That’s what I wrote down yesterday morning as reading this passage in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian Church.
Before this, in 1 Corinthians 2:14 Paul said, the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually 15 the spiritual person however, can… 16 … we have the mind of Christ
Paul is setting expectations for the Child of God, reborn through God’s grace, received by faith.
Paul then states in 13:1, I’m not able to speak as spiritual but as flesh, (not because they aren’t spiritual, but) because you are babies in Christ.
Praise God they are IN Christ, as that IS the Hope of Glory (Colossians 1:27)
But Paul has expectations, or he wouldn’t write. Their condition was worldly – sarkiko = physical, material… and their state is evident since there is envy and strife. James 3:14 spoke similarly – if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart… Bitterness and Selfishness lead to Envy and Strife – the result of misplaced ambition. That’s why Paul told Titus, avoid foolish debates… disputes… they are unprofitable and worthless (Titus 3:9)
Ok – Paul has expectations – Maybe you have said to your children, or your parents said to you, “In THIS house, we don’t do that…” or “Grow up”.
Paul says, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans. I like this CSB rendering, “behaving” is peripeteo = to walk about in a manner of … All men may act a certain way, but there are greater expectations for the People of God – the Children of God… not mere humans.
I’m thinking of much of the social media climate for Christians today… So Paul gives several instructions… let me offer them up for a minute and move on…
Grow Up – they in v4 had been boasting over who their salvation “father” was – Apollos or Paul… are you not acting like mere humans? Again, there is an expectation – a lot longtime, learned, leading Christians even need still to Grow Up, Stop acting like “the world” – “mere humans” and be more Spiritual / Truly Godly
Live Differently – not like “mere humanity”. If our reactions are “natural” we need to check WHICH nature it comes from… flesh or spirit. Think of Paul in Romans 7, or 2 Corinthians 10:5 – take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.
Team Oneness / Unity of Purpose – what is Apollo? What is Paul? they are just servants (diakonos = servants ministers). That means they work FOR someone else, they just serve. They are not the END for following, just a means to the end of the gospel. Don’t misplace “ownership” – I belong to…Apollos/Paul. No we belong to Christ and his service. v5 each has the role the Lord has given.
I planted
Apollos watered
Neither is ANYTHING – Only God gave Growth
he who plants / waters are ONE = equal in status, one in purpose
We all have a purpose, a position, but on this team, if my name is on the back of the jersey, it doesn’t really matter, what matters is what’s on the Front. We can’t all have the same job or position, but together we have the purpose of the work of Christ, in that we are ONE. We all have the Grace Gift of Salvation, which we don’t deserve… and then we all have the Grace Positions given by God in the work… and don’t worry each will receive reward
Team Purpose
God’s Co-workers – together we work
God’s Field – that word means cultivated land
God’s Building – house, building, edification
We are part of a team, to work together. If I’m not working, fulfilling my expectation, the team suffers
If my field is not broken, planted, prepared, I cannot produce; and production is the purpose of the field
If there is not building going up… I’m not living up to the expectations. What is the purpose of a building? Protection, Provision, Postured for People.
I COULD go on and one, but notice
One Lays a foundation
another builds on it
each one is careful – blepo = see, look, notice
guarding how – what we do DOES matter
as builders – Only ONE foundation – Jesus Christ – it must be authentically Christ. Paul scolds them in 2 Corinthians 11:4 for allowing preaching another Jesus… different spirit… different gospel… what we do does matter
As Farmers – I may plant, another may water, but GOD makes it pay off
Give Care to How… use good material vv12-15 because we get what we put in… it will be revealed by fire … receive reward for what survives
Let’s Get to It… For Christ… Together for God’s Glory
Are you tired? Look up, Get Busy, Leave the “God-Stuff” to the throne.
Some of my most tired times are when I am trying to handle things I’m not intended to handle.
This life is short – Isaiah 40:6 “A Voice was saying, ‘Cry out!’ Another said, ‘What should I cry out?’ All humanity is grass and all its goodness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flowers fade when the breath of the Lord blows on them; … but the word of our God remains forever” (also Isa 55:11; 59:21)
Lots of “voices” tell us what to say and think – some say, “cry out”, others say, “I would but I don’t even know what to say.” But I do know that anything of worry in life is SHORT.
Then v9 – “go up on a high mountain and raise your voice loudly… raise it, do not be afraid… say… HERE IS YOUR GOD!”
Oh this is important with all the focus trying to steal us away. Say, “Here” – can you see the writer pointing, or holding up a hand and saying “Hinneh” = Behold, See, If”
Look, see, if this is true, if this is our God… In a world / life that is fading flowers or burning grass – keep your eyes on what lasts.
v10 – “The Lord comes with strength… power to rule – his wages are with him (Isa.62:11) We are so busy trying to get our “just due” but even that is just fading flowers and grass. Look – Adonai Yahweh – The Lord God is coming… and he has sekar – payment / wages and reward accompanies him… is with him.
Behold – the powerful ruling one – Look at God – each of these sections is going back to v9 and saying “Look” “Here”
v11 who protects his flock, gathers and even carries when needed
v12 who measures all the waters of the earth in the hollow of his hand – make a “cup” out of your hand… look at that… all the waters, every ocean, ever river or stream, every fountain or well – fits in the Lord’s hand. And it says he measures the heavens with the span of his hand. Go look at the Skies, the stars at night, the expanse, God measures that with his other hand.
v13 who directed that? who gave him counsel?
v14 who taught him?
Here is our God – Look
v17 Think about your concerns, my concerns for our nation and then look they are nothing … empty
v18 with whom will you compare God?
v19-20 points out that yet we will create false objects of worship from useless things
Here – Behold – Look
v22 God is enthroned so far above… we are like grasshoppers
v23 He reduces princes to nothing… when he blows on them, they wither
Then … we hear God’s Voice – he speaks into this conversation…
v25 To whom will you compare me… who is my equal? Asks the Holy One
I think we get Tired because we are looking at the wrong things… giving glory to Grass and Flowers – that fade and are burned up
Look up and see
v26 who created, who calls the stars out by number? He calls them by name. Because of his great power… not one of them is missing (Psalm 145:5-6)
Then God reminds us that sometimes, we erroneously think he doesn’t see or care… don’t believe that lie, same lie the deceiver told in the garden, saying that God’s word wasn’t true, and that he doesn’t care, and that we won’t die without him.
v27 why do you say, ‘my way is hidden… my claim is ignored by my God. That is the lie from the abyss… nisterah = concealed yaabor = passed over –
Oh child, oh Sheep of his pasture, nothing is ever concealed from God, he never skips over your concerns and prayers, even if he doesn’t ask as or when you want.
Behold
v28 Do you not know, have you not heard… This is not God’s “first rodeo” not his first day on earth… no The Lord is the Everlasting God (El-Olam) He created (bore) and he never gets tired, he has not limit to understanding. Oh I KNOW we KNOW… but we forget
Here… Behold
v29 Tired child know this… He gives strength to the faint (weary) and strengthens the powerless (absent of power or wealth) YES – we get tired… and yes we stumble even “face plant”… but…
Then comes the most famous verse in this passage, one of the most quoted and perhaps misunderstood in scripture…
v31 those who trust in the Lord – There is a Group here – those -those who get through the tiredness, who get through the struggle – Who are “they”? Those who are the smartest? Those who are the strongest? Those who are the most patient? No – Those who trust in the Lord
Behold – Look – See – Lift your Eyes… that word, depending on your translation, trust, wait, hope… the word is qavah – I have heard people talk about “wait” like a servant – and if we serve the Lord it renews our strength and there is a point to be made… but this word – qavah – eagerly wait, eagerly expect, eagerly hope, look intently – It means to set your heart, tune your ears, desire greatly the Lord. The root of the word carries the idea of a straight string or measuring line. It comes from a word that describe the weaving of a spider’s web. It means to listen for a sound, to twist around…
those who Hope, Trust, Wait – heart set, ears tuned, desires focused on THE LORD – those… will renew their strength… will soar on wings like eagles, run and not become weary, walk and not faith.
We often see it like a plan, walk, run, soar… but this is the other way because of who it is experienced.. Soaring happens because of the physics of wind and adjustment to external forces. Running happens because of training and ability given. But most of what we do is in the every day walking – halak = to go, walk, behave, vanish, die, pass away.
Some days, I “soar” on the winds of the spirit… I’m not doing it, I just adjust to it.
Some days, I run in the strength of the Lord and seems like I could go all day because of the work already prepared.
But every day, I walk… behave… go… until I pass away… without becoming exhausted … tired? sometimes… but not wore out… take another step, make another move.
I think about my grandfather, Lester Patterson. He was a pastor to Native American Churches most of his ministry life. He hadn’t been able to attend college and at 65 he enrolled at Southwestern Seminary extension. He graduated at 74! His mission organization finally stopped paying him in his 70s, but he kept on serving, pastoring, sharing Jesus. Then he had a couple of strokes in his 80s, that put him in a wheelchair and couldn’t use one side of his 6’3″ frame. But he kept it up. At 90 he completed a Doctorate of Theology from online work, listening to classes and turning in tests and papers. The week he passed away at 92 – he still recorded his weekly 15-minute radio devotion. Had someone take him to the hospital where he was a chaplain and he used one arm and one leg to push his wheelchair around and change out gospel literature and make some visits… and then he passed away.
Tired?
Look Up
Let God handle the “God-Stuff” and walk on, move on, heart set, twisted around The Lord our God.
If the pundits are to be believed, the future of the world depends on the choice that we make in this election. But what happens if the WRONG candidate is elected?
We better get it right.
Perhaps you have already voted, did you vote for the RIGHT one?
One of the difficult things about determining for whom you will vote is there is no party that has a monopoly on right. There is no party that has got it all together. You may have your favorite, but if you were honest there are positives and negatives.
So, Maybe I just won’t vote …
Samuel Adams said: “Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote… that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”
Well Citizens … it may be hard to do … but we have some decisions to make
“The church must take right ground in regards to politics. . . . The time has come for Christians to vote for honest men. . . . God cannot sustain this free and blessed country, which we love and pray for, unless the Church will take right ground.”- Charles Finney
“Elections belong to the people. It is their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.” Abraham Lincoln
So, who are you going to vote for?
Psalm 20:7(NIV84) says Some trust in chariots and some trust in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God
Read … Psalm 20:1-9 but I will just focus here on v7
1. Some Trust in Chariots
You’ve seen enough movies to picture a chariot
It was a vehicle pulled behind horses. It was framed in wood in a semi-circle. Leather and metal were used to bind it together. The floor of the chariot was made of rope woven together which would create a springy cushioned ride. The Wheels were low to the ground for a low center of gravity and stability. There were no seats generally in a chariot, because the chariot wasn’t a pleasure vehicle. Strapped to the side of the chariot in crossed fashion were quivers and a case for bows, because this was a *war vehicle*. This vehicle wasn’t generally used for peace.
And David says … “Some trust in Chariots”
“SOME”
Usually there were two men in a chariot, the “charioteer” or driver and the “warrior” and occasionally a third man or captain who had charge over the other two.
However, when the KING rode a chariot into battle … he rode alone into battle. He would tie the reins to his waist and keep his hands free to fire his bow or use other weapons.
David said “some trust in chariots”
Who Will YOU Trust?
Some Trust in War Machines
Some Trust in a Vehicle
Some Trust in the larger Vehicle that will move them forward and place their hope …
How will you Vote?
Some … Trust in Chariots – But … then David says …
2. Some Trust In Horses
The Chariot isn’t moving anywhere without the horse.
A car isn’t moving anywhere without the engine
While chariots were pretty singularly used, horses served a lot of purposes.
Chariot drivers might see an individual horse as dispensable, lose one, get another …
… but the horse IS indispensable
The Horse was a commodity
The Horse was mostly a nameless, entity.
It served a purpose, but it was foundational.
As I said it was the engine.
Without the Chariot, the king and his warriors are outmaneuvered in battle
Without the horse the Chariot was a piece of furniture.
I’m sure many in David’s day had argued the value of the horse or the chariot
David said, “Some Trust in Chariots and Some Trust in Horses …”
We could imagine, if you will, that one of our political parties was the Vehicle that can move our country. Perhaps One Candidate represented the war machine to save us in a day of need.
And perhaps we could imagine that one party was the engine to move that Vehicle. Perhaps one party represented the nameless faces that are indispensable to the success of the forward motion or defense of our country.
And thus, we would argue for one over the Other
The “Chariot People” would say “we have to have bigger better chariots, we need to place our emphasis on the development of the best Vehicle to move our country, the best Vehicle to defend our country” …
because – “some still trust in Chariots”
The “Horse people” would weigh in on the debate to say “that’s all fine and dandy but without the horses, the best chariots will be nothing. Take care of the details, take care of the engine or you won’t go anywhere. If you don’t feed it and water it, if it’s not healthy and happy, then the Chariot is not going anywhere.”
because – “some trust in horses”
We could really have a great debate between those Chariot and Horse People.
There is a funny thing though about Chariots and Horses; you can and should choose a chariot and horses. I pray before I buy a car. I try and buy the car that the Lord would have me to buy.
But – the chariot may turn out to be eaten up with termites. The Wheels might fall of. Thieves might steal my chariot. A bigger or better chariot might defeat my chariot. I may have been lied to by the chariot salesman. The chariot factory workers might have been daydreaming when he put it together, and I get stuck with a bad chariot where I’ve placed all my trust.
My horse may turn out to be headstrong and unbreakable. My horse may get a disease. My horse may break a leg. My horse might get shot out from under me. My horse might just get old and die. My horse might be older or sicker than it looks, or the horse salesman said it was. And I end up with troubles where I have placed my trust.
But David says,
“ some trust in chariots and some trust in horses …”
Interesting Some trust in ONE party the Chariot Party, and Some Trust in Another Party the Horse Party …
Now I’m not saying that the Chariot Represents one of our Parties and the Horse Represents another, but folks if you are placing your HOPE in one of our Political Parties to solve your problems, put gas in your car, a roof over your head, money in your retirement program, or heal your disease, you MAY be Disappointed …
Oh, but there’s a lot of hopeful people out there.
There are also a lot of fearful people out there
There are a lot of people who have placed all of their hope with one political party or candidate
There are a lot of people who are frightened by one party or candidate
And they will make their choices based on the hope they have placed, or the fear that grips them …
… but David offers us an alternative way of thinking…
David said “some trust in Chariots, others in Horses but WE WILL TRUST …”
3. In the Name of the Lord Our God
Folks, if claim to be a child of God, then we aren’t just, “SOME” folks.
We don’t go with the crowd …
People we shouldn’t approach that voting booth like everyone else.
We don’t put our hopes in that basket … NO
We Will Trust in a NAME …
A. Name …
Chariots don’t have names …
Well I know there are some of you crazy guys out there that name your car, but we are talking about a Chariot here just used for a battle, I know there are names for tanks and airplanes too … But it doesn’t really have a name, it’s an inanimate object … it is NOT a person.
The kinds of horses we are talking about here were also nameless, they were just property for the purpose of driving the chariot
But “a Name” carries with it authority and power, position
Neither one of our Candidates has a name that will still matter 500 years from now. Neither of our parties will matter at the end of all things …
But WE … Trust in A Name …
JESUS …
Oh, Gabriel came to Mary and Joseph and said that Mary was going to conceive, and bear and child and his name would be “JESUS”, because he will save his people from their sins
Peter preached in Acts 4:12 that, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
THERE is a Name
I know a name
No other name
We Trust in the Name Of the Lord … the Authority, and the Power
B. The Lord Our God
Philippians 2:10–11 (CSB)
10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We don’t just believe in ANY name, we don’t just hope in ANY name, we have placed our hope our trust, our lives in the hands of the Name, Jesus.
Jesus who is LORD, and not just Lord, meaning he has authority, but He is GOD …
He created Heaven and Earth, so he can RUN this Earth perfectly fine without us.
Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 that “All Authority had been given to me in Heaven and Earth”
The sun came up just as scheduled this morning … I think he can handle our Social and Economic Crises.
He handled the Rebellion of Satan and 1/3 of the Angels and kicked them out with a word … I think he can handle our military challenges
As a matter of fact, he can handle it if the WRONG One gets it. If the WRONG PARTY has control, he can Handle it
Romans 13:1b says “there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.”
So that begs an interesting question.
C. How Would Jesus Vote?
Stay with me for a minute on this one … I am NOT speaking for Jesus!
I am telling you what I believe are some things that scripture teaches us about God that we can see in the issues we face.
A While Back, I was at a conference, and one speaker suggested four things that he believes would shape Jesus’ voting
For-Life — Jesus Created all life, he sustains life, he is the giver of life, and is the only one who can take it away. Job 1:21 said, the Lord gives and the lord takes away blessed be the name of the Lord. Oh my but that means ALL life.
For Morality — we live in a world where the distinguishing marks between right and wrong has been removed in most cases. Perversion and Greed seem to run unchecked in the name of freedom and capitalism. Right is RIGHT … and Wrong on Top of Wrong doesn’t equal a right
The glory of God not only includes love and grace, but also judgment and wrath. He is a holy God and calls us to Holiness as well.
For Family – the oldest ceremony in the history of humans is the ceremony of marriage. Marriage is a sacred thing. Marriage is also a picture of Christ and the Church. When we distort the family we distort a picture of Christ and the Church, God and his Children. Distortion like that confuses and distorts the very Gospel of Jesus Christ. We can vote that value, but remember we live in an ungodly world, and we are a church. Vote your values but don’t expect everyone to agree. But we are the Church and We can Live our Belief
Finally, this preacher also pointed out that he believed that Jesus would vote
For God – We do not know what the future holds. It seems that we are closer every day to the end of all things. However, we don’t know that, and the only thing that we know to do is call our nation to repentance and turning toward God. Jesus came with a message “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Jesus would call us to the Father
But you know folks those four things are not the only things that are important to Jesus. He would also be:
For Poor
For Prisoner
Pro Hungry
Pro Thirsty
Matthew 25:35-36 Jesus said “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat … thirsty and you gave me … drink … stranger … invited me in … needed clothes … you clothed me … sick and you looked after me … in prison … came to visit me … whatever you did for one of the least of these … you did for me”
For Education
Proverbs 22:6 train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it
And those issues are also important issues in every election
But you know what people, we may not be able to control the life, morality, and marriage laws ourselves which is why those issues are so very important in every election.
And while we DO need politicians who are concerned about the other issues and can move our government toward solving those issues.
But you and I, in the church, shouldn’t have to VOTE on the poor, prisoner, hungry, thirsty, and uneducated. We have been told to do those things as individual Christians and the as Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, He says that many who have called him “Lord”, don’t really know him, and haven’t shown their knowledge of him in their actions toward those in need.
But then …
D. How Should I Vote?
We MUST be involved in the political process
“Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.” William Penn
“The only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke,
Never be afraid to stand with the minority which is right, for the minority which is right will one day be the majority; always be afraid to stand with the majority which is wrong, for the majority which is wrong will one day be the minority.
William Jennings Bryan
“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” John Quincy Adams
THERE ARE important Issues and they SHOULD shape the way we vote …
How should I Vote?
Prayerfully – before you are shaped by political pundits or religious leaders, I need to Seek God’s Face. Our answers must come from the throne room before we make a decision …
Carefully – don’t just go in and vote carelessly or without purpose. I personally never vote straight ticket … I vote what I know to be true and important to me. It takes longer, but if your vote matters, you should vote carefully
Conscientiously – that is to vote with a consciousness of the moral goodness or blameworthiness of one’s own conduct, intentions or character with a feeling of obligation
Faithfully – VOTE, it is your right and your DUTY
Vote
Be concerned with the results … but
E. Who Will I Trust?
“Give me a hundred men who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world. I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; and such alone will overthrow the kingdom of Satan and build up the Kingdom of God on earth.” John Wesley
Our Hope is in God Alone. If you know him personally as your own Lord and God, then you need not Fear anything. If you have never given your heart to him, I offer you Jesus, he is our ONLY Hope. He is our ONLY Answer. He is our ONLY Reason to Life
Folks we do not have to fear the growing shadow of evil because I know who the Sun is. I know where the Light is coming from So I will not fear the shadows …
Do the dark Shadows a seem bit scary?
Helen Keller said “Keep your face toward the Sun and you cannot see the shadows”
Where is our Hope?
If you counted all the verses and found the Center Verse of Scripture in the Bible, it would be Psalm118:9 – the CENTER VERSE in the Bible …
It is Better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man
Are you afraid?
Psalm 56:3 when I am afraid, I will trust in you
Now what I have tried to do today is give you principles to challenge you on HOW to vote … BUT … I DID promise you that I would tell you WHO to vote for. …
Well let me see if I can break it down to the important things, the things that we talk about and introduce you to the right candidate
Executive Experience?
Well … as an Entrepreneur, Creator, and Inventor, he left a lucrative position to begin a new venture. He handpicked a dozen leaders whom he developed and set them loose. They have transformed a regional venture into a multi-national organization servicing and including millions of employees and ambassadors, and this endeavor has continued for nearly 2000 years.
Today he continues in the tri-unified Board of Directors of every facet of the Universe
Economics?
Well it is said he owns the cattle on a thousand years, but more than that he developed, understands and implements the principles of planting, nurturing, and harvest.
He can turn a lunch into a meal for thousands, so I think he can make sure you have enough to eat.
He went fishing one day and came up with the tax money needed for he and his disciples.
Social Programs?
He has taught his followers to Feed the Hungry, Visit the Prisoner, Give water to the Thirsty, Clothes to the Naked. His followers have been known to sell their goods and give to those in need. They have been known to meet the needs of strangers and friends alike
Retirement Plan?
In his Father’s House are many Mansions, and He has gone to prepare a place for me so that where He is I can be as well.
Suffering and Sacrifice?
The word is Expiation, it means atonement. He went into the teeth of the storm of accusation. He went through an illegal trial. He withstood a horrific beating. Then he was sentenced to die on a cross and suffered in dignity, grace, forgiveness, love, never uttering a word in his own defense. He sacrificed himself that those who would come after him would not have to die, and even if they do would be resurrected to live forever.
Provision?
His Divine Power has Given us EVERYTHING we Need for Life and Godliness (2Peter 1:3)
So then,
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce to you the ONLY Candidate you ever Need … Please Join me and
Vote for the Lord Jesus Christ!
Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace!
Place your Trust in Him
Use Your Chariot, but if it’s broken, fix it or ditch it, but TRUST God
Use Your Horse, if it’s sick, nurse it back to health, if it’s lame shoot it,
But place your TRUST in Jesus Christ
Vote Jesus
Vote with your Heart, give it to him
Vote with your Head, Surrender to him
Vote with your Feet, and Hands, live in Obedience to Him
Love Him with Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength
Jesus Is our only lasting Hope
You will never have to vote for HIM to Change because … Jesus is the same Yesterday, Today, and Forever.
YOU and I must Change and Surrender to him, Become Like Him
He IS Lord
He Is God
You might as well follow all the rest of Creation;
Matthew 5:3 begins the “Sermon on the Mount” with “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.”
What a powerful beginning for Jesus seated on the mountains with those following him and trying to become like him.
“I Can, I Will, I Must”. That’s what we often say, and feel like we SHOULD say. But Jesus says that happiness is in understanding our emptiness, accepting our inability, and embracing our poverty.
Yet my Bible also tells me that in my understanding of my bankrupt state, “But God… is Rich “ Ephesians 2:4. God who is rich in Mercy. Why is he rich? Because of his great love.
Oh my, trying to be like God, and sometimes, let’s be honest, we say, “I’m too impoverished, I want to be like Jesus, but I can’t show mercy.” Well, my question, what’s in your ‘love account’”. If my love account is empty, I can’t be merciful, can’t be generous.
Yet Ephesians 2:5 says God… made us alive… even though we were dead… we are saved by Grace
Oh I definitely want to be like God. I want to be a disciple of Christ. This where it starts, embrace your poverty.
Isaiah 57:15 says “For the High and Exalted One, who lives forever, whose name is holy, says this: ‘I live in a high and holy place, and WITH the oppressed and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the oppressed.”
Being a disciple of Christ is about coming down and living with the oppressed and lowly in spirit.
Back there in Ephesians 2:6 it says that Christ then he raised us up WITH Him, and seated us WITH Him in the heavenlies
If we’re going to be like Christ in mercy and love, then I will bring people UP, not expect them to “get with it” and come up.
James, the brother of Jesus, writes in James 1:10, “let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field”
Life is short, I’ve got to invest in what will last.
“Let the Rich Boast in Humiliation” – that’s not what you see on a recruitment flyer, but it is the expectation of the one Rich in the Mercy, Love, and Grace of God
1 Timothy 6:17 “Instruct those who are rich… not to be arrogant or hope in their wealth but in God… 18 do what is good… be rich in good works… generous… willing to share 19 storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life“
Wow… we are making future investments not seizing earthly wealth. There isn’t anything wrong with earthly wealth if the Lord gives and we use it to his glory, but we will pass away like the flowers.
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit…
Oswald Chambers calls it the “Ministry of the Unnoticed” and he says “at the basis of Jesus Christ’s Kingdom is the unaffected loveliness of the commonplace… If I know I have no strength of will, no nobility of disposition… Jesus says – Blessed are you…
It isn’t my goodness, or competency that makes me Happy, it is recognizing my poverty. In my poverty – when we think, “I have nothing to give…” and yet we GIVE what we have and later we find the wealth of what we have done in eternity.
Blessed are the poor in spirit for the Kingdom of heaven is theirs…
Psalm 27:1 says The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, whom should I dread? I’ve always loved this beginning to Psalm 27 because I have the Lord to illuminate my circumstance. I will not then be afraid of the unknown, unseen, unexplainable. HE is my explanation. It’s not that I run FROM the fearful things, but that I run TO the Lord – He is my mountain stronghold. That means 1) I go UP to Him and that 2) he give me a better perspective over what I am facing. Then v2 says that when evildoers come, or v3 armies deploy, My heart will not be afraid. If all out war breaks out, I will be confident because v4 one thing I have asked, one thing I desire… what is YOUR One Thing? not riches or position or fame, but to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life – that word yashab = abide, to sit down. In the “House” that word bayith = house armory, beneath, between, facing, inward, family. When I’m under attack, the place to be is WITH the Lord – focused on the Lord – Facing the Lord, in the Family of God – Gazing on the beauty of the Lord, Seeking… baqar = to, toward, concerned, inquire, meditate – Oh I need to shift my focus – and v5 says then he will conceal me IN his shelter, hide me under the tent – set me high – That’s where the attack can’t get me. And as the Psalm continues, David says in v8, my heart says this, ‘seek his face’ and I will seek your face. Oh my how often we KNOW what to do, we just need to listen to what’s in our heart from the Lord. v11 show me your way Lord, lead me on a level path v13 I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living….
How? How do we see the Lord’s goodness? v14 wait for the Lord – qavah = eagerly expect, hope, look eagerly – it’s the same word that’s in Isaiah 40:31 – those who wait/hope/trust in the Lord will renew their strength… soar…run…walk… We See the Lord as we twist our hope around the Lord. That word comes from a root word that can be translated like a twisted rope, or a spider web. What are you wrapped around? Where is your heart set? Set your HOPE on the Lord and you will SEE him then v14 be strong, and let your heart be courageous, then wait for the Lord
So, I began my study today thinking about the Triumphal Entry as Yesterday was Palm Sunday. And I was remembering Jesus weeping, quietly, prayerfully weeping for Jerusalem. And one link led me to Psalm 118:19 open the gates of righteousness for me. I will enter and give thanks v20 This is the Lord’s gate, the righteous will enter through it v21 (you) have become my salvation v22 the stone the builders rejected as become the cornerstone v24 this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
So then… go back to Luke 19. The People had welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem in Luke 19:38 Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord…” And yet those same people a few days later were saying Crucify Him . Even that entry day immediately the Pharisees are saying v39 Teacher, Rebuke them. The Last time Jesus had been in Jerusalem in Luke 13 He had said 13:34-35 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, How often I wanted to gather you… but you were not willing… your house is abandoned to you… you will not see me until the time when you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’. So then here we are … He has taught, healed, gone from village to village… but they don’t so much want HIM but they want what they think he can give them… freedom from the rule, from Rome, they want “peace”, but not peace with God.
I’ve always pictured this happening IN Jerusalem, but v37 of Luke 19 says this is up at the top of the Mt. of Olives on the path down to Jerusalem. I’ve been there walked that path, and halfway down, after this then… is the place where they say he looks over the city… there before him is the Eastern Gate across the Kidron Valley, and he weeps because they don’t see it. They are out of focus, “if you knew… v41 but now it is hidden. Why Hidden? 13:34 because you were not willing. Luke 10:21 says it is hidden from the wise, the intelligent and revealed to the infants. It is ONLY when we come humble, need, willing, longing, asking, that we SEE.
Think about that for a minute.
So, Let me give you a good exercise, if you don’t have time now, come back to it later and do this – Psalm 118:1-9; 19-29
Give thanks to the Lord… for he is good – Let Israel (the people) say, His faithful love endures – Let the House of Aaron (the preachers) say… His faithful love endures – Let those who fear the Lord say… – I called… the Lord answered… the Lord is FOR ME… My helper. It is better to take Refuge v9 in the Lord
Spend a few minutes there saying that, writing that meditating on that… Then… Shift your focus to vv19-29
Open the gates – Give Thanks – This is the Day the Lord has made (understand today is the Lord’s day, the day to celebrate him – Let us rejoice – He who comes in the name of the Lord is Blessed (do you see there is blessing for YOU if you come in the name of the Lord) You are my God; I will exalt – Give thanks to the Lord for he is GOOD, his faithful love endures FOREVER________________
Oh spend some time here – this is the Day of the Lord – Every day is a day to know and experience the blessing of the Lord’s presence. If you are willing…
Every year when I go to the SBC Annual meeting, I come home and report to our body, then I bring a short message that resonates in my heart from the week’s meeting. Sometimes it is a passage that was preached, or a topic / issue. This year it was an Old Testament passage resonating in my head while I ruminated on the issues and joys before us.
You can go to our FACEBOOK page if you want the full message at First Baptist Ferguson. I will just include here the text of the message part of my report. Yes, I reported on the Sexual Abuse Task Force, and the new Unity Initiative that is beginning. But I also reported record years of giving and ministry to and from the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board. To the ends of the earth is what we do as Great Commission Baptists.
But we are facing a critical moment in the future and so the words of Deuteronomy 30:11-20 were ringing through my head – “I place before Life and Death, Blessing and Curses, and I tell you to CHOOSE LIFE”
Here is my message:
So… we are on the ground in Orange County at John Wayne International, and the pilot comes on in that “pilot voice” and says, “well folks, we are going to take off hard and fast, we are going to climb quickly, but don’t worry, we are going to level off at 30,000 feet, and then we are going to back the speed off a little and settle in slower.”
Well, I’m thinking, “I’m all for leveling off, because I don’t want to end up in outer space, but IF you CAN fly faster, do it. We are 15 minutes late taking off, so get it! What are you worried about, getting pulled over?” “We are late, so let’s go. I know YOU don’t have to be there, you are just flying, but WE got places to be. Are you worried that an air force cop is going to pull you over in his F-22?”
Can’t you see him pulling out from behind a cloud, lights flashing; and your American Pilot is like, “aww man…” and they pull him over, hast to land in a cornfield in Iowa, and it messes up everything, kills the schedule. So, yeah, “we got to back it off, might get a ticket”
I’m also mindful today that it is Juneteenth – President Lincoln on January 1, 1863, made an executive order, that all persons held as slaves (within the rebellious areas) are and henceforward shall be free – But people were still fighting the battle, and some parts of the south didn’t even get notice. But it wasn’t until 17 months later on June 19th, 1865, that General Gordon Granger landed in Galveston, Texas and declared:
“the people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the Unity States, all slaves are free…
Our job is to proclaim freedom. That’s why Jesus came, that’s why he died and rose again.
Sadly, while we addressed the revelation of sexual abuse and continued efforts to address the need for unity and reconciliation in ethnic disparity in society and the church, there was still a minority that want to decry those efforts. And the question comes, “why are some people opposed to dealing with abuse and racial injustice, why?”
And my response is “Why? Why? The Answer to ‘why?’ is NOT hard to determine, but the bigger question is HOW can this BE among God’s people?”
Failure to love and care for people is not the WAY of the people of God
I John 3:10-16 is very clear. This is how we know what love is, Jesus laid down his life. It teaches that we know who the followers of Christ are. If we are born from above, we will love. If we don’t love, we either don’t know Jesus or we are betraying that knowledge. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 says that we are to be purveyors of Reconciliation.
So, I’m not going to preach a long message, but look with me at an Old Testament message from Moses at the end of his ministry.
Deuteronomy 30:11–20 (CSB) — 11“This command that I give you today is certainly not too difficult or beyond your reach. 12It is not in heaven so that you have to ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’ 13And it is not across the sea so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’ 14But the message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may follow it. 15See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16For I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow in worship to other gods and serve them, 18I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not prolong your days in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan. 19I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20love the Lord your God, obey him, and remain faithful to him. For he is your life, and he will prolong your days as you live in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Just an outline, it’s so clear that I don’t have the time nor the need to break it down.
So, as we close write these points down: The Way to Blessing, the Commands of God:
It Is Not CONCEALED v16
It’s not hidden or hard to understand
Not difficult… not beyond your reach
This is NOT advanced stuff… this is Kindergarten stuff
It is CLOSE… you can say it, it’s right in your mouth, I don’t have to teach you, I don’t have to give it to you, just remind you.
It is in your heart… it is part of our DNA as the people of God
It is a COMMAND
The Hebrew word is tsavah = to lay a charge upon, command, order, appoint
This is what God is laying on us, FBCF, Great Commission Baptists
Then
It is CLEAR
Love God – our love for God drives our actions for him, or they will not continue
Walk In His Ways – that’s the Hebrew word halak = to go, come, accompany, – his ways are not our ways, his thoughts are not our thoughts, God is not waiting for us to tell him where we are going – God is GOING and he wants us to accompany HIM.
Keep his commands – keep – means we are to observe and act according to what he says. We must allow his commands to direct our steps
Proverbs 6:23 (CSB) — 23For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, and corrective discipline is the way to life.
So, it is not concealed, it is a clear command, but then notice
It is CONDITIONAL
So that – if you then you… if you then I … this is conditional God is wanting to lead us somewhere, but we have to maintain the conditions. Oh but IF we love God and walk in his ways, and keep his commands… then we…
May live … chayah = live, alive, come alive – HIS WAYS ARE LIFE – 1 John 5:3 says that his ways are NOT a burden – no he is saying this is LIFE – this is a way for the person, the church, a convention to have LIFE
And Multiply – Hello Church growth experts – we don’t so much to have to run all over, looking for it. It’s right here, it’s in your mouth, in your heart, so it’s in your head – Love God, Walk in his Ways, Keep his Commands, and you will be alive, and then rabah = abundance, become many, enlarge, multiply – and then…
The Lord will bless you in the land –
But then notice, this is Two-Way Conditional promise.
If your Heart Turns away – i.e. if you love yourself, love your preferences, love your style instead of God’s ways – yes even Baptists have idols
(if) you do not Listen – oh yes you heard, but did you LISTEN – shama = give earnest hearing
If you are led astray to worship other gods – oh so many things we worship instead of God – styles, traditions, politicians, whatever you call it… there is only ONE to worship
If … Then v18
You will certainly perish, and will not prolong your days in the land
Wow –
Two more
The Call / The Choice v19
I call heaven and earth as witness… I have set before you
Life and death
Blessing and curses
This is Life and Blessing
Or Death and Curses
God isn’t wanting to argue with us, he’s just offering us a choice – what do you want in? But I’m urging you,
Choose LIFE – LIVE – this is a generational offer, you and your children
The choice is always there
And we might want to stop right there but what kind of song would that be?
Write
The Coda –
Doug, come to the Piano for me – Doug knows what a Coda is. A “Coda” in Music, is the concluding passage or movement, typically forms an additional theme or structure – It’s like the vamp, the tag, the outro.
So, in the Beatles song, “Hey Jude”, The song just has 3 basic chords, in the key of F. Doug play and “F”, that’s the Tonic – Home
And then a “C” – that’s the Dominant, the V
And now a “Bb” – that’s the Sub-Dominat, the IV
That’s most of the Song.
Hey (F)Jude
Don’t make it (C)Bad, Take a (Bb)Sad song
And make it (F)Better. Re-(Bb)member to
Let her into your (F)heart, And you can (C)start to
Make it (F) Better
And the song is 3 minutes long verses and chorus
Basically F, C, Bb – I – V – IV – with some walking chords between in the chorus.
But then comes the CODA – that Circle with a Cross in the Middle (oh I could preach that for a minute.
Sometimes the Coda is a short ending tag, a slight variation with something added to the structure. But in “Hey Jude” Paul Plays the I (F)… and then he plays a bVII (Eb) followed by the IV(Bb) and he goes on for 4 minutes
Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na
Na, Na, Na, Na – Hey Jude
Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na
Na, Na, Na, Na – Hey Jude
And so here is his Coda – Moses says
Love the Lord your God, Obey Him, Remain Faithful To Him…
Ok, we know these chords…
“hey Jude, don’t make it bad, take a sad song, and make it better… Remember to let her under your skin, then you begin to make it … Better … Better… Better… Better… Better
Love the Lord your God, Obey Him, Remain Faithful to Him
FOR…
Here is where the Coda Changes to the bVII
For He is your LIFE
He will prolong your days
As you live in the Land
Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na
Na, Na, Na, Na –
He is your life
He will prolong your days
He will give you life in the land
This is True for the SBC
This is True for First Ferguson
This is true for the people who live in your House too
There is A CHOICE for us… Life and Blessing, or Death and Curses … HE IS YOUR LIFE… CHOOSE Will he be Your Life?
Do you ever wonder if maybe you heard God wrong? Or maybe you were slow in getting started, or unexpected obstacles arose, or uncontrollable circumstances arose. Maybe you’ve gone too far the wrong way. Now, you feel like perhaps you’ve lost your chance? Well Abram knew that feeling.
God gave him a clear call and a clear promise in Genesis 12: The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; … 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land”…
But a lot had happened since then. Abram had been through famine, war, faced Pharaohs and Kings, he had lied and cheated to protect himself. He had worshipped the Lord, had displeased the Lord. 20 years had passed, and Abram wondered, “Is the Deal still on?” “Have I missed my chance”? “Have I Disqualified myself”?
READ Genesis 15:1-7
The Word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision…Do not be afraid, I am your shield, Your reward will be very great.
There are some important truths for us to consider, First:
1. Don’t Settle for Less than the Vision of God
Don’t Be Afraid
Don’t Let Fear make You impatient
Don’t in impatience make your ownway when the promise seems “slow” in coming to pass. God does not delay, he is not slow, that’s what 2 Peter 3:8-9 teaches. God’s clock runs differently from ours, and it also runs PERFECTLY. Fear is often the issue and is manifested in Lack of Trust
God says, “do not be afraid, I am your shield, and great reward“
We talked about fear a few weeks ago. Fear is based on lies we believe:
I’m alone – no one knows
I’m unable – I can’t
I’m uninformed – I don’t know how
I’m unloved – no one cares
Those are lies, but we think they are true… Yet God says: DO NOT BE AFRAID
God says here: “DON’T be Afraid.” How do we fight fear? With FAITH!
Make Sure the Path Leads you to God’s Vision
God had promised him a “great nation” and “offspring”. Abram thinks that he must have “heard God wrong” or “missed his chance”, so he needed to find another way. I don’t think he was mad at God, but just resigned himself to doing things a different way.
You have given me no children… So a servant … will be my heir
He was going to make Eliezer his “son” and heir. Eliezer was a good man, Abram’s most trusted and faithful servant. This was a “good plan”, but Eliezer, good as he was, was no more than a SUBSTITUTE for God’s Best!!
In his book, “Good to Great“, Jim Collins says “Good is the enemy of great.”
“We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of companies never become great, precisely because the vast majority become quite good — and that is their main problem.” Collins writes, “That good is the enemy of great is not just a business problem. It is a human problem. If we have cracked the code on the question of good to great, good schools might become great schools. Good newspapers might become great newspapers. Good churches might become great churches.”
God’s path is always GREAT
Be Honest About Your Reservations
Sometimes we get Stuck because we won’t be honest about where we are. We say the right thing. Make appearances of doing the right thing, but aren’t honest with God about our reservations, frustrations, fears, anger, with others and even with God.
V2 – Abram says, Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless… Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.
Abram doubts his ability not God’s ability. “Lord I’ve been willing, I left my hometown, I’ve come with you on this journey, but here we are, 20 years later, and we are past the opportunity. You didn’t give it and I can’t do it.”
If you’ve come to the end of your rope… if you’ve tapped out your resources… if you no longer have anything to offer… Then maybe God has your right where he needs you.
2. Take a Second Look at God’s Vision
I Am Your Shield
15:4 now the word of the Lord came to him… this one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.
When God gives us a word, it may seem impossible, but if it is God’s word, he’s not looking for our help, or a different plan. He’s not looking for our permission to change the process.
If it seems unbelievable, that’s what God does.
Step Outside The Tent
Sometimes it’s hard to see from INSIDE. It’s hard to see past the “reality”.
Abram looked around the tent and all he could see was no children, no blessing, no fulfillment of the vision. Inside the tent, you can only see so far. Inside the tent our view is limited, our imagination is limited. Inside the tent you are blinded from seeing the beauty of the vision.
God took him outside the Tent
An Unimaginable vision of God.
V5 Look at the Sky.
Stop looking at what is NOT and look at what IS. Look at what God has already done, and imagine what he can do.
“Count the Stars“
– you can only get a glimpse, the gist, an idea, but you can’t even understand it. It’s imagined that IF he COULD count the stars visible they would number more than 4000, but in reality the stars in the field of vision would be more than 50,000.
If you are able to count them… your offspring will be that numerous
Abraham’s offspring included those who would be his by family birth. But they also included those spiritually who would follow his way. Those who would become “sons of Abraham”, Paul called them.
If you are able to count them…
You can count the apples in a tree. And you can count the seeds in an apple. But who can count the apples in a seed? Until the story of life is over, you never can count the apples in that one seed.
God’sways truly are higher than ours
Isaiah 55:8–9 (CSB)
8“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration. 9“For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
The Vision of God will be glorious and beautiful
His Vision will inspire others who view it displayed in You
3. You Can Believe The Promise of God
Your Reward Will Be Great
The only thing that God required of Abram was
Believe and Walk in the Promise
The “currency” that Heaven recognizes is FAITH
Hebrews 11:1 (CSB)
1Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.
Then Hebrews 11, lists the “Hall of Fame of Faith”. It tells the story of those Saints of Old who were faithful to follow God. None of them were perfect, but they were full of Faith. Not full of excellence, not full of strength, not full of talent, or so many things we might list. But they had FAITH.
And then Hebrews 12 continues
Hebrews 12:1–2 (CSB)
1Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
How do we join the Hall of Fame of Faith? Were they “SUPER-SPIRITUAL”? No, they were real, they struggled, they waivered, they fell down.
“Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness”
believed – means confirm/trust
credited – parallel to a bookkeeping transfer, like an item is moved from one column to another. Abraham’s faith is moved into the column of Righteousness
Romans 4:17–21 (CSB)
17As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations— in the presence of the God in whom he believed, the one who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist. 18He believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nations according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be. 19He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body to be already dead (since he was about a hundred years old) and also the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20He did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21because he was fully convinced that what God had promised, he was also able to do.
He believed based on the Power and Faithfulness of the One making the promise
See it as alreadycompleted
Paul speaks of us as believers in Romans 8 and says that those he “foreknew, he predestined, called, justified and glorified” All of those things are in the Past Tense, COMPLETED. Before we ever knew, it was already true in God’s mind.
So…
Live in it untilGod brings it to fulfillment
Abraham so fully believed here; that years later when he was called to Sacrifice Isaac, he carried on without even a doubt because he believed God was going to fulfill his promise, and it wasn’t hinging on Isaac, but on God.
Before Faith flowered, Abraham saw God’s promise based on his own ability, but AFTER Faith was credited as Righteousness, he lived ACCORDING to it, then he knew That the promise wasn’t based on him, it wasn’t on Isaac, the Promise was Based ON GOD the Giver of the Promise.
Faith is what pleases God.
Everything else is a byproduct of the fact that you believe him.
John 6:27–29 (CSB)
27Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal of approval on him.” 28“What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked. 29Jesus replied, “This is the work of God—that you believe in the one he has sent.”
If you’re current situation doesn’t seem to fit the vision, trust the God of the vision in spite of the nature of the circumstance.
Remember what he’s alreadydone for you
Abram had to become a NOBODY before God could work through him.
“I brought you From…”
Oh my don’t forget where you have been, from wince you come
Ur was a place of false worshipers, idol worshipers, it was the area of Nimrods people.
I brought –
You didn’t get to God by anything you have done
I brought you
You didn’t leave because you thought of it
I brought – yatsa = to come, to go forth
I brought you FROM
– The heart of the message of the Gospel is “REPENT” – come FROM where you are …
I the Lord brought you from Ur… TO GIVE you this land to possess
Oh yes, Lord. The call of God is based on HIS Promise, on His Power, Based on his GRACE
To give you this land to POSSESS
Nehemiah 9:7–8 (CSB)
7You, the Lord, are the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and changed his name to Abraham. 8You found his heart faithful in your sight, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites…
God says, “I wanted to save you because I had a plan that included YOU
God says, “because of my power I delivered and continue to deliver you”
He didn’t have to do anything, but it was his GRACE, working in Abram’s life that gave him what he didn’t deserve. He brought him to a place of promise and blessed him over and over.
WillyougoOutside the Tent with God?
Jeremiah 31:16–17 (CSB)
16This is what the Lord says: Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for the reward for your work will come— this is the Lord’s declaration— and your children will return from the enemy’s land. 17There is hope for your future— this is the Lord’s declaration— and your children will return to their own territory.
Will You Believe?
Walk in Faith?
Don’t Be Afraid – BELIEVE
I Am Your Shield – Rest In Me
Your Reward Will Be Great –– I Have Your Reward – I Am Your Reward – Your Reward is GREAT
I’m preaching a series in the first 12 chapters of Genesis, entitled “In The Beginnings”
This week we were in Chapter 11. This series has been a broad sweep with only one sermon in each chapter, trying to see the big picture. The big picture is that God is at work in creation, in family development, in correction, in the second chance, we will finish with ch12 and the beginning of Abraham’s line, from whence will come the Messiah, an answer to the promise of God in Genesis 3:15 to “bruise the head of the serpent”.
So, in chapter 11 the most famous story is the Tower of Babel. Yes, it is an amazing story, and yes I believe it. But God inspires the telling of the story, we get the details, and then the Story goes on. The Purpose of Man is to Glorify God and to enjoy him forever. That’s what The Westminster Confession says. That’s what got these people in trouble. It’s NOT that they didn’t know God, they knew him, but they forgot or abandoned their purpose. Paul seems to be writing their story in Romans 1, but he is writing all of our story. Though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude… exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images… They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator(Romans1:21-25)
So, let me give you the last part of my message yesterday and write about,
– Returning to our Purpose
Puritan preacher, Thomas Watson, preaching Body of Divinity – a series on the Westminster Confession, was addressing the Chief end of man – to glorify God and enjoy him forever. If we ask the question then, How Do I Glorify God? I want to use the 4 words that Watson uses, and then I’ll give my thoughts and comments on those words.
How do I Glorify God?
Appreciation
Gratitude, or a lack thereof, is where it starts and finishes. A lack of appreciation, or gratitude, leads to discontent, distance, and disobedience. STOP and think about those 3 results of the lack of gratitude for God, or anyone you are in relationship with, discontent, distance, and disobedience.
Robert Emmons of http://www.greatergood.com says that gratitude is an affirmation of goodness… recognizing that the source is outside ourselves. Georg Simmel calls gratitude the moral memory of mankind. Wow that’s good.
Forgetfulness by these descendants of Noah, quickly became discontented, distant, and disobedient to God, as they failed to appreciate the Sovereignty and Salvation of God.
Gratitude makes us faithful followers that live to glorify God. Cicero calls gratitude the mother of all virtues, and I think he has something there. When we fail to get gratitude right, the rest doesn’t fall into place.
Second, to Glorify God
Adoration
That is loving worship. My PERSONAL DEFINITION of Worship is “an expression of adoration to the object of our affection” (JLG2003).
How do we do that in the daily? Jesus told us to pray, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. How is it in Heaven? You go to Revelation 4. There are 4 “Creatures” at the throne and all they do, day and night they never stop saying “holy, holy, holy, Lord God, the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come.And WHENEVER they do, the 24 Elders say, Lord and God you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things, and by your will they exist and were created. – I personally believe the “24 Elders” is the church, so this is what the church does in Heaven, and it’s what we should be doing “on earth as it is in heaven”
Adoration recognizes God’s greatness, his goodness, and gives him glory in all things here on earth, just as they do in heaven.
Thirdly, to glorify God
Affection
When we talk about affection or love, we need to be more specific. Watson says that there are 2 kinds of affection or love. The first is a “love because”. He likens it to when we say “I love you for the harvest” – or we are loving the blessing. We love the raise, or our health, or our food, whatever, but we are loving the Blessing. But Watson says the affection that truly Glorifies God is to take delight in.
Oh my, when we get our “delight” in something besides God, everything else gets out of tune. If you remember Genesis 3:6, it was misplaced delight that got Adam and Eve in trouble, a lack of gratitude. God had only said, “no” about ONE THING, the tree. But 3:6 says the woman saw that the tree was good for food and DELIGHTFUL to look at… desirable…
Love, Worship, Adoration, Affection comes when we delight in God, because he delighted in ME. Oh there is nothing in my sinful self that is delightful, but he did. Psalm 18:16-19 says he reached down from on high and took hold of me; he pulled me out of the deep water…he brought me to a spacious place; he rescued me because he DELIGHTED in me.
Somebody hold my mule, I need to shout!
He delighted in me, and I delight in him because of WHO HE IS.
When I think about that word, delight, I think about the sweetest part of my relationship with my bride. When I see her smile, at fireworks, or at a favorite song, I just watch her smile, it is a delight to me, to see her smile.
Delight for God is to know what pleases him, makes him smile, and just look to his face to see him smile. That is to GLORIFY GOD.
Appreciation, Adoration, Affection, don’t lose that JOY, grateful joy and then lastly to Glorify God is
Subjection
That might not be a word we use. But think Allegiance in Service.
Subjection is what those 4 creatures at the throne of God do. They stand before the throne, waiting for the instruction of God, at his Disposal, at his Discretion, reporting for Duty, for His GLORY.
And this then is the problem in Genesis 11. God gave a commission, and they wanted to do what they wanted to do. They were busy, grand, amazing, but they were NOT GLORIFYING GOD. Oh, selah, stop and think about that. God is great and greatly to be praised. He is to be adored, honored, in grateful obedient service.
Romans 11:33, 36 – oh the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways!… For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.
Psalm 100 – Let the whole earth shout triumphantly to the Lord! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us, and we are his – his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness through all generations.
Nimrod tried to steal God’s glory, he tried to Tower over God.
A couple of weeks ago I shared my thoughts on my first look at Genesis 8 for my series “In The Beginnings”
So, I thought some of you might like to see how that came together into a sermon.
Here you go, from yesterday – In The Beginnings #8 – Genesis 4:1-14
We are in a series called, In the Beginnings. We are looking at the first 12 chapters in single messages for each chapter. Creation, Man, The Fall, Calling on the Name of the Lord, The Created Order, the Invitation to Life, and Surviving the Storm (The Flood), have preceded. But God put Noah in the Ark, so he could bring him through and Begin Again.
How we begin again is connected to what we know and believe about God.
I don’t know what you are facing today. God called Noah into his plan, and we don’t know much about the next 120 years, except that Noah obeyed God doing everything he commanded him. He built an ark, he raised a family, and he was a preacher of righteousness and judgment. Then they got into the ark and the rain came.
7:11 says all the sources of the watery depths opened, and the floodgates of the sky were opened, and the fain fell for 40 days and 40 nights.
7:24 then says the water surged on the earth for 150 days.
So, 120 years, then 40 days of rain, and 150 days of surging waters. Now, stuck in the Ark with who knows how many animals, imagine that aroma. You ever feel stuck in the plan of God in the middle of the ocean with no way out?
Now, before we read chapter 8, let me set the stage.
I’m not a scientist, nor an expert on these things; but, I believe this account because:
1) God said it and inspired men to write it
2) Jesus believed it, and
3) the Apostles believed it.
There ARE great Christian scientific writers that you can read for more scientific explanations. I recommend “The Genesis Record” by Henry M. Morris. He explains what we believe the Bible teaches about the World before and after the Flood. He puts science to the commentary, and it’s a deep and profound read. Scientists like Morris teach that the world changed dramatically after the flood. They observe it to be a complete change of environment, atmosphere, the earth was different.
Read the Psalmist talking about it.
Psalm 104:1–9 (CSB)
1My soul, bless the Lord! Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with majesty and splendor. 2He wraps himself in light as if it were a robe, spreading out the sky like a canopy, 3laying the beams of his palace on the waters above, making the clouds his chariot, walking on the wings of the wind, 4and making the winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. 5He established the earth on its foundations; it will never be shaken. 6You covered it with the deep as if it were a garment; the water stood above the mountains. 7At your rebuke the water fled; at the sound of your thunder they hurried away— 8mountains rose and valleys sank— to the place you established for them. 9You set a boundary they cannot cross; they will never cover the earth again.
Think about those last 4 verses. And imagine the violent things that happened in this storm; subterranean and subaqueous volcanic eruptions, mountains created, valleys cut, canyons carved, fossils created, sediment crushed.
I remember when Lisa and I took the boys to the “painted desert” in Arizona. They said “the only way this could have been created was with a “large regional flood” – WELL that’s close.
So, READ 8:1-14
God Remembered Noah… God caused a wind to pass over the earth… the ark came to rest in the 7th month on the 17th day, on the mountains of Ararat.
Go with me on a journey now. We are going to tread over and over the same theme and hopefully drive it home. Three sections for my thoughts today.
1. Truth To Communicate
Three important truths in these first four verses:
A. God Knows
God remembered Noah
Oh my, I barely got past this verse. God remembered Noah.
Ever felt like God has forgotten you? 120 years of building and preaching, then months in the ark, a floating casket, completely in the hands of God. They couldn’t sail, they couldn’t steer, the could only trust the hand of God.
God knows.
God has not forgotten you. Stay here for a minute. As I read the story of God, and God building a people to love. God sees all things completed. 1000 years is like a day. It only seems long to us. He measures the universe with the span of his hands, and yet this world seems big to us, but for God it is but a dot on a finger.
As I read this story, again and again, this truth rings out, God Knows, God Remembers.
Abraham thought he missed his chance, but God took him outside the tent and said, “look at the stars, so shall your descendants be”.
Rachel was loved by Jacob, but she couldn’t have children, and wondered where was God
Hannah too couldn’t have a child, and sought the Lord, year after year.
Zechariah and Elizabeth, served the Lord, but their prayers for children seemed unanswered.
But God remembered Rachel in Genesis 30:22
He remembered Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:19.
In Luke 1:13, Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and said, your prayer has been heard
Joseph was sold into slavery, falsely into prison, but God remembered Joseph
Israel was 400 years in Egypt, but in Exodus 2:24, God heard and God Remembered his covenant. Then he told Moses in Exodus 3:7-8, I have seen… heard… I know… and have come down to rescue
Psalm 136:23 says, he remembered us in our humiliation, his faithful love endures forever
Taken to Babylon in captivity, Israel had hung their harps in the trees,
Daniel was praying and fasting in captivity in Babylon, then after 70 years
Daniel 10:10–12 (CSB)
10Suddenly, a hand touched me and set me shaking on my hands and knees. 11He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man treasured by God. Understand the words that I’m saying to you. Stand on your feet, for I have now been sent to you.” After he said this to me, I stood trembling. 12“Don’t be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers.
God remembered his promises and brought them home.
Oh what might have happened, But For God
But for the memory of God
But for the Knowledge of God
But for the Power of God
Remember in Genesis 6:18 he told Noah, I will establish my covenant with you. God had made a promise to SAVE Noah and his family. God never speaks hastily or frivolously, always clearly and truthfully.
The idea in Scripture of God “remembering” doesn’t mean he forgot, but that he paused in his working toward, but now he is working again directly on the promise, because…
B. God Works
Notice the working of God
God caused a wind to pass over the earth.
Oh God was at work all along.
In John 5:17 Jesus says, my Father is still working, and I am working also
God was working in the rain, working saving Noah in the Ark. God was always working, but now the storm has stopped, but that was nearly four months ago.
Then the WIND. Oh my, like the rushing of a mighty wind
Wind, or Breath. The presence of wind always brings the image of the Spirit of God. Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of God was hovering over the earth as creation began. Now, I’m certain this is REAL Wind here, not a symbol. It’s like the wind that God caused to blow all night like parting the Red Sea for Moses and the Children of Israel to cross on Dry Land. And the same wind STOPPED, allowing the waters to cover their pursuing enemies.
The Holy Spirit came blowing into the Upper Room at Pentecost.
Yet even in every natural action, the Hand of God was at work. Colossians 1:15-17 says, he created all things… and he holds all things together. He is in the Gentle Zephyr and the Turbulent Tornado, or the Harrowing Hurricane.
The wind blew in the working of God and The Waters began to Recede
Then v2 says the sources of the water depths and the sky closed.
The same sources that God opened to allow the Flood, God closed to allow it to recede.
God is Working
Creation Scientists tell us they believe that before the floods there was a dense vapor in the atmosphere creating a perfect global climate. But when God opened the floodgates, everything changed.
The depths were opened, God was working. There would have been violent waters and waves. Magma would have rumbled in subaqueous eruptions, mountains created under the floodwaters. Imagine the violence in the working of God, and the ark at God’s mercy riding through it.
God knows, God Works, and
C. God Finishes
The Ark came to rest…
The storm, the surge, then God rested the ark. We already know that when God finished creation, he rested.
Remember the Ark is a type, a picture, of Christ. So, in the 7th month, on the 17th day, day, the Ark Rested. Why would God want us to know the exact day?
Well, the Civil Calendar 7th month, is the same as the Religious Calendar 2nd month for Israel. So, Henry Morris points out that this 17th Day is the same day that Jesus Rose from the Grave. The Ark Rested. Jesus Rose, salvation’s work complete. Let that sink in.
Then I read something else. The Ark came to rest on the Ararat range of Mountains. Now, there were mbountains on earth before the flood. But Ararat, if you visited there, you would find it is made of “pillow lava”. That means that this was lava formed in deep waters. Ararat also has sediment with Ocean Fossils. Do you see that? While the storm raged and the floodwaters surged, God was creating the place on which the ark would come to rest.
As the waters receded, the mountains rose and the Ark came to rest.
Whatever you face today, whatever the storm, God Knows, God Works, and God Finishes.
So, in the Truth, there are…
2. Conclusions to Make
God knows, God works, God finishes, what’s the Common Denominator?
A. God
It’s God, First, Last, Always
Oh, some of the greatest words in scripture are the first words in John 3:16,
“For God”.
He is BEFORE all things, he will be AFTER all things, and he is IN all things. He is Eternal, Self-Existent, Constant, the same yesterday, today, and forever. All things were made BY Him and FOR Him
God is the who, the what, the why, and the when. He is the Answer, the Reality to explain everything.
It’s God, and
B. God Knows
I know we’ve already said it, but I’m saying it again. God knew before, what was coming. He is never caught off guard. God never makes a surprised face. He never says, “I didn’t see that coming”.
God knows in the middle what is happening and how it will end, and then…
C. God Remembers
His silence doesn’t mean he has forgotten or changed his mind. The promises he made are as good as the day he gave them.
Jesus was on the cross dying for the sins of the world, yet he had time for the prayer of one single sinner by his side. There was a thief at his side, worthy of his own sentence. He had mocked Jesus earlier, but then, he looked at Jesus with eyes of faith in Luke 23:42 and said, Jesus, Remember Me when you come into your Kingdom. And Jesus replied, Today, you will be WITH ME in Paradise.
Why? Because he remembers and
D. God Responds
Jesus had said in John 3 that he didn’t came to condemn but to save.
He said he came to seek and save those who are lost. (Luke 19:10).
If we confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive. (1John1:9)
God Remembered Noah, God Works, God Finishes
Yes, God Remembered NOAH… because
E. God Knows My Name
God Remembered Noah. God Remembered Abraham, Rachel, Joseph, Israel, Hannah, Daniel, Zechariah, The Thief on the Cross, and so I know the Lord Remembers Jim Goforth, The Lord Remembers YOU.
Say It,
“the Lord Remembers ME”
He Knows My Name
He knows My Every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And hears me when I call (author: Tommy Walker)
Psalm 91:1, 4-6, 14-15 (CSB)
1The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.
4He will cover you with his feathers; you will take refuge under his wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield. 5You will not fear the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day, 6the plague that stalks in darkness, or the pestilence that ravages at noon.
(And God says)
14Because he has his heart set on me, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows my name. 15When he calls out to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and give him honor.
Yes, he knows my name, and I know his name, so one other conclusion
F. God Has A Timetable
All those timetables, dates. Did you notice those details?
Why?
1) These are REAL Historical Events.
2) These were appointments on God’s Calendar. We have an ordered God. He may be eternal and outside of time, but God made time. He made the sun and caused the earth to spin, to orbit the sun. He made the evening and the morning. He created time and seasons. And so, God is always right on schedule, right on time.
Because of these truths and these conclusions, we have…
3. Confidence To Trust
A. God Is On The Throne
The flood itself said to those who were opposed to God that though, Every inclination of their heart was evil all the time, still God will not be mocked
Psalm 93:2–4 (CSB)
2Your throne has been established from the beginning; you are from eternity. 3The floods have lifted up, Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their pounding waves. 4Greater than the roar of a huge torrent— the mighty breakers of the sea— the Lord on high is majestic.
He is on the throne, and we’ve said he has a timetable, but it isn’t just a plan, but
B. God has Perfect Timing
It may not be MY time, or YOUR time, but it’s the RIGHT Time.
Romans 5:6 (CSB)
6For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes 8:6 (CSB)
6For every activity there is a right time and procedure, even though a person’s troubles are heavy on him.
Then it asks in v7-8 no one knows what will happen… no one has authority over the wind… no authority over the day of death
Well, No One But GOD, He has Authority of the Throne and the Knowledge of Perfect Timing.
If God is silent, he will speak at the right time. If God is doing something else, he has perfect timing.
The confidence is that
C. God has Not Forgotten
Psalm 25:7 (CSB)
7… in keeping with your faithful love, remember me because of your goodness, Lord.
Psalm 56 says that God knows, he takes note, he gathers our tears in a bottle, and written a book about me, about you. Oh, in God’s office, he has a little shelf for “nik-naks” and he has a bottle with your tears in it. He has a library and there is a book with your life concerns written down. He has not forgotten
So know this, in his silence, inactivity…
D. God is Not Lazy, He is BUSY Working On The Finish
He is Patient, he is right on time, making preparation for the finish.
Did you notice, the mountains of Ararat, where the Ark came to Rest, was created in the Flood. The surging storm, storm, formed the place of Rest for the ark.
Could it be that the storm that is surging around you right now, may be forming the place where the finish of God will come to rest? God knows what he is doing. God is Busy working on your behalf.
What you thought was Evil, God means for good.
So… While you Wait
E. Trust and Obey; Pray and Praise
Call out For Salvation
That thief on the cross, in the midst of the final and worst day of his life, He Called Out – “Remember Me” – You are my only hope for the “day after Tomorrow doesn’t Come”
Cry Out to Our Only Savior
Jeremiah 15:15 (CSB)
15You know, Lord; remember me and take note of me. Avenge me against my persecutors. In your patience, don’t take me away. Know that I suffer disgrace for your honor.
Pray For Strength To Serve One More Time
Samson had great highs, and an embarrassing Low. But then as he turned back to the Lord,
Judges 16:28 (CSB)
28He called out to the Lord, “Lord God, please remember me. Strengthen me, God, just once more…”
And his last act was greater in the War Against Evil than all he had done before
Trust God’s Timing
Job 14:13 he says …if only you would appoint a time for me and then remember me
Well, I know this, God does have an appointed time, and he will remember you, if you will call out to him
So, you can trust God, trust his timing, trust his working, trust his finish
So
Praise Him
Psalm 106:1–2,4 (CSB)
1Hallelujah! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever. 2Who can declare the Lord’s mighty acts or proclaim all the praise due him?
4Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people. Come to me with your salvation
I’m preaching through the first 12 chapters of Genesis right now. Today I’m doing some prep work for chapter 8.
So, let me allow you to peek in on my thought process preparing for preaching on chapter 8. This series is different than breaking down every verse, it is a single message of importance from each chapter. Well, as I turn the page I can’t get past verse 1, “God Remembered Noah”. Oh Somebody, I might just shout right here. I don’t know if you ever feel like God has forgotten, or worse yet doesn’t care. Oh it was 120 years from the call to the rain. Then 40 days of rain, and months of waiting for the water to recede. Remember they were floating in a casket shaped water vessel. They couldn’t steer it or control, they were in the hands of God, literally and figuratively.
So, this isn’t the sermon yet, just some observations I would share with you.
God Knows – God Remembered Noah
God Works – God Caused a Wind to pass – the same God that opened all the necessary sources of water in chapter 7 to bring the flood, now closes all those sources in chapter 8. God is working
God Finishes – The Ark Came To Rest – while we rest IN Christ, dead to self, alive to Christ, we can know that the Ark will come to rest where God intends.
So then there are some important Conclusions
God – it is God, First and God Last. Alpha / Omega, Beginning and End. He starts and he finishes
God Knows – Always – Before, During, and After – God knows
God Remembers – even when he is silent, he doesn’t forget
God Responds
God Knows My Name – God Remembered NOAH. And I am reminded right now that God remembers Jim Goforth
God Has a Timetable – As you read this story beginning in chapters 5 and 6, notice all the timetables. Why? a) these are TRUE accounts of Historic Events b) These are appointments on God’s Book
So, finally let me give you some Confidence Today
God is on the throne
God has perfect timing
God has not forgotten
God is not lazy, he is busy, he is patient for the right time
What do we do while we wait? There are plenty of passages you can read today.
Luke 23:42 – the thief on the cross said, “remember me Lord” and Jesus said “today you will be with me”
Judges 16:28 – Samson has failed the Lord but he asked “Lord remember me. Strengthen me just once more”
Jeremiah 15:15 – “You know Lord, remember me, take note… that I suffer… for your honor” – Oh Child, God knows, and takes note, and he has your tears in a bottle and a book about you written himself. (Psalm 56:8)
Job 14:13 – “if only you would appoint a time for me and remember me” don’t worry he has and he does
Finally go to the 106th Psalm and read verse 4, then back up and use the Psalm to Praise the Lord. ” remember me… come to me with salvation” so while you wait “Hallelujah! Give Thanks for he is good and his love endures forever”. The writer says “remember me so that…” a) I can enjoy being chosen b) I can rejoice c) I can boast about my heritage.
Well I could go on and on, but just know this today, whether in the height of success, the depths of failure, the dirge of death and suffering, God has NOT Forgotten you. Look up, Trust Him, Take his hand, he is leading to the House of the Lord. Surely, Goodness and mercy are following you. They may not always be with you right there, but they are following you, pursuing you, that is the truth you can trust!
Pastor Goforth 