November 6, 2011 WALKING BY FAITH

MATTHEW 14:22-36 NOVEMBER 6, 2011


“WALKING BY FAITH”

During World War II, the king of England ordered an evacuation of children from the bomb torn areas of London. Since many of the children had never been away from home before they were quite nervous and upset. A mother and father had just put their young son and daughter aboard the crowded train and said goodbye. No sooner had the train left the station than the little girl began to cry. She told her brother she was scared because she didn’t know where they were going. Brushing his own tears away, he put his arm around his sister to comfort her. “I don’t know where we are going either, but the King knows, so don’t worry.” Circumstances in life often present us with concerns about the future and often we fret and worry about what my happen. Yet, deep down we are aware that God, our Father, is in control and that we need to trust Him and walk this life by faith. The King of kings knows where we are headed, so don’t worry.

It had been a long day for Jesus and his disciples. Jesus had received notice of King Herod beheading John the Baptist and that Herod was fearful about Jesus. Then when Jesus sought to go off to talk with his Father in prayer, whole crowds of people arrived with their many needs clamoring for Jesus to heal them. It took all day. Then God multiplied the five loaves of bread and two fish so that the multitude of over 5,000 people was fed. This is where we pick up the story. Matthew 14:22-23 (NIV) “22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.”

Jesus took the time to be alone with the Father. The busier we get, greater is the need for us to recharge our batteries by spending time with our Father. Jesus sent the disciples on ahead so that he could have some quiet time. We know what that is like, don’t we? Jesus spent a long time, eight or more hours, on the mountain.

Matthew records that in the mean time the disciples were having a difficult time trying to cross the Sea of Galilee. Jesus on an earlier occasion had stilled a raging storm when the disciples had been afraid of drowning. On that previous occasion Jesus had been sleeping in the boat. This time, however Jesus was not with them, he was on shore. “When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.

This time was different as Jesus was now walking on the Sea as if it was dry land. It is not surprising that the disciples were startled by the sudden appearance of Jesus. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Jesus identifies himself in much the same way that God gave his name to Moses so he could tell the Israelites who God was. Exodus 3:14 (NIV) 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" Jesus is identifying himself as “I AM”, it is I. In effect Jesus told the disciples: Take courage, it is God, Don’t be afraid.”

Peter responded to Jesus with a question. 28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." Peter knew that if Jesus was God then he could grant Peter the ability to also walk on the water. Jesus said, 29 "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. Peter responded in faith and overcame his fear and asked permission to come to Jesus. We are not told how far or how long he walked on the water before taking his focus off of Jesus. Peter’s walk on the water is analogous to our walk of faith. Often when we first come to faith in Christ we make great strides in beginning to live out the faith. Yet troubles and circumstances will often distract us and we begin to sink.

Peter got distracted and looked away from his Lord and things literally went south. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Peter was smart enough to cry out to God for help. “31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught
him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" Notice Jesus did not criticize Peter for having no faith like the towns in Galilee who did not acknowledge or recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus told Peter he had little faith, not that he had no faith. The importance of keeping our focus on Jesus can not be over emphasized. This is why it is imperative that we stay in the Scriptures daily. We need to be constantly reminded to look at all of life through the lenses of faith in Jesus Christ. Keeping in the word builds our faith and our trust.

The rest of the disciples in the boat observed all that occurred and as a result they worshiped Jesus as God. “32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." This was the first time the disciples addressed Jesus as the Son of God. The disciples were beginning to understand more and more about Jesus. All the pieces of the puzzle did not come together until the resurrection and the ascension. Yet in much the same way our walk of faith deepens as we begin to understand more and more how God is active in every area and aspect of our lives.

Years ago in eastern Missouri a 12 car passenger train was filled with children taking them on a Sunday School picnic. The sky was clear when they started out but the weather changed and the train ran into a severe thunderstorm. The heavy downpour of rain caused the engineer of the train to slow the train down to about 35 miles an hour. As the train rounded a curve, the man saw that a switch just ahead had been left wide open. He jammed on the brakes, but he was sure they were facing disaster. He shouted to the fireman, “Stick with it! We have hundreds of children on board. The fireman replied: “I intent to!” The fireman, who was a Christian, cried out, “O God, help us!” His words were drowned out by a thunderclap as a bolt of lightning struck right in front of the engine. The next thing they knew, they were safely past the danger point. After stopping the train, the men ran back to find out what had happened. To their amazement they discovered that the lightning had struck the rails and closed the switch. This in turn kept them from being shunted off onto a spur which would have caused the train to derail.

The key to succeeding in the Christian life is keeping our focus on Jesus and he will see us through the trials and hardships of our lives. And just as important is to know that even when we take our eyes of faith off of Jesus, all we have to do is to cry out "Lord, save me!"


Let us pray.

Is There a Universal Standard of Truth in the Universe Oct. 30th, 2001

Is There a Universal Standard of Truth in the Universe?

First Scripture Reading:  John 14.15-24                                                                             

Second Scripture Reading:  John 18.28-38

Introduction:  Not long ago, Ron Taylor shared with me an article from the New York Times, citing a survey taken a few years ago among 230 young adults about their views on ethics that is, about what is right and wrong, or moral standards.  When these young people were asked questions about right and wrong, two-thirds could not even answer the question, or changed the subject to issues that weren’t moral at all!  One answered, “I don’t really deal with right and wrong that often.” The article’s author, David Brooks comes to this conclusion: (With the possible exception of murder and rape), “There is virtually no sense of any overarching value system or obligation to society or to others.”  And, “Rejecting blind deference to authority, many of the young people have gone off to the other extreme:  ‘I would do what I thought made me happy or how I felt.  I have no other way of knowing what to do but how I internally feel.’”  Or, in other words, if it feels good to me, it must be right!

I.             The NYT article poses the problem in a very clear way:  Is there or is there not any “overarching”   or Universal standard of value system of Truth in our Universe?  Or is it just a matter of personal preference?  What is the answer?

A.    To begin with, there is a simple answer in the area of Mathematics, and it is yes.  2+2=4 in any culture, language or religion in our Universe.  Mathematical Truth in our Universe is Universal.

B.    And, there is also universally accepted Truth in the area of Physical Laws.  The Law of gravity works on and in all cultures, languages and religions in our Universe.  Universal Truth in Physical Laws also works universally in our Universe.

C.    However, in the area of Morality and the Truth about what is Right and Wrong, it is a whole different ball game!  And, although moral relativism is often laid at the doorstep of post-modernism, there is no better example of this relativism of moral truth than in the dialogue between Pilate and Jesus during Jesus’ trial before the Roman Governor.

     Pilate is clearly in a bind here.  He had a riot on his hands in the capital city of Jerusalem.  If word got back to Rome, it would jeopardize his political career.  His wife had warned him not to have anything to do with the judgment of Jesus.  He himself found no guilt in Jesus (repeated three times in the Gospel of John!), but he had to calm down the mob outside the governor’s palace.  So, he asked if Jesus was the king of the Jews, and Jesus wanted to know where he got that idea.  Pilate said he had no idea of what that meant because he wasn’t a Jew.  So then, he come to the key question: “What have you done?”  Jesus answers, “I came to testify to the truth, (not just any old truth, nor my own personal version of the truth, but the truth)! And so Pilate shows himself as a post-modernist way before his time (!), saying, “What is truth?”  And that was the end of the conversation!

     We already know what truth was for Pilate, the same as for those young people in the survey!  Whatever serves them personally.  It doesn’t matter that Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, or that he knew that the motive of the Jews was jealousy. Even though Pilate knew that it was true that Jesus was innocent, and that it was true that the motivation of the Jews was jealousy, the “truth” for him was that Jesus was guilty and he was willing to hand him over to the Jews. The critical issue (truth) for Pilate was his own political survival!  And, he caved into the demands of the Jewish mob.”

II.          In contrast  to this, when Jesus speaks of the truth, in John 14, our first Scripture reading, we find that there is indeed a universal standard of truth which includes morality, the obedience of Jesus’ Commandments!  Let me read again John 14.15-17, 21 and 23-24.  Notice, that these words bear the authority of not only Jesus the Son, but the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, and God, the Father, and Creator of this Universe!  For the believer, you cannot find in such a small space a summary of Universal Moral Truth, its authority and motivation than in this small package!

A.      How do we learn of this Universal Moral Standard, the Commandments of Jesus?  It all begins with a loving relationship with Jesus.  He who loves me will obey my commands.  And these commandments (or teachings) are not mine, but belong (Present tense – they still belong!) to the Father who sent me.

B.      We need to remember that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, that he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.  To fulfill it, he goes on in the Sermon on the Mount to say, that the actual observance of the law includes the motives behind why we obey the law.  It is not just the letter of the Law, but the Spirit of the Law.  That is where love comes in.  God’s Law still stands!  What is different is the reason  why we spontaneously desire to obey it!  If we obey the commands of Jesus out of blind obedience to authority, we miss the message completely.   If you love me, you will obey my Commandments.   We obey the Law because we are constrained by love to obey.  As simple as that.

C.    Now that brings into play that most abused four-letter word in the English language:  Love.   What is love?  Most of us would rush to I Cor. 13.4-7:  “Love is patient, kind, never jealous nor envious, boastful nor proud; not haughty, selfish nor rude.  Love does not demand its own way, but always hopes and believes the best.”  Now that is a definition of Love that even non-believers can embrace.  Even people who defend so-called “alternate life styles” can accept, this, as long as their same-sex unions are loving, patient, kind, etc. according to I Cor. 13.

D.   However, there is a second step in defining Love, beyond I Cor. 13, for the believer, and it comes from Jesus Himself:  “If you love me you will keep my commandments.

E.      When we think about it that is exactly the same way the original Ten Commandments were established.  In Exodus 19, the LORD instructed  Moses to tell the People of Israel, “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself.  Now, if you obey me fully, and keep my Covenant, then out of all the nations you will be my treasured possession.”  In response to that, the people, spontaneously, out of gratitude all replied, “We will do everything the LORD has said!”  So, the Ten Commandments begin, not with the First Commandment, but with these words:  “I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”  (Ex. 20.2).  And then people responded spontaneously out of gratitude to their Liberator.

F.       We believers live in a Renewed Covenant relationship with this same God of the Universe.  The New Covenant, established in the Upper Room during the Last Supper, and executed on the Cross.  Jesus said, “This Cup is the New Covenant at the cost of my blood…”  His love for us cost him his life poured out on the Cross.  If you lose and forsake that first love, you may be able to go through the motions of being a church member, but sooner or later, it will get old and boring and monotonous, and like the Church in Ephesus, in need of some radical change.

G.     And, from these words of Jesus, and the experience with Pilate, we should not be surprised that not everyone accepts this moral standard.  He himself warns us that some indeed cannot accept it, simply because they are not even aware of the influence of God’s Holy Spirit of Truth in their lives!  Let me read those words again:

                  “If you love me you will obey my command.   And I will ask the Father, and he will give

                    you another Counselor  to be with you for ever – the Spirit of Truth.   The world cannot

                    accept him because it neither sees him nor knows Him.  But you know him and he lives

                    with you and will be in you.”   John 14.15-17

III.        How, then should we behave, if we believe that Truth is Universal, especially when it comes to moral values?  Perhaps the best way to try to answer that question is to give two examples of how this may work out.

A.    The first example is from a TV sitcom that aired on TV about ten years ago, called “Murphy Brown”.  How many of you remember that?  It had to do with a young career woman, named Murphy Brown, played by Candice Bergen.  In the sitcom, she was a modern woman who embraced some very Avant-guard ideas about alternative life styles and family values.  Early in the show, Murphy Brown denied there was any normative definition of the family.  All that mattered was “Commitment, love and caring.”  Sounds like I Cor. 13, doesn’t it.

B.    The amazing thing is that personally, Candice Bergen embraced some very conservative family values for her own family.  In an interview with TV Guide, in the fall of 1992, she is quoted as saying the following:

  “As far as my family values go, my child and my family have always been my top priority….I don’t see the point of having a child if you’re not going to spend as much time as you can with that child.”

And at one time in a conversation with her producer she is quoted as saying: “I said [to my producer] we do have to be careful that we don’t send out the message …. to young women especially, that we’re encouraging them to be single mothers.”

And, she ended the interview with these words:  “I myself….believe the ideal is that you have a two-parent family.  I’m the last person to think fathers are obsolete!”

C.     Wow!   But that is not the end of the story.  When Dan Quail and some others criticized the Murphy Brown sitcom and Candice Bergen, they were saying something completely different!  They were saying that there did indeed exist objective transcendent family value standards to which all people were responsible.  That was enough for Candice Bergen to accuse Dan Quail of being (in her words), “arrogant”, “aggressive” and “offensive”. 

D.   It all has to do with the nature of truth.  Is truth merely a personal matter, or is it universal? As long as you are merely expressing your own personal feelings about truth and values, you are free to say whatever you like, but if you maintain the existence of a morality that is objective and universal, you have committed a transgression against the reigning American mentality of moral individualism!  As a personal Mom in the privacy of her own home, Candice Bergen agreed fully with Dan Quail!  But as a part of the overriding American Culture, they are at the opposite ends of the argument!  - And that, brothers and sisters, is where we believers find ourselves in American Culture.

E.    Sometimes, confrontation like that of Dan Quail is appropriate and even necessary, especially in personal conversations with friends.  But, that is something each individual believer must weigh in his or her own heart.

F.    Let me close with one other example, and I do this with fear and trembling, for it involves another missionary story, and I know you have heard a lot (maybe too many) of missionary stories from me. But here goes, just the same.

G.   Once when I was travelling alone between preaching points in the western Amazon, I stopped at a roadside restaurant for supper, and behind me at a table sat two truck drivers, who I could hear talking, but could not see.  I didn’t pay much attention to them, until a third person joined them at the table.  The two immediately offered the newcomer a beer to drink with his supper.  He politely declined.  But they insisted, and even got angry with him and raised their voices as he insisted as politely as he could.  Finally, he said words to this effect:  “Last week I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ and in honor to him I have decided to quit my drinking.”  You could  have heard a pin drop, and the rest of the meal was completed in silence!

H.   For that anonymous traveler, going on the wagon was a response of love and honor to the One who had given his life for him.  It was a perfect witness to the truth, “if you love me you will keep my commandments.”  No coercion, no arm-twisting, no elders looking over his shoulder, just the joyful, spontaneous and grateful response to the love of God in Christ.  In this case there was no confrontation, just a simple witness to the truth – and when we think about it, that is just what Jesus told Pilate he came here for, “…for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”  John 18.37.

I.     And, as we sing our final hymn this morning, sing that last verse like you mean it, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all.”, including my joyful, spontaneous and grateful obedience to His commandments – which are as universal and eternal as is the Father to whom they belong.

July 17, 2011 “OBJECTIONS TO JESUS”

MATTHEW 9:1-17                                                                                     JULY 17, 2011

                                                                            

“OBJECTIONS TO JESUS”

It is no surprise when non-Christians raise objections about Jesus and those who seek to be faithful followers. In Matthew Jesus is confronted with objections to who He is and opposition to his ministry. What often surprises us today is that some of the most hostile objections and opposition come from religious people, from those who would identify themselves as good church folk.

I ask you to recall the well known story of the friends who brought their paralyzed friend and tore through the roof of the house and lowered him down in front of Jesus. The friends knew that Jesus could heal their friend. As humans we tend to focus exclusively on external problems: like paralysis, cancer, all types of health problems. Yet we rarely stop there as we also tend to concentrate on other external difficulties such as jobs, our looks, our weight, and the list goes on. I’m sure Jesus surprised everyone when he directed his attention to the number one problem that all humans face: sin. ² Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." ³ At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!" ⁴ Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵ Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? Jesus asked a real question in which he expects an answer. The Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy- of dissing God; blasphemy meant in the scripture anything that brings dishonor upon God. When Jesus claimed to forgive sin they rightly think he is claiming to have the authority to forgive sin. Jesus is God, but almost no one recognizes this vital truth. Is it easier to say the words, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? Of course it is easier to say the words than to actually have the authority to heal the man of his paralysis. Only God has the right to heal and to forgive sin. The Pharisees denied the reality of what happens before their very eyes. The Pharisees were very proud of their knowledge of how their Jewish faith worked. In their eyes Jesus did everything wrong as he did not follow their man made laws on how to live for God.

Jesus sought to open their minds and hearts of everyone to the truth of who he was and is. Jesus is God.  ⁶ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." ⁷ And the man got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men. Neither the Pharisees nor the people understood what occurred before their very eyes. They still focused on the external healing of the man which Jesus indicated was really the secondary problem. Unless our sins have been forgiven, none of these things really matter. Matthew 16:26 (NIV) “²⁶ What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

 Matthew was a tax collector in the city of Capernaum, the home base of Jesus. It was also the home of Peter and Andrew, James and John. It is most likely that Matthew (Levi) collected taxes from these same men who sold their fish to make a living. Tax collectors were notorious for adding exorbitant commissions on top of the money they collected for the Roman government. The opposition that Jesus faced next came from the Pharisees and from the general population. This can be seen in Luke 19:7 when Jesus went to the home of Zacchaeus (NIV) “⁷ All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'"  

Tax collectors were seen as traitors to their country and as crooks. In the south we would call them carpet baggers. So what does Jesus do? ⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. Remember Jesus earlier rejected two other men who had asked to become disciples, one of whom was a scribe (a teacher). Jesus calls Matthew to follow him even though everyone else would have been horrified.

Yet Jesus did not stop there in doing what was considered socially unacceptable. Sitting down to have a meal with someone indicated acceptance and approval. ¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" ¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew invited his friends to hear Jesus at the party he gave for Jesus. This action of eating with Matthew’s friends, all who were considered socially unacceptable, was very offensive to the Pharisees. The Pharisees identified everyone who refused to follow their traditions as being a sinner. The Pharisees saw themselves as spiritually healthy because they rigorously followed their religious traditions. Yet Jesus identifies a sinner as one who does not follow the will of God, which includes everyone. Jesus returns the attention to the central problem of sin which blocks us from accepting God’s love and mercy. Matthew wanted his friends to find the same spiritual healing for their souls as he did. Jesus did not come to invite people who think they are already good, but to invite those who know they are sinners in desperate need of God’s forgiveness.

Jesus also aggravated the followers of John the Baptist. ¹⁴ Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"  The Old Testament required all faithful Jews to fast one day a year, on the Day of Atonement. The Pharisees fasted twice a week to show others just how religious they were. The disciples of John the Baptist also fasted weekly as a sign of their spiritual commitment. These disciples of John are questioning the level of commitment that Jesus disciples are showing. In other words they think that the apostles are not really as committed as they are. John’s disciples were accusing Jesus of not doing it right. ¹⁵ Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. Jesus lets them know that the time will come when the apostles will fast. But at the moment they are enjoying being in the presence of the Messiah. Jesus takes the opportunity to inform them that the old religious traditions are being replaced with something that is much better.¹⁶ "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. ¹⁷ Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." Jesus upset everyone as he was establishing what God desired from those who wanted to worship the Lord. The problem was that few people were willing to see and hear what the Son of God was bringing.

When I was a young boy attending church there were several unwritten rules which were rigorously upheld as the only accepted way to worship God. Every man and boy had to wear a white shirt and tie and coat. Young boys were sometimes allowed not to wear a coat. Every woman and girl had to wear a dress, and hose, and most important a hat. We had a woman whose hat I later thought was either mildewed or the feathers were molting. If anyone dared to wear jeans I think the walls would have caved in due to the whispered comments that would have been flying through the room. Whenever we make our expectations, our traditions, and the way it was when we grew up as being the only correct rule we are on dangerous ground. God is more concerned with our spiritual healing than the physical externals. I have heard of churches where some of the members have asked people to move as the visitors were sitting in their seats. We must help people to concentrate on change that comes from the heart. Unless our inner person is changed and we fall in love with Jesus we fail to understand the new Covenant that Jesus started. As believers it is our job to bring sinners to Jesus so they can be forgiven, to be saved. It is not our job to force people to abide by the rules and traditions of how church was done when we were children. Are we more concerned with the externals or whether or nota person comes to know Jesus Christ and is forgiven?

Let us pray.

Burden or Blessing

          One of the best places in the entire Bible about God’s Sovereignty is Psalm 139, an Israelite hymn of four stanzas: the first (verses 1-6), is  about God’s omniscience, the fact that God knows everything, the second (verses 7-12), his omnipresence, the fact that he is in all places at all times, the third (verses 13-18) his omnipotence, the fact that he is all powerful, and finally (verses 19-24) his “omni-justice

Predestination:  Burden or Blessing?

First Reading:  Isaiah 55.8-11

Second Reading:  Psalm 139

Introduction:  If you were given the choice to include or not include in your Christian belief the idea of Predestination, considering, for the moment, that it is one of those things that our church considers a “non-essential”, which would you choose?  Would you choose to believe in Predestination, or take a pass?  Most of us probably know of some believers who are uncomfortable with the idea of Predestination, and at the same time, also those who enthusiastically embrace it!

          Now I must make a confession:  This sermon is not only about Predestination, but more broadly about the Sovereignty of God.  I just threw in the idea of Predestination to get your attention.  Now that I have either gotten you attention, or made you angry, let’s get on to the subject of God and his Sovereignty.

” (I had to make that word up), the fact that his justice applies to all of mankind, and I might add, most especially to his own people!

I.     First, David, the author of this psalm, marvels at the fact that God knows all things, even including his inner-most thoughts, the words he is about to say, his comings and goings:   “You hem me in – behind and before!”  Or as the Jerusalem Bible has it, “You fence me around.”

A.  Now that may be a clue as to why some folks don’t like this idea.  Not everybody likes to be “fenced in” or “hemmed in” by anybody. Their theme song is “Don’t Fence Me In!”  Or, the poem by William Henley, “Invictus” which ends with the words, “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.”   Let’s face it, we Americans like our freedom, and that idea of even God hemming us in, in front and behind, cramps our style.

      Let me read the first and last verses of that poem, “Invictus” by Henley:

                Out of the night that covers me;            It matters not how straight the gate,

          Black as the pit from pole to pole;                   how charged with punishment the Scroll,

          I thank whatever gods may be              I am the master of my fate’

          for my unconquerable soul.                   I am the captain of my soul.

[That poem, although not familiar to many Americans, came into national attention when Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber, was executed.  He had a portion of this poem read at his execution moments before he met the real Captain of his soul!]  Now let me read that again:

Now, on a brighter note, the Christian antidote for that pessimistic poem is the hymn that we just finished singing:  “Make Me a Captive, Lord, and then I Shall be Free”.

                               

B. Then, there is another phrase that David uses that may cause us problems, when David says, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”  Or as the living Bible says, “…too wonderful to believe.” Too Wonderful to Believe?!  Does that mean we cannot believe that God is sovereign enough to know and guide our lives in a way that escapes our miserably limited brains?

No, it means that such knowledge is beyond human comprehension, and the wonder of it all is too much for our limited minds.  David is dumfounded by the grandeur and majesty of God’s sovereignty.  Do you have trouble wrapping your brain around God’s majesty and sovereignty?  Well, join the club! King David seems to be a charter member.  And the fact that God’s majesty is so great is not a burden to David, but a blessing!

Listen again to what David sings:

“All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me, o LORD, are your thoughts.”  -    A blessing and not a burden.

Why do we feel uncomfortable about God’s power to exercise his sovereignty over our lives?  Because we cannot conceive how anyone of us could do that!  And, by some strange manipulation of our reasoning, if we cannot do it, therefore God cannot!

Brothers and sisters, that is nothing more or less than creating God in our own human image, when the Scripture tells us that God created us in His image!  Not the other way around.  And listen to what he tells us through his servant Isaiah:

“…. My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, declares the LORD.  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

If you think God cannot do something just because you think it is humanly impossible, or you cannot imagine how it could conceivably be done, Your god is too small!  Remember, God is infinite and we are finite!    

II. Now, let us look at God’s omnipresence , the fact that he is in all places at all times.  This is what David writes:  “Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your Presence?....If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me….even the darkness will not be dark to you….”

          Well, now if you are trying to hide from the LORD, that may be a problem.   And after all is said and done, that may be why some folks don’t like the idea that God can be found everywhere. 

          However, when Jonah was prisoner in the gut of that great fish in the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, do you think it was a blessing or a burden for him to cry out to the LORD?  Or, of those three gentlemen with those funny names, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, thrown into the fiery furnace.  Not only did the LORD know where they were. He was there, too, right alongside them, inside the fiery furnace!  What do you think?  Was that a burden to them, or was it a blessing?

          Or again, when Civilla Martin, the Canadian music teacher who wrote the hymn we sang a few weeks ago, “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” where the chorus goes, “I sing because I am happy; I sing because I am free.  His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.”  Does that sound like a burden, or a blessing?  Civilla Martin did not invent that phrase.  It came from friends of hers who lived in Elmira, NY.  The wife had been bedridden for 20 years with an incurable disease, and her husband was confined to a wheel chair.  Civilla asked them how they were able to remain cheerful and hopeful.  They answered with those words, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”  That was all Civilla Martin needed to pen the words of that beloved hymn.  Their health problems may have been a burden, but the LORD’s sovereign presence was a blessing.

III. The third stanza of this Israelite hymn celebrates God’s power through his creation, and especially in his creation of our bodies.  Way before ultrasound became the common practice in looking into the womb of our mothers to see how our bodies were being formed the LORD himself was present and privy to our formation, which David describes as “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

          In Richard Wurmbrand’s book, “Tortured for Christ”, which tells of his fourteen years in Rumanian Communist prisons, he relates the story of two Russian Communist sculptors, a  man and his wife, whose specialty was to create statues of important people.  One day when they were working on a statue of Stalin, the wife said to the husband, “If we didn’t have thumbs to oppose our fingers, we could never even hold a tool in our hand, or a book or a piece of bread.  Who could have invented the human thumb?  If we honor Edson for inventing the light bulb and Bell for inventing the telephone, why not honor the Creator for inventing the human thumb?   Her husband became angry with her, recalling to her that they both had been trained in Marxist schools to know that there was no such thing as heaven, and that there was nobody in heaven.  But she insisted, saying, “If in heaven there were an Almighty God in whom our forefathers believed, it would be only natural that we should have thumbs.  An Almighty God can do anything, so he can make a thumb too.  But if in heaven there is nobody, then as for me, I will worship with all my heart that “Nobody” in heaven, who has made the thumb.  Eventually, both husband and wife became believers in this “Nobody-God”, not unlike the few believers who came to follow the “Unknown God” that Paul announced to the Greeks in Athens (Acts 17.16-34).

          Do this little experiment with me:  Try turning the pages of your hymnal or Bible.  The sensitive nerve endings in your thumb and finger can tell you if you are turning one or several pages.  Who could have created such sensitive nerve endings in your fingers?  We have at our very fingertips impressive evidence that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by an all-powerful Creator!

IV. Finally, we come to perhaps the most challenging stanza of this hymn, the fact that God is the judge of all people. 

          The disturbing part of this last stanza is David’s “hate speech”:

                “If only you would slay the wicked, o God….your adversaries misuse your name….

          Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord, and abhor those who rise up against you?

          I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them as my enemies….”

What we need to understand here is that David is not asking for a personal vendetta against a personal enemy. He is not fighting his own personal war. He is siding with the LORD against the LORD’s enemies.  David is on the LORD’s side, showing his solidarity with God in this dark and dangerous world.

          But in addition to this (And this is important as we approach the table of the Lord’s Supper), David recognizes that with the same sense of Justice and Righteousness, this Sovereign LORD has the full right to apply the same standard of Justice and Righteousness to David himself. 

          “Search me, O God and know my heart.”

          Not only does David recognize that God already knows his inner-most thoughts, as in the beginning of this Psalm (“You have searched me and know me….”). but he voluntarily opens his life and heart to God’s examination and judgment.  It is no offense to David that God already knows his heart.  He willingly invites this Righteous and Just God to shine the light of his judgment on him,

          “…test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me.”

And finally………..  “Lead me in the way everlasting.”

          Now as we gather around this Communion Table, that is the recommendation of the Apostle Paul, in I Cor. 11.27-29:

                “Therefore, whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of  the Lord in an unwor-

          thy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body  and blood of  the Lord.   A  

          man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.  

          For anyone who eats and drinks  without  recognizing the  body of the Lord  eats  

          and drinks judgment on himself.” 

          We have the help of God’s Holy Spirit to aid us in this examination.  Now is the opportune time to do this around the Lord’s Table.