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A Pastor’s Encouragement During The Corona Pandemic
Selected Scriptures
March 15, 2020

What a week we have had here in the United States
Our culture is being turned upside down over the threat of this Corona Virus.

I typically try to avoid such “trending” topics in our day
And much prefer to just rest in devoted Bible exposition.

And yet, this week I was compelled.
• We saw the cancellation of NCAA sports.
• We saw the suspension of the NBA
• We saw the delay in the start of the MLB
• Colleges canceled classes
• The Houston Livestock Show canceled their event
• Even Little League mandated a delay to practices, meetings, and games

And that is just a portion of the list.

By Friday I began to get emails and to see Facebook posts
Regarding whether or not churches should close their doors
And cancel services as a result of the threat of this virus.

Even as I was typing this sermon President Trump issued
“A state of National Emergency” in our country.

And so I am compelled to address the issue.
So if you will allow me a rare interruption to sort of do a little shepherding here and hopefully set your mind in the right direction.

• Now first of all, it is of little interest to me to use this pulpit to discuss things
scientific, medical, or political.
• I certainly have my own personal thoughts regarding the degree of threat this
virus holds and the reasons why it is being so discussed,
• But you have your thoughts on that too, and at the end of the day it’s all
nothing more than speculation.

Rather this morning I would be fine to concede to anyone
Who sees this as the deadliest threat that ever reached American soil.

I don’t personally think it is, not even close, but what if it is?

Suppose you are in greater danger of death today
Than at any time during the Civil War, the Cold War,
Or any other time of sickness or suffering.

And perhaps there are some who see it that way this morning.
What then?

If this is as bad as some people think, where are we supposed to settle on this as the church of the living God?

As representatives of Christ in this world,
How do we respond to such a threat?

Well, there are just a few things I would like to remind you of
TO HELP GROUND YOU THIS MORNING.

The first one (and you may not like this one) is this.
YOU WERE NEVER GOING TO ESCAPE DEATH ANYWAY.

We often laugh at teenagers who like to see themselves as invincible,
But the panic that has ensued this past week
Would cause one to legitimately question
Whether some people actually expected to live forever?

So let me remind you again of the incident in the garden.
• God said not to eat from the tree.
• Adam and Eve did eat.

And upon Adam we read this curse.
Genesis 3:17-19 “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”

In short, because of sin,
God cursed this world and appointed that death was coming.

And it doesn’t take long to see it.
• In chapter 4 of Genesis we see Cain rise up and kill Abel.
• Also in chapter 4 Lamech killed a man for wounding him.

• And then we get to chapter 5 where Moses begins to list the “generations of Adam” and one by one we see the same heading.

Genesis 5:5 “So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.”

Genesis 5:8 “So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.”

Genesis 5:11 “So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died.”

And so on and so forth throughout the chapter.
“and he died…and he died…and he died”

• And if that is not enough we come to Genesis 6 where God floods the entire world because of its sin.

And of that event we read.
Genesis 7:21-22 “All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.”

The simple point is that from the beginning death has been appointed.
We know it to be the wages of sin.

And what is more, we are told in Scripture that
God has sovereignly ordained the span of our life.

Psalms 139:16 “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”

Paul spoke to the Athenians.
Acts 17:26 “and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,”

So we know that death is coming.
The writer of Hebrews says that “is appointed for man to die”

And we know that God is sovereign over the timing of that death.
And that alone should be A COMFORT to you.

• The sovereign God of the universe has appointed your days.
• He has appointed my days.

Even before the Corona virus I was never going to live
One second longer than the Lord appointed.

What most people have failed to realize during all of this
Is that death was already waiting for you at every turn.

Jesus said:
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”

Peter said:
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Even before Corona virus, the enemy, the god of this world,
Would GLADLY KILL YOU AT ANY SECOND.

It has been nothing less than the sovereign prerogative of God
Which has kept him from it.

I am quite certain that there are for more things in this world
That can kill you at any moment than just the Corona virus.

As one man said, “You take a chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan.”

We hear of shocking and unexplainable deaths daily.
• Drunk driving accidents occur and kill families
• A young man I’ve known through Little League died two weeks ago at 28 years of age because he had a seizure and didn’t wake up.
• I’ve heard many speak this week of how young Bug Moore was.
• My dad died at age 60 of cancer
• Others have lost children at young ages

The simple point is that
If you were not keenly aware of the possibility of death
Before the Corona virus then you just weren’t paying attention.

• Death has been called “The Debt That All Men Pay”
• Others have reminded that “No one gets out of this world alive.”
• Others have commented that “Life itself is a terminal illness.”

God has appointed that because of sin, death will touch us all.

• So I hate to burst your bubble, but you were never going to escape death
anyway.
• It has been appointed.
• God already knows when it will be and how it will happen.

BUT I WOULD ALSO ENCOURAGE YOU THAT GOD WOULD NOT HAVE YOU LIVE IN FEAR OF DEATH.

Now, certainly as believers we are aware that death is coming,
But at the same time we know THAT FEAR OF DEATH
Was something God has sovereignly chosen to SET US FREE from.

We read in Hebrews regarding the incarnation of Christ.
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

Christ came in human flesh
So that He could die and ultimately defeat death
So that you and I would never have to fear it again.

We undoubtedly believe that death is not the end for believers.
Jesus said:
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

The apostle John saw the resurrected Lord who told him:
Revelation 1:17-18 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

Jesus conquered the grave.
Death no longer has power.
Death no longer has victory.

Paul said:
1 Corinthians 15:20-22 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.”

And then Paul said:
1 Corinthians 15:55-57 “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

You are getting the point.
Death is certain, but Jesus has said we do not have to fear it.

And it was with this hope that Paul told the Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”

Peter said it like this:
1 Peter 1:3-9 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”

Peter would remind you that Jesus Christ came, died, and rose again
To conquer the grave.

And as those who have been found in Him,
We no longer need to fear death.
We have what Peter called “a living hope”.

Thanks to Jesus, we look beyond the grave to “an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed”

That is a remarkable promise.
• It doesn’t matter if we face trials…
• It doesn’t matter if we face death…
• We have hope that transcends the grave.

Hear Paul say:
Philippians 1:21-23 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;”

Those who are in Christ have a “very much better” home awaiting us
That is considered as “gain” when compared to the pains of this life.

In short, we are certainly not called to fear or even dread death,
As the worst it can do is usher us into the presence of our Savior.

We are certainly those who believe that death is not the end
For those who are in Christ Jesus.

SO THE NEXT POINT is that I would remind you as the church of Jesus Christ and as the pillar and support of the truth that you do not walk in fear like the world around us.

For a Christian to walk in fear and paranoia
Is an absolute contradiction to the message of hope
That we are offering to the world.

It does not say much for our faith in Christ’s resurrection
When we allow fear of death to rule our lives.

And I would simply remind you of that.

Jesus said:
Matthew 10:28-31 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”

I would certainly point you first to the end of that verse and remind you that AS A CHILD OF GOD YOU ARE VERY VALUABLE TO HIM.
• He set His love on you.
• He has chosen you for salvation.
• He is intimately acquainted with all your ways.
• He cares for you.

Jesus said that He has assessed value to you.
There is no need to fear when you believe
That the God of the universe is for you.

Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Now, having said all that, I hope as the church
You are settling back into your purpose, and your doctrine,
And your message, and why we are here in this world.

THIS CRISIS ACTUALLY AFFORDS US A VERY GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

We get a real chance to be salt and light in this world that is currently in chaos.
Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Salt is that which gives flavor.
• We, as believers in Jesus, have that which is life indeed.
• We know what true satisfaction is.
• We know joy in the midst of loss.

And it is in times of national fear and unrest
That we can best demonstrate that.

• If you say “To live is Christ, to die is gain” during a time of ease who cares?
• But if you confess that during a time of national threat and loss, now your words mean something.

Jesus said we are light.
• We don’t run with the darkness,
• We don’t fear the darkness,
• We dispel the darkness with truth.

So I’m going to tell you that
While your Christian witness is always important,
It is especially important during times like this.

I haven’t received THIS QUESTION from any of you,
But it has been posed to me from various other people and platforms.

The question of should we just cancel church and go digital?
I certainly feel compelled to answer that for you as well.

First of all, if you’re sick and running fever and all of that stuff,
• By all means stay home. I’d tell you that if it was strep or flu or anything else.
• Two weeks ago, Carrie and I did just that.

Secondly, precautions aren’t bad,
• We aren’t asking people to walk in arrogant foolishness.
• I’m ok suspending the handshaking time.
• I don’t care if you brush your teeth with hand sanitizer.
But what we’re talking about is the canceling of worship services Over FEAR of a disease, or over the THREAT of something bad.
And this is one of those places where the church gets to rise above the culture.

We cannot forget that in times like this
OUR SIMPLE OBEDIENCE AND WITNESS ARE MORE IMPORTANT.

We have read the command haven’t we?
Hebrews 10:23-25 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

That verse reminds us that we need each other.
We need corporate encouragement.
We need corporate exhortation.

And that is far more than just listening to a sermon.
It is a grave mistake to assume that digital worship in your home
Is a suitable substitute for physical worship with the church.

As people begin to blur that line
And act like you can worship God just as effectively
From the seclusion and safety of your home,
I would remind you that Biblically speaking, that is not true.

NOW AGAIN,
• I’m not saying that sick people should come anyway (you wouldn’t have done that before the virus)
• I’m not saying it’s wrong to be wise and take precautions.
• I’m not even opposed to all the churches who have canceled services this week in places where the threat is real and they have done so out of compliance to a governmental request or out of concern for their neighbor.
• These things happen.
• We do that when the roads are too icy

I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE AND TAP THE BREAKS
Before people start seeing canceling worship services as “no big deal”
Or digital worship “as a suitable substitute”.

Make sure that when those decisions are made
That they are made out of compassion and not out of fear.
Make sure they are done out of submission to God’s word
And not in disregard of it.

• The church is appointed to meet.
• We are commanded to meet.
• We are not at liberty to forsake that command out of fear.

Perhaps for a little more encouragement here.
You are all aware of Martin Luther the great reformer.

Many remember his trial where he was asked to recant.
What many don’t know is that this was not the only major dilemma faced while in ministry.
• In 1527 the Bubonic plague approached Wittenberg.
• The same plague that could kill within 3 to 10 days and which at the time boasted a 70% death rate.
• Instead of fleeing Luther chose to stay in Wittenberg and minister to the sick.

But here’s what I’d have you understand.
During this time is when Luther is believed to have written his famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”

He didn’t write it while on trial for his faith,
He wrote it while facing a deadly disease.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing
Our Helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe
His craft and pow’r are great, and, armed with cruel hate
On earth is not his equal

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He
The Lord of hosts His name, from age to age the same
And He must win the battle

And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure
One little word shall fell him

That word above all earthly pow’rs, no thanks to them, abideth
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also
The body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still
His kingdom is forever

Whether we speak of physical enemies or biological ones
We are not those who are given to fear.
We see our God as a mighty fortress.

Luther wrote that song in response to his study of the 46th Psalm.
Psalms 46 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.”

That is a great reminder to us all.
There is no need to be given over to fear or dread.
We have a great God in whom we take refuge.

So my encouragement to you as the church
In the midst of this official pandemic and state of emergency is this.

Do not lose your hope or your faith or your courage.
• We have on our side the living God who has not only created us and appointed
our days, but who has also redeemed us and given us a living hope.

We shall not fear, what can man do to me?

And at the same time I would encourage you to put your faith and resolve on display.
• There is a world out there that needs to see your faith, not just hear about it.

It is perhaps as important now as it has ever been
For you to physically attend church and corporately worship.
It is perhaps as important now as it has ever been
For you to go and minister to others and proclaim the gospel.

Don’t let the hysteria of the world change you.

Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

We will go out as lights in the midst of the darkness.

THAT IS MY ENCOURAGEMENT TO YOU WHO ARE REDEEMED.
• To you who have fled to Jesus for refuge and forgiveness.
• To you who have believed that Jesus died and rose again proving Himself to be the only Savior.
• To you who have repented of your sin and confessed Jesus as Lord.

Take Paul’s advice as he contemplated the resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

BUT TO YOU WHO DO NOT BELIEVE.
To you who for whatever reason have not confessed Jesus as Lord.

To you I would say, the Corona virus is nothing
Compared to what God has in store in eternity.

To look at a verse we saw a moment ago one more time.
Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Perhaps what is most frustrating regarding this entire response
Is not necessarily the panic over the potential of death,
But the fact that we are society that gives such little concern
To what occurs after death.

And if we learn anything from the Bible,
It is what occurs after death that should really occupy your mind.

We have a day where people are far more concerned
About sanitizer for their hands than sanctification for their souls.

And to that I would also remind you that
You can go to heaven with Carona Virus on your hands
But you cannot go there with sin in your heart.

Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

The writer of Hebrews said if you don’t receive sanctification
Then you will not see the Lord.
That is to say you will not be saved.

Do we remember the sobering warning of Jesus?
Matthew 18:8-9 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. “If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.”

As we have said so many times before,
It’s not the first death you should fear
It’s the second death that you should fear.

It is absolutely the pinnacle of foolishness
That our world would go into hysteria to avoid a death that is certain,
And yet would give such little thought to avoiding the second death
Which through Jesus is avoidable.

Friend you’re not going to escape death in this life,
But through Jesus you can escape judgment.

If nothing else, let this Corona threat be a warning to you to just how fragile life is.
• You never know when death may come for you.
• There are literally threats that you cannot see which can kill you.

And at that moment, if you stand before God apart from Christ,
All that you can anticipate is judgment.

Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,”

EVEN CONSIDER LUKE’S GOSPEL FOR A MOMENT.
For what Jesus says here is a pertinent warning
Even in the midst of the crisis we face today.

READ: LUKE 17:22-37

He speaks of two great judgment events that occurred in the past.
• The first was the flood and the second was Sodom and Gomorrah.
• And if you’ll notice Jesus gave parallel realities that occurred in both places.

(26-30) “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.”

What Jesus speaks of there was the suddenness of judgment.

YOU HAVE PEOPLE OBLIVIOUS OF JUDGMENT.
(Concerned about the things of life, unconcerned about the coming judgment)

• They were “eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage”

• In Sodom “they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building”

And in a flash, in a moment, judgment came
And all their trivial cares were proved insignificant.

In some ways the Corona virus has given you a warning.
• They can tell you that it is here.
• They can tell you the symptoms.
• They can tell you forms of treatment.
• They can tell you who is most at risk.

But the judgment of God is not like that.
• The Bible teaches that when Jesus returns it will be just as sudden as the flood which broke out upon the earth.
• The Bible teaches that when Jesus returns it will be just as sudden as the fire that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah.

And the clear warning from the Lord
Is that you not be too worried about the wrong life.

You say, “What do you mean the wrong life?”

(31-33) “On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. “Remember Lot’s wife. “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”

The danger is people who forsake eternal life
Because they are totally consumed with this physical life.
It speaks of a wrong priority.

And as a chief example you have “Lot’s wife”
Who when leaving Sodom turned to look back and became a pillar of salt.

She became an eternal illustration of the foolishness of being too concerned with this life and not nearly concerned enough with the next.

There are far greater and more dangerous things
Coming to this earth than the Corona virus.
Someday Jesus is coming to judge the living and the dead.

If you think stocking up on toilet paper and hand sanitizer is important,
Might I encourage you to consider stocking up on righteousness because that is the only thing that will save you from the wrath that is to come.

If anything good comes out of this Corona virus,
Let it be that during the midst of this virus the church stood strong
And let it be that the fear of death
Drove men to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation.

Matthew 10:28-31 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”

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A Song
Psalms 65
February 23, 2020

So the title of our study of Psalms 65 tonight is a simple one.
I just called it “A Song”

I did that because that’s the way David titled it.
“For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song”

It is certainly a simple and a vague title, not really giving us any insight into the content other than the fact that
• David intended for “the choir director” to sing it.
• David intended for the congregation to learn it.
• David intended for the world to hear it.
• David intended for God to receive it.

“A Song” is really a minimalist title.
It seems less than sufficient.

And I must say that after studying it,
I’m even more convinced THE TITLE IS INSUFFICIENT.

But…
It seems to me that to title this song: “A Song about how awesome God is to hear our prayers, draw us in, forgive our sin, and reveal Himself to us all while putting His awesome power on display for the entire world to see, while simultaneously never failing to sustain and care for all things in creation so that every created thing shouts for joy at the realization of who He is and what He has done”
Seemed to be a title too long.

And so we stick with “A Song”

But what a song it is!
• I know I have read Psalms 65 many times over.
• I had already even given it an outline in the margins of my Bible,
• And yet, this week felt as though I was reading it for the first time.

It is a marvelous truth and in my opinion
One of the greatest songs that David ever penned.
It most certainly should be sung.

The purpose of singing in church;
Both to glorify God and to edify the saints.

That is why it is so important to sing theologically informed music.
Music that enlightens the mind by carrying one deeper into the depths
Of who God is and what He has done.

For it is only when our minds are carried to the depth of understanding
Can our spirit rise into the height of exaltation.
Shallow theology results in shallow praise.
• The tune may be catchy…
• The lyrics may be trendy…
• The rhythm may be fun…

But if there is no weight of doctrine it will produce nothing more
Than a fun little smile or happy little dance.

But if you want your spirit to ascend into the heavenlies
To exalt God with the full force of your conviction
And the full weight of your gratitude
Then sing songs of doctrinal weight that lay open who God is.

That is the type of song David has written for us here.

There are 3 VERSES which David would have us sing
And thus 3 REALITIES that David would have us grasp.

#1 THE GRACIOUS SATISFACTION OF GOD’S PRESENCE
Psalms 65:1-4

It is not hard to see that this is where David is heading in this stanza.

In fact the final two lines of verse 4 read, “We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple.”

David is obviously pointing us to a reality here
That will lead to the ultimate and utter satisfaction of our souls.

That is no insignificant promise.
That is in fact a lofty goal.

That David would tell the church that the singing of this song
And the contemplation of these truths
Will ultimately lead us to full satisfaction of soul.

That’s a pretty lofty promise for a song.

But David also tells us WHAT IT IS THAT WILL SATISFY us as we sing.
“We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house”

David is obviously referring with how wonderful it is
To dwell and worship in the presence of God.

Psalms 84:1-4 “How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah.”

In that Psalm David would even go on to say:
Psalms 84:10 “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

Obviously David is talking about the sheer soul satisfaction
That is found dwelling in the presence of God.

But that opens for us another question.
WHY?

Why is David so sure that dwelling in God’s house
Or standing in God’s temple will be so altogether satisfying to us?

And there is one overarching reason.
BECAUSE IT IS ONLY BY GRACE THAT YOU GET TO DO IT.

When you realize the grace involved
To allow you to approach God’s presence
Then you’ll understand how satisfying it is to be there.

THAT IS WHAT THESE FIRST 4 VERSES ARE ABOUT.

Now back up to verse 1 and follow David
As he begins to lay out THE REALITIES OF APPROACHING GOD.

As David first contemplates approaching God THE FIRST ATTRIBUTE OR EMOTION that emerges is REVERENCE.

That is what verse 1 is about.
(1) “There will be silence before You, and praise in Zion, O God, And to You the vow will be performed.”

As David contemplates approaching God, he is quite certain that 3 things will occur.
• Silence
• Praise
• Obedience

“There will be silence before You”

What does that mean?

Let me give you some other passages to sort of fill in your CONTEXT.
Romans 3:19 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;”

That is to say that God has shattered every argument
And closed the mouth of ever defender.

Consider when Job stood in the presence of God.
Job 38:1-3 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? “Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!”

• There was about to be an interrogation.
• There was about to be a judgment.
• The God of the universe had summoned Job and Job was going to answer.

Twice after that Job would speak.
Job 40:1-5 “Then the LORD said to Job, “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it.” Then Job answered the LORD and said, “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. “Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add nothing more.”

When standing in the presence of God,
Job had no defense, Job had no complaint.
Job only wished he could rip his tongue out of his mouth.

Then God starts in again, and after another round of judgment:
Job 42:1-6 “Then Job answered the LORD and said, “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.”

That is the type of scene that David is envisioning.
• Am I really going to go and appear before the LORD?
• Am I really going to go and approach Him?

One thing I know I won’t do is go and run off at the mouth.

And when I do speak, it will only be in praise.
“There will be silence before You, and praise in Zion”
• I am not about to stand before God and boast about all that I have done, it will
only be about what He has done.

I’m also not going to lie to Him. I’m going to do what I say.
“And to You the vow will be performed.”
• You don’t stand in God’s presence and lie to Him.
• (Just ask Ananias and Sapphira)

So you can see that there is a definite reverence in David’s mind
As he contemplates standing before God.

And yet, David also reveals that despite the terror of the thought,
ALL MEN WILL BE SUMMONED TO DO JUST THAT.

(2) “O You who hear prayer, to You all men come.”
• It may indeed be a terrifying thing to stand before God, but all men will in fact do it.

Revelation 20 tells us that everyone, the great and the small
Will position themselves before God’s presence to give an account.

It will be a terrifying moment where men will be too afraid to speak
As God summons them in His power.

And this is the way this Psalm is beginning.
David is contemplating standing before God
For he knows that all men will stand before God.

• Could you imagine entering behind that second veil?
• Could you imagine having nothing but a curtain separating you from the
holiness of God?

And let me tell you why David is afraid.
(3) “Iniquities prevail against me;”

• David already knows that he is sinful.
• David already knows that he is without excuse.
• He doesn’t need the books opened…
• He doesn’t need the record to be read…
• He doesn’t need the evidence to be presented…

He is already well aware of his sin before God.
And he knows the reality of who can stand before God.

Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

That might as well be THE SIGN
That is posted outside of the tent of meeting,
And it would discourage every human from daring to enter.

But to know that despite my failure to meet the requirements,
I am summoned anyway,
It would be a sobering and terrifying thing.

But here is where the good news comes in.
(3b) “As for our transgressions, You forgive them.”

David learned that he did not approach God as A SINLESS MAN,
But as A FORGIVEN MAN.
• David did not enter as a deserving man, but as a pardoned one.
• God had graciously granted Him to come in spite of what he was.

And do you want to see sovereign election in the Old Testament?
Did you wonder if David was a Calvinist or rather if Calvin was a Davidist?

“How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You to dwell in Your courts.”

Why did David come?
• It wasn’t because he was worthy.
• It wasn’t because he deserved it.

He came because God chose for him to come.
He came because God brought him near.

We have talked about this so many times.

ON ONE HAND: Even if sinners could come to God, they WOULDN’T.

Romans 3:11 “THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;”

Ephesians 2:3 “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

Even if given the opportunity (and all men are given the opportunity)
Lost men will not come to God on their own accord.
God doesn’t represent anything that they want.
They won’t come.

BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT DAVID IS TALKING ABOUT HERE.
David is talking about the other reality which is THEY CAN’T COME.
That is, they are not permitted to come.

Psalms 140:13 “Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name; The upright will dwell in Your presence.”

Well who are those upright there?
It’s certainly not us.
(We know it’s only Jesus)

What we are reminded of here is that the ability to come to God
And approach the goodness of His presence
Is nothing short of the absolute grace of God.

That is why Jesus said:
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

He didn’t say “no one WILL come” (which would also be true)
But He said, “no one CAN come”

And again:
John 6:65 “And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”

• The presence of God is FOR the righteous alone.
• The presence of God is NOT FOR sinners.
• The presence of God is NOT FOR those who have rebelled against Him.

Even regarding heaven we read:
Revelation 21:27 “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Sinners don’t get to go to heaven; only righteous people.

But that is why that last statement is so important;
“but only those who names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

That is only those who have been made alive by the Lamb.
Only those who are clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ.

We don’t come before God by merit, we come by grace.

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

It is only the sacrifice of Jesus that forgives us and atones for us
And justifies us that allows us to boldly enter the presence of God.

Where there should be fear, there is now anticipation!
Where there should be dread, there is now excitement!

The writer of Hebrews especially loved this thought:
Hebrews 9:24 “For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;”

Jesus went for us.
That is, He went instead of us.

Hebrews 4:16 “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 7:19 “(for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”

Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Hebrews 10:1 “For the Law, since it has only shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.”

Hebrews 10:22 “let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

• Us? Draw near to God?
• Us? Boldly go behind the veil?
• Us? Walk right up to the throne?

Yes! Because we go in Christ.
We go as David did, not deserving to be there,
But we go in forgiveness, we go in grace.

And when we get there we find the one thing that can satisfy our soul.
THE VERY PRESENCE OF GOD.

We find the One we were created for.
There is no satisfaction like that anywhere else.

This is the privilege of the church
And David wants you to understand that in this song.

• Do you understand that you are freely allowed to enter the presence of God because of His sovereign choice to pardon you and draw you near?

• Do you understand that apart from God’s choosing and drawing you that you would not have come and indeed you could not have come?

• Do you understand that the only thing that can truly satisfy your soul is only available to you because of the grace of God?

That certainly makes this song worth singing doesn’t!
WHEN WE UNDERSTAND the sovereign grace of God
And what He has done on our behalf that we might approach Him,
IT CAUSES OUR SOULS TO SOAR IN SATISFIED WORSHIP!

• We sing, “Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!”
• We sing, “Take this world, but give me Jesus…Take this world, my God’s enough!”
• We sing, “I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today!”

And when David says that we are “satisfied”,
He means that WE ARE SO GRATEFUL to be here.

We Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for drawing me near.
Gratitude is the ultimate expression of satisfaction.

Men don’t thank God because
They have not pondered what He has done.

David wants you to ponder what He has done
So that you will be so grateful to be here.
A good song will do that for you.

So we ponder the gracious satisfaction of God’s presence and we sing.
#2 THE GENUINE WONDER OF GOD’S POWER
Psalms 65:5-8

Here again we see THE END that David is taking us to.
(8) “They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;”

IN THE FIRST VERSE David just wanted us to be overwhelmed with gratitude that we have been granted the privilege of drawing near to God.

BUT IN THE SECOND VERSE David wants to see the congregation
Standing in dumbfounded awe of who God is.

So to do that David pens a verse to help the church
Contemplate the reality of God’s awesome power.

Back in verse 2 David marveled that God hears prayer.
But here in verse 5 David marvels that God answers it.

(5) “By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation.”

And David acknowledges that when God answered.
1) It was Awesome
2) It was righteous

That is to say that God always does the right thing
And He always does it perfectly.
Even to a miraculous degree.

(5b) “You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea;”

In order to show you that God always answers perfectly and powerfully
David reminds you that all of creation trusts God.
The whole of creation leans upon Him.

This morning in Luke we talked about how God rules His kingdom.
And David says that because He rules it perfectly
ALL OF CREATION TRUSTS HIM.

Have you ever noticed the faith of creation?
Job 38:25-27 “Who has cleft a channel for the flood, Or a way for the thunderbolt, To bring rain on a land without people, On a desert without a man in it, To satisfy the waste and desolate land And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?”

Job 38:39-41 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, When they crouch in their dens And lie in wait in their lair? “Who prepares for the raven its nourishment When its young cry to God And wander about without food?”

Psalms 96:11-13 “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy Before the LORD, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness.”

Romans 8:19-22 “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”

Even creation recognizes and trusts God for His sovereign care.
• The pastures don’t depend on man to water them, they depend on God.
• The wild animals don’t depend on man to feed them, they depend on God.

• Jesus said ravens don’t plow or plant, they just trust that God will feed them.
• Jesus said flowers don’t toil nor spin, they just trust that God will clothe them.

God cares for it all.

And to further illustrate God’s amazing power
David picks 3 illustrations of God’s amazing and perfect power.

1) HIS POWER TO SET THAT WHICH CANNOT BE MOVED
(6) “Who establishes the mountains by His strength, Being girded with might;”

David looks at the mountains and the permanence that they demonstrate.
• No one moves mountains.
• They are resolute, they are steadfast.

Our family likes to ski, and often times we follow ski resorts and watch snow reports on the internet.

You’ll hear them talk about snow and needing snow and see them rejoicing when they get more snow, but you never hear them say,
“We just hope our mountain is still here next year.”

And they are steadfast because God made them that way.
They are a tremendous testimony to God’s perfect power.

God’s power is demonstrated in that He sets that which cannot now be moved.
2) HIS POWER TO STILL THAT WHICH CANNOT BE STOPPED
(7) “Who stills the roaring of the seas, The roaring of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples.”

The sea represents uncontrollable power.
• Even in our day of technology and infrastructure we’ve seen the devastating effects of floods or Tsunamis.

When the ocean wants to move, it moves.
You may ride the wave, but you can’t stop it.

But God can.
Job 38:8-11 “Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop’?”

Jesus did it with 3 words.
• “Peace be still”

And that was all it took
It is God’s absolute power on display to be able to still that which cannot be stopped.
3) HIS POWER TO SUSTAIN THAT WHICH CANNOT BE FATHOMED
(8) “They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.”

Here David speaks of the wonder of a sunrise.

God also asked Job:
Job 38:12-13 “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place, That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?”

I know scientists have answered all sorts of questions
• As to how the earth rotates and how the solar system moves
• And why we see the sun rise in the east and set in the west.

Science has answered all sorts of questions about that,
But they can’t answer one apart from God and that is: “HOW?”

How does it keep spinning?
Why does it do it?

The best answer science could give was that
There was an apparent explosion and then it just happened.

David points to the power of God.

And when the church stops and contemplates the awesome power of God
To set that which cannot be moved and To still which cannot be stopped
And to sustain that which cannot be explained.

Then we respond “the ends of earth stand in awe of Your signs”

We sing
“O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Contemplating God’s glorious power
Produces awestruck wonder in us regarding who God is.

He has power to do whatever He wants.

And here is the even better truth.
In verse 5 David called Him, “O God of our salvation”

This God who has the power to SET that which cannot be moved
And STILL that which cannot be stopped and SUSTAIN that which cannot be fathomed is the God who is at work to save us!

Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

• We know that our salvation is secure because God has awesome power.
• We know that our salvation will last because God has perfect power.

He does whatever He wishes
And we rejoice that He has decided to save us!

That is reason for the church to sing!
That is lofty worship!

The gracious satisfaction of His presence
The genuine wonder of His power
#3 THE GRANDIOSE JOY OF GOD’S PROVIDENCE
Psalms 65:9-13

Here again we see where David is taking us.
“They shout for joy, yes, they sing.”

David is talking about loud, boisterous, uncontainable, joy!

What produces this joy?
Understanding that God’s providence generously cares for all things.

Look here as David speaks about THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
(9) “You visit the earth and cause it to overflow; You greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water;”

Notice there, that not only does God provide or the earth,
But He is extremely LIBERAL IN THAT PROVISION.

Words like “overflow” “greatly” and “full” jump at us.

It is one of the great realities of God’s providence.
Throughout Scripture He tells us to BE CONTENT.
• He tells us not to covet.
• He tells us if we have food and covering that that is enough.

But it’s not like He is stingy.
• While we are commanded to be content, God often shows Himself generous.

Isaiah 25:6-8 “The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.”

Ephesians 1:7-8a “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”

James says:
James 1:16-17 “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

There is no want to God’s providence.

And then we consider all the areas of God’s providence.
(9b-13) “You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth. You water its furrows abundantly, You settle its ridges, You soften it with showers, You bless its growth. You have crowned the year with Your bounty, And Your paths drip with fatness. The pastures of the wilderness drip, And the hills gird themselves with rejoicing. The meadows are clothed with flocks And the valleys are covered with grain; They shout for joy, yes, they sing.”

Here David speaks of God’s work as a farmer.
Do you see all that He does?
• Preparing the grain
• Softening the earth for plowing
• Wetting the plowed fields
• Blessing the growth of the seed.

And that’s not just for the farmer’s field, but for the vacant pastures.
• Who plows the pastures?
• Who plants the pastures?
• Who cares for them?

God does. His providence knows no end.

And the result is that everyone and everything
Who benefits from His providence and who contemplates it
Will “shout for joy, yes, they sing.”

David sees the blessing of:
• Full Rivers
• Abundant Crops
• Thriving Pastures
• Healthy Flocks

And David must stop and praise God for His abundant provision!

And we join in this song!
• Has God provided for you?
• Does God meet your needs?
• Has He been generous in the care of your body and soul?
• Has He not even provided righteousness and salvation?

Then sing!
Then shout for joy!

So why do we sing this song?
• Because God has been gracious to us and we sing in gratitude for being allowed in His presence though we are undeserving.

• Because God is powerful and we sing in awestruck wonder longing to give Him the glory He deserves.

• Because God is generous and we sing for joy that God has abundantly supplied all that we need.

That is a song we sing.
And it is a song that certainly should be sung!

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Where Is The Kingdom?
Luke 17:20-21
February 23, 2019

The kingdom of God is a huge theme in Scripture.

You hear the phrase over and over and over throughout the gospels,
And even through the preaching of the apostles.

We even know Jesus by the title, “King of the Jews”

• The angel Gabriel announced Jesus as a King before His birth.
• Wise men and shepherds worshiped as a King at and after His birth.
• John the Baptist heralded Him as a King
• Jesus Himself affirmed it as He proclaimed His own kingdom.

So where is it?
Answer: It’s right here, but only its members can see it.

This is the conversation that Jesus is about to have with the Pharisees.
And though it is a brief conversation
It is one that is incredibly important to our understanding of salvation.

So let’s work through our text this morning.
#1 THE QUESTION
Luke 17:20a

“Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming…”

You see here the setting of the sermon.
It was all brought on by this question from the Pharisees.

I actually find this to be a little MORE OF A DARE than really an inquiry.
The Pharisees have been out to disprove Jesus from the beginning
And I really think that is what you have going on here as well.

But to fully understand the conversation
YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW WHY THEY ASKED THE QUESTION.

It’s important that you have a basic understanding
Of the realities of the Kingdom of God.

When we are talking about the Kingdom,
People can get a little confused because
The Kingdom presently shows up in two distinct realities.

On one hand we have THE PHYSICAL KINGDOM

And this very simply is THE WHOLE OF CREATION.

You have God, who created this world,
And as its Creator and only sovereign,
God sits in total universal authority over all of creation.

Nothing acts outside of His sovereign control.

As John MacArthur put it:
“This is the universal, external sovereignty of God over everything He has made; everything animate and inanimate, everything material, everything spiritual in the universe is under Christ’s rule. Every molecule, every atom, every component of an atom belongs in this kingdom.”
(Sermon: The Invisible Kingdom of God, Part 1; Luke 17:20-21; Code: 42-221)

Psalms 29:10-11 “The LORD sat as King at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever. The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.”

1 Chronicles 29:10-13 “So David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O LORD God of Israel our father, forever and ever. “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. “Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. “Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.”

Matthew 5:34-35 “But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING.”

God is sovereign over all.
He does whatever He wishes.

And by this sovereignty, God has already put Christ as King over all.

We saw that in Psalms 2
Psalms 2:6-9 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'”

And because of that David says:
Psalms 2:10-12 “Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

Jesus is already King of the world.
Everything has to do exactly as He commands it.

Everything has to respond to His sovereign prerogative every single time.

And Jesus very clearly put this authority on display during His earthly ministry.
• If He told storms to stop, they had to stop.
• If He told water to become wine, it had to become wine.
• If He told legs to grow or eyes to work, they had to obey.
• If He told demons to leave, or bread to multiply, there was no resistance.

In the physical realm His kingship and authority are unquestioned.
He is in charge, and He does whatever He wants.

That is God’s sovereign prerogative over the kingdom that He created.

Isaiah 43:13 “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”

He is the unquestioned sovereign and authority.

Now, we also know that this physical world rebelled against His authority.
They didn’t overthrow Him or strip Him of His power, but they did rebel.

We saw it FIRST IN THE GARDEN, but we continue to see it even today.

Romans 1:21 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Man rebelled against God.
AND AS A RESULT GOD CURSED HIS OWN KINGDOM.
God cursed creation.

It is a form of punishment upon rebellious humanity
Who have rebelled against His authority.

That’s why it’s so laughable when the world wants to blame God or accuse God of not being good when bad things happen like floods or famines or earthquakes.

Some even suppose that such events give evidence that God is not in control.

On the contrary, God is certainly in control and God is certainly good,
But this curse was His design as punishment
On a world that has rebelled against Him.

And that also is proof of God’s sovereign reign over creation.

And incidentally, ACCORDING TO ACTS 3 HE WON’T LIFT THIS CURSE
Until Israel repents and trusts in Christ as their King.

Acts 3:17-21 “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.”

Now, before say, “That’s too severe, and God’s too mean in doing that.”

Let me remind you again of that great Q&A with R.C. Sproul.

Sproul was asked the question: “Since God is slow to anger and patient then why, when man first sinned was His wrath and punishment so severe and long lasting?”

His answer: “Timeout! Didn’t we just have that question a second ago? God’s punishment for Adam was so severe? This creature from the dirt defied the everlasting holy God. After that God had said “the day that you shall eat of it, you shall surely die” and instead of dying (thanatos) that day, he lived another day and was clothed in his nakedness, by pure grace, and had the consequences of the curse applied for quite some time, but the worse curse would come upon the one who seduced him, whose head would be crushed by the seed of the woman. And the punishment was too severe? What’s wrong with you people? I’m serious! I mean, this is what’s wrong with the Christian church today. We don’t know who God is, and we don’t know who we are.
The question is, why wasn’t it infinitely more severe? If we have any understanding of our sin and any understanding of who God is, that’s the question. Isn’t it?”

What to do when you are angry at God?

The curse that God inflicted upon this world
WAS FAR LESS SEVERE THAN WHAT GOD COULD HAVE DONE.
He could have just balled the whole thing up
And thrown it all into hell right then.
BUT HE DIDN’T.

And so now we are living in a world
• That is absolutely and totally under the sovereign kingship of God.
• It is cursed, and it groans and suffers, but He still sovereign rules it all.

I might also add that He rules it all according to His own good pleasure.
That is to say, He does what He will.

Romans 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

• He doesn’t need a counselor…
• He doesn’t need an advisor…
• His thoughts are higher than our thoughts
• He has total autonomy to do whatever He wants whenever He wants.

That is the physical kingdom of God
Which He rules by reason of the fact that He created it.

If you don’t want to live under His rule…
If you want to call the shots…
THEN CREATE YOUR OWN UNIVERSE.

BUT GOD REIGNS OVER THIS ONE.
That is the Physical Kingdom that God and Christ reign over.
Always has, always will.

But there is a second kingdom that we also speak of.
There is A SPIRITUAL KINGDOM

This is the kingdom that God rules by means of His re-creation.

Think of passages like:
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Ephesians 4:24 “and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

God rules everything created.
• That is true of the physical Kingdom which He created.
• And that is true of the spiritual kingdom, which is filled with all those who are saved or who are born again or who are a new creation.

This is the invisible kingdom that we’re going to talk about.
These are those who have yielded their lives to the lordship of Christ.
These are those who have sanctified Christ as Lord in their hearts.

These are those who have submitted their lives to Him and obey Him.
• They have repented of the rebellion that was once theirs…
• They have placed their faith in Christ…
• They have denied themselves and submitted to Him…
• They have been born again…
• They are a new creation…

And they are the subjects and members of His spiritual kingdom.
You can’t see, but it’s real

Now, there is coming a day when
These two kingdoms will merge and both will become evident.

THERE IS COMING A DAY WHEN JESUS WILL RETURN,
He will crush His enemies,
He will reveal all those who are His and He will reign upon the earth.

Every knee will bow…
Every tongue will confess…
Everyone will worship Him…

On that day the invisible spiritual kingdom will be revealed.

Romans 8:19
“For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.”

1 John 3:2
“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”

Colossians 3:1-4
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

On that day Christ will reign visibly on the throne over this world
And all those true subjects in His kingdom will dwell with Him.
You will see both the physical kingdom and the spiritual kingdom.

That day is coming. That day is not here yet.
Currently this spiritual kingdom of Christ is still invisible.

BUT HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND
About the Pharisees theology, and all Israel for that matter.

THEY HAD NO CONCEPT OF THIS INVISIBLE KINGDOM.

• They had studied the Old Testament texts and they knew God was king.
• They also knew that God had given this world to His anointed Messiah.
• And they believed, based on O.T. prophecies, that when the Messiah came He
would usher in cataclysmic signs and physically rule upon this earth.

In short, they saw the events surrounding the second coming,
But they didn’t grasp the events surrounding the first.

Let me explain.

They would read, for example the prophet Joel
Joel 2:28-32
“It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. “The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the LORD has said, Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.”

And did not see two comings, but one.
• They missed the part about “I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind”
• And they were waiting for those massive signs like “wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood.”

They were only looking for those cataclysmic signs.

Or things like:
Isaiah 11:6-9
“And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.”

• They were NOT LOOKING for someone coming to preach repentance.
• They were NOT LOOKING for someone coming to offer salvation.

They didn’t think they needed salvation.
They thought they needed someone to come
And restore Israel to the preeminent kingdom of the world.

They were looking for a King to come in powerful signs
Who would deliver the people and restore the glory of Israel.

THAT WAS THEIR EXPECTATION.

AND THEN YOU FACTOR IN THIS JESUS.
Who first publicly arrives on the scene with this wilderness prophet telling everyone to repent because the King is on His way.

And then Jesus echoes that declaration.

Luke 4:43 “But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

Luke 8:1 “Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him,”

Luke 9:11 “But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.”

And not only that, but He would send out His followers to preach the same thing.
Luke 9:1-2 “And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.”

Luke 10:8-11 “Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘ The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ “But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’”

Beyond that Jesus has preached
• That they should pray “Your kingdom come…”
• He has told men to “Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven…”
• He told the little flock not to worry because God had “chosen gladly to give you the kingdom…”

With Jesus it was kingdom, kingdom, kingdom, kingdom.
He claimed to be the king and He was offering men the kingdom.

The problem was that Jesus didn’t match the Jewish expectation.
Remember Isaiah 53?

Isaiah 53:1-3 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

So you have this preacher declaring Himself to be the King,
But He doesn’t meet the expectation.

And so the common question was:
WHERE’S YOUR SIGNS?
• Where is the moon turning to blood?
• Where are the massive signs in the heavens?

Now, He did put His power and authority on display,
But even that didn’t match their expectation.

Remember this story?
Luke 11:14-20 “And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” Others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. “If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. “And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges. “But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

He was telling them the kingdom was there,
But because He didn’t fit the bill or work the signs they wanted,
They didn’t believe Him.

Well maybe that explains the question here.
“Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming…”

They were sort of calling Him out.
• It’s time to put Your money where Your mouth is.
• If You claim to be the King, then it’s about time You show us the kingdom.

And it’s not just the Pharisees, the disciples are just as confused.

Even at the end of this sermon, in verse 37 the disciples are going to ask,
“Where Lord?” (Where will the kingdom be?)

Even after His death:
Acts 1:6 “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

There was just a confusion.
• They knew about a physical kingdom and that’s what they expected.
• They didn’t understand the spiritual kingdom.

So now you understand their question.

#2 THE CORRECTION
Luke 17:20b-21a

“He answered them and said, “The Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is! or, ‘There it is!’”

The Pharisees wanted to see the Kingdom.
Jesus said, “You’ve got it all wrong.”

You don’t understand the Kingdom.
• You’re looking for physical signs and wonders and powerful displays, but that is not how the Kingdom is coming.
• It will not be an obvious display. (Not the spiritual one)

It won’t be a place on the map you can travel to and say, “Here it is!”
IT’S A MYSTERY.

You are already more familiar with these mysteries than you may realize.
Matthew devoted an entire chapter to the mysteries of the kingdom.

Remember Matthew 13?
8 parables revealing the mysteries of the Kingdom.

Soils – not everyone who is invited into the kingdom actually enters it. Some are too hard hearted, some are too shallow, some are too idolatrous.

Wheat and Tares – the spiritual kingdom will grow up right beside the wicked kingdom of this world. They will grow together until the end when the Lord comes and destroys the wicked and saves the righteous.

Mustard Seed – the kingdom starts small but gets bigger than any other.

Leaven – the kingdom spreads slowly but surely until it grows and coves the earth.

2 parables on the value of the kingdom, but then

Dragnet – everyone is in the net, and the net is being drug in, but the separation hasn’t occurred yet.

And a follow up parable about being a steward of the kingdom.

All of those mysteries were NOT what the Jews expected.
They weren’t looking for a spiritual kingdom…
They weren’t looking for an invisible kingdom…

But that’s the Kingdom Jesus has been preaching about.

The first time He came was NOT to declare physical war
He DID NOT come at first to kill all nonbelievers
And set up an earthly throne with powerful signs in the heavens.

The first time He came was to conquer men’s hearts
And break men’s wills and subdue men’s lives by faith.

• He came to offer forgiveness and mercy and acceptance through Him into God’s kingdom.
• He came to offer pardon to rebels and renegades who had offended God.
• He came to offer them citizenship in the kingdom before God came and destroyed His enemies.

Do you understand that?

If there had been no first coming, and only a second
Then everyone would have been killed as God’s enemy.

• All had rebelled…
• None righteous, not even one…

Christ came as it were to first offer God’s enemies a chance at surrender
And forgiveness and redemption and reconciliation.

HE OFFERED THEM ENTRANCE INTO THE KINGDOM
(That they falsely assumed they were already a part of.)

That was the invisible spiritual kingdom He came to offer.

So Jesus corrects them here.
You are looking for the wrong thing.

The Question, The Correction
#3 THE REVELATION
Luke 17:21b

“For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

This spiritual kingdom is here.

Now, let’s do a little word clarifying here because there’s a lot of confusion about this phrase and translators go back and forth over it.

• “in your midst” translates ENTOS
Which means “inside”

• He DID NOT USE the word ENMESO which means “in your midst”

Jesus literally said here “the kingdom of God is inside”

Translators have struggled with that because they note
That Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees
And so they think that Jesus could not possibly have been saying
That the Pharisees had the kingdom inside them.

Obviously that is not what He is saying.
There are more people here than just Pharisees who are listening.

But what Jesus is saying is that the kingdom is internal,
Not external; not yet.

The kingdom was actually here.
• But it was an internal kingdom, not an external one.
• It is a spiritual reality that is not physically evident.

Jesus said to Pilate:
John 18:36 “Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”

Paul said:
Romans 14:17 “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

It’s a spiritual reality.

So you see how Jesus spoke of two kingdoms, or two realms.
• There is a physical kingdom in which He certainly rules all.
• But there is also a spiritual kingdom which is for those who submit to Him.

One day He will return and the two kingdoms
Will unite and become evident.

The first time He came was not to establish His earthly kingdom.
It was to convert enemies of the kingdom into sons of the kingdom
That they might not be destroyed
When He does establish that earthly kingdom.

But He came this time to offer entrance into this spiritual kingdom.

And the only way you enter it
Is by being born again, or re-created.

JUST AS you must be born into the physical kingdom,
SO you must be born into the spiritual kingdom.

John 3:3-5 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Those who remain in their rebellious and wicked state
Are NOT GRANTED ACCESS into the kingdom.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Ephesians 5:5 “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”

Men who lives in their sinful rebellious state
Are not granted access into God’s kingdom.
They are certainly in His physical kingdom, but not His spiritual one.

The only way to enter that kingdom is through the offer of Christ.
(He is the way)
• He offers to re-create a person.
• He will atone for their sin on the cross.
• He will impute His righteousness to them, thus granting them access to God’s kingdom.

And THE REQUIREMENT for this gracious transaction is what?
You must trust Him and declare Him King.

Right?
Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”

You must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him.

Is that hard?
Yes, very hard.
• It may require you to hate your father & mother, brother & sister, wife & children.
• It may require you to leave your inheritance behind
• It may require you to say good-bye to those at home without looking back

Luke 9:59-62 “And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

It is hard and costly to enter the kingdom.

Acts 14:21-22 “After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

It is costly to enter the kingdom.

But it is also worth it to enter the kingdom.
That is why Jesus gave that “parable of treasure in the field” or “the parable of the pearl of great value.”

It is worth everything you have to enter this spiritual kingdom.
Jesus is the most valuable One you’ll ever encounter.

You most certainly should FOLLOW THE ADVICE of the Psalmist.
Psalms 2:10-12 “Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

His physical kingdom is coming.
• And it will mean destruction of His enemies.

But Jesus came first to offer refuge to any and all who would repent of their sin and trust in Him.
• Those would be granted access into His spiritual kingdom.
• They would be re-created and born again and would no longer be enemies of the kingdom, but sons of it.

The Kingdom Jesus preached
Was the most glorious offer the world has ever received.

But the Pharisees and Jews didn’t understand it.
• They didn’t see that they were enemies of God.
• They didn’t see how they had offended God through their rebellion.
• And so they didn’t see how badly they needed Jesus to reconcile them.

If they had seen that…
• If they had become poor in spirit like Jesus said:

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

If they had seen their spiritual poverty and their need for forgiveness
Then they would have run to this gracious King
Who was offering forgiveness and they would have entered His kingdom.

But as it was, they were not interested in His offer.
They thought they only wanted that physical kingdom.

But really, the question is what about you?

I’m here to tell you this morning
• There is a kingdom.
• And it is here.
• But you can’t see it on the outside.
• It is an internal kingdom and it is growing every day.

And one day THE KING OF THAT KINGDOM WILL RETURN
And reveal it to the world.

And on that day, all those who are in that kingdom will be revealed,
And all those who are not will be destroyed.

Obviously then the wise man
• Responds to Christ’s offer and repents of His rebellion against God,
• And runs to the merciful offer of Christ,
• And begs to be made new, to be re-created, to be born again into His spiritual kingdom.

That is what I would tell you today.

You don’t want to be found outside the kingdom of the day Christ returns.
You do not want to be found a tare among the wheat.

• Submit to the King.
• Call on the King.
• Ask Him for forgiveness.
• He will grant you access into His glorious kingdom.

Download Here

Overcoming Evil
Psalms 64
February 16, 2020

It was a few weeks ago when we studied those 3 “Destroy Not” Psalms
Where David specifically knew he was not to take his own revenge,
But to leave room for God to do it.

Though this Psalm does not have that same sub-heading
There is a similar theme here.
David is still caught having to deal with those who are wicked.

In that passage by Paul where we are told not to take our own revenge, Paul closes with this powerful statement.

Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

We are talking then about overcoming.

That phrase takes on so many different connotations for people.
The word “overcome” is NIKAO in the Greek.
It where we get our word for NIKE like the shoe brand.

And in a simple sense it means “to prevail” or “to conquer” or “to get the victory”
And you understand why the shoe company chose the word.

But for the Christian, prevailing, conquering or getting the victory
Looks totally different than what the world expects.

Often times when a Christian overcomes
It may actually look like defeat to the world.

Because the Christian isn’t trying to overcome unbelievers.
• The Christian is overcoming the temptation to do evil.
• The Christian is overcoming the temptation to sin.

You are likely familiar with those 7 churches in the book of the Revelation.
As Christ confronts those churches,
He reminds each one of them of the necessity to overcome.

• Ephesus had to overcome hypocrisy as they had left their first love.
• Smyrna had to overcome fear as they were greatly persecuted.
• Pergamum had to overcome compromise as they had begun to look the
other way at sin.
• Thyatira had to overcome worldliness as Jezebel had led them into sin.
• Sardis had to overcome pride as they were content to rest on past
accomplishments.
• Philadelphia had to overcome fatigue and continue running the race faithfully.
• Laodicea had to overcome self as they were far too self-sufficient.

Over and over and over Christ told them to overcome.

This has remained the call of the church.
• That we overcome worldly influence…
• That we overcome selfish inclination…
• That we overcome the lusts of the flesh…
• That we overcome the temptation of the enemy…

We are constantly called to overcome.

BUT WHAT MAKES THIS EVEN MORE DIFFICULT
Is the fact that often times the deck seems stacked against us

Because Christians not only face the inward struggle of the flesh,
But often times the outward pressure of persecution.

TURN TO: 1 Peter 2:11-12

What Peter says there is a hard command to obey
Even if there is no other difficulty in our life.

• He tells us to “abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul”.
• He tells us to do “good deeds” so that we have a glorious testimony.

And even in an easy day, that can be difficult.

But Peter commanded it during a time of great persecution,
And he even got specific about the circumstances.

Like, overcome the flesh when you under a corrupt government
(2:13-17)

Like overcome the flesh when you are under a unreasonable master.
(2:18-20)

Peter said that God is pleased
When we overcome even amidst persecution.

Of course Peter then gives Christ as the ultimate example to follow:
(2:21:25)

And then Peter gets back to more difficult situations.
Like, overcome when your husband is disobedient to the word and you don’t want to submit to him.
(3:1-6)

Like overcome when your wife is unreasonable and you want to dominate her.
(3:7)

And then comes Peter’s summary.
(3:8-17)

You see it there don’t you?
Overcome the temptation of the flesh.

It is exactly what Paul said:
Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

It is what Jesus taught:
Matthew 5:38-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

And it is what David is facing here.

He is attacked, he is slandered, he is blasphemed,
And yet he knows that he is not allowed to stoop to their level.

If he starts playing the game the way they play the game
Then he may win this particular battle,
But he will lose the war because
He will have become the very thing God told him not to be.

So here we are with David facing external pressure,
And here is the song he writes regarding the call to overcome evil.

Just two points tonight.
#1 DAVID’S COMPLAINT
Psalms 64:1-6

What a way to start the Psalm.
“Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;”

We don’t often think of complaining as something permissible,
But that is because often times we do it incorrectly.

James 5:9 “Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.”

• We understand the dangers in being disgruntled, dissatisfied, grumbling people.

And because this is true, David is not allowed to open up Facebook
And vent about his injustice to all Israel.

It is a testimony killer when God’s children do that.

But that is why David addresses his complaint to God.
(There is a difference between complaining to God and complaining against Him)

That is really the only place where we may take our complaints.
We most certainly cannot mimic the world
By stooping to his level and fighting him as he fights.

• We don’t return insult for insult…
• We don’t return evil for evil…

Instead we endure, and when enduring injustice
We take our case privately to our Judge.

That is what David does.
• He is facing a loud and boisterous enemy,
• But publicly he must not fall into that petty trap of bickering.
• If David is to complain, it is to be done privately in prayer.
• And David asks God to hear his.

And not only to hear his complaint, but at the same time (1b) “Preserve my life from dread of the enemy.”

This is why David must appeal to God.
HE IS AFRAID.
The enemy has made some bold claims against him
And David doesn’t know what to do with them.

But it is clear that their claims have filled David with “dread”

Dread can be just as destructive as an attack.
It can also be very influential.

• Dread steals peace and motivates compromise.
• Dread is the chief influence of the cowardly as they fear the reproach of men
and thus never obey.
• Dread causes men to forsake the commands of God and give into the
pressures of the world.

It is a dangerous thing to have, and that which must be overcome.

And so David takes his dread to God.
He asks God to “preserve my life from dread of the enemy”

• Don’t let me be given over to dread.
• Don’t let the enemy’s threats cause me to fear and run the wrong direction.

This is the basis for David’s complaint.
He is in a situation that he cannot handle
And he needs God to handle it for him.

He continues
(2) “Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers, form the tumult of those who do iniquity.”

And now we see even more.
• David is confronted by “evildoers”; by those “who do iniquity”
• And David has become the focus of their “secret counsel”
• David has become the focus of their “tumult”

The wicked are scheming against David.
The wicked are seeking to attack him.

The reality has caused David to be overcome with great fear and that is why he has come to God.
• If he cannot fight back…
• If he must turn the other cheek…
• If he must endure their hostilities HE NEEDS GOD’S HELP.

And so David asks for God to “Hide me”

“If evil doers hide in their scheming then let me be hid during their attack!
Make me an undetected target and one they cannot hit.”

God do not just leave me out in the open as an easy target for evil men.
Come to my aid and hide me.

And David describes these wicked men
And why he needs God’s help so badly.

(3) “Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword. They aimed bitter speech as their arrow.”

In short, slander is their weapon.
• They shoot and they stab.
• They are filled with Satan’s fiery darts and seek to use their wicked words and accusations to bring down their target.

Their mouths run loose in slanderous accusations and bitter blasphemies.
They fill the airways with their violent attacks.

And of course this is something the Christian is specifically told not to do.
• We are not to return insult with insult.
• We are not to return threat with threat.

And so when it occurs we take our case to God.

(4) “To shoot from concealment at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him, and do not fear.”

Their target is the blameless.
Certainly those who are blameless are constant conviction.
• Sinners hate those who do not rush into iniquity.
• The wicked hate those who resist their sinful ways.

Their goal is to knock them off the pedestal
And here they are doing it to David with blasphemy.

They are like Satan who asked God, “Does Job fear God for nothing..?”

They are the Pharisees who accuse Jesus of blasphemy or of being insane or of being demon-possessed or of seeking to start an insurrection.

Here they are attacking David because he is blameless.
It is their goal to ruin his reputation and destroy his credibility.

They attack him without fear
Because they figure their attack to be untraceable.

They “shoot from concealment”
• They think no one will know who fired the arrow.

So “Suddenly they shoot at him, and do not fear.”

They are simply wicked blasphemous and slandering men.

(5) “They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, ‘Who can see them?’”

They began their attack by accusing David of that which he did not do.
• They simply threw baseless accusations at him.

But for the wicked, that is not enough.
They also eagerly seek to give weight to their slanders
So they also set traps.

When their accusations were found false,
They might have just walked away as shamed men
Who saw the error of their ways, but not these men.

“They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose”
They are not about to quit.

So they huddle together and “they talk of laying snares secretly;”

• They ask around and figure ways to set traps to cause David to fall into sin that they might expose him and show the world.
• They go to Darius and ask for a command that no one may pray and then they stand outside Daniel’s window just waiting for him to bow his head.
• They approach Jesus and ask Him about paying taxes to Caesar.
• They bring to Him a woman caught in adultery.

They set traps; concealed and crafty traps,
“They say, ‘Who can see them?’”

When it becomes evident that their slanders are false,
They ought to be shamed and stop slandering,
Instead they try to make David guilty of what they accused him of.

And this is why David goes to God with his complaint.

(6) “They devise injustices, saying, ‘We are ready with a well-conceived plot”

Not only are they wicked and conniving, but they are eager to be.

As they “devise injustices” to inflict upon David
They quickly say “We are ready”.

They think their plot to be fool-proof.
They have covered every angle.
They will surely catch him in evil and then hang him for it.

This is such the work of our enemy,
Who first tempts us to sin and then accuses us before God.

These men have a plan and they feel they cannot lose.

And they do this because there is NO LIMIT to the depth of their depravity.
(6b) “For the inward thought of the heart of a man are deep.”

• These men have no restraint…
• These men have no check in their conscience…

They delight only in their wicked plan.

SO DO YOU SEE WHY DAVID MUST PRAY?

• To beat them on this earth, he must become like them.
• To beat them on this earth, he must stoop to their level and play the game as they do.

But he has been forbidden against this.
He cannot beat them at their own game.

He is not allowed to slander and set traps and blaspheme
And secretly make them fall into sin.
David’s only hope is for God to deliver as he continues to walk uprightly.

David must not let evil overcome him.
He must overcome evil with good.

There is so much truth to the Christian life found there.
• We are constantly called to take the high road and not live like the world lives.
• We cannot fight as they fight.
• We cannot war as they war.

TURN TO: EPHESIANS 4:17

Listen as Paul here just reminds us that as believers we cannot live like the Gentiles around us.
• We must be better.
• We must walk uprightly.
• We cannot do what they do.

(Read 4:17-5:16)

Do you see the reality?
• They may slander, but we can’t…
• They may falsely accuse, but we can’t…
• They may set traps, but we can’t…

WE HAVE TO WALK ABOVE.

We have to follow the advice of Peter.
1 Peter 3:13-16 “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.”

We have to follow the example of Jesus:
1 Peter 2:21-23 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

THIS IS WHERE DAVID IS.
And so he does not take his complaint to the local market or to social media.
HE TAKES HIS COMPLAINT TO GOD.

That is David’s complaint.
#2 DAVID’S CONFIDENCE
Psalms 64:7-10

HOW QUICKLY THE SCENE CHANGES
When David enters the presence of God and sits in His counsel.

All of a sudden that barking Goliath doesn’t seem so big.

(7) “But God will shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they will be wounded.”

David’s defense is not a feeble one.
• He has no impotent ally.
• David serves the God who sees all
• David serves the God from whom no man can hide.

David is confident that God can and will demand justice.

Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”

These men hide and shoot at the upright,
But David is confident that God will shoot at them.

Psalms 7:12-13 “If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and made it ready. He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons; He makes His arrows fiery shafts.”

God will do the fighting for David.

(8) “So they will make him stumble; Their own tongue is against them; all who see them will shake the head.”

I prefer the King James translation here.
“They make their tongue a stumbling for themselves.”

That is to say that God will expose them
And their own tongues will bring them down.

SUCH IS THE FATE OF ALL LIARS.
• Their lies have an expiration date.
• They only last for so long.

• As we were taught as kids: “O what a tangled web we weave, when first we
practice to deceive.”
• Or we have also been taught: “Liars have to have good memories”

So it is here.
They are filled with confidence in their slanderous lies right now,
But it will all come out and they will be exposed.

And everyone who heard their deceptive reports “will shake the head.”
They will see them for what they are.

(9) “Then all men will fear, And they will declare the work of God, And will consider what He has done.”

Here David confidently looks to the last day.

On that last day God will put an end to all such foes.
• Men will look upon them slain and consider all that God did.
• And men will fear God and confess that He alone is God.

The point being that their victory and success is temporary and fleeting.
It will not last.
It will not endure.

They stood at the cross and mocked Him as a blasphemer
And scorned Him as a common criminal.
But what a different scene it will be
When He comes the second time.

On that day their lies won’t have any merit.

(10) “The righteous man will be glad in the LORD and will take refuge in Him; And all the upright in heart will glory.”

All those who trusted Christ and who walked in His ways
Will rejoice in His victory and in His deliverance.

The faith of the upright will be rewarded and strengthened ever more
And his worship will be even louder on that day.

AND TO THAT WE SEE HOW DAVID OVERCAME.
He overcome the slanderous temptation of the wicked
To join in their pitiful battle
By trusting in God and seeing victory through eyes of faith.

When you truly believe that God will come
And will judge and will reward the upright
Then it is so much easier to be upright.

This song is clearly a song
Of encouragement to the persecuted.
• For those who are reviled and yet commanded to bless.
• For those who are slapped and yet commanded to turn the other cheek.
• For those going that extra mile.

This song is for those who are discouraged by the tactics of the enemy
And have considered stooping to his level
Or out of fear shrinking from their convictions.

It is a song to reset the perspective of the faithful.
• It is to encourage them to see that while there are those hiding in the bushes in order to shoot at them, that there is actually One who is hiding behind them.

It is a song encouraging us to look to the end and stay true
Regardless of the slander and regardless of the intimidation.

And this is actually quite easy to see.

TURN TO: REVELATION 13:16

(Read 16-17)

• How hard it must be in that day to continue to trust God when such threats and policies are enacted against you.
• How tempted the righteous must be to take that mark.
• But how foolish to take it.

And there are many who won’t.
Revelation 12:10-11 “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”

There will be many overcomers who will walk with eyes of faith.

In fact Revelation 14 gives a great picture of those who overcome.
(READ 14:1-5)
• These are men who despite the pressure walked uprightly.
• This is what we are called to do.
• Overcome.

And more show up in chapter 15.
(READ 15:1-4)

Those also are overcomers.

The point is that
• It can be very difficult to live uprightly in a world that hates uprightness.
• It can be very frustrating to walk in truth and still be slanderously attacked as though you don’t.
• It can be very hard to not stoop to the level of the enemy and fight him on his terms.

But we don’t.
• We don’t take our complaint to the world, we take it to God.
• We trust God to help us overcome our dread.
• We trust God to vindicate us and bring forth justice.
• We trust God to expose the wicked and satisfy the faithful.

So much of what we are called to be as Christians can be found here.
But the command is simple.
Overcome.

Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

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Was No One Found Who Returned To Give Glory To God?
Luke 17:11-19
February 16, 2020

This morning we approach a pretty familiar story in Luke’s gospel.
It is the story of the day when Jesus healed 10 lepers
And 1 of them returned in gratitude.

I’m sure you’ve probably heard the story before.
Most of the time I hear it preached around THANKSGIVING as this has seemed to be a story used most of the time to illustrate gratitude.
• After all, of the 10 who are healed only 1 returns to say “Thank You” to Jesus.
• And so the story is typically used as a story about being thankful.
• And that certainly isn’t totally wrong.
• This Samaritan did demonstrate gratitude.

But, the story is not primarily about gratitude.
It is about the difference between superficial faith and saving faith.
Between faith that is shallow and faith that saves.

This is a topic that I find to be of the utmost importance.

Jesus adamantly warned us of false prophets
• And how they would ultimately usher men through a wide gate and down a broad way.
• How they would come and tickle ears who would be willing to declare anyone saved for any profession at all.

And our society certainly proves those warnings to be valid.

But one of the things we definitely learn from the ministry of Jesus
Is that NOT ALL who encountered Jesus actually had saving faith.

IN FACT
NOT EVEN ALL those who claimed to believe had true saving faith.

John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

People there claimed to believe, but obviously Jesus expected more.
• He actually laid down a litmus test saying “If you continue in My word, then
you are truly disciples of Mine”

It’s as R.C. Sproul liked to say.
“We are not saved by a profession of faith, but by the possession of it.”

These claimed to believe, Jesus said, “We’ll see…”

John 12:42-43 “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”

There again we see men who had some sense of belief,
But whatever that belief was it did not result in confession of Him as Lord.

And Jesus was clear about that:
Matthew 10:32-33 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

Paul was also clear that it is those who “confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord” who will be saved.

So whatever faith these men had, it wasn’t saving faith.
They loved the approval of men more than the approval of God,
And despite their belief, they would not confess.

And probably the most telling of all:
John 2:23-25 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

As we have pointed out before.
The word “believed” and the word “entrusting” there
Are the same word in the Greek. (PISTEUO)

John said that many believed in Jesus, but Jesus didn’t believe in them.

It brings to our mind
• The “many” who will appear before the Lord at the judgment saying “Lord,
Lord” and in response He will say, “I do not know you”

And there are more examples we could bring here, but you get the point.
NOT ALL FAITH IS SAVING FAITH.
There are many who profess but it is an empty profession.

This is also why the Bible tells us to EXAMINE OURSELVES
Regarding the genuineness of our salvation.

2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”

2 Peter 1:10-11 “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”

Even the Lord’s Supper, which we will take at the conclusion of this service
Is done with a calling to examine ourselves.

1 Corinthians 11:27-32 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”

Examining the legitimacy of our faith is a very important reality.
Even included as one of the purposes of partaking of the Lord’s Supper.

Now let me tell you A COMMON MISTAKE
In how people seek to validate the legitimacy of their faith.

Commonly people in our culture measure the legitimacy of their faith
BY THE RESULTS they think it achieves.

That is to say, if God responds as expected
Then they discern that their faith must have been legitimate.
(My faith must be genuine because God responded to it)

The prosperity gospel sort of uses the reverse logic as if to say, “If God does not respond as you wanted then your faith is not real.”

That is a sort of litmus test that I see most people giving themselves.
And in that thread we hear statements like:
• “God has saved my life countless times…”
• “I know God is always with me because of those moments when…”
• “God definitely carried me through such and such situation”

But measuring the legitimacy of your faith in that way
Overlooks the reality of what we call “COMMON GRACE”

Common grace is simply that grace which is common on all men.
Matthew 5:44-45 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

In short, everyone is a beneficiary of God’s goodness.

That fact that God did something good for you
Is not an accurate indicator that your faith is legitimate.
All that proves is that God is gracious.

OUR FAITH IS PROVED LEGITIMATE BY OUR ACTIONS.

And that is what makes this story such a great illustration
Of more than just gratitude, but actually of genuine saving faith.

It is such a great illustration that even if it weren’t true
It would have made a great parable.

SO THIS MORNING let’s work through this story
And examine the difference between superficial faith and saving faith.

There are 4 divisions in this story that we can look at
#1 THE HEALING OF THE TEN
Luke 17:11-14

The story begins by revealing that Jesus “was on the way to Jerusalem”

He has actually been on His way here since Luke 9
Luke 9:51 “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem;”

If you factor in other gospel accounts the picture gets clearer:

• In John 7&8 (Roughly about September) Jesus attended the Feast of Booths
in Jerusalem and at the end they tried to stone Him.

• In John 9&10 He attended the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) and they
again tried to stone Him.

• In John 11 He went near Jerusalem one more time in order to raise Lazarus
from the dead, even though His disciples warned Him that the Jews were
seeking to kill Him.

John 11:54 “Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.”

We are during that brief time period.
Sometime around February or March
Jesus is making His final trip to Jerusalem
Where He will be crucified for our sins.

I point that out because I want you to realize what is on the Savior’s mind.
• Certainly He is readying Himself for what is about to occur.
• But you can also understand the urgency of His ministry.
• His earthly ministry is almost over.

Well He’s traveling south out of “Galilee” and into “Samaria”
As He continues to migrate toward Jerusalem.

(12-13) “As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

We’ve talked about the issue of leprosy before.
• Known today as Hanson’s disease it was a condition by which the infected individual was declared unclean and sent outside of the camp.

There are really 2 reasons why leprosy is so often mentioned in Scripture
And why Jesus seems to have taken such special notice of it.

1) Leprosy was a fitting analogy for sin.
• Contrary to popular believe leprosy did not cause your extremities to rot off.
• Instead if caused nerve damage and loss of feeling in your extremities and ultimately caused people to “rub off” their extremities or even their noses.
• This became a fitting analogy of sin as that which is a self-inflicted and self-destructing disease due to lack of sensitivity to God’s truth.

2) Leprosy was seen as the curse of God on sinful people
• People in Bible times with leprosy were considered, more so than any other humans to have been under God’s judgment and wrath. They were cursed and they were outcast.

• One rabbi is mentioned to have refused to eat an egg that was purchased on a street where a leper walked.
• Other rabbi’s encouraged throwing rocks at lepers to keep them at a distance.

Jesus routinely healed lepers because it demonstrated
His power over sin and ability to satisfy God’s wrath on sinners.

But here you have 10 leprous men.
An entire hospital wing of lepers
Outcast, suffering, lonely, and pathetic.

But no doubt they had heard of Jesus.
They had heard of His miraculous ability.
• It may have even been that the entourage falling Jesus gave ample testimony of Jesus’ ability to heal.

However it occurred, these lepers knew what Jesus was capable of and so “they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

Not presuming to come close to Jesus,
Though He had healed lepers with a touch,
These men desperately cry out to Him.

They identify His power by calling Him “Master”
EPISTATES (ep-i-stah-tace)

Which refers to one who possesses notable power and authority.

And they ask Him to “have mercy on us!”
Which is a common way to ask for help or in this case healing.

SO BASICALLY you have men here who see in Jesus an opportunity to be healed of their disease and jump at the opportunity.

And Jesus does not disappoint.
(14) “When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed.”

• In Luke 5 Jesus actually touched the leper to cleanse him, but here Jesus merely spoke the word.

He told the men to “Go and show yourselves to the priests”

• Jewish Law indicated that the priests were the sort of leprosy inspectors.
• When a man wanted to be declared clean he must present himself to the priest who would examine him and if the leprosy was gone,
• Then he would put him through a cleansing ritual and after the ritual the man could return to his village and family.

So Jesus was clearly here affirming the Law.

Jesus was also forcing the priests to affirm His miraculous ability since they would have to certify that these lepers had in fact been healed.

So Jesus told them to go.
“And as they were going, they were cleansed.”

It is yet another tremendous display of Jesus’ compassion and power.
• Despite all that must have been on His mind He still took the time to show
mercy to these outcast men.
• He also demonstrated the ability to heal them with simply a word.

It was a dramatic demonstration of Jesus divinity and supernatural power.
In effect here, He cleared out the entire hospital.

NOW, IF THE STORY ENDED HERE,
There is no doubt what most everyone would talk about.

The story would not only be about the power and compassion of Jesus,
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE WE’D BE TALKING ABOUT.

We’d be talking about the faith of the lepers wouldn’t we?

Namely because
• Not only did they cry out to Jesus…
• Not only did they call Him Master…
• Not only did they plead for mercy…
• But they obeyed Him to go to the priest before the healing occurred…

If this is all we had of the story,
We’d no doubt be using these 10 lepers as examples of great faith,
Who saw Jesus and trusted Jesus and reaped the benefit of their faith.

But that only proves my point, that perhaps we are willing
To say someone has great faith when Jesus does not.

Because, (as Luke is so fond of doing), next we get the rest of the story.

And it is THE REST OF THE STORY that will help us see that
Perhaps these lepers didn’t have as much faith as you might think.

The Healing of the Ten
#2 THE RETURN OF THE ONE
Luke 17:15-16

Here is where the story gets important.
Because one man does what the other nine do not.

And we need to break this down a little further
To make sure we get a good look at what set him apart.

1) HIS SPIRITUAL CONCERN (15a)

“Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back…”

So all ten are headed to the priest,
And suddenly they are all miraculously healed.

It must have been quite a dramatic scene.
• Missing fingers reappeared, wrinkled skin tightened up, it must have been quite amazing!
• And no doubt the entire group must have been ecstatic.

But one man in the group saw more than the others.
While all 10 were certainly happy to have been healed,
1 saw an opportunity for something greater.

All 10 saw a man capable of healing their body,
1 saw a man capable of healing his soul.

AND THIS MAN RETURNS.
• This man needs more than just healing.
• Leprosy was not his only problem.
• Leprosy was not even his biggest problem.

He had a sin problem, he had a righteousness problem,
And he was now convinced that Jesus could deal with that.

So this man “turned back”.

The fact that the other 9 did not turn back
Indicates that their concern was only for the external benefits of being healed.

But one was also concerned about spiritual things.

2) HIS RESOUNDING PRAISE (15b)

“glorifying God with a loud voice,”

This man was returning with a purpose.
He was returning that he might give glory to God.

• Certainly that is part of why Jesus sent them all to the priest,
• And this man may certainly go there in a moment,
• But he recognized what the others did not.

If giving glory to God was the goal,
Then this man recognized that God was right here.

• No need to enter an empty temple where God’s glory had not dwelled since the time of Jeremiah.
• If a man truly wanted to glorify God, then approaching Jesus was the order of the day.

This man saw that.

3) HIS HUMBLE SUBMISSION (16a)

“and he fell on his face at His feet”

Certainly that is humility, but it is also submission.
• He is acknowledging Jesus as God and submitting to whatever He desires.

The other 9 are excited to go show themselves to the priest
So that they might be declared clean
And they can get on with life the way they want to live it.

This man sees his life restored and turns right around
And offers that life to Jesus for His glory.

You are already seeing the difference aren’t you?

4) HIS GENUINE GRATITUDE (16b)

“giving thanks to Him.”

Others may claim to be grateful, but
• Only 1 expressed that gratitude.
• Only 1 delayed his plans to give thanks.
• Only 1 made sure Jesus knew of his gratitude.

I hope you are seeing the difference.
• 10 were healed – 1 was grateful
• 10 were excited – 1 was submissive
• 10 received – 1 gave

SAVING FAITH IS NOT DISTINGUISHED BY WHAT IT RECEIVES,
BUT RATHER BY WHAT IT GIVES.

And to add an even stronger point we read “And he was a Samaritan.”

It was again that shocking reality of Jews
Who had benefited from Jesus’ miracles who still missed the point,
But of foreigners who trusted with far less proof.

But you simply see that even though 10 were healed, only 1 returned.
Now, we still in our story, might not yet be aware of the biggest problem.
But Jesus is about to shed some light on it.

#3 THE DISMAY OF THE HEALER
Luke 17:17-18

Here we have 3 questions by Jesus
And they all reveal the dismay, almost shock, of Jesus.

• “Were there not ten cleansed?”
• “But the nine – where are they?”
• “Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”

Can you hear His dismay?
Can you hear His frustration?

Quite honestly it is the same type of thing
Jesus has grown all-too accustomed to in Israel.

He has seen it over and over and over.
• Jews who desperately wanted to be healed but who had no interest in being saved.
• Jews who desperately wanted to be wowed with miracles but who had no interest in repentance or submission.

We saw it in His hometown.
He gave them perhaps the greatest revelation that anyone received.

Remember He read from Isaiah and said:
Luke 4:21 “And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

But ultimately that wasn’t what they wanted.
They didn’t want a Savior, they wanted a miracle worker.

Jesus would go on to say:
Luke 4:23 “And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.'”

• They just wanted Him to do the same miracles there that He’d done
everywhere else. They just wanted healing.
• And when He wouldn’t give it they tried to throw Him off a cliff.

Jesus lamented over the towns where He worked most of His miracles.
Luke 10:13-15 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. “But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!”

These towns had seen miracle after miracle and still they wouldn’t believe.
Jesus announced the severity of their coming judgment.

Or Luke 11 we see people who actually demanded a sign (11:16).

But to them He responded:
Luke 11:29-32 “As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. “For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. “The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”

Or in just a few days when He will actually reach the city of Jerusalem.
Luke 19:41-44 “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

It was just testimony after testimony of people who didn’t get it.
They saw miracle after miracle and never got the point.

What was the point of all the miracles?
It was to lead men to salvation.

John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”

John 10:37-38 “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”

John 20:30-31 “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

The point of every miracle was so that
When people saw the man capable of healing disease
That they might then also see the man capable of saving their soul.

The problem however was that time after time
People only wanted the healing with no concern whatsoever for their soul.

And this story, like all those others illustrates that.
And you can hear the frustration of Jesus.
“Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”

And that leads to one final point.
#4 THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SAVIOR
Luke 17:19

Here is this newly cleansed man, now presenting himself at Jesus’ feet.
And Jesus says, “Stand up and go”

That is to say, “Go ahead now and go to the priest and show yourself to him”

And then Jesus says this, “your faith has made you well.”
• Speaking of the 10 as a group in verse 14 we read, “they were cleansed”
• When Jesus spoke of them in verse 17 He said, “Were there not ten
cleansed?”

“cleansed” translates KATHARIZO
And it means cleansed or washed or cleaned or cured

All ten men received that miracle.

But this 1 man received something else.
Jesus told him “your faith has made you well.”

“well” translates SOZO
And that word means “saved”.

In fact, it is the Bible’s preferred word when speaking of salvation.

NOW, FOLLOW ALONG HERE.

All 9 men were healed, but only 1 was saved.
And do you know why?

ONLY 1 GAVE JESUS FAITH.
Do you see Jesus referencing the faith of the other 9?
No, He doesn’t.

And this is so profound as it comes to examining our own life.

What may have appeared to be faith in the other 9 wasn’t.
It was nothing more than desperate, self-serving, optimism
That paid off only because Jesus was compassionate.

Do you see that?

As I told you, if this story had ended in verse 14,
I’m convinced that the dialogue forever would have been about what great faith those lepers had because their faith earned a healing.

And yet, when you read the whole story
YOU FIND OUT THAT WHAT THEY HAD WASN’T REALLY FAITH AT ALL.

They were just desperate men with nothing to lose.

And their true heart became evident
When it became obvious that Jesus was God.

Because when Jesus demonstrated His power, and His power to save, THEY WEREN’T INTERESTED.

Whatever they had, it wasn’t saving faith.
They cried out to Jesus that He might fix their problem,
But once it was fixed they no longer had need of Him.

And I’m going to tell you folks, nothing grieves my heart or frustrates my soul on a regular basis more than this.

I SEE IT ALL THE TIME.
• People who come for prayer because they have some glaring need, but after
the need is filled they never return…
• People who come for benevolent help because they are low on funds, but
once the need is met they never return…
• We even see people who have some fear of hell and judgment and so they
run to Jesus to get saved, and they get baptized, and never return…

Are we to assume that those are expressions of saving faith?
Certainly not!

• If your faith does not produce an awareness that Jesus is God…
• If your faith does not produce a return and a love for Him…
• If your faith does not produce a submission to His will…
• If your faith does not produce gratitude and desire for Him to be
glorified…

Then I don’t know how you can ever assume that it is saving faith.

• Saving faith sees in Jesus the One who is God.
• Saving faith sees in Jesus the One who alone can save.
• Saving faith returns to Jesus in submission yielding up their life to Him.
• Saving faith is concerned with His glory more than their own plans or comfort.

All of these men were partakers of the common grace of Jesus,
But only one was a partaker of His saving grace,
Because only one presented true saving faith to Jesus.

Now, as we APPROACH THIS TIME OF LORD’S SUPPER
And the time to examine ourselves as Paul said.

We have to ask:
WHAT DO YOU SEEK?

Are you just wanting the benefits of Jesus or Jesus Himself?
Are you just seeking for Jesus to help you or for Jesus to be glorified?

We see so many who come running to Jesus for something they need and then once they receive it they no longer need Him.
• We see no love
• We see no gratitude
• We see no worship

And all that means is that there has never been salvation.

Luke is here highlighting a very important point.
The redeemed are spotted
Not by the benefits they receive but by the glory they give.

Isn’t that what Jesus asked:
“Was no one found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”

So friend, where is the glory?
Where is the faithfulness?
Where is the gratitude?
Where is the submission?
Where is the worship?

Is it your objective to make sure Christ is glorified
Or are you just trying to milk His benefits for all their worth?

That is the difference between superficial faith and saving faith
And it is clearly put on display with these 10 lepers.

This morning we now turn to the table of the Lord.

Here we partake of the bread and the juice
As they symbolize the death and atoning sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf.

• It was Jesus alone who came and lived a sinless life, thus earning a righteous status before God.
• It was Jesus alone who proved Himself as God through signs and wonders and various miracles.
• It was Jesus alone who bore our sin on the cross that He might suffer wrath that we deserve.
• It was Jesus alone who rose from the dead, proving Himself righteous and His sacrifice effective.
• It is Jesus alone who can impute His righteousness to us and thus save us eternally.

And we partake of this Lord’s Supper to say that,
Of all the things I may need from Jesus,
Nothing compares to the atonement I need from Him.

• We partake in faith that what Jesus did, He did for me.
• We partake in submission, yielding ourselves to Him for His glory.
• We partake in proclamation that we might proclaim to the world that His death was enough.

And as we partake we are commanded to examine ourselves.

And so that is what I ask you to do.

During this time of preparation,
• Examine your motives, and ask yourself if your life exists for His glory or just His benefits.
• This ordinance is only for those who have come humbly to Him for salvation.
• Others who eat it without seeking His glory only eat judgment to themselves.

SO EXAMINE YOURSELF

But also, submit yourself.
This morning may be the first time you ever do that, and you sit here and say,
“I have been those other 9, but this morning I want to be the 1.
This morning, Jesus I’m coming to you for forgiveness and atonement.”

Then partake this morning in an act of faith that Jesus did this for you.
• Return to Him
• Bow to Him
• Praise Him
• Give Glory to Him

THIS IS THE BEHAVIOR OF SAVING FAITH.