David’s Preparation

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Adam

Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: but God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood. 1 Chronicles 28:2-3

In my view one of the most excellent attributes of King David, the greatest king of Israel before the Lord Jesus, was his heart. In fact, God characterized David in relation to his heart for God by saying, “the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart.” In other words, David’s heart was like God’s heart. David’s heart is mentioned in other portions of Scripture also; such as 1 Samuel 24:5; 2 Samuel 24:10; 1 Kings 8:17; 1 Kings 9:4; 1 Kings 11:4; etc; all of which if the Bible student takes the time to look up will provide not a little encouragement and exhortation. Notwithstanding David’s failures not once will you find him in any way entertaining idolatry. This is exceptional in the light of the history of the kings of Israel and Judah! Take a second to read 1 Chronicles 14:12. David’s heart was perfect before God (1 Kings 11:4). Oh that we might have a heart like his!

This perfect heart of David was what moved David to desire to build a temple for his God (see above). The interesting thing about this desire is that it was denied by God. The Lord commended David’s heart in the matter but nevertheless denied his desire. This serves as a brief glimpse of God’s acknowledgment of righteous motives. Knowing David’s heart as recorded in Scripture, God’s denial must have hurt. Surely David wanted to oversee the planning, building, and completion of a temple for his God that he loved so dearly. It was not to be. David’s role in the temple was somewhat relegated to a preparatory role instead. Nevertheless, he prepared for the temple of his God will all his might. The Scripture says,

Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal: the gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD? 1 Chronicles 29:2-5

A talent is a measure of weight equal to about 188 lbs. (depending on who you read after). So, this gold that David prepared from his own personal wealth was something like 282 tons of gold, of the best gold, of Ophir. Further, the Bible says that in total he prepared 100,000 talents of gold for the temple. This does not include any other precious metal or material. That’s a lot. When he would conquer other lands and take their treasures he would often dedicate these things to the Lord (1 Chronicles 18:10-11).

What can we learn from these examples in the life of David? My first thought as I was reading this portion of Scripture raced to missions, or witnessing. Any missionary or evangelist (in the Scriptural sense), that doesn’t desire all those to whom he ministers to be saved isn’t worth his weight in salt. This should be our heart. Our heart should be to do great things for God, and not for recognition, except from our Lord. However, that may not always be God’s desire for us. In fact, even an abbreviated history of missions demonstrates that many, many of those who went to work in God’s vineyard passed the years (yes, I said years) in relative obscurity and “fruitlessness”. It was their job to prepare. The preparation was necessary for the great work to happen. However, it wasn’t the work that they had hoped they would get to do, like David. Whether God’s task for us is one of preparation or one of building, we, like David, should do it with all our might and with a perfect heart. Though Solomon was the wealthiest of the kings of Israel, and the one remembered as building a renowned temple for the true God, in God’s record it is David that is noted as having a perfect heart before his God. May this likewise be God’s record of us!

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First Printed Khmer Gospel Tract

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Adam

Unknown God Tract

I would like to introduce you to the first Gospel tract I have written in Khmer and printed. The title of this tract is “The Unknown God”. This tract is a kind-of milestone in my study of Khmer and ministry in Cambodia. It’s printing is a part of a busy process of preparing to move to another province to start a new church. I hope to use this tract there (and here, of course).

The basic problem this tract answers is one we encounter many times here in Cambodia—what to say when you only have 2 minutes to say what you are going to say with a rather uninterested party. The basis for it is found in Acts 17 in which the Apostle Paul has one chance to say what he wants to say to a group of Athenians on Mars Hill (which are actually not much unlike many Cambodians in regards to their faith) in about 3 minutes. Oftentimes when I know the people to whom I am talking are not that interested I resort to the major points mentioned in Paul’s ‘sermon-ette’, which is the backbone of the tract. These are:

  1. God made you.
  2. God will judge you one day.
  3. This God is the Lord Jesus Christ (i.e. God became a man.).

I am hoping this tract fills a need I have felt to give some very important foundational truths to Cambodians who are not [yet] interested in wanting to know more about our Savior.

Thanks to Tim Stephens for help with some of the artwork, and to a number of Cambodians that helped proofread and give good opinions; namely, Wang and Karona.

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God Gave the Increase

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Adam
rice-field

Nearly Ripe Rice Field in Kampong Speu, Cambodia

In the work of Gospel-preaching, the Lord clearly defines three necessary elements that together produce the fruit of others coming to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. As I meditate on the work before me in going to start a new work Cambodia, my heart has been impressed with what is necessary for a work there to be fruitful. So many times while witnessing to others the Lord has brought to my attention that with all of the convincing truths, persuasive arguments, use of God’s Word, prayer, etc. that we can and must employ, there yet remains an element in this ‘process’ that is totally out of my hands—totally beyond of the power of man’s ability. I think this element is clearly defined in the third chapter of First Corinthians:

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
1 Corinthians 3:5-6

The last phrase is the point of what I am trying to say. Without a doubt, the planting of God’s Word in the hearts of men is absolutely necessary in this ‘process’ of others believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. This truth is illustrated in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:3-8 (also found in Mark 4 and Luke 8). This truth is also illustrated in a number of other places in God’s Word, providing a full, rich view of the comparison of sowing and reaping to winning the lost to Jesus. Without the Word of God being sown into the hearts of men, they cannot and will not be saved, for God’s Word produces faith (Romans 10:17). We sow the Word each time we pass out Gospel tracts, explain to another the truths of God’s Word, or show a Bible verse to an unbeliever. We have a great responsibility to be faithful and diligent in this great work.

At other times it is the Christian’s lot to water the seed that has already been sown in the hearts of others. A seed cannot sprout or produce fruit without water. Sometimes God will use us to add additional truth to the heart of someone who has heard the Gospel. Sometimes we will help to remove any confusion or misunderstanding that a person may have about God’s Word. Either way, we are building upon the work of another—watering the seed that others have sown before us. This too is a necessary part of God’s work to save the lost.

Nevertheless, these two works are totally impotent without the final element, which is entirely of God—God giving the increase.

Whereas both sowing the Word and watering the seed are both necessary and biblical concepts, these alone are totally insufficient. God must act to bring forth the increase. All the right words, arguments, methods, Scriptures, and facial expressions are insufficient. Without God no one will be saved! In the past couple of years I have become keenly aware of both the necessity of God’s hand in bringing forth the increase, and of my inadequacy in the work of preaching the Gospel. We must all by the sweat of the brow endeavor to preach the Gospel to as many as we can (2 Corinthians 4:3), but at the end of the day it was God that gave the increase. This should lead us to not depend on our suave demeanor, sweet words, and eloquent arguments, but on the God Who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).

There are some who, though loathe to admit it, reduce God’s salvation to ‘if I do this or that, they will get saved’. If you are truly preaching the Gospel and not performing some shameful numbers game with the souls of men, you will eventually come to see that you are totally insufficient to bring about the salvation of sinners, notwithstanding your abilities or experience. This is a work of God that we are privileged to be a part of. As I look at the task of preaching the Gospel in a new area in Cambodia, or as you look at the prospect of witnessing where you are, oh that we would depend on the God of our salvation for their salvation, and cry out to Him for his power, grace, ability, increase! And when we return, our sheaves with us (Psalm 126:6), we can rejoice like Paul and Apollos, that some sowed, and others watered, but it was GOD that gave the increase.

So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

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Update on Concordance Work – 11/3/2011

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Adam

Allow me to give a brief update on the work of making the Khmer concordance. I am in the process of making a word list of every unique word in the Khmer Bible, including names and places, beginning at Genesis. I have just completed Job. So far I have over 5,000 unique words in the word list. As I move further along through the Bible text, fewer and fewer new words will occur as I add more words to this list. One very good by-product of the manual compilation of the word list is that I am finding a very large percentage of the remaining typographical errors that were missed in the proofreading. Correcting these is taking about half of the time of making the word list. It is worth the effort, though, to have a good text.

There is still no new information regarding securing a permission for the concordance from the Bible Society in Cambodia. However, they have made the text of the Khmer Bible available on the Internet, which is an encouraging sign. This shows that it is their goal to make the Bible text widely available. Hopefully this also means that getting a permission to use this text will be simple. If you would like to see what the Cambodian Bible looks like, go to this link. If you use a modern web browser you should be able to read [correction: it should be Khmer letters, not boxes :-) ] the text. This is Psalm 23.

(To avoid any misunderstanding: I only include the link to the Bible Society’s website for informational purposes. We definitely disagree strongly with some of the content on that site.)

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The Law Used Lawfully

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Adam

A portion of Scripture that has puzzled me for quite a long time is Romans, the second chapter, verses six through thirteen. It reads as follows:

6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Anyone who is a student of the Bible, particularly the book of Romans, understands that the first chapter speaks of those who are without the Old Testament Law, and that the second chapter speaks of those who know the Law. These two chapters are building for the main point found in Romans 3:9.

Nearly every time I read the passage above I was confused. To speak plainly, it sounds like God is basically saying that if a man “by patient continuance in well doing seek[s] for glory and honour and immortality” and “worketh good” he will receive “eternal life” and “glory, honour, and peace.” This seems to be in direct contradiction to God’s very clear teaching that eternal life is only to be had by faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 4:5; 5:1; Eph. 2:8; etc.). In fact, what it seems like the Lord is saying is exactly what He is saying! Let me explain.

Chapter two of Romans is written mainly to those who boast in the Law (Rom. 2:17-20). So, to those who boast in that Law, the Lord puts them to the test. He says plainly that if you do the things listed in verses 7 and 10 you will receive eternal life. This is further explained in verse 13 in which God says that the doers of the Law shall be justified. This principle is repeated in other passages of Scripture as well. Romans 10:5 describes the righteousness that comes through the Law: if you do what the Law says you will live. This is repeated in Galatians 3:12, which explicitly states that that getting eternal life through the Law is not a matter of faith, but a matter of works…doing the Law. We are not done yet. Consider Luke 10:25-28. A man asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life. The Lord asked the man what the Law said, to which the man replied that he must love the Lord God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself. The Lord commended his answer and said plainly, “this do and thou shalt live.” Again, in Luke 18:18 another man plainly asked the Lord Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to keep the commandments. There are other examples.

God is not giving some disingenuous offer for eternal life to those that keep His Law. The offer is true and it stands, as it has since the Law was given (Lev. 18:5). But do you keep God’s commandments? Remember, God will render to every man according to his deeds (verse 6). He is no respecter of persons (verse 7). So, what you have done will determine if you receive glory, honor, and eternal life, or indignation, wrath, tribulation, and anguish. The truth is no one keeps God’s commandments. This is the entire point of the passage above (Rom. 3:9, 19, 20). God emphatically states in Romans 3 that all are unrighteous and that none do good. This places all of us in the category of the disobedient in verses 8 and 9 above. You see, the righteousness of the Law is simply the righteousness that comes from doing God’s commandments. If you don’t do God’s commandments, you are without that righteousness. Even one failure of the slightest kind sends you into the abyss of the unholy and unrighteous. There is nothing you can do to erase those violations of God’s Law.

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:21-23)

This is such good news. The Law used lawfully (1 Tim. 1:8) has done its job (Rom. 3:20; Gal. 2:16). It is shown all of us guilty before God (Rom. 3:19). It has shown that we have not attained righteousness. It has shown we need God’s righteousness given to us by grace, for we cannot earn it. Thank God Jesus Christ paid the penalty of our sin, that we might have the righteousness of God without the Law, but that which comes through faith in Jesus Christ only. Christ is the only way to have righteousness with God, for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Nevertheless, there are those that seek to establish their own righteousness, ignoring the righteousness of God. In self-righteousness and self-reliance they believe that one day they will walk through the pearly gates because they were righteous. Yet, all the while the Law is screaming the transgressions they have committed that have disqualified them from being righteous before God. They have not passed the test. Therefore, the wrath of the disobedient will be their lot, that is, unless they finally submit to God’s righteousness. It is found, not in a pitiful attempt at keeping God’s commandments, but in trusting and relying upon the Lord Jesus Christ alone for righteousness.

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