Psalm 115: God > Idols
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. See, I clean up well, you guys. All right, so before we get started, it's an exciting day when we get to baptize anyone, and especially our kids. I just want to plug two resources. Some of the things we do in family discipleship, in our road mapping curriculum, which you can find online, is we plug books that we think are helpful. I have one right here.
This is the whole story for the whole family. It's a year of Jesus-centered devotions. This one's really helpful because it has really easy-to-do devotions, actually has some fun activities to go along with it. So if you've got kids from three to about nine, ten years old, this is a great book. I actually have two free copies of this, so if you want one, come talk to me, and I'll give it to you. And then we also have, out there at our spiritual formation bookshelf, the New City Catechism.
This is 52 questions and answers that help guide the process of just helping our kids know who Jesus is and what the gospel is. So I would encourage you, if you would like to go grab those, those are free. We've got plenty of those. So we have been in the Psalms this summer. We have one more Psalm next week, and then we're going to be in the book of Jude, which is four weeks, and then we'll be in the book of Exodus. So we're in Psalm 115 today, which is on page 293, and your blue Bibles that are around you.
If you don't have a Bible at home, please take that. That is our gift to you. We want you to have a Bible that you can read. But we'll be in Psalm 115 today. So my wife and I both like disaster movies, okay?
So day after tomorrow type stuff, it gets even better, the cheesier it gets. So like, you know, geostorm, computer, controlling the weather, that kind of stuff is really fun for us. I also personally like satire. When satire is done well, I like it. And finally, the two genres melded together last year for a movie that came out on Netflix called Don't Look Up. So caveats, it's got some language in it, and I always do my research when it's rated or ahead of time, because it's got some sketch stuff at the end, which I just cut off and never watched.
But I wanted to see how they took satire and combined this with one of my wife's and I's favorite genres. And the whole premise is, is that an asteroid is barreling down towards the earth. And in typical asteroid style movies, you would expect they'd come together, they'd figure it out, and they'd save the day. Bruce Willis would go up there, and they'd blow this thing up. But this movie asked the question, what if that didn't happen?
What if we weren't good at this? What if our dysfunctional society right now just couldn't handle this? And it plays on a bunch of different themes. But one of the things that I found to be incredibly telling is it asked the question, what if we're too disinterested? What if we don't care? What if we're willing to ignore reality, and just because we like, you know, social media and the movie, they're too busy, you know, scrolling on their phones to care?
What if there's too many things to entertain ourselves with, too many things to focus on? And that aspect of satire, I truly appreciate it. Because you could easily apply that to our faith. Like a few weeks ago, we were in Psalm 19, and Psalm 19 has two big ideas, that creation declares the glory of God. That it points to a creator, and it declares his glory. And then later on in the Psalm, it talks about the scriptures.
How the scriptures give us this specific picture of who God is. That it tells us beautiful truths. And when you combine the two, you see we have a God who definitely made this universe. And the scriptures tell us who this God is. And we, as especially Southern Christians, can listen to that sermon, can read that text and go, yes, amen. We can say we believe in God.
The majority of Southerners would even say they believe in Jesus. But the reality is, is we live like that's not true. We're going to see in the Psalm, it says, our God is in the heavens. And we live like that's not a reality. Because we're so easily enamored. So easily in love with created things.
That our attention and our focus and our affection, and ultimately our worship, is on lesser created things. Ignoring the reality of our creator God. To our own demise. That is what this Psalm is going to look at today. It's going to speak directly to us. Calling us out for falling in love with lesser created things.
And not beholding our creator God for who he is. So we're going to see that picture and how that applies to us. So let me pray for us and then we'll jump in. Heavenly Father, I pray that you would open our hearts to receive your word. That we would be challenged. That we would see you as glorious.
And you'd help us walk this out in faith and belief and repentance and obedience. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, so. Psalm 115 is in a series of Psalms. A series of five Psalms called the Hallelujah Psalms.
Okay? So thematically they all have the same kind of Hallelujah is in its most base form is praise Yahweh. So it's praise the Lord. So that's what's showing up in these Psalms. And at the very last one in this section, Psalm 115, is a Psalm that they would have actually sang together at Passover meal. So at the Passover meal, they would have sat down and had good food and good wine.
And they'd come together and then they'd sing this joyous, challenging Psalm. Starting in verse 1. Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory. For the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness. So it's this joyous beginning.
Not to us, O Lord. No, no, no. Not to us, but to your name give glory. Why? Because of, for the sake of, your steadfast love and your faithfulness. Because you are steadfast in your love towards us, O God, when we don't deserve it.
Because you are faithful towards us, O God, when we are faithless. Not to us, O Lord, but to you be the glory. And that is joyously sung against the backdrop of those who taught them. So we pick up in verse 2. Why should the nations say, where is their God? So, that is, the nations is the Gentiles.
So at this point in redemption history, the Gentiles are outside the covenant of God. This is non-Jewish people. These are the surrounding nations around the Jewish people. They don't worship the God of Israel. They don't believe and they're taunting and they're saying, where is your God? And this is where the psalmist starts to get a little snarky.
See, this Psalm has some don't look up type of vibes to it. It's very satirical. It's very snarky. It's very sarcastic. And this is when the psalmist begins to answer that taunt and fire back in verse 3. Our God is in the heavens.
He does all that He pleases. Our God is in the heavens. He does all that He pleases. He is not like your false gods, O nations. He's not a God that is tangible and created so that you can see. No, no, no.
Our God is in the heavens. He does all that He pleases. We don't have to do a song and dance to get His attention. And He doesn't step to our desires. That's not how our God works. He will not be coerced.
He will not be cornered. He will not be convinced. Our God is in the heavens. He does all that He pleases. He is not like your gods. And then He goes on to dial up the snark even more.
And He starts to criticize and belittle and make fun of their false idols. Verse 4 and following. Their idols are silver and gold. The work of human hands. They have mouths but do not speak. Eyes but do not see.
Ears but do not hear. Noses but do not smell. They have hands but do not feel. Feet but do not walk. And they do not make a sound in their throat. He is belittling them.
He is comedically belittling their false gods. He says your gods are precious. They are adorable. Look at His little mouth and His little nose. It has got little hands and little feet. I bet you put that beside your bed table at night.
That is adorable. He is absolutely stomping on false idols. He says no, no, no. Your God is not like our God. Our God is in the heavens. You have these false gods.
And it is an absurd picture. This is what Elijah picks up in 1 Kings 18. Belittling the false gods. In 1 Kings 18, he has a showdown with the prophets of Baal. Baal is one of the most prominent false gods in the Old Testament. And at this point, the prophets of Baal have pretty much taken over Israel.
And Elijah goes, all right, let's go. Let's go to Mount Carmel. Let's have a little showdown. We are going to set up an altar. Put a sacrifice on there. We are going to see which God is real.
We are going to figure out which God is going to come. Come and light this sacrifice on fire. And then in 1 Kings 18, it says in verse 26 and following, And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it, and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, O Baal, answer us. So the prophets of Baal are calling out, Baal, answer us, answer us. But there was no voice.
No one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. They started doing their little dance, going around the altar, limping around. And one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Verse 27, And at noon, Elijah mocked them, saying, Cry aloud, for he is a God. Maybe he can't hear you.
You should cry louder. Got to get his attention. He says, Cry aloud, for he is a God. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, which is a cleaned up way of saying, using the bathroom. Is your God, is he going to the bathroom? Where is he?
The mocking is on point. He says, Or is he on a journey? Or perhaps he is asleep, and must be awakened. Is he taking a nap? Go get him. Surely, and this, this does not sit well with them, and they get angrier.
And verse 28, it says, And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after the custom, after their custom was swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation. But there was no voice. No one answered. No one paid attention. Why?
Because Baal isn't real. He's not the one true God. And then Elijah goes on to, say, step aside. They put water all over the altar. Calls down fire from heaven, and boom, lights it up. And that's usually where the children's stories, book Bible version, kind of just stops.
If you want to take it further, and even do some dramatic reenacting, he goes and slaughters all the prophets of Baals. So, fun stuff to do in your household. More family discipleship advice for you. It's an absurd picture. That's the way Elijah's getting at. Your gods aren't real.
Bowing down to this is an absurdity. When I was in, years ago, I was in India, and I was studying Hinduism as a part of the study of God program. And I went and traveled and looked at Hindu temples. Went to Hindu temples and watched. I watched people bow down to false idols. This made, decorated idol with incense burning.
I watched them and studied how they worshipped false idols. And when you see that picture, you see, man, how ridiculous is this? That you're bowing down, seeking for this to provide, for this to take care of you. what he's hitting at over and over again here is that idols are lifeless and they are dumb. No. Our God is in the heavens. So he gives this heavy, intense critique, and then in verse 8, he gives an absolutely helpful warning. those who make them become like them.
So do all who trust in them. What he highlights is an unbelievable truth. What you worship, you will become. What you worship, you will ultimately become. And if you worship these dead, lifeless objects, then you will receive spiritual death that comes along with it. You'll be spiritually deadened by it.
Now, reading this through the lens of a 21st century Westerner, you might think, good, glad we don't have little carved idols in our bedrooms. Am I right? Might want to distance ourselves from this. Might look at the Hindu practices of bowing down to false idols that still happen today and think, good thing that's not us. But the reality is, is that we do this, we just do it in a far more sophisticated manner.
This is what Ezekiel, and the prophet Ezekiel is picking up in Ezekiel 41, and it's going to be developed throughout the rest of the scriptures. In Ezekiel 41, he says, it says, Son of man, these men have taken idols into their hearts. Taken idols into their hearts and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? And then in verse 6, he says, Therefore, save the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord God, repent and turn away from your idols and turn away your faces from all abominations.
It is here that we see a theme that gets picked up and developed throughout the rest of the scriptures that idolatry is worshiping anything in the place of God. God. It's heart idolatry. It's choosing anything and beholding that, loving that, worshiping that in the place of God. This is why John Calvin says that our hearts are idol-making factories. That we easily, because of our fallenness and our flesh, can make idols out of anything.
That we would worship anything in the place of God. We are designed to worship. That's how humanity is designed. And ultimately, we're designed to worship the Lord. But we reject that for the tangible things that are right in front of us.
And the psalmist is warning us. If you worship idols, you will become like them. For the one who worships money through greed, you ultimately, if you worship this, you will become like that dead object. Your heart will be hardened towards generosity. You will sacrifice and sever relationships with friends and church family and family. You'll sacrifice all of that because the goal is to make money, make money, make money, stacks on stacks on stacks.
If I can get that, then I will be happy. And ultimately, if you pursue this and you worship this, you will become Ebenezer Scrooge or Walter White. And it will ultimately end up to your own demise, hardening your own heart, deadened to what is ultimately good. If you bow down before the altar of pleasure, you will follow the road of sensuality until ultimately you don't have a taste, you have a distaste for God. and you fill that in with drugs or porn or explanation or whatever. But you follow that road and what happens is you eventually just, you don't want God.
I've watched people who went down that road and then ultimately they're just like, I don't care anymore. And it deadens you spiritually until you're numb and you don't want God. I stumbled upon a quote from a Sri Lankan theologian that I have never seen before until this week. His name is Vinath Ramachandra. And I thought he nailed it. He said, It is not surprising that those who worship technology eventually develop machine-like personalities.
Mark Zuckerberg. Right? I mean, develop machine-like personalities, emotionally underdeveloped, shallow and the relationships driven by a desire to control and quantify every human situation, unable to appreciate beauty and value in anything outside the artificial. What a unbelievable critique on this cultural moment. We bow down to social media, we spend all of our time and our energy in the artificial. this is going to get worse as the meta comes on board and everything else that comes with that. He says, No wonder.
No wonder we have shallow relationships. We're driven to control and quantify every human situation. You see that in kids that are on devices all the time. You see that in adults who have lost the ability to have a nuanced discussion with anyone or just lobbing grenades like crazy. Because you've bowed down before this idol over and over and over again and it's starting to make you in its image. He goes on to say, Those who worship sex, on the other hand, are incapable of trust and commitment in their human relationships and hide a lonely existence behind a mask of superficial adulthood.
Benoth is throwing bows. Man, he is going for it. I mean, he is absolutely, he can go on and on with this. He is absolutely showing us what the psalmist is teaching us that idols will ultimately create you in their image. You no longer will be conforming to the image of our creator. When you bow down to idols, it makes you in their image, ultimately to our own spiritual destruction.
You see why the psalmist has this aggressive, polemic, sarcastic defense, this aggressive nature against idolatry? There's so much at stake in the human soul. There was so much at stake for Israel as ultimately it was their own destruction because they worshipped idols. There's so much at stake for us because our flesh loves it. Our flesh loves idols. A couple months ago, I was talking with one of our pastors, I was talking with Chet, and I was just, I was confessing some sin.
I just was like, man, I'm just, I am, my flesh loves sin. Like I just, like I'm struggling right now. And he had a very helpful picture that will stick with me for probably ever. He said, you gotta see it for what it is. He said, it's, it's meth. And I was like, yes, it is meth.
Absolutely is. Have you ever seen before and after pictures of what meth does to people? They're a normal, functioning human being and then a few years, the before and after, they, it's conformed them into this horrible image as they bow down to this drug over and over and over again and it's stolen the life out of them. Yes! He knew how to get to me. I was like, that's absolutely it.
It is like that. It spiritually decays and destroys. That's what sin does. That's what idolatry does. So he gives that aggressive warning and then he pivots to beholding who our God is.
In verse 9 and following, he says, O Israel, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. He's gonna repeat that three times. Their help and their shield. That is kingship defense language. Okay?
He's saying, our God is our help and our shield. He's the one that defends us. He's the one that provides for us. He's the one that takes care of us. O Israel, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, verse 10, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. The house of Aaron was a part of the tribe of Levi. This is where the priesthood came from, was the house of Aaron. So what he's highlighting there is the priesthood is bowing down to foreign idols.
They're falling prey to this. Which absolutely fits pretty one-to-one with our current culture. Because the priesthood throughout America and those who plan to be pastors literally are leading people into worshipping idols, worshipping success, worshipping money for the sake of lining their own pockets and getting a G4 and all that mess. we're not much different. Verse 11, you who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. He's saying, you who fear the Lord, everyone who fears God, trust in the Lord.
He is their help and their shield. He's like, believe this. Believe this. He will protect you. He is better. He will protect you in the way that idols cannot.
And then he moves from this repeated promise to a repeated blessing. He says in verse 12 and following, the Lord has remembered us. He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great.
He's saying, this Lord, this God will bless us. Listen, Israel, Aaron, everyone who fears the Lord. And this is a deep, spiritual blessing. This is not a shallow, material one. Believing that ultimate hope is found in material blessings that will ultimately end up in a landfill one day. No, this is deeper than that.
This is the kind of blessing that resounds into generational blessings. Verse 14, he says, may the Lord give you children, or give you increase, you and your children. May this blessing resound through you, to your children, to your children's children. What a powerful legacy of faith that we might uphold when we behold who our God is. This is in verse 15, may you be blessed by the Lord who made heaven and earth. The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.
It's highlighting a truth that God is in the heavens. He rules and reigns. But as we see in Genesis 1, he entrusts earth. He gives us the ability to have dominion over the earth. That's why it says, be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over it.
That's the truth that he's highlighting there. And then in verse 17 and 18, the final two verses, he says, the dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord. He says, those who ultimately worship idols, those who find their hope and satisfaction and fulfillment and idols, well, they ultimately will receive what is coming, death. And the picture we see of that is judgment.
He says, but we, we will trust the Lord. We will praise him. We won't go down in silence. No. We will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord.
All right. So this Psalm is noticeably different than many of the Psalms we've tackled before. Sarcasm shows up a little bit in the scriptures. Aggressive defenses like this show up a little bit. This is different than some of the Psalms we have covered. And he is hammering one central truth over and over again.
Idols are dumb. Idols are ridiculous. Idols are not worthy of worship. Our God is in the heavens. Behold him. Worship him.
He is greater than idols. But the problem for Israel and the problem really for us is that idols are very tangible. Idols are, you can see them, you can touch them. It's the reason why they bow down to golden calves and Asherah poles. They could grab a hold of it. The psalmist says that's foolishness.
That's foolishness. Our God is so much bigger than that. Can't you see? Our God is in the heavens. Don't bow down to these objects. Don't worship anything in the place of God.
And we may be more sophisticated. We may be more sophisticated than this time period. But we are not smarter. Not at all. We're very much like them. We may, listen, Southern Christians, we may know the Bible.
We may know stories about Jesus. We may know the right things to say. You know, all kinds of things about who our God is. But to us, He's not as tangible. Not saying that Jesus is embodied. He certainly is.
But He reigns at the right hand of God the Father. But idols are tangible. They're right in front of us. And our flesh says, I want it. Money is tangible. Put your hands on it.
Pull up your app and watch your bank account. Your crypto wallet. Whatever it is that you do. You can see that. It's material. You can purchase things that your heart desires with that.
Amazon packages are concrete and tangible. Right? I thought about this this week. I was like, you know what? I'm going to see if I can total up how much we spent at Amazon this year. So I thought I could go on Amazon and look at the order details and stuff in that section and see.
But shocker, they don't let you know that. Because I don't want you to know how much you've spent there. Because it's a lot. That's tangible. It's something you can get in two days or less. That's tangible.
You can put your hands on that. Social media is tangible. You can spend hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours obsessing, worrying, getting stirred up, getting angry, getting jealous. That's tangible. Children, spouses, relationships, friendships, success, comforts, you name it, our heart can make it and we can bow down to it. It's tangible.
It's right in front of us. And our hearts will go after it until little by little our affections, our desire and our worship towards God is slowly turned towards created objects and we're more deadened and more deadened and more deadened until spiritually it's like, I don't want God. and then we reject Him just as the nation of Israel did. One of the things we talk about in our church is the concept of deep idols. The concept of deep idols and if you want to, we have sermons that expound on this more, you can go on our website and you can go into our sermons and do it in the search bar and you can type in deep idols and hear some more teaching on this but the premise is is that we try to look at the sin beneath the sin, the motivation beneath the motivation, the idol beneath the idol and there are four main deep idols, four main categories that you can funnel most of our sin into.
That's comfort, control, power, and approval. And you can literally take any concrete idol that you'd bow down to and you can run it through those categories and see, like if it's money, not something you obsess over, you think about, you live your life for, you can try to determine which deep idols is this rooted in? Is it approval? Do I make lots of money so that I can be liked? So that people will accept me?
So that I will get claps in adoration? Or it's control. Maybe you grew up with less money and you said, I ain't doing this anymore. I will absolutely control my future and every dollar, every paycheck is another opportunity to control your destiny because you've rejected ultimately that God is sovereign over your future but you can control it with your hands. Maybe it's, maybe it's power. You make money because that gives you influence.
That gives you the ability to peddle and to meddle and to manipulate because it puts you the one in power. Maybe it's comfort. That you worship money because it brings the comforts in this life. You can buy the next car or the next house or the next vacation until you fill your life with comforts that never truly satisfy you. Listen, we're not much different. We're not.
The Psalm is for us and we we have to see idols for what they are. We have to see it for what it is. They're as healthy as meth. They're as life-giving as the wood from your kitchen table. They're as secure as a house that is built right on the top of beach sand. They are not better.
Idols are dumb. They're not worth pursuing. They're not worth worshipping. Trust in the Lord. He is ultimately worthy of our worship. With Him comes blessing and promises.
Our God is in the heavens. He does whatever He pleases. The psalmist is pleading with us. See God as better than idols. And when you start to believe this. Listen, when you start to when God starts to unlock this truth in your soul.
When you start to realize that what you've worshipped doesn't satisfy. That it never truly brings fulfillment. Whatever that is for you. And when you've examined your soul and you realize that God by His grace shows how infected we are with idol worship. How we bow down to so many other things through our attention and our affections and our desire and our worship. when you see that for what it is your one logical response should be how can the God who created everything who is the only one worthy of my worship how could He possibly love me in spite of all of my rejection in spite of all of the worship that I've given towards lesser created things.
And it is in that moment that you can discover the goodness of the gospel. And the goodness of the gospel is that God knew that. God knows all of that. He knows all the idols that you bow down to. He sees all of it. And still He sent His Son to die for you.
And still He sent His Son to rise for us. And still He came to His Colossians 2 teaches cancel the record of debt the record of sin that's done against us with its legal demand. And His kindness as Romans 2 teaches leads us to repentance. Away from lesser created things back to our Creator. Our God does all that He pleases. And the good news of the gospel is that it pleases Him for you to worship Him.
And it pleases Him for you to desire Him. And it pleases Him to see you repent of idols because they are not worthy of your worship. He is.
Psalm 139: Search My Heart
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
It's good to see you guys this morning. My name is Matt. I'm one of the pastors here. If you would, go ahead and grab a Bible. We are going to hop right in this morning, and I want you to go ahead and turn to Psalm 139. Psalm 139.
If you don't have a Bible, go ahead and grab one of the blue Bibles that we have that are tucked under some of the seats. It's going to be on page 300 in those. We're going to be looking at Psalm 139. As a worship leader, I love the Psalms. It's the Psalm book of the Bible, you guys. I'm obligated to actually love the book of Psalms.
But I do. I love the book of Psalms, and specifically Psalm 139. What we get in the Psalms is the entire range of human emotion. John Piper says that you can always find yourself in the Psalms, and I believe that. I believe that's true. Regardless of whatever you're going through in your life, whatever circumstance, you can always find yourself in the Psalms.
And so I'm excited to be teaching from one of my favorite passages today. So if you'll look, go ahead and look in your Bible. We don't always point this out. But if you look at the top, right underneath Psalm 139, it says, to the choir master, a Psalm of David. Okay, so it tells us that this is one of the Psalms of David. In fact, nearly half of the Psalms in the book of Psalms are David's.
And it's important for us to know that David wrote this and to think about his life because it colors how we're going to understand this Psalm, how we study it. But as we're getting started, I want you to go ahead and look. We're going to look at the first verse and the final two verses before we even start because they actually frame in what David is talking about in the Psalms. So you can look in your Bible or you can look up here on the screen. It says, Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me. Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me.
And then at the very end, David's praying and he says, Search me, oh God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. So David starts with saying to God, God, you have searched me and known me. You know everything about me. Nothing is hidden from you. And then he concludes by asking God to continue to search him, to know his heart, to know his thoughts, to show him his sins and to lead him on the right path.
Now there's a lot of things that we're going to look at in between this frame, but I think it's important to just highlight part of David's life before we hop in because of what he's talking about here. So this is the David that the Bible presents to us. He's the youngest of seven sons of his father. He's kind of the runt of the litter. He's the shepherd boy out tending the sheep, but God saw fit to anoint him to be the next king of Israel. This is the David that the Bible talks about who goes up against the giant Goliath with a sling and a stone and takes him down.
This is the David that wins the hearts of the people of Israel. In fact, the Bible describes David as a man after God's own heart. And while there's a lot of great things we can point out about David, sometimes we forget to talk about the darker side, that David wasn't perfect. And maybe you're not as familiar with this story, but there was a time when the Israelite army went out to war and David didn't go with them. He stayed back. And he's walking on the rooftop of the palace and he sees a beautiful woman bathing.
And he desires her. And so he brings her to his palace and he sleeps with her. Her name is Bathsheba and she becomes pregnant. And David's trying to figure out how to cover this thing up. So he sends for her husband, Uriah, who's one of his best soldiers, sends for him to bring him home so that maybe he'll go back to his house and sleep with Bathsheba and this thing will be all covered up and they'll never know it was his child.
But Uriah was so faithful, he wouldn't do it. He wouldn't leave the king's house. And so David sends Uriah back out into battle and tells the commander to pull back from him. And Uriah's killed. David was responsible for the murder of somebody else. And so it makes you wonder, as we look at this Psalm, as we looked at this framework we just created, that how can he pray this at the end?
How can he pray, continue to search me, continue to examine me and see my grievous ways in light of everything that he has done? And if I'm David, I don't want that. I don't. In fact, I don't want that. And I would bet for most of us, we don't want that either. The things that we've hidden, the skeletons in our closet, the things that we wish and hope that nobody ever finds out about us.
But it seems that David has discovered something better. What we're going to see is that in spite of everything that David has done, God still desires relationship with him. He gets the offer of redemption and forgiveness. And so that's what we're looking at this morning, how David can have such confidence in his relationship with God that no matter what he had done, he still saw it better that the Lord would know him deeply and intimately rather than keeping things hidden from the Lord. And that hopefully we'll actually leave here with that same kind of confidence, that same kind of confidence and vulnerability and freedom that we can have in our relationship with God.
Okay? So that's what we're looking at this morning. Why don't we pause and pray as we go further? God, what a bold prayer that you would search us and know us. And it's difficult for us to even comprehend how we could do that. And so we pray that you would speak from your word, that you would help us understand what David had come to know, what David had come to know, and that you would lead us in the way everlasting.
It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, so look at your Bibles. Let's hop into the text. Okay, verse 1. Oh, Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, oh, Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in behind and before and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.
It is high. I cannot attain it. So he's talking about this God, this God who searches and knows, and he's trying to color that in and describe it. Verses 2 and 3, David says, when I sit down and when I rise up, he says, you know my path and my lying down, and you're acquainted with all my ways. He says, God sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake.
He knows if you've been bad or good. But seriously, he knows everything about you. He knows when you're sleeping. He knows when your feet hit the floor. He knows what I do throughout the day. David crafts this song to show that there is no activity, no action that escapes what God sees.
He knows. He knows. Not only that, look at verse 3. It says here, you discern my thoughts. I'm sorry, verse 2. You discern my thoughts from afar.
Come on. Like, not only does he know our activities, he discerns our thoughts. He knows what you're thinking. Right now. And right now. And right now.
So the thing I thought when that person cut me off in traffic, God knows. The thing I was thinking when my co-worker asked me how I was doing, he knows. The thing I'm daydreaming about right now while Matt's talking, he knows. He knows. Not only that, look at verse 4. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, oh Lord, you know it all together.
So that's a crazy progression. He knows our actions. He knows our thoughts. And even before we formulate words, he knows it. I have two daughters, a 7-year-old and a 5-year-old. My 7-year-old is named Emmy.
And if you know Emmy, this story will make perfect sense to you. We like to cook. Like specifically, my girls love to cook pancakes. And so that's usually a group effort for us. When Emmy was really young, we had the griddle out. We had the bowl of pancake mix.
And we were doing the whole thing. And I walked across the kitchen to grab something. And I got to the other side of the kitchen with my back turned to her and said, don't touch that. And I turn. And her hand is over the griddle. And she's just looking at me like, are you a wizard?
Like, child, I know you. And I'm way smarter than you. Like, I knew what you were going to do. I know what you were going for. And that multiplied times infinity is God towards us. He knows you.
He created you. Verse 5 says, You hem me in behind and before and lay your hand upon me. You hem me in. Now, he's drawing from shepherding terms here. Okay, so it's a little bit lost on us. But this is, he's drawing from his experience.
Shepherds would be out in the fields with the sheep. And they would be tending them and keeping them together and making sure that they went on the right path, that they didn't fall off of a cliff, that they were able to find fresh water and fresh food. And then at night, they would try to kind of hem them into an area for protection. And then oftentimes, the shepherds would just lay in harm's way so that if a wolf or a predator was coming, they would know it. They would be first in line. It's a beautiful picture here.
You hem me in behind and before. And then you get to verse 6. And he just exclaims it. He says, Such knowledge is too wonderful and high for me. I can't grasp it. And I feel that.
I bet you do too. That's David's point. He's giving glory to God for his all-knowing power. We use big words for this sometimes like God's omniscience, which just means that he is all-knowing or his omnipotence, which means that he is all-powerful. God knows everything and he is all-powerful. And even though David can't fully comprehend it, and neither can we, he's still able to glory in it.
And there are two things I want to point out from these six verses and then we'll move on. The first one is this. This is terrifying, right? Like God knows your actions, your words, and your thoughts. For those of you who are into stranger things, this isn't like a Vecna scenario where God's going to use your thoughts and stuff to torture you. Like we're not all headed for a Chrissy wake up situation.
Okay? But it is terrifying that God knows everything about you. Hear that clearly. What David is saying here is that God knows everything about every person in this room without exception. And for most of us, even those of us who are Christians, that's terrifying. We don't want God to know everything.
If he did, we think things like, how could God love me? How could God accept me? There's no way he could use me. There's no way I could belong to his people and be loved. And as Christians, we know these things aren't true. Yet we convince ourselves all too often that they are.
We give in to the lies and the false beliefs instead of glorying in who God is and knowing that he's all powerful and all knowing. And I will say this. I think part of the reason we do this is because in our lives we've experienced people who have used knowledge of us to hurt us. Okay? You've been there before. You've told something to someone and they told everyone else.
You shared a struggle with someone and then they used that in your relationship to manipulate you. We've all been there. But that's not God. The God who sees you and knows everything about you is wholly other than that. And because that's true, the other part of this passage is that this ought to be incredibly comforting to us. That even though he knows all of our thoughts and words and actions, his posture towards us is that of a shepherd.
With his sheep, he wants, even though we would rebel and try to run, God, his posture towards us is that of a shepherd. That's what verse 5 is talking about. It says, you hem me in behind and before. You keep me. God keeps us. And I'll be honest with you guys.
This is something that I pray on a regular basis. I pray this on a regular basis underneath my breath. God, you hem me in behind and before. You hem me in behind and before. I have a tough day parenting with the kids. You hem me in behind and before.
When I want to run to the fridge at 10 o'clock at night for some comfort, you hem me in behind and before. When we've got a difficult situation going on in our church, when we need wisdom and we don't know it, you hem me in behind and before. God's knowledge of us is both terrifying and comforting. So what do we do with that? What do we do with that? Look at verse 7.
It says, where shall I go from your spirit or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me and the light about me be night. Even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night is bright as the day for darkness is as light with you. It's as if David tries to illustrate what all of us are prone to, right? Run. Like, run. He says, but where would I go? Where would I flee from your presence?
He says, if I go up to heaven, you're there. Which, obvious David, but I understand it's a progression. You've got to start somewhere. You're there. If I go down to Sheol, you are there. When we have Sheol in Scripture, it's just a poetic way of saying, it's a poetic name for the place of the dead.
He says, if I go up to heaven, you're there. If I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. He says, if I take the wings of the morning or dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, you're there. He says, if I take flight in the morning, okay, the morning sun rises in the east. If I head towards the east or if I dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, the uttermost parts of the sea for them was the Mediterranean. If I go up, down, north, south, east, west, you're there.
Where can I flee from your presence? So where do I go? The dark. I'll hide in the dark. You guys, you guys ever play hide and go seek with some kids? All right?
Come around the corner. You know the kids behind the couch. So you go and look behind the couch and as soon as you make eye contact that with the kid, they go, I can see you. No, you can't. Well, now I can hear you too. Like I, but that's us.
That's us when it comes to the fact that we think that we can hide in the dark from God or that even in the midst of our darkness, God somehow is not there. So I love what verse 11 and 12 say. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me and the light about me be night, even the darkness is not dark to you. The night is bright as the day for darkness is as light with you. Guys, are you seeing what David's saying in these first 12 verses? That God is all-knowing.
He knows everything. Your words, thoughts, actions. He's all-powerful and He's all-present. There's no place that you can flee from His presence. And I do just want to take a second and highlight this here. If you've run to the dark or you feel like right now you are in the dark, God's there and it is not dark to Him.
It is not dark to Him. He's with you and He sees you. And we're going to talk more about that in a minute, but I just want you to know that. He sees you and He's with you. And as David continues on from here, what he's going to do now is give us an example of God seeing us, knowing us, and being with us in the darkness. That's why verse 13 begins with 4.
It's an illustration. It's an example of God being with us in the dark. Here's what it says. For you formed my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret. Intricately woven in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed substance. In your book were written every one of them the days that were formed for me when as yet there was none of them. David gives us this beautiful picture of God being with us in the midst of darkness by describing a baby in its mother's womb.
And specifically he tells it from his perspective. He says, you formed my inward parts. You knit me together. I am wonderfully made. Extravagantly, miraculously, uniquely made. My frame wasn't hidden from you.
You wove every detail together. You formed my substance. And not only that, my days were written in your book even before I was born. Not only does David say that God was active in forming him in the womb, he says, even at that time God had established purpose for his steps and his life. David's saying that God was with him, forming him and shaping him in the womb. And that's the big picture of what David's driving at in this Psalm is that the God who knows and sees us is with us.
And that's amazing. Y'all, how good is this picture? The God of the universe fashions and forms each one of us. It's just beautiful. And in fact, it's not the only place in scripture that says this. I actually want to highlight a couple of others.
They're not going to be on the screen. I'm going to read them for us. It says, in Job 10, this is Job talking, he says, your hands fashioned and made me and now you have destroyed me altogether. Remember that you have made me like clay and will you return me to the dust? Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? You clothed me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews.
You have granted me life and steadfast love and your care has preserved my spirit. It's beautiful. He's picking up on the same kind of language that is used later by David. He says later in Job. Job says this. He says, if I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant when they brought a complaint against me, what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him? Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb? He's saying, if God as creator comes to question me, what am I to say? He made me. He formed me.
And not only that, if I'm in a dispute with someone else, he made them too. In Jeremiah, beginning of Jeremiah, this is directly, this is the words of the Lord. 1 verses 4 and 5 says, now the word of the Lord came to me saying, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you were born, I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. It's that same idea that David was talking about, that God knew him before he was in the womb.
He had predestined his steps. He had purpose for his life. He had been consecrated. And one of my favorites is once we get to the New Testament, the angel comes to Mary, says she's going to give birth to the Son of God. But Mary's aunt is pregnant at the same time.
And she goes to visit Elizabeth. And here's what Elizabeth says. She says, for behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. This child has personhood and is able to express joy. And the point that the Bible is trying to make clear in multiple places across multiple time periods is that life begins in the womb. And while David is using this as an illustration of God seeing and knowing and being with us in the dark, it's not just an illustration.
It's truth. It's a reality. And it's one that has taken center stage in our country over the last month or so. And so what we're going to do is we're going to press pause for a second. And we're going to take the next 10 to 12 minutes and talk about what is a current topic in our culture right now, which is life beginning at conception and the topic of abortion. And now, that's not the main point of this passage.
But it is most certainly a direct application and an ethic that is derived from this idea of a God who knows us and sees us and forms us. Okay? So we're going to press pause and talk about this as an application and then jump back into the text. Now, I realize that I have just polarized the room. I'm aware of that. Some of you just thought, yes, get them.
Roe fell a couple of weeks ago and it's time for us to plant our flag in the ground. Some of you just thought, if you say what I think you were about to say, I'm walking out of this building and I'm never coming back again. And some of us are just too disengaged from the conversation because you don't feel like it impacts you. And so I want to make a suggestion and a request this morning. Okay? Here's my suggestion.
Can we just press pause on all of our political arguments for a moment and realize that whatever you think about this, that this is an incredibly difficult and painful situation for a prospective mother and father to walk through. Can we be a people of compassion? Can we do that? Can you set your political leanings to the side for a second and just own that? This is incredibly painful and difficult. And out of that suggestion, I want to make a request.
Okay? If we set that aside, I want to make a request. Can we just take an honest look at what God says to us in His Word out of this passage? Can we just be honest about what it says? Because here's the deal. If we are, if we'll be honest, we can't read this passage and the others that I mentioned without agreeing what it says, that life begins in the womb.
That God is working, He's knitting us together and forming us in our mother's womb. That God predestines our steps from the womb. And to reject this is to reject the authority of Scripture. We must trust God and His Word here, which means that the overall thrust of the Bible is for life, which means that a rejection of life through abortion is sin. Period. In the majority of conversations that I have had with both believers and unbelievers on this topic, pretty much everyone, not everyone, but most of the people I have talked to show some level of discomfort with someone having an abortion just because they don't want the baby for elective reasons, just for no reason.
There's varying levels of discomfort with that, but often the conversation shifts towards the most painful and difficult kinds of situations for why someone might get an abortion. And I feel this tension. What about the 10-year-old who was raped by her father and is now pregnant? What about the 35-year-old mother who has health complications and might die giving birth? What if there's a serious fetal abnormality and the child might have incredible life complications? Guys, I can't imagine.
I cannot imagine having to wrestle with those deep questions. Those are incredibly difficult and painful circumstances. And I can tell you this, the initial response as the church, as the church comes in contact with these situations has got to be to love, to be present, to sit and to weep, to hear their story, to pray with them, to be someone who can listen. That's got to be the initial response. Got to be. But the reality of this conversation is that those exceptional types of abortions are just that.
They are exceptional. That the vast, they're in the vast minority of reasons why someone might would get an abortion. Now, I'm not a chart guy. I don't love statistics. Okay? But in my research on this topic, I care about it.
And so I wanted to read widely and soak things in. I came across some statistics that I thought were helpful for showing this. Okay? So in the state of Florida in 2020, in the state of Florida, they have to record a reason for every abortion. If someone goes to get an abortion, they record the reason. In the state of Florida in 2020, there were 74,868 abortions in one state in one year.
And so what we're going to do is I want to show you a chart that shows the reasons for those abortions and then it also gives you kind of a percentage of why the reason, okay, the percentage of the whole. Okay? So I just want to walk through this. Let's show the first one..01% were some kind of family incest situation. I, goodness, I can't, I can't even like fathom the difficulty of a situation like that. But you see the percentage.
The next one, rape. Not only had they dealt with that such a difficult circumstance, but now they're pregnant. The next one, okay,.20% is that the mother's life is in danger. Okay? The mother's life is, this could be fatal for the mother. But even if you, as you look at this, we're at, we're at.36% and then you add in fetal abnormality.
Now it doesn't say that this is a life-threatening fetal abnormality, but there's some type of abnormality in the baby. And you can see these are, these are small Numbers and if you look at the, just the total here, 1.34%. And guys, these are exceptionally difficult. Reasons, they are. They're hard to wrestle with. Kind of going on in the statistics, we kind of jump out of that into, you know, we're moving away from these exceptions.
1.48% Were for physical health. Non-life-threatening physical health. And it doesn't even tell us like how, how much physical health was at play here. And then the next one is psychological health, mental health. 1.88%. If you add that up, you get to 3.36%.
And again, we can just kind of agree that these are outside of those first exceptions that we kind of looked at that are really, really exceptional situations. We've got two more categories. 20.4% for social reasons or for economic reasons. And if you're good at math, you know that the final category is 74.9% for no reason. they were elective, which brings the total to 95.3%. If you add in the physical health reasons or the psychological health reasons and broaden that category, it gets you to over 97% of those abortions. That means that 72,500 of those over that number were done for those reasons, for reasons outside of those.
How did we get here? How did we get to a place in our country where we can terminate life for elective reasons? And we can all agree that this is a complex issue, but one thing is crystal clear is that our culture has separated sex from its original God ordained design. God designed sex to be enjoyed within a marriage for the purpose of enjoyment and procreation. And our culture has hijacked this definition and said that sex is for your enjoyment and that conception of life is a consequence rather than a gift. But that's not the ethic of the Bible.
God is for life. That's what scripture says over and over again. In my preparation for this message, I felt led to reach out to my Old Testament professor from seminary. Her name is Dr. Ingrid Pharaoh and she is a brilliant woman. She's a Greek scholar and a Hebrew scholar and I just reached out to her and I said, here's what I'm teaching, here's the Psalm I'm looking at, can we talk about it?
And she gave me an hour of her time. And we just had a Zoom call where we wrestled with what this says and she agrees. She agrees with what we're talking about here. In fact, she's an expert on the book of Genesis and she pointed this out and I thought it was helpful for us. That God is the giver of life. He's the creator of life and he gives the gift of life to his creation.
To Adam and Eve and he looks at Adam and Eve and he says, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and have dominion over life. And he tells them, don't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because in the day that you do it, you will die. He says, choose life. And Adam and Eve eat of the fruit and sin enters the world and death enters the world. And you know what the first thing that happens is in Genesis 4 after sin has entered the world? Murder.
Cain kills his brother and God has judgment on it. Incredibly painful and the difficult truth that we've got to face this morning is that a rejection of life in favor of death is sin. It is the taking of life. It breaks one of the original Ten Commandments. And regardless of the situation or circumstance, however tragic and difficult, it is outside of God's design. And I know that it's devastating.
Our church family is not untouched by this pain. sin. We have walked with mothers who have had an abortion. We have walked with fathers who have encouraged their significant other to go get an abortion. Maybe you've encouraged someone to have an abortion or you helped fund it or you took them to the clinic. But God's answer from his word is that it's sin and God has judgment for us.
He has judgment for it. But we've got to remember who's writing this Psalm. David. The same David who says that God sees us and knows us. The same David who said that God formed him and knitted him in the womb is also the same David who slept with Bathsheba and then had her husband murdered. David was a murderer.
And David's response is where hope can be offered to everyone in this room. What David had done was deceitful and heinous and wicked. But remember David serves the God who knows and sees. And God sends Nathan to confront David and David responds in complete humility and brokenness and confesses his sin. He owns it. He doesn't hide it in the dark anymore.
He doesn't justify his actions. He just says I have sinned against the Lord. And you know what happens next in the very next verse? Nathan says the Lord has put away your sin. Like how beautiful is that? David was a murderer.
We should expect judgment and condemnation and maybe even God to strike David dead but he doesn't. The God who knows and sees offers David grace and forgiveness when he confesses his sin and seeks him for mercy. And that's the reality for every person in this room. That's one of the things you've got to walk away with. If you've had an abortion, if you were pressured into it or supported someone, if you're considered, God sees you. He knows you and God is with you.
You are not outside of his grasp or his love. Even after what David had done, God didn't leave him or forsake him. When David was confronted with his sin, he went running into the arms of God for forgiveness and that's what's offered to you. Go read Psalm 51. It is David's confession specifically over this. And it's forever memorialized in Scripture to help lead us back to God.
Brother, sister, you are not outside of the reach and the love of God. Just run to God and confess and accept his forgiveness. Receive his love. And lastly, God, listen, I know this has been long, but I wanted to cover it well. One last thing before we jump back into the text. We desperately need this last thing.
Christians have to recover and embody what it means to be pro-life in all of its forms. The church in America as a whole, on the whole, has been overwhelmingly unhelpful and unkind to people who are in this situation. And the reality is, when you close your heart to someone in judgment, you no longer have capacity for grace and mercy in the mission of God to offer people hope. And that's what we're called to do. That means, first of all, for mothers and fathers who would choose to say no to abortion, we have to be willing to step in. They don't know how to raise their children.
Christians have to say yes to adoption. Christians have to say yes to fostering and helping the support system for abandoned children. Yes to supporting people financially who are pursuing adoptions. Yes to volunteering and supporting organizations that work with mothers and fathers who need to know what their other options are besides abortion. Yes to being the people that walk with single moms and single dads as they deal with mental and emotional and the socioeconomic toll of raising children. Yes to walking alongside families that have children with special needs and the difficulty of that venture.
Yes to being a place of refuge and help for those that have been abused and neglected and left. What we just saw in this Psalm is that God is the God who is with people in the darkness. That God's presence is with those in the pit of hell and if God is there, that's where his people are supposed to be. Supposed to go into the darkness to love and to help people. Let's not be a people who are just against abortion.
Let's be a people who are for life and all of what that means. Now there's, listen, there's more that could be said about this and if you want to talk about it, we're here. Your pastors are here to talk about it. But again, this application comes directly out of what David is saying. It's exactly about a God who knows and sees us. So we're going to shift back into the text because it sits within that framework.
God knows everything about you. Your actions, your thoughts, your words, you can't flee from his presence. And once again, David just has a praise break here. He just erupts in praise again of this God. He says, verse 17, how precious to me are your thoughts, O God, how vast is the sum of them. If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake and I am still with you. It's just too much for David at this point. He just erupts in praise. It's like he gets praising and like he passes out. And then he's like, oh, I woke up and I'm still with you. Sweet, it wasn't a dream.
Like he's just overwhelmed with who God is. And then continuing on in verse 19, it takes an interesting twist here. Oh, that you would slay the wicked, O God. What on earth? Like we were, I thought we were in a praise break. I thought we were taking a praise lap, David.
Why? Why are we? Oh, men of blood, depart from me. They speak against you with malicious intent. Your enemies take your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
Do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred. I count them my enemies. Like what on earth, David? All right.
A couple of things I want to point out here. First of all, this is raw emotion. And the Psalms give us raw emotion, which is actually really, really good news for us. Okay? Because the Psalms give us permission to take all of who we are and all of what we're feeling and thinking to the Lord and letting him sort it out. Okay?
God doesn't want the canned version of you. He wants it all. So you can take it to him. Just take it to him. And the truth is, the other thing is, if you actually see God the way David does, that he's all-knowing and all- powerful and always present, he's holy and good, then it's not a far step to want that God to exercise justice. Right?
That we actually want God to do something about wickedness. And specifically David. David was the king of the people of God. And God at times would use his people to be the instrument of his justice in the world. But we, like we actually want this.
We want God to be just. Right? We want him to deal with wickedness and sin. Just as long as it doesn't, it's not us. You know? But we want, we want someone to hold Russia responsible for what they're doing in the Ukraine.
We wanted someone to be held responsible at 9-11. Okay? We want someone to be held responsible for sex trafficking. Right? And so as David has this big picture of who God is, he just, he lays his petition before this God who is all-powerful and all-knowing and can do anything. It makes sense.
Even if it catches us off guard. And then we're right back where we started. Verses 23 and 24. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any grievous way in me. And lead me in the way everlasting.
The reason that David can actually pray this is because he found refuge in the God he described in this Psalm. As painful as it was for him, David recognized that God knows everything about him. The good, the bad, and the ugly. And David knows there's no place he can flee from God's presence. And in spite of everything David has done, God still wants to be in relationship with him. That's because the relationship that David had with God was not based primarily on who David was or what David had done.
But it was based off of who God was and what God had done. You see, God had promised David that there would never cease to be one of his sons on the throne of Israel forever. And that's exactly what happened. That from his line would come the Messiah. David had Solomon by way of Bathsheba. And then hundreds of years later, Jesus was born.
Son of Adam. Son of David. Jesus came so that we might have life. He lived the perfect sinless life on our behalf. Jesus died on the cross to pay for anything and everything we've ever done. And then he rose from the grave so that we might have life everlasting with him forever.
And that's the good news that's offered to you today. Just like David was offered forgiveness in light of everything that he had done, the same offer is given to you. Our relationship with God, hear me, is not based off of what we have done or who we are. It's based off of who God is and what Jesus has done for you. So it doesn't matter what you've done.
David was a liar, an adulterer, and a murderer. What about you? What about you? What are the things that you've done, the things that you've thought, and the things that you've said that you think keep you from God? What are the things that you have hidden in the dark that think disqualify you from a relationship with God? There's no thing that could have just come to your mind that can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
The offer of mercy and forgiveness is for you today no matter what you've done. God sees you and knows you and you can't hide it from him. David tried. He tried to hide it, but God loved him so much that he sent Nathan to confront him so that the relationship could be restored. God was pursuing for the relationship to be restored. And that same offer is given to you in Jesus today.
So there's a couple just little points of application as we close up here. How do we apply this? First, we do exactly what this Psalm does at the end. We pray and ask God to search us and to examine us. We actually want that. We want God to point out our mess.
And the truth is, guys, we can't see it sometimes. I challenge you, sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and just pray, God, reveal anything to me that is hidden from you or hidden from me. Anything that I'm trying to hide from you, point out any sin and just write down whatever God brings to your mind. And then pray and ask God for forgiveness and receive it. Maybe you go to people in your group and you ask them, we've got blind spots. Ask the people in your group, they'll point out your sin.
They may have a better grasp on it than you do. But we can do that. And when they point it out, don't be defensive, confess it, ask for forgiveness. Second point is that we ask the Lord to lead us in the way everlasting. Just like David does. To lead you on the right path, to hem you in, behind and before, to lead you on the path of everlasting life, to keep you.
In fact, it may be that you have to put feet to the prayers that you just prayed asking for the Lord to reveal it, that He might help you to be obedient. And if you're in the room this morning and you're not a Christian, I want you to understand something. God knows and sees everything and there actually is judgment for sin. But His desire is that you might run to Him and accept His love and His grace and His forgiveness. Your steps are exactly the same as what I said above. Ask God to show you your sin and confess it and accept His love and forgiveness and then walk in it.
You don't leave terrified. You've been offered something better. We all have. Kelly and Isaac are going to come back up and we're going to take communion. Communion is the tangible reminder of what Jesus did so that we can actually receive the grace and forgiveness that I'm talking about. That Jesus' body was broken and His blood was shed so that no matter what we've done, we can receive forgiveness.
And so if you aren't a Christian, I beg you to see God for who He is. He knows you. He knows your words and your thoughts and your actions and you can't hide it from Him. He chose. He chose to make a way for you to be in relationship with Him. So that's what we're asking you to do is to consider.
Consider that. Confess it before the Lord. And the truth is if you do that, then come. Come take communion for the first time and celebrate what Jesus has done for you. But if you're not ready to do that, we want you to sit and consider the weight of what we've talked about this morning.
And if you're a Christian, I want you to sit and ask the Lord to expose any grievous ways in us to lead us in the way everlasting, to quit hiding, to bring it into the light. Maybe there's something in your past that is haunting you. It doesn't have to. It doesn't have to. He offers you grace and forgiveness. Accept it.
And then when you're ready, come and take communion. Come and celebrate what Jesus has done for you. Let's pray. God, you know us and you see us and you're with us. And in spite of everything that we've done, you desire for us to be in relationship with you. And you have made a way for that to be possible.
So all across the room right now, Lord, I pray that you would go to work on our hearts, that we would confess our sins before you, we would confess our fears before you and bring it into the light so that you might forgive us. And we can walk in freedom, Lord. We're not chained by our past. We're not chained by the things that we've done. Lord, we can be free in Jesus. And it's in his name we pray.
Amen. I'm just going to play for a minute. I want to ask you to just pray and to consider all around the room.
Psalm 19: The General, Specific Knowledge of God
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Today. So you can go to page 259 in your blue Bibles. The text will also be on the screen. Sometimes with people, you get a very general picture of who they are, but it takes time to get to know them specifically. You listen to their stories, get to hear more about them, and then the picture of who they are gets more colored in. That was true for me with my grandfather.
My grandfather passed when I was 10, and as a child, I had a very general picture of who he was. I knew he was kind of this Titan-esque type figure in our family. I knew that he was a good man, a respected businessman, but as a child, there's only so much you can know about the depths of your grandfather. He passed away, and then in the years that followed, I got stories passed down to me. I got to learn more about him. I got to hear from my grandmother while she was still alive, stories about who he was.
I got to hear from my mom, from different people who knew him, from people that worked for him. I mean, even he's been gone for almost 20 plus years, and about a month ago, I went to a place to get my hair cut that I don't normally go to, and I sat in the chair, and this woman in her 70s started cutting my hair, and we started chatting it up, and sure enough, she cut my grandfather's hair all those years ago and gave me more stories of who he was. And it helps complete the picture for me of who my grandfather was. It happens with people, because you can know them generally, but you get to know more about them.
You hear their stories. You get to know them more specifically, and the same is with our God, as what we're going to see in Psalm 19 this morning. The Psalm is going to start with this general picture of God as revealed in creation. Creation gives us a general picture of God, and that is known as the doctrine of general Revelation. And then the next section, we're going to see that the word of God gives us a more specific picture, that the stories that have been passed down to us in the scriptures help give us a different picture that helps fill in who God is, and that's known as the doctrine of special Revelation that we're going to see.
And then the Psalm is going to close out with what our response should be to this God. So let me pray for us, and then we'll jump into the text. Father, I thank you that we get to worship you, that we get to sing praises to you, and we get to sit under the authority of your word. God, I pray this morning that you would help us be present, that you'd help us listen, that you'd help us respond in faith and repentance and in praise. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
All right, so we're going to be starting off in verse 1. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. So the psalmist starts by saying, look up, see the heavens, see how it proclaims the glory of God. Now, glory is a hard word for us to conceptualize. It's a hard word for us to really understand. Like, I can tell you that it means his splendor, his majesty, the honor and deference that is due to him, but that's still abstract and hard to picture.
But what we see here is that creation helps us picture glory, that God's creation helps us understand it further, that when you look at the heavens, you can see that. When you look at a sunrise or a sunset, you can visualize the glory of God. Like, when I was in college, I did a study abroad program called Semester at Sea, and got to travel around the world on a ship, and a lot of days on the ship, I'd sit out and look at the sunset that would drop into the ocean, and then I woke up for one sunrise, because all I could muster in college is to get up for one sunrise. I had one sunrise and a bunch of sunsets.
But man, when you see the sunrise and the sunset over the open ocean, it's beautiful. It's unbelievable. There's something transcendent, like surpassing about a sunrise and a sunset that everyone feels when you see it. That's why the author of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, when he is describing a sunrise, he says, how small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings and the presence of great elemental forces of nature. Now, he's not a Christian. He was a philosophical rationalist.
But he even says, in the face of a sunrise, how small and petty are our ambitions and our strivings. And he says, in the face of great elemental forces of nature, but someone who doesn't believe in God says, I feel small in the presence of something so big. And he's tapping into something that we just understand. There's a reason that we don't look at the sky and immediately think, oh, what a beautiful array of colors as the light is bending along the horizon. Like, we don't go technical. Even the most hardened atheists would look up at the sky and have to suppress this impressive feeling of transcendence.
When you look at a sunrise and sunset, that is glory. That's what that feeling is. It's we're tapping into the glory because creation declares the glory of God. The sunrise and sunset, the heavens shows his handiwork, reveals who the artist is. So when I'm with my kids and we're driving and we see a sunset, I say, kids, guys, look, look at what God has painted for us this evening.
How beautiful is that? How wonderful is that? To help us see and feel like this is the work of God on display. And it isn't just the day that reveals his glory. It's the night. In verse two, it says day to day pours out speech and night to night reveals knowledge.
The creation isn't just speaking. It's isn't just declaring. It's speaking. It's pouring forth knowledge. And night to night, it's giving us more knowledge of who God is. A few months back, I think I mentioned this in a sermon a while back, that I was reading my Garden and Gun magazine, which is what I do these days.
But I was reading it. And I learned that you could look at the, that you could see the Milky Way with the naked eye in certain parts of the world that don't have light pollution. I was like, you can actually see this thing? I was like, that, goals, I'm in. Like, I want to do that. Like, you can, you can look at, in certain parts of the world, just look up at the sky and see that.
I mean, how unbelievable is that? That's a, that's a, just a camera, you guys. Took that picture. The next one that you can stare up at the heavens in a way that the psalmist probably would have. This psalmist, they don't have light pollution back then. They're not dealing with what we got right now.
Hey, look at that in the sky when it's clear in certain parts of the year and see how powerful that picture is and feels so small. When you see something so beautiful, when you encounter this type of glory, you feel smaller and smaller, like you're part of something that is much bigger. Scientists will say that, they say that the, it's debated, but the universe is somewhere around 93 billion light years in diameter. Okay, so a light year is 6 trillion miles. So 93 billion times 6 trillion equals a lot of math.
And, and that's, and they said that's the observable universe. Some theorize that it's, it's even bigger than that. Like there's a new telescope that's out. This is kind of a new thing that's went online this week. The James Webb telescope took a picture that the Hubble telescope couldn't take as clear as this. That's an actual galaxy.
That's, that's a, that's a picture of God's grand creation. Like God made this. He, he, he is bigger than this. When you catch a glimpse of that and his greatness and his vastness, you're tapping into his glory, you're witnessing the glory of his creation. The, the fact that our God thought this into existence, made this out of nothing. It's incredible.
And that glory echoes across the world in verse three. It says, there is no speech, nor are there words whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the ends of the earth, to the end of the earth. One commentator said it this way, that creation resounds with a speech that human beings can neither hear nor understand. We just, we can't wrap our minds around how big this is. The psalmist continues, and then he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
But the imagery being here, that it got to set a wedding tent. The sun comes out like a bridegroom who after consummating his marriage is joyfully bursting forth every morn. And in verse six, it says, its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them. And there's nothing hidden from its heat. In Akkadian and Sumerian mythology, which I'm sure is what many of you dabble in in your spare time. But this is a dead, dead language, a dead religion, people group from, you know, 3,000 years ago.
But in their mythology, they have, they would worship a sun God, and they would use very similar language like this. It would burst forth from the wedding chambers every morning. And commentators theorize that maybe the language being so similar here is a bit of a shot that God is bigger than that. Not an object that we worship as it comes forth every morning, that he stretched the tent out for it. He created all of it and stands over all creation. So this first section of the Psalm poetically paints the picture known as general Revelation, a doctrine of general Revelation.
That when you look at the heavens, you gain knowledge of his power, of his wisdom, of his beauty, of his majesty, just by witnessing creation. That's why in verse 2 it says, day to day pours out speech and night to night reveals knowledge. That creation gives us a general picture of who God is. That's what Paul is getting at in Romans 1. In Romans 1 verses 19-20 he says, for what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made so that they are without excuse.
What he's trying to help us see is, is that when you look at creation, when you witness this, that you're getting a general glimpse of the invisible attributes of God, namely his eternal power and his divine nature, is evident in creation. It is why even the most hardened atheists can look at a sunrise and feel something and feel like they're a part of something bigger than themselves. Feel like that what they're seeing and what they're witnessing is transcendent, which shouldn't even exist for their understanding and their worldview. It is because creation points to its creator. That's why he goes on to say, they're without excuse.
That when you experience creation, you have a general understanding and a knowledge of who God is. No matter how hard we try to explain the beauty of that, of a sunrise and a sunset, as some subjective experience, no, this points to our God. Now, let me say one last thing on this. For the Christian that is witnessing this, this helps us picture glory better. This helps us understand glory better. C.S.
Lewis in The Four Loves said, But nature gave the word glory a meaning for me. Meaning that looking at nature helped him understand glory better. I still do not know where else I could have found one. I do not see how the fear of God could ever, could have ever meant to me anything but the lowest prudential efforts to be safe if I had never seen certain ominous ravines and unapproachable crags. Which is really thick C.S. Lewis philosophical language.
But what he's saying there is, is I wouldn't have understood glory, I wouldn't have understood the fear of God had I not looked at some of the scariest aspects of creation. The ominous ravines, the unapproachable crags. What he's saying is, is that creation, that nature helps us understand this. That the sunrise and the sunset helps us see the divine beauty of God. That when you witness a very powerful storm and a fearfulness. I remember years ago I was camping on Lake Murray and we were on a tiny little island and a storm blew through.
And it blew our campsite into the water and we'd get pounded by wind and rain and thunder and lightning all around. And I felt so small and helpless. And that was just a small, tiny taste of the power of God. And that helps us picture, helps us feel, helps us understand what the fear of God and the glory of God is. So as Christians, listen, this means you should get outside a little bit.
Alright? Seriously, get off the phone. Put down the game controller. Get out of the meta. Whatever it is. Whatever your speed is.
And go experience God's creation. Like see it and witness it. So that we can have a better feeling, understanding for glory. So he walks through that. Gives us this general picture of God. And then he gets to the next section which is going to be a more specific picture.
Starting in verse 7. The law of the Lord is perfect. Reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure. Making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right.
Rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure. Enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean. Enduring forever. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous all together.
So, while creation gives us this general picture, the scriptures are going to color that in. It's going to give God definition. It's going to help us see the hows and the whys in understanding who our God is. Which I appreciate. That helps. The scriptures helps us really enjoy God better.
Like years ago, growing up, there was a big song when I was a kid called Closing Time. Right? Love that song. Right? And as a kid, really enjoying it. Good song.
But later, years later, the songwriter, the lead singer said, Listen, I wrote that song about becoming a father. It's not about closing time at a bar. It's about becoming a father where the next chapter of your life is about to start. And it's going to be very different. That's why he ends the song saying, Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. And I was like, man, when you understand the depth and the commentary behind that, that's powerful.
It helps us appreciate it better. That's what the scriptures help us do. It helps us see and savor God in new and better ways. And in this poetic section we just walked through, there are six synonyms for the scriptures. It says the law, the testimony, the precepts, the commandment, the fear, and rules. So we're going to work through each of these.
He says in verse 7, The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. So the law there is the first five books of the Old Testament. The Torah. So that would be Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That was, at the time, that was their scriptures. Later on, more Old Testament scriptures are starting to be added.
But for them, in this time period, they're looking at the law, which is their scriptures. And the psalmist says the law of the Lord is perfect. It is perfect. It is blameless. And we look, as Christians, at the scriptures, the very Bibles that are in this room. We say it's perfect.
When we say that, there is skepticism that creeps in. Some people will say, yeah, how do you know it's perfect? You don't even have the original manuscripts. And the reality is, is that the longer I study this, the longer I study the scriptures, the more unbelievably compelling this case is. How trustworthy and perfect and true they are. That's why we use words like inerrancy and infallible.
Because even though we don't have the original manuscripts, there are more manuscripts, more copies of the scriptures than any ancient text. And it's not even remotely close. There are thousands and thousands and thousands of those manuscripts all around the world. And now digitized on the internet. And when you overlap each of them, okay, over 99% of it lines up perfectly. I mean, think about 2,000 years or 1,500 years of a copying tradition.
And that lines up perfectly. And the less than 1% where this word is used here and this word is used here. There's an unbelievable tradition of scholars who are way, way, way smarter than me. That have studied the original languages their whole life. And they come up with really helpful explanations for why there's some differences there. It's unbelievably trustworthy and true.
And then other skeptics will come in and say, well, what about the contradictions in the Bible? And I just say, well, where? Show me. Point them out. And a lot of times, look at Google. Find them.
But you can work through each of those. Work through each of the things. You get the commentaries out and some closer study and basic logic. You can work through a lot of them. I remember in college, I studied religion at a school that did not believe the scriptures were true at all. And they knew I was, I did.
And one of my professors, she came at me real hard one time. She's like, oh, you believe the Bible's in error, right? All right, well, tell me the story of Noah. Did they load up two by two or was it seven? And as a new Christian, I was like, oh, no. I'll get back to you.
And I said, no. But a little closer study realizes, oh, wait, no. They did load up two by two and they added seven of clean animals. Why? Because those were for sacrifices they were going to offer later when they got off the boat. God didn't want to have these species go extinct.
Just basic stuff like that. That's a closer study of the text. Over and over and over again, the longer I studied the scriptures, the more I realized the law of the Lord is perfect. It is perfect. It revives the soul. Like someone wandering in the desert with cracked lips, thirsty.
And they stumble upon an oasis and they drink of the water. So the scriptures revive the broken soul. The law of the Lord is perfect. He goes on to say, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The testimony of the Lord is sure. It's trustworthy.
It's a trustworthy thing. It is secure. It means you can bank your life on it. We as Christians believe that. We believe that our life, our authority is God in the scriptures. It's God's word that shapes us.
It's our foundation for how we live our life. And some people would say, well, why would you choose something so old, so ancient, so archaic? Why can't you get with the times? Why can't you have a more updated understanding? And when that happens, a good thing to do is, okay, well, what is your foundation for belief? What is your foundation for how you live your life, for how you understand the bigger things in life?
And if you can ask some questions like, why, well, where do you get that from? Well, why? And press in a little further. There's typically two main places where the skeptic will land. It will land that they are their own authority, which is what I believe. Well, they are their own authority, or they place their authority in a handful, just a few different, mostly dead, older white guys, Darwin, Nietzsche, Freud.
But it's like, no, I believe that our foundation is more secure than that. I believe wholeheartedly that the scriptures that have guided the people of God for thousands of years still holds immense value. Like, last summer, we spent a summer in the Proverbs. And we looked at the Proverbs, which are, they're not promises. They're proverbial advice, guidelines for how to live your life so that you can stay out of poverty, so that, like, a passionate lover doesn't try to kill you. You know, basic advice for life.
We looked at that, and it's like, no, this is wisdom that is worth building your life upon. And if you do that, it generally goes well for you. There are a lot of young guys who just lost all of their life savings on NFTs. And if you want to know, if you don't know what NFTs are, it's okay. You never need to know what NFTs are. Just, it's basically a Ponzi scheme for people under the age of 40 that like really bad digital art.
Okay? Gambling on that kind of stuff. But they lost everything on that. And it's like if you just paid attention to the wisdom of the scriptures, which Proverbs 13, 11 says, wisdom or wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Man, if you built your life upon that, it generally will go better for you. That's worked well for the people of God for the last 3,000 years.
So when I was researching NFTs, I was like, oh, this feels kind of schemey. This feels a little bit better. If you build your life upon it, it is trustworthy and true. Verse 8, it says, The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The precepts, these are the rules. They are right.
That if you live your life in line with the will of God, you'll get more than happiness as the American dream defines it. You'll tap into some eternal joy that rejoices the heart. He goes on to say, the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The commandments of the scriptures, the teachings, where God commands us to do a thing, that's actually pure and good for us. And it opens our eyes to what is ultimately good. One of my friends from study abroad, her husband, he got an acting role on a TV show that just got released.
And I've been watching, we're Facebook friends, I've been watching him post about it all the last year. He's like, I'm going to be on a show with Chris Pratt. I was like, sweet. So I turned it on, I watched the, it just dropped on Amazon, the terminal list. I watched the first couple episodes. I saw him in the first episode.
I was like, man, this is awesome. And then I was like, oh, this, this is just going to be a super violent show where he just brutally murders everyone who wronged him. I got to look at it ahead of time. I knew there wasn't like sex or nudity and stuff that wouldn't be good for my soul, but I didn't fully realize it was just going to be completely vengeance. He's going to brutally murder everyone. I was like, no, I'm good.
I don't need this. Because if you have a framework for your life that says, if you basically, if you, the prism for how you live your life was basically two basic commands. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, with all your strength, and love other people, your neighbor, enemies, etc. If you love God and love other people, and that was how you made decisions, you'd realize there's certain things like, no, this doesn't actually help me love God. Does this actually inspire anything that is good for my soul? I'll pass.
It's because the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. Now, we don't normally see fear as a synonym for Scripture, but here it fits and it's like, oh, this is what he's getting at. The fear of the Lord is clean. And what this is tapping into is that the Scriptures help us fear God. Now, over the last 20-ish years in the American church, there's been like an attempt to say, well, fear of God, when the command says fear God, that actually what it's getting at is it's just saying worship Him.
Just revere Him. Reverence and awe and worship. And it's like, no, not quite. Yes, it does imply that. Fear is worship and awe and reverence. But it also means what it literally says, fear.
There's a command here to fear God. It is good for us to fear the Lord. Yes, He is gracious and good and kind and merciful. And all of those attributes. And also, He is the scariest object in the universe. He should be feared above all things.
We should absolutely see that. Because it is clean and endures forever. The roles of the Lord are true and righteous all together. That's highlighting more of the same things that we just walked through. That's how He paints the Scriptures. With these pictures.
They help us understand God. They help us build our life on something bigger. And then in verse 10, He summarizes. More to be desired are they than gold. Even much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned. In keeping them there is great reward. He says they're more desirable than gold. Gold was the most valuable and the most valuable objects of their time. Honey, honey. They didn't have sugar.
Cane, like us. That was the sweetest thing of their time. So He says, the Scriptures are more valuable than the most valuable object you could lay hold of. It's sweeter than the most sweetest thing you can taste. That's what George was tapping into last week when he said delight in the law of the Lord. There is, listen, there is immense value.
There's immense value in experiencing our Creator and His Word. By enjoying our God. By reading the message of the Gospel from Genesis to Revelation. By these Scriptures we are warned and we are rewarded. The Scriptures color in this picture wonderfully. We get this general, big picture of who God is.
We look at creation. And then it gets further colored in. And we get to see more of who our God is. And why He made us. And why He would redeem us. And how He redeems us.
As we look at the Scriptures more and more. And if we do that. If you look at creation. And see how big our God is. And then look at the stories that are passed down. It will help you understand our God better.
In the same way that a 10 year old can't understand their grandfather. I have a general picture. It takes stories being passed down. And we have the Scriptures that are passed down to us. That help us picture who this God is. Just look at the Gospels, y'all.
Look at the stories of Jesus. Over and over again. There's so many stories about our God in the flesh. That are just wonderful. Like I think about Jesus when He heals the leper. In Matthew 8.
When this man that has leprosy comes to Him. And it wasn't just that he had a disease. That he had to be healed. That he was seen by his culture as disgusting. And dirty. And had to live outside the people of God.
He couldn't be in community with other people. That he comes to Jesus. And Jesus puts His hand on him. And says be clean. And He heals him. And changes that man's life.
And that story happens over and over and over again. Even in a more spiritual reality now. For those of us who feel dirty. And broken. In a need of redemption. He cleanses us through His righteousness.
And His blood. When I think about Jesus on the cross. And He is dying. And He says, Father forgive them. They know not what they do. I look at that and say, how could you say that?
Jesus, they're murdering you. You're talking about people who are murdering you. And you're concerned about their forgiveness. How beautiful is that? How glorious is that? I think about even smaller stories.
Where Jesus, even after His resurrection. He's at the end of the Gospel of John. He has this moment with Peter and James and John. Where he's about to teach Peter about the need for shepherding. But they're on the boat.
And they're fishing. And they see Jesus on the shore. This is before He ascends into heaven. They see Him on the shore. And they come ashore. And it's just a simple picture of Jesus making breakfast for them.
He's cooking fish for them. Which is not my kind of breakfast. But if Jesus was doing it, I'm in. And He, just a simple, He's the God of the universe. He could have done it anyway. But He's simply, humbly making them food.
I mean, guys, there is story after story after story after story after story. That helps us see how good our God is. How much He loves us. How much He cares for us. How glorious He is. And how better it is to live with Him into eternity.
And when you finally understand that. When you see the general picture of God in creation. And are overwhelmed by His glory. And you mind the scriptures to see who our God is. Your only response should be how this psalmist finishes. 12 through 14.
Here's how He responds. Who can discern His errors? That's rhetorical. Nobody. Who can discern His errors? Who can call out God?
He says, declare me innocent from head and faults. He says, God, declare me innocent of a sin that I cannot see. And then He goes on to say, Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. So He says, keep me from the hidden sins that I cannot see.
And keep me from the willful sins. I don't want any of it. The stuff that I can't see. The willful ones that I do. God, keep me from all of my rebellion. Don't let that have dominion over me.
He says, then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression. And then He goes on to finish this off with this unbelievably poetic and powerful request. He says, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer. He says, God, let everything. Let everything.
My thoughts. The meditations of my heart. Let the words that come out of my mouth. Let everything. Let all of it be acceptable in your sight. Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
The God who created the universe and created me and has every fiber of my being. Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer. What a powerful prayer. And as Christians, we read this Psalm. This side of the cross and empty tomb. We know how to do this.
And it's as simple as Romans 10, 9. Because you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. You will be saved. That is how we are blameless before the Lord. When you encounter how big God is and how glorious God is. And you realize how much we've sinned against Him.
How unacceptable on our own we are before Him. When you realize how our sin earns death and hell. When you realize that part of the gospel. And then you encounter how much He loves us because of His great love. The only reasonable response to the gospel is this. It is throwing our lot in with this God.
And saying, I believe in you, my rock, my redeemer. Y'all, we as Americans are so unbelievably blessed to have access to God. Where we can look up at the heavens and see the glory of God. And have a Bible on our phone. We have unbelievable access to our God. And if you're figuring this out.
If you're feeling out Christianity. You're not sure about this yet. I invite you. Look up at the stars. See the unbelievable design. Of this universe.
I mean, look at the earth. And how it's perfectly positioned from the sun. At the right distance. With the right tilt. All the way down to how the cells in our body are designed. And how the, like our eye and the complexities.
Look at all of it. And see. This points to our Creator. And then I invite you. From that position. Come to the Scriptures.
And see who He is. And if you are a Christian. Witness creation. And worship Him. Search the Scriptures. And delight in Him.
Don't miss that. Life is busy. Okay. It is boom, boom, boom, boom. Death. That's it.
It moves very, very quickly. And we as Americans are very, very busy. And fill our days with all kinds of things. Don't miss this. That when you're driving into work. And you're concerned.
And worried about the things you've got to do at work. And you see the sunrise coming up over. Don't miss that. Look at that sunrise. And be reminded of how big. And how glorious.
And how majestic. And how amazing our God is. And respond like this psalmist. When he says, Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. See the sunrise.
And go, God, you're so big. And you're so glorious. God, thank you for redeeming me. Thank you for loving me with a fierce, unbelievable love that I don't deserve. That when you look out in your yard. And you see the birds.
Mining the grass for food. Every morn. Remember. That God provides for His creation. Look at the Scripture. Remember what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount.
In Matthew 6. That's a picture of how God provides. That He provides. He takes care of His creation. That when you are in a storm. And your house is shaking.
Or an earthquake. Because that's a thing here nowadays. When you feel that. And you feel scared. Let that roll up into what the psalmist says. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins.
Let them not have dominion over me. Let that fear roll up into God. You're so big. You're so powerful. Don't let the hidden faults. Or my willful sin against you.
Don't let that roll over me. Let that roll up into worship. And praise. And obedience. That comes from a position of deep love for God. Tonight.
As the moon rises. I think it's a full moon. Maybe. As it rises up over. The horizon. You see it against the backdrop of the stars.
And you see how big and vast. This universe is. And you think about that. The God who made all of that. Who stands over all of it. Knows every part of who you are.
Knows your past. Your present. Your future. And holds it all in his hands. Respond like the psalmist. Let the words of my mouth.
And the meditation of my heart. Be acceptable in your sight. Oh Lord. My rock. And my redeemer. Let creation.
And the beautiful. Word of God. Help us. Worship. Our glorious. God.
Psalm 1: Delight in His Word
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning my name is George Garcia and as Spencer said I am one of the community group leaders here at Mill City Church Casey we are going to be in Psalm 1 today that will be on page 254 of the blue Bibles if you do not own a Bible or do not have one currently please take that one today not only is today's sermon from the Word of God it is about the Word of God so today would be. A wonderful day for you to take home a Bible and since it is about the Bible we're going to be talking about reading the Bible now reading the Bible is something that I struggled to do a lot growing up and even to this day whether it was because I was lazy or I just simply forgot or because even when I was reading the Bible I did not know what I was doing growing up I didn't. Really grow with a lot of direction and a lot of explanation as to why reading the Bible is so important all I was told that it was just something that a Christian should do when I actually began implementing Bible reading as I grew as I grew and as I mature it's just I just added it to the list of something to do I just added it to my routine which I was fine with reality is for me I'm someone who. Can do the exact same thing every single day I can wake up I can shower read my Bible go to work come home play guitar if I have some time catch up with my wife eat dinner and go to sleep I could do that every single day for the rest of my life and I would have no problem with that now to some of you that sounds like a prison routine to me your prison is my dream regardless even if you grew up Bible.
Reading all the time or you've tried to implement Bible reading your life or even if you've never even opened up the Word of God Psalm 1 serves as a reminder and an explanation as to why we should not only just read the Bible but we delight in the Bible so we're going to read Psalm 1 it's only six verses then I'm going to pray for us and then we're going to tackle each verse one at a time Psalm 1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night verse 3 he is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither and all that he does he prospers the wicked are not so but are like. Chaff that the wind drives away therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous for the Lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish let me pray Lord we are humbled and undeserving of this opportunity to open up your Word and I ask as we read through Psalm 1 may it serve to remind us and explain to us why we get to. Meditate and delight in your finished work Lord I ask that if there's any area any anywhere in our hearts that are distracting us from this morning I ask that you take that away and we focus and we pay attention and pay their respect to your Word that we are supposed to I pray this in your name amen verse 1 blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the way of the.
Sinner nor sits in the seat of scoffers now we're not starting off with the positives clearly we go from walking in the counsel of the wicked to then standing to then taking a seat among the scoffers this is a natural flow of sin sin is a very progressive thing and since we are naturally inclined to be comforted by sin this is sin this is the process of sin in our life an example of this. Is actually myself in the workplace I work in my free time not in my free time the summer is my free time I work at a school I am a PE teacher which is awesome but as if there's any teachers in the room you know that during the school year teaching can be draining and because it's so draining and sometimes it feels unrewarding it leaves room for gossip and for slandering so usually when I'm walking. The halls before or after school because we don't ever get an opportunity to talk to each other during school I'll listen I'll hear some gossip in the classroom or just wherever the break room is and I'll stand there I'll be walking then I'll stand I'll listen to it and I'll think to myself it's not worth it I shouldn't do it but that person's pretty terrible let me just see what they have to. Say let's just let me just let me just walk in we'll see and then before I know it I've taken a seat among the scoffers and I am either condoning what is being said or I'm contributing to it and it just happens just like that and so the reality is what verse one is getting at is what how sin progresses in our lives we also see this in social media where you can see someone asking for.
Help or advice and with the situation they're going through and all you you read through the comments you read through whatever is being responded to them and it's just terrible it's strictly worldly advice there's nothing it's rooted on but the problem is we go from mindlessly scrolling then all of a sudden we're also contributing that same type of advice we see this in movies and videos and shows we watch. We get so hooked they're very clever with how they bring us in and before we know it or being more influenced by the show we watch than by the word of God we see this with political commentary a show that I used to watch or listen to was the Ben Shapiro show I know Spencer has mentioned that a couple of times it's a political commentary show it's a conservative political commentary show which essentially. It's just an excuse to lash out on anything that isn't conservative and you know what I love it I love it because in my sinful nature for some reason is drawn to that is drawn not necessarily to the political idea but to the idea of someone lashing out on someone else and so I've had to stop watching it and listening to it because I get hooked. And I get influenced by it all of a sudden I'm I'm thinking these things that uh the show talks about we also see this with lust and the over sexualization of pretty much everything you can just be watching a movie with friends or your spouse and then some triggering or provocative scene comes up and now you can't get that out of your head and before you know it you're indulging.
And acting upon those thoughts and feelings now when you take a seat somewhere you normally take a seat when you're comfortable right you don't take a seat somewhere and stay there for a long time if you're not comfortable and so we see that in verse one that the last step is to take a seat among the scoffers because that's when you get comfortable and so we need to take a look a closer look at what. Gives us comfort where are areas in which we have taken a seat among the scoffers or even what we're playing with fire what catches our attention what makes you stop in that hallway and what makes you finally eventually join the psalmist goes on to give a direct count to this in verse two verse two but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night. Now there's a very it's a big u-turn here we go from what the blessed man does not do to what he does do and what he does is he delights in the law of the Lord the hebrew meaning of delight being pleasure so what he is doing is he's taking pleasure in the law of the Lord now side note but also very important to the rest of this is that when the psalmist wrote this they were referencing the. Ten commandments when they said law of the Lord they were referencing the ten commandments which was the written word of God in the new testament we see the writers and the authors reference Psalms Proverbs as well as the ten commandments for the same exact reason it's the word of God so we fast forward to today and we have this right here so when we read that in Psalm when he meditates.
In the law of the Lord we are referring to the written word of God he is meditating on the written word of God now with knowing that we can go back to verse two the psalmist goes from listing what not to do to an all-encompassing encompassing word in delight the word delight is used several times in the Psalms all pointing to ultimate joy and satisfaction it's not just don't do this or don't do that. It's take pleasure in and delight in the law of the Lord this is why this is a the way verse one and verse two kind of go together is verse two is a complete uh opposite reaction it is it is a it is a counter to walking in the counsel of the wicked standing in the way of sinners and sitting in the seat of scoffers and it uh what that means is what the psalmist is trying to get at is that delighting. In the law of the Lord is the fundamental alternative to walking and sitting and standing in sin I'll say that again delighting in the law of the Lord is the fundamental alternative to walking and sitting and standing in sin now why is that the case well because the word of God is a story from front to back that all points to Jesus alistair beg who is a pastor in cleveland ohio put it like this. We find christ in all the scriptures in the old testament he has predicted and the gospels he has revealed in Acts he has preached in the epistles he has explained and a Revelation he has expected in Genesis God tells us that the serpent he will he tells the serpent he will bruise his head with the offspring of that woman and that eventual offspring being Jesus Jesus arrives in the new testament and we.
See miracles and his teachings all throughout Matthew Mark Luke and John such as bringing lazarus back to life turning water into wine and revealing that he knew the woman at the well these are just all of the countless examples of Jesus's miracles and his work that in Acts we see people like paul and barnabas preach the finished work of christ to the nations and then some areas and people need. Correcting or refining so they need Jesus explained to them they need that finished work explained to them so that's why we have the letters to the people in corinth and galatia and colossus and then in Revelation the bible ends on the expected return of Jesus and it's not just like oh he's coming back now it's if you take a look at revelations it is a triumphant return he will come back and collect his. People so all throughout the bible from front to back it's all about Jesus it's all about the wonderful story of Jesus coming to the earth and reconciling his people we get to delight in that story that's why it's the fundamental alternative now we can focus on the word delight a little bit it's used here purposefully delighting in something is an external and an internal reaction to something take for. Example you have a friend and by God's grace I do have a friend in our group by joe benton who uh he has a smoker so just picture that you have a friend who has a smoker and they text you like five in the morning because that's usually when these things happen and they say hey I'm gonna smoke a brisket today come on down later tonight first of all wonderful friend and second of all I'm there.
And once you get there you know you wait all day they pull that brisket out and I've just been smoking for several hours and it's being pulled ever so easily because it's been there for like 10 11 hours and it's on your plate mac and cheese and baked beans are there but they're not important right now you take that first bite and you just take in that moment I know some of you are already thinking. Of it and I know lunch is later but there you take in that moment and in that moment I am delighting in what's in front of me I'm delighting in the food in the brisket I am delighted it's not only internal it's external right I'm saying but I'm also like oh this is this is amazing but the crazy thing is ever since I found ever since I got that text ever since I was told that. My whole day got better I've been delighting the entire day my day was that much more enjoyable because I was looking forward to what was to come and then when I partook in it forget about it that's when the song that's what the psalmist is trying to get at here delighting in the law of the Lord day and night to the light in the law of the Lord day and night is. To constantly be influenced and affected by the word of God so much so that you are so eager to return to it after you're done reading it and you're eager to return to it because all you're thinking about or at least what some of the things you're thinking about are the word of God it's keeping you in check it's helping you respond to your co-workers it's helping you be loving and patient to people that.
Don't deserve it and the only way you can do that is by delighting in the law of the Lord we move on to verse three he is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither and all that he does he prospers now we're going now we're seeing what the blessed man is what what the word blessed is the streams of water that plant the tree is the. Word of God the tree mentioned has a firm foundation it has one that is everlasting and solid and that's where we need to be right where we are where we're naturally inclined to be is we like to walk and listen to the counsel of the wicked we like to stand in the way of sinners and we like to sit down because it's comfortable because it's easy it doesn't take that much effort. What we want to be is like the tree that's planted by streams of water that lasts forever even in seasons of difficulty even in seasons of suffering Jeremiah goes on to say it like this from Jeremiah 17 verses 7 through 8 blessed is the man who trusts whose trusts blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord whose trust is the Lord verse 8 he is like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream. And does not fear when heat comes for its leaves remain green and is not anxious in the year of drought for it does not cease to bear fruit what a wonderful picture that is of a tree that is planted by streams of ever flowing water and that is what is true for the christian who is delighting in the law of the Lord that seasons of suffering seasons of anxiousness don't feel that anxious they don't.
They don't you can bear it because you have the word of God you have the truth and the delight in that story that can bring you comfort peace and joy that actually lasts now if you look at me you can clearly tell that I've planted plenty of trees in my time regardless what I do know about planting a tree specifically trees that bear fruit or specifically fruit trees is that they bear fruit. And it bears fruit for the benefit of the planter and for those around it if you ever had a friend who gardens normally whenever their vegetables or fruits come in they come in a surplus and in almost and almost always because they come in a surplus they share it with those around them that's what it's like to be planted by streams of water the Lord delivers in a surplus. You prosper and you get to share that fruit with others you get to show love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control to those around you and it does not wither so you get to bear that fruit into eternity about been leading group for about four years now four and a half years and not that the first two years were bad by any means but something changed about two years ago. And you can chalk it up to people you know maybe we had some new people come in and they were great but something radically changed in our group and what that was was by God's grace we began to fall more in love with his word as a group and it came at a great time because then we multiplied we were a group that was in love with the word that was being taught the word that was talking constantly about the word.
And then we multiplied and now we have another group that meets in congress in the casey area and I know that they are being infatuated and in love with the word week in and week out and that changes that's what actually changes people it convicts it convicts us is the word of God and so and none of that has to do with the group leaders by the way it all has to do with his word. It's all because we decided that we we pressed on we kept reading his word that eventually it will it will change someone moving on to verse four the wicked are not so but are like chaff that the wind it drives away now this is a very contrasting image in that the chaff is being driven away by the wind we talked a little bit about this when we went uh when we were in Ruth but an example I can. Think of to kind of better picture it in your head is and and the reason I chose this example because I am a coffee snob but when you roast coffee beans uh it's a very tedious process you got to put it on the the roaster but on and off on and off it takes forever but after you actually do the roasting and the beans look like what we would all uh picture uh coffee beans to look like you have to put it into. A colander which I recently learned what I when I got married I learned what a colander was and you put it in the colander and you kind of shake it back and forth because you're trying to get rid of the skin of the bean or the chaff because it's no good you don't want that on your coffee bean the chaff brings no benefit to anyone and they have no foundation therefore it makes complete sense.
That the wind would drive it away charles spurgeon who was a preacher in the 1800s describes the chaff as intrinsically worthless dead unserviceable without substance and easily carried away it is very clear that the wicked have no foundation unlike the blessed one is planted by streams of ever-flowing water and the other one has nothing to stand on. It is driven away by the wind Psalm 1 is very very clear on this that's why I'm thankful for verses like 5 and 6 verse 5 therefore the wicked will not stand in judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous for the Lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish the one that walks in the counsel of the wicked the one that stands in the way of sinners and the one. That takes a seat with the scoffers will not stand with the congregation of the righteous it will be very clear to the Lord who is who we see this in Matthew John the baptist is making a reference to what Jesus will do Matthew 3 12 his winnowing fork is in his hand and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. Jesus will return for what is his the rest will not make it which is why I'm thankful and completely humbled by a verse like verse 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous now this is more than just knows about okay so when you when you read that uh it's like a spouse knowing you or like a best friend who knows you they know a lot about you you know that they know.
Your tendencies they know maybe they know some of your thoughts because maybe you you know you talk to them you confide in them but there is only one person one being who knows everything about you all the good and all the ugly and when you think about it it's kind of terrifying imagine if your best friend knew every single thing about you and you think they know a lot about you but imagine if they. Knew everything about you it would be quite terrifying but the one that knows you completely is God the righteous can have peace because a loving God in heaven knows their way and will protect and he will preserve them if there's anybody I would want to know me like that it would be him and one of the main reasons I can think of is because a lot of times people will use. Knowledge of you to hurt you right when people find things about you one of the reasons we get a little scared to confess sin scared to talk in group is because we're scared that people knowing this about me what are they going to think of me what are they going to say about me what are they going to talk to other people about when it comes to me a lot of times that is a very very terrifying thought. But we can have peace knowing that there is an omnipotent loving gracious God who knows us and he will not use that knowledge against you that is the that is the grace aspect of the Lord now you may be asking or telling yourself what if I'm not good at this what if I'm not good at reading the bible what if I've tried and I've tried and it came to nothing what if I just can't.
Here's my encouragement to you last summer I was part of the summer internship here and just to give you a little insight on the summer internship there's a lot of meetings a lot of classes you go it's it's it's pretty rigorous honestly and one of the biggest things about the internship is showing up on time and I love punctuality um I do so when I discovered that punctuality was a major. Component of this internship I was really excited to show off my arriving on time skills but second week in I forgot that I had a meeting with isaac so not only was I late I was non-existent for the meeting third week I was very late or arriving just on time to the things between monday and thursday my pride was being tested the final straw for me was on sunday as it was on a on a sunday. And I forgot that we were supposed to show up at 8 a.m here we're supposed to show up at the church at 8 a.m and at the time chat was my track leader I was on the pastoral and like teacher development track and chat was my track leader and I remember that I I had to I was like I have to apologize this is like the fifth time and I remember the walk of me going to apologize to him and even as I was apologizing. Him the shame that I felt of my failure was honestly unbearable I had my head down I was I was talking to him and I was like this because of all the shame that I felt and after I apologized I kind of just stood there and chat looked at me and he said hey chin up I thought okay but then he said you're fully known you're fully forgiven and you're fully loved by a.
Savior who would gladly do it again feel that remember that and continue your your day like you believe that notice he didn't just say hey chin up show up on time next time hey chin up maybe what you can do is this this this this and this to show up on time now he reminded me of the gospel the work is finished and even in our shortcomings such as reading the bible we get to be forgiven. And out of that out of that forgiveness and grace we are empowered to be more like him and part of that is delighting in his word so then how do we set ourselves up for success in reading the bible I have a couple of practical ways that can work first and foremost pray pray pray for the desire to read his word the reason praying is the first thing I could think of is because praying sets. Us up for success and because it is the acknowledgement and the remembering of why we are able to delight in his word if we skip this step if we don't pray if we don't ask the Lord to make us more like him and to desire his word then we're just doing good works that we're just we're just it's just something else to do and we'll be missing the entire point of delighting in his word second recognize it's a battle. If you struggle to meditate or even just read through the bible like any goal you start with pure discipline now uh I started uh working out for the first time in my life about two years ago and when we started this was me and two other guys we we were we were on it like three or four times a week that was crazy but then the second I let go of that discipline the second one of us.
Was like it went from four three to four times a week to two to three times a week to once or twice a week to maybe once every two months so my point in that is that stay disciplined to reading the word read it in the morning great time to read the word of God now I know some of you are saying I'm not a morning person my question to you is what time do you go to sleep the night before. Now my point don't get me wrong my point is not that reading in the morning is the way but my point in that question is what are you doing to set yourself up for an opportunity to read the word of God third set a specific goal so if I'm up here and I tell you that I want to learn a new language and add it to my arsenal of languages and I just say hey I just want to learn a new language. It's really easy if I just keep it at that broad vague goal it's really easy for me not to be held accountable to it and you really don't know what to ask me really all you can ask me is hey how's that new language going and I can just say it's all right it could be better but if I told you I want to learn 45 new words write three new sentences and be able to have. A one-minute conversation with someone in that new language and the new language being portuguese let's say then you would know exactly what to ask me when you come up to me hey how's portuguese going hey how many words have you learned what's your favorite word what's the sentence you wrote it'd be a lot more difficult for me to kind of make something up there so set a specific goal fourth ask people.
In your community group to hold you accountable more specifically we all have that one person ask that one person that you know will hold you accountable sometimes we selectively choose who to hold us accountable because we know maybe they're not going to ask us also I learned this term recently it's called the bystander effect. Don't just tell your entire group I struggle with reading with the bible gather in two or three people because the temptation if you tell 10 to 12 people is that they'll probably be like oh I'm sure he'll ask him about his bible reading I'm sure they'll ask right and the problem is if everyone does that no one's going to ask you about your bible reading to get about two or three people and that. Just decreases the chances of oh I'm sure I'll ask him lastly don't forget why we get to do this we get to do this because of Jesus's finished work on the cross that is what empowers us and changes us to be more like him and follow him there is no one like him the band is going to come up we're going to sing a song that is based on Psalm one and I want this to be our prayer and our. Encouragement for this week there's a line in the song that I really love and it's in the chorus so we're going to hear it and we're going to sing it over and over again form us more and more into a people who love your word I love that because it implies and it's it's humbling because it's us admitting that we need the Lord to be able to love his word on our own.
We will we will easily and so fast we will so quickly we will take a seat among the scoffers but we love his word we love him we love people because he loved us first because he finished the work on the cross that is why I love this line because it is just it is that we are admitting that we need him first also I love the word form because you're not it's not going to be something you. You all of a sudden fall in love with tonight and then you're reading the bible every day starting tomorrow when you form something it has stages it takes time it takes steps so don't lose heart don't be discouraged because you lost you didn't read it one day but in those days of our shortcomings remind yourself of the finished work on the cross remind we need to remember that we are forgiven. We are fully known and that knowledge will not be used against us that knowledge is actually what is what brings us to him and because of that we get to delight in the whole we get to delight in that the whole time we delight in the story of salvation and the truth of grace and the truth of reconciliation we get to delight in that and that will give us joy peace and comfort that is everlasting let's pray. God I pray that as we are singing this last song as we are just thinking of what Psalm one has to say about your word Lord I ask that you through your grace and your forgiveness and in our shortcomings Lord may we not use your grace to paralyze us but may we use your grace to motivate us to push us to empower us to delight in your law.
Oh remind us as we are reading and as we delight in your word or as we fight to delight in your word Lord remind us that even if we even if we don't understand even if it takes time Lord you're not going anywhere you will sustain us you will preserve us you will maintain us the whole way we are so appreciative of that we are so humbled by that Lord we pray all of this in your name amen.
Psalm 42: Why Are You Cast Down?
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Alright, so, if you've been around long enough, you know this. We don't line up sermon series and individual sermons with holidays that aren't Christmas and Easter. It's just not a thing that we do. We did last year do Psalm 31 on Mother's Day, but that was very much the exception, not the rule. So, it's not intentional to put a Psalm of lament right before July 4th, but it is where it landed on the calendar. And that's what we're looking at today is Psalm 42.
It'll be on page 268 in the blue Bibles that are right around you. You can grab one of those. You can also follow along on the screen as we walk through this. So, culturally, in America, we don't handle suffering and sadness very well. That's just a cultural thing we don't handle very well. And in the American church, we're not much different.
We don't handle that subject well either. I could give you lots of examples of how that proves to be true. I really just want to give you one this morning, and that is K-Love. That is Christian Radio. So, this might step on some toes. I'm mildly apologetic about it.
But, Christian Radio in this department is very painful. It's painful in general for many reasons. First off, there's a lot of stuff that ends up on the radio that just is bad. It's bad theologically, songs you should not sing, bad quality, songs that should be done differently. You know, there's lots of reasons. You know, the songs that come from churches that I would never recommend you ever visit personally, ever, ever, ever.
There's a variety of reasons why Christian Radio can be a landmine. But one of the ones that is more pertinent that K-Love really misses the Mark on is that they're literally branded as positive and encouraging. That's it. Positive and encouraging. And what that really means and how they define encouragement is very narrowly what they mostly mean. It's positive.
It's positivity. And, you know, that's kind of been a thing for years in Christian Radio. It's just like it's all, it's a lot, it's very, very happy, positive, positive, positive. And, listen, I'm not against encouragement. I think encouragement is a very biblical thing. But you've got to have a broader category for that.
And, you know, that's been a thing. But I didn't want to. I was like, you know, I haven't listened to Christian Radio in some time. So let me get on K-Love and listen. And as soon as I turned it on, this song got off. And this guy got on and was like, it's National Selfie Day.
He's like, and just got really excited about National Selfie Day. And then he had this little jingle that went with it that was, you know, turn that frown upside down. I was like, you've got to be kidding me. It took two minutes for me to hear this. And I was like, all right, no, I think they're on brand. I think they're sticking to what they do.
Okay. Here's why that's problematic. When life curb stomps your happiness, okay, when it destroys the good things that are happening in your life, you need more than just positivity. That's not going to cut it. But, I mean, listen, you need more than even solid, cheerful theological songs. All right.
Psalm 100 is glorious. I mean, that's a beautiful Psalm. Some of the songs we sing are very joyful. Great things he has done. But there's got to be more than that.
The Psalm book gives us more than just joyful songs. When life is hard, you need more than celebration. You need a dirge. You need lament. And the Psalm book gives us that as a holistic part of worship. That there are Psalms throughout the whole 150th Psalm book that give us this, and we're in one of them today.
And my hope is that this would expand a category of worship for us. But what we're going to see as we follow through this today is that godly lament does not seek to fix our pain and suffering and loss, but it will help us endure. And that is what Psalms do for us. They help us endure through it all. So we're going to see that this morning as we walk through this.
Let me pray for us, then we will jump in. God, I pray that you'd help us be present this morning as we walk through a Psalm that is heavier. There are folks that are in a joyous season right now. And I pray that this would speak to them, preparing their hearts for the day of suffering when it comes. There are folks in our church family that are suffering. That right now this is very apparent in their life.
And I pray, God, that you would use this Psalm to provide unbelievable comfort that is found in you. We ask this in Christ's name. Amen. Okay, so the Psalm book, the Psalms have subscripts underneath them that I'd argue probably go back to the original when it was recorded. And this Psalm 42 has that. It has a subscript that gives us some context.
And it says, To the choir master, a mascal of the sons of Korah. Now, we don't know what mascal means. It happens in the Psalms. There are certain words we don't know. It could be an artistic teaching type Psalm. But we do know who the sons of Korah are.
If you know the story of the sons of Korah, their descendant, their ancestor, is Korah. So Korah was a part of a rebellion that happened against Moses in the wilderness. And that rebellion did not go well for the people who rebelled. The earth literally gave way in judgment and swallowed them whole. So some of the sons of Korah survived this, and they bear the history of their ancestor's rebellion, of his unfaithfulness.
But they go on to do... This is a really cool redemption story. They go on to do great things. They become worship leaders. They become Psalm writers. Some of them are in the party of David, when David is on the run for his life.
And it's just a really cool backdrop to see the suffering that they come from, and the redemption that they have, that sets up Psalms like Psalm 42. So that's the subscript. Then you get into verse 1. It says, As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. So, as a deer pants for flowing streams, I like to deer hunt. That is a hobby of mine.
I actually got to join a hunting club this year. I'm very excited about it. Been working on the land, getting it ready for the fall. One of the things that you, when you're choosing land to hunt on, you want to choose land that has a water source of some type. Because if it doesn't have a stream, or a creek, or something nearby, you will not have a lot of luck. Deer need water.
That's the point. As a deer pants for flowing streams, as an animal who is in need, who's dehydrated, who needs water to survive. So my soul pants for you, O God. We're going to see this next week in Psalm 1, when Psalm 1 says, He is like a tree planted by streams of water. That God is this vibrant life source, this well of worship, and joy, and goodness. He says, As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you.
He's desperate, in need of the Lord. And what it's setting up is that, that this man, is a man who loves the Lord. That this lament, is not disconnected from the fact, that he is a godly man. He loves the Lord. He longs for the Lord. And that, that's a part of building this category of lament.
That it needs to come from a desperate, love, and desire, and pursuit of God. Because often times, culturally, mourning, and sadness, and lamenting of our culture, isn't that. When we're sad, we'll escape. Or we'll distract ourselves. Or we'll comfort ourselves. Which in the south means, a lot of unhealthy food.
And I'm not saying, like, bringing food isn't, I'm not, I'm not down on that. But you've got to have a broader category, that says no. Godly lament, is coming before the Lord, desperately needing Him, longing for Him. That type of godly, lament, does not seek to fix, our suffering and sadness. But it, it helps us endure.
It helps us withstand. And that's what He's doing here, when He gets into verse 2. My soul thirsts, for God, for the living God. When shall I come, and appear before, God. So, we're going to see this, throughout the rest of this Psalm. But that statement there, when shall I, when shall I, come and appear before God, we're going to see it fleshed out, that He can't be, in the presence of God, right now.
That He's far away, from the presence of God. So, in this period, the presence of God, ruled and reigned from, this is either written, during the period, when the tabernacle, was in existence, or the temple. But both of those, have the same thing. This is where God, ruled and reigned, amongst the people of God. This is where, He ruled and reigned from, and this is where, worship happened, before the Lord. So, when He's separated, from the Lord here, He can't be, worshiping, before the Lord.
And that's a very, joyous event, as the sacrifices, were being offered, there was all types, of joyful singing, before the Lord. There were instruments, like trumpets, and harps, and lyres, and tambourines, and strings, and pipes, and cymbals, and dancing. Yes, dancing. Baptists. There's this joyful, worship before the Lord, and He can't be there. We don't know, if it's because, He's on the run with David, if He's one of those, Corites, or if He's been banished, from the temple.
We don't really know, why He can't be there. But He longs, to be there, like in a barren, desert, needing, thirst, He needs, God. Which, just pause for a moment. That just gives us, that elevates the importance, of corporate worship, of what we do here, every Sunday. It is good for our souls, to be here. And we just, a lot of times, we take that for granted.
Like the inside joke, for us as pastors, is if we want to make, an announcement, it's got to be not just done, on one week. You have to do it, like multiple weeks in a row. Because we're, this is something, we're not alone in this. A lot of southern churches, struggle with this. That if you're, had a long week, or retired, or you know, coming off vacation, or whatever, it's just easy, to miss out on this. And even in our church, it's a lot easier, actually to be in a community group, and show up on, in the week, than it is on a Sunday morning.
And I want to push on that, a little bit, to say no value this time. It's good. It's good for your soul, to be amongst the people of God, worshiping Him together. So he goes on in verse 3, he says, my tears have been my food, day and night. What a vivid picture of suffering. That he's, in such mourning, he can't drink from the streams, of worship, that is before the Lord, that he's, day and night, crying.
So much so, that tears are flowing down his face, they're flowing, blubbering into his mouth. And that should expand, the category for us, and especially, men more struggle with this, generally speaking, that emotions are okay. You don't have to put your emotions, in a box, and put it up on a shelf, and never talk about it again. No, like, tears are fine, it's a healthy part of worship. Jesus, the God man, wept, when he saw Mary and Martha, mourning, when Lazarus died. We should have that, as a category of response.
I'm trying to build this, in my own son, who's four. I'm trying to help him see, listen, there are things, that we don't cry about. Alright? Not getting the right ice cream, not getting the right toilet, like, that's not, you know, yesterday was his sister's birthday, and his time's frustrated, he's not, no, no, no, it's alright. We're not gonna cry about that. There are things, you do cry about.
There are things, that you should grieve, there are things, that you should have tears for. I'm trying to build that, in himself, or build that in him. We need that, we need to grow in that. He's weeping, before the Lord. My tears have been my food, day and night, while they say to me, all the day long, where is your God? So, in the midst of, weeping, he's being taunted, with where is your God?
And I would argue, that that's more than just, the skeptical taunting, of where is your God? Because we hear that, culturally, you hear that a lot. Where is your God, when the shooting in Uvalde happened? Where is your God, when children were dying? I don't think that's what's, happening here. I think it's more personal to him.
He can't be, in the presence of God. So they're, they're poking on something, that's deeply hurtful for him. Where is your God? Oh, you can't be there, amongst your people, in the presence of God. Verse four, these things, I remember, as I pour out my soul, and then he starts to, recollect, how I would go, with a throng, throng is just, a crowd, the crowd worshiping together. I would go, with the throng, and lead them in procession, to the house, of God.
With glad shouts, and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. Oh, I remember, how I used to lead, and worship, amongst the people, with, glad shouts, and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. That's such a human, response, in the midst of suffering, to long for the good old days. Maybe that's, maybe that's for you, that's long for the days, when you were a kid, in high school, the days of college, longing for the days, when you're in this community group, with this group of people, and this time of life, this friend group. That's very natural. That's what he's doing, he's longing, for the days, when he could joyfully, worship in the presence of God.
And in verse 5, we get this refrain. So the way that this Psalm, is structured, is you've got, verses, refrain, verses, refrain. So think like, verses, chorus, verses, chorus, that's kind of how this works. Here it is, verse 5, Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you in turmoil, within me? Why am I so sad?
Why is there so much turmoil, in my soul? That is a question, that many of us will ask, in life. Why am I so sad? Why am I depressed? What's wrong with me? Why can't I feel, better?
And a lot of times, those answers, are not readily available. Last week, we looked at Psalm 55, which was, cast your cares, your burdens, your anxieties, upon the Lord, he will sustain you. And as I walked through that, can I help us, see a little bit, that anxiety is complicated. And we've taught that in the past, it's complicated. There's, there's physical things, that contribute to that. There's spiritual things, that contribute to that.
There's behavioral patterns, there's all kinds of things, that makes anxiety, a very complex subject matter. But the scriptures, say in the midst of that, it has a word for it. It has a word for us, when it says, to cast your cares, upon the Lord. The prescription is, coming to the Lord, with our anxieties. And depression, well depression is a close cousin, of anxiety. In fact, a lot of times, they come together, for some folks.
Depression and anxiety, come together. And depression is complex. It just is. There are physical things, that add to it. All the way down, to where you live, geography matters. Right?
You live in more northern parts, of the hemisphere. It's a little bit harder, when you have less sunlight. Sunlight matters. The vitamin D is, it matters. Seasonal affect, depression matters. That sometimes winter, is very hard.
There are physical things, there's chemical things, that are happening, that contribute to depression. There's behavioral patterns, that contribute to depression, and deep sadness. It's a strong correlation, between social media usage, and depression. Especially, the younger you are. There's contributing factors, that make it a very complicated, thing. It is definitely, multifactorial.
The part of the treatment, is very similar. It's coming before the Lord, with our depression. Coming before the Lord, with our sadness. That's what the psalmist, is doing here. He's deeply depressed. He's lamenting, before the Lord.
And he's asking, before the Lord, his own soul, why are you cast down? Why is the innermost part, of my being, so deeply sad, and distressed? Why is there so much, turmoil within me? Or as one songwriter, paraphrases this. He says, why so disturbed, within me? He's asking this.
These are difficult questions, to ask before the Lord. You have to, that's the question, why is he asking this, of himself, before the Lord? And it's very simply, he is acknowledging reality. He is acknowledging, his reality, before the Lord. That he, is in a desperate, depressed, sad, state. You can try to act, like you're not depressed.
Try to act, like you're not sad. You can try to grit your teeth, and get through it. Or, you can acknowledge, reality, before the Lord. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the most famous, preachers, in western, history, the last 500 years. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, was, I mean, had an early ministry, from 20 all the way, until he passed away, in his mid-50s. And what some people, don't realize is, that Spurgeon, if you read about his life, was depressed, on and off, most of his life.
Most of his adult life. He struggled with depression. I mean, there are times, where he literally, he could not, muster the strength, to stand up, and proclaim the word of God. He's nicknamed, the prince of preachers. That's his nickname. That's a dope nickname, that you want, if you're a preacher.
But he, could not muster, the strength sometimes, to actually come, before the Lord, and proclaim the word of God. That there were times, that he was deeply, deeply sad. And part of it, there's multiple things, there's multiple things, that contributed to that. One of the things, that he had, was he had chronic pain. That he had, chronic gout, and kidney disease. And he had to leave London.
The doctor said, you need to leave London. So he had a place, in the south of France, where he would go, to get better weather, less harsh climate, more sunlight. That's actually where he died. Because he got away, out of London. And he just never came back, because he died there. Spurgeon, once said this, I could say with Job, and Job is an Old Testament story, where a man suffered immensely.
I could say with Job, my soul chooseth strangling, rather than life. And then he says, I could readily enough, have laid, violent hands upon myself, to escape, from my misery, of spirit. That is Spurgeon saying, that, I could have readily, harmed myself, than endure this, miserable, spiritual state. And Spurgeon, was a great man of faith. He understood, this song well. He's a great man of faith, and some people will try to reduce, depression down to, well, if you just have enough faith, you'd be joyful.
Don't you, don't you know the gospel? Don't you know how good, the news is? Just believe the gospel. And it's just not, that simple, sometimes. To muster up enough faith, to lift you out of this. Faith does not guarantee, hear this, faith does not guarantee, a permanent state of joy.
It just doesn't, not this side of the fall. It does not guarantee, a permanent state of joy. But in faith, we get to endure, through suffering, through lament. And through, hear this, a right understanding, of who God is. So when he says, why are you cast down, oh my soul, and why are you in turmoil, within me, in his next breath, he says, hope in God.
For I shall again, praise him, my salvation, and my God. In the midst of depression, he knows where his ultimate hope, is found. His hope is in the Lord. He's not able to praise God, joyfully now. That day is coming for him. He will joyfully praise God again, but it is not yet.
So that's the refrain, that's going to be repeated at the end. And then, from that position of faith, knowing who God is, he continues, my soul is cast down, within me. Therefore, I remember you, from the land of Jordan, and of Hermon, from Mount Mazar. So this is where we see, how separated he is. Okay? But he is in the land of Jordan.
He's, that's far away from Jerusalem. That's how far he is, as he's, suffering, longing to be back in Jerusalem. Longing to be, before the Lord, in his presence. And then verse 7, he says, deep calls, to deep, at the roar, of your waterfalls. All your breakers, and your waves, have gone, over me. Water is very metaphorical, throughout the scriptures, and how it's being used.
You just saw, in verse 1, like God is a stream of water, that he longs for. But the picture here changes. It's replaced with, a violent picture of water. The roar of a waterfall. Waves crashing, over him. Like the judgment waters, that crashed over, Jonah.
This is the picture, that's happening here. And I want you to hear, what he says. I want you to, he feels the pain, but I want you to acknowledge, I want you to see, what he acknowledges here. He says, your breakers, your waves, have gone over me. He's talking to God. Your breakers, your waves, have gone over me.
And that highlights, and taps into, a difficult truth, that is mysterious, and hard, to wrap our minds around, that God is sovereign, over suffering. He's sovereign, over our suffering, and our pain. People try to get around that, try to explain that away, and they'll say, no, it's actually, this is the work of the devil, that increases suffering, in our lives, or this is our own flesh, you know, our own sin, you know, results in suffering, or the world, is a fallen place, and in a fallen place, there is suffering, and all of that is true. Okay? The enemy absolutely does, increase suffering. Our sinful mistakes, absolutely do, increase suffering.
We do live in a world, that is fallen, and broken, and because of that, suffering exists, but, God is sovereign, over all of that. Which is why he says, your breakers, your waves, God has ordained for him, to suffer in that purpose. God ordained suffering, in our lives. We don't always understand why, we don't understand the purposes, the mysteries, all behind it. But don't miss that, when he says, your breakers, and your waves, are crashing over me.
And as he says, that, right, in the next breath, he says in verse 8, by day, the Lord commands, his steadfast love. And at night, his song is with me, a prayer to, the God, of my life. As he's acknowledging, the suffering, the God is sovereign, over the waves, and your breakers, are crashing, over me. You are the God, of steadfast love. And look at this, at night, his song is with me, that at night, he's worshipping God. This man loves the Lord.
He is worshipping, in the midst of his suffering. And he's pouring out, songs, and prayers. And we get a glimpse, of his prayers, in verse 9, when he says, I say, to my God, my rock, why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning, because of the oppression, of the enemy? As with a deadly wound, in my bones, my adversaries, my adversaries, taught me, while they say to me, all the day long, where is your God? He says, I say to my God, why have you forgotten me?
What a bold prayer. Why have you forgotten me? Why do you, why do you allow my enemies, to taunt me like this, in the midst of my, suffering? That almost feels dangerous, to question God like that. And it would be dangerous, if it was done from a place of arrogance, or a place of pride, if he was questioning, the character of God. But he's not doing that.
He says, you're the God of steadfast love, you are my rock. The breakers, your breakers, he understands, who God is, and the character of God. So he's not doing this, from a place of arrogance, or pride, or self-righteousness. He's doing it, from a place of deep humility. It's a legitimate plea. Spurgeon, once said that, faith is allowed, to inquire of her God, the causes, of his displeasure.
They're done from a place, of faith. faith. You can ask, God, why have you forgotten me? Why have you forgotten me? Why am I so sad? Why do I suffer, O Lord? And then he ends it in verse 5, or the repeated refrain of verse 5, shows it in verse 11.
This is the final verse. He says, why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you in turmoil, within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my salvation, and my God. And that's it. There's a promise, a future joy, but it's not now.
And it is an end joyfully. It acknowledges the reality of it. There's no verse 12 that says, and everything gets awesome. This is not, it's not what happens here. It just ends. And I could expand on this Psalm, in a lot of different ways.
There's a lot of different directions, you can run with this, to deal with sadness, and loss, and depression, and suffering. I just want to, I just want to end, on one idea. You need, good theology, to help you endure, a downcast soul, in turmoil. You need, a right understanding, of who God is, and a right worship of who, of God, to endure, depression, suffering, and loss. Jerry Bridges, a pastor once said, trust is not a passive state, of mind. Faith, is not a passive state, of mind.
It is a vigorous act, of the soul, by which we choose, to lay hold, on the promises of God, and cling to them, despite the adversity, that at times, seeks to overwhelm us. He says, faith, is not a passive state, where you're passively, just believing, the promises of God, is a active, vigorous, clinging to, claiming, holding, the promises, of God, laying hold, of who he, is, and that happens, throughout this entire Psalm. Verse 2, God is the living God, verse 5, God is my salvation, verse 8, God is the God, of steadfast love, verse 9, God is my rock, verse 11, God is the God, of my salvation. This psalmist, has a healthy, understanding, of who God is.
And there is a great danger, as a Christian, being unprepared, for, suffering. There's a danger, and an over emphasis, on positivity, on faking it, until you make it. On saying, I'm fine, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good, I'm fine. And never, actually, preparing your soul, for what awaits you. If your understanding, of God, and believing in Him, is that He is going to, faith, equals, blessing, in this life. If that's the equation, of your heart, that you are setting yourself up, for failure.
You're setting yourself up, for, when that happens, the questions of God, that are not done, from a position of faith, but are done, from a position of arrogance. It says, I would not believe, in a God, who lets, this happen. I can't believe, in a God, who would let, this person die. My brother, my sister, my father, my child. I can't believe, in a God, who would allow, this type of suffering, in my life.
Psalm 55: Cast Your Anxieties
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. So before we get into the text for today in Psalm 55, which is on page 272, if you want to go ahead and flip there, just have a church family quick announcement to address really the elephant in the room. So Friday was a big emotional day in our country with the fall of Roe v.
Wade. If you've not been around our church the last few years, we are not a political church in the slightest. We do approach things biblically as they arise in the scriptures. When it talks about life in the womb, when it talks about justice, we will address the issue. We do believe as a church that life begins at conception. We believe that God is knitting and forming a child in the womb.
And where biblical ethics overlap with political things, we will actually address that from the scriptures. Now, I'm not going to get into all of that today. What I will say is if you have not been here long enough, and that was a lot to hear, I would invite you, please have a conversation with me or one of the pastors. We would love to have that conversation with you. I understand it is a very, very hot button issue right now, and there are a ton of emotions that are stirring in the midst of all of that. But the reason I say that is because that ruling will directly affect this state.
And there will be an opportunity for Christians to do what we are called to do in the coming years in this state. There will be unplanned pregnancies that happen in this state. And we as Christians are called to care for orphans. That's biblically, James 1, 27, the pure undefiled religion before the father is this, to visit the orphans and the widows. That is historically, the church has stood up for orphans all the way back to the first, second, and third century when children who had birth defects were being abandoned by Roman families and Christians were swooping in and adopting children. We get the opportunity to live out our faith and the calling of Christians when it comes to orphan care.
That we'll have an opportunity to step into that through the foster system, which some of you should be praying about. Domestic adoption. We have families that do domestic and international adoption in our church. I say all that to say that we have a benevolence fund in our church. It's $15,000 this year. That benevolence fund is for a lot of different things, from paying for families in our church that are behind on payments, to supplementing counseling costs, to engaging community needs that we do from time to time.
We have $15,000 that we set aside in our budget for that. We will be, in the future, giving adoption grants out of that because we want to incentivize and come alongside some of the financial costs of adoption because we deeply care about orphans. And my hope, my prayer is in the response to all of this, that we would first walk in wisdom, be salt and light, but that we would get behind the biblical ethic of orphan care and actually step into a need that is going to happen. So I want to start this conversation. If you have questions about any of that, please don't leave today frustrated or angry.
Please come and talk and we can start a conversation. But we are going to be moving this direction with orphan care and we want to encourage this as a church family. So we're going to be in Psalm 55 today, which is on page 272 in your blue Bibles. You can turn there and follow along. The text will be on the screen. These first three Psalms and this summer in the Psalms that we have deal with.
Last week, Chad introduced the idea in Psalm 37, a fret not. Be still before the Lord. Don't worry. This week, we get to walk into that a little more from Psalm 55. The next week is a Psalm of lament. It's kind of all three go together on this broader subject matter of what do you do in the midst of suffering.
So we're in Psalm 55. We'll follow along with that in a moment. About a month ago, if you know me, I love music. I listen to lots of different types of music, different genres of music, different time periods of music. And I have Spotify, different playlists and shuffles that happen. And I had a shuffle.
I was in a late 90s, early 2000s music, alternative music kind of mood. So I was letting the Spotify shuffle. And that's, you know, that was my childhood, late 90s, early 2000s. So these are songs that I grew up listening to. And then all of a sudden, one came on and it hit differently because when you're listening to a song, when you are a kid, it doesn't hit the same when you're in your 30s. So it was a song called Breathe by Anna Nolik.
That, you know, 2 a.m. and she calls me because I'm still awake. All right. So that song. Listening to it, I'm like, oh man, I remember this. And then all of a sudden, the chorus hit. And I went, oh man.
The chorus says this, because you can't jump the track. We're like cars on a cable. And life's like an hourglass glued to the table. No one can find the rewind button now. So cradle your head and your hands and breathe.
Just breathe. And I heard that and I went, oh man, I did not know songs from Grey's Anatomy could do that to me. Like I just, I was like, man, she has a point. Life is like an hourglass glued to the table. Like there is no rewind button. She's talking about all like difficult situations and life is hard and suffering happens.
And her advice is cradle your head and your hands and breathe. Just breathe. And I was like, yes, man, that is so good. It's so close. Like you almost got it. You got part of the picture.
The gospel gives us a more complete picture. And this Psalm 55 today helps paint that in more completely. It helps give us a picture of what to do in the midst of suffering when life hits us in the face and how we are called to respond. We're going to look at this, the Psalmist David, in the midst of deep trials and suffering. And we're going to see his response and how that is key for us and important for us in understanding how we are to respond in the moments of trial. So if you feel overwhelmed right now, if you feel ridden with worry or anxiety, if you feel like you are struggling, this Psalm is for you.
Okay? Let me pray for us and then we will get going. Father, I pray that you would help us be present this morning. You help us hear the words of the Psalm, the wisdom that is bound up in it, that it would be balm for the soul. That it would help us see how we would respond in the midst of trials and suffering. And that you would help us walk this out in faith, in repentance, in glorious worship.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Verse 1. He says, Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy. Attend to me and answer me.
I am restless in my complaint and I moan. There are four urgent pleas right out the gate. He says, Give ear. Don't hide yourself from me, O God. Pay attention. Answer me.
This is a desperate, needy posture. Lord, listen to me. Give ear to my prayer. And then he says, I am restless in my complaint and I moan. You ever heard someone moan before? And by someone, I mean not a child.
In our household, we have, in the summertime, we have ice cream. Because we're a fun family. And I'm a cool dad. And we have, my wife bought the variety pack of, box of drumsticks. Which back in the day, they just had like the vanilla centered ones. Not anymore, you guys.
They have ones that are filled with chocolate in the inside. And caramel in the inside. And about every day, our kids are like, Can we have ice cream? And most days, we're like, Yes. Now, they love the ones that have the chocolate and the caramel in the center. Right?
Because that's awesome. And, you know, they get the chocolate ones. I may or may not clear out the caramel ones. But by the end of the week, or however long we have them, what's left is just the original ones, the OG drumstick. And there is weeping and lamenting in our house sometimes. But there's moaning and deep complaint.
And it's like, Oh man, y'all have not experienced suffering yet. If this is the type of lamenting that happens. Like, it's not a child. But if you ever heard, you ever heard an adult moan? And deep pain. It hurts the soul.
It is heavy. It is a deep hurt. Deep complaint. That's what's happening here. And then in verse 3, he says, Because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked, for they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me. So, context.
David is the Lord's anointed. He is a man after God's own heart. God fiercely loves David. David fiercely loves David. And yet, he ordains that David suffers. In fact, when you follow his life in 1 and 2 Samuel, you see he suffers over and over again.
He has enemies that seek to destroy him, to kill him. Some of these Psalms are written in the midst of those times. And that's what's happening here. So, God loves his people deeply. That does not mean he will spare us from suffering in the slightest. Verse 4, it says, My heart is in anguish within me.
The terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me. And horror overwhelms me. David is in emotional and physical torment. He's restless. He cannot sleep.
Moaning. It says, His heart is in anguish. Fear of death. Fear and trembling are upon him. Horror overwhelms him. And some of you have felt that.
You felt that with the death of a loved one. You felt that with abandonment that has happened in your life. That type of deep anguish of the heart. You felt that with rejection that happens in a way that makes you question reality itself and what's happening in your life. We feel this. And at some point, if you have not felt this, you will feel this.
Suffering is guaranteed this side of the fall. You will feel this type of pain, the kind of pain deep in your soul when you have no more tears to cry. And when this happens, you may feel tempted to run. And that's what David feels here in verse 6. And I say, Oh, that I had wings like a dove. I would fly away and be at rest.
Yes, I would wander far away. I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah. Which, by the way, we don't know what Selah means. Okay? In the Hebrew, we just don't know.
It could be a pause. It could be a musical note. Not even Kanye knows what Selah means. We don't know what that means. But before that, he's like, if I had wings, if I could just spread and get away, if I could fly away, if I could wander and get in the wilderness.
Who hasn't wanted that to run from your problems? Who hasn't wanted to flee and get away from it all? Maybe you're someone in a marriage that is filled with suffering and you want out. Maybe you're a teenager that's in a home that you maybe feel misunderstood. Or maybe it just feels toxic. Or maybe you're the parent of a teenager where you feel misunderstood and things are tumultuous and you just want to get away.
Listen, most of us, we're not going to physically escape. It's not going to happen. But we will do it mentally. Right? That's our go-to. We'll mentally escape.
We'll go to Netflix. We'll go to social media. We'll go to pornography. Because that's easy and controllable. To get away from it. Fly away to it.
What feels like a safer place but ultimately isn't safe for the soul. David feels that. He wants to get away from it all. He's acknowledging that before the Lord. I want to get away. Verse 8, I would hurry, verse 8, to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.
A tempest is a storm. I could just find shelter in the midst of all of this from this storm. From this raging storm of suffering that he's enduring. Maybe you've wanted that. Maybe you've wanted that. You've been in a group and a community group that feels like there's a lot of suffering, a lot of trials, a lot of people that are hurting.
Maybe there's some relational drama that's happening. You just want to get away from it all. Maybe you're a group leader and you feel that as a group leader. I just want to stop leading this group. Maybe you feel this as it pertains to the whole church family. It's like, I just want to leave this church.
I want to find somewhere else. I want to find shelter from what I'm facing. Listen, you have felt this or you will feel this. This side of the fall in a world that's filled with suffering. David feels this. He feels this and he continues in verse 9 to describe what he's facing.
Destroy, verse 9, O Lord, divide their tongues for I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go around it on its walls and iniquity and trouble are within it. Ruin is in its midst. Oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace. So he has enemies that seek to destroy him but he's also in a city that's filled with oppression and fraud and violence and sin.
He wants to get away from it all to the wilderness. He wants to leave it all behind. That's a familiar feeling for our country. And that was 2020. Cities falling apart. People trying to leave and get away from all of it.
My sister recently moved to Bozeman, Montana with her husband. And when they moved out there and they were, before they moved out there they were on a job interview out there and the Uber driver that was driving around said, hey, where are you from? They said, we're from South Carolina. He said, oh good. He said, as long as you're not from California. Because Montana and some of the states have been overwhelmed.
People trying to get away from the cities, get away from the violence, get away from everything that's happening. The reality is it's not just the cities that have sin all over it. It's the suburbs. It's your phone. It's the internet. It's all around us.
David feels this. Iniquity, sin is all around him but the situation is much worse. In verse 12 it says, for it is not an enemy who taunts me, then I could bear it. It is not an adversary who deals insolently with me, then I could hide from it. The enemies are not the worst part of what I'm facing here. Verse 13, but it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.
We used to take sweet counsel together. Within God's house we walked in the throng. David has been stabbed in the back and betrayed by a close friend. By a familiar friend. That's an intimate, close friend. A friend he used to go to advice for.
The end of throng is worship. So he used to worship together with him in the house of the Lord. This friend has betrayed him and it is crushing. If you've ever been betrayed, it hurts. My first big dose of that was when I was 17 and naive, 17, dating a girl, thinking, things are, things are great. All of a sudden, boom, find out she's cheating on me with not one, not two, but most likely three.
Couldn't confirm the third one, but I'm almost positive. Third. Three of my friends and football teammates crushed me. I was like so naive. Like how could this happen? You were my friends.
You were my girlfriend. What in the world? And it taught me one valuable lesson. You really cannot trust anyone fully in this life like you can, God. No one is 100% dependable like the Lord. But what came out of that is a lot of cynicism and a lot of deep anger.
I worked through it, you guys. It took some years to be able to get in to trust some people. But if you felt that kind of betrayal, it hurts if you've been betrayed by a family member or a friend or a church family member, a mentor or a child or a parent or a significant other. It hurts. When you've had your trust violated seemingly beyond repair, it hurts. One of the most famous lines in all of Western literature is from Julius Caesar, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
And Caesar, in the midst of the conspirators, in the midst of the senators who are killing him or stabbing him is fearless. He's fearless. But the moment he sees Brutus, his friend, he's no longer fearless. One of those famous lines, et tu, Brute. And you, Brutus. And this is a picture of, oh, man, you would betray me as well.
A dear, close friend. That's what David feels. A king betrayed by a close friend. And when that happens for us, you will, there's a part of you that longs for retribution. Longs for, maybe it's not retribution, but it's justice. But you feel that in you.
That's what David feels in verse 15. He says, let death steal over them. Which is a poetic way of saying, let death come upon them by surprise. Let them go down to Sheol alive. Sheol's the place of death. The best I can tell what he's saying there is let them be buried alive.
For evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart. David has put his enemies, the evil in the city, his close friend, all in the same category as he's lamenting before the Lord all of this. this shows the real thoughts and sorrow that David feels. Many of us have felt that. Maybe a co-worker that has hurt you. Maybe a family member that has hurt you. We can't relate to what David is saying here.
And then a shift happens in verse 16. After 15 verses of David before the Lord lamenting all the pain and suffering that he has endured and is facing, he shifts to the one whom he's crying out to in verse 16 and says this, but I call to God and the Lord will save me. He cries out to God because God is his help. Throughout the Psalms you see this one of the ones that David writes and throughout the Psalms the Lord is our help. The Lord is our salvation. This cry here in this Psalm is personally humbling for me to read this, to see this on display because what happens for me and I'm probably not alone is that when I face problems right, every now and then it's like clockwork in our family.
Every three years we're due for like a major medical bill that just comes out of nowhere and when it comes like we're feeling with right now it's like alright I'm going to hustle who I got to call alright, insurance company, doctors, how are we going to negotiate this? I get into I'm going to fix this.
Psalm 37: Fret Not
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
I turned my mic off before walking up here, which means it was on forever. So if the music sounded particularly good, you're welcome. Singing along. Go to Psalm 37. We're starting a series. During the summer, we're going to walk through some of the Psalms together.
So we're going to be about eight weeks in the Psalms over the course of the summer. The Psalms is the Bible's songbook. It's the Bible's hymnal where God gave us, through the psalmist, ways to pray and to praise. He gave us songs of worship and songs of lament. There are poems and wisdom in the Psalms. And so they are helpful for us to periodically take some time to just spend some time here to grow in prayer, to grow in worship, and to grow in understanding how to deal with a lot of what's going on inside of us in relation to God.
Because that's what the Psalms deal with quite often, is how we feel, and then turning over to what's theologically true in worship and what's true about God. So the Psalm we're looking at today is Psalm 37. It's a poem written by King David. And he wrote it when he was older. The way we know that is in this Psalm he says, I'm old. And so that helped us.
That was the clue. Tipped us off. And so we see that he wrote this when he's older. And what he's doing is he's looking at the world. And it's as if he's surveying everything. And he's going, okay, I see evil.
I see wickedness. And so often it seems like evil works. Wickedness helps you prosper. It's kind of what he's seeing in the world. That being violent, being aggressive, being greedy. So often seems like it helped them.
That they've prospered. That that was the way to go. To be aggressive, to be violent, to be harmful to the poor and the needy. Somehow helps people win. That's kind of what he's looking at. And you can see, you almost feel him as he's looking at this going, and that tension of, is this how this is always going to be?
Is this how this always works? And so he gives this encouragement in the midst of surveying this. That Psalm 37 is an encouragement to us. And here's what he says. Let's look at verse one.
Fret not. Fret not. That's the theme of this Psalm. Fret not. To fret is to be anxious. To be worried.
To wring our hands. To have something roll in our mind over and over again. It's this feeling of turmoil and fearfulness. It's this feeling of frustration and anxiety. And if you've lived recently, you'll know that we live in an anxious time. We live in a tumultuous, frustrated time.
And that we're told to be anxious and frustrated. That much of the message today is, aren't you mad about this? Aren't you upset by this? Don't you see what they're doing? And it really doesn't matter which side of any of these arguments or these issues that you fall on. Don't you know they're coming for you?
Don't you know they're coming for your children? Or don't you know that the children are coming for you? Don't you know they're coming for your guns? Or they have guns and they're coming? That these, whatever, which way ever it is. And all these things.
There's this general fearfulness. Anxiety and fretting. Because of the wickedness that's out there. The oppression that's out there. And how troublesome it is. And so, David says, The most helpful thing that I would just encourage you to use this in any kind of discussion you get into when someone's upset.
Calm down. That's what David says. Shh. Try that next time you get in an argument. It's nice. Works well.
I found that that works really effectively with babies. But not so much with my wife. But that's what he's saying. Fret not. And immediately your response is, Sounds great. Would love to do that.
How? I'm so glad you asked. Because that's what David's going to spend this whole Psalm explaining to us. That he proves his point. That you can fret not. So let's pray.
And let's walk through this together. Lord, if we're honest, we have so much to fret over. We have so much that if you just talk to us for a little while, if we just remain undistracted for a little while, we're afraid. Lord, we're anxious. We look into the future so often and we feel vulnerable. And so, Lord, we take a Psalm like this and we look at it and we're told to fret not.
And we pray that by the empowerment of your spirit and by the goodness of your word, that you would help us to see how that can be true practically and fundamentally in our hearts. We ask that you would apply this to us today. Help us to learn. Help us to grow. And help us to walk this out by the power of your spirit. In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen. So what we're going to do is we're going to walk very slowly through the first 11 verses. If you peek ahead, you'll see this is a long Psalm. And so after a few minutes, as we've walked through the first few verses, you're going to think, oh, we're going to be here for four and a half hours. And as much as I would enjoy that, we're not going to do that. We're going to go very slowly for the first 11 verses because in the first 11 verses we're given about 12 commands.
So in some ways, at the very beginning of this Psalm, David's taking us and grabbing us by the ears and looking us in the eye and he's talking directly to us. But at about verse 12, he releases our ears and he turns us and he says, see? So he's going to give us these commands and then he's going to go, look, I'm going to show you how this plays out. And then when we hit verse 12, we're going to move at a bigger, more landscape kind of pace. We're going to move a little faster to try to see how we can take what he told us in the first 11 verses and how he can press it in a little more in the back part.
So I'll tell you when we're making the turn. But at first, we're going to move a little bit slowly. OK. Fret. Fret not yourself because of evildoers. Be not envious of wrongdoers.
First thing I want you to notice is that the evildoers and the wrongdoers exist. He's not saying it's not as bad as you think it is. He said, no, no, no, they're out there. And I know that evildoers sounds like who Batman fights at night. Ne'er do well. But what he's saying is people who do evil, that there are wicked people.
There are people who actively seek to lie and oppress and use their power to harm. There are people who go out of their way to to take and to defend their position. They don't care about others. There are people who lie, that steal, that cheat, that murder. And he says, yes, we acknowledge that. But then he's going to tell us to fret not and be not envious.
And it feels like those are often the two paths that we kind of have when we're looking at evildoers and wrongdoers. Fretting is this general sense of anxiety, this, oh, my goodness, how is this going to work out? Oh, they're winning. It's working out for them. They're coming for us. That general feel.
And we just roll it over in our head over and over and over again. It's almost like we're churning butter. You take something that exists, take some milk, and you just keep messing with it. You keep churning it. And eventually it turns into cream and then it turns into heavy cream and then it turns into butter. And you take something that's real and you make it worse and thicker and more problematic.
That's what fretting does. Take something that's real and you just keep rolling it over and over and over again. So it's the only thing that exists. It's the only thing that you can think of. That's one of the options for us. The other one is to be envious.
And we take that route sometimes. Which is if that's how they're going to act, that's how I'm going to act. If that's how they're going to do politics, that's how we'll do politics. If that's how they're going to talk, that's how we'll talk. And it can be real simple things. Like I used to work sales.
And there's a thing I learned. Is that you sell things if you lie. I worked with a salesman. He was a great salesman. And he was a liar. People would ask him questions.
And he would just... I knew he didn't know the answer and he would just answer. And at first I was like, is that real? And he was like, I don't know. So then I just learned.
He's just making stuff up. I learned after a while that I knew more than he did. But he just would give better answers than I could. Because his were fictional. Sometimes it was just he made up an answer so that he could keep the sale going. Sometimes you asked him a question and he actually had a bad answer.
And he would just go, oh no, no, that's not these. That's those. And it's like, no, it's those too. Those also have that problem. They know their stuff. They're just...
And so you can be envious. You can go, you know what? I think I'm just going to have to lie. I think I'm just going to have to join that. I've worked with people in our... As I've been being pastor.
And trying to help them get out of situations. And they're fighting. And they're working. And they're laboring. And I've had the conversations with them. And they go, this isn't worth it.
I'm going to go back to selling weed. Because I can make so much more money so much quicker. I know it's wrong. But I'm just going to do that. Because the guys around me that are doing that, everything works out easier for them. And so there's this fretfulness or this being envious.
And he says, don't do that. And that's what he says. Don't. Stop. Stop. And I'll tell you, that's how I...
If you ever get to do counseling with me, that's how I do it. I ask you what you're doing. And I say, stop it. And then I say, let's pray. Okay. So it's not super helpful, but the meetings are short.
So you can get back on your merry way. That's what he says. He just says, stop. But he's going to tell us why. He's going to give us some reasons. We're going to move on.
So he says, for. That's how he starts this next sentence. So when he says, for, that means, here's why. Here's why not to fret. For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. He says, the reason you don't have to fret, the reason you shouldn't be envious of them is it will not work out for them ultimately.
Watch them for a little while. It doesn't work. They'll fade like the green grass. They'll wither like the green herb. They'll look about like your front yard looks right now. Unless you've been running your water constantly.
Spring came. The grass was like, ah, the sunshine. Okay, that's enough. Okay, all right. Too much. Too much.
Stop. Please stop. It's just been cooked. That's what he says. It's going to look like that. It's going to wither.
It's going to fade. It's going to fail. I don't get green herbs a lot, but I do sometimes buy bananas. If you have children, they'll have a week where they each eat three bananas a day. And you're like, oh, we eat bananas here. And then you buy a bunch of bananas.
And they're like, I don't like bananas. I don't get that away from me. And so then you watch like seven bananas that you bought just so you could murder on your counter. And you watch them wither. That's what he's saying is that if you watch it for a little while, it's going to fail. It's going to fade.
And I love how this is written because he says they. Now, he's referring to the evildoers and the wrongdoers. But I love that he says they because isn't that who's after us? They. You ever have someone go, you hear what they're doing? Do you hear what they just did?
It's never anything good. They is not out to help us. It's never like, you know what I heard they're doing? They take our military and they train them so that if something bad happens, they can show up and help. Can you believe that? I heard they're taking our teachers and they're teaching them so that later they can teach our children how to read.
Can you believe that? It's never what they're doing. They're coming for you. They're coming for your wallet. They're coming for your children. They're coming for your house.
They're killing all your cattle. They're invading all these things. They did covid so they could put the batteries back in the birds. All the crazy things they are doing. They are never up to anything good. And it just depends on who you're talking to as to what they are doing.
And I will encourage you every once in a while, go to the other side of the Internet so you can hear that your team wins, too. They're scared of you also. But they are never up to anything good. And so I think what you can do is say, you know what I heard? I heard they will soon wither like the grass. And fade like the herb.
We're going to be OK. They won't win. The wickedness that they're up to, the evil that they're up to, they won't win. That's the promise. That's why you don't have to fear is because they. Will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.
So he keeps going. Trust in the Lord and do good. Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. What he's not saying is don't do anything. He says do good.
Do what's in front of you to do. When he defines this later, he's going to talk a good bit about generosity. He brings that up a couple of times. You do good. You do what's in front of you to do. But you do that out of a position of trust, not fear.
We do that out of a position of faithfulness, not fretfulness. We do that out of a position of understanding who he is and how good he is and that we're supposed to follow him. Not if we don't do this, everything will fall apart and they'll get us. We get to trust and do. But you got to be in the position of trust that ultimately.
We have a Lord. That's what he says. We don't have to be fearful. We have a Lord. He's king. He's in charge.
He rules with a scepter. He's the king of kings and the Lord of lords. He's overseeing this. Trust him and then do. And I love the back half of that verse where he says, dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. I stared at that for a long time.
I was just trying to wrap my head around what does dwell in the land mean? And I think in this context, what he's getting at is. Live a life. Trust the Lord enough to live a life. To plant, to harvest, to build. To live.
Don't always have your bags packed. Don't always have one foot out the door. Don't live in such a way that you can't ever think that anything good will happen in the future so that you're terrified. Dwell in the land. And then he says, befriend faithfulness. Make faithfulness your friend.
That's your new friend. I appreciate that. Because so often we've befriended anxiety. Fearfulness is our best friend. You're about to go to bed at night. And anxiety just busts up in the door.
Opens your refrigerator. Sits down on the couch next to you. It was like, hey. I was thinking. What if first we'll just start running through some memories from middle school for the heck of it. Then I'm going to tell you how all your friends currently think about you.
I can read their thoughts. And guess what? It's not looking too good for you. Then I'm going to tell you how the future is going to go. Awful. Spoiler alert.
And then after we've done this for a couple of hours. So it's like, I don't know, one or two in the morning. Then we're just going to talk about how you haven't fallen asleep yet. And tomorrow is going to be awful. And we'll just discuss how you should fall asleep. But because I won't shut up.
You're not going to. That's our friend. Faithfulness. Fearfulness. Anger. He says, no, no, no.
I mean, did I say faithfulness? Yeah. He's not our friend yet. But we should have him as our friend. Y'all got it. Pay attention.
All right. Faithfulness is who your friend needs to be. That you're trusting in the Lord. You're walking steadily in faithfulness. And so often we've made anxiety, anger, and fear. That's who we dwell with.
And he says, no, no, no. Trust in the Lord. He's good. You have a Lord who oversees all of this. Let's keep going.
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. If we can learn to find what is good and fulfilling from the Lord. That if our hope is in him, two things happen. First, if your delight is in the Lord and then someone comes and says, don't you know they're going to take everything from you? Not my delight.
They can't take him. They can take everything. But where my hope is, where my fulfillment is, they can't take. See, if our delight is in the Lord, then everything else gets to be everything else. That if he's really where our joy is, if he's really where our foundation is, then guess what? Money gets to just be money.
It's nice. It's helpful. It can be a gift. But it's not our hope. It's not our future. If our delight is in the Lord, then our kids just get to be our kids.
Little sinners that live in our house. They don't get to be what makes us okay. They don't get to be what saves us. They don't have to be our hope and our future. If our delight is in the Lord, then our relationships, our romance just gets to be that. A gift.
It's nice. But it doesn't have to fix our souls or save us or make us lovable. And then, as our delight is in the Lord, he says, he'll give you the desires of your heart. Now, this isn't like a wink your delight is in the Lord and then you get whatever you want. Like, okay, how do I make him think my delight is there so that then I can have what I really like? That's not how that works.
What he's saying is if you genuinely have your heart set in the Lord where your joy comes from him, then he blesses and works in a way that you get what your delight is. You get him and you get the other stuff, but the other stuff just falls in its right spot. And it doesn't have to be there for you to be okay. That's what Jesus says when he says to seek first the kingdom of God and the rest of this will be added to you. That if you've got this in place, everything else falls into place. And if it doesn't fall into place the way you want it to, you're still okay because your delight's in him.
Verse 5. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in him and he will act. So this is the same thing he's been saying to us the whole time. He's telling us, trust him. Commit your way to him.
What's just a saying? Don't be envious of wrongdoers. Just say, Lord, I'm going to do the thing that you tell me to do. I'm going to walk the path that you lay out for me. And we trust him and he Acts. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noon day.
That justice and righteousness are carried out by him. That he Acts on our behalf so that we can trust him knowing that he's going to accomplish these things. Verse 8. Oh, verse 7. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way over the man who carries out evil devices.
I want you to see what it doesn't say is that evil never works. What it's saying is that evil never ultimately works. That you watch them and they prosper in their way. That it's a good way to get ahead. And he just says, yeah, but it's temporary. They're carrying out evil devices.
They're winning. Have you noticed how much culture, your social media, your radio, your YouTube videos, and your friends who are on social media, listen to their radio or watch YouTube videos, are telling you they're winning. We're losing. They're prospering. And if you said, yes, I've got a plan. I'm going to be still and wait.
What? When something happens, people will post, you know, our thoughts and prayers. And people have started just saying, we don't need your thoughts and prayers. We need your action. We don't need being still and waiting. We need you to move and do.
I will say, the world actually doesn't need our prayers. It doesn't need us to post on Facebook that we're praying. Just throwing that out there. It does need our prayers. But there's this general sense of you're going to wait.
You're going to be still. That's crazy. You've got stuff to do. Aren't you enraged? Aren't you frustrated? Aren't you scared?
Don't you see what's going on? Verse 8. Refrain from anger and forsake wrath. Fret not yourself. It tends only to evil. I've said this before, but one of my favorite types of movie is the you've ticked off the wrong guy movie.
I love that movie. Like, he was minding his own business. You started it. Now you and all your friends are going to die. It's one of my favorite westerns is that. Look at this farmer.
Uh-oh. Now he's going to have to kill everyone. But what verse 8 says is that Denzel Washington is lying to you. That this tends towards evil. And that we're to forsake wrath. We're to refrain from anger.
There's some amount of, I should be mad. I should be angry. And this is going to fuel my work. This is going to fuel what we're going to do. I'm going to use this anger as a furnace. I'm going to fret.
I'm going to wrap my head around this. And we're going to be able to accomplish this. And he says, yeah, that actually just leads to more evil. Calm down. Fret not. Verse 9.
For, again, he's telling us why. He's reminding us over and over again why. For the evildoers shall be cut off. But those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. Who cut the evildoers off? The Lord.
And those who waited. Inherit the land. That God goes to work. That's what he's saying. Take a deep breath. Calm down.
God works. Now there are times where God works through people. And that's where it's trust in the Lord and do good. There are things to do. But to be done from a position of faithfulness and trust.
Not from fearfulness. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more. Though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land. And delight themselves in abundant peace. This is where, that the meek shall inherit the land is what Jesus is saying when he says, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
This is a direct quote of this. So here's what we've been told so far. Trust. Trust. Be still. Wait.
Wait. Wait. Refrain. Forsake. Fret not. Fret not.
Can you hear David's tone? Come have a seat. Look at me. It's going to be okay. Wait. Be still for a second.
Well, I've got to, I've got to, we've got to. Be still for a second. Wait. Trust. Trust. Don't worry.
Don't worry. See, our culture looks at us. And if we say, that's what we're doing. I'm trusting. Don't you care? Yeah, I care.
But I'm trusting. Aren't you going to do something? Yeah, I'm going to wait. I'm going to be still for a moment. I'm going to wait on the Lord. Our culture tells us, oh, you're just putting your head in the sand.
You're just looking down. And David says, no, no, no, we're not looking down. We're looking up. I cast my eyes to the hills. That's where my help comes from. It's not up to me.
I'm not the hero of this story. But there is a hero. There is a Lord. And I'm going to sit and watch. Because he's coming. And he's going to sort this out.
And he's going to help us. And I'm going to trust that his timing is good. Because I trust that he is good. Okay. We've made it to verse 12. Now David's going to turn with us.
He's just going to start telling us how things work. We're going to move a little faster. You're going to have to do a little more work to pay attention. But I believe in you. It says, The wicked plots against the righteous. And gnashes his teeth at him.
But the Lord laughs at the wicked. For he sees that his day is coming. The wicked draw the sword. And bend their bows. To bring down the poor and needy. To slay those whose way is upright.
Their sword shall enter their own heart. And their bows shall be broken. Better is the little that the righteous has. Than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken. But the Lord upholds the righteous.
The Lord knows the days of the blameless. And their heritage will remain forever. They are not put to shame in evil times. You ever feel like we're in evil times? They are not put to shame in evil times. In the days of famine they have abundance.
But the wicked will perish. The enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures. They vanish like smoke. They vanish away. Why can we sit and wait and trust on the Lord? Because he watches the wicked and he knows their day is coming.
Because he breaks their bows. He breaks their arms. He takes their sword from them and sticks it back in their own heart. He breaks their bows. He breaks their arms. And he takes their sword and sticks it back in their own heart.
Now, that means we can wait. That means you can sit. That means you can be still. That means you can trust. Now our culture tells us this is backwards.
Our culture says, how dare God judge? Did you hear that? Who is he to sit and say what's right and what's wrong? Who is he to say this is good, this is bad? Who is he to... I can't believe in a God that would judge, that would have wrath.
I can't believe in a God that would send people to hell. And then, at the same time... Which the answer to who is he is. The answer is he's God. But at the same time, they'll say to us, aren't you mad?
Aren't you frustrated? Don't you see how wrong this is? Aren't you going to fight to fix this? Aren't you going to stand up for injustice? So they want us to be excellent Judges, but they don't think that God is.
And the Bible says, no, that's backwards. Humble yourself, trust in the Lord, and know that he's a good judge. There's an idea that the thing that makes us peaceful is that we believe that God is kind and peaceful. That if we believe in a God of anger and wrath, then we'll be angry, wrathful people. But if we believe a God who's loved, then we'll be loving.
But there's a theologian, he's a Yale theologian. His name is Miroslav Volf. He's a Croatian, and he saw all the violence in the Balkans. And in his work, The Exclusion and Embrace, he says this is the exact opposite. What he says is, my thesis that the practice of nonviolence requires a belief in divine vengeance will be unpopular with many Christians, especially theologians in the West. What he says is, if you're going to be calm, if you're going to sit, if you're going to wait, you have to believe that there's a God who breaks bows, breaks arms, and kills the wicked.
That if you're going to be calm, if you're going to wait, you have to trust that there is a God who does not let evildoers escape. That's his thesis. And he says that this idea, he said, soon you will discover that it takes the quiet of a suburban home for the birth of the thesis that human nonviolence corresponds to God's refusal to judge. So he's saying, if you believe, no, no, no, the only way we can be nonviolent is if he refuses to judge. He says, that takes the quiet of a suburban home. In a scorched land, soaked in the blood of the innocent, it will invariably die.
In his work, he says, when you, when you, your village has first been pillaged, then knocked to the ground, when your wives and sisters have been assaulted and your brothers and fathers have had their throats slit, you have to believe that there's a God who takes up the sword. Otherwise, you have to. And so, if we're going to not fret in the midst of evil, we have to believe in this God that Psalm 37 just told us about. that he breaks bows and he breaks arms and that evil doesn't win. And if that's true, then you can take a deep breath and trust his timing and his justice and his judgment. Otherwise, we have to fret.
Verse 21, the wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives. I want you to just look at that for a second because it's likely that you don't put money in the category of wickedness and righteousness, but the Bible does. The wicked borrows and does not pay back. Some of you might need to consider how you're operating in some low-level wickedness in your tool shed. You might need to consider how your bookshelf operates and operates in some low-level wickedness. The wicked borrows and doesn't pay back, but the righteous is generous and give.
Twice when he gives examples of what the righteous does, he talks about they're generous. For those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. The steps of a man are established by the Lord when he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. So those who delight in the Lord are walking around holding hands with him.
I don't know if you've had the opportunity to walk and hold hands with a child that wants to hold your hand. It is a blessed thing. Often I hold hands with unwilling participants. My four-year-old says, you're hurting my hand. And I say, well, quit trying to snatch it out of my hand and I won't hold it so tight. But we're in a parking lot, homie.
You're this tall and you don't have any sense. People can't see you and you're dumb. That's a recipe for disaster. But there are times when he willingly chooses to hold my hand and it's wonderful. And I don't know if you can think back to the times that you got to hold onto a hand that was much bigger than yours and that was keeping you safe and that ability to hold the hand helped you know you were going to be okay. And that's what he says that when we delight in the Lord we just get to walk along holding a hand.
It's so much bigger than ours. And when we fall, because we will, we aren't cast headlong. We trip. We fall. But our head doesn't smash into something because he's holding our hand.
You might say, well, I've fallen. It's like, yeah. He's got you. And he picks you back up. And we get to keep going. That's the promise there.
I have been young and now am old. Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously and his children become a blessing. Turn away from evil and do good. So shall you dwell forever for the Lord loves justice.
He will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever. Some of you need to wrap your soul up in that. In the midst of your sin, in the midst of your doubt, he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever. The children of the wicked shall be cut off.
The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever. The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart. His steps do not slip. The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death. The Lord will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
Now wait for the Lord and keep his way and he will exalt you to inherit the land and you will look on when the wicked are cut off. I have seen a wicked, ruthless man spreading himself like a green laurel tree. But he passed away and behold, he was no more. Though I sought him, he could not be found. You see, death is the end of the wicked but the righteous are held forever. Mark the blameless and behold the upright for there is a future for the man of peace but transgressors shall be altogether destroyed.
The future of the wicked shall be cut off. We're going to finish where he finishes which is verse 39 and 40. We're going to look at this for just a moment. The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord. He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them.
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in him. Fret not. How? Fret not. Calm down. Don't be anxious.
How? The answer is theological and outside of you. He says, trust the Lord. Look at who he is. Look at what he does. The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord.
He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them. He delivers them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in him. The only thing that you do is run to him to take refuge. He does everything else. Fretting not is anti-work.
It's not something you accomplish. It's something you run to him and then he does everything else. It's trusting. It's placing faith in him. And he does everything else. My little boy that I was just talking about came back from preschool and he had gotten to go to the library.
And the preschool library has a lot of just books that people have turned over. Kind of a lot of used books. Their teacher teaches them in the library that you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit. Which is fun to then quote at them now. It's like, you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit. He brought home a book that was Batman's secret code book and he was pumped.
And so it was this Batman's secret code book and you open it up and it's got little pictures of Batman and it's got these huge giant blobs of red. And on the front of the book it says, use your secret decoder glasses. Well the person who generously gave this to the school didn't seem to give those or they stayed at the first house they went home with or whatever. But we didn't have Batman's secret code book. We had Batman's giant red blobby mess. So he was excited and I was like, yeah we'll read that later.
And I got on Amazon and I ordered some old school 3D glasses with the blue side and the red side. And so when that came in we had secret decoder one-eyed things that you could look through. And so then, I hate bragging up here. But I know all Batman's secrets. I know a lot of things about Batman that y'all don't know. Because we decoded Batman's secret decoder book.
Often, when we're looking at the Old Testament, what we get to do as Christians is see the whole picture. When they were promised that they could trust in the Lord, they didn't know how far the Lord would go to prove His trustworthiness. When they promised life for the righteous that was eternal, they didn't know how God was going to accomplish that. But we do. That we get to look at this through the cross, through the resurrection, through, when we talk about the Lord, we know of a risen king who's one day going to return and set everything right. And we get to look at this and know that if He wouldn't withhold Himself from us, that if God wouldn't withhold His Son from us, how can we not trust Him in all things?
If He's for us, who can be against us? This is Psalm 37 parallels so well with Romans chapter 8 where it says all of this is going on but we have hope in something bigger and better and we have an assurance in Christ that's been accomplished for us forever so that we can trust knowing that He rules, that He reigns, that He's good and that He's trustworthy. The band's going to come back up and we're going to try to be people who fret not. The next time someone comes to you and tells you what they are doing, I want you to say yes, but they will wither and my King will not. They will fall but the Word of the Lord lasts forever and though they take everything from me, I'll still have what I delight in which is my King and the righteous are preserved forever and I am not made righteous through my own works but I'm made righteous through Christ and I get to walk in faithfulness not fear.
That's our hope that we can be people who are not wrapped up in anxiety and frustration because we have a King in whom we trust. Let's pray. Lord, may we be people who have joy and delight because we have you and may we be people who can be still, who can forsake wrath, who can trust because you are trustworthy. We praise you that you save sinners and that you judge righteously and that our hope is in you both to rescue us from our sin and to rescue us from evil. we leave it up to you in your wisdom and your timing and your grace. Amen.
All Send, Some Go
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
That. You know, it's a good set when chunks of drumsticks are flying around. I don't know if any of y'all caught that or not. I think there's a small piece of drumstick in the baptismal back there. I know what you're thinking. Who is this guy?
My name is Raz. If you've been around here for a while, I'm the hidden pastor who doesn't come up and speak here very often. Despite the fact that I spend the least amount of time speaking from this stage this morning, I am easily, easily, like worlds apart, the most qualified of our four pastors to speak. The topic is missions, particularly overseas mission, and I am an overseas missionary. I was sent as a missionary to the long lost nation across the Pacific, the United States of America, a decade ago. And for the last 10 painstaking blood, sweat, and tearsy years, I have labored for the kingdom.
History books have not yet been written that will include the name of Raz Bradley and his missionary conquest of the United States of America. If you haven't heard me speak before, yeah, it's always like this. When I first moved to the States, I moved straight here. I moved to Columbia. I went to CIU for grad school. And one of the first things that struck me as I was touring, I guess, the city, one of my friends took me for a tour downtown, was the overwhelming number of churches, church buildings specifically.
And I remember standing in downtown Columbia, and I was on the corner of, I don't know which streets they are, and I could see eight different churches from one corner. And some of them I'm giving myself credit for with like a steeple over there. But I could see the existence, the presence of eight churches from one corner. In downtown Columbia, there is two Lutheran churches that are separated by one block. They had enough people in that Lutheran church to start a second one a block away at some point. But the fact is, there is more churches than houses in downtown Columbia.
The very building that we're in was formerly known as First Baptist Church of Casey. If you go this way for about a mile, you'll hit a church called First Baptist Church of West Columbia. And in order to get there, you have to get on State Street. But while you're driving from First Baptist Church Casey to First Baptist Church West Columbia, you will pass on State Street, State Street Baptist Church. That's three churches, three Baptist churches on a one mile strip of State Street. Well, I'm giving us credit.
We're a block off. If you go out these back doors, you'll be on a street that goes this way called Holland Avenue. If you take Holland Avenue that direction for about a mile, or you'll take Holland Avenue for about half a mile, and you'll take 12th Street for about half a mile, you'll come to another Baptist Church. This Baptist Church is called Holland Avenue Baptist Church, which is curious, seeing as we're on Holland Avenue and they're on 12th Street. Go figure. The point is, on a world scale, the saturation of churches in this area is kind of crazy.
Which is why when I say I am a brave missionary to the United States, we all kind of know that that's a joke. And it's not that we don't think that America needs the gospel. I think we would all probably claim that. But it is amusing to think of America, this area, as needing missionaries. But why?
Why is that? If I'm a Christian and I want to tell others about Jesus and I leave my motherland and I travel 15 hours on a flight to go somewhere else to tell people about Jesus, why shouldn't that count? And whether or not we like to admit it, I think we all intrinsically have an answer. Whether or not it's the correct answer, I don't know. We have an answer. And the answer is, bro, there's already churches here, right?
Access to the gospel here already exists. If you meet someone around here who's never heard the name of Jesus, it's because they just arrived here from somewhere else. If you're from here, you've heard of Jesus and you know where to go looking for him if you want him. And so a great irony exists here. The American church sends the vast majority of its money and missionaries overseas to places that already have access to the gospel. And we don't realize that we're engaged in exactly the same logical fallacy that makes the idea of Raz Bradley being a missionary to the United States amusing.
I'm supposed to be wrapping up this series today, but the truth is we are just getting started. So at risk of being slightly repetitive, I'm going to be restating a lot of the stuff that we've already talked about throughout this series. Uh, this is the conclusion to the introduction. And I know that y'all don't speak the Queen's English, but in real English, when we conclude an introduction, the entire point of that is to set the stage for what's about to come for the rest of the story. And that's the point of today is to conclude the introduction, but set us up for what comes for the rest of the story.
Uh, let's pray as we, we kick off this morning and turn to God's word. Father, we thank you for the privilege of living in an area where there is easy access to the gospel. Please give us a desire to see the good news of Jesus reach into the darkest places in the world, that those who are far from you could come to know Jesus. Amen. Let's take a quick look at the guiding verse on missions.
It's called the Great Commission. This is when Jesus sends out his apostles at the end of the book of Matthew. This is going to be up on the screen, uh, Matthew 28, and I'm going to start in verse 18. It says, and Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. The word, the, the section we're really focusing on today is, is that middle section in verse 19 and specifically the words that Jesus spoke that are translated to all nations.
Uh, in previous weeks, Chet has talked about how the, the original word in Greek is S. N. And so most of y'all, I'm assuming don't speak Greek. That says Panta, T. S. N.
That means all of the nations, or at least S. N. A. is translated in that section as nations. And what we talked about is that a better translation than nations, because when we hear the word nation, we think of countries with borders and governments and that kind of thing. A better translation would be people group or ethnicities. And that what Jesus is actually commanding is for us to take the good news to every people group.
Now it wasn't always this way. The evangelical church has erred on the translation for some time. Uh, we even called, if we go to the next slide, we even called our sermon series, all nations. And we did that knowing full well that in that section of scripture, we don't prefer the translation nations. We prefer a different translation, but guys, if you didn't know yet, I'm a little bit of a wizard with computers and things like this are easily fixed. And so you can just get a little bit of Photoshop in there and change it.
I was on my work computer. I didn't have Photoshop. That was paint, but you get the point. All nations is, is not the preferred translation. All ethnic, all people groups is how we should think about it. In my brief semesters as a missiological historian in seminary, I wrote papers on what is now commonly known of as the Lausanne movement.
Lausanne is the name of a city in Switzerland where a number of, uh, mission, uh, conferences were held in the 1970s. Uh, the first one was in July of 1974, 2,300 evangelical leaders from across the world, about 150 countries were represented. They all came to Lausanne in Switzerland to discuss the status of God's mission. Uh, essentially it was a state of the union for global evangelism. This is a big oversimplification, but one of the main questions that was being asked at the conference addresses the very nature of this all nations idea, this, what do we do with the all nations phrase? Because in general, in throughout evangelical, uh, history up to that point, the rallying cry of evangelical Christianity was that we should have a Christian church in every nation that is in every country and that God's mission would somehow become accomplished if we could just get a church in every country.
In fact, uh, there's an Anglican archbishop. His name is William temple. This is 30 years before Lausanne in 1942. He wrote that the great new fact of our time is the existence of the Christian church in nearly every nation on earth. So, uh, if God's mission was almost accomplished in 1942, how come in 1974, they were having these massive conferences in Switzerland to discuss whether or not the mission was done yet. And why are we still talking about it today?
Uh, at Lausanne in 1974, there was this bloke, his name was Ralph winter. Ralph winter, uh, was a relatively unknown person at the time, but he, he made his, he made his name at Lausanne. Uh, and he died. What he diagnosed was that in the church was what he called people blindness. And so I'm going to read a chunk of what he said at Lausanne in 1974. He said, I think this is up on the screen.
He said, I'm afraid that all our exaltation about the fact that every country of the world has been penetrated has allowed us to suppose that every culture has by now also been penetrated. This misunderstanding is a malady so widespread that it deserves a special name. Let us call it people blindness. That is blindness to the existence of separate peoples within countries. The nations to which Jesus often referred were mainly ethnic groups. The phrase make disciple of all ethnic does not let us off the hook.
Once we have a church in every country, God wants a strong church within every people. Uh, he went on in that same speech at Lausanne to estimate that, uh, over 95% of all missionaries deployed outside of the West, uh, were sent to be among other Christians or to countries that had established churches. He confronted at Lausanne, the global church for sending only a tiny fraction of all missionaries to what he described as the largest proportions of non-believing people groups, primarily the people groups among hidden Hindus, Muslims, and the Chinese. That was all in 1974. So fast forward to today, 2022, it's 48 years.
Let's call it 50. Uh, you've seen this map. This map has come up in previous weeks, uh, in green are areas, not countries because it's kind of split up all over the place, but areas in which access to the gospel is easy. In yellow is areas that have limited access to the gospel. And in red are areas with almost no gospel presence. In week one of this series, Chet, uh, quoted from David Platt, who spoke at this year's Together for the Gospel Conference.
Uh, it's a huge conference that happened in Kentucky. All of our pastors and Isaac went to the conference. Uh, there was 10,000 people there and, and he diagnosed three problems. And I don't want to talk about the second problem. Uh, but instead of quoting him again, I actually want to, uh, do something pretty cringeworthy, which is play a clip from another sermon inside of my own sermon. It's not really kosher.
You're not supposed to do that, but I'm going to do it today because I think Platt's demeanor and the visual that he draws attention to, uh, something that would be missed if I just kind of read what he said. And so, uh, we're going to play about a minute and a half of what Platt said at Together for the Gospel. Now, before we do that, uh, it's going to sound a little echoey. He was in a massive hall with 10,000 people in it. So that's not an effect that we're putting on there.
It's just the nature of the recording. So let's watch that. The church, our churches are practically ignoring the 3 billion people who need the gospel most. And this statement is not just anecdotal. I could show you the research, give you the Numbers. I'll let just one summarize the picture.
We as Christians in our country spend most of our money on ourselves, but we do give, we give collective billions of dollars to our churches, most of which we spend on making our churches more comfortable for ourselves. And then out of that money we give to churches and ministries, we give billions of dollars to missions, to gospel and church work and other places in the world, what we would call missions giving. But did you know, we've done the research that approximately 99% of our missions giving, so not talking about all of our resources or not even all of our giving in the church, like specifically that which we're giving to missions, approximately 99% of missions giving goes to people and places in the world that already have access to the gospel. to green and yellow places on this map. So the problem that he diagnoses is that the church is practically ignoring the people and places most unreached by the gospel.
50 Years later, after Ralph Winter diagnosed a problem of people blindness, Ralph Winter diagnosed that we're sending missionaries to places that already have the gospel. 50 years later, what's the update? I know it's a different statistic, but it's very closely related. Platt said that 99% of church giving, church giving specifically to missions, goes to countries and places that already have access to the gospel. So have we got better?
Or have we got worse? About the same. In no unclear terms, a problem has been diagnosed. And this is the problem that Platt said. The church is practically ignoring the people and places most unreached by the gospel. So what next?
Let's turn back to God's word and think through some practical steps for the global church, for Mill City Church, and for each of us as believers. I will go back to Matthew 28. This is the Great Commission again, just verse 19 this time. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. If you're relatively new at this church, we have four pastors. They all have different personalities, different types.
I am typically known in our church as the nicest of all the pastors. I'm the one who's always kind and polite, never sarcastic or abrasive. I don't know why y'all are laughing. But for the purpose of reinforcing the way that people view me, I'm going to be very dramatic in the way that I read exactly the same chunk again to almost condescendingly draw really obvious attention to the really obvious command here. All right, y'all ready for this?
Go and make disciples of all people groups, all ethnic. Go and make disciples of all people. This is something we are missing regularly. All people, all people groups, all ethnicities. Go and make disciples of all people. And in order for this to happen, somebody has to go.
That's the point there. The call here is urgent. The mission is critical. And yet, those willing to do it are few. Now, it can't be everybody, obviously. But it has to be somebody.
In fact, it's going to be somebody. It can't be everybody. But it has to be somebody. So here's how I want us to start thinking about this, how we should be shaping our conversation in a healthy way so as not to overburden or guilt trip ourselves, but at the same time to actively contribute to God's mission amongst the nations, amongst all people groups in tangible ways. And here's what I want us to remember. Remember, everyone sends and some go.
Everyone sends and some go. Now, to be clear, this is the most all-encompassing version of the word everyone. This is not one of those ones with exceptions where you say, I told a joke and everyone laughed. That could be true. That might not be true. This is everyone, unequivocally everyone.
All Christians are senders. They are supporters. They are cheerleaders. They are funders. They are ralliers. They are burden carriers.
They are sustainers. They are boosters. They are advocates. They are prayer warriors. There are missionaries on the front line working to get into the darkest places to bring the good news that Jesus rescues us from sin and gives us a path to salvation. If we put faith in him.
There are people in the darkest places in the world trying to get that message through. And if we're not there holding their hand, we ought to be supporters who are sending. I think we get this idea. It may come easier with an example. During World War II, the U.S. came together as a nation to fight the evil Axis powers. There was a bunch of soldiers who went.
They all went overseas to go off and fight the war. But there was a lot that happened on the home front as well. Folks rationed. Entire factories were transformed to stop producing things for household goods and cars. And instead, they produced munitions and tanks. Everyone sacrificed together because they knew the stakes.
And they believed in the cause. That is what the church does when they support those who go. We give financially. We pray daily. We correspond when we can. And we engage with those on the front lines.
Christians are senders. Everyone sends and some go. Now, we don't know who among us will go yet. I pray that that number increases. I pray that as we have a burden for global evangelism, that the number of us who would go would increase. In the past few weeks, we've had David Taylor from Empower One and Ben Johnson from 1040 Hope, both encouraging our church family to pray and consider the possibility that you might be called to go.
And specifically, to the red places. It's my hope that each one of us can see enough of the beauty of Jesus, enough of that to take that missionary call seriously. Seriously enough that we would consider it. Seriously enough that we would pray about it. Am I called? Should I go?
And if you feel that there's a part of you tugging you, urging you forward to answer some part of that call, then your response is to take next steps, to learn more, to talk to Ben, and begin a conversation about what it looks like not just to go, but to be prepared to go and reach people in the red zone. Everyone sends, some go. Now, it would be negligent to spend a whole mission series and not circle back to look at what beauty is accomplished when the mission is complete. We looked here in week one. This is going to be Revelation 7. It'll be up on the screen.
This is the Apostle John writing about the vision that he has at the end of time. He says this, You want to know what that means? Guys, someday, and it may not be today, but someday, the gospel will infiltrate the ethne. The people groups in the red zones in Afghanistan, in Yemen, in Somalia, in Sudan, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Mali, Libya. Those are countries. We've talked about the fact that we're not talking about countries.
We're talking about people groups. The Tajik, the Pashtun, the Uzbek, the Hazara, the Emak. All of these people groups have less than 0.02% evangelical Christians as part of their population. All of these people groups speak different primary languages. All of these people groups reside inside of the nation of Afghanistan. And there's about 35 million of them in just those people groups that I named, along with another 70 individually identified unreached people groups that also reside inside of Afghanistan.
Now, to our Western ears, that is a pretty scary list full of hostile-sounding countries, potentially hostile-sounding people groups. It is no wonder that there is not a line of people who want to go serve there. We're not talking about mission trips to the Bahamas. We're talking about mission trips to the hardest places in the world. It's dangerous. It's hard work.
But someone is going to go. And when they do, when the gospel takes root, a glorious and beautiful picture will come to fruition, like the final pieces of a 10, no, 100,000-piece puzzle, finally coming together so that we can see it in its true glory. At the end of time, in the throne room of the king, a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, every tribe, every people, every language, stand before God in awe and worship. You may be thinking similar thoughts that I think the first time, or that I thought the first time I heard a lot of this. In the grand scheme of things, I'm one little person in a country of 330 million on a planet with some 7.5 billion.
Multiply that by the generations that have existed in the couple thousand years since Jesus and multiply again by the generations before that. What good, how big a part am I actually going to play? Admittedly, and we have to admit it, it's a pretty bleak mindset. It's a pretty defeated mindset. If everyone had this mindset, no one would go. But if every church, every believer shifted that mindset, baby steps shifted that mindset towards obedience to God's call, to Jesus' commission, then we would see the kind of global changes that it would take to reach all of those people in the red areas.
If God's mission is that the church would go and make disciples of all people, what's my role? Well, we beat the drum of local missions for years at Mill City. That is the idea that we would talk about Jesus to our colleagues, our friends, our neighbors, our family. That's part of it. That's day-to-day life. That is easy-ish, but it's low-hanging fruit.
It's right in front of us. We should be engaging in that as commonplace. But there's also the part that includes reaching those people groups that no one else is going to. Everybody sends some go. Now, maybe you should go. Maybe that's something that you should be having conversations about.
But you should definitely send. In the past month, again, David Taylor and Ben Johnson, both of whom work for organizations reaching red countries, both of whom have offices in our building right there, they've been platformed to talk about different ways that we can send. You should also know that we, as a church, have increased our missions giving this year. And since the Rockies returned from the field, we've taken everything on that budget line item and allocated that directly to support 1040 Hope. We now give 1040 Hope $575 a month. That may seem like a lot.
That may seem like it's insignificant. I don't really know how you interpret 575 bucks a month to the red areas. But what it represents in our church is a down payment on where we're going long term. It is a down payment that we are committed to reaching unreached areas. And one of the difficulties in my life is picking and choosing the kinds of things that I want to support. I think, to a degree, everyone has to make those decisions.
It's not just how much money should I be giving. It's also who should I be giving that money to. And I have to admit, sinfully in my own heart, that some pretty awful stuff happens when I start to consider something like missions in Afghanistan. I have trust issues. Is that organization going to waste the money? Is it going to get stolen?
Is it going to impact anything? Will there be a return on investment? Is it going to be a return on investment? Worse, there's downright racism. Afghanistan? Aren't they the guys who are trying to kill everyone in the West?
Why should I care what happens to them? Why should I care if they meet Jesus or not? Aren't they the enemy? There's lack of faith. That country is too far gone. I don't think God could perform a miracle and save them.
There's pride. You get very little recognition when you give to something that happens on the other side of the planet. It's much easier to give to something right here where you can take a photo of yourself, handing over a big check, and put it on Facebook and look really good. Sometimes they slap your name on a building. And of course, there's comfort. Why give my money away to something that seems hopeless when I can just spend it on me on Amazon?
In general, I am likely to have a lot of reasons that I don't give to something like this. But ultimately, what that does, what all of my reasons, what all of my excuses do, is highlight the different areas that I don't believe in God's plan to reach all people. That I am out of sync ultimately and not lined up with God and his desire to reach all people. And that needs to be fixed in myself. So what is the correct response to this?
God calls us to take the gospel to all people. And we've been ignoring those who need it most. Some should go. But all of us, Mill City Church, should and will send. The hardest hitting part of David Platt's message, the message that we played a clip from, the hardest hitting part for me in that sermon, the part that kind of hurt, that was a gut punch, you have to understand, he was addressing church leaders from across the country and across the world. There was 10,000 of us there.
The room was massive. And he said to all of us, at some point, collectively, we've got to decide to rectify this great imbalance and obey this great commission. We've got to mobilize billions of dollars and tens of thousands of missionaries to get the gospel to the red zone. This all-nation series, this all-ethne series, it's intended to serve as something of a pivot point for us as a church. These conversations about the red countries, we've referred to it sometimes as the 1040 window. We want all of this language, all of this idea of the unreached or the red areas, we want this to be commonplace for us as we talk consistently about missions and reaching every tribe, tongue, and nation.
Some of us will go. All of us at Mill City are going to send. Matt Freeman's going to make his way back up. I'm going to close out with three thoughts of things we get to do in response, not just to this today, but the whole series. Y'all should be able to predict all three of these. They're very straightforward and very simple.
The first one is pray. Pray for those who are already on the field. Pray for the organizations trying to reach the unreached. Pray for those who are going to be called. And pray for those who live in the red zones. The second one, also very obvious, is give.
Look at your budget. What does it show about what you care most? What changes can you make in order to reorient yourself towards God's mission? Some of y'all should start giving directly to organizations that send people to the red zones on top of what you're already giving to Mill City and other causes. The third one, also obvious, is go. I realize that this one is not going to be for everyone, but it will be for some.
Some of y'all need to stop ignoring the call to missions. You need to take steps to see what it would mean to begin training and eventually be launched specifically to the red areas on the map. Like I said at the beginning this morning, today is the conclusion of a series, but it is the beginning of a new way of thinking for us in Mill City about global missions and for our church. And in obedience to him, all of us will send. And I pray that some of us will go. Let's pray.
Father, we recognize this morning that the message of the gospel, the good news that Jesus came for us is for all people. And that there are billions of people who don't even know who Jesus is and don't even have a way to find out more about him. We pray for those in the red zone, that they would meet a Christian. We pray that organizations sending to the red will be able to penetrate into countries that are very hard to gain access to. We pray that we would give generously to organizations that are working on this. We pray that for those of us who will go, that you will be opening doors and guiding that path.
In Jesus' name, amen. This morning we're going to take communion. If you are not a believer, this is just kind of one of those rituals that Christians do. You're invited to stay seated. Matt's going to sing a song. There's going to be words on the screen.
If you're not a Christian, just stay there and consider some of the things you've heard this morning and whether or not you want to learn more about Jesus. If you are a Christian, come and receive Christ's body and his blood was shed for you. Do this in remembrance of him. There is gluten-free options for those of us with sensitive tummies in the back. But for everyone else, anytime during this song, feel free to just move and take communion.
Here's what the doctors said. Thank you. I'm so sorry to see you. Take communion. There is a place like this happening there. Like this for me.
Let's go to Ephra топ.
Plant Churches
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Spencer and I am one of the pastors here. We are in a four-week series called All Nations. In week one, Chet introduced us to the Great Commission again that we center our hope on as Christians, that we are called to go and make disciples of all nations. And one of the things that we're emphasizing in this series is that fulfilling the Great Commission means making disciples of all nations. The Greek word for nations there is ethnos, which is where we get the word ethnicity.
This is all people groups everywhere. And in week one, he introduced this map from the Joshua Project that emphasizes where the greatest amount of lostness is amongst people groups in the world. That red area in the center is typically referred to as the 1040 window. This is the latitude, longitude window on that map that has Christians that not only don't, or has unbelievers that not only don't know Christ, some of them don't have a Bible in their language. Some of them don't have a Christian that speaks their language for hundreds of miles. There aren't churches in these areas.
And if we're called to go and make disciples of all nations, that involves going to those places, the hardest to reach places in the world to deliver the gospel. So Chet introduced that week one, week two. He walked us through a little bit of one of the two kind of big questions that come out of that as we biblically approach this. I would encourage you to go back and listen to that if you missed last week. Today, we're going to take a look at the first missionary journey that went to actually tackle unreached people groups. That went to specifically make disciples and plant churches amongst places that had none.
The first big step in fulfilling the Great Commission, and that is found in Acts 13 and 14 in Paul's and Barnabas, their first missionary journey. So, that means it's Acts 13 and 14. We have two chapters of material that we're working through today. So, typically, we say you can grab a Bible, but we also have the Bible on the screen that you can follow along with us. That is not the case today. We're actually going to have a map on the screen of the missionary journey so that you can follow along.
That will help kind of us see where all this is happening, which means you really do need to grab a Bible. If you don't have a Bible, there are Bibles around you, and the blue Bibles, it's on page 537. But we'd encourage you to have a Bible. You can also pull it up on your phone. Just don't check your email. Don't go to Facebook.
Don't do the things that... It's a lot of material anyways to get through all at once. You don't need anything to distract you beyond that. So, we've got two chapters to work through, and there are three main encouragements that come out of these two chapters that I want us to see. The first is the mission of God begins with prayer. Second, the mission of God invites suffering.
And third, the mission of God plants churches. Okay? We're going to see that in order as we walk through the text. So, let me pray, and then we'll jump in. God, I pray that you would open our hearts to this bold call, this beautiful opportunity to make disciples in places that have none. God, I pray you'd help us see that today in the Scriptures, and that we respond in faith and repentance and worship and obedience.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Okay. Verse 1, chapter 13. Now, there were in the church at Antioch.
Okay. So, this is an overview of the first missionary journey that Paul and Barnabas went on. Each of these missionary journeys start in the city of Antioch, which is in modern-day Syria, also known as ancient-day Syria. It has not changed its name for 2,000-plus years. So, they're in the city of Antioch. In the previous chapters in Acts, you see God is doing a great work.
They're in that city. And then, it says, they were at the church at Antioch, which, by the way, the next slide, just to help us a little bit. It's going to be hard to see, I know. The gold star. That's going to be Paul and Barnabas trucking along the way. So, you see the gold star.
Follow the gold star. You know where we're at. Okay. So, now, there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon, who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manion, a lifelong friend of Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul. Okay.
So, the book of Acts is going to shift from calling him Saul, which is his more Jewish name, to Paul, his more Gentile, Greco-Roman name. But this is Saul, Paul, the apostle Paul. Set apart them for the work to which I have called them. Then, after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. Okay.
The first thing I want us to see is that the mission of God begins with prayer. The mission of God begins with prayer. The early church believed this. They believed this. They lived this out. In verse 2, it says, while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, that doesn't seem to be something that they did especially for this.
This wasn't like a prayer meeting that they came together for, which those are good. But that doesn't seem to be what's happening. This seems to be a regular rhythm of what the church did at the time. They were praying and they were fasting and they were worshiping. In the midst of that, God speaks to them in a powerful way and says, set apart for me, Paul and Barnabas, for the work to which I have called them. And this is to make disciples amongst unreached people groups.
To go to the Gentiles. To go to those who don't have the gospel. To go into the darkest places of the world. Brothers and sisters, if we want to reach Casey, which we do. If we want to reach Columbia, which we do. If we want to obey the Great Commission and make disciples of all nations to go into the darkest, most remote parts of the world that desperately need Christ.
It begins with this rhythm of normative, dependent prayer. That we do over and over and over again. But we overcomplicate this sometimes. We will, listen, we will strategize the heck out of anything. Like that's something that we as Western American Christians will do. We will find a strategy or a program or, you know, a series, right?
To tackle this. But it begins with normative, dependent prayer. John Piper says, a prayerless Christian is like a bus driver. A bus driver who's in a ditch trying to get out of it. But he fails to see that he has Clark Kent on board.
And he's pushing the bus to get it out. But he fails to see that Clark Kent Superman is on board. That's us as prayerless Christians. We fail to see that if we want to be obedient to this calling, we have the Holy Spirit at work in us. We have the God, the universe behind us. And it begins with normative, normal, dependent, regular prayer.
Praying for the nations. Praying that God would do a work in the city. Praying over and over and over again. And in the midst of this type of prayer in this church in Antioch, the Holy Spirit says, Set apart for me Paul and Barnabas to be sent out. So they lay hands on them.
The Holy Spirit sends them through his people out. And they're off. And they travel down to, say, Lucia, port city. And then they're off to Cyprus. Verse 5. When they arrived at Salamis, which is the port city, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews.
Now, you can notice that's a normative pattern that happens in the book of Acts. They go to the Jewish synagogues first, proclaim Christ, and then it expands out from there. And they had John to assist them. This is John Mark, the writer of the Gospel of Mark. He's along with them for this part of the journey. Verse 6.
When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos. So, all across the island, sharing the Gospel, they get to the other side of it at Paphos. They came upon a certain magician. Verse 6. A Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. Now, Bar is Aramaic for son of.
Son of Jesus. This is not our Jesus. Jesus was a common name at the time. So his father was named Jesus. We're going to learn in a moment. His name is Elimus, the magician.
This is Elimus, son of Jesus. So, he was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. He was to be the Roman leader of that area. A man of intelligence who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. So he hears about the Gospel.
He wants to hear about this. But there's this Elimus, the magician, who's in his ear. Think less Harry Potter, more Jafar in Aladdin. Kind of working behind the scenes, whispering evil into the ruler. Verse 8. But Elimus, or Elimus, sorry.
The magician, that is the meaning of his name. Opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. So, this is the classic evil magician in your ear. This is Lord Voldemort in the ear of King Theodon using the force to keep Thanos on the iron throne type of magical story. Not really. That's just a troll.
A lot of the nerds that we have here. Quite literally, this is what's happening. This is satanic forces of evil at work to oppose the Gospel. So, when tapping into those forces to oppose the work of Christ with false teaching. And Paul, don't play. Like, he's not having that.
He aggressively combats that in verse 9. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy. Will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? Will you not stop getting in the way of the Gospel going forward? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time. So, he strikes them blind, which I wish was a spiritual gift that still existed.
Then I could just, like, turn on TBN or get on a YouTube channel and just strike false prophets blind. Because, you know, good hobby. But, because they're the worst. Okay. Immediately, mist and darkness fell upon him. So, they strike him blind.
He went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. So, this sways the proconsul. It's the miraculous work that they just did combined with the Gospel, the teaching of Christ. He believes. It's almost as if, if you remove a false teacher from somebody's ear, they can clearly hear the Gospel and respond in faith and repentance.
That's what happens. So, this happens, and then they're off. They leave Cyprus. Verse 13. Now, Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. Okay.
So, now they're in Perga. That is modern-day Turkey. That's where the majority of the rest of this mission is going to be. It's in modern-day Turkey. So, this is the pattern of Paul. They were in Cyprus.
They made disciples, establishing the church, and they're out. That's part of what he does, is what Chet introduced us to in week one. They make converts. They plant churches. They're on to the next unreached area. And then it quickly says, and John left them and returned to Jerusalem.
So, John Mark leaves them. We found out a couple chapters later that this was not a good leaving, because when they go, gear up to go on a second missionary journey, John Mark wants to join them. Barnabas says yes. Paul says no. They actually have a sharp disagreement and divide, and don't do mission work together again. We know from the rest of the scriptures that reconciliation happens, that Paul, in his final letters, is writing, asking John Mark to come and see him.
But this is a painful experience, nevertheless. Now it's just Paul and Barnabas as they continue. And now they're going to go to Antioch in Pisidia. This is a different Antioch. Same name, different city. Now this group of cities up here is in a region called Galatia, which should sound familiar if you know the New Testament.
That is the letter that was written to the Galatians. So the letter to the Galatians, the book of Galatians, was circulated amongst these next four cities that we're going to see. Verse 14. But they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the law and the prophets, which that's a normal thing that happens in synagogues, have a reading from the law, have a reading from the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue, were in verse 15, sent a message to them saying, Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.
Which I'm sure Paul was delighted to be asked. I know as a Christian when someone says, Hey, tell me about what you believe. Tell me about what it means to be a Christian. Like my little heart just flutters. Because I'm like, yes, this is my moment. I will.
You've teed it up. I grabbed the driver. I'm going for this. And that's exactly what Paul does. He launches into a sermon. So verse 16.
So Paul stood up and motioning with his hands said, Now, for the sake of time, we're not going to go through what he said. It's a great sermon. Traces from the Old Testament. Christ from the Old Testament all the way to the New Testament. Where you have the death and resurrection. And he preaches the gospel.
And then people start to place their faith in Jesus. Skip down to verse 42. Verse 42. As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas. Who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.
How good is that? They preach this gospel and people start placing their faith in Christ. So much so that they begged them to come back next week. We want to hear more of this. And when you talk to people who do mission work in areas where God is going to do work in. This is a little bit of what Chet was getting at last week.
That when God has elected believers. When there are believers that are there to be, the harvest is plentiful. And they're called to go in there and see this happen. When this happens, the response is profound. That they are so hungry. They've been so deprived of the gospel, of the word of God.
They hear it and they believe. Verse 44. The next Sabbath, almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. The whole city is beating down the door to hear more of this. But, verse 45. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy.
And began to contradict what was spoken by Paul. Reviling him. This is going to be a common theme that continues throughout the rest of the book of Acts. That Paul over and over again, a Pharisee, a teacher of the law formerly. Is going to be heavily persecuted and reviled by the Jewish people. They do not believe.
Over and over and over again. 46. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly saying, It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life. Behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. So because you've rejected it, it's now going to the Gentiles.
For, so the Lord has commanded us saying, I have made you a light for the Gentiles. That you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. Paul says, because you have rejected it. Just as the Jewish people have done for hundreds of years at that time. They rejected living in the covenant of God. They were supposed to be a kingdom of priests.
A royal priesthood. They were supposed to be a light to the nations. Where the Jewish people fell, Jesus steps in and succeeds. And now becomes a light to the nations with his people. Not just Jews, but non-Jews, Gentiles. God is coming for everyone.
Everyone's getting the gospel. That's the point that's being made here. Verse 48. And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord. And as many as were appointed to eternal life, believed. How good is that?
That is what you want. As many as were appointed to eternal life, believed the gospel. They are rejoicing that they now take part in the covenant faith. They are a part of this new family of God. Verse 49. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.
It is spreading like wildfire throughout Galatia. So, verse 50. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city. So in Antioch, you've got the movers and shakers. You've got the devout women of high standing. You've got the leading men of the city.
They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas with these people. And drove them out of their district. But they, this is Paul and Barnabas, shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. So, that's something that Jesus actually taught in the gospels. He says that they reject the message, take off your shoes, dust it out, get the sand out, and move on to the next city. That is partly judgment against those who have rejected it.
But also, quite literally, that's moving on. Like the Holy Spirit leads. You don't have to, you have to go with his leading. He doesn't call you to stay in the same place. Sometimes he calls you to go to the next place. That happens with Jesus.
That happens with his apostles. They're going to the next city, which is Iconium. So, now they've traveled. They're now in Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit in the midst of this. The second encouragement I want us to see from this missionary journey is that the mission of God invites suffering.
The mission of God invites suffering. Paul understood this, what Jesus taught when he said, If the world hates you, you know it has hated me before it has hated you. That what you stand for in Christ, the world stands against. The very nature of the world is opposed to the very nature of Christ. It's very clearly taught in the scriptures. So, it should come as no shock that the Jews are raging against them.
When you preach the gospel, opposition comes. And when you do it in cultures, you don't have the gospel, the opposition can be heavy. Ben Johnson, one of our church members, director of missions organization 1040 Hope. He was in Sudan a few weeks back and he was talking with a Sudanese pastor. And this pastor was in prison for three years for sharing the gospel. He was in prison for three years.
And when he got out, actually America offered him asylum. That he could come here and not get killed. And he said, no. He stayed. He stayed because in Sudan they need the gospel. And those are his people.
And he ain't leaving. And out of that, he got some street cred. And he's planted five churches since then. And the work is continuing. And Ben got to go see that firsthand. That oftentimes when persecution begins and opposition to the gospel begins, God starts to work boldly through it.
When Christians are imprisoned overseas, those are opportunities. That's what we should pray for those disciples. Not just for their safety. But so that the gospel might spread. Because often historically, God uses moments of persecution and suffering to advance the gospel. Those are the moments where we should be sending money and resources.
And everything we can to see those churches advance. That's part of what's happening here. That's part of why the disciples in this city are filled with joy. God uses temporary suffering to bring about eternal glory through belief in Christ. Over and over and over again. And if we American Christians could see suffering as a weapon.
If we could see it as a weapon that spreads the gospel more as these early Christians did. Goodness. The dent and lostness that we could make here and abroad. If we just owned that as an opportunity. So, they convert new believers. They're kicked out of the city.
They're filled with joy. They move on to Iconium to preach Christ again. Verse 1, chapter 14. New chapter. Now at Iconium, they enter together into the Jewish synagogue.
And spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believe. Again, this is the pattern. They go into a city. Go to the Jewish synagogue. Preach the gospel. God starts moving from there.
But, the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. The unbelieving Jews poisoned the well. Opposition. Verse 3. So, they remained for a long time. Speaking boldly for the Lord who bore witness to the word of his grace.
Granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. So, they stay longer. They stay longer. They continue to preach Christ in this city. Verse 4. But the people of the city were divided.
Some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. Which happens if you preach Christ. You make enemies. You make converts. That is what happens. Verse 5.
When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews with their rulers to mistreat them and to stone them. They learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe. Cities of Lyconium and to the surrounding country. And there they continue to preach the gospel. So, when they're about to be murdered for preaching Christ. They move on.
It's not their time to die yet. That's coming. Paul will be eventually executed for preaching the gospel. It's not yet. So, they're going on to the next city. Which is Lystra.
Where they're going to preach Christ. Listen. I have been belittled for sharing Christ in the past. That people make fun of me behind my back. I'm not saying that's not fun. It's not fun.
But, compared to this. Compared. Sometimes American Christians, we get this complex. Like, oh, we're suffering. It's like, yeah, but comparatively. Like, keep things in perspective.
No one's grabbing a stone to just absolutely pummel you to death. That's not. A mob of people is not about to execute you. But that does. That happens all across the world with our brothers and sisters in Christ. All over the 1040 window.
Now, verse 8. Now, at Lystra. So, they're in this new city. There was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking.
And Paul looked intently at him. And seeing that he had faith to be made well. Said in a loud voice, stand upright on your feet. And he sprang up and began walking. So, they enter Lystra with a bang. With a miraculous healing.
And it sets the city on fire. Verse 11. And when the crowd saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lyconian, The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men. Which is not the response I think they expected. It says, verse 12. Barnabas, they called Zeus and Paul Hermes because he was the chief speaker.
So, if Chet and I went to a foreign culture and we went and preached the gospel and this happened, I guarantee you there would be an inside joke. Going forward. Because Zeus is the chief Greek God. He's like the king Greek God. And Hermes is lesser than. The inside joke would be, hey, you know, I got called Zeus and he got called Hermes.
How's that? You can speak on my behalf from now on. I'm better than you. That would be our inside joke. They were more mature than us. That is not how they responded.
In verse 13 it says, And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifices with the peoples. So they are Greek pagans. They interpret this through their Greek pagan lens and say, The gods have come down before us. And Paul and Barnabas' response was aggressive. Verse 14. When the apostle Barnabas and Paul, when the apostles heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed into the crowd.
So there was no inside joke yet. I like to think maybe later, but not yet. They tear their garments and run into the crowd. Okay? Tearing your garments was a deep sign of lament and grief. Okay?
It doesn't really convey for us anymore. Only people that tear their garments now are in the WWE. That's for different reasons. But they tear their garments. They rush into the crowd, crying out. Verse 15.
Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like nature with you. And we bring you good news. That you should turn from these vain things to a living God. So they preach the gospel.
Who made the heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them. In the past generations he allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Verse 17. Yet he did not leave himself without witness. For he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons. Satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.
So this is a little bit tied to some of the things that were said last week. We don't have time to get into this. But he's just giving them a bigger picture of God's redemption and what he's doing here. And then in verse 18 it says, Even with these things they could scarcely restrain the people from offering sacrifice to them. They could barely keep them from offering sacrifice and being treated like gods. Now, in comes the curveball in verse 19.
But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium. Now we're starting to get a picture of what happens in this region. There's a Jewish network of angry Jewish persecutors that do not like the work that is happening. They're traveling from city to city following Paul and Barnabas. Trying to stir up opposition against them. And in this city they are very successful.
And having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city supposing that he was dead. So that's mob rule right there. Mob violence. In one moment, they're about to worship them as gods. Then all of a sudden these Jews come in and they start stirring the crowd against them.
When I went to India years ago, they said, Stay away from the large crowds because they quickly can turn on a dime. And that's what happens. They stir the crowds against them and they stone him to death. They stone him, y'all. They took heavy objects and beat him and broke his... Like this weekend I was trimming a tree limb and foolishly didn't think about how angles work in geometry.
And it came back and it swung and it hit me in the shoulder. Like I just... That's painful. My brother did the same thing when I was 15 or 14. I was on an ATV and he took a large tree limb and he broke it over me. Not a stick.
A tree limb. Which for context... Okay. Not the brother you know that's part of this church. Because he's like 15 years older than me. And that image, if you just had that, was super weird.
That was a grown man striking a child with a tree limb. Not that brother. My older brother who's a few months, 18 months older than me. That hurts. That's painful. That's one object.
They took stones and they pummeled his body until he was bleeding internally to the point of death. They drag him out of the city and leave him for dead. His body is lifeless. Verse 20. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city.
And on the next day he went with Barnabas to Derbe. So presumably the disciples gather around him, pray over him. Now the text doesn't tell us if he was completely 100% dead and was raised or was at the point of death. Nevertheless, this is a miraculous event. You don't just spring up and walk into a city after your bones have been broken by stones. They were very good at stoning.
Okay? You don't just pop up and walk in. This is miraculous. He raises up. And listen, I feel like he could have just said, you know what? It's been a long day.
I'll go ahead and grab my stuff. I'm going to camp out here. We're going to Derbe anyways. I'll see you all tomorrow. No. He walks straight into the city where the people just stoned him.
What a G. That is Paul. He is just fierce. He walks right back into the city. Grabs his stuff. They're off to Derbe.
On to the next city. So, continuing to preach Christ. Verse 21. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples. That's it. That's all we get in Derbe.
It's like Luke. It's like you get the picture, right? This is what they do. They come in. They preach the gospel. There's opposition.
Scores and hundreds of people come to Christ. Like, it's just like that's all you get. This is what happens in Derbe. We're moving on. They returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch. Strengthening the souls of the disciples.
Encouraging them to continue in the faith. And saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. This is the third encouragement I want us to take away from this. The mission of God plants churches. The mission of God plants churches.
Listen, they doubled back and went through the cities that they did work in. They went through all these cities. Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Antioch. And they ministered to these churches. If the mission of God is the great commission to make disciples of all nations. Okay?
Part one. And Paul's missionary journeys give us a template of what that looks like. Part two. It is clear that the ultimate mission of God is to plant churches amongst all peoples. Paul proclaimed Christ. He got beat around.
He made converts with Barnabas all over the region of Galatia. They preached Christ. Moved to the next city. Preached Christ. Moved to the next city. And they planted churches.
And they go back through. Let me show you this next slide. Actually, no. Don't go there yet. They plant churches in these areas. Galatians.
And one of the things that we see very clearly in the first two verses of the letter of Galatians is that these were established churches. Galatians 1 verses 1 and 2 says, Paul, Paul, Paul, Paul, Paul, Paul, Paul, an apostle, Paul, Paul, an apostle, not from men, not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead and all the brothers who are with me. Hear this. To the churches of Galatia. That is, next slide, all of these cities in the north and the churches they planted before. But the writing, the letter of Galatians is written to these established churches in these cities that they planted.
And they go back through and they start to give these churches structure. They appoint elders, which is what we're called to do. That's why we're elder led as a church. There are four elders in this church. They appointed elders in these cities, in these churches in these cities. They give structure to them.
They minister to them. But that was Paul's mission, was to plant churches where there were none. That's why in week one, when Chet mentioned Romans 15, when Paul says, but now since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, you look at that and it's like, no, that doesn't make sense. There's plenty of work to do in these regions. There's lots of lost people in these regions. But that wasn't his primary aim.
His primary aim was to fill the Great Commission, making disciples of all nations. Certainly, the rest of the New Testament bears that we're absolutely called to continue to minister to Christians. That's what we do here. Make converts, we minister. That's what Paul did. Part of establishing these elders was to minister to these churches.
But the Great Commission aim was to plant churches where there were none. That doesn't mean that we don't do the normal things that we're called to do as Christians. That doesn't mean we don't care for one another. That doesn't mean that we don't do things like combating sex trafficking, which is great work, or orphan care, or adoption, or all the good endeavors that God calls us to, the good ministries that we can take part in, that the church should be leading the way on. But I want to be very clear that fulfilling the Great Commission is not primarily that.
That is the overflow of doing it. The primary aim of the Great Commission is to plant churches amongst every people group where they don't have the gospel. And that's what Paul and Barnabas do. They retrace their steps and they continue all the way back. It says in verse 24, Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Atilia.
And from there they sailed to Antioch where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. Verse 27, And when they had arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them and how he opened a door of faith to the Gentiles and they remained no little time with the disciples, which is a convoluted way of saying they stayed there a long time. So, we did it. We just walked through the entire missionary journey. Two chapters in 30-ish minutes. Okay?
They get back to Antioch and I can imagine sailing back to Antioch in Syria. They had stories. That when they finally showed up two-ish years later, the people were like, Tell us what happened. And they said, It was amazing. We planted churches. We saw thousands of people come to Christ.
I got murdered. It was amazing. This was incredible. And here's the deal. It's like the end of a superhero movie. They're celebrating.
They beat the bad guy. And then all of a sudden, the post-credits. You see, Oh, wait. This is a sequel. This keeps going. There's going to be more of these.
And that's what happens. There's a second missionary journey. They go further. There's a third missionary journey. Historically, it's debated, though I agree, there's a fourth missionary journey, just not in the scriptures. Okay?
And then the book of Acts, after the third missionary journey, it just ends. It just stops. There's no conclusion. It just stops. Luke just stops writing. And that's because the story keeps going.
It keeps going. The work continues. We are part of two church planning networks. We're part of the SEND church planning network with the North American Mission Board. That's our Southern Baptist network. We're part of Grassroots Church Planning Network.
That's a local network. It's Midtown Church. Some other churches are in that network. Smaller. We're part of those two networks. We have no plans to add anymore.
Okay? There is a network out there that has the best church planning network name, period, end of discussion. And they're called Acts 29. That is an amazing smaller church name. Okay? You know why it's 29?
Because there is no 29th chapter of the book of Acts. They're continuing the work of planting churches. That's what we're called to do. Listen. If we want to be obedient to the Great Commission, we're either Paul and Barnabas going into the frontier seeing churches planted where there are none. Or we're Antioch.
And we're sending. And we're praying on our face. And we're funding. And we're sending missionaries. And we're taking trips with them. And we're praying as they suffer that the gospel go forward.
We would need to do all of the above if we want to be obedient to the Great Commission.
10/40 Hope Interview with Ben Johnson
Proclaim the Gospel
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name's Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. Grab your Bibles and go to Romans 1. That's where we'll start this morning, although we are going to look at a lot of different passages. We're in the second week of our All Nations series.
Last week, we looked at this map. Not that one. Not that map. And what we said was, that's a map. It's from Joshua Project. I would encourage you, you can go to their website and check it out.
You can also go to the IMB's website. They have similar maps. But that is showing unreached people groups. It's a map of unreached people groups. And as we talked about this, we stated three problems that David Platt listed, and we read through them. And it's over three billion people are currently unreached by the gospel.
That was problem number one. Now, unreached does not mean that over three billion people are not Christians or not believers. Unreached means that they don't have access to the gospel. As we said last week, it's unreached does not communicate to you someone standing before God, but their access to the gospel. And so these unreached people groups don't have churches around them, don't have the Bible in their language, don't have any sort of evangelical presence where people are trying to proclaim the gospel to them. Now, this is a map.
Yeah, you don't have to go back. I just forgot that it wasn't going to be there for a second. This is a map done by evangelicals. So there are places on the map that maybe have some Catholicism or some of the Orthodox Church or whatever. But this is just saying these are places where we don't know of anybody proclaiming salvation by faith, by grace in Christ.
We just don't we don't have that at this point. We said the second problem is that the church is practically ignoring the people in places most unreached by the gospel. That ninety nine percent of funds that go to missionaries goes to areas in the green and yellow and three percent and ninety seven percent of missionaries go to the green and yellow, which means that only one percent of money and three percent of missionaries are making it to the most unreached peoples. And we said the third problem was that the number of unreached people is higher today than ever before and will continue to increase until the church decides to change.
The number of unreached people is higher today than ever before and will continue to increase until the church decides to change. This is what we looked at last week. So look at the map again. We said we've got to go. The church has to get to the red area and the red area is difficult to get to. Unreached peoples are unreached for a reason.
They don't want to be reached. They're hostile to the gospel. Their governments don't want Christians there or they're just in really difficult locations. They're hard to get to. And so as we talked about this last week and we said that there's something needs to change. And the church, when I say we, I mean the church, but we're a part of the church.
But the global church has to begin to pursue these areas. We have to change where our money goes. We have to change where our missionaries go. But one of the things that that gets is kind of a natural response. I find that there's there's two. One of the first natural responses is this general.
That's awful. And I don't want to think about that too much. Because I don't really want to have to change what I'm doing. I don't. Oh, man, that's that's terrible. Please let us leave so I can go to lunch and try to think about something else.
I mean, that really is kind of it's a natural that if I think about it too much, the Lord might tell me to do something. If I pray about that, that he would call people, he might call me. So I don't know how like it there's that's part of it. And we've got to overcome that. But one of the other responses is just kind of a is that really how it works?
Like we said last week. That there are three point one eight billion people in unreached people groups. in the 1040 window and that many of them will be born. We'll live and we'll die and we'll have never heard the gospel, never heard the name of Jesus. But they'll live many of them in really hard places, that they'll live in a functional earthly hell, and then they will enter into an eternal reality without Christ. that they'll live in an earthly hell and go to an eternal hell. And one of the responses that is that really how is that really how it works? Is that is that fair?
So I want to address two questions that I think are genuine, come from genuine places as people consider the vast amount of lostness in the church's need to address it. The first one that we're going to look at is doesn't God have a plan for those who never hear? Another way of putting that is how is it fair for people to go to hell for not hearing about Jesus? Maybe a way you've heard it put is does the innocent person in India really go to hell because they never had a chance to hear about Jesus? Is that really how it works? How is that fair?
That's the first we're going to look at. We're going to try to walk through that idea. And the second one is this. If we believe in election, if we believe in the doctrine of election, if we believe, like Ephesians says, that God chose us in him before the foundation of the world, or as we looked in Revelation, that he's already purchased people. We said last week he's purchased people out of every tribe, tongue, language, nation, people group that we that they belong to him and that we can go. If we really believe that.
Isn't God just going to do what he's going to do? I mean, I got a lot going on. Can I just be trying to follow him here and just trust that God's going to do what he's going to do? If we really believe that, do we really have to hustle? I think those are two questions. I think those are two big questions.
I think those are two genuine questions. And we are going to try to trace out an answer to both of those this morning. And that's, we've got all of our work cut out for us to try to talk through both of those this morning. Both of them could have their own Sunday. They could have their own series. They could get their own books.
They're worth looking at and considering. We're going to try to give brief responses, almost the beginning of a response, to try to help us start in the direction of this is how the Bible responds to that. And we can talk more as we go if these are genuine things you struggle with. But we're going to try to trace out an answer to both of those. So we all got to put our adult pants on and get to moving this morning.
So let's pray for the Lord to help us. And we're going to read through this this morning. So, Lord, we ask for your grace. We pray that you would give us ears to hear and hearts to hear. That we might trust your word and trust your goodness. And that you might help us to respond in faith and faithfulness.
In Jesus' name, amen. First question. Doesn't God have a plan for those who never hear? Or how is it fair for people to go to hell for not hearing about Jesus? Or does the innocent person in India really go to hell because they never had a chance to hear about Jesus? The first thing that we need to see from the scriptures, I believe, is that no, the innocent person in India does not go to hell.
The problem is there is no innocent person in India. The Bible tells us that there are no innocent people. There's no innocent people in Yemen. There's no innocent people in Casey. Romans 1. We'll look at verse 18.
We're going to look at Romans 1, Romans 2, Romans 3, and then we'll look in Ephesians 1 at the passage we just read together a second ago. Romans 1. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Meaning that in our sin, we fight against what is real. We fight against what is true. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them.
For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. And this next part is key. So they are without excuse. That God has displayed his godness, his divinity, his greatness in creation. And that in creation what we do is we see that and reject it wholesale. Humanity rejects God's glory in creation.
That in our sin and our unrighteousness we suppress this. He goes on to say that we then elevate other things. But he says this. We'll read verse 21. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. That we choose darkness.
That we can see and perceive the glory of God in creation and that humanity rejects that. And so therefore, God's glory displayed in creation is effective only to help us reject him and to make a conscious choice to elevate something else or ourselves and to be darkened. And we are without excuse. Romans 2 verse 12. He says it this way. As he's talking to both Jewish people about Jewish people and Gentiles and he's trying to show them that even the law, understanding the law doesn't help and not having the law doesn't help.
He says, for all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law. And all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. So he's talking to Jewish people and saying, y'all have the law and all that's going to do is condemn you and they don't have the law and all that's going to do is condemn them. That it's effective for them to perish without it because sin is sin and we've all sinned. Romans 3 verses 10 through 12. As it is written, none is righteous, no not one.
No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good. Not even one.
That our position before God is a position of rebellion and rejection and there is no innocence globally. Or as Ephesians 1 says, as Paul's talking to the church, we read this just a second ago and it gets really encouraging, but it starts very discouraging as it's talking to Christians. But this is the state of humanity without Christ. It says, you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.
That is humanity before God, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, desires of the body and the mind, children of wrath. That's mankind without Christ. As you begin to wrap your head around this, one of the first things that we want to say, that I want to say, that I used to say, was that seems very unfair. It goes against my general sense of fairness, which we've developed very, very young. Nobody really had to teach you fairness. You would yell, that's not fair.
We were doing something yesterday, and my younger son yelled at his older brother, he's cheating, he's breaking the rules. And we were participating in something that was not a competition, and had no rules. He just suddenly decided, what you have done is wrong. You've broken a rule. He was asked, what rule? And he said, I don't know.
I could just, I could sense it. But we have this sense of fairness, and our two kind of understandings of fairness are fairness of outcome. Everyone gets a treat. Everyone gets a trophy. And we feel this. If you sit a bunch of children down, and you hand out marshmallows, and then you just skip two of them, there's this sense of, oh, you forgot my mom.
I need a marshmallow. And you say, no, you just don't get them. It's like, this is very unfair. There's fairness of outcome, and fairness of opportunity. Everyone who works gets a marshmallow. Well, you didn't do your chores.
You don't get a marshmallow. That feels fair to us. So we have fairness of outcome, and fairness of opportunity. And when we look at the scriptures on this, we say, well, this doesn't feel like it fits either. It doesn't feel like this fits. Either sense of fairness.
Fairness of outcome, we all get the same thing. Or fairness of opportunity, we all get the opportunity to hear the gospel, and reject the gospel. If I knew that everybody would hear the gospel, and reject the gospel, that would feel more fair to me. If everybody would be told that Jesus will save them from their sins, and they would actively choose to reject Christ, that feels fair. Or if we all end up with the same outcome, that feels fair. And the response to this is, I don't think it is either one of those versions of fair.
And Paul, in addressing this in Romans 9, says, is there any injustice in God? So he moves it out of fairness to injustice. He says, no. And the reason he gives in Romans 9, is that God chooses to have mercy. That's very helpful for us to see. He says, there's no injustice.
There's mercy. Because the problem is, we're standing looking at this backwards. The question of the scriptures, is not, why does God not save some? It's, why does God save any? And the answer is, mercy. So it isn't fair, because fairness, is that we are all destroyed, dead in our sins.
What we receive from God, is grace, and mercy. And there is no injustice, because he pays the debt, of those whom he redeems, and pours out grace, and mercy. So the response to this, is to say, thank you Jesus, that I know this, that you in your grace, have redeemed me, that you have offered me mercy. Even if you aren't, a Christian, and you're just checking this out, or you've been around for a while, and you're not sure, how you feel about this, I want you to understand, the grace, and the mercy of God, that you have even been able to hear, that Jesus Christ, offers you salvation, if you will follow him.
Because, there's people all around the globe, that don't even get that, news. So, there's a logical argument, that helped me, because I used to feel this, I'd say, well it feels like, and I would just say, well maybe God does something, maybe God has some kind of plan, for those who don't hear, maybe God, you know, and it's this idea, it's what's called inclusivism, which is this idea that, you know, Jesus has died to save us, from our sins, and there's no salvation, outside of Christ, but maybe God works, in some way, for those who've never heard him, and he just includes them. As long as they've never heard, he just brings them along. But I heard a logical argument, I read it in a book, and it helped me, because it pokes a hole right in that, and what he said was this, if you never hear about the gospel, and by never hearing, you're automatically included, if we believe those are true, then the absolute worst thing, we can ever do to someone, who has never heard about Jesus, is tell them about Jesus.
If we were standing somewhere, and there were people, refugees, pouring off of an airplane, and we saw someone, going to tell them about Jesus, and we knew they'd come from some place, that had never heard the name of Christ, what we should do, if it's true, that they're automatically in, for never hearing the name of Christ, we should not run over, and tell them about Jesus, we should run over, and punch the people, who were trying to. Because all they're going to do, is increase the odds, that this person will reject Jesus, they're fine without him, but if they hear about him, they might reject him. If that's true, then 1040 Hope, is a despicable organization, and Empower One, who we're going to get to talk with, later today, should be removed from our building. We should not call ourselves, send, in the Baptist church, we should refer to it as stay, it should be like three S's, stay, shut up, the reality is, it's insane to think, that you would come to the scriptures, and come to the conclusion, that the worst thing I could do, is share the gospel with somebody, when we are told, explicitly, consistently, that they need to hear.
In the Baptist church, we should refer to it as stay, it should be like three S's, stay, shut up, the reality is, it's insane to think, that you would come to the scriptures, and come to the conclusion, that the worst thing I could do, is share the gospel with somebody, when we are told, explicitly, consistently, that they need to hear. What is, what happens to those, who never hear? The answer is, they are not held accountable, for not hearing, they are held accountable, for their sin. We are not condemned,
For our lack, of hearing the gospel, we are condemned, for our choosing, to reject God, rebel, against him, and the Bible is clear, that it is the gospel, proclaimed, that people need, if you look at Romans 10, love this passage, after Paul, in Romans 9, and if you have concerns, about this, questions about this, read Romans 9, spend some time there, but after Paul, discusses this idea, that God has mercy, and there is no injustice,
In him, he then says this, how then, oh verse 13, for everyone, who calls on the name, of the Lord, will be saved, and I want you to see that, if you have not placed, your hope in Jesus, I want you to know, that everyone, who calls on the name, of the Lord, will be saved, he will not fail, to save anyone, who comes to him, and asks for salvation, and forgiveness, you aren't too far gone, you aren't too sinful, you aren't too broken,
You aren't too anxious, you aren't too messed up, everyone, who calls on the name, of the Lord, will be saved, but then he says this, how then, will they call, on him, in whom they have not believed, so you have to believe, in him, to call on him, how are they to believe, in him, of whom they have never, heard, so he's addressing, this question right now, how will they, believe if they've never heard, he says, how are they to hear,
Without someone preaching, and how are they to preach, unless they are sent, as it is written, how beautiful, are the feet of those, who preach the good news, there are people, who have not heard, there are people, who do not, have not called on him, because they have not believed, and they need to believe, and in order to believe, they need to hear, and in order to hear, somebody's got to go, tell them, in order for them to go, God sends them, and the church, sends them, Paul when he's writing this,
He's going to end by saying, I'm going to come visit y'all, and y'all are going to send me to Spain, I hope to be helped, and sent along by you, to Spain, meaning that the church, sends and goes, and that somebody's got to proclaim, this message, because John 14 6 says, I am the way, and the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the father, except through me, that there is hope of salvation, but it's in the name of Christ, it's in the work of Christ, and it's in those sent by Christ, to proclaim the name, and the work of Christ, we've got to go, second question,
Again that is not, a full answer, but I think it is a helpful answer, second question, is if we believe in election, isn't God just going to save, who he's going to save, isn't God just do, what he's going to do, when we talk about election, I know for some of us, we immediately freak out a little bit, but that's just because, you're an American, and elections are stressful, but when the Bible talks about election, here's the idea, that it's coming with, just try to define, what I'm talking about, Ephesians 1 said, even as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, meaning that God did choosing,
He chose, his prerogative, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, and blameless before him, in love he predestined, predestined means destined, is the end, pre is the beginning, so he predestined, us for adoption to himself, as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, not ours, to the praise of his glorious grace, meaning that he offers grace, 1 Corinthians 1 26 29, says it this way, for consider your calling brothers, not many of you were wise, according to worldly standings, again it's a calling, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth,
But God chose, what is foolish in the world, to shame the wise, God chose, what is weak in the world, to shame the strong, God chose, what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are not, to bring to nothing, the things that are, so that, no human being, might boast in the presence of God, this idea that we would not, stand in front of him and go, I'm the one who chose, I'm the one who figured it out, I'm the one who sought, I'm the one who, that's not how it works, we don't boast in his presence, Romans 9, though they were not yet born,
And had done nothing, either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election, might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls, or as Jesus says in John 6, no one can come to me, unless it is granted him by the father, so the question is, if that's true, why the hurry, what's all the fuss about, I got personal things, I got to work on, can't we just do, what we're supposed to here, well the Bible, turns that attitude on its head, in an extremely encouraging way, the Bible doesn't say, that election slows down, our drive for mission, it says election,
God's redeeming of those, whom he will redeem, by his grace, drives our mission, Acts 18, I love this passage, Paul's in Corinth, facing opposition, and Jesus says, the Lord said to Paul, one night in a vision, do not be afraid, but go on speaking, and do not be silent, keep proclaiming this message, for I am with you, no one will attack you, to harm you, that's good, because sometimes that's not true, for Paul where he's in places, so if he says that, it's like sweet, for I have many in this city,
Who are my people, you keep proclaiming this message, there are people, who are going to be saved, they belong to me, do not stop talking, you continue, you press on, you don't be afraid, you stand strong here, because we're about to do something, in Corinth, and there are people here, who are mine, I want to read, two quotes, about this idea, from two people to us, who are well known, helpful theologians, one's an African pastor, his name's Christian Lawanda, maybe we don't know him that well, I heard a sermon,
We preach, and he said this, and I felt, it was helpful, he says, preaching is not just a command, this idea that we're to go, proclaim this message, that we're to teach the word, that we're to call people, he says, it's not just a command, it is a divine honor, that we get to participate, in what God is doing, it's not just a command, it's a divine honor, and the well known theologian, George Garcia, who's one of our community group leaders, he said it this way, God's people are out there, we know that, via scripture,
And he has strictly, and graciously, commanded us to go and speak for him, what a wonderful, undeserving opportunity, that is, strictly, and graciously, commanded us to go, and speak for him, what a wonderful, undeserving opportunity, that is, they're there, they belong to him, we get to, go, we have to go, and we get to go, by God's grace, that's the way, the Bible treats it, Acts 13, 48,
Says when the Gentiles, heard this, they began rejoicing, and glorifying, the word of the Lord, and as many, were as appointed, to eternal life, believed, they went, and proclaimed this message, and as many, who were supposed to believe, believed, as many, who were as appointed, to this, believed, which means that, we have the freedom, to proclaim, trusting God, and his sovereignty, to work out,
His gracious work, to redeem, that we get to proclaim, this message, and people will respond, why should you be aggressive, in sharing the gospel, with the people at your gym, because those who are going to believe, are going to believe, and you need to, you need to talk to them, why can you pray, and plead for the people, in your office, and why can you talk to them, and why can you go out on a limb, to share the gospel with them, because some of them, are going to believe, why can you knock on doors, in your neighborhood, people don't do that anymore, well,
People don't have a wonderful message, to share with people, get to know your neighbors, invite them to your home, have a cookout, offer them breakfast, give them coffee, and tell them about Jesus, and why can we do this, why do we go out of our way, to do this, because there are going to be people, who believe, because God has chosen, in his grace, to redeem, and we get to participate, that's what Paul says, in 2 Timothy 2 10, therefore, I endure everything, for the sake, of the elect, that they also,
May obtain the salvation, that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory, I love that, he says, I endure everything, for the sake of the elect, so that they might, obtain, salvation that is in Christ Jesus, why would we go, why would we spend our money, why would we spend our time, why would we spend our energy, here and there, why would you, who don't want to talk to anybody, talk to somebody, who you've never met, why would you endure that, so that the elect, might obtain the salvation, that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory,
Why would you change your budget, to support missionaries, why would you endure that, so that the elect, might obtain the salvation, that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory, why would we learn a new language, why would we translate the Bible, in that language, why would we spend the money, and the effort, and the lives, to get to a place, where people don't want us, why would we endure that, so that those who belong to Jesus, will obtain, salvation, and joy, and hope, and glory, in Christ, if you believe,
In the doctrine of election, that does not slow you down, that spurs you on, if we believe, that God is going to redeem, then we go with confidence, not trepidation, if we believe, that there is hope, of salvation, for those, in every tribe, in every language, in every nation, in every people, that they will all be gathered, around the throne, then we go, to every tribe, and to every language, and to every people, and every nation, why, so that they also,
Might obtain, the salvation, that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory, why will we endure it, because we have brothers, and sisters, who are going to belong to us, and to the king forever, and how will they hear, if no one preaches, and how will they preach, if they aren't sent, so we go, with joy, and delight, and confidence, in the glory of a good God, who redeems, what, doesn't God have a plan, for those who have never heard, yes, it's his church,
That we would be obedient, and go, trusting in his sovereignty, to redeem, and to save, because he's good, it's John 10, 27, where Jesus is speaking, he says, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, so we go, and we proclaim, here, and there, knowing that Jesus, is going to work, and bring about, redemption, the band's going to come back up, and this morning, together,
As a church, we're going to take, communion, we're going to celebrate, that Jesus Christ, died to save, sinners, that we were, like the rest of mankind, children of wrath, that we were, guilty before God, that we were, undeserving of grace, that's the reality, not that God is unfair, in condemning sinners, but that God is unfair, in saving us, that he's merciful, he's not unjust, he's good, and that if we can sit, for a moment,
And know the level, of our sin, and wickedness, and sit for a moment, and clearly see, into our own hearts, how despicable we are, and be overwhelmed, that God would look upon us, to tell us of his son, to pour his love, and his grace on us, and that we might celebrate, one more time together, that Jesus Christ, died to save sinners, and that one day, he's coming back to claim us, that's what communion is, that his body was broken for us, that his blood was shed for us, that our sins are covered, by his work, not ours,
And that we stand, in the middle of two points, two points in eternity, that Jesus Christ came, and he died, and that one day, he returns, to rescue, and reclaim his people, and we have just a little bit, of time here, where we proclaim, his death until he comes, and that's a reality, that we're doing, when we take communion, and that's what our lives, are supposed to look like, that we proclaim his death, until he comes, that Jesus Christ, died to save sinners, so we participate, in his goodness,
In his grace, knowing that he works, to redeem, and to save, so I would, have you take a moment, to consider your sin, to consider, the grace, of your savior, and then to consider, all those in the world, who have not heard, this news, and to ask the Lord, that we might be people, who care, that we might be people, who see that, and that are willing, to change our lives, that we would not, one day stand before him, and have our money,
And our time, declare to us, and declare to him, that we were good Americans, who lived lives, of luxury and comfort, and failed to see, the glory of joining him, in his gracious, eternal mission, but that we would be people, who look like we believe this, so by God's grace, we're going to celebrate, that he saved sinners, both us, with hope, to proclaim his death, until he comes, if you are not a Christian, communion is not for you, this is something, that Christians partake in, taking very seriously,
The work of Christ, on our behalf, if you are not a Christian, I would invite you, to call on his name, and to be forgiven, and redeemed eternally, now, because all who call, in the name of Jesus, will be saved, let's pray, God I pray, that it would be true, for us, that when somebody, asked us, to give an account, for our lives, to give receipts, to explain, why we live, and work the way we do, that we would be able,
To answer in chorus, with Paul, I endure everything, for the sake of the elect, that they may, obtain salvation, in Christ, that by your grace, and the empowerment, of your spirit, that that would make sense, of our lives, God we thank you, that you have, mercy, that you do not leave us, in our sin, and our wickedness, and our rebellion, that you do not leave us, in a place, where we hated you, and love to everything else, so Lord,
As we take communion, this morning, we praise your name, that you are good, and merciful, you, to help us, and we should steadfasten, and both of us, and remaining, as we may as well, and for the sake of the most, as we may as well, as we may as well, as we may as well, as we may as well, as we may as well, and ouraaloo account, and the sign, as we may as well, as we may as well, and almost as we may be,
Empower One Interview with David Taylor
Exalted and Enjoyed
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Well, good morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. Grab your Bibles and go to Psalm 67. We'll look at a few other passages before we get there, but we'll be in Psalm 67 and we'll be in Romans 15 this morning and we'll also have some other things we jump around to. Right after Easter, on the Monday after Easter, the pastors met over here and Isaac, who's an elder in training.
We met over here early on Monday morning, loaded up in a rental van and drove to Louisville, Kentucky to go to T4G, which is a pastor's conference in Louisville. And this was the last time they were having it. So Spencer loved that conference. He kept telling us we should go. We kept telling him, neat. And then when it was the last one, he was like, you're all going or I'm fighting all of you and then we're all going.
So we just said, okay, we'll go. So we went and it was encouraging. There was about 10,000 people there and it was a pretty intense conference. The first session we went to was four hours long and they had a lot of sessions that were from seven o'clock to 10 o'clock at night. And so you would show up early in the morning, go to a session, you go to lunch, you go to a session, you go to dinner, you come back, go to a session, you'd go home and try to sleep at an Airbnb where elephants had rented the room above us. So, and we, but it was, it was great.
We ate really well and then went to hear a lot of preaching. And then we sang hymns to a piano with 10,000 people. It was, it was very encouraging. I was well fed both at restaurants and in the conference. And I think all of us thoroughly enjoyed it except for maybe Isaac who doesn't like to eat as much as we do and wants to move around a lot more than we did. So he, he, he struggled through a little bit, but the rest of us, I think, ate it up.
And we, there was a session there where David Platt spoke. And David Platt is a pastor of McLean Bible Church in, around DC. And he was the, he wrote the book Radical. And if you're familiar with that, and he was the president of the International Mission Board for about four years. So from about 2014 to 2018, he was the president of the International Mission Board for the Southern Baptist, which is the foreign, it used to be called the Foreign Mission Board, but it's sending missionaries from the U.S. overseas.
And he spoke about the need and the call for global missions. And as he spoke, we just, we sat there. When he was done, everybody, you know, dismissed, people got up, moved. We didn't. The, the five of us just sat and didn't have much to say and then started looking at each other and going, okay, we need to, we need to address this. We need to talk about this with our church family.
We need to acknowledge some of what he walked through. And so that's what this is. We're going to walk through much of what he went through. I'm going to quote some of his stats. He actually listed three problems. I'm going to read word for word those three problems as we go through this morning.
And then the next couple of weeks, we'll continue to look at this idea and kind of how we get to respond as a church. So that's what we're doing today. I would encourage you to go watch it. After you listen to this, you can get online, go to T4G, watch David Platt's most recent sermon there. You'll say, hey, that sounded a lot like what you said. Yes, because a lot of this is stuff that he walked right through.
So we're going to walk through that this morning. Let's pray and we'll jump in. God, we thank you for your grace. We thank you for your glorious, joy-filled, eternal plan to rescue the nations. We pray, Lord, that we'd get to participate as those who are going to live eternally with you, that we would be about your business while we're here. We ask for your grace and your help and your empowerment in Jesus' name.
Amen. So this is a direct quote. It's a helpful way to word this. Anybody could kind of come to this conclusion from the scriptures. It's just well-worded. It's the ultimate goal of God is his glory enjoyed and exalted among the nations.
If you've read much of John Piper, you'll hear phrasing like that. But it's looking at the scriptures and saying this is God's plan. The ultimate goal of God is his glory enjoyed and exalted among the nations. And we're going to walk through and help show that through the scriptures, that this is his plan. This is what he wants. And it's wonderful that the word enjoyed is in there.
That's part of his plan, that he will be enjoyed and exalted among the nations. So we're going to walk through and see those three things, enjoyed, exalted, and among the nations. The first place we'll look is Genesis 12. It'll be on the screen. We won't spend much time here and we'll get to Psalm 67 in a second. Genesis 12.
This is God calling Abraham. It's before he's even renamed him to Abraham. But this is in the book of Genesis. We fall into sin and there's a promise that God's going to fix this. And then this is the first bit of God fixing this where he's coming to begin his rescue plan. And here's the promise he makes to Abraham.
It says, Now the Lord said to Abraham, Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. So the very first time God says to Abraham as he begins to call him and begins to work out this plan, He says, In you all the families of the earth will be blessed.
It's in God's mind at that moment that this will not just be for the nation of Israel. This will not just be for Abraham and his bloodline. But that his plan is all the families, all the peoples, all the people groups of the earth to receive this blessing that's going to come through Abraham. And ultimately the blessing that comes through Abraham is Jesus. So at Galatians 3.8, Paul picking up on this says this, Says the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles, that's all the peoples who aren't Jewish.
So if he's going to justify the Jewish peoples and all the people who aren't Jewish, I don't know if you have a Venn diagram of people, but that's all of them. Okay? He's going to rescue all peoples, all nations, all families. He says, Preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying, In you shall all the nations be blessed. So this justifying the Gentiles is the preaching of the gospel.
He's going to justify the Gentiles by faith, meaning that's the stuff we talked about. There's justification by faith that if you trust in Jesus, he forgives us and makes us right. That's the gospel. And he's saying that gospel was preached the very first time he mentioned it to Abraham. This is how this is going to work. That I'm going to rescue through you the nations, and that ultimately comes through Jesus.
That Christianity is not tethered to a language. It's not tethered to a location. It's not tethered to a people group. That Christianity, that the center of Christianity has actually moved around the globe throughout history because it is for the nations. Psalm 67. We read this together just a few moments ago.
But this is a blessing in the Psalm. And the Psalms are songs and poems that God gifted his people in order for us to understand who he is, in order for us to worship. And it says, may God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among the nations. So this is a Jewish blessing that the Jewish people would be blessed so that the nations will see God's glory, so that the nations will be able to participate. Let the peoples praise you, O God. Let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity, and you guide the nations upon the earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God. Let all the peoples praise you. So I want to show you a few things here. This is God's plan. This is the plan that God has for the nations, is that we would praise, and that in our praise, our gladness and joy would be tied up.
Did you all know that about genuine praise? I've given this some thought, and you might come up with some other categories, but I think we have flattery, begrudging acknowledgement, and genuine praise. Flattery is where I say something nice to you that I don't believe for my own good. I'm just saying things, but usually that's just for my purposes. And if you've been around someone, and you can pick up on it when they're not good at it, and they're constantly flattering, there's something kind of gross about it. But that's, the Proverbs talk about this, this flattery, this buttering somebody up.
That's not what God wants. He doesn't want us to flatter him. Then there's begrudging acknowledgement. This is when they interview the fighter who lost, or the coach who lost. They will say, well, you've got to give them a lot of credit. They don't want to have to give them a lot of credit, but you've got to give them a lot of credit.
They played really well. He's the best there is. They say these kind of things. Maybe there's enjoyment there, but usually it's just begrudging acknowledgement. He hit me harder than I hit him, and that is why I passed out. Begrudging acknowledgement.
And then there's genuine praise. And whenever we're in genuine praise, there's genuine delight. They go together. Whenever you're just overwhelmed by something so that you begin to talk about how great it is, your enjoyment is tied up in that. If you've ever been eating a meal and just went, oh my goodness. People are like, what?
And you had stuck food back in your mouth already. It's like, I'll tell you in a second. And you finish chewing, you go, these biscuits. Like that idea that we're just caught up. If you've ever been in love, or you've been around someone in love, and they won't shut up about the person they love, there's genuine delight and enjoyment that rolls up into praise. And God is glorious and delightful.
There's pleasures at his right hand forevermore. He's wonderful. And so when he calls us to praise, I remember my cousin arguing this out with my grandmother at one point, that God calling people to praise him, God saying you will glorify me was narcissistic. Not if God is the most glorious thing, then it's gracious. God who made all things, if he said I've made everything and what y'all should really, really like is money, what does that say about him? If he said, y'all, I'm telling you, roller coasters.
He just needs some adrenaline. That's where it's at. No, he says I'm where it's at. And he's graciously having us participate in his goodness. And us singing his praise is enjoyment and delight and gladness. That's what it's saying.
Let the nations be glad. Let them praise you. Let them see how wonderful you are so that they are swept up in it. That's the hope. That we would get to know him so well that we get swept up in all of the joy and all of the delight and all of his glory, that he would be enjoyed and exalted among the nations. Revelation 5.
Let me say this about God having us participate in his enjoyment, in his glory for our enjoyment. His exaltation is our enjoyment. I remember in elementary school, my dad picked me up early from school one day because it was my birthday. And his plan was come hang out with me. That was it. He came and picked me up and we just went and did stuff.
And I just got to hang out with my dad for a day without my brothers there ruining it. And it was great. And he understood that the right relationship between us is enjoyment and that it would be enjoyable to just get to spend time with him because he's my father. And that's what God's doing when he invites us in. He's saying this is actually the right relationship is enjoyment and mutual love and delight in one another. He's inviting us into that.
Okay, Revelation 5. Verse 9. It says, They sang a new song saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll. These are the angels in front of God. Sing a new song. It says, to sing it to Christ.
It says, Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation that when Jesus died he purchased with his blood people that now belong to him through his sacrifice and where do they come from? every tribe every people every language every nation and it says all that so that we won't get confused. well is it does it have to do with like national borders? Does it have to do with heritage? Does it have to do with the way you talk? Yes. He's gotten all of them. He's ransomed from all of those places.
Well is it does it have to do with like national borders? Does it have to do with heritage? Does it have to do with the way you talk? Yes. He's gotten all of them. He's ransomed from all of those places. Somebody belongs to Jesus. And then as John gets to look forward he gets to actually see in a vision what this looks like at the end of all time in Revelation 7 two chapters later it said
After this I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the Lamb clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. Look back at verse 9 from every nation from all tribes and peoples
And languages standing before the throne the first time God says this he says you're going to be a blessing to all peoples and then in Genesis and then in the book of Revelation it says he did it. it will be accomplished all of them will be present everyone will be represented God did not make a language that will not sing his praise God does not have a people group that will not get
To participate in his glory no one is excluded that is his plan that God's glory the ultimate goal of God is his glory enjoyed and exalted among the nations and we could we could say that because that is true then we could say that the ultimate goal goal of his church is his glory enjoyed and exalted among the nations if it's his goal
Then it's our goal if that's where he's moving history then that's what we're participating in so I want to talk a little bit about our church before we look at this idea of the mission of the church from the scriptures when we first felt called to plant a church and felt called specifically to the south we had a lot of people say like there's a lot of churches in the south
Yes there are a lot of churches in the south and my general response to that usually was there's also a lot of people who don't know Jesus in the south and there's also a lot of people who think they know enough about Jesus they've been inoculated to the gospel they know enough things about Jesus to think that they don't need him and so we set out to reach people who weren't going
To go to a church if you wanted to show up to a church there was a church to show up to so we said we need to get out in places where these people have no desire to go to the church we need the church to go to them we need to join their jobs we need to join their gyms we need to live in their neighborhoods and we need to harass them until they love Jesus and some of you are a testimony
To that that was your baptism video they would not shut up and now I love Jesus and he's great but that's it we said we needed to do those things we needed to participate in that and that we needed to set about the work of convincing some people that they were not Christians so that they could become one and when I grew up I had this understanding of missionaries
Were people who left the country and then everybody else just was here and basically what God wanted from you was like some general good behaviorousness like just show up do what you're supposed to and I kind of missed that there were people who needed Christ here and that we're supposed to be missionaries here so when that clicked and we went to plant a church
And felt like we were supposed to be here that was the song we played that's what we've said over and over again if you've been around enough you've heard everyday missionary you've heard groups on mission you've heard that you're supposed to be a missionary you're supposed to look at your schedule we don't want to fill up your schedule with a bunch
Of things we want you to look at your schedule and already see where are you where do you spend 40 hours a week where do you spend 50 hours a week and then you need to use that as an opportunity for mission and we've said if you look at your schedule and realize I'm not around anybody
Then you have to add some things to your schedule to be around some people who don't know Jesus you've got to start walking around your neighborhood you've got to start prayer walking in your cubicles you've got to start making a friend if you're bad at that you need to go with someone in
Your group who's good at it and make a friend with their friend so that you can participate this is what we've said and we've said it over and over again but there's a danger that we miss the grand picture of God there's a danger that we get a little tunnel
Vision and we miss that his desire is his glory enjoyed and exalted among the nations if you get to spend enough time with me you'll learn that I have great ideas and I don't understand the laughter and because I care about you if I'm
Around you enough I will share my great ideas with you I'll watch your life and then I will give you good helpful suggestions for your life because I care about you and I want your life to be good so I'm going to share one such idea that
I had that I have shared with some people who have just failed to see how good of an idea it is Chris and Danielle Rocky are in my community group for a couple years and then we helped send them to Honduras
And then they have come back they were overseas missionaries for a little over a year and came back and they were up here this morning that's Danielle's bass guitar and this is where Chris is playing drums and so here's my
Suggestion that I've made to them and I'll help them do it I've even offered to help execute this we help make some photos of a band that they're in and we book them some gigs but when they show up it's just the two
Of them and they act like they're all aggravated that the rest of their band quit right before the gig and they see how many songs they can play just from the bass and the drums before they make them stop that's my plan
Like I want Chris to go free bird one two three and then just play the drums and her just be on the bass going and I want them to pick really where like the bass doesn't do much and the drums don't do
Much and maybe even at times go this next song's acoustic guitar and just sit periodically Daniel can lean into the mic and go ooh cover as many hits as they can but just from the
Bass and the drums and just see if they can get away with it and we'll book them as many gigs as we can around town they have not taken me up on that and you can tell foolishness I know y'all can talk to
Them about it afterwards here's the danger and the way we've talked about mission is that while the idea of what we're talking about is important and important for you as you live here and important for us as a church is we are sent to
This area very specifically if that's all we ever talk about then we're just a bass line and you're missing the whole beautiful song we're just the drums and that's our part that's where we are we get to participate in that but we miss the rest of it
If that's all we ever talk about so I want you to see that this goal of God is also the specific mission given to the church let's look at this so Genesis 12 he always chooses people to participate in his plan God wants
This to work out through human actors he wants to not just rip open the sky and announce it but he wants humans to participate in what he's doing he's always inviting us into relationship with him and participation with him and so that's what happens in Genesis 12 in
Matthew 28 it says this this is the great commission go therefore and make disciples of all nations that that word there is ethne or ethnos it's all ethnicities all people groups baptizing them in the name
Of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold I'm with you always
To the end of the age one of the things that David Platt said that I thought was extremely helpful was the great commission
Is not to go make as many disciples as possible but it is to make disciples of all nations that God's plan is not
Just a lot of believers but believers from all the peoples Matthew 24 14 this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the
Whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come Luke 24 47 repentance for the forgiveness of sin should
Be proclaimed in his name to all nations beginning from Jerusalem this is what it says in Acts chapter one that they would begin in
Jerusalem and they would work their way out to the ends of the earth or Romans 1 5 Paul Paul Paul's writing he says through
Whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all nations if
We belong to the church we care about the nations if we belong to Christ we care about the nations Romans 15 this is
Paul writing in the book of Romans he's walked through all of the theology he's finishing his letter and he says this we're starting
Verse 18 for I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience
By word and deed that links back to what he just said in Romans 1 that it's this obedience of all nations and by
Power and signs and wonders by the power of the spirit of God so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum
I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ and thus I make told of him will see and those who have never heard
Will understand this is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you but now since I no longer have
Any room for work in these regions and since I have longed for many years to come to you I hope to see you
In passing as I go to Spain and be helped on my journey there by you once I have enjoyed your company for a
While at present however I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints this is the apostle Paul he's gone on three missionary
Journeys at this point this this is his first one they're in Antioch the Holy Spirit says to set Paul and Barnabas aside for
The mission so they leave the church at Antioch they go down to Cyprus they loop around in the area of Galatia and they
Come back that's missionary trip one missionary trip two they leave from Judea they go up to Antioch they go through the places they
Had already been and then they work their way across through Asia then they feel like they're supposed to go to Macedonia so they
Go up that way that's where they hit Philippi Thessalonica Corinth and Ephesus and they work their way back down that's missionary trip two
Missionary trip three they leave Antioch you notice they go back to Antioch a lot they leave Antioch they go through the areas of Galatia
They cut through Colossae they go through Ephesus back around Philippi Thessalonica Corinth back up another loop come back down back over Caesarea Judea and
Then he says I have no more room for work I did it nothing else to be done around here so he says I'm coming
To Rome and then y'all are going to send me to Spain that's the plan now look back at that verse verse 23 since
I no longer have any room for work in these regions what you read the New Testament there's no room for work in Corinth nothing to do there Galatia
Maybe doesn't need you to swing back by everybody here knows Jesus you did it mission accomplished banner we've done it that sounds crazy
Yeah I made three laps nailed it I'm out of here no more room to work what he doesn't mean is that there's nothing
Else for the gospel to do here there's nobody else to be reached the reality is when he sent out of Antioch everybody is supposed to
Stay except for two of what Paul is saying is I'm supposed to preach where they haven't yet heard that's verse 20 I make it
My ambition to preach the gospel not where Christ has already been named lest I build on someone else's foundation and then he says
In 21 those who have never been told of him will see and those who have never heard will understand we have to have
A special place in our to Spain I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain and be helped on my journey
There by you he just says I know that nobody's been telling anybody about Jesus in Spain so I'm going so David Platt who
Was over the international mission board for several years who's now a part of joining with his radical organization with Joshua Project he listed
Off three problems that we are currently facing the first one is this over three billion people are currently unreached by the gospel it's 3.29
Billion people are currently unreached by the gospel there are 7.9 billion people on the planet so that's around 41% of the people on the planet now we
Have to define the word unreached unreached does not mean they do not know Jesus unreached means no one around them is going to
Tell them about Jesus the way he put it is he said it does not define one's status before God but one's access to
The gospel the word unreached does not define one's status before God but one's access to the gospel meaning that there are people who
Do not know Jesus in your neighborhood where you work out or at your work but they are not unreached because you are there
God has commissioned someone namely you to be there to pray for them to plead with them to tell them about Christ but there
Are 3.29 billion people without anybody that knows them that loves them that's going to share the gospel with them there are plenty of
People in this area who don't know Jesus but there are people here proclaiming Christ but there are 3.29 billion people around the globe
In areas where no one is proclaiming Christ this is a map from the Joshua project green is areas that are reached that there's
Gospel work there there's access to the gospel there yellow is areas where it's in the middle and it's either in the middle because
It's growing or because it's declining it used to be an area of strong faith and now it's less and less Christian or it's
An area where it used to be red and now it's becoming more Christian and red is and nations and nobody's telling them about
Jesus and there's 3.29 billion people in the red and in that section of red right there where it's all clumped together it's the
1040 Window and 3.18 billion of those people are there so there's little spots of red if you look around and the reason that
Place is red is because they are hostile to the gospel they are hard places to go they are hard languages to learn they
Don't want you there telling people about Jesus but Jesus does the second what that means for places that are unreached like Algeria like
Sudan Yemen like Yemen Yemen right now is in the middle of a crisis and war there are people who will be born who
Will live their entire life and who will die and they will never heard the hope of the gospel they will never heard the
Name of Jesus there are billions of people now who will live who will die and will never hear about Jesus and in many
Of those places they will have lived in an earthly hell fighting to survive fighting to eat fighting just to just to straggle along
And then they will go to an eternal hell never having anybody tell them about Christ so the second problem he listed is this
The church is practically ignoring the people and places most unreached by the gospel the church is practically ignoring the people and places most
Unreached by the gospel so look at this map again this is a stat I came across as I was looking at this in the US people who
Are Christians 98% of their income goes back to them so that 98% of the money that comes in is spent on them their household
2% Leaves for charitable purposes I would encourage all of you to actually look at your spending and see where you fall in that
Of that money that goes out billions are given to churches most of the money is spent locally so a lot of that makes sense
But that's how it works most of the money is spent locally most of our we pay for plumbers to come by here twice
A week spend most of our money locally then billions of dollars are still given to global missions 99% of the money given goes to
The green 97% of the missionaries go to the green green or yellow 99% of the money goes to green or yellow 97% of the missionaries goes to
Green or yellow which means that 1% of the money and 3% of the people are going to the red now again some of
That makes sense we have access we have inroads in the green people take mission trips to the green they have their heart touched
They want to go back and serve they see needs we don't take many mission trips to the red it's hard to take people
You don't pile people don't go to the red there's a lot of languages that are hard to learn there's a lot of small people groups
In those red some of them belong to Jesus he's already purchased them but there are a lot of people groups in the red that
It's hard to learn their language it's hard to get there we don't have direct connections with them and the people in the red
Don't want you there so there's a lot of avenues for us to send money to the green and a lot of avenues for people to
Get their heart to where they fall in love with an area of the green and go back and there's needed work there we're
Here this place is green and you know there's people who need to meet Jesus and some of you are thankful that we came
Here if 97% of our missionaries keep going elsewhere and if 99% of our money keeps going there I mentioned the Rockies earlier they
Won't do my band idea but they did do God's idea of going overseas to share the gospel with people and we got to
Get behind them and participate and we got to help send them to Honduras and I'm not saying that kind of work is needed
I'm here I think this kind of work is needed but the church has to get really serious about the red or it'll stay
Red third problem he listed is this the number of unreached people is higher today than ever before and will continue to increase until
The church decides to change the number of unreached people today is higher than ever before and will continue to increase until the church
Decides to change unreached meaning having no access to the gospel that number is growing not shrinking so the church has to do something
Has to participate in God's plan I'm going to read one more quote from him he said if we are not living and dying to make
Disciples of unreached nations then we are disobeying the great commission and disregarding the goal of God that if we don't care about that
If the church is not living and dying for that if we are not sending some money towards that if we are not giving
Effort towards that if some of us are not going towards that then it is a practical rejection of the great commission which calls
Us to go to all nations now the United States is among the nations but we currently sit in a place of affluence we
Currently sit in a place where we spend money on things we do not need and we currently sit in a time when there
Are more unreached peoples than ever before and something has to change those are the three problems I have three encouragements for us as we finish
Up our time first one God's plan is wonderful that his desire is to rescue people from all nations from all tongues from all
Tribes to bring them to himself for an eternity of delight that's wonderful and if you belong to Jesus that is your future that
I actually have an eternity before me where I have all my good things there which means that all my good things aren't here
If you belong to Jesus all your good things are there they're not here so we ought to live as if we know that
And we ought to be willing to sacrifice here so that more people can get there because there's 3.29 billion people in unreached people
Groups that currently have no hope of getting there but his plan is wonderful secondly God's plan will be fulfilled Revelation 5.9 says worthy are you to
Take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe
And language and people and nation the church can send people to the red we can send people to the most hostile areas on
The globe some of them will die and step into a glorious eternity and we can send over and over and over again with
The knowledge and the certainty that somebody is coming out somebody there is going to praise the name of Jesus for eternity so we
Can go you can send money and you can go personally and we can send missionaries and we can go not knowing how it
Will turn out ultimately with our lives but knowing ultimately how it will turn out with somebody that tribe is going to be there
God will not fail to have a tribe or a language or a nation or people gathered around his throne we don't know how
Many but we know somebody is coming out we know that God will fulfill his mission and by his grace we get to participate
By his grace you get to join in the delight of God to rescue the nations that's my third encouragement is that we as
A church are uniquely positioned we are uniquely positioned as a church to join God's global plan and not because KC South Carolina is the epicenter
Of travel or something there are three missions organizations that do their work in the red that we give free office space to they help pay
Some utilities three one of them is in power one they're doing work in Sudan and a few other places and they're right over
Here another one is Novo a member of our church family Patricia is married to Ben Johnson she works for them she's there United
States eastern office I don't know if she has that kind of title but she's here working out of here for Novo who's doing work in Lebanon in the Middle East
And Ben Johnson his organization 1040 Hope who we've gotten to go on a trip to Egypt with is here our church that has 10 community groups 130 members
Has three missions organizations in our building that are going to the 1040 window praise Jesus and how dare we not join in what he set up for us praise Jesus and how dare we not
Participate in his goal to be exalted and enjoyed among the nations for eternity and if we belong to him this is our heart because it's his and we get the hope of enjoying
And exalting in him forever and may we live as if that is true and may we participate in his mission to see some of those people come out to praise his name in a tongue we don't
Understand the band is going to come back up we're going to get to sing together over the next few weeks we're going to get to talk about this we're going to get to have some of those organizations come talk to us
Answer some questions tell us about what they're doing so that we might continue to pray and see how we might participate in what God's doing my hope from today is that we would begin to wrap our mind around this and begin to ask the Lord
How can I participate where would you have me let's pray by the way thank you for your grace we thank you that by your blood you have ransomed from every tribe and every language and every people and every nation someone out
Of their sin someone out of darkness someone out of hopelessness into your glory and we thank you that for all of those who have trusted in Jesus who have been justified by faith who have been justified by your grace who have
Been justified by the work on the cross through Christ that we have an eternity filled with delight Lord we don't know why you've placed us where you've placed us we pray that we'd be mindful of the people who don't know you around us we pray that we'd
Be active in being missionaries here but Lord we know that you've given us an opportunity to go to the nations to participate in what you are doing to send and to serve and Lord may we by your empowerment
Through your Holy Spirit fulfill the good work that you've laid out for us and we ask this in Jesus name Amen
Ruth 4: Redemption
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
My name is Spencer and I am one of the pastors here. We're going to be in the final chapter of the book of Ruth. That's chapter 4. That's on page 128 in a blue Bible that may be around you. If you don't have a Bible at home, please take that as a gift to you. I want you to have a Bible that you can read.
But we're going to be finishing out Ruth today. My wife loves happy endings. When we watch movies, if it does not have a happy ending, it is a wash. It doesn't matter that the beginning, middle, all the way up towards the end was good. If it does not end correctly, the movie was terrible. We have a difference of opinion there.
But what I've realized is that she's not alone. There are a lot of people that really want to see a happy ending. And yeah, all right. So if that's you, you're going to really appreciate Ruth. Because it does indeed have a happy ending. If you have not been here the last few weeks or you've missed some, let me recap a little bit of where we've been in Ruth.
There are three central figures in this story. The first central figure is Naomi. So Naomi and her family, they live in Bethlehem in Israel. And a famine strikes the land. And they decide to survive. They have to leave.
They leave Bethlehem and they go to Moab. Moab is not in Israel. It is actually enemy territory. The Moabites and the Israelites fought quite a bit. So in order to survive, they go amongst the people that are not their own, even hostile to them.
And while they are there, they settle down for a bit. So her sons marry Moabite wives. One of them marries Ruth. Ruth is the second major figure in the story. Probably knew that from the title of the book. But she is a Moabite.
And they settle down. And after this, tragedy strikes. So Naomi loses her husband Elimelech. He dies. And then both of her sons die. So after this, in the aftermath, it tells us that there actually is bread again in Israel.
The famine is over. And Naomi decides, I'm going back amongst my own people. As a widow who is poor, who doesn't have any really hope in front of her. She says, I'm going to go back amongst my own people. And she tells her daughter-in-law, stay. You're Moabite.
Stay amongst your own people. And Ruth says, no. No, I'm going with you. Where you go, I will go. Where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people.
Your God shall be my God. And where you die, I will die. And there, I will be buried. She loves her mother-in-law, Naomi. She is loyal to her. And she follows her back to Israel.
And to get back to Bethlehem, we're introduced to the third major figure in this story. And that is Boaz. Boaz, we learn very quickly, is a worthy man. He is a good man. And he is a close relative of Naomi's late husband, Elimelech. So Ruth goes to glean in his barley fields amidst the barley harvest.
Gleaning is just picking up the remainders from the field. And when Boaz realizes that's Ruth who's gleaning in his field, he says, you're not just going to glean. I've heard your story. I know what you did, the kindness you did to Naomi. You are taking as much as you can handle back with you today. And then Ruth goes home with as much barley as she can handle.
And Naomi's like, who is this from? She's from the fields of Boaz. And Boaz, in that moment, Naomi says, all right, she hatches a plan. And this plan is a pretty bold thing. That in that very night, Ruth is to go back and she is to propose. And that's what we sat last week in chapter 3.
That Ruth goes back and has this bold marriage proposal to Boaz. And the cliffhanger from chapter 3 to chapter 4 that we've been waiting for all week is that Boaz says, I want us to settle this matter the very next day. But there is a redeemer who is closer, a closer relative of Elimelech, a closer relative of Naomi. And he says, we're going to have to settle this matter tomorrow. And I'll explain more of this in a moment. This is what Chet walked us through last week.
But that is chapter 4 as we launch into seeing how this story is going to conclude. Is Boaz going to end up with Ruth? And as we witness the conclusion of this story, I want us to actually realize and see by the end of this that this is a bigger picture of redemption that it points to and why this story is actually really good for us. Let me pray for us. And then we will walk through the text together. God, I thank you for the scriptures.
They give us a picture of who you are, how good you are to us. May we listen. May you go to work in our hearts. May we respond in faith and repentance and in worship. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, so start off in chapter 4, verse 1.
Now, Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the Redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, turn aside, friends. Sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down. All right, so Boaz meant what he said.
I'm going to settle this matter today. He does not waste any time. Now, this closer relative, this Redeemer figure, is a closer relative to Ruth's late husband, Malon, and Naomi's late husband, Elimelech. Now, we don't get his name. We just know he's the next in line Redeemer. So Boaz goes straight to the gate.
The gate in their culture was the place where it was a little bit part town square, where people gathered, part courthouse, where matters were settled, where transactions and disputes were handled. So he goes straight there. He finds the Redeemer. And then he pivots to the situation to settle the matter at hand. So this is what Chet walked us through last week with this Redeemer language.
Because there's two different threads that are packed into this word Redeemer. And there are two parts of the Old Testament. The first that we're going to see in a moment has to do with land redemption. This comes out of Leviticus 25. Land, this is what Chet explained last week, is very important. It's very important to the people of God.
When God settles the promised land, and the 12 tribes settle different areas of the promised land, within those 12 tribes are individual clans and families that have individual land parcels. And land was important because that was what your lineage was tied to. That was the inheritance. That's how you were provided for your family and your children and your children's children. It was very important for land to stay within the family. And in this specific instance, Naomi is going to need her land redeemed.
That's the first part of redemption that is tied into this word Redeemer. The second has to do with something called Leveret marriage. This comes from Deuteronomy 25. Leveret marriage code. Leveret just means brother-in-law. And what Deuteronomy 25 teaches is that if you have a husband and a wife, and they have no son, and the husband dies.
If she has no son, she has really no hope in front of her. Like financially, widows and their culture were poor. They didn't have anyone to take care of them. Your son was going to be the one that would take care of you. He was going to be the one that inherited the land. He was the one that was going to end up providing for you in your older age.
So not having a son is a very big deal. So God built into the Old Testament law that if this was the case, if your husband died and you had no son, that the next close relative, which would be the brother, would marry his sister-in-law. He would marry her. And that was to provide for widows, but it was also to perpetuate the name of, to sustain the line of the deceased brother. And what would happen is, is the firstborn son of this new marriage would legally belong to his late brother. He would get the inheritance.
In the future, he would get the land. He would sustain and perpetuate the name of that deceased brother. That's weird to us. We look at that like, I don't know about that. Some of y'all are thinking, I ain't have it in our family if that happens. Like, I don't know.
Like, it's strange to us, but this is God's way of providing, of taking care of his people so that the names of families would not be blotted out in Israel, that they would be sustained and carry on. So, that's what is happening when it says redeemer. And a lot of times the phrase here is kinsman redeemer. That's what's happening in this passage. That's what Chet walked us through last week. And that's what Boaz is here to settle because there's a closer relative that is in line to do this before him.
And that's where we pick up in verse 2. And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, Sit down here. So, they sat down. So, every village, every town in Israel is going to have different elders, different men that oversee the town's affairs. They're the rulers, the leaders in that town. That's still the case in many parts of the world.
You go to different cultures in the Middle East and in Africa. There are villages that have elders that still do this today. They're the ones that settle disputes that handle the matters of the town. So, he's got the redeemer and he's got the elders and now they're about to see some legal proceedings. So, if you geek out about, if you like Judge Judy or like the back end of every Law and Order episode, get excited because we're about to see some legal proceedings that go down in verse 3 and beyond. So, pick up in verse 3.
It says, Then he said to the redeemer, so this is Boaz talking to the redeemer, in front of the elders. Then he said to the redeemer, Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative, Elimelech. So, I thought I would tell you of it and say, buy it in the presence of those sitting here, in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me that I may know, for there's no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.
So, we're dealing with the land aspect first. That's the first part of redemption, which for us, we're not excited about that. We want to know if he's going to end up with Ruth. We've got to wait. They're going to handle this land stuff first. And it says, And he said, this is the redeemer responding, I will redeem it.
I will redeem it. Okay. So, Naomi, in this transaction, is selling this parcel of land. We don't know the exact situation of what has gone into this. We don't know if she, if Elimelech sold this, her husband sold this before he went to Moab in order to pay for their trip. We don't know if they sold the rights to it.
We don't know if Naomi owns this, but it just needs the money because she can't sustain it. We don't know exactly. We do know that Naomi is in deep poverty, and this is the redemption that she needs in order so that she can survive. So, while this is an incredible kindness for this redeemer to step in and say, I will redeem it. And it is. It is a kindness.
It is also an opportunity. This is a financial investment for this redeemer. One commentator puts it this way. He says, Since Naomi had no heir, when she died, the land would revert to his family and be passed on to his heirs. And the money put forth for the land would be an investment on future returns. So, it's a kindness, but it's also an investment.
Naomi doesn't have any heirs. So, when she dies in this transaction, the land will become his. And it's a way for him to, you know, future investments, y'all. Better and more sound than crypto is land, right? So, he's like, I'll do it. I will be the one that redeems it.
And then Boaz, I don't know why he doesn't do this all in one clip, but he goes, Well, it's a bit of a catch. And he gives the curveball in verse 5. He says, Then, Boaz said, The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth, the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance. And he throws in that curveball. He says, This is a package deal. This is land redemption alongside of this leveret marriage duty.
That phrasing, to perpetuate the name of the dead is inheritance. That is straight out of the leveret marriage code in Deuteronomy 25. Which means that this is going to be costly. This is not just land redemption. It means that Ruth and the kinsman redeemer, that their firstborn son will take the inheritance. It will take the land that he just agreed to redeem.
So all that kindness and that money that he puts in that land, once he produces a son, is going to go to him and that son will legally belong to Elimelech and Malon and that line. So this is no longer a good investment for him. This is actually going to be costly. Not to mention if he produces any more children with Ruth, that's going to, if he has his own children, it's going to tie up a lot of different things. It's going to mess with his inheritance and the redeemer considers all of this and then in verse 6 he says, then the redeemer said, I cannot redeem it for myself lest I impair my own inheritance.
Take my right of redemption yourself for I cannot redeem it. So once he hears that, kindness becomes too costly. He can't do it. He's not going to impair his own inheritance. He says, you do it. Boaz, you be the one that actually steps in and redeems.
And Boaz has been waiting for this and he absolutely is ready to redeem. Verse 7, now, this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging. To confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other. And this was the manner of attesting in Israel. I appreciate that it says that at the end and this was the manner of attesting in Israel because a lot of times in the Bible it'll just give you some kind of, like you hear a sandal, take off your sandal, pass it. You're like, oh, that's weird.
What are you talking about? And sometimes the Bible goes, alright, next verse. It says, this was a manner of attesting. And the most helpful commentary explanation I heard was this is basically like a title exchange which me having a real estate background was very easy for me to understand. When you buy a property, you have, there's a title with that property and it's exchanged and it gets recorded with the county. Alright?
So, he took off the sandal and they even said like, these are the shoes that would walk the property off with. So, they would survey the property and they'd have their sandal and they'd say, alright, here is the title, here is the exchange. We don't know that, if that's 100% exactly what it is, we do know that this is the official way to seal the deal. I just like the real estate explanation because that was the best one I found. So, that seals the deal officially. The sandals have been exchanged and then in verse 8 it says, so, when the Redeemer said to Boaz, buy it for yourself, he drew off his sandal.
Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, you are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belong to Elimelech and all that belong to Kilion and the Mehalon, meaning, it's done. The land redemption is done. He is taking care of Naomi. He is buying this land to take care of her and then in verse 10, the moment we've been waiting for. Also, Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mehalon, I have bought to be my wife to perpetuate the name of the dead and his inheritance that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place.
He's done it. Like Boaz, he is going to be the Kansman redeemer. He is going to be the one that restores Elimelech and Melah. He's the one who's going to redeem Naomi. And he says, you are witnesses this day. then all the people who are at the gate and the elders said, we are witnesses. And then they give a blessing.
May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah. That's a blessing, y'all. Rachel and Leah are the matriarchs of the people of Israel. Their line goes back to them. May you be blessed like them, like Rachel and Leah who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah.
Which we don't know if Ephrathah is a part of Bethlehem or if that's just another name for Bethlehem. But that's just saying worthily in this land. And be renowned in Bethlehem. Verse 12, And may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this woman. Which that tie in is also incredible. Because this is the tribe of Judah.
They come from Judah. Their history goes back to Judah and Tamar which is the first leveret marriage story in the Bible. Not quite the same if you've read Genesis 38. Ruth is this is like Hallmark. And Genesis 38 is like an episode of Mari. Like it's it's a lot more it's a lot rowdier a lot sketchier.
And I've piqued your interest when you get down today go read Genesis 38. If you have questions come talk to me. But it's just cool that that's the story they come from. They're referencing that story purposely. Like that is where we come from is this lever this redemption that happened then and now you get to do this as well. And then the deal is done.
And I want you to imagine Boaz walking back Naomi and Ruth are probably waiting like just looking over the distance is he home yet? Is he coming? And then finally they see him and he's approaching and they're anxiously awaiting what's going to happen and he says it's done. I've settled the matter. Naomi your land has been redeemed you will be taken care of and Ruth I am your kinsman redeemer. I am redeeming you.
Let's get married. And in verse 13 it says so Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Can you imagine what kind of wedding that might have been? how joyous that would have been? People know their back story. Have you ever seen or been to a wedding where there's a lot of joy but the backdrop is? There's a painful story of how it got to here.
And they're just people are just overjoyed seeing this beautiful redemption that is happening. And then it says and he went into her and the Lord gave her conception and she bore a son. that after all of this loss she has a son. Years ago my wife and I she went through a very painful miscarriage and it was a painful experience and then a year later we had our son. And being able to hold our son and the joyous moment that that was with the backdrop of the pain from the last year was powerful and that is this moment and then some after everything that they faced Naomi lost her husband. She lost her only sons.
She lost everything. Ruth lost her husband and she left her people and these widows went back poor without a shred of hope they thought. and now they are holding this baby boy this redemption in their arms. How beautiful is this moment and what I love about this book is it actually doesn't end with focusing on Ruth and focusing on Boaz it ends with focusing on Naomi. That is how the story ends that God saw Naomi in her suffering and he provided. And this is where we pick up in verse 14. Then the women said to Naomi blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a redeemer and may his name be renowned in Israel.
He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age for your daughter-in-law who loves you who is more to you than seven sons has given birth to him. Like the women of the neighborhood are just praise the Lord bless the Lord he did not leave you without redemption Naomi. He didn't forget you. Like we gotta remember when Naomi comes in from out of town when she comes back from Moab they say Naomi we haven't seen you in years it's good to see you and she says don't call me Naomi call me bitter call me call me Mara that's what she wants to be renamed because her life is bitter and it's like no no your life is not bitter God has not forgotten you Naomi means pleasant you will be called Naomi God has been kind to you and his kindness is displayed in his daughter-in-law and her daughter-in-law the kindness is displayed that she has Ruth and they say Ruth is of more value to you than seven sons which is a profound statement for all the reasons we just highlighted sons were your future they were your inheritance they were your social security they're the ones that sustained the line they say this daughter-in-law of yours is more valuable than seven sons praise the Lord that you have this woman in your life and then in verse 16 it says then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse and the woman of the neighborhood gave him a name saying a son has been born to Naomi they named him Obed so that's the only time we see this in the scriptures that the women of the neighborhood named the child they just threw out a name and it stuck and they ran with it Obed means the one who serves and the picture here is that this child is the one who serves Naomi this child is her redemption this child is a reminder that God has not forgotten about Naomi that he has taken care of her can you see this moment as she's bouncing little Obed in her arms as she's holding this bundle of joy and redemption in her arms she has been redeemed and it says she she's going to take care of this child she's going to raise this child Obed is her redemption and this is how Ruth ends Obed he was the father of Jesse the father of David now these are the generations of Perez Perez fathered Hezron Hezron fathered Ram Ram fathered Amenadab Amenadab fathered Nashon Nashon fathered Salmon Salmon fathered Boaz Boaz fathered Obed Obed fathered Jesse and Jesse fathered David and that is when we learn that this is the family of David that Obed is the grandfather of David this is David's story this would have been a family story they passed down the kind of family story that said get around let me tell you let me tell you kids about our story let me tell you about my great grandmother Naomi let me tell you about my grandfather Obed this is a family story that they passed down this means that the nation of Israel would know about this story that's why they have it and it is a vivid joyous picture of God's redemption and his providence on behalf of his people and how he loves and takes care of his people but for us as Christians this story means all that and more because when you get to the very first page of the New Testament that's when this becomes more clear for us Matthew 1 the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David the son of Abraham Abraham was the father of Isaac Isaac the father of Jacob Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers Judah the father of Perez and Zerab by Tamar and Perez the father of Hezron the father of Ram Ram the father of Menadab the father of Nashon the father of Salmon Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab which pause for a moment that's powerful in itself because if you know the story of Joshua Rahab was a Jericho she was a Gentile that's Boaz's mama which means that his mom was a Gentile outsider enemy of the people of God and he marries an outsider of the Moabites of the people who are enemies of God that's an unbelievable connection then it gets down it says Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth and Obed the father of Jesse and Jesse the father of David the king Ruth Boaz Naomi are a part of Christ's story listen it is no accident that God chose to come in the line of Obed this redemption story is bigger than Naomi it is bigger than Ruth and it is bigger than Boaz this is a picture of Christ's redemption of his people that's the hidden subplot that's the Hitchcock M.
Ruth 3: A Midnight Proposal
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Happy Mother's Day. Grab your Bibles and head to Ruth chapter 3. We are walking through the book of Ruth. It's an Old Testament book that happens during the time of Judges. And we're in the third chapter. There's four chapters in the book.
And so the first two chapters, what we see is that there was a man named Elimelech, his wife Naomi. There was a famine. And so they're starving and they head to Moab, which is an enemy nation that was near Israel. And so they kind of they go away from their home just to try to find a way to survive. While in Moab, both of their sons get married and then all of the men die. So Elimelech and Naomi's two sons die.
And so we're left with three widows and they're in a vulnerable, unfortunate position. And so Naomi decides to head back to hear that there's food in Israel again. So she goes to head back and Ruth goes with her. So one of her daughter-in-laws comes back. And Ruth gives this kind of this pledge, this promise where she says that I'm going to your people are going to be my people. Your home is going to be my home.
I'm going with you. Your God is going to be my God. And so she goes back with her. But when Naomi returns, she tells us that she's hopeless. She's empty. She's bitter that things have not gone well for her.
And then we see that they Ruth decides to go glean. There's a barley harvest. And so she's going to glean, which is something that was offered to poor people or somebody who is in a foreign country to be able to follow after those who are reaping and to be able to pick through the scraps and get some food. But she's hoping that someone will let her do that. And she goes to do that. And so she just so happens to end up at Boaz's field and just so happens to meet Boaz.
And we're to see that the Lord's at work in this. And so Boaz shows her great kindness. And we end chapter two where they're fed. They're provided for that God has answered and he's beginning to fill their life back up and he's beginning to care for them. And so we're picking up in Ruth chapter three. Let's pray and we'll pick up there and see where this story goes.
God, we ask for your help and your grace as we study your word that we might see who you are. That you might draw our hearts closer to you and help us to follow you in faith in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. I'm sorry for my voice this voice this morning, but you're just going to have to deal with it because I have to deal with it. So Ruth chapter three, verse one.
Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her. My daughter, should I not seek rest for you that it may be well with you? That phrase, may I not seek rest for you, she actually references it in chapter one, verse nine. She says, may the Lord grant that you may find rest each of you in the house of her husband. So what she means here is, shouldn't I help you get married?
Shouldn't I help you be established? Shouldn't I help you find a place to settle and to be okay? And Naomi told us in chapter one that she's older and so she doesn't think that necessarily she's not marriable at this point. And she's trying to help make a plan for Ruth going forward. And this is the role of a mother. This is something that your mother would help you do.
And so she has taken Naomi, taken Ruth in and she's treating her the way she would treat her if she was a daughter. She's her daughter-in-law and she's a Moabite, but they love one another. And she's saying, shouldn't I do this? Isn't this what I ought to do? And some of you, maybe your mother has said that. Isn't it my job to find your husband, not yours?
But isn't there something beautiful about that Naomi is saying that I want to care for you. I want to help provide for you. I want to help make sure you're established and you're okay. And specifically on Mother's Day, we ought to be thankful for our mothers. And we ought to be thankful for every lady in our life who took on some of that role. We ought to be thankful for our mothers.
We ought to be thankful for every person, every lady that stepped in and helped care for us and provide for us like we see Naomi doing for Ruth. One of the blessed things about being in a church family and one of the blessed things about how we do community groups is that we aren't trying to design our community groups to be age-based or life-stage based. So sometimes it may be a little harder to get to know people, but you also get to begin to know people that are in different life stages from you. And we have the opportunity to have some of this play out, and it is a blessing. So here's what she says.
Verse 2. Is not Boaz our relative with whose young women you were? We're going to stop there for a second because that is not he our relative matters. So she says we know Boaz, and isn't he our relative? Which means isn't he marriable? Isn't he a redeemer?
And you say, well, I'm glad. You know, when my wife and I, we had our boys, we looked on Ancestry.com to try to find names. We tried to limit the names we were picking from our relatives. But I'm glad we don't do marriage like that. It's like, all right, I've got to marry one of my relatives. But here's how this works.
They had to marry inside of their tribe because the land, when they came over following Moses out of the Exodus, the land was given to the tribes. And so it would be like South Carolina was one tribe, one long, big family. And then inside of that, maybe Lexington was your clan or Casey was or whatever, and you live closer to family. But you would marry inside your tribe because the land was passed down through your family line, and the land had to stay in the tribe. So if you were of the tribe of Simeon, you weren't supposed to marry someone of the tribe of Judah because the land has to keep in the family.
So that's what she's saying is you're a part of my family, and Boaz is a part of our family. He's a part of our clan. He's a part of our tribe, and he's a relative of Naomi's husband. And she says, so isn't he a good option for us? He's also a redeemer, which means he's a close enough relative to a limeleck to be able to step in and take on this kinsman redeemer and this leverite marriage role. We have to explain that.
This is nuance in the text that they would be understanding that's completely lost on us. So we've got to learn our Old Testament a little bit better so that we can understand what's happening in the story. Okay. He has the position in their family to be a leverite, to live up to the leverite marriage codes. And lever just means brother-in-law, like your husband's brother. Not your brother's husband because that's weird.
Your husband's brother. So this is from Deuteronomy 25, verses 5 and 6. It says, Now this seems kind of crazy to us. But they had a patriarchal society and they had land inheritance that traveled as they passed it down from father and son. And what happens is, if someone's married and their husband dies, you're supposed to keep that wife in the family and raise up an heir for the husband that died so that the family line of passing on land will continue. It protects a widow from just being sent out.
It protects a widow from being just ignored. But it does also limit the way that she's able to respond in her widowhood because they're trying to raise up a son. She's supposed to be brought into her brother-in-law's house and raise up a son for her deceased husband. So that's one thing at work here in the process of redemption. The other thing at work in the process of redemption that we'll find out more about in chapter 4 is the process of redeeming land. This is Leviticus chapter 25, 23 through 25.
The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. This is God talking. For you are strangers and sojourners with me, and in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land. If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. So if your brother becomes poor and he sells off part of his property to someone not in the family, someone in the family has to come buy it back because it's got to stay with that tribe.
Which means that a redeemer has to pay off someone else's debt, and when they are redeeming a bloodline, they have to raise up somebody else's heir. And that at times can get where your inheritance and that other person's inheritance get tangled up, and it can be a bit complicated. It takes a good bit to be a redeemer to take this on. But Boaz is in that position in their family to be able to do this. So she says, Isn't Boaz?
Isn't he a good option? Shouldn't I try to help you find a husband? And so Naomi has hatched a plan, and let's read it. Let's see what her plan is here. She says, Is not Boaz our relative with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
All right. A couple of things here so we understand what this is. Winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. So, you had a harvest. You reap your harvest. Poor people can follow behind and glean, but you reap your harvest.
You pile it up. Then you thresh it. The way you thresh something is that you beat it. So that people would gather around, and they would sit and hit it with stuff, or they would stomp on it with mules. They would have it all thrown out, and they would stomp on it with mules. Or mules would drag a threshing sledge behind them, which is like a big, like the thing that Kevin McAllister rides down the stairs in Home Alone.
It looks like a sled or whatever. It looks like that, except for the bottom is all gnarled and jagged, and has holes in it and spikes in it and stuff. And they just tear it all up. And what this does is it separates everything, so that the grain actually comes off of the straw and the chaff. So now it's just a big old pile of mess, which that also helps inform when you're reading prophecies, and God tells a nation, I'm going to thresh you.
You don't want to be threshed. So that's what threshing is. So they do that at the threshing floor, and everybody would kind of do this in the same area. So everybody's making harvest. All their fields are kind of connected. They'd have to know where their property line was, and they'd pile everything up, and they would thresh.
Then you winnow. Winnowing happens at the same place. It has to happen in a certain spot in the city. Because you have to have wind. And they would winnow in the evening, as the temperature changed, and the breeze picked up. So there's a specific spot where they would all winnow.
And what winnowing is, is you take everything that's been threshed, it's a big pile of mess, and you toss it in the air in the breeze, and the wind blows the chaff far away. It blows the straw a little bit further. And the grain, which is the heaviest, falls right here. And so they just toss it up in the wind. It blows everything away. Then the chaff is fuel for fire.
The straw is fodder for your animals. It's feed. And the grain is food. So you have fuel, fodder, food. That's winnowing. Now, winnowing is work.
But it's fun work. Because it's payday work. The harvest is over. You're seeing how much you get. There's been a famine. So when they would winnow, they'd all get together and winnow together.
And you're seeing how much you're going to get. So it's like if you owned your own store, and you go and you turn off the light, and you flip the sign that says you're closed, and you go get the money out of the register, and you go to the back to count it. This is still work. But you want this to be a really long part of your day. You want to count money for a while. You don't want to go $2, $3, done.
That's the bad day. You want to count. So they're winnowing, but it's good work. And it was celebratory because it's payday work. And so what happens is at the end of this, they would know how much they got. And the people who'd been working and laboring this whole time would get paid out.
And so it was a celebration. They would do it in the evening. They would eat a meal. Everybody would stay right where they were to guard their grain and to be there ready to go as they would do this, take care of everything off in the morning. So she says, don't we know where he's going to be?
And they understood how this was going to work. Also, they're at the end of the harvest, which means the window of opportunity for Ruth to be around Boaz is closing. She can't just keep showing up to his property for no reason. And she's not in a position to pursue him as a match or anything. She has really nothing. She's in a very vulnerable position.
So Naomi comes up with this plan and says, we know where he's going to be tonight. We know it's a good night for this sort of thing. Here's my plan. So here's her plan. Verse 3. Wash, therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak, and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies, then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do. And she replied, all that you say I will do. What? That's Naomi's plan. And when I first read this, started studying this, I thought, okay. You know, I just studied threshing and winnowing and all this stuff.
I thought maybe there's some context here. Maybe there's something they know. You know, Jewish roots lost on me, but Jewish readers would read this and go, yeah, obviously. Nope. To the original Jewish readers, this was as sketchy a plan as it seems. It's a, you're really towing the line here, Naomi, with your plan.
It's like, what, what, what is happening here? You're putting, what? I didn't see this story going this way. What's, what is going on? What, how is this going to work? That's kind of how this reads.
And there's this tension in the text of like, what's about to happen? How does this, how is this a plan? And how is this going to play out? So let's just walk through it. I mean, I'll tell you that if, if you came to me and said, I'm, you know, I'm trying to, trying to find a husband. I wouldn't say, get your Bible out.
Let's go. Ruth chapter three. I got some coaching to do. Do you know how to pick locks? Do you know where he sleeps? Here's the deal.
When he wakes up, you want to be making eye contact. This isn't, this isn't the plan I'd come up with. It seems a little bit, uh, it puts her in kind of a, could potentially be a bad position. So let's see what the plan is. Verse three, wash therefore and anoint yourself and put on your cloak. So far I'm tracking.
Every time she's seen Boaz, she was gleaning in his field. She had shown up to work. She was working all day out in the sun, probably not her, her cutest. So what her mother-in-law says is, Hey, let's take a bath. Let's put some oil on and let's get dressed up.
That's what her cloak is. Is this is a, one pastor said there's a distinct difference between trying to be attractive and trying to be seductive. And that this is attractive. She's aiming for cleaned up. She's wearing her cloak. She looks nice.
She's to be the nicest Boaz has ever seen her. She just says, Hey, let's put your best foot forward, which I just want to point out. We've been talking about the invisible hand of God, how God moves things according to his will and how we can trust him. But also we can try to come up with some plans. We can be intentional while trusting him. You can say, I'm just trusting God to give me a job.
Okay. You still need to send your resume out. And trust him. You know, if God wants me to have a wife, he'll send me one. What to your, to the basement where you're playing video games. I don't know.
Like let's get a, let's have a bath and get a job. And you know, that's, that's what's happening here. She's making a plan. All right. So go down to the threshing floor.
Do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. Again, I'm still tracking. He's just finished work. And then he's going to have a meal. You don't just charge in, in the middle of that. I don't know if y'all ever knew this.
You ever had bad news to tell your dad? You didn't tell him right when he walked in from work. You waited. You were trying to time that up. You're like, I've got to show him the report card because he needs to sign it. And last time I signed it, they, they caught that.
You're asking like, what are we having for supper tonight? You're like, okay, he likes that. That's good. That's good. You know, right? Maybe not before his show, but, but after supper, that's kind of what they're doing.
She's saying, time it up, right? Let him eat and drink, get him in a good mood and wait. Then she loses me. But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Okay. That's sound advice because if she follows the rest of the plan with some, with the wrong person, she's like, this is key.
Make sure you know where he's sleeping. You can't just wait till it gets dark and pick up a lump of a person and pull their blanket back and hope for the best. So know where he lies down, then go and uncover his feet and lie down and he will tell you what to do. And she replied, all that you say, I will do. All right.
We have our plan. Let's see how it goes. So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Okay. A couple of things here.
It was a celebration. There is no need for us to read in that he was drunk. He ate and drank and was merry. And he went to lay down at the end of the heap of grain. So this is a good night for him.
He's got a heap of grain. They're just coming off of a famine. We're supposed to picture him. He's got a merry heart. He's had, he's winnowed. He's got a heap of grain.
He has a good meal. He goes and lays down next to his grain. You can almost picture him just laying in the dark. Just, this is a good evening for him. Thanking the Lord for providing. He's gotten to enjoy some good company.
He's gotten to celebrate. And he's just going to sleep. That's where his heart's merry. And he's laying down to go to sleep. He went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.
At midnight, the man was startled and turned over. And behold, a woman lay at his feet. Okay. That word startled. I thought this was interesting. It means, it's often used as like shook with fear.
In this context, a really good way to translate that would be the man shivered. The plan was, it gets colder as the night gets on. Uncover his feet. He'll get cold. Lay down at his feet. When he goes to put his blanket back on, boom, there you are.
That's Naomi's plan. And it worked. She said, uncover his feet. Be at his feet. And that's what it says. He may have gotten startled.
He might have heard a noise. He might have seen something. But it doesn't seem like he sees her until he's bent over. He's turned over. So I think it's really, he shivered.
He rolls over to get his blankets settled. And there's a woman at his feet. And he asked what I think is a very reasonable question. He said, who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.
A couple of interesting things that happen here. First of all, have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and seen a person in your room? Wakes you on up. Some parents, you have kids, they come and stood next to your bed like a little psychopath for some reason. You wake up, and there's a face next to you. Some of you have just hung up your own coat and then woke up in the middle of the night and tried to fight it.
But you don't usually hang your coat there. And it startled you. That's what he has. He rolls over. He's cold. He's like, why is my blanket all off my feet?
And then boom, there's a woman and he's startled. And he says, who are you? And she says, I'm Ruth. And here's what she says. She says, I'm Ruth, your servant. One of the interesting things is that she's referred to herself as a servant a couple of times in this, in her conversations with him.
The first time she says servant, she picked the lowest word for servant, the most humblest version of a servant. And in the way they have this set up, it's a servant that is an unmarriable servant. That is not the word she uses here. She says, I'm your servant, but she elevates the word to I am your marriable servant, which in the Hebrew would have hit their ears. They would have understood that kind of bit of a distinction. She says that.
So she's still being humble and they've put him in a position. When she says this, he's in a, she's in a very vulnerable position, but she's come to him in a way that lets her actually speak to him, but also does, does not have any kind of audience. It's just them. If we were watching this, you'd be real zoomed in just to try to even make out their faces to try to see who was who. And so she's, she's saying this, she says, I'm your, I'm your servant. Spread your wings over your servant for you are a redeemer.
She, she says, marry me. I want to have your baby. That's what spread your wings over your servant for you are a redeemer means. Take me into your household. That's wrap your cloak around me is another way to say that. Spread your wings over.
Bring me to you. Make me yours. Bring me into your household. Cover me. Care for me. Shield me.
For you are a redeemer, meaning this is the role you, you, you exist in, in our family. And she's saying, I need you to redeem me. Like what I'm bringing to you is a broken story. Debt. No air. I need you to step in and do something.
And he said, verse 10, may you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. A couple of things we have to see here. I said this earlier. He's older than her. We don't know how much older.
There's a thing called the Midrash, which is Jewish commentary on these texts. It's, it's just commentary and, and we don't know where they get some of their stuff, but they, they suggest that she's 40 and he's 80. I, I would, I would be inclined to make both of them younger than that because he's out winnowing his own stuff. He's, he's a healthy 80 if he's 80. Um, maybe 30 and 60. There's definitely a gap and he sees it and he understands that she had some, some other options.
Could have stayed in Moab, could have tried to find a young husband, could have tried to find, and what he says is your kindness now is greater than the kindness I had already seen you perform. And it's kindness to him a little bit, but it's kindness to Naomi that Ruth is going to go the route of redemption to reestablish a limilex line and Naomi's line. He says, you could have just said, I'm single, I'm free, I can go find whoever I want. And he says, but you're showing great. This has said, we talked about earlier, this steadfast love to Naomi that you're going to try to, to go the route of redemption to reestablish and to fix her story, not just yours.
So he says, this kindness is great. And now my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. Earlier when we were introduced to Boaz, we were told he was a worthy man. And now this is used to describe her, that she's a worthy woman. I love this.
We, the only thing we're ever told about Ruth is that she's young and the word young is mostly used by Boaz, so it seems like younger than him, we don't really know. We're not told anything about her physical appearance whatsoever, but we're told about her character. She's a worthy woman. And he notices it and he says, everybody's noticed it. There's something really encouraging and beautiful about that. Specifically when you take the other passages in the Bibles where it talks about that character doesn't fade, but physical appearance does.
So he says, don't fear, I'll do this. But then he says this, and now it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. Remain tonight and in the morning if he will redeem you, good, let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning. What?
Who's this other guy? No, no, no, we want Boaz. He says, I am a redeemer, but there's another redeemer nearer than I. Basically, he has first right of refusal. It's real technical and legal, you guys. Boaz doesn't just get to say, sure, he has to say, no, actually, if we're doing redemption, we've got to give this other guy, he's got to, it actually goes to him first.
Which, maybe, maybe this was always just common knowledge. And everybody always knew this. But it doesn't seem like Naomi knew necessarily that there were other redeemers that were closer. And this is a bit of conjecture, but she woke him up in the middle of the night and he already knows the redemption line immediately. I think he already thought about it. That's all I'm saying.
I think he had already considered how redemption would work. I think he had already looked into it a little bit. Maybe he just knew it, but I'm just throwing that out there. You wake me up in the middle of the night, I don't know if I'd know my whole family line the way that he does and who gets to do what. So he just says, but he says, if he'll redeem you, good.
If not, I'll redeem you as the Lord lives. We'll handle this tomorrow. So, she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor. So he just kind of tries to protect her character.
She's going to leave before anybody can see. She, basically, she fully plays out Naomi's plan, which is come under the cover of darkness, make kind of a bold proposal, but not in a way that's going to shame him if he rejects you, not in a way that puts him in the bad spot, but does show your vulnerability. And then she's going to leave. There are some people who read this text and go, what happened? Was there something, is she lay there till morning, some kind of code for something? I had a professor in college who did that who was like, that Ruth story, as you read this, that idea is really out of place for a couple of reasons.
One is, it's out of place with the character of Boaz and Ruth as far as how this story would play out. And she definitely was in a vulnerable position and it does read to build that tension. The way this is written, you're going, oh my goodness, what is Naomi's plan? And that's the way it reads for everybody. Secondly, it's out of the character of God. And the way the Bible's written.
Because the Bible doesn't wink at sin. It doesn't hide it in between verses as like a cute little thing. It'll just tell you. You read Genesis, read Judges, the Bible will just tell you, and here's what they did. Sometimes it does it with no commentary whatsoever. It doesn't tell you it was bad, it just says, here's what happened.
And you're supposed to understand, that shouldn't have happened. So if the Bible were going to include that, it would just include it. Since it doesn't include it, it makes way more sense that this is exactly what happened. And she laid down on his feet and slept the rest of the night until she got up to head out. And he says, hey, don't make a big deal out of her being here. And he's going to go settle redemption today.
I just want to throw that out there. Because I've heard that and I think it doesn't make any sense. All right. Verse 15. And he said, bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out. So she brings her big cloak.
And he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, how did you fare, my daughter? How did it go? What happened? And she told her all that the man had done for her, saying, these six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, you must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.
She replied, wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today. So he again takes the opportunity to bless her and her mother-in-law. And he sends her away and he's going to go figure out that's where we're left. We're going to find out in chapter four how it gets settled and what happens with this other redeemer. And as you read this story, I just kept thinking about the fact that this plan works.
Why does this plan work? Well, we're told a couple of things. We're told about the character of Ruth, which is beautiful. She's a worthy woman. She loves her mother-in-law. She shows her great steadfast love, that she's a hard worker, that she seems gracious and kind.
But the reason this plan works is because she laid down at the right feet. What I mean by that is, certainly she found Boaz in the dark. She marked the spot where he lay. But that if it wasn't Boaz, if Boaz wasn't in the position to redeem, if Boaz wasn't a worthy man, this could have gone really poorly. If he wasn't wealthy enough to handle taking on the debt of redemption because redemption is costly. It's not a simple or easy matter.
Redemption is costly. And so this works because when Boaz sits up in the middle of the night, he doesn't think to try to take advantage of this situation or to harm her. But he goes out in his worthiness and his goodness to love and to care and to shelter. It works because when she says, shelter me under your wings, he's the type of person that's worth saying that to. And as I read this, and it's a beautiful little love story, where she boldly goes and proposes marriage in the middle of the night with this crazy little plan, and it works, I can't help but see this as a signpost that points us forward to the goodness of Christ who was in the form of God but becomes a man so that he might be our kinsman redeemer.
That he might be in the position to us to be able to redeem us. That he's good and worthy and that he has credit in his account so that he can buy us out of debt. That this is the same thing we get to go to Jesus with. I'm your servant. Cover me, shelter me in your wings and redeem me. Shelter me in your wings for you are a redeemer.
That we get to come to him humbly and say, I need you to wrap around me, I need you to cover me, I need you to shield me. And you're a redeemer. Because all I can bring is debt. All I can bring is a broken story that's in need of redemption but he's the one who redeems. Do y'all see that? You see that when she comes she's asking him to take on a debt, she's asking him to take on a costly thing that can affect his inheritance and how it all plays out.
But he responds graciously and kindly and how much more does the Lord respond to us in that manner when we come to him and say, I need redemption, I need help. Will you shelter me in your wings? That's what Romans chapter 10 says. For the scripture says, everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. You see, our story is that we have sin. We've fallen short.
It's broken. We need redemption. We have debt. We need someone who can step in and rescue us out of that otherwise we're stuck in it and so we fall down to Jesus and he will not put to shame anyone who calls out to him. If you come to him and say, I need you to shelter me, he says, I will. My son, my daughter, I'll take you in.
Do not fear. I will take care of this. That's the hope we have in Christ that when he died on the cross, he was perfect and sinless so that he had credit in his account. He had the wealth he needed in righteousness to pay off our debt so that we might be brought into his household and made righteous. That's the hope we have so that when we come to him and we ask, shield me, protect me, take me in, he does and nobody goes back empty handed. Nobody leaves without him overflowing blessings and joy and protection and hope to us.
No one will be put to shame who comes to Christ. That's the hope we have in Jesus and when I gather up, when we gather on Sundays and I get up here and get to open the scriptures and we get to talk about these beautiful little love stories but we get to point forward to the great joy and love that's poured out for us in Jesus. I always fear that there's somebody in this room and you've bowed down at the wrong feet. You've laid down at the wrong feet and you've looked at something and you've said, I'll serve you, I need you to redeem me and you've looked at success or you've looked at finances or you've looked at romance and you've said, I'll do whatever you tell me.
You're the thing that'll save me but none of them can. None of them can forgive your sin, none of them can pay your debt, none of them can fix your story but Jesus can. The band's going to come back up and in a moment we're going to sing. We do this every Sunday. We're going to sing and then we're going to give announcements and we're going to leave. And it's Mother's Day so if you go eat out in the world you're going to do that for the next four hours.
In a moment we're going to leave. And some of you are going to leave never having asked Jesus shelter me in your wings. Fix my story. Some of you are going to leave never having come to Him and saying, I'm your servant, forgive my sin, take me in. And I'd like to encourage you with the words that she says. She says, He won't rest but it'll settle the matter today.
I want some of you to settle the matter today. You've been holding back. You've been saying, well I'm going to get cleaned up. I'm going to get this fixed. I've got to wait for this. Would you settle it today?
Would you come to Him today and lay down and say, I need you to rescue me. I need you to bring me into your household. I need you to cover me with your wings. I need you to cover me with your blood. I need you to cover me with your sacrifice. I need you to redeem me because I can't do this on the wall.
In a moment, we're going to sing and we're going to sing about redemption and we're going to sing about Jesus and we're going to sing what He's capable of and we're going to sing about what He's done for us and if that's not true for you, would you settle it today? Would you say, I need you to take me in? Because He will. Because no one who calls on Him will be put to shame. Let's pray.
God, God, we thank you that you are a better Redeemer than Boaz, that there is no Redeemer closer than you, that there is no one that is capable of doing this but you, that you are the way and the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father but through you and Lord, I pray that we would celebrate that no one is put to shame and no one is sent away empty that comes to you, that you have wrapped your cloak around us, sheltered us in your wings and redeemed us and for anyone in this room who has not done that, Lord. May they settle it today. Ask for your redemption and see the smile on your face as you say, do not fear and bring them in and forgive them and give them a hope and a future and rewrite their story. I pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Ruth 2: Behold a Redeemer
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Well, good morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. We are in the book of Ruth. We're going to be in the second chapter today. If you have one of the blue Bibles in the row in front of you, it's on page 127.
If you have one of the black Bibles, I don't know what page it's on, but your words are big enough to read, so you get that. But if you don't own a Bible, take one of these blue ones home with you. That's our gift to you. We'd love for you to have a Bible. We'd love for you to be able to read it. We're in the book of Ruth, and we're going to walk through chapter 2 this morning, but I want to catch us up a little bit on what happened in Ruth chapter 1, so previously in the book of Ruth.
We're going to catch up on what we talked about last week. So Ruth is in the Old Testament. It is written during, it's set during the time of Judges, and so that's after the Exodus out of Egypt. It's after Moses, after the law, but before Saul, King David, Solomon, and the kings. So they've taken over some of the promised land, but the time of the Judges is a time of rebellion, then repentance, and then restoration, and then rebellion, and then repentance, and then restoration.
And it's kind of like the Wild West in Israel. It's sometimes good, sometimes bad. Depends on what's going on. Depends on what area you're in. And it's a little bit chaotic. So that's where this story is set.
And we were told last week that there was a man named Elimelech. He had a wife named Naomi. And they had two sons, Malon and Chilion. And they were in Israel, in Bethlehem, during a famine, which means complete economic collapse and starvation. Everything has fallen apart when people are no longer able to eat. And in an agrarian society, this shuts things down.
And so they pick up and move to Moab. And Moab is an area that's enemies of the people of Israel. And at times during Judges, they would rule over Israel. They would fight back and forth. And they go to Moab just because they got to get some food. And we're told that while in Moab, both the sons, Malon and Chilion, take Moabite wives, which they weren't supposed to do given the Old Testament law, but they do.
And so they marry Moabite women. And then Elimelech dies. Malon dies. Chilion dies. And so there are three widows, Orpah, Ruth, and Naomi. And in this time period, single women do not have much agency.
They don't have the ability to own property. They don't have the ability. You were in your father's household or you were in your husband's household. And a widow was in a very vulnerable position. We're told in chapter 1 that they hear while they're in Moab that the Lord has visited Israel and there's food. That God has blessed.
God has shown back up. And there's food in Israel again. And so Naomi says, I'm going back. And she tells Orpah and Ruth, y'all need to stay here. You need to go back to your father's household. And you need to find husbands.
And she said, I can't help you with any of that. So I'm going to go back home because at least there's food and y'all need to find husbands. And Orpah is sad, but she goes. And Ruth says, no. I'm going with you. Regardless of what happens, I'm going with you.
Your people will be my people. Your home will be my home. Your God will be my God. I'm going to stay with you until you die. And I'm going to be buried in the same spot. And may God curse me if I don't do that.
So it's an aggressive way to say, I really care about you and I'm going to stick with you. And so she does. She and Naomi head back, hopefully just trying to find a place to land, hopefully trying to find some food. When they show up, people in town say, hey, Naomi's back. And Naomi says, no, she's not neither. Naomi died in Moab.
Y'all can call me Mara because Naomi means pleasant and Mara means bitter. She said, Naomi's not here anymore. Pleasant's gone. Bitter's back. And she, in chapter one, refers to herself as hopeless, empty, and bitter. That's a bad spot to be in.
If you can take a second to just appreciate where they are. Everything that she thought was going to work out when she married Elimelech. Everything that she thought was going to work out when she had her first son and her second son. Everything that she thought would happen when they began their lives, none of it panned out the way she wanted it to. Just to survive, they had to leave their homeland. And then everything falls apart in Moab.
And she comes back and she says, I'm hopeless. I'm empty. And I'm bitter. And that's where we left them last week. So let's pray.
And we're going to go into chapter two and see if this gets any better. God, we ask for your help. We ask for your grace as we study your word. We're thankful for stories like this. We pray that you would help us through the work of your spirit and the power of your word to see you in the middle of this. So that we might learn to see you in the middle of our circumstances as well.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. So we're going to pick up in the last verse of chapter one because it sets the tone. That kind of gives us the setting. It says, so Naomi returned and Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
A couple of things we need to note from this one verse. First of all, this is right after Naomi gives her whole speech about Naomi's not here anymore. I'm Mara, which had to be really awkward for the people who are like, hey, Naomi. And she's like, no. But what I love about this is the absolute next verse when she's done talking goes, so Naomi shows back up.
I just appreciate that she does not get to take her circumstances and redefine her identity. That's so good. She says, everything's falling apart from me. Pleasantness is gone. Bitterness is here. That's who I am now.
And the Bible says, no. God's just like, no, that's not how that works. And that's really good news for some of us because we get in these situations where we think everything's falling apart. I'm just worthless. I'm just unlovable. I'm just hopeless.
And isn't it good that we have a God who just goes, no, you don't get to use bad circumstances to rewrite your identity. That's a whole sermon right there. It's not today's sermon, so we're going to have to keep moving on. But that's a good thing. Then it says, and Ruth the Moabite.
Now, you know what Ruth was called in Moab? Ruth. Just like Swedish Fish and Sweden are just called Fish. She just is Ruth. But when she comes to Israel, they're going to call her Ruth the Moabite over and over and over again because her Moabiteness stands out now.
She feels it. They feel it. They see it. If you've ever been in a place where you were the only person who spoke your language, everybody else spoke a different language, or you're the only person who looked like you or dressed like you or had the same skin tone as you, if you ever dated somebody of a different race and then went to their family reunion, you know kind of how she feels. She notices herself in a distinct way than she usually does. And that's part of what the text is showing us is that she's now Ruth the Moabite as she has followed her mother-in-law.
And then it says it's at the beginning of the barley harvest, which for a place that's had a famine, this is really good news. There's actually a barley harvest now. This is what they had been told. It's rained. Barley's growing. There's food again.
Come back. Like she gets to go, there's going to be the barley harvest. And right after the barley harvest is the wheat harvest. And both of those are staple crops. Barley is used to make alcohol, but when you've been starving, that's not the first thing they do with it. It's a staple crop.
They use it to make bread. They use it to make soups and stews. It was something that they were immediately coming back into. We're going to get to eat again. And so they show back up at the beginning of the barley harvest. Now, this is chapter 2, verse 1.
Now, Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. All right, a couple of things we need to note from here. First, they're just introducing him, but he doesn't show up until later. So they cut over here and say, y'all need to know about Boaz. And then they turn back, and that was it. They just kind of give him a little introduction.
A couple of things that are helpful for us to capture. First is, Boaz is a really cool name. Name your kids that, and then you can call him Bo. That's for sure. It's awesome. Although, never mind.
Anyway, all right. And we're told that he's a worthy man. That word is used to mean wealthy at times, to mean prominent, to mean a war hero. He's well-respected, but it also means he's well-respected in a way he's helpful to the people around him. He's a blessing. He's a solid, worthy man.
He's a godly man. That's what that's saying. And then it says a worthy man. It says he's a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech. Now, for us, that's just background information. But for Jewish readers, their ears just perked up a little bit.
Oh, he's a relative. Oh. Because they would marry inside of their clans. And if you had a problem, the people inside of your clan were the people who would help you out of the problem. They were the people who could help buy back property. They were the people who could help you get your family line back in order.
They were the people who were to be helpful. So when they say, I just wanted to introduce you all to a man named Boaz. He's great and he's related. Jewish people went, oh. And so that's what we need to capture from that. Verse 2.
And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor. And she said to her, go, my daughter. So barley harvest. But she doesn't have – they don't own property. So she just says, I'm going to go follow behind the people who are reaping and I'm going to glean.
Reaping is where you get to take all the stuff that you can carry. Gleaning is where you get to pick through what they accidentally dropped. And so she says, I'm going to go see if someone will show me some favor. Be kind to me and let me glean. And they're leaning into, in Israel, a part of the Old Testament law. This is in Leviticus chapter 23.
It says, And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner. I am the Lord your God. Same laws are in Deuteronomy. It says you're going to leave them for the widow, the poor, the sojourner. So sojourners are people that have come and trusted in living in this area.
So the rule was, there was some social security that when you had a harvest, you weren't allowed to get everything you could get. You had to leave the edges for people to come by and pick from there. And you had to, once you went through once, you weren't allowed to go back and get everything you dropped. You were supposed to leave it so that there were people who could do exactly what she's doing. But we're in the time of the Judges, which means sometimes people were following the law, sometimes they weren't.
And we're not quite sure if this is going to work out. But she says, we got to get some food some way. I'm going to go do this. It'd be similar to if you were in a real bad spot and you said, look, it's Saturday morning. I'm just going to drive over to Lowe's and I'm going to sit outside. And I'm going to wait and see if I see somebody who looks like they're in a big project.
And I'm going to go over and ask, can I help you for the day? Pay me whatever you can. That's the spot they're in. And so Naomi says, go. So she set out, it's verse three, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers.
And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. Okay. The way this is written is a little bit tongue in cheek, a little bit. It's got a little bit of irony, irony. And it's, it's, he's saying like this.
So she shut out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she just so happened to come to the field belonging to Boaz. And then when it says, and behold, that's look. Oh, looky here. Boaz showed up. Oh, would you notice that?
That's the way this is written. It's got a little bit of, we're supposed to catch the fact that this wasn't just, well, what a coincidence. She's in the right field. And look at that strapping lad, Boaz, just happened to show up. It's written in a way that's trying to help you see that there's more at work here than just coincidence. And it's going to be written that way through the rest of chapter two and three.
There's going to be all these times where you're going, ah. And they're intending to make you go, ah, wait a second. Something else is going on here. And that's one of the things that we need to wrap our mind around is that God often works with his visible hand. That there are times where there are miracles. There are times where he parts the Red Sea.
There are times where there are plagues. There are times where an angel shows up and talks to somebody. But all the time, God is working through his invisible hand. That he's blessing and orchestrating and helping things work out according to his will. That he's moving in ways we don't see. That he's moving in ways that are helpful and grace-filled and loving towards us that just seem like, oh, what are the odds of that?
Exactly. What are the odds of that? God's really good. And they're going to see that as they go through. They're going to respond in the same way, understanding that God has blessed here. So would you look at that?
She shows up on his property. And he shows up. Well, I'll be. And he said to the reapers, the Lord be with you. And they answered, the Lord bless you. So he comes up and says, may the Lord, that Lord capital L-O-R-D, when you see it in your scripture like that, means they use the proper name, Yahweh of the Lord.
It's the I am that I am that he tells Moses in the book of Exodus. And so they're saying, may Yahweh bless you. May the Lord bless you. And they respond, may the Lord bless you. And this is a bit of an uncommon greeting. It seems like it's a very genuine.
He's devout. And he seems to have a good relationship with his workers, that there's mutual blessing and care. Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, whose young woman is this? Now, what happened is he shows up. He sees his reapers reaping. And he's got young men and young ladies that are working, reaping his field.
And then there's another young lady following behind gleaning. And you'll notice the question is different than the way we would ask the question. We would say, who is this? But if you remember, females didn't have a lot of agency. He says, whose young woman is this? Whose household does she belong to?
Who is she under? And the answer, the sting that we're supposed to feel in this text is no one. Like when you're talking to someone and they go, how's work going? But you got laid off last week? That little, oh. How's your girlfriend?
She broke up with me. Oh, I'm glad I brought it up. That kind of thing. So he asked, whose young woman is this? And we know the answer. Nobody's.
She's got nobody. She's no father. She has no household. She has nobody. She's doing her best just to eat today. And the way the text is written is there's this little, but is there going to be an answer to that later?
Is she going to be with somebody? That's the way it's written. So whose young woman is this? And he answers. The servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, she is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. And she said, please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.
So she came and she has continued from early morning until now except for a short rest. The Hebrew phrase there is she's lived in the field. She's nonstop. She's been working. And she came and said, can I glean? And that's what she's been doing since forever.
She's working. And then Boaz said to Ruth. So he goes over to her. He didn't talk to her at first. He just asked about her. He goes over to her.
And now you can feel a little bit of tension because she's been working all morning. Head guy shows up. Has a little conversation. If you've been in these situations, you're usually paying attention to these sort of things. Boss man starts heading over to you. This may not go well.
If you've ever been in a situation where someone who is in charge of things suddenly knew your name. You're like, oh, is this good or bad? You know my name. What's happening here? So he comes over to her and there's this moment of what's going to happen.
And Boaz said to Ruth, now listen, my daughter. Do not go to glean in any other field or leave this one. But keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.
Y'all, he could have walked over and said, get out of here. He could have walked over and said, hey, it's okay if you do this today, but keep back from everybody. And find somewhere else tomorrow. He comes over and says, you find my young women and you stick close to them. And if you get thirsty, they've already drawn water for you. Which is above and beyond.
He says, you're welcome. He could have treated her like a Moabite. But he comes over and he says, you're welcome. You belong. You get to participate in the same level as everybody else. Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, why have I found favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me since I am a foreigner?
So she feels this. This, how much of a blessing it is and how odd it seems. But Boaz answered her, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me. And how you left your father and your mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. The Lord repay you for what you have done and a full reward to be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. First of all, her character has preceded her.
Her grace and kindness has preceded her. We find out now she's also a hard worker. She's out trying to labor for her mother-in-law. It seems like her mother-in-law probably isn't capable. Is older and not able to go work in the sun all day. But Naomi says, I'm going to, Ruth says she's going to go help take care of this.
And he says, may you be blessed. I want to point out a few things. Oh, verse 11. Can you go back to verse 11? I want to point out something in that. Yep.
You left your father and mother and your native land and you came to a people that you had not known before. He acknowledges how difficult that is. And I think you ought to have that in your mind when you're dealing with anybody who has done that. That's difficult. It's difficult to be in a place where you don't understand all of the cultural things that you would have been trained in your entire life. It's difficult when you're speaking a language that's not your native language.
And so I would just say, as an aside, be extra gracious to people who are in those situations. And be like Boaz and go out of your way to be kind and helpful. Because we're supposed to. And that's actually what he says. He goes in chapter verse 12. He says, not only have you come here, but you have taken refuge under the Lord, the God of Israel.
And that's what he's understanding. He's saying, you're not just a foreigner. You're a sojourner. And that's what the law tells us in Exodus 22. You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him. For you are sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Meaning someone who's officially come. They're not just for him, but they've come and said, I'm going to live here. And that specifically was people who came to Israel and said, I'm going to worship your God. I'm going to follow your God. He says, no, you belong. You're welcome here.
And he treats her with great generosity and kindness. And I want you to wrap your head around something. He says, may the Lord bless you, even as he is blessing her. And he understands that part of the way the Lord blesses is that he uses us. And that it's the Lord's blessing that we get to participate. So I would ask you, where are you in a position of authority?
Where do you have something that's been given to you? Do you eat every day? Have food on your table? Do you have a vehicle that works? Do you set the schedule at work? Do you oversee people?
Are you the type of person who you don't set the schedule, you don't oversee people, but you can help control how the day goes? Are you one of the cool people in class? Are you guys that can raise and lower people? And are you using those things that God has given you to be gracious and generous to those around you? Do you have your eyes open for the person who's following after, just trying to glean and trying to figure out how can I be a blessing? How can God work through what I have?
In a lot of ways, God blesses people so that we can bless. In a lot of ways, you're the FedEx driver. You've got a lot of stuff he's given you, but it's not all meant to terminate on you. The FedEx driver shouldn't show up wearing the shirt you ordered. And so there's a lot of things that God has given us that we're meant to just let pass through our hands to be a blessing to those around us. And don't get confused.
Let's be like Boaz because God has been like that to us. So that's what he does. And then she says, verse 13, Then she said, I have found favor in your eyes, my Lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants. So he just says, keep at it. You're blessed. Be welcome here.
And he goes. Then it says, at mealtime, Boaz said to her, come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine. So they all take a break to go eat. She would have just taken a break or kept gleaning. Maybe she would have taken some of what she'd gotten and chewed on a little bit of it. You can do that.
It's not great, but you can do it. And he says, no, no, no, no. Come over here. You don't have anything. No, no, no. Come eat with us.
You sit right down. You're welcome here. Which again, he's jumping past cultural things to do this, to be gracious, to be kind, to look a lot like the God he worships. So he says, you come eat. So she sat beside the reapers and he passed to her roasted grain and she ate until she was satisfied and she had some left over.
Now for a lot of us, that's a daily thing. She hasn't done this in a long time. She hasn't gotten to eat and eat and eat until she thought, should I eat this? I'm going to and we'll find out. And then she ate it and then she thought, I really can't eat anymore. Probably shouldn't eat in the last bite, but it was so good.
She ate so much and she had some left over. Do y'all see the blessing in that? For someone who's been hungry for such a long time, for someone who's just been probably every day having to try to find something to eat was actually really good. Times would have to sit and think, do I eat all this now and spend the rest of the day being hungry? But I probably won't get any more food.
Or do I wait and try to parse it out? And either way, I'm just going to be hungry and then I hope for, have some food tomorrow. She gets to sit and eat. She's welcomed at the table. All right.
So she sat. She ate until she was satisfied. She had some left over. When she rose to glean, meaning she's going to get back behind and keep doing the stuff, Boaz instructed his young men saying, let her glean even among the sheaves and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean and do not rebuke her. He says, if she breaks proper protocol and she just starts going in the standing grain rather than the stuff that's already been knocked over, y'all don't say a word to her.
And if she's not doing that and you feel like she's not getting enough, you start just dropping handfuls. She goes home full. That's what he said. And I better not hear y'all say a word to her. And he does this. He doesn't tell her this.
He goes and blesses her without her knowing. Church family. Do that. Jesus says to be generous and not let your left hand know what your right hand's doing. Go out of your way to bless people that they don't even know. But he says she's going to be taken care of.
She is. Okay. Do not rebuke her. Verse 17. So she gleaned in the field until evening.
Remember, she's hard working. Then she beat out what she had gleaned and it was about an ephah of barley. And I know all of y'all were like, a whole ephah? Yeah, an ephah, you guys. My mind was blown too. Yeah, so it's a bushel and it's like 30-ish pounds.
And there are writings from the Babylonian empire that if you had worked all day, they would pay day laborers a pound or two of barley. She goes home with 30 pounds. This is enough for her and Naomi to eat for like three weeks. If she's able to do this every day for the whole barley and wheat harvest, which is about eight weeks, they're going to have enough food for a year. Which is such a blessing to Israel that they're doing this well, that God has blessed them in this manner. But it's such a blessing to Ruth and Naomi.
This is a crazy amount of food. Naomi's thinking, hey, she's sitting at home hungry, hoping it's going well. She's probably been praying for Ruth. Probably been hoping that she found a good place to be. Probably hoping she hadn't been run off. A little bit worried about her.
A little bit scared for her. She's a Moabite with nobody. So she gets all this and she says that she took it up, verse 18, went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. Isn't that kind?
She ate all that food, had some left over. She said, I'm going to go home. This is about to be Naomi's. I'm going to show up not just with food we can cook. I'm going to show up with some cooked food. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over from being satisfied.
I love verse 19. And her mother-in-law said to her, where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you. Y'all, that's incoherent, excited, sputtering. She asked the same question twice, doesn't wait for an answer and starts praising the Lord.
She shows up with weeks of groceries, puts this out, and Naomi says, where were you? Who was, where did this, thank you Jesus! Praise the Lord, bless the man who, like she starts praying over this stuff. May he always have barley. May he have so much he doesn't even know where it is and be able to take it. May Ruth always be there.
May Ruth always be there. She's so excited. So blessed to see how this has been provided and taken care of. And then, so Ruth responds. She says, where do you go? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.
And so she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, the man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz. The way that sentence is structured is that it just drags on until you finally hear Boaz. And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, may he be blessed by the Lord whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead. Now, a couple things to see here. when you're blessed by somebody, when they care for you and they go out of their way, do you bless them in return? And even just this, she's just speaking and bless them. She said, Lord, may you bless them.
May you care for them. May you notice. But the other thing that happens here is it's unclear in English and in Hebrew, which I don't read, but other people who read it wrote some stuff down and they told me it's unclear in Hebrew. Whose kindness? Whose? The Lord's?
Or he, Boaz. He whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead or the Lord whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead? And the answer is yes. Because that's how God works so often. You go to the grocery store and you get a gallon of milk. How'd that get there?
The truck driver? The person who milked it? The person who put the milk jug on the counter? The cow? God? Yes.
This means that there's a lot of joy in normal work because you get to participate in all the ways that God is blessing. And it also means that there are times where we pray for the visible hand of God and he blesses us with the invisible hand of God and we're supposed to recognize it and celebrate it. There are times where we pray and the tumor is removed and you show back up and it's gone. They scan, they say, I don't know where it went. And you say, I don't care where it went. It's gone.
High five. I'm out of here. There are other times where you pray and they show back up, they scan it again, they say, it's continued to grow. We need to do surgery now. And God, in his grace, has placed you here where there's a hospital, where there's a doctor, where there's a skilled medical team and they remove a tumor. Praise the Lord and praise the medical team.
Thank you, Jesus. That's how this works. So often, he provides food but sometimes he provides it through you got a job. Sometimes he provides it through church family brought some things over. But we get to recognize and appreciate how he blesses and cares all the time.
Now, a little bit of foreshadowing for next week. Chapter 3. Naomi said to her, this man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers. Now, if this was a 90s sitcom, the crowd would have just gone, ooh. Because there's a lot of hope packed into that, he's a close relative, he's one of our redeemers. This means a couple of things.
One is, he's a close enough relative to fit into the role of a kinsman redeemer and a kinsman redeemer is someone who can help get you out of bad situations and they're supposed to. They're supposed to help buy back land. They're supposed to help when a family line seems like it's going to end, which this seems like it's going to end, that there will be no heir for Elimelech because of no heir from Malon or Chilion. These kinsman redeemer can come back in and get property back. They can come back in and sort things out. And so it either just means he's close enough to do that, but it also seems that at times they actually had someone who was prominent, worthy enough, wise enough that they were almost assigned the role.
Like a mafia don, but in a really good way. He's a relative who's taken on this role and he can do special things. He can get some stuff accomplished. And so she says he's a redeemer, which means there's some hope that we can actually get reestablished. And for a Jewish reader, you go, wait, wait, wait. How reestablished?
He can help you get your house back and get your land back or is he going to help get your bloodline back? And for who? Is he potentially going to marry Naomi or is he going to potentially marry Ruth? And I don't want to give you away, give it away, but the title of the book's a hint. And so you start thinking is Naomi thinking what I think she's thinking? And chapter three is going to say, yes, she's thinking what you think she's thinking.
Naomi has noticed something, whether Ruth has noticed it or not, is that Naomi is suddenly very excited about Boaz's potential as a suitor, as a husband. And I'll tell you, she noticed some things that are worth noticing. So ladies who are looking for a husband, here are a couple things to look for. He loves the Lord, but he doesn't just talk about Him, he obeys Him. That's good. He showed up and said, may the Lord bless you.
And you go, that's a good sign. And then he was generous and kind and he knew the law and he applied it over and above. It's like, oh, that's a real good sign. So I'm excited. Can they come in here and sing and raise their hand? Yeah, that's good.
What do they do when they leave? They still follow the Lord? They know their Bible? Well, he has a job. Yeah. That's good.
Young men, you can only help what your face looks like so much. You can only help how tall you are so much. But you can go to work and you can work hard and let me tell you something. A nice Job smells good on a man. She poured out all that barley and she said, mm, this guy seems handsome. Third, he cared about Ruth's well-being, not his own.
He gave, he didn't take. Oh. If you're in a relationship, he doesn't care about you. He cares about what he gets from you, don't be in a relationship anymore. If you're married, that doesn't apply. And I'm sorry I said it that way, but I didn't need to clarify that.
And we can work on that and we'd love to help walk you through that because that's a very tough situation to be in. But if you're dating, that absolutely applies. One of the ministries I hope to take up in this church is to help young ladies break up with young men who don't have jobs, don't love Jesus, and don't care about him. And you can send them to come talk to me. You can say, oh, I broke up with you because my pastor said it. You don't have to blame it on Jesus, blame it on me.
And then I'll talk to him. I'll say, yeah, you have a job, you love Jesus, get in a group, we'll help you out. We'll make you handsomer by the day. Fourth, he's a close relative. I mean, he's checking all the boxes, you guys. That one's a joke.
I know we got some people from Kentucky in here, that's just a joke. Just list verse three. Okay. And so you're going, is Naomi thinking what I'm thinking? She's thinking, and she is. And watch this.
He's a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers. And Ruth the Moabite said, besides, he said to me, you shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest. He told me to come back. He told me this isn't just today, this is the whole time. That's such a blessing. And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, it is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, less than another field you'd be assaulted.
Now, I just want to point something out because Naomi is thinking what you're thinking she's thinking. Ruth said, he said, you shall keep close to my young men until I'm done. And Naomi responds, that's good, you should keep close to his young women. She swaps that word out. But she also says this, less than another field you'd be assaulted.
That's a reality. It's a reality then for her to be no father, no husband in a situation where she has no real agency and they didn't really care the same way and protect the same way. But it's a reality now. I read a study one time where they asked college young men and college-aged young ladies and they said, if you were going to go running at night, what would you do to prepare? And the college men thought it was a trick question. They're like, shoes.
A lot of them put nothing. The young ladies, a lot of them said, I would not do this. Or they said, I wouldn't wear headphones because I've got to be able to hear what's going on around me. I'd tell a friend so they knew when I was going, what route I was running when I was coming back. And so I would just say to the men in the room, be like Boaz so that people are more protected around you, not less. And be mindful of the young women and the single women and just the women that are by themselves around you that you don't make them feel uncomfortable because you're not thinking about being assaulted, but they might be.
So be mindful of how close you stand to people, how you look at them. And in general, you can make people safer without being weird about it. So be aware. But she says, it's good. This will keep you safe. So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvest.
And she lived with her mother-in-law. So this continued. It was a blessing. They got tons and tons of food over the next eight weeks. That's what we're told. I want to point something out as we finish this up because I want to help you see a theological, logical point, a piece of theology that there's a logical point made from from the New Testament.
Naomi says, I'm hopeless, I'm empty, I'm bitter. But they find out that the Lord has visited Israel and there's food. And then we see this moment where the Lord visits Naomi. Where she had said, he's come out to harm me, but she sees how blessed and she immediately just pours forth with praise. Praise the Lord that he hasn't forgotten us. The Lord has visited us.
He cares for us. This is beyond anything I could have hoped for. And we need to be mindful to see where the Lord's at work and where he blesses. But I want to show you something that the New Testament tells us that helps us even more than the help Naomi. He gets. You see, this picture, this story of Ruth is a picture, ultimately, of God's story.
That we're bitter, we're empty, we're hopeless, we're foreigners, we're unwelcome, and that God visits his people in the form of Christ who takes on flesh to redeem us, to fill us, to make life good and sweet and pleasant, to give us hope. because he dies because he dies for our sins that we can trust in him that he'll work on our behalf. And so what I want to show you is this. In Romans chapter 5, it says, God shows his love for us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We actually didn't have a good report like Ruth had that goes before us. All we had was our sin. And then he says, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son.
That's the hope of the gospel, that we're sinners, we're enemies, we're not welcome, we're worse than a Moabite. We don't even have a good report and that Jesus Christ came to redeem us, to give us hope, to rescue us out of our sin, to pay our debt. And then, chapter 8, it says this, He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? So this is a theological point, but there's a logical point made from it. If you right now have trusted in Christ, but you feel empty, hopeless, bitter, life circumstances have not worked out the way you wanted to.
You painted a baby room, but the baby didn't come. You got married, but it didn't work out the way you thought it would work out. You are in a situation where you thought you were going to get the job, you didn't get the job. You thought you were going to graduate, you didn't graduate. You thought things were going to work. You don't know why your mind is working the way it's working right now.
You don't know why your health is working the way it's working right now. And you just, you just don't know. We can trust and look for and celebrate everywhere we see his invisible hand, but we have something so much better that we can look and say, if he would die for me, if he would give his son for me, I can trust him with everything else. And I don't know why this has worked out the way it's worked out, and I don't know why it's been as hard as it's been, and I don't know why it worked out for them, but not for me, but I can trust that I'm not lost, that he doesn't, it's not that he doesn't know about me, it's not that he doesn't care about me, it's not that I'm on my own, it's not that he's turned his back, because he promises if he'll give me his son, he'll take care of everything else, and I can trust him in it, and not just trust him to work it out the way I want it to work out, but I can trust him in it, to work it out how he wants to work it out.
And that's good news, and that's an anchor for us when we have no other anchor, and that's why we have a hope that is not tied to circumstance. Matt's going to come back up, we're going to take communion, where as a church we remind ourselves of that tangible, real sacrifice of Christ on our behalf, where we remind ourselves of what he has done for us, and that we anchor our hope in the fact that he gave his life for us, that he died for us while we were still his enemies. If you are not a Christian, communion is not for you. It's where we celebrate and we take that his body was broken for us, that his blood was shed for us, that he says, my body is real food, and my blood is real drink, meaning that it actually satisfies forever, that it fixes forever, that it cures forever.
But if you have not placed your faith in Christ, I would encourage you to come to Christ, to trust that God is good in general while you're still an enemy, while you're still a sinner, now come to him and know that he is good specifically on your behalf to repent of your sin and to be redeemed and brought back into the family. That the promise of he has given up his son for us, how will he not give us all things, is for those who have believed. But it's open to all who would believe, and I would encourage you to place your faith in it. But church family, take a moment, consider your circumstances, look for the way that God has blessed, and then, as an anchor for our soul, remember that he died to redeem and to care, and that we have hope.
Let's pray. God, we thank you for how good you are. We thank you for how you care and provide and watch over and work and all these seemingly normal and mundane ways, and we thank you, Lord, that we can look to the cross to know that you have us and that you love us and that you are capable. And we don't know what happens next and we don't know how it all plays out, but we know that you are not withholding good from us, but that you know what you're doing and that you love us. And for those who have not trusted in you to rescue their souls, who have not seen their sin and known they need a Savior, we pray, Lord, that your Holy Spirit would work and that they would come to you empty, hopeless, bitter, to be restored by your word.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Ruth 1: Loyalty and Loss
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Thank you. Spencer didn't mention that I also teach Sunday school at 9.30. So if you like getting up early on Sunday, you should be here for some excellent Bible teaching. And it's been a privilege to share in the ministry of this church. We're going to be looking at the book of Ruth. And if you don't have a Bible under your seat, there are some little blue Bibles.
And Ruth is found on page 127. And if you don't have, you can just take that Bible home with you if you would like to have it. We'd love to share that with you. To kind of introduce it a little bit, I'm going to tell a story that was interesting. Benjamin Franklin, by the way, was our ambassador to France during the Revolutionary period in the United States. And when he was in France for about three years as our ambassador, he would occasionally attend the Infidels Club.
You know what the Infidels Club is? It's kind of like the atheist club. And they love to talk about scientific things and search for literature and beautiful stories. And one time, Benjamin Franklin, it's reported that he chose to translate the book of Ruth out of the Hebrew context into the contemporary French way of thinking. And he changed the names to protect the innocent or the guilty, whichever one. He changed the names so that nobody would know.
And after reading the story, these Infidel Club members said, Wow, that is one of the most beautiful stories we've ever heard in our life. Where did you get that story? And he said, from the Bible. And of course, that was a bit of a shock to him. Ruth starts with, in the days when the Judges ruled. And of course, Ruth follows the book of Judges.
And the book of Judges is all about rebellion. It's just constantly turning away from God. God bringing oppression on them by capturing them by enemies and making them slaves. And then they cry out to God. And God sends a deliverer they call Judges. And the deliverer would deliver them, such as Samson or Deborah, Gideon, those Judges.
But they were all a part of this period of time when there was so much rebellion going on. J. Vernon McGee says that the book of Ruth is like a precious pearl in the swine pit of Judges. Because that was the period when the book of Ruth was written. And the book of Judges, by the way, has rebellion written all over it, just back and forth. And the book of Ruth has, well, Redeemer written all over it.
Matter of fact, the word Redeemer or redemption appears over 20 times in the book of Ruth. It's a powerful story. And Larry Crabb was teaching a Sunday school class on the book of Ruth. He ended up writing a book. He's a fairly famous Christian psychologist. Wrote a book called Shattered Dreams.
And the basic idea of the book was that God uses the pain of loss and shattered dreams to help us discover what's really important. And that's our desire to know God as he is in an intimate way. We're going to consider the effects of loss in the life of Naomi. And we're going to consider the effects of loyalty in the life of Ruth. Naomi experienced such extreme loss that she went into deep depression and bitterness. Because she said, God has dealt bitterly with me.
And, of course, Ruth is going to demonstrate one of the most amazing demonstrations of loyalty that you can imagine. So let's dig in. We're going to turn to Ruth, chapter 1. And I'll read verses 1 through 5 to get it before us. But before we do that, let's pray.
Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your amazing word that gives light in our darkness, that gives understanding in our confusion, and enables us to know the true living word, Jesus Christ. I pray that the Holy Spirit would come and be our teacher this morning, that we would indeed be able to understand your word. And we pray that in Jesus' name. Amen. Ruth, chapter 1, verses 1 through 5.
In the days when the Judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem and Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Malon and Chilion. And they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem and Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there, but Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. And these took Moabite wives. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth.
And they lived there about ten years, and both Malon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. Famine in Bethlehem. That's kind of an oxymoron, interesting way of putting it. Bethlehem means house of bread. And there's no bread. No bread in Bethlehem.
There's a famine, and it's a painful famine. And they're doing without, you know, Bethlehem. You remember Bethlehem. Oh, little town of Bethlehem, how still we see the light. The hopes and fears of all the years are not met in thee tonight. It was a very different picture than when Jesus Christ came.
When Elimelech was there facing the reality, my family is going to die of starvation if we don't get out of here. And so they decide to move on to Moab. And, of course, Jesus made an amazing promise, because he is the bread of life. He said, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall not thirst. First, he is the real house of bread.
Not Bethlehem. But, of course, he was born into Bethlehem. And so it's a beautiful picture of what God is doing. But Elimelech takes his family into Moab, hoping to find bread, since the house of bread didn't have any bread. What's your life missing that you think would make you happy and satisfied? I got a call from a friend a couple of years ago, and he was calling on his cell phone from Russia.
I said, what are you doing in Russia? He said, I'm here to get a wife. A wife? I'd been in counseling with him before, and I knew that he had had a couple of American wives, and they didn't work out too good, so maybe he thought this Russian wife, they might be a little more submissive or cooperative or whatever. I don't know what the deal was. But anyway, what are you looking at that might make you happy and satisfied?
But Elimelech ends up dying, of course, and now poor Naomi is a widow in a foreign land, but at least she's got her two sons. Her two sons can go out and do spare jobs and make a little bit and be able to get along. And then Naomi's sons decide to marry some Moabite women, but ten years later, the sons die. Well, now we've got trouble. These Moabite girls are widows. Now, depending on Naomi that's a widow, and in this male society that they were living, it was not an easy thing to make it.
Matter of fact, your basic Social Security plan was children. That's why they wanted to have lots of kids, so that at least one or two of them would take care of them in their old days because there was no government providing some kind of Social Security. So Naomi is stuck with a couple of girls that are despised by Israelites, so if she takes them back to Israel, it's not going to go well. And of course, racism was pretty standard back in those days, and so for Naomi to stay in Moab, she's of course facing all the rejection that goes along with that. So this book of Ruth is a fascinating book because when you consider everything that's happening here, in the Bible you hope God's going to come through with some kind of miraculous something or other, but this book has no miracles, it has no revelations, it has no appearances of angels, it doesn't have anything supernatural in it.
It's just showing how God is the King and He's going to be in charge and He's going to make things work out, but right now they're not working out too well. Matter of fact, some commentators suggest that the name of the head of the family, Elimelech, means God is King, and maybe this was a subtle way of saying God is King, but He's in the background right now and things are not working out according to His way. I believe that God works in a supernatural way even though there are no miracles or major revelations. God works in our lives in a natural setting a lot of times just to accomplish His supernatural purposes and I believe He's done that in my life.
Well, let's move on and check out Naomi now who's going to try to think maybe if I return to Bethlehem it'll be better. So, beginning at verse 6, we're going to read to verse 8. It says, Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited His people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each of you to her mother's house that the Lord may deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
So here, both of Naomi's sons are now dead. She's left a helpless widow. She's in a foreign land. No hope. And all of a sudden this glimmer of hope. I hear there's food back in Bethlehem.
So let's head back to... So she decides to go back. She's going to go back and stay with her relatives wherever she can. Robert Frost said that home is where when you go there they have to take you in. And so she's hoping that when she gets back somebody, you know, kind of like Mary and Joseph had to stay in a stable or something anyway. She's going to go back with her two daughters-in-law.
And on the way back, Naomi says a very strange thing in verse 8. But Naomi said to her two daughters, Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt kindly with the dead and me. That is your husbands and with my husband. You've dealt kindly. The word kindly is the word hesed.
It's a very fascinating word. Hesed. The kindness of God. The word is also translated steadfast love in Psalm 136. Matter of fact, in Psalm 136 it repeats 26 times. The steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.
The steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. Orpah probably had a skeptic's attitude to this God is good all the time. You ever hear that? You know, someone says God is good and somebody else says all the time and then somebody says all the time God is good. I think Orpah probably had a little skeptic's to that. But Ruth may have seen something different in Naomi and God had worked in her heart in a way that she saw Naomi maybe trusting God the way Job did.
When Job's friends were criticizing him he finally said though he slay me yet will I trust him. Wow. Evidently Naomi is doing that. she continues to refer to God as Yahweh Y-H-W-H Yahweh from the Latin it can be translated Jehovah but it's the personal name of God. Yahweh has been okay he's dealt bitterly with me but I still trust him. Naomi has not been afraid to face her pain and loss but she still acknowledges God and even looks for that bright moment when oh yeah back in Bethlehem I understand there's food now. So the story comes in a time of Judges remember when God would be punishing his people for the sins not of Naomi's but she's going to be living with the consequences.
With the consequences. So let's look at as Naomi tries to convince the girls to go back beginning in verse 9 down to verse 14 the Lord grant that you may find rest each of you in the house of her husband then she kissed them and lifted up their voices and wept and they said
To her no we'll return with you to your people but Naomi said turn back my daughters why will you go with me have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands turn back my daughters go your way for I am too old to have a husband if I should say I could have hope even if I should
Have a husband this night and should bear sons would you therefore wait till they were grown would you therefore refrain from marrying no my daughters for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me then they lifted up their voices and wept
Again and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law but Ruth clung to her so Ruth has this amazing kind of loyalty after Naomi has prayed for him may the Lord deal kindly with you may he show his chesed to you as you've shown chesed
To me and to my passed away husband and sons but they promised to go with her but you have no prospects she said what are you doing normal Israelites they won't marry you and I can't produce any more boys that could
Marry you and do you understand that God has attacked me did you see that phrase the hand of the Lord has gone out against me not the hand of the Lord is against me not the hand
Of the Lord has been with me the hand of the Lord has gone out again it's attacked me God is attacking me you don't want to go with me this time they weep again
And Orpah kisses her and says goodbye and off goes Orpah back she's smart she's doing the sensible things she's reasonable she realizes I'm going to be a foreigner in Israel and they're not allowed to marry Moabites I'll never be able to do anything and so she
Does what Naomi suggests and she goes home but Ruth on the other hand she has a different plan but before we move to Ruth how about if we look a little bit more at Naomi's misery and loss in verses 19 through 22 so we're going to go to the
End of the chapter and then go back and pick up the part with Ruth so the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem and when they came to Bethlehem the whole town was stirred because of them and the women said is this
Naomi and she said to them do not call me Naomi call me Mara for the almighty has dealt very bitterly with me I went away full and the Lord has brought me back empty why call me Naomi
When the Lord has testified against me and the almighty has brought calamity upon me the whole town was stirred and they're looking at Naomi and they're thinking wait a minute this lady maybe she's a little past mid life
But good night she looks like an old woman and they asked the question is this this is Naomi her name means pleasant or lovely and she says don't call me Naomi anymore call me tomorrow that means bitter
Because God has dealt bitterly with me I left full and now I'm back empty I have nothing now when she left full she didn't mean you know full of bread because they didn't have any bread what she meant is I had a husband
I had two boys I had a family I was in good condition and now what have I got nothing empty my life matter of fact she says Yahweh has testified against me that's actually a legal term
That's talking about one giving testimony in a court case and she has been found guilty and punished and then she refers to God as the almighty that's El Shaddai and El Shaddai is the one who is great
That can do anything he can accomplish amazing things but all he's done is heaped all this trouble on me how do we handle pain when we're dealing with situations like this when one loss after another again
And again and again we might turn to self-pity and try to get others to join our pity party some folks say hey I can make it determination I'm going to make it through any of you that have
Seen Gone with the Wind you remember Scarlett O'Hara up there in that it was a potato patch and she was looking for a little lost potato that might have been left
And this is what Scarlett O'Hara says as she's standing out there in that barren land as God is my witness I will never be hungry again that's the way some
People face the struggles and difficulties some of us might hide our struggles with a big smile fine I'm fine fine I'm good how about you
Good good fine yeah I'm good some people to avoid pain go to the extreme of suicide that's a permanent solution and if it's not the right
One don't try it it's pretty stupid some just get busy get busy with dinners and activities and do this and do that and a little bit of social
Gatherings but let's consider what a difference it made when Ruth decided to be loyal in this situation with her mother-in-law amazing loyalty of Ruth I'm going to read you that passage from 15 to 18 we'll back back up to get the
Rest of chapter 1 so she said see she's talking now to Ruth of course because Orpah has gone back see your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to
Her gods return after your sister-in-law but Ruth said do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you for where you go I will go
Where you lodge I will lodge your people shall be my people and your God my God where you die I will be buried
May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you and when Naomi saw that she
Was determined to go with her she said no more so Naomi tries to turn Ruth back by using a little peer pressure come
On your sister in law she's doing the right thing why don't you go back to Naomi attitude is basically this I'm not anybody
That can do anything for you now we're going to discover in the rest of the book that God is somebody that can do something for both
Naomi and Ruth here's another part of her attitude Ruth I can't do anything for you but as we work our way through this book
We're going to discover that God can because he's going to be with Naomi and Ruth now here's even more interesting about her attitude
It seems like it's this way to me she says not only that I don't want to do anything for you go back but
The story is going to reveal the reality that God can do with impossible situations things we never could have imagined so when we
Get to the end of the book we're going to know that God was ordaining the circumstances in such a way to give Naomi
The continuation of her family and Ruth a place in the royal genealogy of King David and on into the royal genealogy of Jesus
Christ the ultimate redeemer it's going to be a beautiful picture as we work our way through the book of Ruth then the speech that Ruth gives
Here one commentator said it's more famous than the Gettysburg address really I mean I grew up in a traditional church where we were
Biblically illiterate you know I didn't know much except to repeat the liturgy and the stuff that you went through so I didn't really know about
Ruth's little thing but later on when Kit and I got married my sister actually sang the song this whole passage she sang it entreat
Me not to leave thee that's a sweet way to say it from the old King James Bible but here she's saying do not urge
Me to leave you or return from following you for where you go I will go and where you lodge I will lodge and
Your people shall be my people your God my God where you die I will die so her attitude Ruth's attitude is don't even
Talk to me about not going with you because I'm going with you you see some relationships are more important than other issues that
You know like standing in society or being successful and Kit and I were missionaries for 18 years in Spain and we were in our about
The eighth or ninth year we were beginning to be a little effective we got a church planted it was really going great and then I
Was trying to start a church in a town near there and over in this other town over there and then helping out our
Other missionaries doing things and I was traveling going constantly and finally Kit came to me I mean we're missionaries alright she came to me and
She said why don't we separate I want a divorce I can't live like this anymore she said she described this word picture a
Counselor said help him understand with a word picture she said I feel like I'm a donkey pulling a cart and the family is
The cart back there and I'm pulling with all of my might and there's a stick held out there with a carrot dangling in
Front of me and I keep trying to get a bite of the carrot and I could never get the carrot and I could
Never get the carrot and she said you're the carrot I was trying to win the world for Jesus and losing my wife well through
The effective counseling we managed to get things straightened out and we stayed together and oh wow what if I had missed these last 30
Something years with kids it would have been a horrible thing Ruth told Naomi I don't care where you go I will go with
You it doesn't matter Jeral and Elisa it was interesting Elisa had graduated from college and Jeral had graduated from high school a year or two
Late because we bounced him back and forth from Spanish to English to English to Spanish and so he graduated a little bit older but
He was just a high school kid and he was working digging holes to put in posts for real estate signs and that was
His Job at the moment and they were talking marriage and my wife is concerned for Elisa and so she takes Elisa aside and
Says Elisa listen if you were to marry Jeral it's like getting on a train without knowing where it's going and Elisa said to
My wife I don't care where the train is going I just want to go with him that's truth truth that's commitment that's loyalty
That's amazing and then she says I'll lodge where you lodge it's not like you know a vacation lodge on the lake any house can be
A home if I can just be with you we had an interesting experience of having met some friends that were from the upper
Society of Columbia when I was at Columbia Bible College our first year we lived in a trailer in the woods and I met this fellow I
Think I bought some insurance from him or something and I went to his office and he had this high up office with big
Windows overlooking the high rises of Columbia South Carolina and I'm looking at this office and wow this guy he is important and we
Went for dinner to his house and oh my goodness I've never been in a house so nice and what furniture they had it
Was just phenomenal and he drove us around in his Mercedes and everything was fine but then one day it all crashed and bankruptcy
Hit and he lost his office downtown he lost his house he even lost his furniture you believe that I didn't know people rented
Or mortgaged their furniture so when he lost everything so he comes driving up he rents the trailer in the woods next to us
And he drives up in his Mercedes with his two kids and they get out and we're helping them get set up and I
Said where's your wife and he said she left me she said she's not going to live in a trailer in the woods well
Ruth is not like that true loyalty is till death do us part that that expression of Lord of course is what we say
In a wedding ceremony but it does come from the Bible it it says that Ruth clung to her in verse 14 which is
The same Hebrew expression that we see in Genesis 2 24 that a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife
They're clinging together it's a beautiful picture of the importance of commitment to people you know this kind of commitment to friendship Mark Zuckerberg has made billions of dollars on that
Kind of friendship that people are trying to preserve these friends throughout their life that they no longer live close to because of the
Importance of being committed to one another it's similar to the call that Jesus gave Jesus said God in in in in Matthew 10 37
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me and in verse 18 it says that Naomi saw her determination Naomi
Naomi recognized has said in Ruth and Orpah and that Orpah had before Orpah decided to go back and she said as you've been kind to me may God be kind to you this word
Has said it embodies love and generosity and kindness enduring commitment has said that's an interesting word and it's a Hebrew word say it with me has said has said let's try it has said has said is in Psalm 136
Translated steadfast love you know when you're doing Bible study a dictionary can be a great thing you know what the dictionary says about steadfast the steadfast love the first definition is firmly fixed in place
Immoval that's steadfast second definition not subject to change that's steadfast love God steadfast firm in belief and determination or adherence to something loyal God's loyal love or has
Said endures forever surely Ruth is banking on knowing God by sticking with Naomi Kit and I did not have has said within ourselves to have this kind of loyalty to one another we had
To turn to God to restore what we had lost in those first 18 years of marriage Jesus compared the disciples to a woman giving birth before his crucifixion and in John 16 22 he says you have sorrow now
But I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy away wouldn't you like to have unshakable joy that is there permanent
Even though the situation might be sad like losing Jesus of course in this situation wouldn't you like to have that unshakable joy it's by knowing Jesus in his resurrection power he says I'm going
To come back and you're going to see me and you are going to experience newness of life that's what it says in Romans 6 it says we're buried in baptism but raised to
Walk in newness of life wouldn't you like to have a new life that kind of loyalty can come by knowing Jesus Christ this is the way Paul describes it in the loss that can
Accompany the commitment of loyalty to Jesus Christ Paul says in Philippians chapter 3 verse 8 I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord he lost all the benefits of being
A zealous Jew by becoming a follower of Jesus Christ and in order to do that there's got to be faith in verse 9 he said believers really want to be right with God I count everything a loss let's move to verse 9
Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but that which comes through faith in Christ the righteousness that comes from God that depends on faith in other words I'm not confident of my chesed to be loyal to him I'm confident
In his chesed to be loyal to me and that's where I place my faith in him it doesn't depend on my chesed like Ruth Paul was ready to lose his people and his religion and put all his hope
In Christ the deepest desire of our life is found in verse 10 that says that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share in his sufferings becoming like him in his death
As the band comes up would you like to know Jesus the way Paul did who could count every benefit in life that he had as rubbish in order to know Christ and be found in his
Chesed his steadfast love that endures forever your part is to have faith in God's loyalty in God's chesed his steadfast love that never ceases your chesed may fail but you're putting your faith in his
Chesed you're trusting him to keep you faithful to be a real believer we must trust him completely that he really is better than everything else in life and in him we can joyfully
Face the loss of anything in life accept the presence of him in our life let's pray father I pray that you would help us to be genuine in our desire to express to you you can take the
World you can have it all forgive me Jesus I need him I can do it without anything else but I've gotta have Jesus working in my heart because I'm crucified with christ nevertheless I live yet not I
It's christ who lives in me and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me oh my friends please trust Jesus and him alone I pray in his name amen
Easter Sunday
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. and his mom found a took a picture of him and put it on myspace which I'm so glad that my myspace photos did not end up on the internet forever in the form of a meme because those days nah not at all and Brian that's not even his real name his name is Kyle and he took that photo on the right as a joke for a yearbook photo as the yearbook they didn't even let him use it his friends got a hold of it and put it on reddit and boom these guys became for the last decade viral sensations all right they didn't choose to be but this is what they're known for and the internet I don't know if you know this is not a kind place it's not a place where you go for warm and fuzzies it's a very cruel place and scumbag Steve is what he was known for and I'll just show one of the cleaner means I could find for scumbag Steve grandpa gets surgery steals pain meds so I don't know if you caught that he looks like the guy that would steal pain meds from his grandparents that's not very kind that's pretty rude and then we've got bad luck Brian only Facebook friend his mom cyber bullied which means he has one friend on Facebook and it's his mother and she belittles him and makes fun of him all right so that the internet's a cold place right but this is what happens like people get known for things and it sticks with them and these guys are forever cemented as a legacy on the internet as these individuals even though they didn't choose this in the first place I want to talk about somebody who got mean before it was cool today and his name is Thomas so Thomas one of the disciples that's a painting of him we don't know if that's what he looked like there's a few renditions but that's the one I chose for us Thomas was one of the disciples he was an apostle of Jesus when Jesus commissions out his church to go and make disciples Thomas goes and takes the gospel to India he was the first missionary to India he went as far south as Chennai India that's what was one of the most southernmost cities in India and there are churches that exist in India today that trace their history back to Thomas that's incredible there's a gospel movement that's happening in India right now and it's been slowly growing for 2,000 years because Thomas was obedient to the Great Commission and he planted churches all the way in India but guess what if you have any church background that is not how you know Thomas if you have church background at all how do you know Thomas what is he known for it's exactly right doubting Thomas that is how Thomas is known and you know what Chet found a meme this week for Thomas that was on the internet already says hey Thomas do you think Christians will ever appreciate that you are actually a person of great faith I doubt it but it's not fair it's not like the like one moment of faithlessness has cemented his legacy for 2,000 years as the one who doubts right like Simon Peter Simon's original birth his birth name was Simon Jesus gives him the name Peter which means rock which means that his nickname is the rock how cool is that but Peter wasn't always faithful he denied Jesus three times the night that he was arrested and we don't call him denying Simon that's not how that works we call him Peter but poor Thomas is one moment of faithlessness and that is how we remember him as doubting Thomas I want to look at this I want to look at this story that comes from the first Easter today because I think it provides a lot of hope for us I think that Thomas actually is a beautiful picture of the gospel so I'm going to walk through this together and and be encouraged in our faith as we walk through it so let me pray for us and then we will get going I'm thankful for the goodness of the gospel that brings hope that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that eternal life that brings joy that brings eternal life that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy to God that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that brings joy that day, that first Easter morning. So, Mary Magdalene and the other women go to the tomb. The reason they go to the tomb on the first Easter morning is because they're bringing spices.
They're basically perfumed. They're taking care of the body of Christ. They get to the tomb, and it is open, and it is empty. And they go, and they tell the other disciples, and they're a little bit incredulous. They really can't believe what is happening. Two of them sprint towards the tomb.
And this is recorded in John's Gospel, and I think it's funny that he decided to say that he was the faster one. So they're having basically a race there. He's the faster one. He beats them there. Then Peter shows up.
They see the tomb is empty. While this is going on, Mary Magdalene has the first encounter with the resurrected, glorified Christ. And it's beautiful. It's a beautiful story. A little bit later on, two of the followers of Jesus, we don't know who they were, but they are on their, they're on a, going towards the town, Emmaus. And as they're going there, Jesus just walks alongside them.
And they can't tell. Jesus is kind of shielded their ability to see who he is. And they have a whole conversation. They get back. They sit down. They continue.
Jesus points to the Old Testament, says, this is what it spoke of, Christ. And then he reveals himself. And then he just disappears. Which is what kind of happens. Post-resurrection, Jesus appears and disappears in multiple places. Then the disciples are huddled in a room together.
The door is locked. And then Jesus just appears before them. And this is a joyous occasion. Finally, the disciples get to see Christ. He doesn't bring shame upon them for abandoning him, which is what they did when he was arrested. He brings peace.
He brings this joyous moment. That is where we pick up in verse 24 when it says, Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the twin, which, by the way, that was his nickname, the twin, was not with them when Jesus came. Man, what a bummer. Like that he missed out on this unbelievable first encounter with all the disciples. Thomas isn't there. We don't know why he's not there.
He could have gone out to get dinner. We don't know. But that had to be a huge disappointment. Like if I took some people, if I took some friends to a ball game, and I said, guys, I'm going to go, I'm going to get some hot dogs and some drinks. I'll be back. And then I come, I get my arms full, and I'm heading back, and I get back to my seats, and all of a sudden they're buzzing with excitement, and they're giddy.
I'm like, what happened? What did I miss? And they said, listen, you won't believe this. Peyton Manning just came and sat down with us. Like he sat in your seat, and dude, he is funny. He is awesome.
We took pictures together. We exchanged Numbers. We are boys now that would crush me. I'm a huge Peyton Manning fan. I love the Colts. Like that would be awful for me.
I would be so deeply disappointed that I missed out. And that's not, that has even come close to the situation that Thomas is facing. He has missed out on this. And it picks up in verse 25. It says, So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Unless I see in his hands the Mark of the nails, and place my finger into the Mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.
Now, when it says at the very top there, when it says the disciples told him, the phrase told in the original language in the Greek is not just a one-time event of telling. This is a continual retelling. They were telling him over and over, which probably means they were trying to convince him, Thomas, you don't understand. We saw his wounds that were healed. We saw his glorified body. It was glorious, Thomas.
You have to believe us. And it's not like Thomas was a stranger to them. They were friends. They spent three years together, ministering under Christ. Like he trusted them. But he hears this, and he says, No.
No, unless I can see it for myself. Unless I can place my hands in his wounds, I will never believe. And that begins, the nickname that has endured for a long time, of doubting Thomas. Now, it's not a complete portrait of Thomas. Not even in the Gospel of John. You get to John 11, you get to see a story about Thomas that's really cool.
Now, the way that the Gospel of John is written is that the bulk of the Gospel of John takes place in a few weeks. It's mostly the back end of Jesus' ministry leading up to the cross. So this story in John 11 really is just a few weeks before all these events that happened with the death and resurrection. And Jesus tells his disciples, We're going to go back to Judea. That's where Jerusalem is. We're going to go back there, and the disciples say, No.
No, Jesus. It is way too hot there. Like, you will get stoned if you go back. Like, they're trying to convince Jesus, We're not going. And Thomas, in the middle of that, it says in verse 16 of chapter 11, So Thomas called the twin, said to his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. Right?
He says, listen, I don't... If Jesus says we're going, we're going. If we're going to go, then we're going to die with him. That is unbelievable courage in the midst of a lot of uncertainty. And that was just a few weeks before these events here. So, what happened to Thomas?
What happened to Thomas? That not only did he abandon Christ with the other disciples when he was arrested, but we have this story here, where he ends up not believing that he is resurrected. What's going on there? Well, we see it is doubt. I did read some commentaries. I heard some people kind of say, Well, what Thomas is actually doing, it's not really doubt.
And the overwhelming evidence is like, No, he absolutely is doubting here. We don't know the reasons why. We can speculate a little bit. But I want to bet there's some reasons that we also can resonate with as well as the reasons why he is doubting this. As we look at them, I think it makes Thomas very relatable to us as Christians. I think one of the more obvious ones is that this is a little bit of a skeptical doubt.
This is some skepticism that Thomas is facing, that the idea that Jesus rose from the grave, it's hard for him to believe. That could be a possibility. What happens is, is that we look back at the Bible times, and we like to think that because we are like this side of the Enlightenment, so much smarter. We have new understandings of science, and morality, and all kinds of things. This is just something, this is superstitious things that people would believe back then. They weren't really skeptical back then.
Listen, that is ahistorical nonsense. There was absolute skepticism about this. Just because we have the Internet doesn't make us all that much more smarter. In a lot of ways, we're not that much smarter. Like these kind of guys, they could memorize whole books of the Bible. We can barely read an article on the Internet for a minute without getting distracted.
Squirrel! Like, just scroll to something else. Like, they're not stupid. They had skepticism. It took on different forms. Skepticism is really baked into the fallenness of our humanity.
It's what we've always done. Part of this could be Thomas' skepticism and the idea that Jesus was really alive. You know, we see when Paul is on mission, and he's traveling through Athens, Greece, he's meeting with different philosophers and thinkers, and he's trying to convince them of the gospel, convince them of Christ, and they're tracking until he mentions the resurrection. And when he mentions the resurrection, it says they mock him at that idea. It's like, no, that people don't rise from the grave. There might have been some skeptical doubt in here.
Skepticism has always been with us. It's something that if we are honest as Christians, that we face. Thomas certainly did. That's us. Like, we want evidence. We want proof that we can see, that we can touch, that we can measure, that we can taste.
It's right in front of us. That's always been with us. Maybe that's you. Maybe, as you've encountered, the stories about Jesus in the past, this call to faith, even the miraculous events of the Bible. It's just been something that you don't want to, you can't wrap your head around. And if you couldn't see it, you couldn't verify it for yourself.
If you can't measure it, if you can't test it, it's just not something that you want to believe. It's superstitions, and it's not worthy of your life. I think there might be some skepticism bowed up in Thomas. I think also, this could be the result of some hopes that were absolutely crushed when all this happened. That sometimes doubt arises from, crushed hopes. And I think it's possible that would have been what Thomas was feeling.
It's clear from the Gospels that when you read them, that they were expecting Jesus to be a political Messiah. It's clear from the Gospels when you read them that what they were expecting was Jesus to come in and to establish a new rule and reign, a new Jewish state where they would kick out the Roman occupiers, and that Jesus would be this political king and figure. Like when they're shouting Hosanna on Palm Sunday as he's coming in the city, it's this expectation that he's going to deliver this political revolution. And when Jesus finally is crucified and dies, the political movement is over.
Their Messiah was done. And what happened is that Jesus was a little bit of a Messiah of their own making. And that happens with us as well. That sometimes we have a Messiah of our own making. That we have expectations for God and what he should do for us. We're not immune to that.
And when things don't work out the way we want them to, if God doesn't make the things in our life happen the way that we want them to, we get crushed. Like when you don't get the job that you've been shooting for for years. When you don't get the second date or you don't get the spouse that you are seeking. When you don't get the kids that you want. The life of the kids that you want. All the way down to losing loved ones which is incredibly difficult.
Suffering physically and emotionally. Like this life is hard and it is filled with lots of crushed hopes. And when that happens there's part of us, if we're honest, that wants to shake our fist at God because he didn't deliver on what we want in life. And what happens is that leads to doubt. It leads to us doubting God and his goodness and his existence and his love. And sometimes that type of doubt arises out of crushed hopes.
And I would be willing to bet that Thomas probably felt some of that. Taking a lot of hope in the Christ that he thought who he was and then was disappointed. Listen, we feel doubt. There's a lot of different examples of what could have happened in Thomas' heart and what we feel on a regular basis. If you've been following Jesus for a few decades or this is the first time that you've been in a church building in years, we wrestle with doubt. And that is precisely why I love this story.
Because Thomas is relatable. He's an example of who we are. And what I love here, and I think it's not the main point of this text, but it's something that is certainly an encouragement, is that the church becomes a safe place to work out your doubts. That this, our church, is a safe place to work out your doubts. See, what Thomas does here is he doesn't abandon the community of faith when all this happens. Like, he sticks in it.
He stayed with them for a week in his doubt. And I love that as a picture of that's what we should do. We should be honest about the doubts that have arisen in our souls, in our minds, and actually be here and walk with other Christians and walk that out together. Voice it and actually live that out, walk that out and see where it goes in the context of the community of faith. That's what Thomas does. And for a week, he sat in his doubt.
And then Jesus came to him. Fast forward. Verse 26. Eight days later, his disciples were inside again. And Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you.
So similar scene. Locked in this room. Together. Jesus shows up. And he doesn't bring discouragement. He doesn't bring the hammer.
He says, Peace be with you. And then he pivots directly towards Thomas. Verse 27. Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here and see my hands. Put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.
Did you catch that? He references the same thing that Thomas said a week ago. He says, See the wounds. Place your finger here. Place your finger here. Do not disbelieve, but believe.
Believe. You see, Jesus addresses the heart of the matter. There are lots of different reasons for why we might be doubting, but at the core of doubt is disbelief. It's unbelief. And Jesus stands and says, Thomas, do not disbelieve, but believe. Believe it.
Believe that I have risen and what that means. And I love in verse 28 when it says, Thomas answered him, My Lord and my God. Now, we don't know, the text doesn't tell us, if he had to put his hands in or not. We don't know if he had to verify it with his hands or not. But we do see his response here.
My Lord and my God. And this is one of the most profound responses in all of the Gospels. You see, my Lord is a flexible statement. Depending on the context of the Bible, it can mean anything from my Lord, meaning the God of the universe, and sir. It's a pretty wide, flexible range. It can be deference, it can be respect, but it also can be this is my Lord and my God.
But there's no question what Thomas means when he says, my God, because no one else says that in the Gospels. No one. He says, my God, meaning that you are the sovereign God of the universe who created everything out of nothing who sustains our very hearts with your sovereign providence. You are the God of the universe. As I see the Father, I see you. You are God.
And commentators, when they talk about this moment, they say, this right here is the pinnacle moment of the entire Gospel of John. For as we're going to see in a moment, this Gospel is explicitly written with the hope that it would convince us to believe that Jesus is God. That's the hope of the Gospel of John. That's the angle he's going for. Believe it. Believe that he is God, which makes Thomas in this moment, the pinnacle moment, the most relatable figure for us.
It makes us look at Thomas and realize all the things that have happened so far that he abandoned Christ when he was arrested. That he questioned whether he was resurrected. Thomas is us. Because we're the kind of people that also say, God, show me that you love me. Show me that you care. Show me that you are real.
And after a week, God approaches Thomas and says, believe. Do not disbelieve. Believe. And Thomas believes. He believes that this is the Lord God. And the relief that he must have felt as Jesus comes to him, calls him into belief, and he finally sees the risen, resurrected Savior in all of his glory.
The amount of relief and joy that he must have felt in that moment. This story is for us. It's for every one of us that have wrestled through the darkest moments of unbelief, the darkest struggles of trying to still believe that Jesus is God. The story is for us. And then in verse 29 it says, Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
That's us. That's the encouragement that Jesus gives us. He says, Thomas, you have seen, but those who believe, those who believe and place their faith in me as the resurrected Christ as their only hope, they are indeed blessed. That is the encouragement that Jesus gives to us. And then in verse 30 it says, Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. But this gospel is that we might believe.
That the skeptic might bring their doubts before the Lord, encounter him, and their doubts may fade. The one who's crushed by hope may encounter the God who gives eternal hope. Do not disbelieve, but believe. That is the hope of this story, is that we might also believe. But that's hard.
It's hard for us. It's hard to believe that. It's hard for us to, like there are times, I have three kids. They're six, four, and two. And I'm trying to raise them. I have some goals in how I'm raising them of where I want them to go.
And I have a big picture in mind for them, but it's hard for them to understand the big picture sometimes. Like they lose it sometimes and they don't get what they want. Like we do Easter baskets on Saturday morning and yesterday, my youngest, she got candy. And when she, you give her three jelly beans and she's a terrorist. I mean just, just went crazy. And like this happens.
My kids sometimes, they want things and I have to say, no, you can't have this. And every now and then I've just got to stop. And I got to get on their level. And sometimes I get, I get eye to eye. Sometimes I hold their face. I'm like, listen, you got to understand something.
Like I love you. I'm for you. What they don't realize is that I have hopes for them. I want them to one day, my biggest goal for my kids is they would believe in Jesus. Like that's, that's at the top of the list. Everything's way far below it.
But they would believe in Christ. They would be virtuous adults that are kind, that are graceful, that are loving. That they, that they would be able to take care of themselves. Because I'm a pastor and my retirement plan isn't super great. I don't, it's just, any boomerang action when they come back is not going to go well for them. Like I, but I, there are things I have in store for them and there's, I've got to plan the way that I, that my wife and I raised them.
The things we say no to, the things we say yes to, they don't realize that. And every now and then I just kind of get in front of them and say, listen, I love you. I am for you. I have your best interest in mind. You've got to trust me. You've got to trust me as your dad.
That what I, what I'm doing right now is ultimately for your good. And what Easter gets to be for us every year is that kind of reminder. In the midst of doubt, all the things that we may be facing, that God just holds us and says, listen, I love you. You may be wrestling with doubts and frustrations, some anger, confusion. Life is hard. There are lots of things that we face that make life difficult.
We have real doubts, but Easter is the reminder that God loves us, that He has a plan for us. He just points back to the empty tomb. The evidence that the tomb is empty, that Christ has been resurrected, that there is no one that has ever, that ever found this body, that they're never going to find it because Jesus walked out of it for us, that we have life in Him. And it is God's evidence that He loves us and that He is worthy of our trust. And that He can always point back to this, that every year as we pause to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus, that those events are God holding us and saying, don't you see, I love you.
You may be wrestling with skeptical doubt. I could go back and forth on, listen, the Bible is one of the most trustworthy, verified, ancient sources. It's unbelievable how trustworthy it is that these are eyewitness accounts of what happened with the empty tomb. But ultimately, there are lots of reasons you can find for skepticism. And Jesus holds out the scars and says, I am resurrected. Believe.
Do not disbelieve, but believe. You may have lots of crushed hopes that life may not be working out the way that you want it right now. The hope of the gospel is that you would have eternal life in Him. That means that things don't always get better this side of eternity, but what's held out in front of you is eternal life that is filled with endless joy that pales in comparison. The life and the sufferings that we have now pale in comparison to the joy that's found in eternity with Christ. Christ.
That's all made possible by the resurrection. I don't know how you came into this room. I don't know if this is the first church that you've been in in a long time. Maybe you've been outside of community. Maybe you've experienced real loss and real pain. Maybe for you, doubts aren't because of skepticism.
They're not because of any type of crushed hopes. For a lot of people, doubts are just the result of sin. It's saying, I want to live my life on my terms and I don't want God telling me how to live my life. So I'm going to do me. Maybe you're here and this message confronts you and what can happen when you get outside of the body of Christ, when you get outside of the church for a while and you come back into and you hear something like this, what can happen is man, I just, I don't know. Like I can't.
Y'all don't want me around here. I got to clean my life up. Like I got to get some stuff straightened out before I can ever be a part of a church like this. And I don't want you to miss what Jesus says here. He doesn't say behave and have faith. He says believe and have faith.
That ultimately what we're trusting in is not our only hope but what Christ has done for us. That as we celebrate it on Good Friday that Jesus went to the cross where he was nailed to the cross for our sins and our rebellion. And that what happens there and what Chet was walking through Friday night is that as he took our sin that he gives us his perfect record that we don't bring our good works we bring our sin and our burdens and through believing of what he has done for us on the cross and trusting that he walked out of the tomb on our behalf we get this life that is offered. But you got to believe.
Do not disbelieve but believe. That's the command that Jesus gives us. My open prayer for you this morning is that you would be confronted by this message confronted by the command to believe and that you'd be willing to take a step of faith. My hope for you this morning is that this is the first time you've been around church community in quite some time that you'd stick around a little longer that you'd work through some of your doubts with us and that ultimately that you would believe. Jesus holds that out in front of us. He holds it out as he held out his hands before Thomas and he says do not disbelieve.
Believe.
Soli Deo Gloria
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
All glorious above, and gratefully see His wonderful love. Our shield and defender, the ancient of days. All will young in splendor and burden with grace. Good morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here.
If you will, grab your Bibles and go to Romans chapter 11. That's where we'll start today. I turned 30, and then my body... No, no, not recently. It was years ago. At that point in the past, my body then decided that I was going to lose my voice once a year due to pollen for some reason.
So that's nice. I got that going for me. So I am having a hard time talking today. I don't feel bad, just sound bad. And it's possible that my voice will give out on me, and this will be a shorter sermon. And I know what some of you are thinking.
As you pray and pray for something, and it's just encouraging to see God finally answers prayers. We are... We usually just walk through books of the Bible. That's what we spend most of our time doing on Sundays. We work through books of the Bible together. But we have taken the past several weeks to look at what are called the solas, the five solas, the five solas of the Reformation.
And Reformation. And these are theological distinctives that they were clarified. So we've taken a series to walk through clarified theological distinctives. And I know all of your hearts are a flutter because who doesn't want to spend a lot of time looking at clarified theological distinctives. But that's what we've done.
We've looked at during the Reformation, the entire church in the West was Catholic. And the Catholic church at that point was not teaching sound doctrine, was abusing their power, was mingled not just with church power, but had all this political power. And there were these people that are called the Reformers who started looking at the Scriptures and saying, this doesn't line up. What we're doing, what we're teaching doesn't line up with what the Bible says. And so we spent some time looking at where they clarified. And the reason it's clarified is that these Reformers, when we've talked about them, we've talked about Luther, we've mentioned Calvin.
We've said Zwingli's name. I don't know if we've actually quoted him on anything. But they weren't coming up with new points of doctrine. They were pointing back to the Bible and saying, we've gotten out of line. We're no longer in line with Scripture. And their intent was to reform.
The Catholic church did not want to be reformed. And so they protested and they became the Protestants and they broke from the Catholic church. And I want to read a little bit of John Calvin. This is a letter he wrote in 1538. An Italian cardinal had written a letter to the Swiss city of Geneva where Calvin was helping lead that city. And that city had become a reformed city.
So they were no longer Catholic. They broke up with the Catholic church and they were teaching these reformed ideas. These changes to Catholic doctrine that are coming from the Scriptures. And so he writes and he says, hey, y'all need to come back. And in the response, this is what Calvin says when he writes back to say, here's the primary issue. Here's the problem that we have and what we need to talk about.
He says, your zeal for heavenly life is a zeal which keeps a man entirely devoted to himself. He says, the problem is the stuff that you're excited about, the stuff that you're working towards, the stuff that the Catholic church is telling us to pursue, ultimately keeps humans, keeps myself at the center. That I'm the one who has to earn. I'm the one who has to achieve. I'm the one who is going out and accomplishing salvation. He says, and does not, even by one expression, arouse him to sanctify the name of God.
Sanctify me, glorify, honor, praise, set apart as holy. He said, the problem is that your teaching fails the test. It does not glorify God. It glorifies man. That's a problem. The Scriptures are about a glorious God and how he works to bring about a glorious redemption for an inglorious people.
And if when we look to the Scriptures, what we come up with is here's how we can be awesome. We've read it wrong. He keeps going. He says, you touch upon justification by faith, which is sola fides, what we talked about, that we are justified, made right with God by faith alone. Meaning that you do not accomplish your salvation. You trust Jesus and he accomplishes it.
It's like when a little kid brings you a toy that's broken. They just walk over and hand it to you, hoping for the best. But they have no ability to accomplish it, fixing this. That's what he's saying is that we come to God and all we've got is mess and sin. And we trust Jesus to fix that. So he says, you talk about that idea, and he refers to it as the first and keenest subject of controversy between us.
Wherever the knowledge of it, salvation by faith alone, is taken away, the glory of Christ is extinguished. He's saying we're either saved by faith and Christ is glorious or saved by our works and we're glorious. He says, that's the problem. So when the guy wrote and said, y'all need to come back, Calvin wrote back, no. That was a paraphrase. I shortened it way down, but that's what he wrote.
He said, you failed the test. So when we talk through the five solas, sola being alone in Latin. So we say sola fide, sola gratia, sola scriptura, sola Christus, and sola Deo gloria. That's just Latin phrases for an answer of how are we saved, which is we are saved by grace alone, meaning God has accomplished this for us. Through faith alone, we just trust him to do it. We come to him and place our faith in him.
In Christ alone, meaning that it's accomplished by him, not the church, not by us, but it's in Christ. In the scriptures alone or as revealed by the scriptures alone is under the authority of the scriptures alone, meaning there is no church or pope that we have to look to. We look to the scriptures. It is our authority to the glory of God alone. And to the glory of God alone is in some ways the nucleus that all of these spin around. In other ways, it's just the final pinnacle result of all of these.
That if you're saved by God's grace through faith in Christ, it's to his glory, to his credit, not yours. And so that's what we're going to spend our time looking at this morning. So let's pray and then we'll read Romans 11, 36 together to start. God, we ask that you would be glorified. That you would be honored. That you would help us, the power of your spirit, to see and to delight in your glory, how good it is for us.
In Jesus name. Amen. Romans 11, 36. For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.
From him. Through him and for him. Why does the world exist? It exists for him. It exists for Christ the King. It exists for God the Father Almighty.
It exists from him and through him. It's held together. It's brought together. Salvation is wrought through him. And it is for him. Ultimately for his glory and his delight and his joy because he is glorious.
And he says to him be glory forever. Now when the Bible talks about glory. It talks about it in two ways. It talks about it as a noun. And it talks about it as a verb. Like the way we use the word dance.
You go to a dance. And you dance at the dance. Or you stand against the wall and make fun of people. Because you like to dance but you don't know how. That's it. It's a dance where you dance.
And that's how glory works. That God is glorious. He has glory. It's in some ways it's the expression of his attributes. That the Bible talks about his glorious power. Or his glorious might.
Or his glorious grace. His glorious mercy. It's the wonderfulness. The shining forth of who he is by his very nature. So here's the thing.
God is glorious whether you like it or not. Ultimately. Soli Deo Gloria is an encouragement. Or a threat. Either to the glory of God alone. Let's join in this.
Or to the glory of God alone. You'll find out. Maybe not that squeaky. But you know. He is glorious. Then it talks about glory as a verb.
That you can glory in something. Or that you can glorify something. So that it'll say. To him be glory forever. Meaning. And it's used there in some ways in both.
That he has glory. But that we also give him glory. Or we glory in him. Meaning to praise. To give him weightiness. To show him honor.
This is where Jesus. When he gives the model prayer. He says. May your name be honored as holy. Three starts. Meaning.
That you be set apart. As holy and pure. May you be glorified. May you be worshipped. May you be honored. So that we give glory to God.
But the Bible also say. That we give glory to our shame. Or that we glorify ourselves. Meaning that we wrongly. Attribute praise and honor to ourselves. Or we attribute praise and honor.
To other things. But God has glory. And he is to be glorified. It's the appropriate response. To who he is. Because it's all about him.
I have a quote from John Piper. Who is not a reformer. He just likes them. But he's a pastor in Minneapolis. For many years. And he says this.
He says that people will periodically ask you questions. Like why is there such a meaningless vastness. Of uninhabited galaxies. And only one tiny dot. To human existence. And they'll use this.
As some kind of a thing against Christians. Like when we talk about God's design of the world. And you know. They'll say oh yeah. Well what's all this other stuff. How is it not just a big random mess.
And he says your answer should be. This universe is not intended. To portray the importance of man. It is intended to give man some inkling of the grandeur of God. And it is an understatement. That it's all about him.
And that he is glorious. And in essence. He is to be glorified. That's the appropriate correct response. If I came to you and said. This cake is so good.
Your response. Is to eat it. That's the correct appropriate response. If I came and said. This perfume is amazing. You smell it.
Because in essence. That's how you respond. God is glorious. And so our correct. Appropriate. Designed response.
Is to glorify him. The beautiful thing about this is. All genuine praise. Is delightful. So that what God has called us into.
He's. More glorious than anything. He's more delightful. More enjoyable. More worthy. To be worshipped.
So when he calls us to worship him. It's him calling us to what is ultimately best for us. And true worship and praise is enjoyable. Every time you've absolutely just. Celebrated something. That you were overcome with joy for.
That's praise and worship. That idea. Is what we're called into eternally. But if we misunderstand. Understand the nature of God's glory. Then we will misunderstand.
The nature of sin. So Romans 1 22. Is this. Says claiming to be wise. They became fools. And exchange the glory of the immortal God.
For images resembling mortal man. And birds and animals. Creeping things. And in this passage. He's talking about unrighteousness. Unholiness.
Sin. And he says after this. That this led them into further sin. But this is in essence. What sin is. For many of us.
We would like to think. Or we have in our head. This kind of framework. God made everything. So he's in charge.
And sin is primarily. Us breaking his rules. And that's part of it. But that's not the only understanding of it. That doesn't boil it down. To its absolute essence.
When you think about it this way. Then the primary problem. With Adam and Eve in the garden. Was that God told them not to. Which is true. He told them not to.
And they should not have eaten. From that tree. But it's just a list of rules. And they could be as arbitrary. As God wants them to be. And our job is just to follow them.
And obey. But. Here's the problem. If you only understand it. You miss. If you misunderstand glory.
What this passage is saying. Is that God. Is glorious. But that sinfully. We. We don't.
Give him glory. We want to. Give glory to other things. So that we pursue money. We pursue fame. We pursue.
Well. This is called idolatry. Glory. This is God speaking to the prophet Jeremiah. He says. Has a nation.
Changed its gods. Even though they are no gods. But my people. Have changed their glory. For that which does not. Profit.
Be appalled. Oh heavens. At this. Be shocked. Be utterly desolate. Declares the Lord.
He goes on to say. They have committed two sins. They have swapped me out. He calls himself. A fountain of living waters. And he says.
And they have. Dug out cisterns. For themselves. Broken cisterns. That don't even hold water. He says.
The problem is. They took me. Their God. Which is ultimately. The only place they would get glory. He calls himself.
Their glory. But Tim. Their glory. He is what makes them glorious. He is what brings good. In their lives.
And he says. They swapped me out. For broken things. And that is. Sin. And it is.
In it is very nature. A rejection of who God is. So it would be like. If I came to you and said. Oh man. This cake.
Is so good. And you go. Is it? I said yeah. And you go. Alright.
Let me get in there. Oh yeah. Oh that is good cake. So moist. And then I am staring at you. Like you are a psychopath.
Because you are. And you are like. What? I thought you said. I thought you were going to share. What is this?
I mean. That might be fun to do. At a birthday party. The last birthday party. You ever get invited to. But it is essentially.
The wrong way to respond. To someone telling you. This cake is good. If I said. This perfume is good. And you said.
Let me see. And squirted it into your mouth. And they looked at me. And were like. You liar. It's like.
Well you did it wrong. God is glorious. And therefore. As his created. Creatures. We are designed.
To delight in his glory. By glorifying him. And when we don't. We're sticking our hands in the cake. We have responded. Essentially.
Incorrect. So this. Helps us. To understand. Why sin. Is sin.
Because people will say things like. Well I don't see why God. Would send good people. To hell. I don't. I'm.
You know. I'm pretty good. I'm. I'm not that bad. But what we're doing.
Is we're using our goodness. To glorify ourselves. What we're saying is. I don't know if you know this. Pretty glorious on my own. And it's an utter rejection.
Of the God. Who created the world. You can actually. Use your good behavior. To reject God. It's actually one of the best ways.
To defend yourself from God. That people use. I'm a pretty good person. I don't need Jesus. But that glorifies yourself.
Dishonors him. And misses the point. Isaiah 42.8 says. I am the Lord. That is my name. My glory.
I give to no other. Nor my praise. To carve. Idols. He's holding out to us. What is best.
Namely himself. And to reject it. Is. Sin. But. Salvation by grace.
Alone. Through faith. Alone. In Christ. Alone. Heralds.
The glory of God. Salvation by grace. Alone. Through faith. Alone. In Christ.
Alone. Proclaims. The glory. Of God. So let's walk through that idea for a second.
Romans 3. 27. 28. Paul talking about salvation by faith. Not by works. Not by something you do.
To earn it. To merit it. He says this. Then what becomes of our boasting? Meaning if I don't accomplish this. What do I get to brag about?
We talked about this. We talked about. Sola fide. He says it is excluded. He says okay. I'm not allowed to brag.
But what. What kind of law. What rule. Excludes my boasting. He says. Is the law of works?
No. By the law of faith. For we hold. That one is justified by faith. Apart from works of the law. Paul's making a real simple point.
If you earn your salvation. Even a little bit. Then you can celebrate. You can boast. That's what Calvin was writing to them. Saying if you.
Act like we can earn our salvation. You extinguish the glory of Christ. That it. Somehow enhances man. But reduces Christ.
This is what Calvin writes. In his institutes. Calvin's institutes. Is a really thick. Theological book. It was not thick.
When he first wrote it. He wrote five more editions. When he first wrote it. He wrote it in the middle. Of a bunch of people getting killed. But he was not where they were getting killed.
For these ideas. But he said. He said he felt like. If he did not write. A clear theological manifesto. Of what they were dying for.
Why they had broken from the Catholic Church. He did not know. How he would ever. Be able to. Get away from the charge. Of being a coward.
So Calvin's institutes. Began with a. I'm writing these. Because we're in the middle. Of. Martyrdom.
And somebody needs to clarify. What we're dying. But he says this. When he's talking about this passage. Romans 3. 27 to 28.
He says this. From this. This idea that our boasting is excluded. It follows. That as long as there remains. A drop of righteousness.
In our works. We have some grounds. Of glorifying. Glorying in ourselves. That is why. If faith excludes.
All glorying. The righteousness of faith. Cannot exist at all. With that of words. So. Going from faith.
To the idea. That God gets all the glory. We understand that. If we're saved. Just by his work. He's the one who's on it.
He's the one who's glorified. And if we somehow add into it. We get some glory. But it's. It's excluded. We don't.
It's not how it works. He's the one who rescues. He's the one who's on it. If I was in a burning house. My house caught on fire. And they had to come in and get me.
I'm passed out. And choking on all this stuff. Can't get myself up. They come in to rescue me. And I mean. We got like.
Backdraft situations going on. Just shooting back and forth. There's a gas leak. Explosion. I don't even have gas in my house. But it does it just to be more dramatic.
You know. And so then they like. Take me out into the yard. I'm sputtering. They're going to give me like a. A ten-foil blanket.
And right about that time. People have gathered around. To watch our house burn. Because that's what happens. And they bring me out. And right as they're setting me down.
I'm catching my breath. I go. Yeah. Who's the man? I am. You'd be like.
What? I mean. Like I could high five the fireman. But I can't do like. Strut circle around him. Like I accomplished something.
And that's what. Paul's. Getting at. That idea. That we don't get. Nobody gets to flex.
In front of Jesus. He's the one who's the hero. He's the one who saves. And here's. And I said. Going from faith to glory.
But here's what you need to understand. If it's true. That all glory goes to him. Do you know how good that news is? Let's see if that's true.
And then. Then we'll talk about how good that is. Ephesians 1. 12 through 14 says this. Paul's writing. He says.
So that we who were the first to hope in Christ. Might be. What? To the praise. Of his glory. So they're saved.
They're rescued. But who gets the credit? Christ does. To the praise of his glory. And then in him. You also.
When you heard the word of truth. The gospel of your salvation. And believed in him. Were sealed with the promise. Holy Spirit. Who is the guarantee of our inheritance.
Until we acquire possession of it. What? To the praise. Of his glory. That God is saving us. To the praise of his glory.
In this same passage. He refers to. He says that we're. He lavishes kindness on us. To the praise of his glorious grace. Not to the praise of your glorious work.
Not to the praise of your glory. Your wisdom. Your bible memorization. Your behavior. None of that. It's excluded.
It all goes to him. Philippians 1. 10 and 11. Talks about Christ. Working in us. And it says.
So that we would be pure. And blameless. For the day of Christ. Meaning. We'll stand before him. Pure.
And blameless. Filled with the fruit. Of righteousness. That comes through Jesus Christ. So we'll have accomplished things.
But they'll have come through Jesus Christ. What? To the glory and praise. Of God. That we are saved. To his glory.
And praise. This is wonderful news. Here's why. If we were saved by our glory. To our credit. To our glory.
If we could do it. And get our name on the back of our jersey. You would need to be glorious. If you're saved. By your own glory. You need to be glorious.
That's why this is excellent news. You're not glorious. He is. That's why we gather. And sing his name. That's why we sang a song.
That said. If you could give voices. To everything. Suddenly. You'd just hear Christ. Be magnified.
He's glorious. He's holy. He's set apart. He's good. And this is so. Freeing.
It's freeing. Because we can get salvation. That we can approach him. Glorifying him. In our faith. That our faith.
Brings honor. To Christ. So that you come to him. And you say. I can't redeem myself. I need.
A savior. Here. And that's how it's designed. To work. That's what he's accomplished for us. That he would get the glory.
Not you. That you would come and say. I need. Someone. To redeem me. And rescue me.
And all I have is sin. And all I have is mess this up. And we would celebrate. That he's good. And the reason I said. Working from faith forward.
It gives him glory. But working from glory. It goes back. To just call us into faith. Is that I have to go backwards. So often.
I have to work my way backwards. And go. Hold on a second. The reason he redeemed me. Is so that he. Can be seen.
As glorious. Not because I am. And this helps me so often. When I have these moments. Where I'm very very struck. By the fact.
Of how fallen I am. And how far from glory I am. And I have these moments. Like oh. I messed this up again. Oh.
I failed again. I recently got to go on a trip. Um. It was a long trip. Down to Florida. And we were all excited about it.
Getting to go. And we've been planning. And going with Granddaddy. And all that stuff. Go. And I have a four year old.
And this didn't happen. But this is a sermon illustration. So just listen. I have a four year old. And uh. Every once in a while.
He gets real sad. And his lip will actually poke out. Like the little. Like little pouty lip thing. And uh. My older son had tried that some.
But I could tell he was just. Doing it. Because he had seen like cartoons do it. To like make himself seem more sympathetic. And it absolutely backfired. He was like.
Get that mess out of my house. But his little brother has done it a couple times. When he's been genuinely sad about a thing. That I didn't think he was trying to manipulate me. And his little lip has shot out. And it's like.
I'm not super sensitive. And I'm like. Dude. Oh man. What. Boy buddy.
Let's fix it. But if he came to me looking like that. And just said. Yeah. I'm so. I'm sad.
We're not going to get to go on our trip. Why not? I can't push the tunnels. And I don't know where we're going. And even if you gave me a map. I can't read.
I'd just be like. Buddy. Let's get in the back of the car. At no point. Were you responsible. For getting us there.
Like. Honestly. You need my help. To get in the back of the car. I'm going to strap you in. So you can't escape.
You're actually going to Florida. Whether you want to or not. Take a nap. Eat a snack. Steer out the window. Sing a song.
We're going to get you there. And I have to remind myself. That there are times. Where I come to God. And I basically am saying. I don't know how to push the pedal.
Like that somehow. Factors into the equation. There are times. Where I come to him. And I'm basically saying. God.
I know this is going to blow your mind. But I just found out. I'm not glorious again. And then my response. I can go one of two ways. But my response so often is.
Don't worry. Don't worry. I'm going to make myself glorious again. I'm going to work really hard. You'll see my glory. And you'll be so proud of me.
And in that moment. I am essentially rejecting Christ. Do you see that? There are times when I go. I'm going to just make myself feel bad for a while. Or I'm going to just.
I'm going to dig in. And I'm going to make this better. And I'm going to get better. And I'm not going to mess up again. What I'm saying is. Don't worry.
I'll be glorious again. But that's not the response. The response is to come and say. I just dawned on me. How inglorious I am. Thank you Jesus.
Oh glory and praise to your name. Infinitely. That you redeem a sinner like me. And I don't. My ability to push the pedals. Has nothing to do with this.
My ability to behave. My ability to keep it together. My ability to have enough wisdom. My ability to figure things out. My ability to respond appropriately. My ability to desire what I'm.
Thank you so much. That you save a sinner like me. And so then. In my repentance. Repentance. I give him glory.
We give him glory in our faith. When we come to him. But we give him glory in our repentance. When we come to him and say. I'm so thankful that you're the hero. So yes.
Our faith. Gives him glory. But sometimes. I think you got to work backwards. From glory to faith. And you got to remind yourself.
That the whole point of this. Is that he's glorious. Not you. So that you can stir up again. In your heart. Faith for the one who redeems.
We give him. Glory in our faith. And we give him glory in our repentance. And we get to give him glory in our obedience. I just said. We won't always do that well.
But he saved us to the praise of his glorious grace. If you have a moment. Where you suddenly realize. You need the glorious grace. That's the whole point. Praise it.
But also. We choose to obey. And we give him glory in our obedience. You see. So often what happens.
As we get in our head. There are certain things in the Bible. If you follow Christ enough. If you read your Bible enough. There'll be things in there that you. Don't agree with.
Don't understand. Don't like. There's just will. Because you're a sinner. And God wrote this. If everything in here.
You're like. Yep. Good point. You know. Yep. That's not exactly how I would have said it.
But good. You know. I don't think you're reading your Bible right. There are going to be things where you go. Wait. Why can't I do that?
Why can't I have that? There are going to be times where you're having to go. I know you said. I can't pursue this. But I just don't understand why.
I don't see why I can't. Everybody else gets this. Everybody else has that prayer answered. I don't understand why I can't have this thing. I don't understand why I can't. And what we want to do.
Is short circuit the process into sin. But here's the thing. We get to give God glory. In our obedience. When we're saying. I actually trust that you're better.
I trust that if you don't want me to have this thing. That ultimately you haven't deprived me of anything wonderful. Because you've given me yourself. And you're more wonderful than this thing. We get to trust in his glory. This is what 1 Corinthians 10 31.
He says. Whether you eat or drink. Whatever you do. Do all to the glory of God. That whatever it is. Whatever you're pursuing.
Whatever you're abstaining from. That it's got to be to the glory of God. Because that's what lines us up with the ultimate reality of the world. In Colossians. He says the same thing to people working. He says.
Don't work for your boss. Don't work for your master. Work. Work for God. But you know how freeing some of that is.
Because if you have to work for your boss. If the only reason you're going to do a good job is because your boss is awesome. Six of us will work really hard. The rest of us are like. I'm not doing anything because this idiot gets out of here. But that's not how it works.
You're not doing it because your company is awesome. Your boss is awesome. We get to work because our God is awesome. We get to obey because our God is awesome. Because he's glorious. I get to serve.
And give him glory. This is beautiful. This is when we give away money. The Bible calls us to be generous and give away money. Do you know the only way you can do that is if you actually trust he fulfills his promises. And he's actually paying attention.
And he cares. And he notices. And he's going to provide for you. And there's rewards. All of life is like that. There are times where you're absolutely not participating in something you want to.
You may not even understand why. You might be like. I don't know why I can't live with my boyfriend. I just know the Bible says it's bad. It's bad for me. I don't know.
I just want to. But it's because it shouldn't. And then we choose to obey. What we're saying is I actually think you're more honorable. You're good. You're not buying to me.
Is it the trick? That you're going to lead me towards the light. And that ultimately at the end of all this. Just get you. I've gotten everything. So we get to glorify God in our faith.
We get to glorify God in our repentance. And we get to glorify God in our obedience. Because ultimately obedience is worshipful, glorifying faith. There are times where we obey because we agree. And those are the easier times. It's all the times when we disagree.
That we're saying I actually trust that you're smarter than me. I actually trust that you're more valuable than me. I actually trust that your desires for me are good. And so I'm going to fight my own for this. That's faith. And it glorifies God.
And it's what we ought to do. And it's hard. But he's good. And I don't know if you heard either of those words. But I'm moving on.
The end result of history. This is one of the most beautiful things that you'll see if you look at the scriptures. God repeatedly says I'm not going to share my glory with anybody. And then the ultimate end of history is that he shares his glory with all those who he redeemed. Now, now that he lied, he's talking about it in two different ways. He says I'm not going to share my glory with anybody.
What he means is when he shares his glory with us, it'll be to the praise of his glory. He'll be the one who we sing to, who we enjoy, who we delight. Now, on that day, he says this in Isaiah, he says on that day, I want to share my glory with another. Meaning when we stand in front of him, you don't get to go, I'm here. Because you helped, but I did most of it. That's not how it works.
We're redeemed by his grace as a gift. And he gets all the glory. But then, if you're in Christ, if you've placed your faith in him, what we're told is that he did that to share his glory with us. Romans 8, 17 says this, that we're adopted and we're made children of God. It says, if children, then heirs to get an inheritance, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. We're told that we will be given glorified bodies.
We're told that we will be brought into his glory and to share in his glory for eternity. The next chapter, when he's talking about this, he says, what if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory? But if you place your faith in Jesus, you're an object of mercy, meaning you received his mercy and that he prepared us beforehand to delight in and enjoy how glorious he is. Like a dad who takes his mercy and that he is. Like a dad who takes his kid to school, knowing that an hour later he's going to go pick him back up just to sneak him off the day to hang out and have fun.
And what he's sharing with him is himself, but he also knows what a wonderful gift. Because the child wants to spend the day with his dad, delights in his dad, delights to be delighted in by the father. That's what God has done. He is glorious and the kindest, most merciful, wonderful thing he's ever done is sent his son to redeem us out of our inglory to bring us back into his glory so that we might delight in him for all eternity. That's why he's worthy to be praised. Because he rescues sinners to the praise of his glorious grace.
This is what the Westminster Catechism says. It's a Westminster Catechism. This is a Westminster Shorter Catechism. It's a question and answer thing to help you remember some theological points. The question they ask is, what is the chief end of man? Meaning, why do you exist?
Why are we here? This is the answer they give coming out of the scriptures. It says, man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. That's it. That's why we're created. And if you're in Christ, that's your ultimate home.
Enjoying and delighting in God who has pleasures at his right hand forevermore. God is glorious. Whether we like it or not. But. When we see it. We get to delight in it.
And when you see that the whole point that he saved us was so that his name would ring forth with glory. You're free. To say the reason I'm here is because Jesus is good. Not because I'm good. And if you're here this morning. Trying to be good.
That's your aim. I'm going to be well behaved. I'm going to get it together this time. I'm going to make my parents proud. I'm going to make God proud. I'm going to make my wife proud.
I'm going to show my husband that I can do this. If that's why you're here. Oh, I've got better news for you. You are not glorious. But you are never going to be able to be glorious.
You need Jesus who is glorious to make you glorious. As he invites you into his own glory. You need him to redeem you. You need him to get the praise and the honor for your life. Sometimes people say, I don't like the church because everybody there is messed up. Yeah.
Join it. You'll see it's way worse than you thought. That's the whole point. That's why I'm here. Because he saves sinners to the praise of his glory. The band is going to come back up.
And we are going to, through song, praise his glory. That he redeems us. If you have not placed your faith in Jesus. Can I tell you something? You do not clean yourself up to do that. He doesn't need you 5% glorious or 10% glorious or 35% glorious.
And then he can work with the rest. Honestly, all that gets in the way because you're confused about how it works. You're walking into his house already telling him that he should give you some honor. And that's not how it works. You walk in and you say, I'm a sinner and I need a savior. And guess what?
He does not put to shame any who call on his name. Place your faith in Jesus. If you're a Christian right now and you've been falling into sin, you've been struggling. You've been seeing how fallen from glory you are. Do not promise yourself that you're going to fix it. Go to Jesus who does.
Praise him for his glory. Can I tell you something? If you're trying to fix your behavior, telling yourself that you're going to muscle it out is actually way less effective than going to Jesus and thanking him for saving a sinner like you. It changes your heart when you see how good and wonderful he is. And it motivates us to obey because he is glorious. He's worth giving our lives for.
The more you try to do it on your own and the more you think you've earned it, the harder it is. Because the further from him you've gotten, the more confused you are about how it works. May we praise his glorious grace who redeems sinners. May we be people with smiles on our face because we're not the ones who achieved this. We are held secure. We don't have to push the pedals.
We don't even buckle ourselves in. He's going to get us to the end. And when we do, it's going to be glorious. Let's pray. God, we thank you. Thank you that you're so good.
And that your goodness did not just work to cast us out. But your goodness is so good it overcame our wickedness. That your goodness does not just show the dividing lines so that we could be far from you forever. But that you have chosen to pour out mercy and kindness to the praise of your glorious grace. And may we be a people who praise your glory for all eternity. Amen.
And may we be a man Oh my God. Amen.
Solus Christus
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Turn the burden with grace. Good morning. My name is Spencer again. I'm one of the pastors here. We are in a series called the Five Solas. These are the five dividing lines of theology that ended up forcing the Protestants out of the Catholic Church and started the Protestant Reformation.
We are in the fourth sola today, which is Solus Christus, which is Christ alone, the very thing we just sang about. So we'll be looking at that. About a month ago, I went to Houston, Texas. I took Ben Johnson, who's one of our members. He's the director of a missions organization called 1040 Hope, and they plant churches across the Middle East and North Africa. He's actually currently over in North Africa right now.
And I took him there because I said, Ben, part of what he does here is he raises money for church plants and mission projects over there. I just said, Ben, if you want to raise money, I want to introduce you to something called Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas, including the pockets of people who can give to plant churches. Let me take you there and introduce you to some people. So we went.
We had a good weekend. I got to preach at my longtime friend and mentor's church, a Methodist church in Houston. And at that church, I sat in the front right by the choir loft, which kind of felt nice to be a part of the choir because I'm never going to be allowed to do that up here. But I got to sit up there because, you know, in that tradition and other traditions, you have the pastor that sits up front the whole time. We don't do that here because not every face that stands up here is ready for prime time. You can guess who that might be.
But we... I got to stand up there. And because of that, Ben saw my face as we went through some of the liturgy that the Methodist church does. I came to faith in the Methodist church. I love the Methodist church. I'm obviously no longer a Methodist.
But I appreciate so many of the things that they do. And as we went through the liturgy, as we sang things like the Gloria Patri and things that we don't do here, I was very excited. Ben said your face was beaming, like you were glowing. And then we got to the Apostles' Creed, which is something that I grew up Presbyterian and I came to faith in the Methodist church. Both traditions say the Apostles' Creed every single Sunday. And as we said it, I just was so...
I was like, man, this is so good. Because it's a truth. It's a creed that goes back to the 4th, 5th century that binds us all in Christian faith. Whether you're Catholic or Protestant or whatever, like this binds us together. It starts with, I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. That is the Father, right?
That's who we believe in. Then it gets to Jesus. It says, All of those statements are about Christ. And we, yes and amen, all of them. Like we believe that, yes, He came, was born of the Virgin Mary. That, yes, He did die a death on the cross for us that we deserve.
That He rose to new life in Christ at the resurrection. That He will come back as judge one day, but currently sits at the right hand of God the Father. We believe in all of that. And Catholics and Protestants would both say that our faith is in Christ alone. We both would say that. We both are bound together that Jesus is the centerpiece of our faith.
We don't believe in any other God. We believe in Christ. So if that is true, why is it that this is one of the five solas? Why is this one of the dividing lines for us? It has to do with how we define alone. As Protestants, we put a period there and say, amen.
In Catholicism, there's a bit of an asterisk in how you define that. And as we're going to see today, part of that is bound up in how we have access to Christ. That is going to be the difference. So I want to quickly go through the history of solas Christus, of Christ alone. I want to look at the power of it, why we believe it's good and how powerful that is for us. And I just want to leave us with some encouragements of what that means for us as Christians.
So let me pray for us and then we will dive in. God, I pray that you'd help us be present this morning. You would speak to us. You'd open our hearts to receive your word. And that you would help us see how good it is that Christ alone is whom we have. We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen. Okay, first I want to look at the history of Christ alone. So as we've said in this series, that there are, that the spark that lit the powder keg of the Protestant Reformation was Martin Luther. There were things that happened before him and after him, figures before and after that helped this come to being. But he was really the spark that lit it.
And the event that lit it, as we've talked about in the last few weeks, was when he posted the 95 theses, 95 objections, really, to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany. Now he had written some stuff before then. Check over that last week. He'd written some 97 theses before covering this. But the 95 that he wrote, well, this really lit the Protestant Reformation.
And there's a lot in there that deals with some of the things we talked about faith alone and grace alone. There's a little bit of what we see, the beginnings of this in Christ alone that later gets developed by the Protestants. In Thesis number 6, it says, the Pope cannot remit any guilt except by declaring and showing that it has been remitted by God. And what he's getting at there is that only God forgives sins. the only power that the Pope, the only power that a priest has is to acknowledge the work that Christ has already done. There is no one that stands in the middle here. And Luther and the Reformers began to develop this further in their theology as time progressed.
Chet last week talked about sola fide, which is faith alone. He talked about the cell of indulgences. The cell of indulgences were sold, indulgences were sold so that they could lessen their time in purgatory or get family or friends out of purgatory. So they bought these indulgences to do that. And Chet walked us through last week how problematic that is. You could actually buy and purchase salvation.
That is, that traveling preacher Tetzel said, he said, when a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs. He walked through how that doesn't line up with the gospel of faith alone. But also, it's not just a problem that you could teach that someone could purchase salvation. That's not the only problem. What makes that doubly terrible is the idea that anyone could stand in the middle between us and God. That there is any mediator, someone who stands in the middle between us and the Lord.
1 Timothy 2.5 says, for there is one God and there's one mediator mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ. That's what we believe. That's what the reformers continue to come back to. There's only one mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, the man Jesus Christ. Now, we've talked about this a little bit in the past few weeks. I just want to make this more clear now.
Many of the things that the Catholic Church was doing at the time, they are no longer doing. Right? So what happened after the Protestants protested and had their objections and were forced out, the Catholic Church thankfully did look in the mirror at some of their practices. They had something called the Council of Trent that lasted for a couple of decades where they looked at the sale of indulgences. They looked at some of the inquisitions and some of the horrible things that they had done and they said, we can no longer do this. And thank you, Jesus, that they did.
They reformed a lot of their own ways. It's the reason why the Catholic Church is the way it is today and not how it was 500 years ago. We're thankful because there's lots of brothers and sisters in the Catholic Church. Absolutely, yes and amen. However, on some of these dividing lines of theology and specifically this one as well, they said no and that's why the Protestants left and did not come back. On this issue of Christ alone, we have a different understanding of how we have access to God.
We walked through faith alone and grace alone and how the Catholic Church, even the Council of Trent, very aggressively said no to that. They believe you're saved by faith and works. Well, how they define works is bound up in the means of grace. That's the language that they use. The means of grace that the priesthood administers. The Pope, bishops, cardinals, priests, that the grace is something that they control and administer and we find that incredibly problematic as Protestants.
I read one Protestant scholar, this is pretty thick but I'll walk through it, I think he absolutely nailed this. He said, outside the Roman Church there is no salvation, which, that is a standard Catholic doctrine, that we, because we are not a part of the Roman Catholic Church, at a minimum and their eyes are going to purgatory, which Protestants say purgatory isn't biblical, we don't agree with that, no, but that is Catholic doctrine. Outside the Church there is no salvation outside her walls, no infused grace can be found. As much as Christ is man's exclusive Savior, which we look at that and say, yes, Jesus is our only hope, He is our only Savior, yes and amen.
He says, the Church is needed as mediator of the grace that Christ gives. And we say, no, no, there is no mediator between us and Christ. No. He goes on to say, salvation cannot be based upon the work of Christ alone, solus Christus. Rather, Christ is in the Church, Christus in ecclesia, which is just Latin for Christ in the Church, and the Church is in Christ, ecclesia in Christo. Simple trust in Christ is not alone.
I think He accurately describes it there, but I read that, and I was like, but you are a Protestant. I said, I think it's fair. We spent a lot of time looking at different Catholic doctrine over the last few weeks. I was like, let me hear actually their arguments to see how they teach this. So I did it, I had some fun this week, and I went through the Catholic Catechism, which is very long, and was not as fun as I just described it.
But, I went through the Catholic Catechism, and I'll just show you a few places where they fleshed this idea out. In one section of the Catechism, the Catechism is the teaching that they give to the people. So the Catholic Church members have the Catechism that guides them in faith and practice. In the Catholic Catechism, in one section, it says, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith in baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time, hear this, the necessity of the Church which men enter through baptism as through a door.
And what they just said there was, is that the Church is necessary for salvation, because they are the ones, and more accurately, the priesthood is the ones who administer baptism. And for Catholic faith, to enter into faith, you have to be baptized. That is initiation into faith. You're saved through the first work, which is baptism. So they're the ones that control that, the priesthood.
Then it goes on to say in a different part of the Catechism, through the ordained ministry, especially that of the bishops and priests, the presence of Christ as head of the Church is made visible in the midst of the community of believers. And that last part is beautiful. when it says the presence of Christ as the head of the Church is made visible in the midst of the community of believers, we say absolutely, yes and amen. We absolutely believe that, wholeheartedly. That we are, and yes, that Christ is beautifully made visible in this Church body right now. Yes and amen. But that's not what they said alone.
The qualifier on that is especially that of the bishops and the priests. That there is something special about the priesthood as a part of the Church. So, how specifically is the Church necessary for salvation? How specifically are the bishops and the priests the most necessary, especially necessary part of it? Because they are the ones that deliver the means of grace. And specifically, when they talk about means of grace, they mean the sacraments.
The sacraments. The language they use for sacraments are channels of grace. Alright? We, as Protestants, look at that. Sacraments are practices that Jesus ordained that are holy. We, as Protestants, said we think there's two of them in the Scriptures.
Baptism that we practiced last week is a picture of faith in Christ. And the Lord's Supper, which we'll practice this week, which is a reminder of what Jesus did for us. We look at that and we say that's what these holy practices are. The reminders of the goodness of the Gospel. But for the Catholic Church, they're more than that.
They are channels of grace that initiate and sustain faith. There's baptism, there's confirmation, the Eucharist, which is the Lord's Supper. There's penance, there's anointing the sick, there's matrimony, which is marriage, and there's the holy orders, which is ordination. But a few of those are especially really important, right? Because if you want to be saved, you have to be baptized. And you need a priest to do that.
If you want to take part of the Eucharist, which is the Lord's Supper, they believe in something called transubstantiation, which is just a big word of saying, that they believe that literally becomes the body and blood of Christ. And that gives you spiritual power as you partake of the literal sacrifice of Christ every week. If you want to sustain your faith, you have to take part in this. But the priesthood is the only one that can administer this. If you want to repent of your sins, you must take part in penance, which is going to confession, which is having the priest tell you, you should say, seven Hail Marys, go help a widow, and make good on your penance.
You need the priesthood for all of that. Do you understand how that is a problem? That have access to God, you would need someone in the middle to deliver these means of grace. As Protestants, we looked at that and we said, no. Like when they started to, I mean, Luther very early on wasn't objecting to this, but as they continued to search the scriptures, the reformers looked at the Bible and they looked at the practice of the priesthood being necessary for faith and for sustaining your faith, and they just said, no. Like they were zero days old when they realized this isn't true, which is one of those memes, the zero days old memes.
Like if you're zero days old when you figure out a thing. Like I looked at this week, there was one meme. A meme is a picture, y'all, that has words on it. There was a picture that had words on it and the picture was a picture of IHOP. All right?
And the word said, I was today years old when I realized there's a smiley face in the logo of IHOP. I was like, ah, that's cool. And I looked at another one and it said, I was zero days old when I realized that flames don't have a shadow. And I went, wait, what? And I had a picture of a match and behind the match there was no shadow of the flame. I was, my mind was blown.
Like I was in the office and I ran down, I was like, I grabbed Chet and Isaac and I said, Chet, Isaac, look at this. I had a lighter and I had my flashlight and we went to a dark room, probably a little, lit it, no flame, no shadow behind the flame. And I was like, there's no shadow behind the flame. And they were like, yeah, of course there isn't. It's a light source. Why would you believe that?
And I was like, don't act like you're not impressed. That is amazing, y'all. You're welcome. That, it blew my mind. They, they looked at this, the scriptures and said, no. And it blew their minds.
They said, no, we don't need a priesthood to have access to God. They ultimately said, we are the priesthood. That's why we believe we're the priesthood of all believers. That's the Protestant teaching. That we believe we all equally have access to God. That is what we believe.
That is what we maintain. That we have this access to Christ. That's the history of it. Now, I want to look at the power of this. Because I want us to see how this is unbelievably good news by looking at the power of Christ alone. In 1 Timothy 2, 5 again, it says, for there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man, Jesus Christ.
Here's the deal. You can read that on a Facebook post. You can see that on a billboard. Alright? You can open a Bible and read that. And if you are not a believer, you can look at that and say, I need a mediator.
I need somebody to cover my sin. I need the gospel. I need Christ. You can place faith in Jesus and get in your car to go tell your family or friends that you place faith in Jesus and then a semi takes you out and you are dead. And in that very next moment, you are standing in the presence of God for eternity. You did not need a mediator for that.
You did not need a priest to come and give you this. You read the word of God. God saves you, redeems you. Christ is our mediator. You don't need a priest to be baptized into faith. You don't need to take part of the Eucharist and thinking that the literal body and blood of Christ is what is going to sustain your faith.
You don't need a priest for penance. You have direct access to the great high priest in Christ. Look at the book of Hebrews that talks about this, this great high priest. I just want to show you two places. In chapter 4, it says, Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast our confession that we have a great high priest that went Christian when you pray.
Offering prayers to the Father, Jesus stands at the right hand of God and He is our great high priest who is taking our prayers and our worship. It says, Verse 15, For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin. It's not just that we have a great high priest, which we do. We have a great high priest who understands what it's like to be human, who understands what it's like to be weak, who understands what it's like to be tempted. He was tempted and tried by Satan himself in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights after fasting.
He knows what it's like to suffer. He knows what it's like to lose. He knows what it's like to experience the sting of death. He understands all of it and He stands in the heavens right now and is able to sympathize with us as we pray to Him. Verse 16, Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. What that means is that you can approach our great high priest with confidence.
Like we don't have to because some of us look at our sin and our brokenness and our rebellion and we just you might think I can't approach God I gotta figure this out I gotta clean up my life I can't look at Him I just feel so dirty I feel so ashamed and the goodness of the gospel is that you get to in your sin approach Christ with confidence because the confidence isn't from our own it's from what He gives to us that we can boldly enter the throne room of prayer and offer up praises and prayer to Christ because of what He has done and not what we have done.
Sola Fide
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. Grab a Bible and go to the book of Romans. If you have one of these blue Bibles in front of you, it will be on page 547 in the book of Romans. We're here this morning.
You're here. I'm here because at some point we've asked the question that we were supposed to ask. We've all come together asking the same question. Some of you are here this morning. Maybe this is the first time you've begun to ask this question and you've come this morning. And the question is the same question that comes out of the mouth of the rich young ruler when he meets Jesus.
It's the question that the Philippian jailer has after an earthquake where he sees the authority and the power of God and he's talking to Paul. It's the question that everyone asks after Peter's sermon on Pentecost. It's what must I do to be saved? That's the question. You may have worded it different. You may have thought about it differently, but that's the question.
It's what Carl Jung refers to this. He's a Swiss psychologist. He refers to this religious instinct that humans have this desire, this longing, this searching in them to have religious answers. It's the question that all religions are answering. What does God want from me? If there is a God, what does he expect from me?
What am I supposed to do? What must I do to be saved? What do I have to do to inherit eternal life? That's the question. And some of you are saying, I'm not asking that question. This person brought me here.
Well, I will tell you that it is the question you need to have an answer to. That if you actually were able to meet God and ask him one question, you may be curious about things like Bigfoot and UFOs or the next winning lotto Numbers, but this is the question you actually need answered is how can I be saved? Because that one has eternal implications. And I'll tell you that the Bible's answer to that, I'm going to give you a short answer, and then I'm going to give you a longer answer. You thought maybe it would just be a short answer, but I'm a preacher and that will never happen. I'm going to give you a short answer, and then I'll give you a longer answer.
The short answer is that in order to be saved, you need to be able to stand in front of God who is a judge, who weighs the hearts of humans. You need to be able to stand before God and be righteous. As Leviticus says, we have to be holy as he is holy. Or as Deuteronomy says that we need to be blameless before God. Or as David puts it in Psalm 24 where he says that he who has clean hands and a pure heart. Or as Jesus says in Matthew chapter 5, that we must be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.
That's the standard. Now, if you're like me, like if I was going to take a test, if I was going to get my electrical license, and I went in and they said, you know, you got this amount of time and this many questions, there's 50 questions, there's 100 questions. My first question I have for them is, how many do I have to get right? Where's the cutoff? We're talking 50%, 75%. So the question that we should have is how holy, how blameless, how clean are my hands supposed to be?
How pure is my heart? When you say perfect, you meant like C plus range, right? It's like we want to argue that somehow it's graded on a curve. Like, you know, it's like, like it works the way it works when you're running from a bear. If you're ever running from a bear, you actually don't have to be faster than the bear. You just have to be faster than the other people with you.
And that's kind of how we want this to work. It's like the salvation work like that. Like if I can just find people who are worse than me and I'm in the top 50%, is that okay? And when it says blameless, it means blameless. When it says holy, it means holy. When it says perfect, it means perfect.
That's the standard righteous. This is the theological word is that we would need to be justified before God, meaning that when we came in, we would need to have no sins that we have committed and we would need to have practical, positive righteousness, no sins, no negative righteousness. And we would need positive righteousness. I mean, we've actually done good in the world. So never having sinned and done what we were supposed to.
Good luck. Let's pray. That's the question. That's the short answer. But there's a longer answer that's more beautiful and more helpful than good luck.
Let's pray. And it's that question that drove Martin Luther, who we've been studying as we've talked through these five solas of the Reformation, these five theological truths that came out in the Protestant Reformation as the Protestant church broke with the Catholic church that we hold dearly because they come from the scriptures. It's this question that drove Martin Luther to, uh, to the church and ultimately to kind of where we are today. So let's pray. And then we'll, we'll start in now. We ask for your help this morning.
As we study this, we pray that this truth would be visible, tangible, tangible, that we would see it's a beauty and that we would accept it and trust you in Jesus name. Amen. So Martin Luther had this question, how can I be saved? It's why he became a monk. He thought it was the best route to being saved. Uh, we said earlier, lightning struck near him and knocked him over.
He yelled, St. Anne protects me. I'll become a monk. And he did. He becomes a monk and he's trying to be good enough to be saved because what they were telling him is you had to practice penance. You had to practice confession.
He would go into the confessional. He would confess. He'd be on his way out. He'd remember more sins. He would go back. He, he was haunted by the reality of his sin.
And the truth is he wasn't crazy. He actually saw himself pretty clearly that if you could really look into your own heart, you would see depravity. And so he, he was trying to wear out and carry out. How do I get saved? How do I make myself okay? And he was stuck studying the book of Romans and we've shown this passage, but this is where he was.
He was in Romans one and he was reading this over and over again. Romans one verse 17 for in it. That's the gospel. It says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It's the power of God for salvation. So in it, the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith.
As it is written, the righteous shall live by faith from faith for faith by faith. And he was stuck here. He didn't understand how the righteousness of God was revealed in this way, that God is righteous in this way. And then he began to realize that righteousness of God being revealed is that it's granted to us that his righteousness is given to us. And his understanding of how you became righteous was that you did it. You worked it out.
You repented enough. You did enough good works. And he starts realizing that righteousness is, that it is given from faith, that we receive righteousness from faith and that it's given for faith and that we live by faith. And when he wrapped his head around this, he said, it was like the gates of heaven swung open to him that he was saved, not by his work, but by faith alone. And that's what we're looking at is this idea of sola Fide, which means by faith alone, that we're saved by grace alone through faith alone, that it's God's grace working on our behalf, but that it's faith that is the channel that brings that grace to us.
And so he wrote 97 theses. Addressing this great theological rift between what the Bible says and how we understand the Bible and what the Catholic church was teaching at that time, he wrote 97 theses on how to study the Bible and understand the Bible. He wrote it on grace and faith. And he said, you know, this is, he was dropping a bomb on the Catholic approach to understanding of, of life and sanctification and faith and how we were saved. He was saying, we've answered this question wrong. The question that we're supposed to get right.
We've answered wrong. He wrote 97 theses, which were just his end conclusion points. And he wanted to debate them. He wanted to discuss them. He was ready to show his work. He, he dropped this out to basically say the Catholic church is wrong.
This is how we're saved. And they said, the response was underwhelming. He thought, I've just thrown a hand grenade in here. Everyone's going to care. They didn't really debate a whole lot. He was winning over some people in Wittenberg to this idea that we're saved by faith, by grace alone through faith alone.
And then the cell of indulgences happened. And he threw what he did not think was a hand grenade into a situation that turned into a hand grenade. And he was like, you like those 95 theses? I have 97 other ones I'd like to share with you. Here's what happened with the cell of indulgences. Indulgences is this idea, it's Catholic idea that when you sin, there are consequences.
Consequences we're tracking so far. That's true. There are consequences. And they taught that there were time bound consequences and eternal consequences. Also true. We're on board.
Protestants are still nodding along. Yes, there are eternal consequences of sin. There are time bound consequences. They said that there are time bound consequences that are paid out here on earth. True. We agree with that.
Like if there are just consequences to sin, if you punch someone in the nose, there are consequences, immediate consequences to their face and then follow up consequences. Maybe they punch you back. Maybe they call the police. Maybe the job interview didn't go so well. I don't know. There are consequences.
But they taught that those consequences weren't the natural result of the way God designed the world, but that God would actually keep record of what you have done and dull consequences back out to you to make you pay it back off. And that he would not only do that here, but he would also do it in purgatory. As soon as they make this argument, we back out. God isn't paying you back specifically to make you pay off your debt. It's just the natural way that there are consequences to sin. It's the way God designed the world.
And there is no purgatory where you pay off mid-level sins that didn't send you to hell, but that you have to be there for a certain amount of time. But they taught this. And so they taught that what you could do was an indulgence. You could say a certain number of prayers. You could go on a pilgrimage. You could do good Acts.
And what that would do is put good back into the world. You brought bad into the world. You could put good back into the world. And as you put good back into the world, God would remove some of the consequences he was going to give you either here or in purgatory. They taught you could go on pilgrimages. Then at one point they started saying, well, you could give to like help good causes.
Like there was a hospital. You could help pay for that. And then they were like, well, you know what? We're actually working on a church building. And so in Rouen, France, they have a part of a church building, a cathedral called the butter tower, because during Lent you weren't allowed to eat butter or dairy, but they started letting you pay a little money and they'd give you like a butter ticket. And that's where we, the way we use the word, like I'm going to indulge in some ice cream.
That's where they, that gets tied to that. This indulgence of you paid some money. We're going to build our tower. You can, you can have some butter. Then enter the archbishop of Mainz.
He paid a lot of money to become the archbishop because it was a very powerful position. The church wasn't just the church. It was also in charge of politics. So he paid a lot of money to become the archbishop of Mainz. He was now in a very powerful position, but he wanted to recoup some of his money and Pope Leo the 10th wanted to finish St. Peter's Basilica and make it a lot nicer.
And so they hatched a plan. We're just going to sell indulgences for cash and split the profits. And so they hired a guy named Tetzel to begin to be their indulgence preacher. And he's traveling around Germany preaching and he's preaching. Basically, these are indulgences that if you pay us a certain amount of money, we'll give it to you. And if you keep it, if it's for you, you'll, you won't have to go to purgatory.
And if you pay it on behalf of someone else, we'll let them out of purgatory right now. So they was teaching. Um, and he had, he was like a, he was hawking these things. He was a salesman. He had different phrases he used. He said, if you buy one of these, you're cleaner than when you come out of baptism.
If you buy one of these, you're cleaner than Adam before the fall that the cross on the indulgence has as much power as the cross of Christ. But the one he's most famous for is as soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory Springs. And I was like, man, that's catchy. It rhymes, you know, it's true. But I was like, well, you know, it rhymes in English.
He was saying this in German. So was it as catchy? I looked it up and I hadn't been as excited about anything in a while. It's amazing in German. It still rhymes. If you don't speak German, I'm about to crush this.
If you do speak German, I'm sorry if I say something offensive, but this is the phrase in German. So bald, that's geld in cast and clinked. Die still in den Himmel springt. Clinked and springt. I was so pumped when I saw this. I think we should put more T's at the end of words.
So he has this phrase that he's saying, this is how you do. This is what happens if you'll buy one of these. This is how salvation works. And I was so excited about this that we've come up with some of our own. When the money goes in the slot, your sins are forgiven on the spot. The check goes in the wall.
There's no more sin on y'all. Set up recurring gifts online and then your soul will be just fine. You better have a Venmo if you want to sin-mo. So proud of those. Anyway, it would be absolutely crazy if we actually taught that. That if we were like, you know, we need to place our faith in Jesus.
He's the one who redeems us. Or there's a cash option. But that's what they were doing. And so Martin Luther writes 95 theses about this. His 97 weren't a big hit, but he was like, this is ridiculous as well. So he's doing the same thing that he did.
He's not thinking this will blow up. He's just trying to say this is wrong. Some of the arguments he makes are, first of all, he says the Pope is in charge of Pope things, not purgatory. If the Pope tells you that you have to pay some kind of penance, then the Pope can give you an indulgence to not have to pay that penance. He's in charge of the churches doling out and removing of things. He says, but God's in charge of purgatory.
Later he decides there is no purgatory as he continues to read his Bible. But at this point he's not there. So he says, God's in charge of purgatory. He says, the Pope can't get you out of purgatory. Secondly, if the Pope could get you out of purgatory, he should just be doing this because he loves people, not for cash. He should pay out of his own pocket if it costs money.
He should pay his own money to get people out of purgatory if he has that power. He should want to sell St. Peter's Basilica to get people out of purgatory. This is what he writes. This one was not well received by the Pope. This one makes it to him.
He attacked the Pope. He attacked his wallet. And it becomes a big thing. And he was like, you like those 95 theses? I got 97 more on something that I think is way more important. So as soon as he got some, people started hearing him and reading this.
He started pressing this idea of there's salvation by grace through faith. And this is how it comes to us. It blows up over this idea of indulgences, which affects this. But it wasn't his primary argument he was trying to make. He's more famous for the 95, but his 97 matter more because it's a theological argument. So he comes through and he says, this is how it works.
And all we're going to do now is I'm going to show you in the book of Romans where this is. And we're going to walk through that we are saved by faith alone. We are not saved by our works. So in Romans chapter three, turn to chapter three. We're going to pick up in verse nine and we're going to move our way through Romans. I'll show you some passages in Galatians, but we're going to work our way through Romans.
First thing you need to know to understand how salvation works, to answer this question, what must I do to be saved? We're supposed to be righteous. You're supposed to be holy. You're supposed to be blameless. That's the standard perfection. Out the gate, you need to understand something.
You aren't. Romans three, Paul says this. He's talking about the law, meaning the ways that we would behave, that God has told the Old Testament Jewish people, that this is the law on how you would be holy is how you'd be blameless. And he starts talking about them having this. And he's already making the argument that everybody has sinned. But he says, what advantage has the Jew, meaning the people who were given the law, or what is the value of circumcision, meaning this covenant that was made with them?
Sorry. Verse nine. I'm way, I'm up at the top of verse, chapter three. He's making this argument as he goes through. Then he says, what then are Jews any better off?
Verse nine. No, not at all. He's saying that this was given to him and it was a blessing, but it ultimately doesn't make them better off when it comes to salvation. The law does not do this. He says, for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks are under sin. As it is written, none is righteous.
No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good.
Not even one. You're like, no one does good. Maybe I do. Not even one. What he's saying is that, and this is a quote from the Old Testament, but that the standard of righteousness is not met by anybody. That you're supposed to add high quality good into the world.
You're supposed to have positive righteousness and you're supposed to not sin. And what we have done is we have not done this, not done what we were supposed to. And we have done what we weren't supposed to. We have sinned. That's us. If it's your first time hearing that, I'll let that sink in for a second.
You're a sinner before God. You have lied. You have stolen. You have been covetous. You've messed up relationships. One of the best examples of this is that to show how wicked we are is that most of the time, the worst things we do are the people that we would say we love the most, the people we're closest to, that we consistently harm people that we're around, that you have not, you're not one of the good ones.
So we fall short. This is what he says in verse 22 and 23 later on. He says, for there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So that none of us make it. Secondly, so we've all sinned. Secondly, we need to understand this is verse 19.
That we are all accountable to God. Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God. That not only are we in our sin, but we are accountable to God. That he, as God, as creator, as ruler of the world, holds us to account. And we don't have anything. We don't have anything to say.
He says every mouth may be stopped. This is what Job says when he talks about standing before God. He says that who could stand before God? He would accuse you on a thousand fronts and you would have no response for any of them. That if you actually went in front of God, he'd have a thousand things that he could say. You've lusted.
You've lied. You've tried to make yourself seem better than you were. Every time you did something good, every time you did something that would be counted as good, you walked around with pride in your heart, strutting as if you were better than everyone around you. You couldn't even do something good without bringing your sin along. And we would have nothing to say. It'd be like he had it on tape.
He had it on record. He showed it to us. We'd have no argument to make. That's what he says. The law just shuts us up because it holds us accountable and there's nothing we can do about it. The third thing you need to understand is that no amount of work can fix this.
So when we're called to be righteous, there's no amount of penance that you can pay, no amount of debt that you can work off, no amount of goodness that you can add back into the world, no amount of, okay, I've been bad, I've messed up, I've hurt people, but now I'm going to get it together. Now I'm going to do it right. That doesn't work. He says, for by works of the law, this is verse 20, no human being will be justified in his sight. Since through the law comes knowledge of sin. So if you say, well, what do you want me to do?
Just give me the list and I'll do it. He says, that will never make you justified. You'll never be able to stand before him by works of the law and have done practical righteousness and not sin. No human being. If you happen to be a part of the Illuminati and you're like a lizard person, you might can sneak in, but everybody else, all the human beings, will not be justified in his sight. This is what Galatians 3.10 says, for all who rely on works of the law are under a curse.
For it is written, cursed be everyone who does not abide by all the things written in the book of the law and do them. So I want to talk to two people real quick that I think often are trying to rely on works of the law. I want to talk to a good old boy, Southern Christianity. What does God want from me? He wants me to be an upstanding citizen. He wants me to do what's right.
Okay? True, he does want those things for you. That will not save you. Because if you don't uphold every part of the law, you're cursed. There is no, just be in the middle of the pack. Don't make things worse.
And we'll be all right. That's not how it works. It says, all who rely on works of the law. For you to say, well, I'm just going to be good enough. I'm just going to kind of do what I'm supposed to. I'm going to be a part of a church.
I'm going to read my Bible. I'm going to, you know, I'm going to pay my taxes and pay my tithe. And that's what you're relying on. This is what you're going to present to him. This is your resume you're building. You are under a curse.
It will not work. And some of you are shooting for middle of the pack. And some of you go, that's ridiculous. Got to be in the top 10%. So let's talk to church ladies.
If we're going to give a hard time to good old boys, let's talk to church ladies. If you think that, no, it's not, it's not just be kind of good. It's be really good. It's get a perfect attendance pin to Sunday school. It's know your Bible backward and forward and be able to quote it at people. It's be disgusted with sinners.
My wife works at a bank and periodically they'd have situations where things were going wrong. And I don't know if y'all know this about people, but they get upset during customer service incidences. And they seem to crank that up if it involves their money. But there was a time she was telling me there was a lady they work with who's hard to work with. And every time something happened, she was super frustrated. And when she was arguing with them, she would cite that she was a Sunday school teacher.
And how dare they? And my wife would be like, what? First of all, this is a bank. We don't care about your Sunday school teaching. Second of all, what the heck even is that? It's like this.
But that idea of I'm one of the good ones. You're cursed. If you're trying to rely on the works of the law. If you have a resume that you're going to present to God, it will not work. It's what Galatians 2, 21 says. He says, I do not nullify the grace of God.
For if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. If you could do it on your own. If there was one person. It says, no, not one. But if there was one person who was righteous on their own.
Then all God would have to say is, see? You could do it. But this person, the rest of y'all, if we could do it, if there was a way to attain it from the law, why did Christ come? Why did he die? We don't have an answer for that. Paul says it's for no purpose.
Christ doesn't have to die. He would just have to teach us things. He would just come back in. He would reform it a little bit. He'd tweak it. He'd say, y'all aren't doing this part right.
But if you try really hard, you can. You can. You can. So Jesus comes, verse 21 in Romans. But now, the righteousness of God, that's that word again, has been manifested, means showed up, apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it.
So he says the law and the prophets were pointing us in this direction, but it's not the law that brought God's righteousness to us. It says it's the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified. That's that word. That's that theological word, that thing that we need to be in front of God, justified.
By his grace, as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. All right. That's beautiful. That we're justified. That thing that we need, we're made right before God by his grace as a gift. A gift meaning we didn't do it.
He gives it to us. It's to be received. You look at the bottom. Received by faith. That's what we do. We receive a gift by faith, by trusting Jesus.
He's the one who does redemption and propitiation. Let me tell you what those words mean. Redemption is the idea that he buys us out of slavery. That he pays the price for us. So, to stand before God, you need no sin and positive righteousness. Unfortunately, what you have is sin and no positive righteousness.
Okay? You're in the wrong line with the wrong ticket. At the wrong show. At the wrong time. You got nothing. Jesus has no sin and positive righteousness.
So, Jesus redeems and propitiates. Meaning that he comes in and he swaps places with us. He pays the debt. He says, I'll take your sin. I'll give you my righteousness. It's redemption.
Propitiation. Then he goes to God and he says, I will, here's their sin. I'll pay for it. That's propitiation. That he absorbs the wrath of God on our behalf. If he had sinned, he wouldn't be able to do anything for us.
If he hadn't fulfilled the law on our behalf, he wouldn't be able to do anything for us. He never sinned and he fulfilled the law. We never fulfilled the law, but we have sinned and he swaps places with us. Jesus Christ died for a purpose. And it was to redeem sinners and to propitiate our sin before God. There's this idea of a champion.
I always found it really intriguing. And it's just an interesting thing that would happen in history. When people would go to fight, whole armies would line up. But then at times they would say, rather than us just our army fighting your army, just send forth your champion. Send out the biggest, baddest dude you got. And we'll send out the biggest, baddest dude we have.
And they'll fight on our behalf. This actually happens in the book of 1 Samuel. That's what Goliath was. He was the champion of the Philistines. He comes out and says, I'm going to fight on behalf of us. He actually says, if I win, y'all will serve us.
But if you win, if your champion wins, we'll serve you. The whole nations, the whole armies, everything was hanging in the balance on one-on-one fight. That's what faith in Jesus is. He's not our commander that coaches us up on how to fight well. He's our champion. We stand back.
It's all in his hands. If he wins, we win. If he secures the victory, we have the victory. If he rescues, if he redeems, if he accomplishes it, if he rises, we rise. If he doesn't, we don't. But it's all been pushed onto him.
That we trust Jesus to be the one who accomplishes this. Jesus to be the one who's righteous for us. Jesus to be the one who pays off our sin debt. That it's not, I have to feel bad enough. I have to pay penance to pay off my debt. Or that I have to be good enough.
It's none of that that we trust Jesus. We have faith in Jesus and we are saved by faith. Fifth thing we need to see is that faith is not a work. It's actually the opposite of work. It's anti-work. It's not the one work that we do.
It's the quitting of our work. Effective immediately. Resignation, effective immediately. Here's what he says, verse 27. And I love that he poses this as a question. Then what becomes of our boasting?
Like what the question is, okay, cool. Jesus saves me by grace through faith. It's a gift. What do I get to brag about? What happens with me telling everyone I'm awesome? And he says, it is excluded.
Which means you don't get to. There is no boasting in this system. You aren't awesome. Did you read the first part of my letter? It's excluded. You did not do this.
That's what he's saying. There is no boasting. And this helps us understand that this isn't a work. He says, by what kind of a law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Meaning if you did it, then you can strut. But if you watch David and Goliath go forward. And we were here for 40 days, super scared. Nobody wanted to fight Goliath. And then we're like, here's a child with a rock.
Let's see what he can do. We send him forward. All our hopes in him. We're trusting in this. Because he's the only one brave enough to go do it. He's going to go handle it.
Seems meek. Seems like it's not going to work. But it does. That ultimately he's a beautiful picture of what Jesus is. But we're the ones all scared and sitting back.
And as soon as he killed Goliath, if I jumped in the back and yelled, I'm awesome! Chad Phillips! He'd be like, what is wrong with you? He'd be like, we won. It's like, yeah, but David, what? That's what he's saying.
Like there's no boasting here because we didn't do any work. It's excluded. This is what Calvin says in his institutes. He was a French performer in Geneva. It says, because of the majority of people, because the majority of people, imagine a righteousness of faith mixed with works. Meaning you need both.
You've got to bring your good works to the table. You need to have faith in Jesus. Let us also show the righteousness of faith is so different from that of works that if one is established, the other is overturned. One's excluding the other. You can have one or the other. You can stand before God on your own merit or you can stand before God on Christ's merit.
It's up to you. But you don't get both. You either show up with Christ's record of righteousness, which I would heavily suggest to you, or you show up with your record of righteousness. But you don't get both. That's what he says. What becomes of our boasting, it is excluded by law of faith.
And this is good news. I want to jump to Romans 4, 4. Because I love this passage. Now, to the one who works, he's still carrying this idea out, his wages are not counted as a gift, but as his due. If you work for 40 hours, you went to pick up your paycheck, and as they went to hand it to you, you reach that and they pull back and say, ah, say thank you. Like, fool.
You tell me thank you. You owe me this. That's his point. It's like if it's a wage that you earned, it's your due. We can't hold it back from you. You deserve it.
Then he says this, but to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. That's us. We don't work. We didn't show up with something to present. And we're ungodly. But Jesus justifies the ungodly.
If you're here and you're going, I'm so messed up. I've got to get back in church. I've got to get it together. I've got to start reading my Bible. I've messed everything up in my life. I've messed up all my relationships.
I've just got to clean this up. I've got to get this straightened out. You won't. But Jesus can. He justifies the ungodly because he's good. That's why it's a gracious gift.
This is beautiful, wonderful news. That faith is counted as righteousness. And faith is us just saying, I trust that Jesus has accomplished this for me. And that makes us genuinely, truly, eternally righteous because we stand in Christ, not ourselves. We're saved by grace alone through faith alone. Now, as we do that, Christians are supposed to work.
We have good works. But good works do not secure salvation for us. They do not earn anything for us. It's just the appropriate response to what Jesus has done for us. That's what Martin Luther, I'm going to end with two quotes from him. He says, God does not need our good works.
They don't present to him. They don't save us. He says, but your neighbor does. And that's God, we're saved by grace through faith for good works that he works in us, that he planned beforehand. We're told that in Ephesians, but they don't redeem us. So that if you look at a Christian, Christians are supposed to have works.
They're supposed to look like believers. John tells us that. James tells us that. Paul tells us that. Christ tells us that. But we look like believers because we are.
We look like Christ because we've been made like Christ through the work of Christ. So you don't bring good works to him for your redemption. You come to Jesus. The only thing that you can bring is your sin that makes your salvation necessary. That's all you have. I need a clean.
I need clean hands and I need a pure heart. But I have dirty hands and a wicked heart. And I get Christ. Christ. So this is what Luther says.
He says, it is God's nature to make something out of nothing. Hence, one who is not yet nothing, out of him God cannot make anything. So if you think you're something, if you have good works that you're going to present to God, you'll stand in that. But God will not make you new. Because you still think you're presenting something to him that has earned you something. He says, therefore, God accepts only the forsaken.
Cures only the sick. Gives sight only to the blind. Restores life only to the dead. Sanctifies only the sinners. Gives wisdom only to the unwise. In short, he has mercy only on those who are wretched.
But he does have mercy on those who are wretched. He does justify the ungodly. And so we get together and we praise his name because he saves us through his goodness and his glory on our behalf. The band's going to come back up. If you have not placed your faith in Jesus. If you do not have a good answer to the question of what does God want from me?
Or if you answered the question with he wants me to be good. You are under a curse. You are not righteous. You are accountable to God. And you will pay the due penalty of your sin. And it would be unloving to tell you anything else.
It would be unloving to stand up here and say, you'll be okay. It'll be fine. It will not. If you walk towards Christ with your resume that screams the glory of your own name. You will not be welcomed into heaven. You will not be welcomed into his presence.
You will not be given glory before his face. You will pay the penalty of your sin. But Jesus Christ redeems the ungodly. He justifies us before God. He pays the penalty of our sin. And all you need to do is bring your sin to him and say, this is all the stuff that should disqualify me.
All I can bring to you is all the things that would keep me out. And I can hand him over to Christ and I can let him take him to the cross for me. And when he rises, I can rise with him. Because he gives me his righteousness. And then when you stand before God. And he brings to you a thousand accusations.
You can say they were all paid by Christ. And I am clothed in the righteousness of your son. And we are made righteous in his son. And we are justified by God. And if someone says, well, you're ungodly. It's like, yes and amen.
That's who Jesus justifies. I'm wretched. And so I get a glorious, gracious Savior. And if you've placed your faith in Jesus. And you're somehow trying to smuggle works back in. Because we have little legalist hearts.
That you're somehow falling short. And you haven't done enough. And you aren't good enough. And you're overwhelmed by the weight of your sin. Would you stop and take a deep breath. And praise Jesus for justifying the ungodly.
If you can look at yourself right now and say, I've been following Jesus for so long. And I feel so ungodly. Praise Christ that he justifies the ungodly. That he redeems. That he propitiates. You say, I deserve so much wrath for my wickedness.
He said, yes. And Christ paid it out on the cross. And he disarmed the rulers and the authorities. And we rise with him because he rises. Not because we're good. Not because after he saved us we got together.
And we became good people. But because he redeems. And he makes new. And he gets the glory and the praise forever. If you haven't placed your faith in Jesus. Trust him.
Come to him now and say, I need you to save me. And he will. And if you have placed your faith in Jesus. Let's celebrate that he saves sinners like us. And let's sing praises to his name.
Sola Gratia
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
O worship the King, all glorious above, and gratefully sing His wonderful love. Our children defender the Ancient of Days, a billion in slender and burdened with praise. Good morning. My name is Spencer. I'm one of the pastors here. I have a super fun announcement to make.
It seems that our restrooms in the lobby have been going a little crazy this morning. So if you need to use the restroom, you can go check it out. Maybe this situation has resolved itself in the last ten minutes. If it has not, there will be somebody to direct you to a different part of the building. You're welcome. Okay.
So we are in our five solas series, taking a break from walking through books of the Bible to look at the five anthems of the Protestant Reformation. The five main teachings, the five main doctrines that come out of the Protestant Reformation that formed the tradition that we are in now, that shape what we believe and how we practice what we believe. Last week we were in Sola Scriptura, which is Latin for Scripture Alone. And this week we're looking at Sola Gratia, which is Latin for Grace Alone. So when I was in, I became a Christian when I was 17.
That's when I came to faith. And when I came to faith, there were a few things that I understood. I understood that Jesus died for my sins. I understood that He was raised in order that I might have a new life in Christ, that I needed to be born again, that the old was gone, the new has come, is what 2 Corinthians 5 teaches. I understood some of the basics of the gospel, that faith was not the kind of the southern Christian in name only. I'm a Christian, but I don't actually practice this, that it was a full surrender to Christ.
I understood that, but I was real raw and green on everything else. I didn't really know the Bible hardly at all. And then I got to college my freshman year, and I was in a Bible study. And we were reading Ephesians 2 together. And I just went, what? Like this is in the Bible?
Like we were reading Ephesians 2, and it says that you are dead in sin outside of Christ. And then we keep reading, and then we get to verses 8 and 9. And it says, for it's by grace that you, this is what we read earlier together in our liturgy. For it's by grace that you've been saved through faith. That it's not of your own doing. It's not of works.
So that... Oh my God. Look at that. No? No? Let's go one more time.
My back. Head, hand, hand, hand. All right, you guys. I'm going to grip this like it's the rat battle. Here we go. Come on.
Oh, we're back. Here we go, you guys. Yes, technical difficulties all around this morning, but we're good. So, when I read that it was by grace alone, it blew my mind. I was like, you mean to tell me that I didn't bring anything to the table? That I brought my sin and my rebellion, but I have to do anything to earn the favor of God?
It absolutely, it wrecked me. I was like, this is amazing. And guess what? I was not the first person this happened to. I wasn't. 500 years before, the reformers who had not had the scriptures.
This is what we talked about last week. They did not have the scriptures that the Catholic Church had. The translation of the Bible that was in Latin. The common people weren't able to read it. But once the common people got the Bible in their language, they were able to read passages like Ephesians 2.
They went, what? This is in here. This changes the game. And that's what grace does. So, we're going to look at grace alone today and how beautiful and good this is for us. We're going to look at this in three different ways.
The first is the recovery of true grace. The second is the rediscovery of planned grace. And the third is the implications of endless grace. So, let me pray for us and then we will begin. Father, I thank you that we have your word, that it is sharper than a two-edged sword, that it pierces the division of soul and spirit of bone and marrow, that it sinks into our hearts to show us the goodness of the gospel and where we need to grow. And grace is beautiful and it is good.
But we need to have open hearts to hear what you have to say. So, God, I pray that you'd open our hearts this morning, that we would be present, and we would respond. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, first, we're going to look at the recovery of true grace. So, grace can be used, that word, broadly, to mean a few different things in the New Testament. It comes from the Greek word, charis.
So, if you're wondering why we named our third child charis, there you go. It means grace in Greek. It can mean a few different things. It's like people will often say, can somebody, before we eat, say grace? And what do they mean? I mean, can you say the blessing?
Because in the New Testament, you see over and over again, grace is used as a blessing. Grace to you. You hear about spiritual gifts and charismatic, right? Well, the base word for charismatic is charis. It comes from grace. Like, grace has a few different uses throughout the New Testament.
But when we are talking about sola gratia, sola grace, grace alone, what we're talking about is salvific grace, salvation grace. We're talking about how we are saved. And sola gratia and sola fide, grace alone and faith alone, are separated. They came to the realization of Martin Luther at the same time, the Reformers at the same time. But they're separated for a reason.
Because faith alone shows the mechanism, shows how we are saved. But grace explores why. Why we were saved. Now, Catholics and Protestants will both say that you're saved by grace. But how we define grace there is different.
And some of you might be saying, oh my goodness, we're going to argue about semantics and how a word is defined and how it's used. Yes. Absolutely so. Like, our faith is built on the Word of God. It's built on semantics. Like, if someone in the press pool for the President asked him this week and said, hey, are we going to be in a nuclear war with Russia?
And he said, possibly. Yeah. How he defines possibly is really important. The implications of that are huge. If he means, well, actually, yeah, possibly. And at this point, it's a real possibility.
We are buying potassium iodine pills. Like, we're building bunkers. We are getting ready for nuclear fallout. The implications of that are huge. But if you meant, well, actually, possibly.
I mean, there's an endless amount of possibilities. Right? So, I'm sure it's certainly possible. That's a way different definition of the word possible. The implications of that are way different. That's how it works with grace.
It's important how we define our terms. For Catholics, grace is a gift in cooperation. Okay? Grace is a gift in cooperation. They have a few different descriptors of grace, but one of them is justifying grace. So, for the Catholic Church, justifying grace, it starts with baptism.
Because in the Catholic Church, they believe that you are saved by baptism from a Catholic priest. And we as Protestants say, no. No, we don't believe that at all. But for the Catholic Church, yes, you are saved by grace at baptism. And that work continues in penance and in confession and in other sacraments. And grace, therefore, is a cooperative work.
And that is the teaching of the Catholic Church. Now, as we saw last week, as we saw last week in Sola Scriptura, that for the Catholic Church, Catholic doctrine is greater than the Scriptures. Right? So the Scriptures are supporting evidence for what the Church teaches. And we as Protestants say, no. The Bible says something different.
It says in 2.8 and 9 of Ephesians, what I mentioned earlier, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God. Not a result of work, so that no one may boast. First, we look at this very differently. We say, did you not see?
It says, this is not of your own doing in the slightest, that grace is a one-way work of God. And the context of Ephesians 2 leading up to that shows that. It says that we were dead in trespasses and sins. Verse 1, you are dead in trespasses and sins. You are spiritually dead. Unable to make your way to God.
In verse 4, he says, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us. That's the great love that He loved us. Not the love that we bring to the table. Verse 5 and 6, he says, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. That God is the one that makes us alive. He says, by grace you have been saved and raised up with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
That God is the one that raises us up in faith. One of the more popular definitions I've heard over the years that I appreciate for grace is an acronym for grace. God's riches at Christ's expense. That we get the riches of God, the infinite beautiful riches of God at the expense of Christ on the cross crucified. That is a gift to us. We cannot earn that in the slightest.
It would be like if I gave you a brand new custom Rolls Royce. Okay? Like the most expensive Rolls Royce in the world is a custom made Rolls Royce. It's about 10 to 12 million dollars. So let's say I give you that Rolls Royce.
You know what? I'm going to up the ante. It's got a full tank of gas. Which pretty much just doubled the value at this point. Right? So I give you this Rolls Royce and you go, man, that is so good.
And then you pull out your wallet and you got five fresh hundred dollar bills. And you say, here you go. One, two, three, four, five. Thank you. Thank you so much for this gift. I would be like, listen, I don't think you understand the exchange that just happened.
I just gave you a 12 million dollar car. I'm not looking for your money. Especially not that. That's us. When we misunderstand that the gift of Christ and what He has done for us, that His crucified flesh, His perfect record that was nailed to the cross on our behalf. That's a gift that we cannot earn in the slightest.
And it doesn't just affect how we define the mechanism, which is faith. Because Protestants, as we'll get into next week, we believe it's faith alone. In the Catholic Church, it's faith and works. It's not just that. It affects how we view ourselves. It affects how we view God in salvation.
Because in grace alone faith, there is no room for boasting. Like we don't have a righteous leg to stand on above anyone else. In grace alone faith, there's no separation between the priesthood and the laity. Meaning the pastors and priests and the lay people. In the Catholic Church, there is. There's a holy separation there.
All the way down to how they are dressed. There's a distinction there between the priesthood and the laity. But we as Protestants, because of grace alone, we look at that and say, no, we believe in the priesthood of all believers. We believe that all of us have received the same amount of grace. There is not this distinct holy separation between us as four elders of this church and you. Now, the Bible does call for respecting the pastors and elders of the church.
So we probably go too far in the other direction because we disrespect each other quite a bit. If you've sat in our sermons long enough, you know that I will make jokes about Chet who preaches the other half of the time. And then Chet will make funnier jokes about me when he comes up and preaches. Right? So we do this.
Probably go a little bit hard in the other directions because it does talk about respecting elders. But the point we're trying to make is that there's nothing great and glorious and super awesome about us. It is grace alone that we are who we are. In a grace alone faith, as we'll get in next week, there's no need for indulgences, which was a practice at the time of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation of purchasing, buying indulgences to get people out of purgatory, which we looked at last week. Purgatory isn't scriptural anyways. But the idea that you could give money to get someone into heaven is evil.
We don't believe this in the slightest. The scriptures do not teach it. It is by grace and grace alone. There are no rituals, baptism, praying to saints, Hail Marys, anything that, any of those extras, also that we would add to it, none of it. It is by grace and grace alone. We, as Protestants, look at this and say, grace isn't really an act to begin with.
That grace is God's nature towards His people. It's His nature towards God's people. That grace is, like, grace is like a giant lake. Okay? It's like a big lake of God's grace. And what flows out of that is the river of faith.
Alright? So, faith flows from this lake of grace. And as our faith flows from this, there are no outside external tributaries. Right? There are no creeks or small rivers that flow into it outside of the lake of grace. Your good works, your being at community group on a regular basis, baptism, none of that is an outside work.
It all flows completely and solely from the lake of grace. From grace alone from our God. Even as we completed that in the liturgy earlier in Ephesians 2.10 when it says, for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Those display the faith that God has gifted us but all of that, everything flows from the lake of grace. It all comes from the grace of God. And this had been missing for a very long time in the church.
And then when the reformers like Luther and Zwingli and Calvin, when these reformers and the people of that time read the Bible and saw this, they went, man, we've got to get back to this. This is really, really good news. And that began to be recovered. And as they were recovering this aspect of grace, one of the things that they rediscovered was planned grace. We're going to look at the rediscovery of planned grace. So, as they're rediscovering the Scriptures, they rediscovered this aspect of planned grace that had been lost for centuries.
This aspect of grace reawakened the church, the Western church, to the sovereignty of God in salvation. As they're reading the Scriptures, they began to see this, that a teaching that had been largely lost since about 400 A.D. Augustine was one of the last major church figures to write about this. They saw the Scriptures and said this idea of planned grace needs to be further explored. And in one of Luther's most famous works, he wrote something called The Bondage of the Will. And The Bondage of the Will, which is probably Luther's best work, in The Bondage of the Will was a response to a brilliant Catholic scholar named Erasmus.
Erasmus was brilliant. I mean, everyone in Europe knew Erasmus was one of the top scholars at the time. Now, Erasmus stayed Catholic because he sat on the fence during the Reformation. He agreed with the Reformers and their critiques of the corruption of the Catholic Church. Some of that led to the much-needed Counter-Reformation that cleaned up a lot of the really grotesque things that were happening in the Catholic Church and led it on a better path. But Erasmus was on the fence and he agreed with some of those critiques, but he disagreed with some of the theology of the Reformers.
And as the Reformers were being kicked out and excommunicated from the Catholic Church, he stayed put. He did not go with them. So Luther wrote a very respectful disagreement in the bondage of the will with Erasmus' view of salvation, which for Luther was a lot because if you read his writings, he wasn't very respectful of any of his opponents. But he was very respectful of Erasmus and he wrote this disagreement because Erasmus believed that sinners of their own free will and volition could cooperate with God in salvation. This is a doctrine of, it's called synergism, the idea that you can, your will and God's will combine for faith.
Whereas the Protestant tradition taught monergism, which is one, the will of God. And honestly, Erasmus' position in his theology went on to influence a lot of Protestant denominations, the Methodist Church, a lot of Pentecostal churches, even a lot of Baptist churches. But Luther disagreed with this and he wrote The Bondage of the Will. And in one of the sections of that text, he said this, First, God has promised certainly His grace to the humble. That is, to the self-deploring and despairing. But a man cannot be thoroughly humbled until he comes to know that his salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, counsel, endeavors, will, and works.
And absolutely depending on the will, counsel, pleasure, and work of another that is God only. That he argues that it's utterly beyond our own will, our own good endeavors, our own counsel, that our hope firmly rests on the will, counsel, and pleasure of God alone. Some of you may be familiar with this teaching. This is the teaching of election or the teaching of predestination, the idea that God chooses those whom he will save. And we see this throughout the New Testament over and over again. I'll just give you a few passages.
In Ephesians 1, 4-6, it says, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. That God chose us before the foundation of the world, before time. He says, in love, he predestined us for adoption. That is being, as Ephesians 2 says, we're once children of disobedience. He brings us and adopts us into the family of God. He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace with which he blessed us in the beloved.
You see that in Ephesians 1. You see it in Revelation. The book of Revelation, there are two references to this book of life. There are those that before time, their names are written in the book of life and in those who are not. And in 13, it's talking about those who are going to worship and follow the beast. That is the Antichrist type figure.
He says, all who dwell on the earth will worship it. That's the beast. Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. You get to 2 Timothy when Paul is writing to Timothy to give him encouragement. He says in verse 9, he says, who saved us and called us to a holy calling. Not because of our works, but because of his purpose and grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.
You see this teaching over and over and over and over again in the New Testament. you see the sovereignty of God in salvation. And as the Protestant Reformation was getting going and they were reading the scriptures for the first time, this was being rediscovered. Now, many Christians have wrestled with this, have wrestled with these passages. Myself included. I became a Christian in a Methodist church, which is a Wesleyan, Armenian tradition. And for years, I wrestled with this.
I wrestled with the idea of fairness in this. Well, how is it fair that God would choose some and not others? That's really what it boils down to. Like, I wrestled with this. How is that fair? I got people that I love, that I know, that don't know Christ.
How is that fair? I wrestled with this. And I had some reform-leaning brothers who would sit down with me and some of them not as, some of them very bluntly would say, listen, you know what's fair? Everyone goes to hell. They would say that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We've rebelled against His good nature and His good works and His good design.
Fair is we all receive punishment. And I was like, I don't like how bluntly you're telling me this, but I don't know how to argue with you on that either. And I wrestled with this. And I would do this, it's a bit of a textual dance. I would say, well, no, what's actually happening is that God, outside of time, looks inside of time and He looks at us and He foreknows who's going to choose Him and He knows that who's going to choose Him and place faith in Him and that's who He elects and then outside. And in the past, and I would do this dance, which you can do philosophically, but the text just doesn't say that.
Over and over again, it makes it clear that it's God's sovereign choice. And I wrestled with this. I wrestled with the book of Romans over and over and over again. But I kept reading the Bible. And if you're struggling with any of these aspects of faith, which are very difficult, mysterious, that's my encouragement is to read the Bible and come back to the Bible. Don't deal in outside philosophy.
Come back to the Scriptures. And after years of wrestling with this, there was one summer I had a job at a resort cleaning public bathrooms. Had a lot of time to myself. Cleaning bathroom after bathroom after bathroom. I'm an extrovert, so I love talking to people, but that's a job where you don't talk to people because it's real awkward and weird. So I had a lot of time to think and I was wrestling with this idea, wrestling with this theology, and then it finally dawned on me, I don't have to know why God does what He does.
I don't have to know why God chooses whom He chooses. I don't have to know why God doesn't justifiably give the wrath of God towards all of us for our rebellion. I don't have to know why any of this is the way that it is because I am not God and His ways are higher than my ways. I will never understand the mind of God. These things are too wonderful for me. You know what's funny?
Paul, I think, felt the same way. Romans 1-11, those 11 chapters are some of the most beautiful, some of the most beautiful literature that's ever been written. It's incredible. And he's wrestling with this. Alright? He's saying very tough.
You get to Romans 9, you're just like, oh man, this is really difficult. He's under the inspiration that God is inspiring him. He's writing this beautiful, wonderful text. And then he gets to chapter 11, the end of his long argument because the first 11 chapters are theology and the last 5 are the application of that theology. And he's wrestling with this. And he finally just throws up his hands because it's just too wonderful for him.
And he just starts to praise God in verses 33-36. He says, oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. It's just too deep for me. He says, how unsearchable are His judgments. How inscrutable are His ways. Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Who has been His counselor? Who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever and ever. He's like, I don't get it. I don't understand it. He's too glorious.
And I will rest in the mystery of God. And Luther came to the same conclusion in the bondage of the will. He says, the dreadful hidden will of God who according to His own counsel ordains such a person as He wills to receive and partake of the mercy preached and offered. This will, hear this, this will is not to be inquired into but to be reverently adored as by far the most awesome secret of divine majesty. The doctrine of God's plan's grace is not meant to vex and bother us into this existential crisis where we're like, I don't know. It's not what it's meant to do at all.
Our ways are not as ways. Our thoughts are not as thoughts. It is meant to drive you to a humble, deep worship where you just say, thank you Jesus that you saved me. I don't know why you saved me. I don't deserve it. I haven't earned it.
I've sped upon your goodwill. I've rebelled against you but praise you Jesus that you redeemed me. That is what it's meant to lead us to. That it's not of our own will and it's not of our own good works but praise God and if you can get to that place, brothers and sisters, you will find peace. You will find peace knowing that He's higher than us but He's good to us and as a finite human being that's good enough for me. So, when you get to that place, you can just worship.
That's why an amazing grace, you don't see, He didn't go in there and just write a whole bunch of things about all the theology. He just praises God. He says, amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, a broken wretch dead in sin like me. I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see. you can just praise God and rest in the planned grace that He's been given to us and when you get to that place, when you start to understand the depths and the mystery and the beauty of grace, then you can really appreciate and understand the implications of His endless grace. That's the third thing I want us to see today.
The implications of His endless grace. There are lots of them. I only have time for three. First, grace removes the pressure. Grace removes the pressure. In doing a lot of preparation for this series, I spent a lot of time reading different Catholic doctrine and scouring different Catholic teachings and I stumbled upon this Catholic blog from a monastery in Kansas and this monk was writing about one of the most famous stories of Saint Benedict.
So, Benedict of Nercia was basically like the Billy Graham of monks. Okay? Really big deal. And he was writing about this famous story about Benedict who one day was walking down a path and he became tempted to lust over the thought of a woman. Now, this is how he responded. I'm going to read word for word how this monk retells this story because I think how he retells it actually is very helpful to understand the difference here.
He says, just then he noticed a thick patch of nettles and briars next to him. Throwing his garment aside, he flung himself naked into the sharp thorns and stinging nettles. You catch that? He stripped off his clothes naked and he jumped into a briar patch. Then he rolled and tossed until his whole body was in pain and covered with blood.
Yet once he conquered pleasure through suffering, his torn and bleeding skin served to drain off the poison of temptation from his body. I want to read that again and absorb what he said. His torn and bleeding skin served to drain off the poison of temptation from his body. Before long the pain was burning. His whole body had put out the fires of evil in his heart. It was by exchanging these two fires that he gained victory over sin.
Now, part of me wants to admire that approach to sin because Jesus teaches to give a really serious response to sin. In the Sermon on the Mount he says, cut off your hand if you're tempted by lust. That is strong, intense, metaphorical language. You don't read the book of Acts and read about a bunch of one-handed apostles, a bunch of one-handed Christians. You're not going to read the book of Acts and read about how Paul and Barnabas were walking down a path that got tempted and they threw themselves into a barpratch and cut themselves up into the blood, the poison drained from their body. You're not going to read that because they believed in grace alone.
You cannot earn the favor of God and achieve perfection. Jesus did that on our behalf. So, you may look at that story. And look at that story. I think that's kind of silly. But I would argue that we do this in a different way.
That when we approach the sinful fallen parts of our nature, we do this. How many of us will work ourselves into deep anxiety or depression because we're trying to do it all. We're trying to achieve perfection. We're trying to prove ourselves over and over again to God, to others, for the approval of God, for the approval of others. We try to control everything we can because we've got to conquer sin. We've got to do it right.
And we work ourselves into this deep sadness and anxiety because we don't understand the grace of God. How many of us hurt ourselves because we don't like the sin and fallenness in our lives? how many of you have been tempted with suicidal thoughts because you look at your life and you just, you hate it. You hate the sin in your life and you wish it was over. How many of you engage in a negative cycle of cruel talk and you talk down to yourself all the time? You talk to yourself in ways that you would never let anybody else talk to you. We do this.
When we face our sin and our brokenness, we beat ourselves up. We're our own worst enemies. And it's no more effective or pious or holy than what Benedict did. And it never, hear this, it never fuels effective repentance. Christian, the pressure is off. If you're in Christ, there is no pressure that you're not having to fulfill the law and all the commandments of God because that's been fulfilled in Christ.
And that was nailed to the cross on our behalf. The pressure is off. Any attempt to gain righteousness on your own is pulling out $500 bills for a Rolls Royce that's trying to purchase a gift that has been given to us. You need to see the lake of His grace that is upstream and say, praise Jesus that I don't have to earn this. Though I deserve punishment, you paid for me. You need to rest in His grace.
The pressure is off. God, hear this, God the Father, He saw you and He said, you're mine. Before you were ever thought of, He said, you are mine. You are my child. That Christ, before you ever thought of, His death, His brutal death on the cross was for you. His blood shed was for you. that you are gifted the Holy Spirit who sealed your faith and who will carry you all the way to the finish line until He calls us home.
The pressure is off. We need to see the beauty of His grace from the moment of belief until we go home. Listen, the enemy, he can point at the worst parts of your sin and say, how gross is this? How bad are you? How disgusting is this? And you know what you can say?
Yeah, you don't know the half of it. But you also don't know my Savior. You'll never know Him. And He died for all of that and did something. And that's how good my God is. We rest in the grace of God and it takes the pressure off and the next thing it does is it removes our boasting.
Grace removes boasting. I personally have never understood the self-righteous Christian. It's been very hard for me to understand the thought process of anyone that positions themselves above anyone else. I just don't get it. I think maybe God has been gracious to me because He shows me my sin on a regular basis. And I see it and I'm like, man, that crap is gross.
No. Thank you, Jesus, that you died for this. I don't have a category for anyone that can position themselves over somebody else. I just don't. Because I'm like, have you not read when it says, not a result of works that none may boast? Do you not see that?
I don't understand that. But I do understand that you need to get past your own pride and inflated self-worth. Those are heinous in the eyes of God. And that maybe, may be the only reason that you've not gone down the rabbit hole of depravity. Right? For the self-proclaiming Christian that says horrible things about sexuality or drugs or work ethic or fill in the blank, maybe the reason that you've not gone down the rabbit hole of depravity is because God has not let you.
The reason that you are not a drug addict, the reason you did not fall headlong into the opioid epidemic is because God did not let you. The reason that you are not a jihadist Muslim is because you were born in this country. That was God's choosing. You were not born in the darkest parts of Afghanistan. The reason you are who you are is because the sovereign God made it so. So you have to get off your high horse.
You have to realize that you are who you are because God has been gracious to you. And approach him in humble repentance and worship. To look at our souls in the mirror and realize that every decent quality that is of God comes from him. Listen, this is an aside for a few of us. This also applies to those who boast about their theology. This also applies to those, and listen, I am as reformed as the next guy.
You can go to my office, you can go to my bookshelf, and I got Piper, and Keller, and Dever, and Grudem. I got them all. I got the Institutes that's right behind me. Listen, the person who is boastful about their theology has not been humbled by the doctrines of grace. It should not lead you to a position of arrogance. It should lead you to a deep position of humility.
Grace removes boasting, and lastly, grace gives glory. Grace gives glory. Paul, Luther, Calvin, each of them understood good. That grace alone means that it is from Him, and through Him, and to Him. It is to His glory. Calvin once said, he said, the glory of God shines indeed in all creatures on high and below, but never more brightly than the cross.
And that is sure, and that is true. Which means, listen, which means that the darkest parts of your flesh, the parts you are most ashamed of, the parts that plague you the most, that is where His grace shines the brightest. And that is where God gets unbelievable, uncomparable glory. That every time God bends a center to faith and belief, God gets glory. That every time you have victory over sin, God gets glory. glory that God willing as you are on your deathbed and there are saints around you singing hymns and you are murmuring them in your final breaths of life praising God, God gets the glory because all of that is by grace alone.
And that is what we have to remember. Matt and Kelly are going to come up and they're going to finish us out.