Let There Be Light
John 1:1-13
December 25, 2018

We gather here this Christmas morning as brothers and sisters in Christ
Because we believe that more than anything else,
TODAY IS ABOUT THE GLORY OF CHRIST.

After all, even in a worldly sense, we understand that someone’s birthday
Is primarily about them and not everyone else.

Well certainly that is true in this case.
• We celebrate Christ.
• We celebrate His birth.
• We celebrate His life.

And we gather to do that.

And the objective this morning is a simple one.

Primarily just to tune our hearts again to the truth
Of the blessing that Christ was born into this world.

Now, I know I promise you a shorter sermon on Christmas day,
But we still need to start this story where all good stories start,
And that is in the beginning.

The first 3 verses of the Bible give us tremendous insight,
Even into the miracle of Christmas.

Genesis 1:1-3 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.”

In that verse we find something of the work and nature of God.

“The earth was formless and void”

“formless” translates TOHU
It means “meaningless” or “confusion”

Isaiah 40:17 “All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.”

Isaiah 59:4 “No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly. They trust in confusion and speak lies; They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.”

“void” translates BOHU
It means “emptiness”

Isaiah 34:11 “But pelican and hedgehog will possess it, And owl and raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it the line of desolation And the plumb line of emptiness.”

And hopefully you pick up on the literary work of Moses.
The earth was TOHU and BOHU

It started in a completely unusable, formless, confused, orderless reality.

GOD CHOSE TO BEGIN IT THERE.
• He didn’t start with perfection and maintain it.
• He started with chaos and renovated it.

And there is a reason God did it this way.
It reveals God’s role as ONE WHO REDEEMS.

He always takes what is flawed and makes it new.
• He brings order from chaos
• He brings blessing from struggle
• He brings what is good from what is not

That is the point here.
His plan for creation was to take what had no value
And work it until it was perfect.

And the PRIMARY STATEMENT we see about this was:
“The God said, “let there be light”; and there was light.”

It was the first aspect of God’s creation.
• God intervened!
• God transformed!
• God took what was unusable, formless, confused, and orderless and gave it purpose.
• God redeemed the darkness.

That was His very first act.

And of course we follow from there THE ENTIRE CREATION STORY and remember how all that God created was good.

But we also remember the story of THE FALL.
• By reason of his transgression Adam fell and doomed us all.

What God created perfect had fallen back into that
Which was unusable and confused and without order.

• It was creation, but it was distorted.
• It was creation, but it was tainted.
• It was creation, but it was corrupted.

In short, DARKNESS RETURNED
(not necessarily literal physical darkness, but spiritual darkness)

And from there DARKNESS REEMERGES in the Scripture message.

And darkness comes to represent 2 different things.

ON ONE HAND darkness begins to represent sin and corruption and lostness and ignorance and defilement. Darkness begins to represent spiritual death.

Proverbs 4:19 “The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.”

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

Darkness becomes an analogy for the return of
The corrupt and fallen picture of sin and rebellion and wasted life.

AND ON THE OTHER HAND darkness becomes the chief descriptor of God’s holy wrath on that sin.

Psalms 18:9-11 “He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet. He rode upon a cherub and flew; And He sped upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.”

Psalms 97:2 “Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.”

So after the fall darkness returns
And it is seen both in the corruption of man
And the judgment of God on that corruption.

And sinful man begin to recognize that in the darkness
They have a tremendous problem.
And many begin to cry out for deliverance from the darkness

And throughout the O.T. there are promises of salvation coming.
There are promises and pictures that the light might return.

There is a growing hope that what God did on the first day of creation,
That He might do that again.

Psalms 18:28 “For You light my lamp; The LORD my God illumines my darkness.”

Psalms 107:10-14 “There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, Prisoners in misery and chains, Because they had rebelled against the words of God And spurned the counsel of the Most High. Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; They stumbled and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death And broke their bands apart.”

Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.”

Isaiah 42:6-7 “I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.”

Isaiah 49:6 “He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

There was a prophetic hope that what God did before; He would do again.
• Humanity longed for God to redeem the darkness.
• Humanity longed for God to make something perfect out of what was formless and void and corrupt and broken.

AND GOD DID!
God intervened again!

And the first to recognize it was an elderly man in God’s temple.
Who, after a lifetime of languishing in the darkness, saw God’s light.

Luke 2:29-32 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

And so you see:
• We are talking about redemption.
• We are talking about salvation.
• We are talking about redeeming the darkness.

And you’ve already figured out for quite some time now,
We are talking about Jesus.

This One who was born, NOT just as a moral example.
This One who was born, NOT just as a prophetic voice.
This One who was born, NOT just as promised relief.

We are talking about God’s Light.
We are talking about God’s salvation.
We are talking about God’s Redemption

SO TURN WITH ME NOW TO JOHN 1:1-13.

• You of course are familiar with this passage.
• And we are not going to work out the depths of all of it here.
• But I want you to see the ANNOUNCEMENT that is being made here by John.

If you notice the first 3 verses, what do you hear about?
CREATION
• We are reminded of “the beginning”
• And we are reminded who was there in the beginning – “God”
• And we are reminded that “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being.”

GOD CREATED ALL THINGS.

We saw that back in
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

The one difference here is that John makes the point
That God in a sense was not alone.
He was accompanied by Himself.

We are of course speaking of the nature of the Trinity
And the fellowship the Triune God has within Himself.
It’s mysterious I know, but you see that here.

Now there’s a reason John is so INTERESTED IN INTRODUCING you to the second person of the trinity here.

Because that second Person is huge to the story!

So…
• We are reminded of God’s creative work,
• And we are reminded how God took what was TOHU and BOHU and redeemed it.

Remember:
Genesis 1:2-3 “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.”

Well now we look at verse 4.
“In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men”

ONCE AGAIN LIGHT SHOWN FORTH!
• God intervened!
• God transformed!
• God took what was unusable and useless and corrupt and broken and went to work on it.
• God reached in to redeem the darkness!

In short, John said this.
• God’s light came!
• God’s salvation came!
• God’s life came!

And it came through a “Him”
“In Him was life”

• Just as we aren’t talking anymore about literal physical darkness, but rather sin and the judgment on it.
• We aren’t talking about literal light, but rather salvation and the life that it brings.

But the point is, God moved again to restore broken creation
And He did it by sending One who brings life and light.

Now certainly we are reminded that the darkness did not love the light and that is certainly a theme of the book, but not our point for today.

We see more about this light.
Namely that this light (this salvation) was SO IMPORTANT that God sent a man to announce it to the world.

(6-9) “There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.”

And that is just a beautiful testimony to the light of God
And the salvation and redemption He provided.

Light came, it was true light (true salvation)
And it came to enlighten every man (it was available to all)

It’s just a restatement of the perfection of the new creation
Which God was providing.

Verses 10 and 11 remind us again that not every man was interested in the light,

But those who wanted the light received freedom from the darkness, (freedom from death, and freedom from the wrath of God,)
Received it!

(12-13) “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Now, that is the introduction of this book, just like we saw it in Genesis.
• God spoke into the darkness and brought forth light.
• God through His word redeemed the darkness.
• God brought order to chaos
• God brought purpose to what was ruined
• God brought life to what was dead

We saw that in Genesis 1 – We see that in John 1

And of course you know that the name of that light is Jesus.

John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

John 9:1-5 “As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

John 12:44-47 “And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. “He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.”

• Jesus came as Light
• Jesus came as Salvation
• Jesus came as Life

He is God’s redemption of what was broken.

• If God had never spoken into the darkness in Genesis 1 this world would not exist.
• And if God had not spoken into the darkness a second time in John 1 then life would not exist.

God Intervened!

That is why when Matthew saw Jesus walk into the Gentile region of Zebulun and Naphtali he wrote:
Matthew 4:12-16 “Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES — “THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.”

Matthew screamed to that Gentile region
“It’s the Light!” “It’s salvation!” “It’s freedom from the darkness!”

That’s why when Paul preached in his ministry he said:
Acts 26:21-23 “For this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death. “So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

And in short, this is why we celebrate Jesus today.
This is why we love Christmas.
• The birth of Christ was our new creation.
• The coming of Jesus was light in our darkness.
• It is the day God shone forth to correct what was TOHU and BOHU

Man was useless and corrupt and void before God.
And God said, “Let there be light”

This morning we rejoice in this
• That for us there is a Savior.
• That for us there is Redemption.
• That God did not leave us wandering aimlessly in the darkness, but that He intervened and gave us light!

Jesus is that light and the promise remains.

(9-13) “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Salvation is now available to all who believe in Christ.
• Those who do are “born”, later Jesus will say “born again”
• And they are not born “of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

That is to say that through this Jesus,
All those who have become corrupted and broken and useless and who wander about in darkness CAN BE REBORN, that is RECREATED.

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.”

Jesus can save you.
Jesus can redeem you.
Jesus can recreate you.
He is Light!

This morning I invite you to leave the darkness of sin and shame
And run to Christ for forgiveness and life.
And if Christ has already made you new,
Then this morning I remind you to rejoice in it.

Simeon had it figured out:
Luke 2:29-32 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

The Truth About Following Jesus – Part 2
Luke 9:57-62 (59-60)
December 23, 2018

You are very aware of the portion of Scripture which we are studying.
It is one of absolutely profound importance.

A chapter which not only definitively named Jesus as the Christ,
But one which has also been very clear about His requirements.

In Luke 9 we have seen that
Jesus is without a doubt God’s anointed and chosen King.

• It is Jesus whom God has ordained to literally rule the world.
• To Him God has decreed that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.
• Submission to Him and His will is the divine mandate and expectation.
• Refusal to submit to Him brings only wrath and judgment.

The Psalmist prophesied in Psalms 2
Psalms 2:6-12 “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.'” 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!”

The Psalms was clear.
• God has already chosen His reigning King.
• This King is in fact God’s Son.
• God has given Him the very ends of the earth as His possession.
• And God has decreed that He will rule the earth and literally break anyone
who rebels as with a rod of iron like one shattering a clay pot.
• The warning then was made that all men (even the kings of earth) should
come trembling to God’s King
• They should do homage to Him and submit to Him so that they not fall under
His wrath.
• Instead they should take refuge in Him as their means of salvation.

That was the call of Psalms 2.
When you find God’s King (who happens to be His Son)
Then take refuge in Him, but do not rebel against Him.

It left the world asking, “WHO IS THIS KING?”
And in verse 20 of this chapter,
Luke made it very clear that this King had been identified.

Luke 9:20 “And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
Jesus asked His disciples IF THEY KNEW who He was AND THEY DID.
“You are that King that God promised.”

The implication then is that now that we know who this King is,
It is time to take refuge in Him; to do homage to Him;
To submit to His divine authority and will.

God has appointed Him to rule, we now submit.
That was made clear.

THE NEXT QUESTION is also of absolute importance which would be,
“What does He require?”

And Jesus made that clear in:
Luke 9:23-26 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

This is the requirement of God’s chosen and anointed King.
• Deny Yourself
• Take up the Cross
• Follow Him

He is God’s King, appointed to rule, and this is what He requires.

The rest of the chapter then has been to flesh out what that means.

We most recently saw 3 examples which shed light on the subject of self-denial. In fact we saw 3 bad examples of self-denial.
• The disciples Disdained the Least
• The disciples Disrespected the Laity
• The disciples Disregarded the Lost

All 3 done because they still had not learned what it meant to deny self and let go of their own ego and their own pride and live solely for the glory of the King.

And now we are at the final point of the chapter which is
3 more examples which now shed light on the subject of following Jesus.

As we said last time we have 3 men with 2 things in common.
• They all profess a willingness to follow Jesus.
• None of them knows what that means.

And so we are again learning from bad examples.
Namely we are seeing what it does not mean to follow Jesus.

And how important this is to get right!
Since it is true that our Lord has promised that in the final judgment
There will be a great many people who lived their entire life
Assuming they were following Jesus when in fact they were not.

Do we remember our Lord’s warnings in the Sermon on the Mount?
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Those are people who THOUGHT they were following the Lord
And who THOUGHT they were headed for eternal life,
Only to find at the end that they were not.
That is terrifying.

These people emerge again at the end of that same sermon.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

The warning is clear. Not only must you follow the King,
But you must follow as He commands, not as you desire.

And here at the end of Luke 9 we get 3 examples
Of those who DID NOT intend to follow as He commanded.

We looked at the first last week, let me briefly hit it again.
#1 FOLLOW JESUS IS NOT FOR THE AMBITIOUS
Luke 9:57-58

Here we met a man who came to Jesus and initially said the right things.
“I will follow You wherever You go.”

• To our limited discernment this man seemed to have it figured.
• It seems as though He is giving the Lord a blank check.
• If he were to set in our church would never suspect His genuineness.

But the Lord looks at the heart.
The Lord knows all men.
There is no creature hidden from His sight.

And our Lord knows that this man
Has very selfish and carnal reason for following Jesus.

This man supposes that Jesus will be his means
To obtaining worldly comfort and riches and glory.

In short, this man is ambitious for the world
And he sees Jesus as his meal ticket for acquiring it.

It is the very essence of today’s prosperity gospel,
Whereby men suppose that Jesus is some sort of genie in a bottle whose sole purpose is to provide for you all the worldly extravagance that you flesh desires.

Jesus SQUASHED this man’s carnal hopes.

He said, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Jesus points out the obvious to this man
That Jesus Himself had not acquired the world.
In fact Jesus was homeless.

Any notion of following Jesus to worldly riches and fame
Was a misguided notion.
Jesus had not acquired the world
And He would not be leading His followers to that end either.

And so we learned that
• If our motivation for following Jesus is because we think Jesus will be some ticket to earthly bliss and prosperity,
• Then we are not following as Jesus commanded.

We are thus deceived and quite frankly,
According to what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount,
It is even likely that in that state we could very well be
On the wide road leading to destruction.

Following Jesus is not for the Ambitious

Having learned that last week, this morning we move to the next example.
#2 FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE ACQUISITIVE
Luke 9:59-60

(Not inquisitive, but acquisitive)
ACQUISITIVE it means “eager to acquire things; materialistic.”

We are talking here about those who are only interested in the wealth of this world.
• They love the world.
• They want the world.
• That is their goal.

Now immediately you might ask,
“How then is this man different than the first?”

After all, didn’t we just say that this was the problem of the first man;
That he wanted wealth and comfort and prosperity?

Yes we did, but there is a fundamental difference between these 2.
There is an important distinction between these 2 men.

The first man thought Jesus to be his means of acquiring prosperity.

This man knows Jesus is not, and so he wishes to delay following until he can satisfy that craving.

Whereas the first man believed the prosperity gospel,
This man does not believe it.
He is well aware that following Jesus
Will not lead to earthly prosperity and comfort.
And it is that understanding that is causing his dilemma.

Let’s look at this man and I’ll show you what we mean.
(59) “And He said to another”

Here we find that (different from the first man) Jesus initiates this invitation.

• The first guy approached Jesus and offered to follow.
• But Jesus approaches this guy and asks him to follow.

The fact that Matthew also puts these 2 examples together
Seems to indicate that these two examples happened at the same time.

Meaning, it is likely that both of these men approached Jesus,
And possibly for the same reason.

And the first man offered to follow, but Jesus quickly shut him down indicating that there would be no prosperity gained in following Him.

The implication is that the second man then was kind of left speechless.
He doesn’t make the same offer to follow that the first man made
Because Jesus has made it clear that He won’t grant what they desire.

So perhaps this man is just willing to walk away and never say anything.
But Jesus doesn’t allow that.

As this man stands in silence Jesus looks at him and addresses him as if to say, “Well, what about you?”

“And He said to another, “Follow Me.”
• It’s not a confusing command.
• It’s the same command that our Lord introduced earlier in the chapter.

This is the King
And He is asking here for submission.

In fact, He is requiring it, “Follow Me”

NOW REMEMBER, this man just learned
That if He says “Yes” then he will NOT be following to prosperity.

So, he answers like this to Jesus.
“But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”

• So in a simple sense we see that this man does say, “I will”.
• But before he follows there is one thing he wants to do first.

Wait until I “bury my father” and then I will follow You.

Now we should point out that THIS MAN IS ALREADY OUT OF LINE
Because he is in no position to make requirements.

• This is the King, He has heavenly authority.
• This is not a negotiation.
• You have no leverage.

But this man still gives Jesus his terms of consent.
I’ll follow after I “bury my father”

And I’m quite sure that the first time you read that,
You probably thought something like, “Well that’s certainly reasonable. Surely Jesus will have no problem with that small stipulation.”

And then we are shocked to hear Jesus say:
(60) “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.”

Now first let’s deal with the elephant.
Are you seriously saying that Jesus
Wouldn’t even let this man go bury his father?

THAT EXACTLY WHAT I’M SAYING. THAT’S WHAT JESUS SAID.

And there’s a reason Jesus won’t let this man bury his father.
IT’S BECAUSE HIS FATHER ISN’T DEAD

• It’s NOT LIKE this man was at his father’s funeral and simply told Jesus, can you give me 20 minutes until we finish up here?

What this man meant was, “I will follow You, but let me wait until my father dies so that I can first collect my inheritance.”

SO DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE?
• Both of these men approached Jesus with the idea of following Him to
prosperity.
• The first man spoke up about their willingness and Jesus revealed that they
would earn no prosperity by following
• Perhaps they were both willing to walk away at that point
• But Jesus asked this other man to follow anyway
• And he agreed so long as Jesus would let him gain some financial security first

It is as if he said, “If following You isn’t going to make me rich, then I need to obtain some financial security before I follow.”

It’s NOT the prosperity gospel.
It IS the idol of greed.

IT IS SEEN IN PEOPLE
• Like the Rich Young Ruler who will not give up his wealth to follow.
• Who make statements like, “I plan on getting saved after I do the things I want to do first in this life”
• Who make statements like, “Once I finish my job, once I raise my kids, once I cash in my pension, once I…. then I will follow Jesus.”

We could certainly say that this man was just as ambitious as the first.
But the problem Jesus addresses here is that this man is ACQUISITIVE.

Jesus exposes that this man loves the world.
He has the idol of greed.

AND YOU CANNOT (and will not) FOLLOW JESUS
IF YOU LOVE THIS WORLD.

That is obvious to us isn’t it?
James 4: 4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

We know this right?
If your preoccupation is with gaining the world then you will never follow Jesus.
• The timing will never be right…
• The greed will never be satisfied…
• You will daily deny the Son of God so that you can keep the world…

THAT’S JUST THE TRUTH.

That’s why Jesus said regarding the Rich Young Ruler
Luke 18:22-25 “When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

And THE IMPLICATION there from Jesus is clear.
It’s not just hard for a rich man to enter heaven, IT’S IMPOSSIBLE.

In fact “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

If you love the world you won’t follow Christ.
If you love the world you can’t follow Christ.
FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE ACQUISITIVE.

But there is really even MORE HERE THAT JESUS SAYS
That we can draw upon.

When this man gave the terms to Jesus about first collecting his inheritance
Jesus DID NOT SAY, “Why don’t you give your inheritance up.”

Instead He said this, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead”
What did Jesus mean by that?

Jesus just made a harsh statement of fact.
Namely that those who live for this world are what? “dead”

Not physically dead; obviously.
Those who live for this world are spiritually dead.

That is to say they do not have within them the life of God.

Isn’t that what James and John both implied earlier in those passages we read?
• James said if you love the world you are an enemy of God.
• John said if you love the world you don’t love the Father.

Those who love the world and seek to acquire the world
Are spiritually dead.

And this isn’t the only place where that truth is revealed.

Speaking about the requirements of widows in the church.
1 Timothy 5:6 “But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives.”

Or do you remember how the Prodigal Son was described?
Luke 15:24 “for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

Luke 15:32 “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'”

Paul spoke of it to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 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.”

That is to say that those whose goal
Is to indulge the desires of the flesh are dead.

Jude spoke about men who love the world like Cain or like Balaam or like Korah:
Jude 11-13 “Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”

Jesus spoke to the church at Sardis who had soiled their garments with their complacency and love of the world.
Revelation 3:1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”

Do you get the picture?
• A person may indeed think that they are saved…
• A person may indeed think that they are following Jesus…
• But if that person loves the world they are mistaken.

The reality is that they are dead even if they think they live.

So here we have a man who won’t follow Jesus yet
Because he wants to obtain the world first
And Jesus says, “That is spoken just like a dead man”

“Allow the dead to bury their own dead”

That’s another way of saying, “The preoccupation with wealth and inheritance is a worldly concern, not a spiritual one.”

Remember what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount?
Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Worry and preoccupation with worldly things is a “Gentile” mentality.
That is to say it’s a “pagan; worldly; lost” mentality.

The spiritually alive seek the kingdom…
The spiritually alive seek righteousness…

Seeking the world is a fruit of spiritual death.
And those who are dead do not follow Jesus, even if they think they do.

And so Jesus told this man “Allow the dead to bury their own dead”

And THEN He said, “but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

I find this interesting as well.
• Namely that instead of saying “Follow Me”
• Jesus got more descriptive regarding specifically what He wanted of this
man.

Instead he said, “go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

That’s an interesting statement.
• But do you see that Jesus is using the phrases interchangeably?

In fact Matthew reveals that Jesus said both to this man.
Matthew 8:21-22 “Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”

So now, if I were to ask you at this point,
What does it mean to follow Jesus?

You can now say, “It means to “go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

Can you see that?

Now let me tie the scene up for you a little more.

We saw last week that Matthew indicated that
This conversation occurred following Jesus healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and all the miracles that He worked at that time.

(You can see that context in Matthew 8:14-22)

But let me remind you what else happened on that day.
Luke 4:38-42 “Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her. And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them. While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ. When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.”

This would have been when these 2 men approached Him.
• That means that these 2 men where part of that crowd that didn’t want Jesus to leave.
• And in desperation had even considered following Him to cash in on prosperity.
• But Jesus confronted both of those men.

And you could put right there these 2 conversations.

And then look at what happened next.
Luke 4:43-44 “But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.”

So when I ask you what Jesus came to do?
You can say that He came to “preach the kingdom of God”

And so when He asks this man to follow Him,
It is clear what that means.
You too go and preach the kingdom of God, just like I am.

So when I ask you if you follow Jesus? (and you say “yes”)

You’ll understand why I follow that up with the question,
“Then do you “go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God”?

Does that make sense?
• It may be that people think they are following Jesus, but in reality they are not.
• It may be that they only intend to follow Jesus, but it is their love of this world that has thus far caused them to delay.

“I do intend to follow Jesus, but not yet”

And ACCORDING TO JESUS the reason for the “not yet”
Is because they love the world, they want to acquire the world,
They want to keep the world, and friendship with the world.

Even more directly. The reason they do not yet follow and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God is because they are in fact “dead”.

And that is why we say that:
FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE ACQUISITIVE

Following Jesus is not for those who want the world (to gain it or keep it).
• We already know that Jesus is not going to gain the world.
• But we also know that Jesus left His world behind that He might go and proclaim the truth of the Kingdom.

AND THAT IS THE CALL.
You cannot love this world and follow Christ.
AND YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE ISSUE HERE.

One hand it is certainly an issue of idolatry.
• Christ will not share the heart.
• He is a jealous God.
• When He says that He will have no other gods before Him, that includes the
god of gold.

That’s certainly one issue.
That is what stopped the Rich Young Ruler in his tracks.

That is what is referred to as the “weedy soil”
Luke 8:14 “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”

Certainly then part of the problem is that if you love the world,
You confess idolatry which the Lord will not tolerate.

But there is more to this issue than just that.

Namely it is that IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE FAITHFUL to follow Christ if you maintain a love of this world.

What I mean is this.
If you seek to follow Christ you will continually be put in circumstances in which it will be impossible to follow Him and do what He asks if you love the world.

For example, look at the early church.
Acts 2:43-45 “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.”

Obviously if you love the world
You are unwilling to part with your stuff for the sake of your brother.

Acts 4:34-35 “For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.”

There it is again. Following Jesus there would not have been possible
If love of the world was the driving focus.

Listen to John:
1 John 3:16-18 “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”

Again following Christ requires willingness to part with this world.

Look at:
2 Corinthians 8:1-6 “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.”

• There we aren’t just talking about people who had an abundance and chose to part with it,
• But rather people who endured an even greater lack than they already had.

The Macedonians (Philippians) gave out of their poverty.
Paul took that example and then told the Corinthians,
“You need to follow Christ like that too!”

AND THE POINT I AM MAKING HERE IS SIMPLE:

If you’re only love is riches
Then you’re going to inevitably pass on all those opportunities
And in those instances you won’t follow Christ.

Your desire to first go and bury your father will keep you from following.

Look, I’ve got a whole note pad filled up with support Scriptures on this. We could keep going and going and going.

The Bible has much to say about how loving the world hinders following Christ.
• Should we talk about the Rich Man in Hades who wouldn’t help the beggar Lazarus?
• Should we talk about the man who wanted to tear down his barns and build bigger ones so that he’d never have to worry again?
• Should we talk about Lot’s wife who loved this world and looked back?
• Should we talk about the rich in James 5 who had hoarded their gold to the point of rust and James told them they were fattened for slaughter?
• Should we listen to Asaph in Psalm 73 talk about how those who seek wealth are suddenly destroyed in an instant?

The list goes on and on. But the point is simple
Loving this world keeps people from following Jesus.

• FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE AMBITIOUS
• FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE ACQUISITIVE

Luke 16:14-15 “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

How’s that one?
Loving the world like the Pharisees did is “detestable in the sight of God”

YOU GET THE POINT.
We are called to follow Jesus.
• We don’t follow Him because we think He will make us prosperous.
• And we don’t resist following Him because we know it will make us poor.

Those who followed Christ left this world behind
And went everywhere and proclaimed the kingdom of God.

They forsook this earthly city for a heavenly one.
And they followed Jesus to it.

UNDERSTAND what the King is demanding when He says, “Follow Me”
AND THEN ASK yourself if you are.

Luke 9:23 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

A Prayer For Battle
Psalms 20
December 16, 2018

Tonight we look at this 20th Psalm and after reading it,
It is a pretty easy Psalm to understand.
It is the song sung on the eve of the battle.

David’s battles are well-documented in Scripture. He was a man of war.
As one commentator said, “David’s sword may have been severely hacked, but it was never rusty.”

But it wasn’t just that David knew about battle,
David also knew about victory.
• Some of David’s victories are the most improbable and yet famous in all the Bible.
• We are even mindful of that great accommodation which David received that he had slain his “ten-thousands”.

David was a successful warrior.

Tonight we get a song that shows us what made this warrior tick
And what allowed him to so boldly go forward.

The setting is not given, but the scene is yet obvious.
Just a few clues from the text help us understand the scene.

• In verse 1 we know that it is “the day of trouble”. There is a battle to be
fought.
• In verse 2 we know that David has entered “the sanctuary” that he might
seek God’s help.
• In verse 3 we learn that he is offering sacrifice to God.

David is about to go to battle and before he does,
He is seeking the help of the Lord.

WHAT IS ALSO CLEAR is that as King David approaches the Lord
THE PEOPLE HAVE GATHERED ABOUT AND ARE PRAYING FOR DAVID.

• They are praying that God would answer David.
• That God would help David.
• That God would accept David and his offering.

Those things become clear to us, and so we see the setting.
There is a king going to war
And the people are praying for him as he goes.

The Psalm obviously teaches us about the importance of prayer,
But even more than that it teaches us to have confidence in prayer.

Here we can answer some of those questions:
• Why is prayer so important?
• Why does prayer work?
• What does a lack of prayer say about us?

This Psalm is an encouragement to us
Regarding the necessity of CALLING upon God
And TRUSTING the God to whom we call.

You may have never thrown a rock at a Philistine, but you are aware that we are continually in a battle.

Paul lays that battle out very clearly for us.
Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

And then after commanding us to put on the gospel armor, Paul reminds:
Ephesians 6:18-19 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,”

Now earlier when we studied Psalm 5
We said that it was a good example of this type of prayer.
• I have no problem saying that when David entered the sanctuary he prayed
Psalm 5.

Psalm 20 is the prayer of the people who are praying for David.
• Psalm 5 would be an example of Ephesians 6:18 “pray at all times in the
Spirit”
• Psalm 20 would be an example of Ephesians 6:19 “and pray on my behalf”

Both however are prayed before the battle.
So let’s work our way through it this evening.

4 points.
#1 THEIR PRAYER
Psalms 20:1-3

Now we do make here a point of clarification.
We know that David has obviously stopped by the sanctuary of God to offer prayers and sacrifices to God before the battle.

But what we don’t know is what David prayed.
That is not revealed to us. (As I said, maybe Psalms 5)

We don’t know what the conversation was between David and the LORD

What we are given here is what the people prayed
On David’s behalf as they waited outside of the sanctuary.

And to clarify it we can break their request down into 3 parts.
• May He ANSWER YOU
• May He ASSIST YOU
• May He ACCEPT YOU

That’s the first request: May God ANSWER YOU
(1) “May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high!”

Here we are mindful of A WONDERFUL AND GRACIOUS REALITY
That is available for the believer.

They are NOT here praying that God would give David what he is asking for. (That prayer comes in verse 2.)

The prayer here is that God would calm David’s heart and anxiety
Simply by showing up and being willing to answer.

No doubt the people understood the anxiety of battle.
• The very fact that David had entered the sanctuary to pray
• Demonstrated that this battle; this “day of trouble” was taxing on him.
• The people could see the struggle

So as David enters the sanctuary the first request of the people
Is that God would “answer” him.

But even more specifically that “the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high!”

Often times in the Psalms we get a picture of a person in anxiety
And the cure for that anxiety is typically something along the lines of
God putting me in a large place.

For example:
Psalms 18:19 “He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.”

Psalms 118:5 “From my distress I called upon the LORD; The LORD answered me and set me in a large place.”

• The picture is that of a claustrophobic situation that threatens to smother until
you can’t believe.
• It’s a picture of your options dwindling and the walls closing in around you.

And the relief is seen in that God sets you in a “large place”.

That doesn’t mean that God physically changes your location,
It simply means that He addresses your anxiety and gives you peace.

That is what the people are praying here for David.
That God would “set you securely on high!”
• That God would carry you above your problems.
• That God would replace your anxiety with security.

And they even give the BASIS for that prayer.
Namely that “the name of the God of Jacob” would accomplish that for him.

When we speak of “the name” of God we are referring to
God’s Nature, God’s Reputation, and God’s Character.
We are talking about who God is.

So perhaps now you better understand that initial request.
God answer Him, and remind Him who You are,
So that You may quiet his nerves.

They aren’t yet referring to David’s specific requests,
They just want God to be gracious and to calm David’s spirit.

• Calm him God
• Give him assurance God
• Settle him God
• And do it with a reminder of who You are.

I think about in Ephesians 6 when Paul said:
Ephesians 6:19 “and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,”

I think he would have been more than ok with them praying that God would answer Paul, remind him of who He is, and settle His nerves.

Or Consider:
Colossians 4:3-4 “praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”

You pick up on that “the way I ought to speak”

There was clear fleshly battle expressed there.
He knew what to speak, and he knew how to speak it, but it’s still hard.
He would have welcomed a prayer for God to calm his nerves.

Well that’s their first prayer for David. May God ANSWER YOU

Secondly, May God ASSIST YOU
(2) “May He send you help from the sanctuary and support you from Zion!”

Now we are talking about practical aid.
• We have moved beyond peace.
• Now we want literal, actual, physical help.

• Not help from the armory…
• Not help form the treasury…
• But help from the “sanctuary”.

That God would SHOW UP AND PROVIDE ASSISTANCE
For victory in this battle.

And we don’t know specifically what that is, I doubt the people even knew
• Maybe he needs hailstones like Joshua enjoyed
• Maybe he needs the sun to stand still to lengthen the battle
• Maybe he needs confusion in the opposing army like Gideon witnessed
• Maybe he just needs accuracy with his slingshot

Who knows what it specifically looked like,
But the people understood that on his own David was toast,
But if God would show up to help then David would be victorious.

And so that’s what they pray for.
And without this aid, the battle is hopeless.

Samuel Chadwick said, “The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears noting from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at out toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”

Charles Spurgeon said, “Prayers are the believers’s weapons of war. When the battle is too hard for us, we call in our great Ally, who, as it were, lies in ambush until faith gives the signal by crying out, “Arise, O Lord.” Although our cause be all but lost, it shall soon be won again if the Almighty doth but bestir Himself.”

Prayer is mightily important on the eve and during battle.

I’m reminded of the wonderful story of Peter.

Acts 12:1-5 “Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people. So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.”

Regardless of all the enemy had done…
All the intimidation…
The death of James…
The arrest of Peter…
The four squads of soldiers…
The prison bars…

The writer only says one thing,
And we know the circumstances are about to change.
“but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.”

What a difference! What a necessity!

• “For a church that refuses to pray is most certainly a church filled with
arrogance, having forgotten their weakness.

• A church that refuses to pray is most certainly a church filled with apathy, not
caring if they are victorious.

• A church that refuses to pray is most certainly a church filled with apostates,
having no concern at all for the cause of the kingdom.”

Prayer is essential!

Even Jesus prayed before the feeding of the 5,000
Even Jesus prayed before calling out Lazarus.
Even Jesus prayed in the garden and bid His disciples do likewise.

Without God’s involvement, there can be no victory.

David’s people knew that and so they prayed that
Not only would God ANSWER David, but that God would also ASSIST him.

And they pray that God would ACCEPT HIM
(3) “May He remember all your meal offerings and fine your burnt offering acceptable! Selah.”

So the implication is that David has approached God
In order to offer sacrifices to God. He is entreating God’s favor.
And the request of the people is that God would in fact accept David.

In fact the phrase “find your burnt offering acceptable”
Is actual translated “turn to ash”

It was a Hebrew idiom that indicated God’s acceptance.
You knew God accepted your offering if He sent fire to consume it.

Leviticus 9:24 “Then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.”

1 Kings 18:38 “Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.”

Judges 6:21 “Then the angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.”

The prayer here is that God would be willing to accept David.

The fact that David is sacrificing tells us something else of the posture and attitude of prayer.
• David understands that he has no personal claim on victory nor merits that God should reward.
• David cries in humility and desperation in need of grace

And the people ask God on his behalf that God may grant it.
So as David prays, the people are outside praying in this manner for him.

And the very scene on strengthens our conviction that prayer is essential.

• If God doesn’t show up the battle is lost.
• If God answers, but the answer is “no” the battle is lost.
• If God doesn’t accept the petitioner, the battle is lost.

This is an essential step.

• Do we really believe we are going to see the lost saved by our own charisma
and intellectual argument?
• Do we really believe that we are going to resist the temptation in our own
strength?
• Do we really believe that the necessary courage to stand is just a natural part
of our flesh?

Of course not!
We are ever aware of how desperate we are for God to move.

And verse 3 ends with “Selah” (Pause)
Just keep praying until David comes out of that tent.
Who knows how long it will take.

Their Request
#2 THEIR ENCOURAGEMENT
Psalms 20:4-5

Well now David has emerged from the tent,
And he is looking into the face of his people.

He is about to depart for battle, but before he goes,
THE PEOPLE HAVE A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR HIM.

(4-5) “May He grant you your heart’s desire And fulfill all your counsel! We will sing for joy over your victory, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.”

It is a very encouraging statement.
• We believe that God will “grant you your heart’s desire”
• We believe God will “fulfill all your counsel!”

And while you go fight,
• We’re going to “sing for joy over your victory”
• And we’re going to start decorating for the victory party; “we will set up our banners.”

We see here an absolute confidence on the part of the people.
• David is about to go to war and the people are giving him a pep rally.
• We know you’re going to win!
• We know you will be victorious!

But what is important to recognize is that
Their confidence had nothing to do with David’s track record
Or David’s ability.

When he comes out THEY DON’T SAY,
• We pity the Philistines because you are David the Philistine killer!
• Who can throw a stone like you?
• Who is wiser in battle than you?
• Many have faced you and all have fallen!
• You are David the slayer of ten-thousands!

That’s the type of pep talk that people in our day would give.

That’s NOT the encouragement here.
The encouragement of the people to David is that
He should be confident because God is on his side.

(Implied then is that God did in fact accept that burnt offering.)

And as David stands before the people
They know that God’s acceptance of the offering
Was a sign of God’s intervention in the battle.

And so the people build David up in confidence regarding his God.
• “May He grant you your heart’s desire”
• “in the name of our God we will set up banners”
• “May the LORD fulfill all your petitions”

What we have there from the people is not only the belief that prayer is essential, but also the BELIEF THAT GOD ANSWERS PRAYER.

And they are encouraging David with that belief.
God will answer you! God will respond!

I’m reminded of Paul encouraging Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

Or Paul encouraging the Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians 5:24 “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

Or Paul encouraging the Philippians
Philippians 1:18-20 “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”

It is not just a commitment to prayer,
But a belief that God responds to prayer.
IT IS A CONVICTION THAT GOD ANSWERS PRAYER.

This was a conviction that Jesus tried to instill in His disciples.
Luke 18:1-8 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘ Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

What was the point? God answers prayer, don’t stop!

What a tragedy when the church either doesn’t feel the need to pray,
Or doesn’t truly believe that God answers prayer.

David’s people are encouraging him
That the God he sought will in fact answer and give the victory.
That’s good Christian encouragement!

Their Prayer, Their Encouragement
#3 DAVID’S ANNOUNCEMENT
Psalms 20:6-8

• So David went to pray and the people prayed for him.
• David emerged from the tent and the people encouraged him.

And now David responds to the people.
It is the last word of the king as he rides off to battle.

(6-8) “Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God. They have bowed down and fallen, But we have risen and stood upright.”

• Obviously David is a man of faith.
• Obviously David believes God will deliver.

What is beautiful to us here is that
David gives the theological basis for his confidence.

There is a reason that David is confident
That God will show up and grant him the victory.
“Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;”

That is to say, “I know God saves those He has chosen to save”

And there is no circumstance that can change that.

Do we remember Paul’s great dissertation to this end?
Romans 8:31-39 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 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.”

That was Paul saying the same thing.
• We know that no circumstance can change the fact that God will save those He has chosen to save.
• Nothing can change that.

Listen to the conviction of Jesus to that end:
John 6:37-40 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

That is the truth on which David is hanging his hope.

Perhaps
• As David entered the tent filled with anxiety and began to pray.
• And as the people prayed that God would reveal His name and thus comfort
David.

Perhaps that is the truth that God revealed and thus settled David’s heart.
David, I am the God who saves His anointed!
I deliver My people!

I remember the first time we boarded a plane to go to Africa,
And none of us knew what to expect.
I was pretty well convinced I was gonna die over there.

• Of course during the commissioning service Carrie prayed for me and said, “Lord, You’ve shown me that You will bring him home. We don’t know when or in what condition”

So, my confidence wasn’t really running all that high.
But on the airplane flight from Dallas to St. Louis I pulled out my Bible and began to read. My daily reading that day was in Luke 10.

I read:
Luke 10:17-20 “The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

That was God reminding me that
He saves those He has chosen, and I would be fine.

God encouraged David in the same way,
And he reveals that to the people.

“Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed: He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.”

Then David utters that phrase that you are probably familiar with.
(7) “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.”

Now the word “boast” there is ZAKAR in the Hebrew.
And it DOESN’T MEAN “talk trash” like we commonly think in regard to boasting.

It means “call to mind” or “remember” or “think upon”

David was saying, that he was going to go into battle
And every time he faced the enemy and looked for confidence
He was going to think up or call to his mind the fact
That God saves His anointed.

• He WASN’T going to find confidence in all his horses or all his chariots. Those were not his source of peace.
• He was going to find peace and confidence in calling to mind that God saves those whom He has chosen to save.

David says, other people might find their hope in that,
But we have no such plan.
It’s all on God, and we are confident
He will deliver because He saves His anointed.

To which David utters a statement of victory.
“They have bowed down and fallen, But we have risen and stood upright.”

Because God is on our side, they will lose and we will win.

And we have seen this confidence in David before.
Remember when he faced the Philistine?

Saul wanted David to feel confident in his armor.
1 Samuel 17:39 “David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them off.”

Isn’t that a great statement? “I have not tested them”
I don’t know if they will work.

But David had tested God and he was confident in Him.

And that confidence was seen when David approached the battle field.
1 Samuel 17:45-47 “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. “This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands.”

“Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.”

And to this we are reminded not only in the necessity of prayer or in the conviction that God answers prayer.

BUT WE ARE ALSO CHALLENGED TO WALK IN FAITH
IN THE GOD TO WHOM WE PRAY.

Far too often
• We are a people who pray to God for victory and then go to battle as if He
won’t show up.
• We lean more on our contingency than we do upon our God.

I think of this often in regard to ministry work.
EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT we gather to pray and often times the subject of that prayer is our youth that we will be teaching later that evening.

Teaching youth is hard. They have short attention spans.
Many have no interest in Bible study, they just are there for the social aspect.

And the temptation is to pray that God will speak
And then run to some sort of plan-B gimmick
To try and be more effective.

The passage that runs through my mind continually is:
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

• Do you believe the gospel is powerful?
• Do you believe God honors it?
• Do you believe the Holy Spirit is the only One who can awaken the dead?
• Do you believe you can do that without His word?

Then don’t rely on earthly gimmicks, rely on His word.

That is what David is doing here.
• I prayed to God
• God answered
• I’m going to trust Him

That is David’s Announcement.
And then David in effect mounts his horse and rides off to battle.

And we are left with the final verse.
#4 THEIR REQUEST
Psalms 20:9

“Save, O LORD; may the King answer us in the day we call.”

Commentaries will tell you that this verse can also be translated
“O LORD save the King! Answer us!”

Either way you get the point.
They don’t stop praying once the battle starts, they continue to pray.

They have sought the LORD and they continue to seek Him.

Colossians 4:2-4 “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”

Ephesians 6:18-19 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,”

In the parable of the widow, Jesus asked:
Luke 18:7 “now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?”

That is the prayer of these people.
They continue to pray that God would do what He promised.

And there you have a tremendous song about the importance of prayer in regard to the battle.
• Pray for God’s intervention
• Be confident that God will do what He said
• Trust God not earthly means of victory
• Continue to pray until the battle is won

I have often referred to this as “A Psalm of Commissioning”
Since it could very easily be the prayer for those about to go on mission.

In reality it is the prayer for each of us in all of life’s battles.
And it is essential.

The Truth About Following Jesus – Part 1
Luke 9:57-62 (57-58)
December 16, 2018

Well as you know we are currently in the segment in Luke’s gospel
Which we have referred to as “Messianic Misconceptions”

Luke has compiled a group of stories, sermons, rebukes, and encounters Which all follow the same theme of Jesus correcting the disciples,

If you want to push it deeper, we could say that more specifically Jesus is correcting the disciples thinking
Regarding WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A FOLLOWER of Jesus.

You will remember that THE SECTION BEGAN
After the disciples were able to accurately identify Jesus.

Luke 9:18-20 “And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?” They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

That was a pivotal moment in Luke’s gospel; revealing Jesus as Messiah,
And now he is showing what it means to follow that Messiah.

It began with the statement that really encompases the entire point.
Luke 9:23-26 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

• We remember there the requirements of denying self
• We remember the call to follow Him
• We remember the explanation that we give up this life for the next
• We remember that we must not be ashamed of Him in this life

That passage has proven to be the rudder
That has steered the rest of the chapter.

The remainder of Luke 9 has built upon this.
We’ve seen how the disciples didn’t understand the necessity of the cross
• Both in Peter’s impulsive statement on the mountain
• And the other disciples entering Jesus in fight with a demon

We’ve seen how the disciples did not understand denying self
• In their argument about who was greatest
• In their jealousy over other ministers stealing their glory
• In their propensity to care about themselves more than the lost

Everything we’ve studied over the past 2 months has really just been
To give more weight and depth to that statement that all who follow Jesus
Must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Him.

Well this morning is no different.

Luke concludes this section with one final theme and 3 final encounters.

In the final 6 verses of Luke 9 we run across 3 different men
And they all have 2 things in common.

1) They are willing to follow Jesus
2) They have no clue what that means

So after Luke compiled 3 stories which illustrated the point about denying self;
Luke now compiles 3 stories which illustrate the point about following Jesus.

So we have 3 men who are all at the very least willing to follow Jesus
But in all 3 of these men Jesus stops them in their tracks
In order to address their misconceptions.

We see here that tremendous discernment of Jesus.
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.”

• Just because a person claimed to believe, that wasn’t enough for Jesus, He looked at the heart.
• And just because these men claim a willingness to follow, that is also not enough.

Jesus goes for the heart of the matter.

AND THE RESULT IS PURE GOLD FOR YOU AND ME.
We get to see here the truth about following Jesus.
• Jesus Himself begins to outline more specifically what He means by following
and what following actually looks like.

These men had glaring misconceptions about
What it meant to follow the Messiah.
And Jesus both confronts and corrects them.

It is a tremendous evaluator for our own lives.

So let’s begin our journey into what it actually means to follow Jesus.
3 Stories that illustrate THE TRUTH ABOUT FOLLOWING JESUS.

#1 FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE AMBITIOUS
Luke 9:57-58

First we read “As they were going along the road, someone said to Him,”

It is a story void of any sort of time context.
Matthew’s gospel places these first two encounters during the Galilean ministry of Jesus, specifically after Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. (Matthew doesn’t include the third)

• Matthew records that after Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law (there were
several miracles on that day) that a crowd started to form and so Jesus left.

• And as He was leaving this man approached him.

I only reveal that to remind you again that Luke is not arranging these stories chronologically, but rather THEMATICALLY.

This story fits Luke’s theme of pointing out to you
The truth about following Jesus.

Matthew also records that this “someone” who spoke to Jesus was in fact “a scribe”

And that is interesting to the story
Since scribes are stereotyped quite harshly by Jesus in Matthew’s gospel.

Matthew 23:1-7 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”

Scribes were often lumped in with the Pharisees and here we see them specifically as those who crave glory and attention and honor and respect.

That at least gives us some back story
As to WHAT TYPE OF PERSON WE ARE DEALING WITH.

None the less, Luke just calls him “someone”

And this “someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”

Now the FIRST THING we must realize is that
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that statement; how could there be?

• It comes across as though this man is giving Jesus a blank check.
• He’s just a random guy who has seen enough and has decided that wherever Jesus leads, he will follow.

And IF WE HAD NOTHING MORE of the story
We would no doubt PRAISE THIS MAN for his eagerness and commitment and even for his sacrifice.

But as we pointed out, Jesus knows what is inside of a man.
Jesus exposes the heart.

Hebrews reminds us that the word of God pierces soul and spirit and joints and marrow. And of course Jesus is the living word.

Hebrews 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

So while we hear what the man said,
Jesus saw what the man meant.
Jesus saw what the man desired.

And that is what Jesus both EXPOSES and CORRECTS.

(58) “And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Based upon Jesus response we know what was in this man’s heart.
We couldn’t have discerned his motives, but all motives are laid bare before Jesus.

And it becomes evident to us that this man obviously thought that
FOLLOWING JESUS WAS A TICKET TO PROSPERITY.

And we know that because
That is precisely what Jesus addresses and discredits.

This is a man (a scribe who loves honor; remember)
• Who just saw Jesus work miracle after miracle
• Who just saw a crowd flock to Jesus so that He had to leave
• And who has decided that Jesus is a meal ticket to everything he seeks to get out of life

To put it more plainly.
This is a man who craves the glory and prosperity of the world
And he thinks that the best way to achieve it
Is by hitching his wagon to Jesus.

He sees Jesus as the means of achieving his fleshly goals.

I don’t know what they called that in Jesus’ day,
But I know what we call that in our day.

Today it is called: “The Prosperity Gospel”

The prosperity gospel is that detestable and blasphemous
System of belief where men peddle Jesus
As the fulfiller of everything your flesh might crave.

It is built off of a terrible twisting and distortion of John 10:10
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Prosperity preachers have taken that truth and twisted it to say that
• Jesus only wants for you to have “abundant life”
• And they translate abundance to mean an abundance of health, and abundance of wealth, and an abundance of success.
• They then credit all loss and struggling and poverty and reproach to the devil (the thief) who stole that from you.

And so the prosperity message is pretty clear and simple.
• Do you have all in this life that you want?
• Are you living in victory and wealth?
• Has the devil taken from you that promotion you deserve?
• Has the thief stolen your new car or your new house?
• Are you living in sickness or pain and the bondage of the devil?

Well friend run to Jesus!

I recently heard a “Christian” song about it:
If you’ve got pain He’s a pain taker
If you feel lost He’s a way maker
If you need freedom or saving He’s a prison-shaking Savior
If you’ve got chains He’s a chain breaker

There’s really not much distinction from the snake-oil salesman who pulls up in his wagon and says:
Are you suffering from gout, fungus, baldness, loneliness, bad breath or irritability? Do you lack energy, appetite, sleep, vision, hearing, or companionship? Then take this bottle of mystery elixir. It stops aches and pains, it cures arthritis, it grows hair, freshens breath, calms the bowls, improves vision, and makes you generally appealing to the opposite sex. Put it in your eggs to make them fluffy, add a drop to your pot roast and make it tender, put some in your milk to keep it from spoiling, and use it to dip your dog to rid him of fleas and ticks. It’ll make your horse stronger, your corn taller, your grass greener, and your wife thinner. Why friends it offers the answer to every problem you face in every walk of life.

YOU’VE HEARD IT.

Well gone is the man in the wagon selling moonshine and guaranteeing happiness; now we have the man in the pulpit selling Jesus for the same reason.

It’s the promise that Jesus will satisfy your wildest dreams and desires.

It’s basically nothing more than an exploitation
Of people who want their flesh gratified.

And the false prophets are in the business of that exploitation.
2 Peter 2:2-3 “Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

They literally get rich off of the poor who want to get rich.

BUT IT’S ALL BUILT ON THIS FAULTY PREMISE THAT
Jesus is some sort of “Sugar Daddy” or “Genie in a Bottle”
Who can use His immense power to make your wildest dreams come true.

Well this guy that approached Jesus
Wasn’t preaching the prosperity gospel,
But he certainly wanted to believe it.

When he saw all that Jesus could do, he was ready to sign up.
And Jesus squashes this misconception
With one simple and yet profound statement.

“The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Jesus in effect releases His tax return to this guy.
He basically says, “I know you want to follow Me because you think it’s the key to prosperity, but look at Me. Do I look prosperous to you?”

In reality, that bird over there and that fox on that hill are all in a more prosperous condition than I am. They at least have a home they return to, and I don’t even have that.

JESUS WAS HOMELESS.

And if you’ll think about it, you DON’T FIND ANYTHING IN SCRIPTURE that gives the slightest indicator
THAT JESUS EVER ACQUIRED ANY EARTHLY PROSPERITY.

We read of His birth:
Luke 2:7 “And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Jesus left the glorious of heaven to purposely enter that type of humility.

Philippians 2:5-8 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

We read of His life:
We remember the day He was asked by Peter if He should pay taxes for the temple:
Matthew 17:24-27 “When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

Jesus had to borrow money from a fish to pay the tax in His own temple.

Here Jesus reminds that He owned no home, and had no property.

Think about all that He owned
• The donkey He rode at the triumphal entry was borrowed
• The room where He met with His disciples for the Last Supper was borrowed
• The cross on which He died was borrowed
• And the tomb where He was buried was borrowed

John 19:41-42 “Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”

The ONLY POSSESSION we are aware of that He had
Was a tunic that was gambled away at His death.

So what about this Jesus causes you to think
That He is some sort of meal ticket to earthly prosperity?

Consider those who followed Him on earth.

We remember Peter’s assessment of what it took to follow:
Matthew 19:27 “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

We remember James and John leaving their father and their nets
We remember Matthew leaving his tax booth

We remember the day when Peter and John approached the man who was crippled in his feet.
Acts 3:6 “But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene — walk!”

We remember Paul’s testimony about following Christ.
Philippians 3:8 “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”

Christ never obtained the world,
And we don’t see where any of the apostles did either.

So why would you think that following Jesus was some sort of gateway to earthly prosperity?

We have seen people in the book of Acts
WHO TRIED TO USE JESUS IN THAT WAY.

Remember Simon the Magician?
Acts 8:18-20 “Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!”

Several threads to that story.
• One is clearly that Simon thought Jesus was a means to making a profit. If
he could just obtain the Holy Spirit he could spin that into quite a business.

Simon rebuked harshly for that one.

• But the other obvious reality is that Peter and the apostles had a chance there
to make a lot of money off of their ministry and they categorically refused it.

They weren’t looking to get rich.
They weren’t using their ministry as a means of obtaining prosperity.

IT’S JUST ALL OVER THE PLACE.
In fact, do me a favor and NAME ONE PERSON in the Scripture
That Jesus made rich.

The prosperity gospel has absolutely no basis in Scripture.

And Jesus squashes it simply by pointing out that He is homeless.
I’ve got nothing, so why would you think following Me would cause you to get something?

But this isn’t the only time Jesus addressed this prosperity gospel.

In John 6 we have quite an eventful chapter.
• It begins with Jesus feeding the 5,000 and as a result they want to take Him by force and make Him king, but He leaves them.
• That night He walks on water and the next day that entire crowd that saw Him as their ticket to a full stomach searched Him out.

Let me show you how Jesus responded to this crowd
Who thought that He was a ticket to earthly prosperity.

Here the crowd searched Him out:
John 6:26-27 “Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”

Jesus is very matter of fact to that crowd.
• You think I’m a ticket to prosperity and that is not true.
• Quit seeking Me for earthly prosperity and start seeking what I really came to offer, which is salvation.

But the crowd isn’t interested.

Now they do understand that He told them “No” to their request.
So their response is even more audacious.

Well, if You’re not going to make any more bread…
John 6:28 “Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”

Look, if You’re not going to do it any more for us, then give us the power to do it ourselves.

Do you see that all these people want from Jesus is a ticket to prosperity?

John 6:29 “Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

Jesus corrects them.
• If you want to be in God’s will, if you want to do God’s work, then believe in Me.
• That’s what you should concern yourself with.
• Be concerned about salvation not bread; not prosperity.
• You should believe in Me.

But again we notice their response:
John 6:30-31 “So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.'”

• Well if You want us to believe in You then You’re going to have to prove
Yourself worthy.
• Let’s see a sign! Give us bread like Moses did.

These people can’t get past their expectation that in some way, shape, or form Jesus is supposed to prosper them?

So Jesus answers again:
John 6:32-33 “Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”

• Jesus tells them that they should not seek the bread of Moses (actual bread)
• But that they should seek the bread of God (Jesus).

But the people don’t understand that He is speaking spiritually
And they answer:
John 6:34 “Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

Hey, Moses’ bread; God’s bread; doesn’t matter to us.
• Just so long as we get bread.
• Just give us the prosperity we are seeking.

And finally Jesus says:
John 6:35-36 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.”

That is a terrific discourse there from Jesus to further enforce the reality He spoke here.
• He DID NOT come to make you earthly prosperous!
• He DID NOT come to make you comfortable!
• He DID NOT come to make you financially secure!
• He DID NOT come to take away all your struggles!

In fact He emphatically told His people
NOT to concern themselves with those things.

Matthew 6:25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

Matthew 6:31-33 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

There Jesus even equated worldly concern as lostness;
Indicating that that was a Gentile concern.

But honestly, where did He ever even slightly insinuate that following Him would be some sort of ticket to earthly prosperity?
HE NEVER DID.

And I’m telling you, His first followers knew that.

I think Paul gave us one of the strongest statements regarding the prosperity gospel.
1 Timothy 6:3-10 “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

That’s a pretty obvious rebuke isn’t it?

Men who “suppose that godliness is a means of gain”
• Paul says that is evidence of a “depraved mind”
• And of people who have been “deprived of the truth”

Wanting to get rich is not a Christian virtue.
Desiring to use Jesus to get rich is not a Christian ambition.

In fact, “the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith”

Seeking prosperity does not lead you to godliness, it leads away from it.

Do you remember the servant of Elisha named Gehazi?
• This was after Elisha healed the leper Naaman but would accept no
compensation for the miracle.
• Gehazi saw an opportunity to make a little money off of the miracle.
• So he chased Naaman down and asked for two talents of silver and two
changes of clothes
• He sought to use godliness as a means of financial gain.

Here was Elisha’s response:
2 Kings 5:26-27 “Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money and to receive clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female servants? “Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.”

Gehazi’s love of money caused him to wander from the faith
And he was pierced with many griefs.

The points are just obvious throughout the Bible.
• The objective of God IS NOT to make you healthy, wealthy, and happy.
• The objective of God IS to make you holy.

• He will ruin your health to make you holy
• He will destroy your wealth to make you holy
• He will afflict you with adversity to make you holy

This notion that following Jesus is some means of prosperity is notion.

AND YET, SO MANY FOLLOW JESUS FOR THAT VERY REASON
That’s what this man wanted to do.

SO LET’S JUST MAKE IT CLEAR THIS MORNING.

IF YOU HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS
• Because you think it will benefit your bank account
• Or because it will effect some sort of promotion at work,
• Or because you expect it will provide physical relief from your ailments,
• Or because it will shower you with bliss and physical blessing

THEN FORGET IT!

If that’s why you have decided to follow Jesus
Then let me just sort of throw down the gauntlet this morning.

You aren’t following Christ, you are following Baalam.

And I would remind you that you cannot follow both.
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

Do you remember Balaam in the Old Testament?
• He was the prophet that Balak, King of Midian tried to hire to curse the children of Israel.
• And when God told Balaam not to do it, he said “ok” until Balak offered him money and then Balaam was willing.
• However God nearly killed Balaam where it not for the smartest donkey who ever lived.

Balaam wasn’t seeking God,
Balaam was seeking how his ministry could make him prosperous.

And people follow him still today.
2 Peter 2:15-16 “forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.”

A person who is seeking to use God or Christ or the Holy Spirit
Or the word of God or the church of God
As a means for earthly prosperity is not following Christ.
That person is following Balaam.

And if that is you, and that is why you come…GO HOME
Jesus is no Genie
Jesus is no Sugar Daddy

Jesus is the sinless Son of God
• Who gave up His heavenly riches
• That He might come to this world and suffer,
• Even suffer as a homeless man,
• And die that He might redeem sinners to God.

He did not come to make man healthy, wealthy, and happy.

And to put it plainly.
The call to follow Jesus is NOT FOR THE AMBITIOUS
• It is NOT a call to men to come and get their best life now.
• It is NOT a call to men to come and get all the stuff the devil stole from them.
• It is NOT a call to wealth
• It is NOT a call to promotion or status in this world

If you think that is what you will get for following Jesus
THEN LIKE THIS SCRIBE HERE,
You obviously have not paid close enough attention to Jesus.

“The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

And so the question is, ARE YOU WILLING TO FOLLOW JESUS EVEN IF IT MEANS POVERTY?
• If following Jesus means no wealth
• If following Jesus means no promotion
• If following Jesus means no fleshly fulfillment
• Are you still willing to follow?

That’s what Jesus asked this man, and that is what He asks us.
In fact that is what He demands of us.

That’s the first conversation, we’ll look at the next two next time.

Luke 9:23 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

Speak O Lord
Psalms 19
December 9, 2018

Many of you will remember our study of this Psalm
From when we studied the 500 years of Reformation,
But covering a psalm again is certainly not a burden.

There is tremendous value in familiarity,
So tonight we want to look at it again.
For this Psalm reminds of the absolutely beauty of Revelation.

I would remind you again that God dwells beyond us in every way.
• It is beyond our ability to get to know Him if He does not first determine to let Himself be known.
• If God doesn’t reveal Himself, you can’t know Him.
• And that is why His revelation; His decision to speak to us is such a wonderful reality.

We know God because God has chosen to speak.
That reality alone puts God’s word at a premium for us.
Tonight we study as Psalm that celebrates that wonderful reality.

Now before we get into it,
I want to make sure you understand the DESIRE OF THE PSALMIST.
Once you understand the desire of the Psalmist
Then you can better understand why he loves God’s word so much.

That desire is articulated in the last verse of the Psalm.
(14) “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”

It’s a verse you’ve probably quoted many times.
It is one of the great statements of Scripture.

And it reflects the all-encompassing desire of the Psalmist
To be “acceptable” to God.

Isn’t that the goal?
That I may be accepted by God.

We do all this talking today about asking people if they will accept Christ.
That’s a horrible way to put it.
The real question is what must be done that God would accept me?

Well, that’s the desire of the Psalmist.
I want to be acceptable, how does that happen?

Well the purpose of the Psalm is to reveal how that takes place,
And the answer is through the revelation of the very word of God.
AND WE MARVEL THAT GOD HAS CHOSEN TO SPEAK TO US
AND THIS WORD DOES A TREMENDOUS WORK IN US.
It is God’s word which works in us to make us acceptable to God.

As you will see, it does so by:
• Converting the Soul
• Giving Wisdom to the Foolish
• Revealing the standards which satisfy the Conscience
• Giving Discernment to the eyes
• Creating a Fear of the LORD
• Warning against Dangerous Temptations
• Revealing Hidden Faults
• Guarding against Presumptuous Sins
All of these are the work of the word.

Paul said to the Thessalonians:
1 Thessalonians 2:13 “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”
That is what we are talking about.
The word which the word accomplishes in our lives.

The writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

It is the word of God which does the work to make us acceptable.
And tonight I want to show you how reliable it is to do just that.

If you want to divide the Psalm into points, we can make two.
#1 THE MORE SEEN REVELATION
Psalms 19:1-6

But what we have here in the Psalm is an acknowledgment of
GENERAL REVELATION.

We talked about “General Revelation” back in our Reformation study.
It is that revelation which the whole world is privy to,
And that which is binding enough to condemn all men to hell.

Let’s look at General Revelation and some of the things we learn from it.
(1) “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”

Here David is looking to the heavens and while different men may gain different knowledge by looking at the stars, David learned one main thing.

“the glory of God”

There is little doubt that whoever created the universe
Must have in fact been a majestic being.

We have no trouble giving credit to a painter who paints a masterpiece.
We have no trouble giving credit to a craftsman who builds a great item.

Then certainly we should have no trouble giving glory to a God
Who could create such a tremendous display as the heavens.

There is more we learn from general revelation.
(2) “Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.”

David says that there is a message being proclaimed by creation
And that is seen in the phrase “Day to day” and “night to night”

And if you’ve examined creation for any time at all,
You must be amazed by the CONSISTENCY which it exhibits.

This ball we call earth has been running like clockwork.
We learn something of the CONSISTENCY of God.
He is not fickle, nor is He unreliable.

This consistency is clearly portrayed.
(3-6) “There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

We could also say we learn of the tremendous POWER of God,
Since it is He who created the sun which “rejoices as a strong man”

We could talk about the OMNIPRESENCE of God
Since “there is nothing hidden from its heat.”

And that is really just the Tip Of The Iceberg,
If we wanted to do a study on all the things we learn of God from creation.

HOWEVER, THERE IS AN AREA IN WHICH
GENERAL REVELATION IS TOTALLY SILENT.

General revelation tells us quite a bit about our great God,
But there is one thing general revelation doesn’t tell us about
US

• General revelation doesn’t tell me what the Creator wants from me.
• General revelation doesn’t tell me what to do about the mistakes I’ve made.
• General revelation doesn’t tell me how I should go forward.

In short, General Revelation does not tell me how to make “the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart…acceptable” to God.

WHERE DO I FIND THAT?

The More Seen Revelation
#2 THE MORE SURE REVELATION
Psalms 19:7-14

What is the more sure revelation?
It is the revealed word of God of course.
• More sure because it contains the answers for life and godliness.
• More sure because it contains the answer of how to made acceptable to God.

This is what we refer to as SPECIAL REVELATION

And it is this special revelation that David wants you to see.
Let’s look at what David has to say about God’s word.

(7a) “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;”

Now when talking about “the law of the LORD” here,
We are not just referring to the Mosaic Law.
Rather we are talking about God’s revealed commands and laws.

Granted David didn’t have all of the Scriptures that we possess when he wrote this,
But he did have more than just the Mosaic Law
And he did have enough to understand its work and value.

And he said “The law of the LORD is perfect”

“perfect” there the Hebrew word TAMIYM (tie-meem)
And it means “without blemish”

Genesis 6:9 “These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.”

Genesis 17:1 “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless.”

It was the standard God expected for the sacrifice.
Exodus 12:5 “Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.”

So we would say that God’s word is literally “without blemish”.
That is to say that it is everything God intends for it to be.

Sometimes we might write a letter or a post online,
And after we send it we realize we didn’t really say what we meant to say.

That is NOT the way God looks upon His word.
His word is without blemish. It is precisely what He meant to say,
And precisely what He wanted to reveal.

And because that is the case, His word is used for “restoring the soul”

Many read this in a sort of “encouraging sense”,
That God can use His word to encourage or “lift up” the depressed heart.
That is not what is meant here.

The word “restoring” is a Hebrew word
That means “to turn back”

We are talking about “restoring”
Like one might do to an old piece of furniture.

It is to restore what is ruined back to its originally intended state.

This is what God’s word does in the life of the sinner.
It points out what is broken and out of place
And begins to put the pieces back in order.

The King James translates it “converting the soul”
Which is a more telling translation.

God’s word has within it the power to turn back a sinner from his sin and restore him to the condition which God originally intended.

Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“The practical effect of the Word of God is to turn the man to himself, to his God, and to holiness; and the turn or conversion is not outward alone, “the soul” is moved and renewed. The great means of the conversion of sinners is the Word of God, and the more closely we keep to it in our ministry the more likely are we to be successful. It is God’s Word rather than man’s comment on God’s Word which is made mighty with souls. When the law drives and the gospel draws, the action is different but the end is one, for by God’s Spirit the soul is made to yield, and cries, “Turn me, and I shall be turned.” Try men’s depraved nature with philosophy and reason, and it laughs your efforts to scorn, but the Word of God soon works a transformation.”
(Spurgeon, Charles H. [The Treasury of David Volume 1; Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA] pg. 272)

It is everything God wanted it to be to accomplish that task.

2 Peter 1:3-4 “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

While general revelation can show you God is glorious,
It cannot show you how to please Him.
But God’s more sure revelation of His word most certainly does.

AND THAT’S NOT ALL.
(7b) “The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”

Here is another interesting word.
“Sure” translates AMAN (a-man)
It means “stands firm”

It might surprise you some of the places it shows up.
Genesis 15:6 “Then he believed (AMAN) in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”

Numbers 12:7 “Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful (AMAN) in all My household;”

2 Chronicles 20:20 uses it three times.
2 Chronicles 20:20 “They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust (AMAN) in the LORD your God and you will be established (AMAN). Put your trust (AMAN) in His prophets and succeed.”

So when we say that God’s word is “sure” what are saying?
That it is resolute, faithful, established.

And as such David says it “makes wise the simple”

How is that?
Have you ever made a decision based upon unreliable information?
• It can make you look foolish can’t it?

God’s word will never do that.
God’s word is always “sure” and reliable.
You can tie your boat to this dock, it will not let you down.

If you don’t know what to do, or how to do it,
Then simply put your trust in God’s word, and do what He says,
You won’t be a fool for doing it.

This statement could be the entire theme of the book of Ecclesiastes.
• In that book the old preacher is writing to the young man to take off his rose
colored glasses, because there are many things in this life that won’t add up.
• There are many things you will be confronted with that won’t make sense.

But wisdom is not measured in understanding.
Wisdom is found in doing obeying God.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

Let’s face it, in this life we are all fools.
None of us knows how to live or what to do.
But God’s word guides us, and if we simply obey, it makes us wise.

For Example:
• “Husbands love your wives”
• “Wives submit to your husbands”
• “Forgive your enemies”
• “Pray for those who persecute you”
• “abstain from immorality”

Those are commands which can at times seem unpractical, outdated,
And may not even make much sense.

However, if you will trust them, and stand upon them
At the end of the day you’ll be found wise
Because God’s word is “sure, making wise the simple”

David goes on.
(8a) “The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart.”

“right” is the Hebrew word YASHAR (ya-shar)
And it means “straight” or “right” or “correct” or “pleasing”

Judges 17:6 “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

Deuteronomy 6:18 “You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore to give your fathers,”

It is the type of idea which we confess when someone says,
“It’s just the right thing to do”
Or on the flip side
“That’s just wrong”

And what people are referring to with a statement like that is that
A specific action either soothed or offended their conscience.

They were just doing what seemed right to them,
And then as a result they felt better about themselves.

Well here David makes the promise that
• If you want peace,
• If you want joy,
• If you want to be able to lay your head on your pillow and rest without guilt,

Then obey God’s word because it is always “right”,
It is always “correct” it is always “pleasing”.

I’ve had plenty of guilt in my life for poor decisions I’ve made, but I can’t tell you a single time I ever felt guilty for obeying God’s word.

Now, do you see what David is doing?
He is revealing how God’s word leads a sinner
Who doesn’t know how to be acceptable to God
Into that very acceptance.

(8b) “The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

“pure” is fairly obvious

Psalms 73:1 “Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart!”

It carries the idea of no ulterior motives.
It is sincere.

And that is why David says it is “enlightening the eyes”
That is to say, “it gives light to the eyes”
It is pure. It is the “more sure word”

Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

Peter said:
2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

God’s word is reliable because it is never deceptive.
God’s word always gives good information,
True information, enlightening information.

IN FACT, that’s one reason people can have disdain for God’s word; Sometimes it gives to much information, and people prefer the darkness.

But if a person desires to please God it is obvious where they should go. Go to God’s word it is totally “pure” and sincere,
It will give light to the eyes.

(9) “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever.”

In this one David actually lists an EFFECT of God’s word,
Rather than God’s word itself.

He refers to “the fear of the LORD”,
It is that fear which is produced through a study of God’s word.

As God’s word reveals Him, the more we see His glory and our sinfulness. This leads to an undoubted awe and fear of the LORD.

But David says that this “fear” is “clean”

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Ever read Leviticus about all the things that are either considered “clean” or “unclean” (same word)

That which is clean may draw near to God,
That which is unclean must dwell outside the camp.

Here we have a Psalmist who wants to know how to be acceptable to God
And he has learned that God’s word has the ability to produce in him
A “fear of the LORD” which is in fact acceptable to God.

Remember what Jesus said?
John 15:1-4 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”

David knows that it is God’s word which produces fear of the LORD
And it is this fear of the LORD which makes a person clean.

And this, by the way, “endures forever”
It is not short-lived or ineffective.

And then David closes this descriptive section by saying
(9b) “The judgments of the LORD are true, they are righteous altogether.”

“true” is EMETH
And it doesn’t just mean true, it means “reliable”
Or “truth that has been tested and found true”

Genesis 42:16 “Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.”

We are talking about that which has been proven true.
And David says that is certainly the case with God’s word,
It is battle-tested and time honored.

It can be rested upon and leaned upon, it will never lead astray.

Now, that is just David’s assessment of God’s word.
• It Converts sinners
• It gives Wisdom to fools
• It gives Peace and Joy to the guilty
• It gives Discernment to the blind
• It produces Fear and Reverence which God accepts
• And it is battle tested and proven to do all of these things

And this is the pathway to learning how to be acceptable to God.

It all starts with the word of God.

It contains everything we need to take a selfish, sinful, foolish, guilty, blind, and unclean human being
And convert him, make him wise, discerning, clean and obedient.

If you have a desire for your entire being to be acceptable to God
Then it all begins with the word of God.

THIS SCRIPTURE HAS SUCH VALUE.

And that is what David continues focusing on here in the 19th Psalm.

Speaking of the Lord’s judgments, David says:
(10) “They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.”

To David there was no possession as valuable as the Scripture.

We certainly don’t have time to cover it, but consider that 119th Psalm where David outlines his love of God’s word.

Psalms 119:72 “The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”

Psalms 119:27 “Make me understand the way of Your precepts, So I will meditate on Your wonders.”

But my favorite stanza is: MEM
Psalms 119:97-104 “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me. How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.”

David knew the value of God’s word to make him wise
And to guide him in truth and thus he proclaimed it sweeter than honey.

And again we could chase a massive rabbit here
And seek to expose all the ways in which God’s word is valuable,

But if you’ll notice there is one reason David mentions here
As to why God’s word is so sweet to him.

(11) “Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”

David understood that God’s word was more than just wisdom to the foolish, but it was literally guidance to the lost.

It was like Peter said:
2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

David saw God’s word as a great warning sign
Of potential threats and dangers.

And to fully appreciate this, all one has to do is think for a moment
Where you might be had God not given this revelation to us?

BUT LET’S GET EVEN MORE SPECIFIC.

What specifically did God’s word warn him about?

David here is not talking about some sort of mystic experience
Where God’s word warned him of a lion around the bend
Or of a Philistine hiding in the bushes.

There was an even greater danger
Which David would have never been able to see
Or defend against had God not warned him.

(12-13) “Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.”

What a great question.
“Who can discern his errors?”

How do you know if the things you do are right or wrong?
(Because they seem right to you)

Your own heart is not a reliable witness of what is good.

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

So how in the world are you ever going to discern what is right or wrong according to God in your life?

You’re just going to do what seems right to you?
(Like the period of the Judges)

That might be fine if pleasing yourself was the only objective.

David loves God’s word because it helps him see “his errors”. That is those things which God sees as “errors”.

And discerning his errors was what led David to repentance
That he might be acquitted of these “hidden faults.”

If he had never been exposed, he would have never repented
And then never would have been acquitted.

Paul said essentially the same thing.
Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”

• It was God’s word that showed him his sin and ultimately led him to
repentance.
• Paul wouldn’t have even known that coveting was wrong had God’s word not
exposed it.

Ever had God’s word do that to you?

You’re just reading along and all of a sudden – BAM! –
God confronts something in your life?

Only God’s word can do that.
It can expose what is hidden.
And you couldn’t know it otherwise.

Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“In the Lateran Council of the Church of Rome, a decree was passed that every true believer must confess his sins, all of them, once in a year to the priest, and they affixed to it this declaration, that there is no hope of pardon but in complying with that decree. What can equal the absurdity of such a decree as that? Do they suppose that they can tell their sins as easily as they can count their fingers? Why, if we could receive pardon for all our sins by telling every sin we have committed in one hour there is not one of us who would be able to enter heaven, since, besides the sins that are known to us and that we be able to confess, there are a vast mass of sins, which are as truly sins as those which we lament, but which are secret, and come not beneath our eyes. If we had eyes like those of God, we should think very differently of ourselves.”
(Spurgeon, Charles H. [The Treasury of David Volume 1; Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA] pg. 274)

Only God’s word has the ability to expose your sin to you.
Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

When David spoke of God’s word warning him,
He wasn’t talking about dangers on the outside.
He was talking about dangers within his own evil heart.

AND THAT’S NOT ALL.

David also valued God’s word because of the way IT SUBDUED HIS STUBBORN WILL.
(13) “Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression.”

“presumptuous sins” are those which
Most greatly reflect our stubborn human will.

It is when we know better, but defiantly choose to do it anyway.
And David saw God’s word as a check against such defiance.

I chalk this up to the relentless nature of God’s word.
• Ever notice how when you are walking in sin, God seems to address that sin on every page of the Bible?
• God’s word pulls no punches, it confronts and it confronts relentlessly.

David knew that the flesh is far too powerful a foe to conquer on our own.
If given the opportunity we will rebel every time.

However, God’s word is a powerful agent
Able to subdue the will and break the bondage of the flesh.

In short, God’s word was the only thing able to take a sinful man like David and mold him into a man who acceptable in the sight of God.

And again, this was David’s cry.
(14) “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.”

• That is the desire…
• That is the goal…
• To be “acceptable” to God.

And when David wanted to know what this was,
There was only ONE PLACE TO TURN; the Scripture.

“They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.”

And this is a song David has prescribed for the church to sing.
We sing to God of the glory of His revelation!
We sing to God of the glory of His word!

We sing:
“Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow’r that can never fail—
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises,
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.”

— Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music(PRS) adm worldwide at CapitolCMGPublishing.com exclusing Europe which is adm by Integritymusic.com