At church Sunday I was encouraged by the pastor's topical message on idolatry. He began with 2 Kings 17:41a, “So these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images.” I don't want to be like “these nations” and I still praise God I've put down the greatest idol of my life and experienced blessing and sanctification because of it. I noticed that some of the statements and points in this message were similar one he preached years ago titled, “Identifying our Baals.” I remember it well and made sure to get a copy of the CD because it was used of God in a profound way to begin to reveal to me the idol I once loved... the carved image of sorts in my life. This past Sunday served as a kind of bookend to the earlier sermon. I could sit and rejoice this time because God had done a great work in my heart. My heart belongs wholly to Him first before any woman or any romantic interest. A refreshing Sunday morning.
This summer has been emotionally challenging and yet as I've seen God's gracious and preparatory hand in all of it, the challenge has been seasoned with an abiding joy. I continue to meet with my married friend for accountability and prayer each week. After some good counseling and much prayer I'm sure the marriage is doing better and much healing is taking place. I praise the Lord for that so much. I continue to pray for them and other marriages, relationships, and couples that aren't couples yet... that they may not live in the fairytale of “happily ever after,” but in the reality of “for better or worse, till death do us part.” Real life isn't usually a like a Disney movie. We need the resolve to love despite and before the problems come not in the midst of them. We need a love that flows not from fickle feelings and preferences, but from the love of and for Christ Himself... because if it begins with Him it also begins with a commitment to honoring Him in the covenant of marriage. I'm not there yet, but I'm already learning that there may be times in marriage when our love for each other will not be enough. The Lord and honoring Him may be the only love we have to carry us through. In those times if we're too wrapped up in our own selfish belief that marriage is for our sustained happiness OR if we're so wrapped up in love for a human being that we miss God... it won't last. I've been able to read a book this summer called, “Saving Your Marriage Before (and after) it Starts” By Les and Leslie Parrott. While the book needs to be more openly Christian and relies on research and expert studies for some things, I think the wisdom and experience by this Christian couple are great for anyone who wants to be married some day. Apparently there's a workbook that goes with it. I hate workbooks, but I think this one might be worth it. I would only recommend it to Christians though. The book tries to be evangelistic, but falls very short of a clear gospel presentation.
This summer I've also been spending a lot of time with my mom. Her seizures have stopped, but last Wednesday my sister and I took her to the doctor. It's hard because we know she doesn't have the money to pay for the doctor and likely won't, but the alternative is that she gets no medical care and we couldn't allow that. Hard decisions. She went in because her stomach had swollen up to where she looked pregnant. In fact I told her she should've told the doctors during a test, “You know I really think it's a boy.” She's usually resistant to going to a hospital but she saw something on TV that scared her. My sister and I saw this as an opportunity to take her for what we knew was likely a different problem. She's had two boyfriends in the past die because their alcoholism shut down their liver and it burst inside them. Apparently she has been on her way to the same thing. She stayed from Wednesday to Friday. It turned out she was low on a lot of vitamins. She doesn't hardly eat anything. So they pumped her full of vitamins. The swollen stomach was exactly what we'd thought. Her liver was having a hard time filtering fluids so they were filling up her stomach. They drained some of the fluid in a painful operation. They found an infection in her liver and pancreas due to excessive drinking. She's also having trouble controlling her bladder. In some respects the children have become the parents now. She's still weak and still swollen, but she's eating more. We're hoping the prescriptions will help. While she was at the hospital my sister and I poured out the alcohol and even found the little amount of leftover drugs and 4 or 5 pipes that I tried to trash years ago. Those are now disposed of.
Through all this it's been good to grow closer to my sister. We had to search for her birth certificate and we looked through a large chest that contained years of photos that only a mom would have. It was a trip through memory lane for sure. We found high school photos of my mom, pics of my sister and I together when we were young... some of the photos stolen sneakily of us while we were sleeping next to each other. I took some I wanna put up on facebook when I get back to campus. My sister and I went out to eat, went to see the new story movie, all in between visits to see my mom in the hospital. We also went and paid the bills for my mom, took money out of the bank, bought groceries, and budgeted a bit. We felt like roommates for a few days. My mom asked me to mow her lawn as I'd offered a while back. So Monday I went home for some supplies and returned to her house. My sister and I spent about 4 hours on yard work. Her backyard was a forest of weeds, holes, and anthills. We trimmed branches, mowed, and did plenty of weed eating. I'd never used a weed eater before, but now I know how for sure lol. I taught my sister how to use it and the lawnmower. She still isn't strong enough to pull the rip cords. It was cute to watch her try though. I'm at my house now with my dad (sister lives with mom) and Lord willing I'll spend another week over there in early August before returning to school. It's been nice to minister to my mom and sister this past week. I've shared the gospel with them many times and in many ways. They know the truth. They just haven't received it. Please pray with me that the Lord will use my actions of love to confirm the greater love I have for their eternal destiny. It's now a matter of supporting with my hands the message I've shared with my mouth. I've also seen this as an opportunity to get a taste of home ownership and life. It's been a joy to be the man of the house they don't have... to do the yard work, to help with budgeting, to run errands, to be there as emotional support, to help with dinner, and to play a board game before bed. It was like a taste of life with my future family. During yardwork I told my sister of how that weed eater was hard on my forearms. She asked if I could do this for a job. I told her I think I could get used to it.
The other part of my summer has been devoted to a little preaching. I preached 1 Samuel 17 on David and Goliath. It was an encouraging and rich study. It was exciting to tackle such a familiar story with the tools I've learned from Bible college. I get to preach again in about 2 weeks. I'll continue in 1 Samuel 18. Thankfully I've got almost 2 weeks to prepare this time. The Lord is doing so much in my heart this summer and I'm SO excited to see what He'll do in my life in the next few years ahead. After preaching chapter 17 a woman at church said, “I know of a church that needs an Associate Pastor.” My curiosity asked further. She was referring to our our church. I only wonder what God will do in the near future. Something else that's funny... last december a lady at church tried to set me up with an older woman who taught at a Bible college in New York. I was naive to what was going on at first. We never spoke though. I wasn't all that excited when they referred to her as “crazy missionary lady” lol. And this summer I was told my mom's friend had a daughter that was also 25 and was studying “religion” (whatever that meant) and that she would be at some church event I was planning to go to if I didn't work. Part of me is thankful I was working that day! Anyway... still praying. Still trusting. Still doing ministry. Still putting the Lord first. I know the details of my life are in His hands and I can't wait to unwrap the good gifts of a sovereign God when they are given at just the right time.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
1 Samuel 17: David and Goliath
Exposition: v.1-7
Crisis: v.8-11
Rising Tension: v.12-47
Resolution: v.48-50
Conclusion: v.51-58
Well as I understand it John has been teaching through 1 Samuel on Sunday nights, while there's been a bit of a break from that the past few weeks. He stopped at Ch.16. What I wanna do tonight is pick up right where we left off at Ch.17. So, turn there if you would to 1 Samuel Ch.17. This is a very familiar story. If you've been raised in the church you've likely been through a Sunday school class or watched a children's cartoon on this very story, whether it got the details right or not. Sometimes children's videos miss things or imprint images in our minds that we carry for years. They can make Jonah get lost in the belly of a whale, when the Bible just calls it a fish. They can show the ark as a modernly designed boat, when the dimensions on it were really flat, plain, and rectangular. Don't let the children's videos color how you hear this story today, alright? Even if you weren't raised in the church, as I wasn't you've likely heard of or about this story before.
What I want to do tonight is look at this great story through the lens of our personal struggle with sin. We all struggle with sin. If you've turned your back on a lifestyle characterized by sin and placed your trust in Christ alone, you've probably noticed that you're still in the same body and still have temptations to sin. If you don't struggle with sin today it means one of two things; 1. You're fourth part of the Trinity and perfect, or 2. You have no desire to honor God. Those who want to honor God are His children and in this life they experience in a very real way the tension living a life that honors God. But what I want us to look at this story and ask,
1.How does victory over sin come? Often our sins look so big to us, nearly impossible to overcome. We battle and we battle and yet we fear we'll never be able to see victory. We know we'll win the war, but what about the battle right now?
2.Who in this story should we focus on to help us answer that question? Of the major characters in this story, which one should we focus on? You may be surprised at the answer.
But before we look at this chapter I wanna set the context a bit and look just briefly at Ch.16 and point out a couple things that will prepare us for our famous battle in Ch.17. King Saul disobeyed God. He disobeyed God by only doing part of what God commanded him and not all of it. For him the principle rang true, “Partial obedience is total disobedience.” Because of this God sent Samuel to tell him God had rejected him as king and God would now raise up a new king to take his place. So we now enter a transitional period in the kingship of Israel. Saul was on his way out and a new king was on his way in. But I want you to notice a few verses in Ch.16 here. Look at 16:1. This new king would be a “son of Jesse.” I want you to remember that, because it serves as a kind of bookend to our story. Secondly look at v.6-7. God told Samuel not to look on the appearance nor the height of the man to be king. This is significant because when the people chose Saul as king they chose him because he “stood a head above the rest.” He looked like a leader, yet he became a failure. This new king would be someone who was not noticed by his height or his appearance. And we know that Samuel found young David and here anointed him king. Chapter 17 was the first major even in the life of David to prepare him for king, especially in the eyes of the people. David's ability to lead Israel is established in their eyes based on this battle and it was not according to his size.
Let's begin by reading v.1-7.
Socoh: SOH koh
Azekah: uh ZEE kuh
Ephes-Dammim: EE fess DAM im
Elah: EE luh
V.1-7 form what's called the Exposition of the story. The stage is set. Can you picture it? The army of Israel is camped on one mountain and the army of the Philistines are camped on the opposite mountain, with a battleground between them. They're both in good defensive positions. They know each other is there and yet they haven't started fighting. Why? Because a man has stepped out from the Philistine army. (PAUSE) But this is no ordinary man... in fact the Bible calls him a champion and his name is Goliath. His name means “great, large” and he is exactly that. He's from Gath, one of the 5 major cities in Philistia.
He's estimated between 9 and 12 feet tall. The best estimates though put him at about 9 and a half inches. In Chicago I do corporate catering for work sometimes and I was once working at a party for the elite in a clothing store when one of the Chicago Bulls players came in. Now I'm 6'1”. I'm pretty tall, but this man towered over me. The average basketball player is 6'5” and the tallest known basketball players are only about 7 and a half feet tall. Goliath was over 9 feet tall. Goliath was a descendant of the race of giants also known as the Nephilim. These were tall people. His armor of bronze weighed about 126 lbs and the head of his spear weighed about 15 lbs. The head of the spear was made of iron and this was a technological advantage the Philistines had over Israel. Israel didn't have iron weapons. To get the picture of how heavy this spear was I want you to do something. Next time you go into the grocery store... make your way over the Produce dept. and find a 10 lb and 5 lb bag of potatoes. Put one on top of the other and imagine that on the end of a spear that someone's expected to throw. Goliath was not only tall, but he was strong.
What are the Israelites thinking as this man walks out into the open valley between them... alone? He looks scary. But not only did he look scary, he spoke with scary words. V.8-11 bring us to the Crisis in our story. Look with me at v.8-10. Goliath speaks and no one seems to have trouble hearing him. In a blaze of arrogant bravado, he assumes his victory and puts forth a challenge. He says this battle can be won here and now if any one man can come and defeat me. Now, you and have seen the way these bargains with the bad guy seem to go. Do they ever keep their end of the bargain? Usually not. We have no indication the whole army of the Philistines will surrender if Goliath dies, but we don't to think about that because they're not expecting him to lose... after all, he's Goliath. Goliath represented the personified strength of the Philistine army in one man. But he's more than that. He's a symbol of the best mankind has to offer in modern warfare. He's a symbol of man's wisdom and ingenuity... man's strength. Keep that in mind. He gives them this challenge. How do they respond? READ v.11. They were afraid (pause). They looked at the size of their circumstances and quivered. But this isn't the first time this has happened. Turn with me to Numbers 13:32-33. Here is a very similar situation. God said to take possession of the land He was giving them. HE said they could go into battle with the peoples of the land in confidence that they would win because they have the Lord God on their side and if He's on your side you are the majority. Yet they were afraid of the giants... and here in Numbers there THREE giants! In 1 Samuel there's only one! What was the punishment for their lack of faith in God and misplaced fear? They would wander in the wilderness for 40 years. The people didn't seem to learn their lesson.
Do you look at the size of your circumstances only to run and hide? Or in the case of the lens we're looking through, do you look at the apparent size of your sin and cower in fear? You shouldn't. Why? We're not there yet. V.12-47 form the rising tension of the chapter. We won't be able to look at all these verses, but here David is introduced. David was the youngest of 4 brothers. He's 3 brothers were serving the army of Israel and were camped there opposite the Philistines. David was at home in Bethlehem tending the sheep. But David's father said to bring his brothers some food and get a report on how they're doing.
READ v.16.
So David obeys his father. READ v.20-25. V.26 begins saying David spoke to the men who were standing by him. Now these are David's first recorded words in the entire Bible. What do we find in the first words of David? READ v.26-27. David was appalled that no one had accepted the challenge. His concern was God's honor. Goliath was defying Israel and therefore defying God. How often do you concern yourself with God's honor? When someone takes the Lord's name in vain, does that phase you? When actors are paid to do it in the movies we enjoy, does that phase us? It did David. It put a righteous anger in his heart and I think we need to have the same zeal for God that He did. He also said Goliath was taunting the armies of the living God. Goliath's false gods weren't living. The Philistines worshiped the gods Dagon and Ashtaroth and they were idols. But our God is the same as David's and He lives. He's the living God.
And as David is saying this, someone is listening. (PAUSE) And he doesn't like what he's hearing. Look at v.28-29. Eliab is enraged in a mixture of jealousy and conviction. You see his brother knew that the implications of David's questions pointed directly at the fear of the army and no one likes to admit their fear. In typical big brother and little brother fashion, He says to David, “You just wanted to see the battle!” And David says, “I just asked a question.”
When David said all this, it got back to king Saul. So they brought David before Saul. They had an important conversation. Let's look at v.32-40.
(On v.33) Here David is called a "youth." Often when the Old Testament uses this word it means "young man." David was not a 12 yr. old boy as some children's videos seem to tell us. He was about 20-23 yrs. old by this time. (On v.35) The NASB translates "beard." Others translate "hair." BEcause David says he rescues sheep from the mouths of these beasts, this is likely a reference to the lower jaw, not the fashion of the animals of his time as they wear and groom beards like we do.
(After v.37) Why would king Saul allow this? David was a young man and not a child (above). This is proven by the fact that a king with any sense and an entire army wouldn't have bet the whole battle on a small boy. He at least must have looked old enough to fight. The king did question David's experience and age, but more likely with the major concern on his experience. This led David to answer saying he has fought off lions and bears, even rescuing the sheep from the mouths of these animals. To accomplish this task (and as seems apparent) for the sheep to still live... is an amazing feat. It obviously and naturally impressed Saul enough to allow David to fight. David's bravery is clear too as he says in essence, “Your grown trained warriors have no reason to fear... I'll take care of it.” This bravery likely impressed the king too. The king did have his doubts however in that he said, “may the Lord be with you.” Saul knew David would need the help of God.
To prepare David Saul gives him his own armor, but he was awkward and couldn't walk in it. This wasn't because he was a little boy who was wearing a man's armor as some would give you the impression. No, he was a shepherd. He wasn't trained for war. So he chose not to wear it. In doing this David became the exact opposite of Goliath. He become the symbol of man's weakness, not man's strength and modern ingenuity.
Let's read through v.40-47. (At v.40) David lived near those of the tribe of Benjamin. They were famed through all Israel as those who could handle a sling and a stone, some of whom could sling at a hair and not miss (Judges 20:16). These stones could be launched at speeds of around 100 miles per hour by those who were experienced. We imagine David practiced this skill, but he may have been influenced and/or trained by those of the tribe of Benjamin. (At v.42) When it says David was "ruddy" and handsome in appearance the word ruddy means "of a reddish complexion." David was by modern terminology a kind of pretty boy. He wasn't battle-scarred and battle-worn. He was the Abercrombie model. He didn't look like he'd fought a battle in his life and Goliath was a bit insulted by his acceptance of the challenge. (At 44-46) Notice here that Goliath says he will give David's body to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field, but David says he will give not only Goliath's body, but the entire Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. David's courage matched and raised on Goliath's arrogance.
(At 46 and 47) This is the whole point of the story! Don't miss this! Reread 46-47. David says there is a twofold purpose in his victory; So that 1. All the earth may know there is a God in Israel (For God's glory) and 2. So all the assembly may know that God does not deliver by sword, but the battle is the Lord's (For God's power/ability to overcome under impossible circumstances).
The tension is resolved and the crisis is averted in v.48-50. Read 48-50 with me. David has won. The story concludes in v.51-58. (At v.50-51) Notice that the verses say "killed him" both with the sling and with the sword. It's best that the emphasis be placed on the sling though, because otherwise the whole point of the weapon and the victory wouldn't make sense. The Bible says at least twice that "there was no sword in the hand of David" when he killed Goliath and 1 Samuel 19:5 says the "Lord won a great victory." The battle was the Lord's and the death of Goliath was not by the sword David used... this was merely to collect the head as a trophy. There may be some kind of answer in the Hebrew about the repetition of "killed him," but I haven't studied Hebrew yet.
v.55-58 present a challenge for us. Some Hebrew manuscripts don't include the entire section. Some say this erases the difficulty. What's the difficulty? Well if you look at the end of Ch.16, it looks like Saul already was very familiar with David; He was told David was a son of Jesse and became the king's musician and even his armor bearer. Then when we come to v.55-58 it seems like Abner and Saul himself didn't even know David. Is this a contradiction? There is much discussion about this debate. Some point out that David was with Saul and yet he came from his father's house in Bethlehem to get to the battle. But this may easily answered by v.15 that tells us, "David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's flock at Bethlehem." It's possible he only served Saul occasionally or for a season. I believe Saul's ignorance is best attributed to simple forgetfulness. A busy king after the passing of time in his service actually forgot who David's father was. Abner's lack of knowledge could have been similar seeing as he was the captain of the army. Usually the high high officials occupy themselves with their immediate business and aren't quite as involved in the details of all their servants. While the armor-bearer worked closely with his military leader he was likely employed for and thought of primarily in that capacity and little else. It's true that David was more special than the average armor-bearer because he was employed also for his music AND it's said that Saul “loved him greatly.”
It's also true that Jesse (David's father) was well known because Saul's servants didn't need to explain who he was when they remembered David as a good musician. I believe still though that Saul forgot this fact connected to David. After all, he didn't ask WHO David was, but simply whose "son" he was. In Saul's mind it's very possible that David's music was such a pain killer for his emotional torment that this was the primary extent of how he thought of David. This would cause him to forget all other irrelevant details about David. This would explain his words “whose son is this youth?” (17:55 and “young man” in 58) as being anaphoric referring back to his known relationship with David instead of his just meeting David (for example, someone says, “Look, it's a lost dog. To whom does this dog belong?” instead of just asking the question without having seen and met the dog first). Here we also find the other end of the bookend to 16:1. This shows the fulfillment of God's words to Samuel and provides a reminder that this is a major event in the preparation of David as king. Also, after this encounter Saul's jealousy stemming from David's accolades after the battle causes Saul to never forget that David is the son of Jesse with his three later contemptuous references to David as “the son of Jesse” in 1Sa_20:27, 1Sa_20:30, 1Sa_20:31.
The story ends with David being known as the son of Jesse (the other bookend). This was to show fulfillment of what God told Samuel in 16:1 (that the new king would be one of Jesse's sons) and it would secondarily set a context and cement it in Saul's mind for his future negative references to David.
But returning back to our initial question, How does victory over sin come? Here's what we're to learn from this chapter. This is the point of it all...
Victory comes when the glory is the Lord's and the battle is the Lord's.
Psalm 20:7 says “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
Psalm 44:6 says “For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me.”
And who should we focus on this story? Should we focus on Goliath? Goliath looks big and bad. He shouts strong scary words and threatens our loss of the battle with a ringing certainty that makes us want to join the ranks of the rest of the Israelites in fear and be paralyzed to inaction. The temptation is to do exactly this in regard to our struggle with sin. We look at our sin and it seems so overwhelming to overcome. It challenges us and declares its' own victory while it's only standing in the valley of temptation before the battle begins. We often fear it and give in to its' taunts and lose the battle. Should we focus on our Goliath? The sin that seems so big and tall? No.
Should we focus on Eliab and Saul? David's brother Eliab questioned his motives after he saw his faith in God combined with a righteous anger at Goliath to defend God's name. Saul said David wasn't ready for such a battle. He said he couldn't handle it because he wasn't trained the ways of modern warfare, when this guy was an expert in it. The world says to us, “Oh just have a little fun” but we know their definition of fun is not God's. Can you imagine if you said to someone like that, “Oh I'd love to have fun. You know what would be really fun?” Sin-loving unbeliever: “What?” You: “If we sat down and studied Romans chapter 1!” Satan says, “You're not ready to deal with this sin. I know you want to and you'll break the habit next time, but maybe it's best that you give in this time. You'll learn from it and do better next time. After all, you're already forgiven right?” Should we focus on the taunts of others? No.
Should we focus on David? David was a young man of faith. He waned nothing more than to uphold the honor of God. A giant challenge didn't compare to the honor of God. Goliath had committed public arrogant blasphemy and David wouldn't stand for it. David also put his faith in God to win the battle. We can look at David and in our struggles say, “I wanna be like David!” Or maybe it's not David... maybe there's someone in your life (pastor, mentor) or someone you see as mature in their walk and you say, “I wanna be like them!” Should we focus on David? On a man of God who won a great victory? If we do... then we miss the whole point of this story. “What do you mean? David is the good guy! David did the right thing!” you may be thinking. Yes we can learn from David's faith, but this story wasn't written to put the spotlight on David and his faith. It was written for us to put the spotlight on the God in whom David had faith. If we focus on David then all David did was recorded in vain, because this is not David's story it's God's story.
The Bible is not the story of David.
It's not the story of Samuel.
It's not the story of Saul.
It's the story of God and how He interacts with His people.
The purpose of this story is found in v.46-47. David says the victory will be so that “all the earth may know there is a God in Israel and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord's....” The purpose of this story and David's victory is so that God may get the glory that all may know that He is God and no idol can compare. It's also so that people may know the power to defeat our Goliaths is not by the inventions and wisdom of man, no matter how good they are, but by the power of God fighting the battle. We should focus on God in our struggle against sin. In those moments we need to say, “Lord, I want you to be glorified in this battle! I want the world to know you are a God that is greater than all our sin. You are a God who can overcome sin” but we must also focus on God's power and God's ability to win the battle.1 Samuel 19:5 says “the Lord won a great victory” in this battle. We can't focus on our power, because we are so weak. We'll look more at that in a minute. We also can't focus on a 12-step program or the latest big time Christian leaders' book on “7 Steps to victory over sin in your life.” We can't focus on the victories or the tactics of others. There are some good ideas out there. Christians have come up with some good things, but without the Lord we will lose every battle. It's often said, “you may have lost the battle, but you'll win the war.” We may win the war, we'll get to heaven, but the heartache we'll suffer and the sanctification we'll sacrifice will cause great regret when we stand before God.
I also want us to see that God is great in the face of man's weakness.
If Goliath represented man's achievements and strength, David represented man's weakness. He was small and by all visual account an impending failure in this battle. For the onlooking armies in the heat of such a moment including the army of Israel... David's height, choice of weapons, lack of experience, vocation as a shepherd, and general appearance were signs of weakness and detriments to what he was about to do. Yet God was the invisible factor that won the victory. Man couldn't see God because fear was covering his eyes. What God told Samuel as he went to anoint David still rings true, “Take no notice of his appearance or his tall stature” (16:7).
Paul echoed this in 2 Cor. 12:9-10, “And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” This story and 1 Cor. 1:25-29 remind us of this “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”
I'm an introvert. In many ways, people terrify me. Some of you know I've a good share of street preaching and you see me up here and are forced to say, “No, that can't be true.” But it is! It's not easy for me to get up here in front of you. But I boast in that weakness, because in it God may be glorified! He has been glorified. He continues to show off in my life in preparing me for this task of preaching and I praise Him for that because no matter much I practice... if the Lord's not in it, it's worthless.
As I looked through the bulletin last Sunday and as I read the church prayer requests by email every now and then I notice that most if not all of them are health concerns. Some of you here tonight may have health concerns, perhaps some you haven't told the church. Or maybe the effects of a health problem are still with you. To you it is a weakness. But you know what... there were two whole armies that saw David as a weakness. But God used that weakness to His glory because God was with David. If you have turned your back on a life of sin and placed your trust in Christ tonight, the same God who was with David is with you and He will use that weakness to His glory. It may not mean he heals you completely, immediately, or heals you at all. What I'm saying is that our prayer should not be that God takes away our weakness, but that He uses it to His glory. Our focus in our weakness should be God and not our weakness.
Crisis: v.8-11
Rising Tension: v.12-47
Resolution: v.48-50
Conclusion: v.51-58
Well as I understand it John has been teaching through 1 Samuel on Sunday nights, while there's been a bit of a break from that the past few weeks. He stopped at Ch.16. What I wanna do tonight is pick up right where we left off at Ch.17. So, turn there if you would to 1 Samuel Ch.17. This is a very familiar story. If you've been raised in the church you've likely been through a Sunday school class or watched a children's cartoon on this very story, whether it got the details right or not. Sometimes children's videos miss things or imprint images in our minds that we carry for years. They can make Jonah get lost in the belly of a whale, when the Bible just calls it a fish. They can show the ark as a modernly designed boat, when the dimensions on it were really flat, plain, and rectangular. Don't let the children's videos color how you hear this story today, alright? Even if you weren't raised in the church, as I wasn't you've likely heard of or about this story before.
What I want to do tonight is look at this great story through the lens of our personal struggle with sin. We all struggle with sin. If you've turned your back on a lifestyle characterized by sin and placed your trust in Christ alone, you've probably noticed that you're still in the same body and still have temptations to sin. If you don't struggle with sin today it means one of two things; 1. You're fourth part of the Trinity and perfect, or 2. You have no desire to honor God. Those who want to honor God are His children and in this life they experience in a very real way the tension living a life that honors God. But what I want us to look at this story and ask,
1.How does victory over sin come? Often our sins look so big to us, nearly impossible to overcome. We battle and we battle and yet we fear we'll never be able to see victory. We know we'll win the war, but what about the battle right now?
2.Who in this story should we focus on to help us answer that question? Of the major characters in this story, which one should we focus on? You may be surprised at the answer.
But before we look at this chapter I wanna set the context a bit and look just briefly at Ch.16 and point out a couple things that will prepare us for our famous battle in Ch.17. King Saul disobeyed God. He disobeyed God by only doing part of what God commanded him and not all of it. For him the principle rang true, “Partial obedience is total disobedience.” Because of this God sent Samuel to tell him God had rejected him as king and God would now raise up a new king to take his place. So we now enter a transitional period in the kingship of Israel. Saul was on his way out and a new king was on his way in. But I want you to notice a few verses in Ch.16 here. Look at 16:1. This new king would be a “son of Jesse.” I want you to remember that, because it serves as a kind of bookend to our story. Secondly look at v.6-7. God told Samuel not to look on the appearance nor the height of the man to be king. This is significant because when the people chose Saul as king they chose him because he “stood a head above the rest.” He looked like a leader, yet he became a failure. This new king would be someone who was not noticed by his height or his appearance. And we know that Samuel found young David and here anointed him king. Chapter 17 was the first major even in the life of David to prepare him for king, especially in the eyes of the people. David's ability to lead Israel is established in their eyes based on this battle and it was not according to his size.
Let's begin by reading v.1-7.
Socoh: SOH koh
Azekah: uh ZEE kuh
Ephes-Dammim: EE fess DAM im
Elah: EE luh
V.1-7 form what's called the Exposition of the story. The stage is set. Can you picture it? The army of Israel is camped on one mountain and the army of the Philistines are camped on the opposite mountain, with a battleground between them. They're both in good defensive positions. They know each other is there and yet they haven't started fighting. Why? Because a man has stepped out from the Philistine army. (PAUSE) But this is no ordinary man... in fact the Bible calls him a champion and his name is Goliath. His name means “great, large” and he is exactly that. He's from Gath, one of the 5 major cities in Philistia.
He's estimated between 9 and 12 feet tall. The best estimates though put him at about 9 and a half inches. In Chicago I do corporate catering for work sometimes and I was once working at a party for the elite in a clothing store when one of the Chicago Bulls players came in. Now I'm 6'1”. I'm pretty tall, but this man towered over me. The average basketball player is 6'5” and the tallest known basketball players are only about 7 and a half feet tall. Goliath was over 9 feet tall. Goliath was a descendant of the race of giants also known as the Nephilim. These were tall people. His armor of bronze weighed about 126 lbs and the head of his spear weighed about 15 lbs. The head of the spear was made of iron and this was a technological advantage the Philistines had over Israel. Israel didn't have iron weapons. To get the picture of how heavy this spear was I want you to do something. Next time you go into the grocery store... make your way over the Produce dept. and find a 10 lb and 5 lb bag of potatoes. Put one on top of the other and imagine that on the end of a spear that someone's expected to throw. Goliath was not only tall, but he was strong.
What are the Israelites thinking as this man walks out into the open valley between them... alone? He looks scary. But not only did he look scary, he spoke with scary words. V.8-11 bring us to the Crisis in our story. Look with me at v.8-10. Goliath speaks and no one seems to have trouble hearing him. In a blaze of arrogant bravado, he assumes his victory and puts forth a challenge. He says this battle can be won here and now if any one man can come and defeat me. Now, you and have seen the way these bargains with the bad guy seem to go. Do they ever keep their end of the bargain? Usually not. We have no indication the whole army of the Philistines will surrender if Goliath dies, but we don't to think about that because they're not expecting him to lose... after all, he's Goliath. Goliath represented the personified strength of the Philistine army in one man. But he's more than that. He's a symbol of the best mankind has to offer in modern warfare. He's a symbol of man's wisdom and ingenuity... man's strength. Keep that in mind. He gives them this challenge. How do they respond? READ v.11. They were afraid (pause). They looked at the size of their circumstances and quivered. But this isn't the first time this has happened. Turn with me to Numbers 13:32-33. Here is a very similar situation. God said to take possession of the land He was giving them. HE said they could go into battle with the peoples of the land in confidence that they would win because they have the Lord God on their side and if He's on your side you are the majority. Yet they were afraid of the giants... and here in Numbers there THREE giants! In 1 Samuel there's only one! What was the punishment for their lack of faith in God and misplaced fear? They would wander in the wilderness for 40 years. The people didn't seem to learn their lesson.
Do you look at the size of your circumstances only to run and hide? Or in the case of the lens we're looking through, do you look at the apparent size of your sin and cower in fear? You shouldn't. Why? We're not there yet. V.12-47 form the rising tension of the chapter. We won't be able to look at all these verses, but here David is introduced. David was the youngest of 4 brothers. He's 3 brothers were serving the army of Israel and were camped there opposite the Philistines. David was at home in Bethlehem tending the sheep. But David's father said to bring his brothers some food and get a report on how they're doing.
READ v.16.
So David obeys his father. READ v.20-25. V.26 begins saying David spoke to the men who were standing by him. Now these are David's first recorded words in the entire Bible. What do we find in the first words of David? READ v.26-27. David was appalled that no one had accepted the challenge. His concern was God's honor. Goliath was defying Israel and therefore defying God. How often do you concern yourself with God's honor? When someone takes the Lord's name in vain, does that phase you? When actors are paid to do it in the movies we enjoy, does that phase us? It did David. It put a righteous anger in his heart and I think we need to have the same zeal for God that He did. He also said Goliath was taunting the armies of the living God. Goliath's false gods weren't living. The Philistines worshiped the gods Dagon and Ashtaroth and they were idols. But our God is the same as David's and He lives. He's the living God.
And as David is saying this, someone is listening. (PAUSE) And he doesn't like what he's hearing. Look at v.28-29. Eliab is enraged in a mixture of jealousy and conviction. You see his brother knew that the implications of David's questions pointed directly at the fear of the army and no one likes to admit their fear. In typical big brother and little brother fashion, He says to David, “You just wanted to see the battle!” And David says, “I just asked a question.”
When David said all this, it got back to king Saul. So they brought David before Saul. They had an important conversation. Let's look at v.32-40.
(On v.33) Here David is called a "youth." Often when the Old Testament uses this word it means "young man." David was not a 12 yr. old boy as some children's videos seem to tell us. He was about 20-23 yrs. old by this time. (On v.35) The NASB translates "beard." Others translate "hair." BEcause David says he rescues sheep from the mouths of these beasts, this is likely a reference to the lower jaw, not the fashion of the animals of his time as they wear and groom beards like we do.
(After v.37) Why would king Saul allow this? David was a young man and not a child (above). This is proven by the fact that a king with any sense and an entire army wouldn't have bet the whole battle on a small boy. He at least must have looked old enough to fight. The king did question David's experience and age, but more likely with the major concern on his experience. This led David to answer saying he has fought off lions and bears, even rescuing the sheep from the mouths of these animals. To accomplish this task (and as seems apparent) for the sheep to still live... is an amazing feat. It obviously and naturally impressed Saul enough to allow David to fight. David's bravery is clear too as he says in essence, “Your grown trained warriors have no reason to fear... I'll take care of it.” This bravery likely impressed the king too. The king did have his doubts however in that he said, “may the Lord be with you.” Saul knew David would need the help of God.
To prepare David Saul gives him his own armor, but he was awkward and couldn't walk in it. This wasn't because he was a little boy who was wearing a man's armor as some would give you the impression. No, he was a shepherd. He wasn't trained for war. So he chose not to wear it. In doing this David became the exact opposite of Goliath. He become the symbol of man's weakness, not man's strength and modern ingenuity.
Let's read through v.40-47. (At v.40) David lived near those of the tribe of Benjamin. They were famed through all Israel as those who could handle a sling and a stone, some of whom could sling at a hair and not miss (Judges 20:16). These stones could be launched at speeds of around 100 miles per hour by those who were experienced. We imagine David practiced this skill, but he may have been influenced and/or trained by those of the tribe of Benjamin. (At v.42) When it says David was "ruddy" and handsome in appearance the word ruddy means "of a reddish complexion." David was by modern terminology a kind of pretty boy. He wasn't battle-scarred and battle-worn. He was the Abercrombie model. He didn't look like he'd fought a battle in his life and Goliath was a bit insulted by his acceptance of the challenge. (At 44-46) Notice here that Goliath says he will give David's body to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field, but David says he will give not only Goliath's body, but the entire Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. David's courage matched and raised on Goliath's arrogance.
(At 46 and 47) This is the whole point of the story! Don't miss this! Reread 46-47. David says there is a twofold purpose in his victory; So that 1. All the earth may know there is a God in Israel (For God's glory) and 2. So all the assembly may know that God does not deliver by sword, but the battle is the Lord's (For God's power/ability to overcome under impossible circumstances).
The tension is resolved and the crisis is averted in v.48-50. Read 48-50 with me. David has won. The story concludes in v.51-58. (At v.50-51) Notice that the verses say "killed him" both with the sling and with the sword. It's best that the emphasis be placed on the sling though, because otherwise the whole point of the weapon and the victory wouldn't make sense. The Bible says at least twice that "there was no sword in the hand of David" when he killed Goliath and 1 Samuel 19:5 says the "Lord won a great victory." The battle was the Lord's and the death of Goliath was not by the sword David used... this was merely to collect the head as a trophy. There may be some kind of answer in the Hebrew about the repetition of "killed him," but I haven't studied Hebrew yet.
v.55-58 present a challenge for us. Some Hebrew manuscripts don't include the entire section. Some say this erases the difficulty. What's the difficulty? Well if you look at the end of Ch.16, it looks like Saul already was very familiar with David; He was told David was a son of Jesse and became the king's musician and even his armor bearer. Then when we come to v.55-58 it seems like Abner and Saul himself didn't even know David. Is this a contradiction? There is much discussion about this debate. Some point out that David was with Saul and yet he came from his father's house in Bethlehem to get to the battle. But this may easily answered by v.15 that tells us, "David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's flock at Bethlehem." It's possible he only served Saul occasionally or for a season. I believe Saul's ignorance is best attributed to simple forgetfulness. A busy king after the passing of time in his service actually forgot who David's father was. Abner's lack of knowledge could have been similar seeing as he was the captain of the army. Usually the high high officials occupy themselves with their immediate business and aren't quite as involved in the details of all their servants. While the armor-bearer worked closely with his military leader he was likely employed for and thought of primarily in that capacity and little else. It's true that David was more special than the average armor-bearer because he was employed also for his music AND it's said that Saul “loved him greatly.”
It's also true that Jesse (David's father) was well known because Saul's servants didn't need to explain who he was when they remembered David as a good musician. I believe still though that Saul forgot this fact connected to David. After all, he didn't ask WHO David was, but simply whose "son" he was. In Saul's mind it's very possible that David's music was such a pain killer for his emotional torment that this was the primary extent of how he thought of David. This would cause him to forget all other irrelevant details about David. This would explain his words “whose son is this youth?” (17:55 and “young man” in 58) as being anaphoric referring back to his known relationship with David instead of his just meeting David (for example, someone says, “Look, it's a lost dog. To whom does this dog belong?” instead of just asking the question without having seen and met the dog first). Here we also find the other end of the bookend to 16:1. This shows the fulfillment of God's words to Samuel and provides a reminder that this is a major event in the preparation of David as king. Also, after this encounter Saul's jealousy stemming from David's accolades after the battle causes Saul to never forget that David is the son of Jesse with his three later contemptuous references to David as “the son of Jesse” in 1Sa_20:27, 1Sa_20:30, 1Sa_20:31.
The story ends with David being known as the son of Jesse (the other bookend). This was to show fulfillment of what God told Samuel in 16:1 (that the new king would be one of Jesse's sons) and it would secondarily set a context and cement it in Saul's mind for his future negative references to David.
But returning back to our initial question, How does victory over sin come? Here's what we're to learn from this chapter. This is the point of it all...
Victory comes when the glory is the Lord's and the battle is the Lord's.
Psalm 20:7 says “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
Psalm 44:6 says “For I will not trust in my bow, Nor will my sword save me.”
And who should we focus on this story? Should we focus on Goliath? Goliath looks big and bad. He shouts strong scary words and threatens our loss of the battle with a ringing certainty that makes us want to join the ranks of the rest of the Israelites in fear and be paralyzed to inaction. The temptation is to do exactly this in regard to our struggle with sin. We look at our sin and it seems so overwhelming to overcome. It challenges us and declares its' own victory while it's only standing in the valley of temptation before the battle begins. We often fear it and give in to its' taunts and lose the battle. Should we focus on our Goliath? The sin that seems so big and tall? No.
Should we focus on Eliab and Saul? David's brother Eliab questioned his motives after he saw his faith in God combined with a righteous anger at Goliath to defend God's name. Saul said David wasn't ready for such a battle. He said he couldn't handle it because he wasn't trained the ways of modern warfare, when this guy was an expert in it. The world says to us, “Oh just have a little fun” but we know their definition of fun is not God's. Can you imagine if you said to someone like that, “Oh I'd love to have fun. You know what would be really fun?” Sin-loving unbeliever: “What?” You: “If we sat down and studied Romans chapter 1!” Satan says, “You're not ready to deal with this sin. I know you want to and you'll break the habit next time, but maybe it's best that you give in this time. You'll learn from it and do better next time. After all, you're already forgiven right?” Should we focus on the taunts of others? No.
Should we focus on David? David was a young man of faith. He waned nothing more than to uphold the honor of God. A giant challenge didn't compare to the honor of God. Goliath had committed public arrogant blasphemy and David wouldn't stand for it. David also put his faith in God to win the battle. We can look at David and in our struggles say, “I wanna be like David!” Or maybe it's not David... maybe there's someone in your life (pastor, mentor) or someone you see as mature in their walk and you say, “I wanna be like them!” Should we focus on David? On a man of God who won a great victory? If we do... then we miss the whole point of this story. “What do you mean? David is the good guy! David did the right thing!” you may be thinking. Yes we can learn from David's faith, but this story wasn't written to put the spotlight on David and his faith. It was written for us to put the spotlight on the God in whom David had faith. If we focus on David then all David did was recorded in vain, because this is not David's story it's God's story.
The Bible is not the story of David.
It's not the story of Samuel.
It's not the story of Saul.
It's the story of God and how He interacts with His people.
The purpose of this story is found in v.46-47. David says the victory will be so that “all the earth may know there is a God in Israel and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord's....” The purpose of this story and David's victory is so that God may get the glory that all may know that He is God and no idol can compare. It's also so that people may know the power to defeat our Goliaths is not by the inventions and wisdom of man, no matter how good they are, but by the power of God fighting the battle. We should focus on God in our struggle against sin. In those moments we need to say, “Lord, I want you to be glorified in this battle! I want the world to know you are a God that is greater than all our sin. You are a God who can overcome sin” but we must also focus on God's power and God's ability to win the battle.1 Samuel 19:5 says “the Lord won a great victory” in this battle. We can't focus on our power, because we are so weak. We'll look more at that in a minute. We also can't focus on a 12-step program or the latest big time Christian leaders' book on “7 Steps to victory over sin in your life.” We can't focus on the victories or the tactics of others. There are some good ideas out there. Christians have come up with some good things, but without the Lord we will lose every battle. It's often said, “you may have lost the battle, but you'll win the war.” We may win the war, we'll get to heaven, but the heartache we'll suffer and the sanctification we'll sacrifice will cause great regret when we stand before God.
I also want us to see that God is great in the face of man's weakness.
If Goliath represented man's achievements and strength, David represented man's weakness. He was small and by all visual account an impending failure in this battle. For the onlooking armies in the heat of such a moment including the army of Israel... David's height, choice of weapons, lack of experience, vocation as a shepherd, and general appearance were signs of weakness and detriments to what he was about to do. Yet God was the invisible factor that won the victory. Man couldn't see God because fear was covering his eyes. What God told Samuel as he went to anoint David still rings true, “Take no notice of his appearance or his tall stature” (16:7).
Paul echoed this in 2 Cor. 12:9-10, “And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” This story and 1 Cor. 1:25-29 remind us of this “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”
I'm an introvert. In many ways, people terrify me. Some of you know I've a good share of street preaching and you see me up here and are forced to say, “No, that can't be true.” But it is! It's not easy for me to get up here in front of you. But I boast in that weakness, because in it God may be glorified! He has been glorified. He continues to show off in my life in preparing me for this task of preaching and I praise Him for that because no matter much I practice... if the Lord's not in it, it's worthless.
As I looked through the bulletin last Sunday and as I read the church prayer requests by email every now and then I notice that most if not all of them are health concerns. Some of you here tonight may have health concerns, perhaps some you haven't told the church. Or maybe the effects of a health problem are still with you. To you it is a weakness. But you know what... there were two whole armies that saw David as a weakness. But God used that weakness to His glory because God was with David. If you have turned your back on a life of sin and placed your trust in Christ tonight, the same God who was with David is with you and He will use that weakness to His glory. It may not mean he heals you completely, immediately, or heals you at all. What I'm saying is that our prayer should not be that God takes away our weakness, but that He uses it to His glory. Our focus in our weakness should be God and not our weakness.
Friday, June 11, 2010
What Guides Your Life?
What guides your life? Or to bring things to their logical end, who guides your life? What do you look to for direction? How much do you rely on the things you look to? How much weight do they carry on how you live your day to day life? As you flip through the pages of your daily newspaper you'll likely find a daily horoscope. The horoscope makes predictions about what your day will be like or about any number of things depending on the horoscope. They differ according to your “star sign” (Libra, Virgo, Scorpio, etc.). Your local book store chain will carry books that promise to tell you all about yourself based on your star sign. They're called star signs because these predictions, these “life-guiding” helps are based on the mystical study of the stars and how they relate to our lives. This study is called Astrology. The question is... who/what is guiding your life?
I've had a conviction in the past year or so to read through the entire Bible once again in my morning devotions. I only take about a chapter a day so it's not like 1 year reading programs. It'll take longer. This morning I was reading through Deuteronomy 4. In 4:19 we read, “And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.” (ESV) When the Bible speaks of the “host of heaven” it's usually a reference to the stars. A “host” is a large group of something. It's also used of a group of people or an army (cf. Ex 14:28, 1 Sam 17:20, Eph 4:8). People may say, “but I don't worship horoscopes!” Well, if worship means to be in a tribe of people who speak a different language in a land far away and who believe cows and trees are gods or who form a wooden statue and call it god... then of course not. There is a subtle worship however. A worship that gives credence and validity and consideration to meaningless things. Even if it's something seemingly small and only a passing thought... does that thought honor God by thinking of Him first? If we really believe God is sovereign (in control of all things) then why would we allow something other than Him and what He has said be the thing to guide our lives? Would you let the sound, pitch, and duration of your dog's barking determine what to do in a given day? Can you imagine yourself thinking, “Oh that was a short bark, which means I should definitely break up with my boyfriend. But the bark was soft instead of loud which means I should be gentle with him even though he hurt me pretty badly”? Hopefully you wouldn't. How much different fundamentally though is listening to your dog and putting any credibility in the horoscope? If anything the dog has more to offer because it's alive and the stars aren't unless astrology somehow says the stars live.
What if the newspaper started a column about the wisdom of dog speech and the impact it can have on how we make decisions? Would you begin to take notice now that society was beginning to take foolishness seriously? I saw a commercial the other day about the first pet hospice in Texas. It even held funerals for your pet. One wonders if the waiting rooms play a continuous loop of the All Dogs Go To Heaven movies. If this is not giving undue consideration to something I'm not sure what is. Our emotional attachment to our animals is just as fickle and fleeting as it is in romantic relationships. Think through the implications of that for a minute and you'll begin to see what I mean. Society places value in the most meaningless things. The phrase “tree huggers” also comes to mind regarding those who hold a high view of “mother earth.” The value may differ and it may only be small... as small as a fortune cookie, but in the end it won't taste much better than that cookie.
Isaiah 47:13-15 says, “You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you. Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before! Such to you are those with whom you have labored, who have done business with you from your youth; they wander about, each in his own direction; there is no one to save you.” (ESV) The NASB translates, “those astrologers who make predictions by the stars.” In much the same way, people today can look to them and each go in his own direction... hopelessly. The truth is we aren't even consistent in this. People will tend to follow direction or put more weight in it only so far as it sounds pleasing to the ear. This is fickle humanity. It has no foundation on which to make decisions. It has no truth on which to stand. It whores itself from one idol to the next, from Opra to Dr. Phil to the latest trend and the next good feeling. It trusts in subjective intuition and the drifting tide of opinion. It has no interest in the wisdom of God because that wisdom doesn't come packaged in pithy quaint self-help sayings that are always on our side. The Bible exalts God and points us back to Him. It wants His best for us and that's not always what we want for us. Truth will never cease to demand our entire lives because of its' very nature. We'd rather treat truth like a buffet where we can leave the food that's hard to chew and doesn't digest well in its' corner so we may instead head straight for the pie. Even the sweetest things however without the balance of truth will still rot our teeth and increase our waistline. To be guided by anything but God is to be guided by something that will be burned up like stubble.
If you find yourself “wearied by your many counsels” because those counsels are things other than God, the answer becomes more and more obvious. Acts 7:42 shows us there are times when God can actually turn away from people and give them over to their worship of the host of heaven. But what if the horoscope is right? Does the end justify the means? I never said there was no power in horoscopes. Call me a Christian fanatic if you like, but there is power in the world and some predictions can be true but not all power is from God. It can also be demonic. People think they are so above demonic and Satanic influence and in doing so their ignorance is their own coercion and to the devil's good pleasure. There's a real sense in which when God gives someone over to their sin that it's not only God after He has revealed the truth to that person, but it's the person who themselves is also turning away from God by their adultery with created things and not a pure devotion to the creator. Col. 1:16 says all things including those things in heaven were created “through” and “for” Him. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” The stars and all of creation were given so they would point you to God and not His creation. If you're placing any undue affection, consideration, or trust in created things, know also that “The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!” (Psalm 50:6) God's creation not only points us to Him and tells us to give Him all the consideration, but they also highlight His attributes. One of those attributes is His justice. If we look to the stars those very stars are preaching the justice and judgment of God. If we are looking to them or anything else for the guidance that only God can give... the severity and consequences of that sin is staring at us in the framework and design of the very things we are looking to.
God did many things for the Israelites to show them He is God and no idol is worth their consideration. He said in Deut. 4:39, “know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.” He's also done many things for us to show us He is God. He's given us all of creation to show us He is big, because He made it. If you're unsure about where you're going after you die or unsure if you really are looking to God for your eternity I have something for you to look at. This is not a sales pitch for Christianity or a certain church. Go to www.areyouagoodperson.org and take the test. If you are a Christian and you find as many of us do that from time to time you look to things for guidance that are meaningless compared to God and the counsel of His written Word... I suggest you pick it up and repent of your undue worship, no matter how small it seems to you.
I've had a conviction in the past year or so to read through the entire Bible once again in my morning devotions. I only take about a chapter a day so it's not like 1 year reading programs. It'll take longer. This morning I was reading through Deuteronomy 4. In 4:19 we read, “And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.” (ESV) When the Bible speaks of the “host of heaven” it's usually a reference to the stars. A “host” is a large group of something. It's also used of a group of people or an army (cf. Ex 14:28, 1 Sam 17:20, Eph 4:8). People may say, “but I don't worship horoscopes!” Well, if worship means to be in a tribe of people who speak a different language in a land far away and who believe cows and trees are gods or who form a wooden statue and call it god... then of course not. There is a subtle worship however. A worship that gives credence and validity and consideration to meaningless things. Even if it's something seemingly small and only a passing thought... does that thought honor God by thinking of Him first? If we really believe God is sovereign (in control of all things) then why would we allow something other than Him and what He has said be the thing to guide our lives? Would you let the sound, pitch, and duration of your dog's barking determine what to do in a given day? Can you imagine yourself thinking, “Oh that was a short bark, which means I should definitely break up with my boyfriend. But the bark was soft instead of loud which means I should be gentle with him even though he hurt me pretty badly”? Hopefully you wouldn't. How much different fundamentally though is listening to your dog and putting any credibility in the horoscope? If anything the dog has more to offer because it's alive and the stars aren't unless astrology somehow says the stars live.
What if the newspaper started a column about the wisdom of dog speech and the impact it can have on how we make decisions? Would you begin to take notice now that society was beginning to take foolishness seriously? I saw a commercial the other day about the first pet hospice in Texas. It even held funerals for your pet. One wonders if the waiting rooms play a continuous loop of the All Dogs Go To Heaven movies. If this is not giving undue consideration to something I'm not sure what is. Our emotional attachment to our animals is just as fickle and fleeting as it is in romantic relationships. Think through the implications of that for a minute and you'll begin to see what I mean. Society places value in the most meaningless things. The phrase “tree huggers” also comes to mind regarding those who hold a high view of “mother earth.” The value may differ and it may only be small... as small as a fortune cookie, but in the end it won't taste much better than that cookie.
Isaiah 47:13-15 says, “You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you. Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before! Such to you are those with whom you have labored, who have done business with you from your youth; they wander about, each in his own direction; there is no one to save you.” (ESV) The NASB translates, “those astrologers who make predictions by the stars.” In much the same way, people today can look to them and each go in his own direction... hopelessly. The truth is we aren't even consistent in this. People will tend to follow direction or put more weight in it only so far as it sounds pleasing to the ear. This is fickle humanity. It has no foundation on which to make decisions. It has no truth on which to stand. It whores itself from one idol to the next, from Opra to Dr. Phil to the latest trend and the next good feeling. It trusts in subjective intuition and the drifting tide of opinion. It has no interest in the wisdom of God because that wisdom doesn't come packaged in pithy quaint self-help sayings that are always on our side. The Bible exalts God and points us back to Him. It wants His best for us and that's not always what we want for us. Truth will never cease to demand our entire lives because of its' very nature. We'd rather treat truth like a buffet where we can leave the food that's hard to chew and doesn't digest well in its' corner so we may instead head straight for the pie. Even the sweetest things however without the balance of truth will still rot our teeth and increase our waistline. To be guided by anything but God is to be guided by something that will be burned up like stubble.
If you find yourself “wearied by your many counsels” because those counsels are things other than God, the answer becomes more and more obvious. Acts 7:42 shows us there are times when God can actually turn away from people and give them over to their worship of the host of heaven. But what if the horoscope is right? Does the end justify the means? I never said there was no power in horoscopes. Call me a Christian fanatic if you like, but there is power in the world and some predictions can be true but not all power is from God. It can also be demonic. People think they are so above demonic and Satanic influence and in doing so their ignorance is their own coercion and to the devil's good pleasure. There's a real sense in which when God gives someone over to their sin that it's not only God after He has revealed the truth to that person, but it's the person who themselves is also turning away from God by their adultery with created things and not a pure devotion to the creator. Col. 1:16 says all things including those things in heaven were created “through” and “for” Him. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” The stars and all of creation were given so they would point you to God and not His creation. If you're placing any undue affection, consideration, or trust in created things, know also that “The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!” (Psalm 50:6) God's creation not only points us to Him and tells us to give Him all the consideration, but they also highlight His attributes. One of those attributes is His justice. If we look to the stars those very stars are preaching the justice and judgment of God. If we are looking to them or anything else for the guidance that only God can give... the severity and consequences of that sin is staring at us in the framework and design of the very things we are looking to.
God did many things for the Israelites to show them He is God and no idol is worth their consideration. He said in Deut. 4:39, “know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.” He's also done many things for us to show us He is God. He's given us all of creation to show us He is big, because He made it. If you're unsure about where you're going after you die or unsure if you really are looking to God for your eternity I have something for you to look at. This is not a sales pitch for Christianity or a certain church. Go to www.areyouagoodperson.org and take the test. If you are a Christian and you find as many of us do that from time to time you look to things for guidance that are meaningless compared to God and the counsel of His written Word... I suggest you pick it up and repent of your undue worship, no matter how small it seems to you.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Summer So Far
Here I am praising God still, away from the spiritual haven of school and encouraging friendships. In a world that continues to say you ought to "find strength in yourself" and "find it within" (Jer. 17:5) to live through the challenges and day to day survival I thank God that by His grace I'm able to trust in Him and that He is my strength (Jer. 17:7). The "Self-help" section only points more to self. God is so much bigger than our feeble willpower. I don't wanna find the strength in myself! I can be fickle, earthly, and stupid. If the Lord wasn't ordering my steps despite my plans I'm sure I would never cease to run into the same concrete walls over and over again.
This is becoming a challenging summer. I knew it would be interesting and that God would teach me a lot and He surely is doing that. I've scheduled the times I'll be speaking at church this summer and am excited about those. I get a Wednesday night with the youth, 2 Sunday nights, and a Sunday morning. I think I'll re-work an old message for the youth. The pastor is going through 1 Samuel Sunday nights so I'm thinking of continuing that during the times I speak. For Sunday morning I haven't decided if I'm going to prepare a sermon from my study on Hebrews 6 and the subject of false conversion or my jury sermon from Jeremiah. The message of trusting God and putting Him first above circumstances is one that's been on my mind for some time now. As I look back on last semester I think at least 3 of my sermons (including both classes and internship) dealt with trusting God in some fashion. Knowing these dates has allowed me to schedule the weeks I'll be staying with my mom at her house. It comes out to one week per month until I return to school.
We still don't know exactly what's wrong with her health. before school let out she'd been having seizures more often, but she hasn't had one since I've been home and doesn't seem to have grown any better or worse. She doesn't eat much partly due to depression. She doesn't look healthy (skinny limbs and a somewhat bloated stomach and torso. She doesn't have much energy and gets irritable and annoyed at the smallest things. My grandparents came into town for my sister's graduation and we all went out to dinner. They bought her a new lawnmower and washer. I found out they're sending her $1000 a month. My dad's child support payments to her have stopped with my sister's 18th birthday. My mom still talks often about wanting a job, but doesn't show the motivation to actually pursue them. I'm convinced she doesn't want to work and would rather on some level continue sit home watching TV and drinking. It's been hard to understand how to best show love to my mother and support the gospel I've already shared with her in the past. I've been able to spend a little more time with my sister through all this too. I still want to sit down with her soon and talk.
For the past year or so I've realized I treat my sister differently than other women in my life. She's always been... my sister. The sister I tease, harass, and rough up from time to time. More seriously though I've found that I don't listen to her as much as I would other ladies I know, regardless of the subject. I find my mind wandering when she's telling me about school or her anime. This has bothered me greatly. She's no longer a little girl to pick on... she's growing into a woman and I'm beginning to develop a more adult relationship with her whether I'm ready for it or not. I want to treat her with the same respect I do other women. I want to listen to her and show her the same gentleness and sensitivity as anyone else. Please pray for me as I flesh out what this looks like and try to break away from her being my little sister to the fact that she is growing up. She's realizing how fast she needs to grow up too because in many ways she feels like the parent with my mom. She's doing the housework. She's trying to motivate my mom to get a job. She's cooking food. She's taking care of the animals. She deserves my respect. Please pray with me as I prepare to have this conversation with her.
I've also been meeting with my friend whose marriage has suffered difficulties. It's been a blessing to be there for him during this time because I know he'd be there for me too. AS I've been there for him I've been hearing of so many marriages and relationships ending in divorce, separation, or breakup. Before coming home I get a message on facebook asking for prayer from a Christian man whose wife is bent on divorce on an upcoming deadline due to her unhappiness. I come home to find the pastor I work with in my secular job is going through a separation after 19 years of marriage. I go to starbucks for some reading time and overhear one of the employees say she's getting a divorce. Each time I hear the word it stings. I begin to ask myself why this word even appears in our minds as an option. The Bible gives us 2 reasons for doing something we're forced to call a biblical divorce, yet I think we can look at those reasons and try to explain our circumstances to fit them into those reasons so we have a biblical out or loophole to justify our own pride and satisfy our fickle unhappiness. God Himself says He hates divorce and Moses only came up with the idea because the people's hearts were stubborn.
Not pointing to any one of the above situations in particular, I scream inside and still ask... what happened to "till death do us part?" The character in the movie Fireproof was right when he said when people during their vows say "for better or worse" they really only mean for the better. So many people jump into marriage without being ready. They aren't spending enough time on their knees and faces before God asking Him to reveal the depths of their motives and desires. They are loving their own selfish interests or their fiancee more than the God who gave such a gift. They are entering into a covenant somehow thinking in the back of their minds that it isn't much different than secular dating. There's always a way out. They're considering pre-nuptual agreements and in doing so they're planning to fail. I've found myself re-reading a book this summer I haven't read in some time. I don't often re-read books, but with all the trouble couples are having with conflict lately... something told me I needed to read this one again. It's called Boundaries: Face to Face By Dr. Cloud and Townsend.
As I was reading one line in particular caught my attention. He gave a real example of a guy who broke up with a girl and got with a different one who seemed to excel the area the first one lacked, but she had problems somewhere else so he dropped her too. Then the author made this statement on pg. 79. He said this man could have worked it out with either woman. "Committed married couples do this all the time." I read that and my heart sank. Not only are married couples not committed, but unmarried couples don't think much about commitment either. Married couples who fix problems probably on some level realize they have to. They've entered a covenant and refused to break it. I just wonder... if we can't resolve to work through difficulties before marriage, how do we expect to be able to do so when we are married? Through all this though I've found the Lord working in my heart to prepare me for the woman He has for my future. While I'm ultimately not sure, I get the impression that it's coming soon. All these struggling failed relationships and marriages aren't coming my way without a purpose. By God's grace I can still say through the uncertainties and challenges I will face, that I still want someone whom I can love as Christ loved the Church. The Bible says a wife is a good thing and from the Lord. It says she is a man's reward for all his labor under the sun. So I patiently keep my eyes open for where the Lord may be working yet with contented prayer.
There's so much more to say, but bedtime is approaching. I worked an overnight shift last night and go in at 5am tomorrow morning. Gotta preserve the energy. This summer I can say I feel more like a pastor than I've ever felt before. God is preparing me and through all the challenges, this is an exciting time. Lord, what do you have for me in the days ahead? Grant me the grace, strength, and humility to receive it and use it to give You more glory.
This is becoming a challenging summer. I knew it would be interesting and that God would teach me a lot and He surely is doing that. I've scheduled the times I'll be speaking at church this summer and am excited about those. I get a Wednesday night with the youth, 2 Sunday nights, and a Sunday morning. I think I'll re-work an old message for the youth. The pastor is going through 1 Samuel Sunday nights so I'm thinking of continuing that during the times I speak. For Sunday morning I haven't decided if I'm going to prepare a sermon from my study on Hebrews 6 and the subject of false conversion or my jury sermon from Jeremiah. The message of trusting God and putting Him first above circumstances is one that's been on my mind for some time now. As I look back on last semester I think at least 3 of my sermons (including both classes and internship) dealt with trusting God in some fashion. Knowing these dates has allowed me to schedule the weeks I'll be staying with my mom at her house. It comes out to one week per month until I return to school.
We still don't know exactly what's wrong with her health. before school let out she'd been having seizures more often, but she hasn't had one since I've been home and doesn't seem to have grown any better or worse. She doesn't eat much partly due to depression. She doesn't look healthy (skinny limbs and a somewhat bloated stomach and torso. She doesn't have much energy and gets irritable and annoyed at the smallest things. My grandparents came into town for my sister's graduation and we all went out to dinner. They bought her a new lawnmower and washer. I found out they're sending her $1000 a month. My dad's child support payments to her have stopped with my sister's 18th birthday. My mom still talks often about wanting a job, but doesn't show the motivation to actually pursue them. I'm convinced she doesn't want to work and would rather on some level continue sit home watching TV and drinking. It's been hard to understand how to best show love to my mother and support the gospel I've already shared with her in the past. I've been able to spend a little more time with my sister through all this too. I still want to sit down with her soon and talk.
For the past year or so I've realized I treat my sister differently than other women in my life. She's always been... my sister. The sister I tease, harass, and rough up from time to time. More seriously though I've found that I don't listen to her as much as I would other ladies I know, regardless of the subject. I find my mind wandering when she's telling me about school or her anime. This has bothered me greatly. She's no longer a little girl to pick on... she's growing into a woman and I'm beginning to develop a more adult relationship with her whether I'm ready for it or not. I want to treat her with the same respect I do other women. I want to listen to her and show her the same gentleness and sensitivity as anyone else. Please pray for me as I flesh out what this looks like and try to break away from her being my little sister to the fact that she is growing up. She's realizing how fast she needs to grow up too because in many ways she feels like the parent with my mom. She's doing the housework. She's trying to motivate my mom to get a job. She's cooking food. She's taking care of the animals. She deserves my respect. Please pray with me as I prepare to have this conversation with her.
I've also been meeting with my friend whose marriage has suffered difficulties. It's been a blessing to be there for him during this time because I know he'd be there for me too. AS I've been there for him I've been hearing of so many marriages and relationships ending in divorce, separation, or breakup. Before coming home I get a message on facebook asking for prayer from a Christian man whose wife is bent on divorce on an upcoming deadline due to her unhappiness. I come home to find the pastor I work with in my secular job is going through a separation after 19 years of marriage. I go to starbucks for some reading time and overhear one of the employees say she's getting a divorce. Each time I hear the word it stings. I begin to ask myself why this word even appears in our minds as an option. The Bible gives us 2 reasons for doing something we're forced to call a biblical divorce, yet I think we can look at those reasons and try to explain our circumstances to fit them into those reasons so we have a biblical out or loophole to justify our own pride and satisfy our fickle unhappiness. God Himself says He hates divorce and Moses only came up with the idea because the people's hearts were stubborn.
Not pointing to any one of the above situations in particular, I scream inside and still ask... what happened to "till death do us part?" The character in the movie Fireproof was right when he said when people during their vows say "for better or worse" they really only mean for the better. So many people jump into marriage without being ready. They aren't spending enough time on their knees and faces before God asking Him to reveal the depths of their motives and desires. They are loving their own selfish interests or their fiancee more than the God who gave such a gift. They are entering into a covenant somehow thinking in the back of their minds that it isn't much different than secular dating. There's always a way out. They're considering pre-nuptual agreements and in doing so they're planning to fail. I've found myself re-reading a book this summer I haven't read in some time. I don't often re-read books, but with all the trouble couples are having with conflict lately... something told me I needed to read this one again. It's called Boundaries: Face to Face By Dr. Cloud and Townsend.
As I was reading one line in particular caught my attention. He gave a real example of a guy who broke up with a girl and got with a different one who seemed to excel the area the first one lacked, but she had problems somewhere else so he dropped her too. Then the author made this statement on pg. 79. He said this man could have worked it out with either woman. "Committed married couples do this all the time." I read that and my heart sank. Not only are married couples not committed, but unmarried couples don't think much about commitment either. Married couples who fix problems probably on some level realize they have to. They've entered a covenant and refused to break it. I just wonder... if we can't resolve to work through difficulties before marriage, how do we expect to be able to do so when we are married? Through all this though I've found the Lord working in my heart to prepare me for the woman He has for my future. While I'm ultimately not sure, I get the impression that it's coming soon. All these struggling failed relationships and marriages aren't coming my way without a purpose. By God's grace I can still say through the uncertainties and challenges I will face, that I still want someone whom I can love as Christ loved the Church. The Bible says a wife is a good thing and from the Lord. It says she is a man's reward for all his labor under the sun. So I patiently keep my eyes open for where the Lord may be working yet with contented prayer.
There's so much more to say, but bedtime is approaching. I worked an overnight shift last night and go in at 5am tomorrow morning. Gotta preserve the energy. This summer I can say I feel more like a pastor than I've ever felt before. God is preparing me and through all the challenges, this is an exciting time. Lord, what do you have for me in the days ahead? Grant me the grace, strength, and humility to receive it and use it to give You more glory.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Green Leaves of Stability: Homiletical Jury FINAL
Imagine you're writing a letter... to the one you love. You've made sure it has all the necessary elements; sincerity, compassion, inside jokes relating only to experiences between the two of you, some mushy embarrassing language that you wouldn't say in public... and you're wondering how to end this... epistle of love. A poem! Yes, a poem! Perfect!
We love poems, don't we? They make us laugh, make us cry, help us push ahead through trying times. They put into words the feelings we never can. When we use poems though they're usually designed to inspire or romanticize. Today God has written a poem to us found in one of the most unlikely of places... amidst the words of a prophet. Prophets aren't known for saying things designed to make us feel warm and fuzzy inside. They are heralds of truth. Truth reaches into the backyard of our minds and begins pulling weeds that we hoped would take care of themselves. It rises above the wasteland of opinions, feelings, and hearsay to command our attention saying, "whether you accept me or reject me... I won't go away."
*Has there ever been a time where you find yourself in a desert... praying for rain? (PAUSE) You wonder why you're not as close to the Lord as you've been before. You say things like, "I'm spiritually dry, stagnant, distant from God, I'm not growing in my walk." Loneliness becomes your only friend. "Where's God?" "What happened?" you ask. You begin looking at your Bible reading. You look at your prayer life. You talk with your pastors and mentors. But you've heard it all before. You take a hopeful pilgrimage through the Lifeway Christian Life section... searching for the answer to perhaps THE nagging dilemma of your walk with God.
Our poem brings us 2 portraits. Through those portraits we have a dichotomy between two realities and an implied question is asked of us, "Who am I trusting?" (REPEAT) As I say that you are arguing with me. You're saying, "No, that's too simple." You're right. It is. This is so simple it can be offensive to us because we want answers that are complicated. We believe we are complicated people. I submit to you today that the root of this problem and most everything else we struggle with begins with this question, "Who am I trusting?"
Turn with me if you would to Jeremiah 17:5-8.
V. 5 begins with a cursed man. He's cursed because he's a man who trusts in fallible human beings. When bad things happen to us where do we usually turn first? We look to our own ingenuity. We turn to ourselves. We analyze all the possible scenarios until we can confidently take a course of action... if that time ever comes. We pool all our life experiences, all we've heard, and all we've read yet it avails nothing. We are cursed. If that doesn't work we go to other fallible human beings. At some point we believe their set of life experiences (being different than ours) will have the answer to our dilemma. Augustine said, "trusting in others is the wrong humility. Trusting in yourself is dangerous pride."
Am I saying it's impossible for God to use the counsel of others? Am I saying we should never consult the wiser among us? No. We certainly shouldn't walk in the counsel of the wicked. The world begins and end with a frame of reference that always trusts in self and God is not considered. But Scripture also says, "for lack of counsel many plans fail." We are to go to others, but the question is who are you trusting? Who is your strength? Here in v.5 this word strength in Hebrew is literally "ARM" Who is your strong arm? Who do you rely upon? Seek counsel. But do so knowing that this book (Bible) is wiser than any man. Know that God is bigger than your human counsel and bigger than you.
Cursed is the man who...
-trusts in mankind
-makes flesh his strength
-and... whose heart turns away from the Lord
These 3 lines are a package deal. To trust in mankind is the same thing as turning away from God. God is saying we can't have it both ways. We can't put confidence in men and Him at the same time. It's one or the other. To trust in mankind at all is to turn away from the Lord. He knows every corner of our heart. If there is even the smallest seed of false trust in our motives and our decisions... we are cursed.
What does it mean to be cursed? In v.6 we're given an image, a portrait of the curse. Look at v.6...
Jews debate about what kind of shrub this is, but the point is it's a plant that has the mere appearance of life. Is a desert shrub a beautiful creature? Does it give the aroma of fresh roses? Not at all. The NASB translates "bush." This isn't a fluffy bush, it's a shriveled shrub. When we're trusting in anyone but God we can hold an exterior that seems alive to others. We can take a deep breath and hold up our little branches, hoping the wind will carry them to an appealing height and keep them there until the day is over, but God knows we are dying inside.
This is also a shrub that doesn't see any good come. We assume that once either we or our someone else gives us the answer that we'll then see good results. This is so indicative of how we often approach situations too... at least at first. But you won't get a flower garden by planting in a sewer of man's invention. We operate on the horizontal level of what we perceive to be reality (what our senses fool us into thinking is the extent of our reality). Because we live in this world we often forget that we are not of this world. It's not our home. We are children of the King! He's not called Father for nothing! When children have a problem do they go to other children to fix it? No, they go to their parents. They recognize on some level that their parents have a wisdom they don't. I think we often get old enough that we grow out of our childlike dependence only to place it in ourselves. The truth is (after salvation) we merely shift that dependence to a Father that is wiser than the one we had before.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness. These are driest spots in the desert. We have deserts today with patches of land that haven't seen rain in over 400 years. These places are where the cursed man lives. He's also... in an uninhabited salt land. He's all alone. How many times do we pray and pray and pray and wonder if our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling. We wonder if God has abandoned us to this harsh climate of our experience to be stuck in a state of stammering confusion. We've all been there.
But, what does it mean to be cursed?
Notice with me, he is like a shrub that lives...
-in parched places
-in the desert
-in a land of salt
-in a land that is uninhabited
This is his condition, his location, his state... his curse.
(1st Main Point) When we trust in mankind a desert is our curse. We cry out to God wondering what this desert is and why the rain has yet to fall and the answer is it is our curse for trusting in mankind.
TRANSITION: Yet our poem doesn't merely point to our condition, leaving us drowning in the quicksand of our making. We have a choice. We have an antonym. Look at v.7...
The Blessed Man is blessed because his heart is turned toward the Lord and not toward mankind. This isn't easy. This takes a concerted effort by the power of the Spirit. We usually have to learn the hard way too don't we? We trust in ourselves, then in others, and then we fall on our face to finally be in a position to learn the lesson of trusting God. If we don't learn that lesson we'll see the same set of tests over and over again. They may be packaged differently but they're all designed to bring us to place God wants us to be.
-How many times does He have to show Himself sovereign in our circumstances before we believe that He's worthy of our faith?
-How many times does He have to part the Red Sea?
-How many times does God have to bring us manna in wilderness?
-How many times do we have to see the water come from the rock?
If He has done those things and we really believe them, why don't we think He can do miracles in the lives of us who only feel like we have the Egyptian army chasing us? Did God get smaller between the events of our Bible and now? We can trust Him and if we do we will be blessed.
What does it mean to be blessed? V.8 shows us with another image...
Trees are some of the world's longest living organisms and the blessed man is like a tree. He is like a tree planted by water. Do you know how shrubs are born? The wind blows their seeds along the desert and eventually they take root, but their roots are shallow. They struggle to stay alive in dry earth. They try to reach for something of nourishment just as we reach for help in mankind. We are often like one who dives into a pit of endless sand in search for a swimming pool. But a tree! A tree is born with purpose. A tree is planted... planted by water. It extends its roots by a stream.
v.8 continues...
This is a tree that stands in season and out of season. When the heat of circumstance bears upon us, when we grow thirsty in our relationship with the Lord... we sweat, we lose control, and we're terrified because we begin to wonder if we can handle it. But that's where the problem starts! The issue is not if we can handle our problems, but if God can handle them. We need to let our fear work for us to help us go ahead and decide that we can't solve the problem. We should be worried because our strength is futile. Instead of wondering IF we can and trying to figure out HOW we can, we need to admit up front that we are desperately inadequate and need the help of God! We need to acknowledge Him first! Those moments should drive us to talk to God first, not to ourselves or our friends.
We also read its leaves remain green. This is the outward verifiable perseverance of the blessed man. His joy remains. He rejoices at trials of many kinds. When other plants are dying with the changing seasons, their leaves falling off and crumbling beneath the feet of passers by, the one who trusts in the Lord will have leaves that remain green. Today's culture is so concerned with "going green" but green only comes from chlorophyll that God made! And He says He... is... our... trust! He also is not anxious in the year of drought and will not cease to bear fruit. You don't find two kinds of fruit on one tree and fruit is seasonal. You won't see peaches growing in the winter. They are a summer fruit. The blessed man here however has fruit that always grows. There's a difference between simply persevering through hard times and growing while you persevere. The blessed man trusts in God and His trust endures and brings growth.
So what does it mean to be blessed?
He is like a tree that...
-does not fear when heat comes
-its' leaves remain green
-not anxious in drought
-continues bearing fruit
This is stability, a firm foundation, steadfast and immovable... blessed.
(2nd Main Point: When we trust in God, stability is our blessing.)
So I ask you once again... who are you trusting? Who will you trust?
Big Idea: God gives us this poem to teach us the simple truth that human trust leaves us alone in the desert, but divine trust brings us leaves of Green.
We've all seen the dry times in our walk with God. We say we need to try to "work on" our prayer life and "work on" our Bible reading and our devotional life. Very often we have motivation to start but it doesn't last. It's like buying a treadmill only to eventually begin hanging your clothes on it. Who are we trusting? You see if we see no results and blame our diligence thinking about what we can or can't do. We are trusting in our flesh. How can we trust in Christ for salvation and then trust in ourselves for sanctification? A pastor or someone you respect stands up to say how this Bible reading program or some other thing that promised to be the next best thing your Christian life.
If those things ever work for anyone else it's because they were trusting in God. If we ever want them to work in our lives we also need to trust the God in whom they trusted. We can't expect to rely on God any less in our walk as we do to get to heaven. If this is you today... you are like a shrub. ***God is saying to you today, "Look at where you are. Look where your false trust has brought you. You're in a desert because you're ignoring the water only I can provide! You're stagnant because you're forgetting Who alone brings progress!"
BUT you can be like a tree. If you're like the rest of us there are times when you're a shrub and times when you're a tree. ***But as you trust the Lord, God says to you, "Look where your trust will bring you! Keep trusting in in Me! Look at the things you can accomplish when I am supreme in your efforts! Look at the growth that will come when I am your trust!"
Some of you only think you're a tree. Be careful. You may be a King Nebuchadnezzar, who in Daniel 4:30 said, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?" He made his own flesh his strength. Worse than that he said this after Daniel interpreted his second dream. His dream described the King as a strong tree that reached up to the heavens and "whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant" but because of his false trust he was to be chopped down and destroyed. If need be, God will chop us down and humble us. Jesus said, "every plant, which my heavenly Father has not planted, shall be rooted up."
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord because when all those around him have leaves that are dying and scattering in the wind, his leaves will be green!
We love poems, don't we? They make us laugh, make us cry, help us push ahead through trying times. They put into words the feelings we never can. When we use poems though they're usually designed to inspire or romanticize. Today God has written a poem to us found in one of the most unlikely of places... amidst the words of a prophet. Prophets aren't known for saying things designed to make us feel warm and fuzzy inside. They are heralds of truth. Truth reaches into the backyard of our minds and begins pulling weeds that we hoped would take care of themselves. It rises above the wasteland of opinions, feelings, and hearsay to command our attention saying, "whether you accept me or reject me... I won't go away."
*Has there ever been a time where you find yourself in a desert... praying for rain? (PAUSE) You wonder why you're not as close to the Lord as you've been before. You say things like, "I'm spiritually dry, stagnant, distant from God, I'm not growing in my walk." Loneliness becomes your only friend. "Where's God?" "What happened?" you ask. You begin looking at your Bible reading. You look at your prayer life. You talk with your pastors and mentors. But you've heard it all before. You take a hopeful pilgrimage through the Lifeway Christian Life section... searching for the answer to perhaps THE nagging dilemma of your walk with God.
Our poem brings us 2 portraits. Through those portraits we have a dichotomy between two realities and an implied question is asked of us, "Who am I trusting?" (REPEAT) As I say that you are arguing with me. You're saying, "No, that's too simple." You're right. It is. This is so simple it can be offensive to us because we want answers that are complicated. We believe we are complicated people. I submit to you today that the root of this problem and most everything else we struggle with begins with this question, "Who am I trusting?"
Turn with me if you would to Jeremiah 17:5-8.
V. 5 begins with a cursed man. He's cursed because he's a man who trusts in fallible human beings. When bad things happen to us where do we usually turn first? We look to our own ingenuity. We turn to ourselves. We analyze all the possible scenarios until we can confidently take a course of action... if that time ever comes. We pool all our life experiences, all we've heard, and all we've read yet it avails nothing. We are cursed. If that doesn't work we go to other fallible human beings. At some point we believe their set of life experiences (being different than ours) will have the answer to our dilemma. Augustine said, "trusting in others is the wrong humility. Trusting in yourself is dangerous pride."
Am I saying it's impossible for God to use the counsel of others? Am I saying we should never consult the wiser among us? No. We certainly shouldn't walk in the counsel of the wicked. The world begins and end with a frame of reference that always trusts in self and God is not considered. But Scripture also says, "for lack of counsel many plans fail." We are to go to others, but the question is who are you trusting? Who is your strength? Here in v.5 this word strength in Hebrew is literally "ARM" Who is your strong arm? Who do you rely upon? Seek counsel. But do so knowing that this book (Bible) is wiser than any man. Know that God is bigger than your human counsel and bigger than you.
Cursed is the man who...
-trusts in mankind
-makes flesh his strength
-and... whose heart turns away from the Lord
These 3 lines are a package deal. To trust in mankind is the same thing as turning away from God. God is saying we can't have it both ways. We can't put confidence in men and Him at the same time. It's one or the other. To trust in mankind at all is to turn away from the Lord. He knows every corner of our heart. If there is even the smallest seed of false trust in our motives and our decisions... we are cursed.
What does it mean to be cursed? In v.6 we're given an image, a portrait of the curse. Look at v.6...
Jews debate about what kind of shrub this is, but the point is it's a plant that has the mere appearance of life. Is a desert shrub a beautiful creature? Does it give the aroma of fresh roses? Not at all. The NASB translates "bush." This isn't a fluffy bush, it's a shriveled shrub. When we're trusting in anyone but God we can hold an exterior that seems alive to others. We can take a deep breath and hold up our little branches, hoping the wind will carry them to an appealing height and keep them there until the day is over, but God knows we are dying inside.
This is also a shrub that doesn't see any good come. We assume that once either we or our someone else gives us the answer that we'll then see good results. This is so indicative of how we often approach situations too... at least at first. But you won't get a flower garden by planting in a sewer of man's invention. We operate on the horizontal level of what we perceive to be reality (what our senses fool us into thinking is the extent of our reality). Because we live in this world we often forget that we are not of this world. It's not our home. We are children of the King! He's not called Father for nothing! When children have a problem do they go to other children to fix it? No, they go to their parents. They recognize on some level that their parents have a wisdom they don't. I think we often get old enough that we grow out of our childlike dependence only to place it in ourselves. The truth is (after salvation) we merely shift that dependence to a Father that is wiser than the one we had before.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness. These are driest spots in the desert. We have deserts today with patches of land that haven't seen rain in over 400 years. These places are where the cursed man lives. He's also... in an uninhabited salt land. He's all alone. How many times do we pray and pray and pray and wonder if our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling. We wonder if God has abandoned us to this harsh climate of our experience to be stuck in a state of stammering confusion. We've all been there.
But, what does it mean to be cursed?
Notice with me, he is like a shrub that lives...
-in parched places
-in the desert
-in a land of salt
-in a land that is uninhabited
This is his condition, his location, his state... his curse.
(1st Main Point) When we trust in mankind a desert is our curse. We cry out to God wondering what this desert is and why the rain has yet to fall and the answer is it is our curse for trusting in mankind.
TRANSITION: Yet our poem doesn't merely point to our condition, leaving us drowning in the quicksand of our making. We have a choice. We have an antonym. Look at v.7...
The Blessed Man is blessed because his heart is turned toward the Lord and not toward mankind. This isn't easy. This takes a concerted effort by the power of the Spirit. We usually have to learn the hard way too don't we? We trust in ourselves, then in others, and then we fall on our face to finally be in a position to learn the lesson of trusting God. If we don't learn that lesson we'll see the same set of tests over and over again. They may be packaged differently but they're all designed to bring us to place God wants us to be.
-How many times does He have to show Himself sovereign in our circumstances before we believe that He's worthy of our faith?
-How many times does He have to part the Red Sea?
-How many times does God have to bring us manna in wilderness?
-How many times do we have to see the water come from the rock?
If He has done those things and we really believe them, why don't we think He can do miracles in the lives of us who only feel like we have the Egyptian army chasing us? Did God get smaller between the events of our Bible and now? We can trust Him and if we do we will be blessed.
What does it mean to be blessed? V.8 shows us with another image...
Trees are some of the world's longest living organisms and the blessed man is like a tree. He is like a tree planted by water. Do you know how shrubs are born? The wind blows their seeds along the desert and eventually they take root, but their roots are shallow. They struggle to stay alive in dry earth. They try to reach for something of nourishment just as we reach for help in mankind. We are often like one who dives into a pit of endless sand in search for a swimming pool. But a tree! A tree is born with purpose. A tree is planted... planted by water. It extends its roots by a stream.
v.8 continues...
This is a tree that stands in season and out of season. When the heat of circumstance bears upon us, when we grow thirsty in our relationship with the Lord... we sweat, we lose control, and we're terrified because we begin to wonder if we can handle it. But that's where the problem starts! The issue is not if we can handle our problems, but if God can handle them. We need to let our fear work for us to help us go ahead and decide that we can't solve the problem. We should be worried because our strength is futile. Instead of wondering IF we can and trying to figure out HOW we can, we need to admit up front that we are desperately inadequate and need the help of God! We need to acknowledge Him first! Those moments should drive us to talk to God first, not to ourselves or our friends.
We also read its leaves remain green. This is the outward verifiable perseverance of the blessed man. His joy remains. He rejoices at trials of many kinds. When other plants are dying with the changing seasons, their leaves falling off and crumbling beneath the feet of passers by, the one who trusts in the Lord will have leaves that remain green. Today's culture is so concerned with "going green" but green only comes from chlorophyll that God made! And He says He... is... our... trust! He also is not anxious in the year of drought and will not cease to bear fruit. You don't find two kinds of fruit on one tree and fruit is seasonal. You won't see peaches growing in the winter. They are a summer fruit. The blessed man here however has fruit that always grows. There's a difference between simply persevering through hard times and growing while you persevere. The blessed man trusts in God and His trust endures and brings growth.
So what does it mean to be blessed?
He is like a tree that...
-does not fear when heat comes
-its' leaves remain green
-not anxious in drought
-continues bearing fruit
This is stability, a firm foundation, steadfast and immovable... blessed.
(2nd Main Point: When we trust in God, stability is our blessing.)
So I ask you once again... who are you trusting? Who will you trust?
Big Idea: God gives us this poem to teach us the simple truth that human trust leaves us alone in the desert, but divine trust brings us leaves of Green.
We've all seen the dry times in our walk with God. We say we need to try to "work on" our prayer life and "work on" our Bible reading and our devotional life. Very often we have motivation to start but it doesn't last. It's like buying a treadmill only to eventually begin hanging your clothes on it. Who are we trusting? You see if we see no results and blame our diligence thinking about what we can or can't do. We are trusting in our flesh. How can we trust in Christ for salvation and then trust in ourselves for sanctification? A pastor or someone you respect stands up to say how this Bible reading program or some other thing that promised to be the next best thing your Christian life.
If those things ever work for anyone else it's because they were trusting in God. If we ever want them to work in our lives we also need to trust the God in whom they trusted. We can't expect to rely on God any less in our walk as we do to get to heaven. If this is you today... you are like a shrub. ***God is saying to you today, "Look at where you are. Look where your false trust has brought you. You're in a desert because you're ignoring the water only I can provide! You're stagnant because you're forgetting Who alone brings progress!"
BUT you can be like a tree. If you're like the rest of us there are times when you're a shrub and times when you're a tree. ***But as you trust the Lord, God says to you, "Look where your trust will bring you! Keep trusting in in Me! Look at the things you can accomplish when I am supreme in your efforts! Look at the growth that will come when I am your trust!"
Some of you only think you're a tree. Be careful. You may be a King Nebuchadnezzar, who in Daniel 4:30 said, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?" He made his own flesh his strength. Worse than that he said this after Daniel interpreted his second dream. His dream described the King as a strong tree that reached up to the heavens and "whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant" but because of his false trust he was to be chopped down and destroyed. If need be, God will chop us down and humble us. Jesus said, "every plant, which my heavenly Father has not planted, shall be rooted up."
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord because when all those around him have leaves that are dying and scattering in the wind, his leaves will be green!
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