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“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
-John 3:3 (ESV)
The Rock (You Can Trust Him)
September 19, 2023
1 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak,
and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 May my teaching drop as the rain,
my speech distill as the dew,
like gentle rain upon the tender grass,
and like showers upon the herb.
3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
ascribe greatness to our God!
4 “The Rock, his work is perfect,
for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and upright is he.
-Deuteronomy 32:1-4 (ESV)-
II can’t believe how much the world has changed in the last five to ten years. There is so much shifting of supposed credible and reliable sources out there. Asset Managers and Investing firms such as BlackRock and Vanguard own controlling or heavily influencing stake in many media and news outlets.
“Together, BlackRock and Vanguard own 18% of Fox, 16% of CBS, 13% of Comcast — which owns NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, and the Sky media group, 12% of CNN, and 12% of Disney — which owns a number of subsidiaries.”1
On August 12, 2019, CNN also reported BlackRock became the largest shareholder of Sports Illustrated, Nine West, Juicy Couture and dozens of other brands2. BlackRock and Vanguard also have controlling or influencing stake in JP Morgan & Chase Co, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and a number of other bank and financial players. I personally don’t trust these two and other large conglomerates and I’m surprised that they heavily fund both traditionally viewed conservative as well as liberal media and news sources. I think that explains a lot of what’s happening in the world if you ask me. Have you heard of their ESG policies whereby ESG stands for BlackRock’s Environmental, Social and Governance policy? Behind the scenes BlackRock mandated ESG scores are driving a lot of what you see in the media lately relating to the LGBT+ movement, being more environmentally friendly, and diversity and equality scenarios. You might have seen news about Budweiser, Target and Disney struggling and this is all related to ESG scores. Basically, BlackRock and like-minded conglomerates will not give proper funding if a certain ESG score is not met to promote these above mentioned values. It’s gotten to the point where you almost can’t read any news or headline without running across an ESG related agenda. Supposed true facts are constantly being twisted to suit certain narratives, and this even relates to our governments and political leaders. Who can you trust nowadays and where can you turn to? Can you trust SNOPES (a self-identified, “internet’s definitive fact-checking resource.”3)? Believe me, SNOPES has their own agenda and they’ve been proven wrong in the past. Sadly and the fact of the matter is that many of our previously viewed as “trusted” and “unbiased” sources cannot be trusted anymore. By the way, I’ve come to realize that being unbiased or to proclaim neutrality is a myth in this world. “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Matt. 12:30).
….so then where can you turn to, and who can you trust?
I’m thankful that as always, scripture points to the real and 100% trustworthy answer and that answer is only found in Jesus Christ as a part of our triune God! I’ll even stand-out on a limb here and say to not trust me (your own pastor), because I will fail and make mistakes as a flawed and sinful person, needing Jesus Christ as much as anyone else. I will also add that we are to only trust in Jesus Christ and him alone, as evidenced through scripture, cover-to-cover!
We can get to why only scripture (the Bible) is inerrant (without error), infallible (without failure) and inspired (animated and imbued) by God another time. Today however and as we read Deuteronomy 32:1-4, we see how much Moses and the faithful Israelites realized that God is the Rock! Moses being the author of Deuteronomy and his faithful companions didn’t acknowledge that God (Yahweh) is a rock, but THE ROCK! As the Rock they recognize that God does not change like every other source. God can also not get corrupted, he is perfect and he is holy. If he were not so, he wouldn’t be God (with a capital G). By this acknowledgment, they affirmed God is unique compared to all lower level and created gods and other beings. Yahweh is the only holy and uncreated God, different from all other faith-based deities and idols.
I mentioned Moses and the faithful Israelites right? Well, I’m trying to distinguish the faithful ones from the unfaithful ones. The unfaithful ones time and time again ran after other false deities and idols and if we are not careful, it’s easy for us to do the same. We cannot trust in our bank accounts or abilities to derive income. We cannot trust our own brief periods of good health. We cannot count upon how much time we have left in our lives. While our earthly families and friends are all great blessings, they too can and will change with the seasons. Our ultimate and one hope rests upon God through Jesus Christ alone and if we will not follow the example of Deut. 32:3, we have to question what do we really trust then.
The world may change and previously known sources of material and knowledge gain with it, but take heart and be encouraged because as Christians, you have 24/7 access to Jesus that will never fail you! Moses knew it, do you? I honestly have to keep reminding myself that as well and especially every time anxiety and worry get to me. Thankfully, my Godly wife reminds me to do so quite often. Now let this this be an encouragement to you: trust in Jesus and give him your complete and full trust, and you will not be denied or be led astray.
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1. Vaughan, A. (2022, August 4). BlackRock is the Biggest Company You’ve Never Heard of. Innovation & Tech Today. https://innotechtoday.com/blackrock-is-the-biggest-company-youve-never-heard-of/
2. Duffy, C. (2019, August 12). Sports Illustrated, Juicy Couture and dozens of brands get $875 million from BlackRock | CNN Business. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/11/tech/blackrock-authentic-brands-group/index.html
3. Snopes. (n.d.). About Us. About Us | Snopes.com. https://www.snopes.com/about/
-Rev. David Chung
He Is Coming
September 6, 2023
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
-Revelation 22:12-21 (ESV)
In a recent church meeting I was reminded of one of the most scariest passages in all of scripture. Off the top of my head and to me personally, I would say Rev. 21:8 and Matt. 25:31-48 are two of the most scariest passages in the Bible. Rev. 21:8 emphasizes a large group of people, but also emphasizes cowardly people, which serves as a reminder to constantly be bold in our faith. I believe Matt. 25:31-46 focuses on the fruit of believers and non-believers, but affirms the need to constantly show the fruits of genuine faith. It really puts into perspective if we have genuine faith or not and how to show it.
Further to these two passages, the other truly frightening biblical passage to me is Rev. 22:12-21. There may be others, but these come to my mind right now. Not only is Rev. 22:12-21 terrifying, but I think it accurately reflects where the world is right now and has been for a while. As much as I like to think positively and believe in the goodness of humankind as something the world tries to promote, I don’t see that mentality in scripture and I believe that mindset works counter to the gospel. Because of Sin, we are utterly depraved and fallen as a people, and it’s impossible to seek after Jesus on our own efforts. (Remember the T in TULIP stands for Total Depravity and something we covered in Church Membership classes for anyone that took the classes).
However, I surely have faith that God is working in a number of individuals to bring about God’s goodness, sovereignty, love and holy reign, but as a whole, I constantly see Sin perpetuating other sins in a domino-like effect. As such, I see that now we’re much deeper into Sin and see more sickeningly, varying types of sins that were not present in biblical times. "It gets worse before it gets better” as the saying goes, and it only gets better if we fix our eyes on Jesus and his kingdom (Matt 6:33).
Why do I say Rev. 22:12-21 is so frightening? Well for one thing, Rev. 22:12 opens up with, “Behold I am coming soon….” Honestly, when I think about my own life, I’m so utterly disgusted with who I am. Sometimes I honestly look in the mirror and ask how I can lead a whole church, a group of people, my wife, etc. when I can’t even lead myself? I’ll admit to you that I often think of myself as the biggest hypocrite to my own sermons, devotionals and bible studies, and the closer I get to Jesus Christ, the more disgusted I am with myself. I think that has to be a natural by-product feeling of trying to really pursue Jesus in genuine faith, and when I combine my self-view of how unclean I am with the thought of Jesus coming back soon, it terrifies me! It forces me to think eschatologically with the end times brought to my present attention. For those that don’t know, the Oxford dictionary defines eschatology as the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.
The second reason as to why I consider this passage absolutely terrifying is when I read Rev. 22:15. When I unpackage that short sentence and when I hear about the happenings of the modern world now, I can’t help but think we’re in a hastened end times scenario perhaps now more than ever. Were there people practicing sorcery in biblical times? Yes! Were there people who practiced sexual immorality in biblical times? Of course! How about murderers, idolaters, and those loving and practicing falsehood? Absolutely! So why do I believe the end times scenario are hastened now more than biblical times? Well, if we as Christians believe Jesus is not coming back in our lifetime at any point after the New Testament was written, can we honestly say we’re genuine in our faith? The gospel is always about urgency in our faith and about taking-up our cross daily (Luke 9:23), which is a present and immediate urging. True salvation doesn’t just start tomorrow or when we get to heaven, but it starts in the here and now!
Rev. 22:15 is also an eye-opener, because if most of us are honest with ourselves and took a look at our own lives with sober judgment, we probably could’ve accounted for a number of times we practiced sexual immorality (even if it means adultery in our heads) and idolatry (putting anything as more valuable or more important in our lives than Jesus Christ at any given moment). Perhaps some of us have even dabbled into some of the other points in Rev. 22:15 as well. Thank goodness we are saved not by our own actions or inactions, and only by the saving power of the blood of Jesus Christ and that he takes all the blame away for believing and repenting people (Matt. 4:17).
The third reason why Rev. 22:12-21 is scary comes from Rev. 22:18-19. Just imagining the sheer ferocity of God’s wrath in his plagues is scary enough, let alone being cut-off from life with Jesus. Notice I said cut-off from life with Jesus and not heaven, because there is no life without Jesus. (John 14:6). If I’m honest here, it makes me reflect on how much I not only know scripture, but apply scripture. Sure and in theory, perhaps most of us are not trying to change any of God’s holy and perfect words in scripture, but in practice is that really true? In reality, there may be times when a number of us are acting contrary to what the will of God is as evidenced in scripture. We may not want to add, take away or distort God’s instructions in our heads, but often times, that’s not how it comes across in life, and yet others really want to distort scripture altogether to justify their own sinful behaviour and there are completely distorted bibles out there. I pray the more we know scripture, the better equipped we are to apply it (Joshua 1:8).
Look! I know these concepts sound very scary, but I want to make these next few statements clear for born again believers in Jesus Christ.
1) We have been made justified (made right) by the work of Jesus on the cross through faith (Rom 5:1).
2) There is no condemnation in Jesus Christ (Rom 8:1-3).
3) He has crucified all sin and the penalty of sin (Rom. 6:23) with him on the cross.
4) The wrath of God has been satisfied in Jesus Christ and Jesus became the substitutionary atonement once and for all (Isa. 53:5-6).
5) We will be glorified with him (Rom. 8:17).
Believe it or not, some people are trying to re-write the Bible. Here’s news about it:
This may be a side note, but has anyone read the recent NRSVue translation? I’m not a fan of of this modern translation of the original Greek word arsenokoitai, whereby the NRSVue translates it into “men who engage in illicit sex” (illicit sex means illegal sex). Technically, illegal sex could be falsely understood as varying types of pedophilia, beastiality, polygamy, other illegal sex between men and women, etc. Depending on where you’re living in the world and in which decade, some of this illicit sex is considered normal. In Iran, the legal age (with parental consent) for girls is 13 and for boys it’s 15. That would be considered illegal in Canada whereby the legal age for marriage is 18. North American culture not only affirms homosexual sex, but endorses and praises homosexual sex at times, but as far as I know it’s criminal in Russia, Saudi Arabai, Indonesia, a few other countries, and definitely not right with God! I personally think the NRSVue leaves too much “wiggle room” for 1 Cor. 6:9-10 whereby Paul uses the word arsenokoitai translating into homosexuals or sodomites in other translations. For more info on this, check out this summary.
-Rev. David Chung