly Shepherd's Conference. I posted on it two Wednesdays ago. My prayer was that as these thousands of pastors....Shepherds....gathering for what they thought would be a normal time of fellowship and teaching....that God....as the Second Coming of Jesus gets even closer....would have other things in mind....that the conference would be taken in areas not on the agenda....and then a few days later came the major controversy over Alistair Begg's favorable comments on attendance at a wedding of a same-sex couple. Alistair....one of the major speakers....has since withdrawn from his role at the conference. Right now....as I type....this topic is not only a distraction but potentially very divisive in the church. We will see where God takes us in this.
               I have had to wonder if there was a message here to all of these ministries such as Alistair Begg's....and John MacArthur's....and even John Piper's....and so many more.....that have been blessings to me and to multitudes over the years....if the size and the goals of the ministries could possibly be problematic in themselves? Is it possible for even great ministries to lose sight if even for a moment....if not always vigilant? John MacArthur is another example. He was surprised by a telephone call back in 2020 from then President Trump on a Lord's Day....this is typical Trump. MacArthur made a statement that was as unwise as that statement recently made by Alistair Begg....in that he famously said...."Any real, true believer is going to be on your side in this election...." Well what about those of us who really and truly believe that Trump is a false prophet and even an antichrist as the Apostle John labelled them? What about John Piper and so many others who choose to trust in God and not in man?
                Please continue to pray with me for this upcoming Shepherd's Conference....which now begins four weeks from today....Lord willing....that God is mysteriously moving in all of this turmoil....all ultimately for our good....and all to His everlasting glory!
              

An Odd Prayer Request......I Admit

The post below is a week old....so today it is five weeks until the first day of John MacArthur's annual Shepherd's Conference....Lord willing. My urgent hope when posting this....and even moreso today....is that these thousands of pastors that attend will be involved in much more than they expected....that this will not be the typical time for teaching and refreshment....but that the events of the day would precipitate genuine discourse and debate...with unscheduled and unanticipated emergency prayer meetings....orchestrated by God's Holy Spirit. It is not the norm....but I was not aware a week ago of the major controversy around Alistair Begg....one of the speakers at the conference. There is an issue.....you can easily research this for yourselves....for if I mention it here then it would have metastasized into my original hopes for this conference. No....as important as it is to address this particular controversy....it would be like having a meeting on the Titanic about the inadequate number of lifeboats....as the ship was sinking. However this will turn out....God is working. So once again....as I mention below....please join me in prayer that this conference might be a watershed of sorts....in a church culture that needs awakened!

John Piper's.....desiringgod.org....is doing a series on the glory of God....and today's offering is titled.....When Leaders Fail.

An Odd Prayer Request......I Admit

                 Reservations have already reached capacity for John MacArthur's annual Shepherd's Conference to be held at his Sun Valley Church this March 6 through March 8.....a Wednesday morning to a Friday evening....Lord willing on all of this. The conference title this year is.....Truth Triumphs. 
                 I'm asking you here if you would consider joining with me in an extended....six week....prayer for this conference. I'm sure that there are plenty of believers praying for just this from Grace Community Church....but I am hoping for something different.
                 Typically....this is the conference experience in today's church....and probably ever since church conferences began....whenever that may have been....most everyone looks forward to the getaway....and the fellowship....and the teaching....and even the booktable. There is a certain amount of refreshing to be had by most everyone....and then it is back home....hopefully with increasing fervor and even expectation.
                 As the weeks pass and the time for the conference draws nearer....God may be awakening all of us....MacArthur and Piper and all of us....and it may not turn out to be a typical church conference....wonderful as they may be and usually are....but more of an emergency meeting of shepherds....pastors....seeking much needed discernment...and much needed courage and determination....in the turmoil of this world!
                 So maybe you are not too excited about my thoughts and even hopes on this....and I wouldn't blame you....but please keep this in the back of your mind....for there is one additional benefit of a conference such as this....whereas pastors....everyday pastors....and some of the most influential pastors in the church today....MacArthur and Piper as I named....can be called upon by the events of the day....to go beyond the scheduled events....into unanticipated concerns....and draw strength and wisdom and discernment from the nearness of so many shepherds of the flock!!

                

An Odd Prayer Request....I Admit

                Reservations have already reached capacity for John MacArthur's annual Shepherd's Conference to be held at his Sun Valley Church this March 6 through March 8.....a Wednesday morning to a Friday evening....Lord willing on all of this. The conference title this year is.....Truth Triumphs. 
                I'm asking you here if you would consider joining with me in an extended....six week....prayer for this conference. I'm sure that there are plenty of believers praying for just this from Grace Community Church....but I am hoping for something different.
                Typically....this is the conference experience in today's church....and probably ever since church conferences began....whenever that may have been....most everyone looks forward to the getaway....and the fellowship....and the teaching....and even the booktable. There is a certain amount of refreshing to be had by most everyone....and then it is back home....hopefully with increasing fervor and even expectation.
                 As the weeks pass and the time for the conference draws nearer....God may be awakening all of us....MacArthur and Piper and all of us....and it may not turn out to be a typical church conference....wonderful as they may be and usually are....but more of an emergency meeting of shepherds....pastors....seeking much needed discernment...and much needed courage and determination....in the turmoil of this world!
                  So maybe you are not too excited about my thoughts and even hopes on this....and I wouldn't blame you....but please keep this in the back of your mind....for there is one additional benefit of a conference such as this....whereas pastors....everyday pastors....and some of the most influential pastors in the church today....MacArthur and Piper as I named....can be called upon by the events of the day....to go beyond the scheduled events....into unanticipated concerns....and draw strength and wisdom and discernment from the nearness of so many shepherds of the flock!!
                

A Pilgrim's Progress

        I wrote what follows in January of 1999. Back then I had to rely on a word processor, copier, envelopes and stamps to get my message out. Reading this old A Pilgrim's Progress showed me that the message hasn't changed. The great books that came out during this time period lit a fire under the church that has expanded in many areas. I'd like to recommend one area here. It is 24/7 sound biblical radio/internet teaching from many teachers that you probably already have heard of and can easily be accessed at www.refnet.fm.
        We are indeed a "destitute nation" as I concluded the following writing with but I could not have imagined back in 1999 that we would elect a communist as our president and that the elites of the Republican Party, the Guardians of our intellect and decisions if you will, would turn their wrath, not on the enemy within but on those trying to salvage a national defense, an economy and our very heritage. But I was aware then and know very well today that politics could never save us. Yes we have to be involved but if that involvement impinges upon the realization that there never was, is not and never will be any glory for America or its heritage unless that glory is gratefully thrown at the feet of Jesus Christ to whom it belongs, then all of our efforts will be in vain!

A Pilgrim's Progress.....January, 1999

         A few years ago David Wells wrote a book called No Place For Truth, Whatever Happened To Evangelical Theology. Although this was not the first book on the topic, it proved to be a catalyst to a movement attempting to call the church back to its theological moorings that had been weakened after decades of sectarianism that quite naturally evolved when creeds, confessions and catechisms of the historic church were devalued and even ignored. Os Guinness wrote a small book, Fit Bodies, Fat Minds, that accused evangelicals of not thinking and even mapped out the peculiarly American characteristics such as "pluralism, pragmatism" and five other "isms" that quite naturally influenced our evangelical church. Mark Noll's Scandal Of The Evangelical Mind was given the Book Of The Year award. Gene Edward Veith did the best work on postmodernism in Postmodern Times.  Michael Horton has repeatedly addressed these issues, his latest effort being a call to return to the Apostles Creed in We Believe.  John Armstrong, Iain Murray, R. C. Sproul, John MacArthur, John Piper, Alistair Begg, James M. Boice,  D. A. Carson, Hank Hannegraaff, Don Matzat and many others have taken turns trumpeting the dire need of a Reformation today.
         What was it that they wrote of that all of a sudden made me realize that I was treading on holy ground? Maybe it was the Puritan William Gurnall's great work Christian In Complete Armour  that made me realize that my understanding of spiritual warfare was dangerously in error? Maybe it was Sproul's Knowing Scripture that caused me to use proper hermeneutical tools in studying Scripture? Maybe it was Horton's Putting The Amazing Back Into Grace that made me understand that I did not choose Christ, that if He did not choose to have mercy on this poor miserable soul that I would never have seen the glory of Christ? Maybe it was the incomparable John Bunyan, the tinker whose Pilgrim's Progress, written from prison, that states so poignantly and profoundly that we truly are pilgrims on a journey, people of The Book on our way to the Celestial Kingdom? Maybe it was Arthur Bennett's compilation of Puritan prayers, Valley Of Vision, that sits worn on my dining room table that every dinner time lays me low in my wretchedness only to enable me to more clearly see and feel God's grace? Please forgive my rambling like this, for I look lovingly at these men but fully realize that it is Christ who redeemed me, it is the Father who chose the weakest, unsightliest jar of clay and it is the Holy Spirit who dragged me to belief, opened my eyes and gave me faith. And it is Christ again who keeps me, who keeps all of us, though we let Him down time after time.
         The modern church bears scant witness to the glories that underlie the gospel. Its doctrines permit man to credit His own choosing of Christ as evidence of his salvation. Christ is less than sufficient, the Bible is less than adequate and the Holy Spirit hastens to our beckon call. Large churches legitimize us, oblivious of the warnings to the Laodiceans. Reformed churches sit on the laurels of sound doctrine forgetting the command to the Ephesian church to return to their first love. Evangelicals pass out 'four spiritual laws' booklets with a place for a signature for salvation as if they were handling out coupons for a free Big Mac. Pray for a Reformation, that we return to the cross of Christ, that pastors would preach His glories, that fathers would teach His truths and that we would be salt and light to a destitute nation.