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Greetings! Welcome to the show! It’s good to have you with us. Our passage today comes from the book of John; chapter 1, verses 35-42. It reads…
John 1:35-42 (ESV)— 35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.[b] 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus[c] was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). “We have found the Messiah”— You know, the single most important characteristic of any person who has truly encountered Jesus is they have to go and tell somebody. There is a reason we use the word Gospel (which means Good News). Because (like all good news) there is a desire to proclaim it, which is exactly what we see Andrew do in our passage today. He runs and finds his brother Simon and tells him: “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). (v.41) And he brings his brother Simon to Jesus. Who’s Evaluating Who?— Now you expect at this point for Peter to evaluate Jesus to see if indeed He is the Messiah. But instead Jesus begins to evaluate Peter. It says in verse 42: Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). A Rock-- Now Cephas is the Aramaic word for rock and Peter is the Greek word for rock. So his name became (literally) “rock.” Now everybody who heard this who knew Simon probably laughed that day because up until that point and even [In the Gospels, Peter was anything but a rock; he was impulsive and unstable.”] And yet Jesus calls him a rock. And later in Jesus’ ministry after Peter’s confession of Christ, Jesus affirms this name once again. Hebrew Names— Now in Jewish and much of ancient culture names were very significant. Names were not only a way of identifying you, but also a way of defining you; and I would even go so far as to say (at times) to even reveal ahead of time who you were going to be. Just think of some of the big names found in the Old Testament: Adam-- Adam is not just a name; it is the Hebrew name for “man” or “mankind”— Adam was the first Adam (the first man). His name [could be ultimately derived from {the} Hebrew אדם ('adam) meaning "to be red", referring to the ruddy colour of human skin], which is reflective of the color of the earthy ground He was created from. Abram-- Think of Abram. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “father of a great multitude”. So in naming Abraham, God was determining to bring about His promise. Jacob-- Jacob, whose name means “supplanter” or literally (“heel-grabber”) supplanted his brother Esau. But God changed His name to “Israel”, which is a name that is a combination of the Hebrew words for "wrestle" and “God”. And so that wrestling with God became the definition of who he was; or you might say that that event became the defining moment of his life (LITERALLY!!!!) Micah-- The prophet Micah (whose name means “messenger”) was sent as a messenger to God’s people, actually foreshadowing (some think) John the Baptist’s ministry. Immanuel-- Even the name given to us in Isaiah in prophecy of Jesus (Immanuel) means “God with us”; not just a name for Jesus, but an actual definition of who He is. Jesus/Yeshua-- The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua (meaning “a savior; a deliverer”) (Joshua and Jesus are the same name). Just think of the significance of that. Jesus is the second Joshua. As Joshua led the people to the promised land, so also Jesus leads God’s people to the Kingdom of Heaven. He (Jesus) is the ultimate Savior and Deliverer; the second, greater Joshua. Changing the Course of Peter’s life-- Now we have to understand this unique way names are used because this is more than just some nice passage where Jesus is giving Simon a new name that reflects who He wants Simon to be. No, Jesus is (at this moment) changing the course of Simon’s life. Jesus was saying to Simon that because of their new relationship, Simon (now Peter) was going to be be someone altogether new. He says “you shall be Cephas; a rock.” Right from the get go Jesus has determined Peter to be that rock who would help Him build His Church. And Peter soon accepts that call. He has to. His name had been Simon (which means “that hears; that obeys”). But notice also that in the Old Testament, most often when someone is given a new name, the one giving that name is almost always God. It is God who changes the person’s name; their identity; who they are destined to be. And so Jesus is very powerfully (and shockingly) carrying on that divine role. He (God in the Flesh) gives Simon a new name; a new name for a new identity; a new future; a new mission. Can you imagine what this must have meant to Peter, an impulsive, immature person to hear Jesus (a Rabbi) say that he would be a rock? And we know that Peter did indeed live up to that expectation. His name; his identity became altogether changed. He would go from being an unstable, fearful person to being a bold, fearless rock for the Church and the cause of Christ; an unbelievable transformation. The Full Gospel-- Some time ago I remember I was listening to a speaker talk about the cross of Christ. And though many of his points were good, he said that it doesn’t matter if there is sin in your life, God still accepts you. Now while He does accept us as we are, He never allows us to remain as we are. And what we cannot miss in the Gospels is that Christ’s call to follow Him is a call to be like Him in His nature and character. Forgiveness The 1st Step To Becoming New Creatures-- Dr. Dennis Kinlaw put it so succinctly when he said: [God not only wants to forgive us; he also wants to regenerate us, make us new creatures. Forgiveness is the first step. It removes the things that alienate us from each other. God forgives our offenses against him and forgets them. Therefore, when he sees us he is not offended. We accept that forgiveness. Then when we turn to God, we are not afraid or loaded with guilt. The personal relationship between us and God is wholesome, good, and free. But he wants to do more. He wants to transform us to fit us for a future very different from our past. Forgiveness and regeneration are like two sides of the same coin. They cannot be separated. Salvation is more than a change of record. It is a change of us. It deals with our sin, the bent within our nature that causes us to commit our sins. It affects who we are as well as what we do.] Our Transformation-- That is the kind of transformation Peter experienced; and he experienced it at Pentecost, when God poured out His Holy Spirit during that festival and birthed the Christian Church; and those upon whom the Holy Spirit came were completely and utterly transformed. This was the moment Peter (the unstable person who had denied and abandoned Jesus) became SO transformed that the very first time he preached with that anointing of the fire of the Holy Spirit of God upon his life, it says three thousand were added to their number that day. You see, Jesus’ name for Simon (Peter) was a promise; a promise that Jesus was faithful to keep. And what this means for us is that when WE meet Jesus and enter into an abiding relationship with Him, that same promise of transformation extends to us as well. Can He REALLY change us? Apparently you can’t get past the very first words of Jesus without being confronted with the reality that not only can He, but He has determined to change us; He expects it; not just in heaven, but now. Jesus has a new identity for us NOW! That is why so many Christians throughout history, when they became Christians, they took new “Christian” names; because they were embracing a new identity in Jesus and were trusting in Him for His promise of working in them a mighty transformation work. And the message of the Gospel is that any one of us can experience that transformation. God wants permission not only to save you, but to give you a new name; a new identity. The question is, how are we going to respond to Christ’s question to us, “What are you seeking?” What do we truly want Jesus to do for and in us? John reveals an amazing promise from God to each and every one of us in… Revelation 2:17 (ESV)-- 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’ Are We Willing?-- God has a new name; a new identity for you and for me. But we have to choose how we are going to respond. Are we willing to let Jesus change who we really are?…..Jesus has big expectations for every man, woman, boy, and girl listening today; expectations that we ourselves might be rocks He can use to build His kingdom. But we have to let Him give us a new life and purpose and be willing to leave the former identity behind. And God is calling to every single one of us to do that today. Whether you are 5 years old or 95 years old, Jesus wants you to allow Him to remake you. He can do it, if we but let Him. And so today, I want to invite you to do that; to allow Him to become your starting point for a complete change in identity and purpose. Give your old self to Him and allow Him to transform you and make you altogether new. Follow His leading this morning in embracing His name; His calling upon your life. Do this today. Amen.
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Greetings! Welcome to the show! It’s good to have you with us. Our passage today comes from the book of Mark; chapter 1, verse 16. It reads…
Mark 1:16 (ESV)-- 16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. A Key Location-- You know, in talking about the calling of Jesus’ first disciples, we often times focus on their occupation (fishermen) but overlook the location. And yet this location (the Sea of Galilee) had huge significance for Jesus and His ministry, as we find it the common backdrop for much of His preaching and teaching. As I was going through the opening chapters of the gospel of Mark this week, I kept seeing how often Mark highlights the Sea of Galilee as the place Jesus taught by and often even on (as the crowds were often so large he had to get in a boat and stand in the water just to avoid being crushed by the crowds. But what made the Sea of Galilee so important? And why is it important to us? Seeing The Sea of Galilee-- Several years ago I got to go on a pilgrimage to Israel. And it was unlike anything I had ever experienced before in my life. For 10 intense days we traversed the land of Israel from early morning until night. And though we traversed many many places and got to see many incredible things (even the temple mount in Jerusalem), my favorite place that we visited (and we spent several days there) was Galilee. Seeing where Jesus taught along those peaceful shores amidst those quiet fishing villages was one of the most exciting and moving moments of my life. And I remember that The Sea of Galilee was full of life. You could see fisherman still (over 2,000 years later) still netting and pulling in multitudes of fish. There were many beautiful trees and luscious green plant life growing around that beautiful sea. But moving on from there, we went to another body of water to the south, at the other end of the Jordan River. And that body of water was of course the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea— Now the Dead Sea, though connected to the Sea of Galilee by the same river, was anything but like The Sea of Galilee. While the Sea of Galilee was full of life, the Dead Sea was not. As its name implies, it is dead. Why? Because it is filled with salt. In fact, it is one of the saltiest bodies of water on this planet, being about ten times saltier than the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In fact, it is so salty that the water gives you buoyancy, meaning you can't sink in it. We laid down in the water and the sensation was that of something lifting you up as you try to push down. It felt kind of like laying down on a liquid couch. But the salt content is so high that no life can exist either in or around it. No trees are around the Sea. No plant life whatsoever. Though it is much much larger than the Sea of Galilee, not a single fish lives inside it's waters. It is so salty, only minuscule amounts of bacteria can even survive in the water. And though it is known by different names, The Dead Sea is no doubt the best title for it because there is no life whatsoever in or around it. It is a place void of life. It is a truly dead, lifeless, fruitless place. Which Sea Are You?-- Now if you wanted your life to be like one of these places, you would no doubt say, "I want my life to be like the Sea of Galilee!" I want to be filled with life and want to be a source of life to others. But if you were to be honest in giving an evaluation of your life, which Sea would you say you are most like right now? Do you have true life inside of you or do you feel Dead inside? Do others walk away from interactions with you more dead or alive? That's a tough evaluation to make. And that may be something you want to ask those around you this week. And most of all maybe we need to ask Christ Jesus Himself to give us His evaluation of our lives. If He describes Himself as being "Living Water" (water that brings life; and our lives are to model His), how much do we really reflect Him by bringing life to those around us? The Difference-- There is something you should know about the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, and that is what makes one of them alive and the other one Dead. While both seas have fresh water pouring into them, the Sea of Galilee has an outlet but the Dead Sea does not. With the Sea of Galilee, fresh water pours into it and then it pours out. But the Dead Sea only has water pouring into it. And because it has no outlet (because it is too far below sea level) you have all this water pouring into it that just sits and then evaporates, leaving behind its minerals. [It is estimated that over a million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea every day, leaving it salty, full of minerals and unfit for any … life”.] And one of the ladies on our trip really highlighted this, saying that this is what makes all the difference in the Christian life. If everything is inflow with you and you never have any outflow you will become in your heart and to those around you a place of death. But if you receive from the Lord and also invest what He has given into the lives of others, you will be a source of life for many. I have never forgotten that imagery. And that is why people flocked to Jesus; and why people eventually came to flock to the apostles; because people found them to be sources of life. It’s A Wonderful Life— Not long ago my wife and I again watched the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”. And many of you have probably seen it many times. But I think that that movie really shows just how much the few good actions of a righteous man can have on a community and the lives of others. James Stuart saves his brothers life as a young kid and, after they grow up, his brother goes to war and ends up shooting down some planes before they slam into the ship and kill many of his comrades. James Stuart also manages to keep his local family bank afloat. But, you know the story. His clerk misplaces a large sum of money and he is on the verge of being thrown into prison and he goes to the local bridge and gets ready to kill himself. But an angel appears to him and he tells the angel that it would have been better if he had never been born. And the angel (Clarence) begins to show him what the town and community would have been like if he had never been born. And the difference is tremendous. Those things that he thought were the most insignificant turned out to change the course of the whole town. Small Acts of Faithfulness— And similarly, I don’t think we will ever know the impact that our “small acts of faithfulness” might have on another persons life or even (for that matter) in our relationship with the Lord. And I think we often times get thrown off track when we think that all God wants us to be some kind of spiritual super-heroes. But that is not what God wants. Never in scripture does He call someone who is a superhero or would even think of themselves as spiritual giants. He chose men like Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Noah and what made them super was the fact that they were obedient in the small things; not just the big things. Dwight L. Moody once said: “There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things.” “Why The Halfling?”-- Not long ago I watched the movie the Hobbit. And there is this very powerful scene in which the Lady Galadriel is talking with Gandalf the Wizard and this very subject comes up when talking about Bilbo Baggins, a small (seemingly insignificant) Hobbit. Galadriel: Mithrandir... Why the halfling? Gandalf: Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? I don't know. Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage. From Trickles to Streams— Everything you and I are called to do as Christians is important. Those little investments we make in the lives of other people may seem like a trickle now, but who knows what rivers they will turn into later down the road. And I think that is important for us to remember. It’s not great deeds of powerful righteousness that God is looking for. It’s the small, everyday obedience in doing those things He has called us to do in the here and now. Abraham was a nobody. He knew the surrounding world was in a spiritual hell. He saw what separation from God had caused on the earth. God didn’t say, “Hey, go change the world.” He called him to follow Him. And from him came Isaac; from Isaac came Jacob (called Israel) and from him came the people Israel. From Israel came the Messiah; from the Messiah came the redemption of the world. That trickle of obedience shaped the course of human history and influenced the spiritual change of the entire world. Joseph was sent to Egypt. He remained faithful to God in the little things; showing integrity and responsibility in the workplace and not fooling around with another man’s wife. And it was Joseph, because of those little acts of obedience, that God chose to place over all of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. And he ended up saving not only Egypt, but many nations from starvation and hunger. Hidden Springs-- Now there is one more thing that I would like to tell you about the Sea of Galilee. If you look at a map, you will notice that all of the fishing villages during the time of Christ were located on the north-western side of the Sea of Galilee. Now the reason for this was because the Sea of Galilee is naturally saltwater; not as salty as the Dead Sea; but salty enough to make it hard for tilapia and sardines (the fish living in the Sea of Galilee during that time) difficult to live in. But interestingly, the northwestern side of the Sea of Galilee was fed fresh water by hidden underground springs. Now what this says to us is that if we want to be life-giving people, we in a similar way need to have a life-giving stream flowing into us. And that stream is nothing less than He who called Himself the Living water. You have to maintain fellowship with Him. You have to abide with Him. Because it’s not your spirituality that changes people; it is Christ changing people through you because you have allowed yourself to become a channel of grace rather than a Dead Sea of grace. And that is my challenge to you today. Draw near to Him and (in Him) be a Channel of Grace in somebody else’s life this week. Bring the life-giving water of Jesus to somebody who needs to hear about Jesus Christ. Amen. Greetings! Welcome to the show today! It’s good to have you with us on this Father’s Day as we talk (at least a little) about this thing we call Fatherhood!
Picture of God— And I’d like to open up out time together with a story. [An elementary school teacher was giving a drawing class to a group of six-year-old children. At the back of the classroom sat a little girl who normally didn't pay much attention in school. In the drawing class she did. For more than twenty minutes, the girl sat with her arms curled around her paper, totally absorbed in what she was doing. The teacher found this fascinating. Eventually, she asked the girl what she was drawing. Without looking up, the girl said, “I'm drawing a picture of God.” Surprised, the teacher said, “But nobody knows what God looks like. The girl said, “They will in a minute.”] If you were to draw a picture of God this today, what would He look like? Would He be transcendent and unreachable? Would He be close and personal. Would He be angry or patient? You know, it is interesting the different ways we view God; particularly God the Father. And how we view Him can affect how we choose to relate to Him in our day to day lives. And in our passage today (Luke 15) we find a series of parables Jesus gives in a particular social gathering (probably in a house); parables that are meant to give His listeners a picture of who the Father is and how He wants to relate to us. Luke’s Unique Section— Now in Luke chapter 15, which is part of Luke’s unique section (not found in any of the other Gospels), Jesus is hitting his Jewish audience with perhaps the most unsettling (if not outright offensive) sermon series He could have ever preached in that culture, trying to reveal to them not only what kind of relationship that they are to have with the Father, but what lengths the Father is willing to go to make that relationship possible. And the first of these is of a shepherd and a lost sheep…. A Strange Shepherd— A shepherd is tending to your sheep one day. And at the end of the day he leads his sheep back to their sheep pen. And he starts counting them. But as he does, he realizes that (out of the hundred sheep) only 99 made it in. The other one is still out there. And at this point he does something Jesus’ audience would have thought ridiculous. He leaves the 99 sheep in their pen and go and look for that lost sheep; not a pleasant experience, especially if you had to do it in the heat of summer, which was absolutely scorching in Israel. So imagine being in the middle of nowhere chasing after a stinking sheep that has run off. If you're like me you would be thinking, "Just wait until I get my hands on that sheep. I'm gonna smack that sheep silly." But what is interesting is that the shepherd in Jesus' story never has that attitude. He is eager to find the sheep; and when He does, He has a spirit of love and rejoicing. Shepherds’ Status— Now when it comes to this first parable about the lost sheep, we always look at this as being a nice, pretty, Psalm 23 kind of picture. But in ancient Middle Eastern culture, being a shepherd was not some beautiful, honorable thing. Shepherds were not only not impressive; they were not the kind of people you would ever want to associate with. In fact many of them were ex-cons. It was just about the lowest, worst job you could have in society; the most depleted life you could have was the life of a shepherd. So this comparison Jesus makes, picturing God the Father (the Creator of the universe) as a poor, dirty shepherd in the middle of nowhere that nobody cares about chasing after stinking ignorant sheep is not at all the picture Jesus' Jewish audience wanted to have of their God. Even while Jesus is sharing this parable, people in the audience are probably getting uncomfortable. That the God of the universe would be likened to an erratic, irrational, shepherd leaving his entire flock to chase after one single sheep; a sheep he could easily make up the loss for in a month or two? Jesus is giving His most important revelation to us by saying, “Your Father in heaven is so in love with you that He is willing to degrade Himself that much; to make Himself that low; to chase after you.” Woman and Coin— And the next parable steps on even more toes. He says that our Father in heaven is like a woman who, having lost a wedding coin, is searching for it. Remember that Jewish girls, when they were proposed to, they were either given a ring or a special coin. Well that is probably what this coin was. Jewish women would wear it on their head. But sometimes it would fall out. And that is exactly what happened here. Now for us, finding something on our hardwood floors is pretty easy. And you would think she would find that coin pretty easily because houses were so small in those days. But when I went to Israel I got to go into some of these houses. And the first thing you notice is all these stones within the house. And there are all kinds of nooks and crannies that a coin could fall into. And I remember looking at the floor of the kind of house she would have lived in and I thought to myself, "My goodness, you could look for hours in this place and not find that coin. And that seems to be what this woman did. And when she finds it, she (like the shepherd) celebrates. Not Equals— Now nobody in Jesus' audience would have liked this story. In our culture women are treated as equals. Now that doesn’t always happen, but that is the ideal. But in the Middle East you didn’t have that kind of philosophy at all. In fact it is appalling how most cultures in the ancient world treated women. Now God made immense provisions for women in Jewish culture that protected them, but they were never treated like equals. In fact, a woman’s testimony would not even be considered reliable (if considered at all) in court, which is is why Jesus’ choosing women to be the first witnesses to His resurrection is so powerful. But Jesus says here that Yahweh, the Lord of the heavens and the earth; the Blessed Eternal One who spoke the universe into existence; is compared to the like of a frantic woman, scurrying around a dingy house looking for a lost wedding coin? Even some of the women in Jesus’ audience are probably getting uncomfortable with Jesus’ imagery. Why are you trying to bring God down; and make Him low? And I think Jesus is saying, “If this imagery doesn’t sit well with you, then you have no idea who the Father is.” There is no depth He’s not willing to stoop to; no barrier He won’t cross’ (every pun intended) there’s no amount of dignity He’s not willing to give up if only to find you. This is how desperate the God of the Universe is to have a relationship with you and me. The Prodigal Son— And then comes perhaps Jesus’ most offensive parable yet; the parable of the Prodigal Son. Jesus begins telling the story. It says... Luke 15:11-12 (ESV)— 11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. What the boy was asking for— Now that word for property is more than just wealth or money. It is the Greek word “ousia” which means “essence” or "life". So the boy is asking for the essence (or the very life) of the Father. This boy wants his father’s life. “I’m not willing to wait for my inheritance until you die. I want it now.” And what he’s really saying to his Father is, “You’re worth more to me dead than alive.” No tolerance for this— Now just remember the context this parable was written in. If a young man were to do in that culture what this young man did, he would have literally been killed (by stoning) immediately. There was no tolerance whatsoever in Jewish culture for this kind of rebellion. And throughout Jesus’ sharing of this parable, fathers in the group would be shaking their fingers at their sons, saying, “Don’t you dare try anything like this. It will cost you your life.” What this did to the Father— And what this would do to the father was scandalous. Not only would the boy be dishonoring his father, but would also be dishonoring the town. Not only that, but the father would suffer financial loss, not only in the loss of much of his estate, but the fruit that that half of his estate would have produced over the years had he kept it. And in that time you had no life insurance policy; you had no nursing homes. Your kids were it. They were your insurance. They were the ones who would take care of you. If they leave you, then your life could be placed in jeopardy. Yet that is exactly what this son does. And what is amazing is that the father never utters one hint of argument or rebuke. He pretty much just says, “Ok. If that’s what you want, here you go.” And every person in the room listening to Jesus’ parable is growing angry. “What are you saying, Jesus? Are you saying God the Father; the Almighty Sovereign of the Universe; is like a dishonored man willing to have his child spit into His face again and again; take His life and the wealth and the richness of His blessings and still turn his heart in rebellion towards Him?” And Jesus probably said, “That’s exactly what I’m saying. The Father doesn’t give you the punishment you deserve because He craves a personal relationship with you.” And there is no other God like that in any other religion. Pakistani Woman’s Conversion— Some time ago I read about the conversion experience of a woman from the Muslim nation of Pakistan. And [For many years, her husband had been a major figure in the Pakistani government. She told about reading the New Testament and how impossible it was for her to believe that people could begin a prayer with the words “Our Father.” One thing she knew about Allah was that he was not like humans. He was greater than human beings and infinitely different; human categories could never be used to describe him, certainly not one as personal and direct as “father.” She said that when she came to faith in Jesus Christ, her first response was to lift her heart and say, “Father,” and the moment she uttered the word, she fell on the floor in absolute terror of being killed for her impertinence. But instead, the heavenly Father came to her in all his love and compassion, and she heard one word: “Daughter.” She recalled, “I wept uncontrollably at the reality that God in his sovereignty and greatness could belong to me in that kind of relationship.”] Knowing The Father— In leu of Father’s Day today, I just think it is amazing that the primary picture the first person of the Trinity wants to be addressed is “Father”; not king; not Lord; not master; but Father. A Father who loves us intimately; a Father who is willing to suffer abuse and disobedience and rebellion from us if by any means He can restore us back into His family. And Jesus came to make that restoration possible. He wants to take us home to His Father’s house so that we can be a part of the family of God. Do you know Christ today? If not, ask Him into your life today, and He will make you a part of His family. It’s as simple as saying, “Jesus, come into my life. I receive you today. Forgive my sins; I receive you as my Lord and Savior.” If you’ve never prayed that prayer, do so today. And His family will become yours. Receive Him today. Amen. We will be continuing today our study of Psalm 16. In it the Psalmist calls to the Lord…
Psalm 16 (ESV) A Miktam of David— 1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. You know, I have been to many bookstores in my lifetime. My section is usually the smallest that they have: Christianity and Theology. Those sections are often dwarfed by another section: the self-help section. And every one of the books in that section is meant to help you achieve excellence in some area of your life. Now I am sure that there are a lot of good books there; some of which are needed. But here in Psalm 16 the excellent ones are those who have done two things. First, they have dis-attached themselves from all other gods and sources of fulfillment and have attached themselves to worship of Yahweh. And that is something we are called to do as well, as we empty our hands of other things in order to embrace Jesus, Yeshua. Jesus’ name (Yeshua) literally means “Yahweh Saves”. And so Jesus is the embodiment of God’s salvation for us. And it is only when we attach ourselves to Him that we have life. But in order to do that we must forsake all other so-called gods, which can be anything that separates us from Him. Paul writes in… 1 Corinthians 10:14-16 (ESV)-- 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Those Who Handle The Sacred-- I love what Terry Laughlin says on this passage. He says that [In 1 Corinthians 10:16 the apostle Paul reminds the Corinthian believers about the truths of being under the blood of Christ. He wanted to relay an authoritative message that said if man has eaten the bread in remembrance of the Body of Christ and drunk the wine in remembrance of His Blood, he cannot then fill his heart and life of wickedness. There was a splendid statue that was done of Jesus Christ by Thorwaldsen. After he had carved it, he was offered a great deal of money to fashion a statue of Venus. His answer was this, "The hand that carved the form of Christ can never carve the form of a heathen goddess." {And Terry Laughlin points out that} What was true in Corinth at the time of the Apostle Paul's ministry is also true for today. The Christian who has handled the sacred things of Christ cannot soil his soul with things that God calls wickedness. He cannot use the talents, spiritual gifts or possessions that the Lord has given him for personal gain, nor for this world's system of operating, nor surrender them to Satan's control and expect blessings. The child of God who knows that He is in Christ walks a life exemplifying that the work of redemption in his life was for the glory of God. God's plan and the Lord's willingness to redeem fallen mankind now enables the sinner who was once bound by sin the freedom to choose a new life that is God- and Christ-centered. Christians have "Jesus Christ, who gave Himself... to redeem [them] from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:14) The King James Bible says Jesus is "purifying unto Himself a peculiar people..." of whom He has a special interest, literally "His treasured people.”] A Fading Away-- If you truly experience the Lordship of Christ in your life, there will be a fading away of the earthly pattern of doing life. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.” In your embracing Christ, have you let go of the old idols you used to place your hope in and forsook them, letting them fade away from your life? If you haven’t done that, you need to if you ever truly want to experience God’s life and His salvation. Evil: The Wrong Place or The Wrong Time-- And guess what; we are not just to let go of evil things, but even some good things. The Psalmist has just said to God, “Besides You, no good.” And in saying that, he is revealing to us that (as one scholar I read put it): [it is possible there are some good things in this world that Yahweh created that are not good. That is, they are not good for me. Why is this so? Because it is possible to use something out of God’s will. {And} What the text is implying is that evil is simply good misused. So the psalmist says, “I have come to the place where I will let You decide what is good for me.” Evil is simply good in the wrong place or at the wrong time. It is not an eternal entity independent of the good gods as it is in most of the religions of the Ancient New East. {He says} even the snake of Genesis 3, which many interpreters equate with Satan, the accuser, in Job is nothing more than a creature of God. Yahweh created everything that exists, so if you find something or someone acting contrary to God’s will, it is not because there is an independent evil force over against the creator God and in eternal conflict with Him. {Rather, he says} In the Old Testament, if something exists, no matter whether it is good or evil, God made it. But the reality is that evil is something that was originally good. {And this scholar says} You can apply this truth in many ways. It is an old adage in the study of anthropology that two people doing the same thing may not be doing the same thing. One may be carrying out the most sacred expression of love, while the other may be performing a brutal rape. So the psalmist is here saying, “I have learned that even if it is good in itself, if it is not part of Your will for me, then it isn’t good for me. It was good when it came from Your hand, but if it is not a part of Your will for me, then it is not good for me. And I will let You make a decision on that.”] Will He Decide?-- You know, ever single one of us has had to make tough decisions, sometimes choosing between two or more things that may have all been good; what career path to pursue, what job to take, which person to marry, what church to become a part of. And sometimes God allows us some leeway in those choices. But the heart of what it means to live a Christian life and to abide in this thing we call sanctification is this: Will I allow Yahweh to be Lord, and will I allow Him to decide what is good for me? Verse 3 describes the people who submit to the Lordship of Yahweh. It says… Psalm 16:3-4 (ESV)-- 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. {But then there is a second group of people. Verse 4 says…} 4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. The qedoshim-- Now here the Psalmist differentiates between two groups. And the first group is the qedoshim, the holy ones. And we will talk more about them next week. But they are the ones who are set apart to God. Now the second group are those who “hasten after another,” ’aher. Now one scholar I read pointed out something very interesting here. He said: [All of our translations say, “The sorrows will increase of those who run after other gods,” but the term “gods” is not found in the Hebrew. The Hebrew simply says, “run after another.” To be sure, the next part of the verse makes it very clear that the writer is ultimately addressing the question of idolatry. But {he says} I am grateful the text here does not specify other “gods.” Your sorrows will increase if you run after anything that is out of the will of God.…Sorrows will increase for those who run after anything other than the will of Yahweh and His sovereign purposes and His sovereign control. He {(the Psalmist)} says, “I will not be a part of those that make their sacrifices to anything other than to Yahweh, that pour out their lives [their blood] for anything other than Yahweh, or that take up their names.” {And then this scholar said something very interesting. He said:} As you know, a person’s language reveals a great deal about that person. If you let me listen to you long enough, I can tell what is in your heart. So, the psalmist says, the very nouns I use, or don’t use, will tell you what my commitments are. My language will reflect the fact that I have set Yahweh always before my face. He is the one whom I seek, and He is the one whom I want to serve.] [COMMITMENT VS. SURRENDER-- …there is an account of a conversation between the late Adrian Rogers and Rev Josef Tson, the Romanian pastor, author, and president of the Romanian Missionary Society who survived years of persecution and exile under cruel Communist rule. Rogers asked Dr Tson for his perception of American Christianity. Josef said the key word in American Christianity is commitment. This is not good. "As a matter of fact, the word commitment did not come into great usage in the English language until about the 1960s. In Romania we do not even have a word to translate the English word commitment. If you were to use commitment in your message tonight, I would not have a proper word to translate it with. When a new word comes into usage, it generally pushes an old word out. I began to study and found the old word that commitment replaced - the word surrender.” What is the difference between commitment and surrender? “When you make a commitment, you are still in control, no matter how noble the thing you commit to. One can commit to pray, to study the Bible, to give his money, or to commit to automobile payments, or to lose weight. Whatever he chooses to do, he commits to. But surrender is different. If someone holds a gun and asks you to lift your hands in the air as a token of surrender, you don’t tell that person what you are committed to. You simply surrender and do as you are told… Americans love commitment because they are still in control. But the key word is surrender. We are to be slaves to the Lord Jesus Christ.”] “To Will One Thing”-- And you know, that is often where we as Christians falls short. We want God’s will, but we also want our own. But this pattern of living is in keeping with the second group of people; [the second group of people in the world {(the Psalmist describes)} are those whose motivation is divided, whose motivation is not single. Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher-theologian, said that purity of heart is to will one thing. That describes the psalmist’s heart when he says at the opening of this psalm, “I said to the Lord [Yahweh], ‘You are my Lord.’”] Have you surrendered to Christ as your Lord and Savior; truly surrendered with ALL of your heart? Today, give Him your whole heart. Let the Lord have His way in you. And you will have life, and have it to full; and you will dwell in peace and security in He who is the source of all goodness. Give your all to Him today. Amen. Our Passage today is Psalm 16. In it the Psalmist cries out…
Psalm 16 (ESV) A Miktam of David— 1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. FFL— In our FOUNDATIONS FOR LIFE SERIES, we are have taken a look at a number of Psalms, which have revealed to us some amazing things about the nature of God. Psalm 146 revealed to us that behind all these titles that we have for God, there is a personal God who longs to be in an intimate relationship with you and with me. And when we attach ourselves to Him, our lives will be forever changed. We also looked at Psalm 121, which revealed to us the difference between the Biblical way of viewing the world as opposed to the way that Israel’s neighbors (and many throughout history; even today) saw (and see) the world. There are similarities among these religious views simply because they are religions, to be sure. But not all religions the same. One worldview will tell you to love your neighbor; another will tell you to eat your neighbor. They cannot both be equally true or equally moral. And few places can you see a stronger contrast between some of the horrors of pagan religion and the Biblical worldview than right here in the Old Testament. And the Psalms in particular give us a picture of a God who is radically different than any other deity in the ancient world. And it begins with His being the Creator and Lord of all things. He is not a created being, nor is He part of creation and therefore subject to the same things we are. He truly is Lord of all. And that gives Him a unique say over the world (an ultimate authority) and it also means that there is nothing outside His control, which is the foundation of the Christian concept of peace. Other religions may talk about the words peace and assurance, but it is the Biblical worldview alone that can provide an anchoring for that kind of peace in a God who is in control of every circumstance that you and I face. And we find that kind of language recurrent in the Psalms. Psalm 16 in particular gives us a powerful and clear picture of what a relationship with God ought to look like. An Opening Conclusion-- Now in our writings and speeches we often end with our conclusion, but often times in the Psalms the writers will begin with their conclusion and then spend the rest of the Psalm explaining how they arrived at their conclusion. And so it is when we come to Psalm 16, which ends with what really is the final word that the Psalmist has to say. He says… Psalm 16:1 (ESV)— 1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. Where’s Your Refuge?-- Let me ask you, in your house, where do you go when a really bad storm hits? When I was growing up in South Bend, Indiana storms (even tornadoes) were pretty common. And during a storm, it was always downstairs to the basement family room. And we’d watch the storm through the ground-level windows. And then of course sometimes the power would go out. And that just made things more scary (but for us as kids, even more exciting). But where you go for security is important; because without a refuge, we can get blown away at any moment. And the Psalmist recognizes that God is our ultimate refuge. My Shield and Portion-- It’s like we sing in Amazing Grace: “The Lord has promised good to me. His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be, As long as life endures.” We have solid ground that we can anchor into. Jesus and His Word is that foundation. And in that foundation we find both preservation and transformation of our lives and our purpose. One scholar I read on this said that in this Psalm the Psalmist […is speaking to God, and he says, “I need you to keep me, for if you do not, I will not be what I am supposed to be. I will not be what you want me to be. I will not be what I know deep within my own spirit I ought to be, so keep me. My relationship to you is one of refuge; I hide in You.”] Now at this point the Psalmist makes a very powerful statement. He says in… Psalm 16:2a (ESV)-- 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; And what the Psalmist is saying is [“I am making a separation. I have decided that You (and not someone else) are to be my Lord.”] And similarly there has to come a point when we choose to trust the Lord over and against everything else. Now we are pretty good at trust. Trust is No Problem-- A couple weeks ago one of my former seminary professors overheard someone in one of his church’s discipleship groups say, "I trust. I am really good at trust. I have trusted in alcohol, in porn, in myself. Trust is no problem. It is where I am placing my trust - that's my problem.” You see, it is where you place you trust that makes all the difference. Receiving as Lord-- And what the Psalmist is saying is that he has come to a point of faith and trust in Yahweh and has rejected any other so-called “lords” that people choose, but that have no power to preserve, sustain, or fulfill. And the same is true for us. We use the term “Lord” all too casually when talking about God; we don’t always really mean it. But what the Gospel teaches us is that our salvation and hope is anchored first upon our actually receiving Christ as the Lord of our lives. This is why we are told in… Romans 10:9 (NIV)-- 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Salvation Through Submission-- Salvation (apparently) is found not just in believing in Jesus as the Son of God, but also in receiving Him as the Lord of your life. You cannot know true salvation and true freedom until you submit to the Lordship of Christ. My Dissatisfaction-- And I can bear testimony to this from my own personal experience. Anytime I have sought fulfillment of any type outside of the will and plan and purpose of God for my life, I have always ended up more empty than when I began. Every single time. And Satan often comes at me in a predictable way. First, he comes at me through dissatisfaction; dissatisfaction with who I am or about some particular thing about my life. I was struck this week by a line from a Veggie Tales movie my children were watching. They were talking about Psalm 23 and particularly the opening line: “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.” And they explained something I knew well, but for some reason am so prone to forgetting; and that is that when we have Jesus, we lack nothing; and therefore ought to crave nothing. And that is exactly one of my problems; when we have Jesus, we shouldn’t want or crave or desire with dissatisfaction because (in Jesus) we have everything. Amen? Satan tempted Adam and Eve by first making them distrust God and then by making them dissatisfied with their lives; and think about it, THEIR LIVES WERE PERFECT!!!! Yet even in perfection Satan can make us dissatisfied with who we are and tempt us into a life of unhealthy craving. And if we allow those cravings to lead us outside of a full submission to the Lordship of Jesus, then we will be broken and empty. Only by abiding in Christ and in His pattern for you will your life make any sense and will you have lasting fulfillment. Now the Psalmist then proceeds in the second half of verse 2 to say… Psalm 16:2b (ESV)-- I have no good apart from you.” “Besides You, no good.”— And one scholar I read said that what the Psalmist literally [is saying is “Besides You, no good.” {And this scholar writes, saying that} That is a very significant theological statement in the Old Testament. He is saying, “Apart from You, O Yahweh, nothing is good.” Fundamental to this statement is the understanding that Yahweh made everything that is made, and if it is there, he made it. Furthermore, everything he made is good. This point is emphasized in Genesis 1; when Yahweh had finished the creation of all things, He looked at all that He had made and said, “It is good, very good,” (tob me’od). So if there should be anything apart from Yahweh and His purposes, it is not good.] The Jesus Storybook Bible: God’s Declaration of Goodness-- Recently I was reading to my kids from The Jesus Storybook Bible, which I have found to be the most profound children’s Bible I have ever come across. There are many children’s bibles our there that tell the basic Bible stories in easy language; but this Bible communicates some amazingly deep theological concepts in language very reachable for children. And when I was reading the story of creation to my kids this week, I found the phrasing a little odd in the creation account. When God declares what He has created as good, the way The Jesus Storybook Bible conveys it is that the creation was not good until God declared it to be so. And what it was trying to convey was that goodness itself is intimately wrapped up with the personhood of our Creator. Receive Christ as Lord-- And that is why if you want to experience goodness; if you want fulfillment; if you want joy; if you want to know the meaning and purpose for your life; for your relationships; for your future, then you must give yourself to Christ as the LORD of your life; forsaking all others. Only then can you have what is truly good. Give your all to Him today. Amen. #LechemPanim #CameronUry #RentonParkChapel |
Rev. Cameron Ury graduated from Asbury University in 2007 with a B.A. in Bible and Theology. From there he continued his studies at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, MS. It was there that he met his wife Tanya, who graduated from WBS with her M.A. and M.Div. degrees. Cameron and Tanya got married in 2009. Cameron then graduated with his M.Div. degree with a pastoral concentration in 2011.
After shepherding churches in both Mississippi and Ohio, they joined the ministry team at Renton Park Chapel in January of 2018, where Cameron serves as Senior Pastor and Teacher. Cameron is also the founder and host of Lechem Panim, a weekly radio show that airs on KGNW 820AM "The Word Seattle". The ministry of Lechem Panim is centered around leading people into the life-giving presence of God in and through Bible study, prayer, and active discipleship with the aim of ministering to a world that is in desperate need of the healing touch of Jesus Christ. Archives
March 2020
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