Hickory Bible Church

The Glory of God is Everlasting

Pastor Adam Ashoff

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The Glory of God & Christ’s Redemption

Pastor Adam Ashoff

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The Glory of God & the Fall of Man

Pastor Adam Ashoff

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The Glory of God

Pastor Adam Ashoff

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The Sovereignty of God

Todd Jacobs

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The Sovereignty of God

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Good morning, HBC. Every summer I come up here, there are more people out there, which is a blessing. God's providing the growth. I'm Todd Jacobs, one of the elders here. If you've not met me, I'd love to do so afterward. If you've never seen me, you've either never been here before or you're looking downward. So I'm batting ninth in our summer series on God's attributes. Baseball fans, what kind of hitter do you put ninth? In the National League - in the old National League, it was the pitcher. The worst one! Your greatest hope for the ninth hitter is he gets hit by a pitch. So one of my all time favorite baseball players... who is that? Randy Johnson - did not love his mullet, but I love him because he's my height; he's about my age, and he was one of baseball's all time greatest pitchers, but he was a lousy hitter. Huge strike zone. 125 batting average. I'm just setting expectations for the rest of this hour. All right, let's take Randy down, enough of him. Today's message is God is sovereign…not a joking matter. My main goal today is for you to come away more confident than ever that God is absolutely sovereign over everything.

 

Let me pray again. Heavenly father, we need your help. We need your help to understand, to embrace your sovereignty, to rejoice over it, and to be comforted by it, not crushed. We thank you that you are a loving Savior and a sovereign Lord whom we can trust. Help us to do so now. In Jesus' name, Amen. So God's sovereignty is seen throughout the Bible, and it's already come up this summer because you cannot completely separate God's attributes from one another. They are distinguishable, but not completely divisible. God isn't made of Legos. You don't take some holiness bricks and some righteousness bricks and sovereign bricks. And let's bury those wrath bricks down deep under a whole bunch of love and grace bricks. He's not like that. God's attributes aren't like features on your smartphone that you toggle on and off. God is completely all of his attributes, completely all the time. God's sovereignty is inseparable from his entire being and from all the other attributes you've already heard this summer. God's sovereignty is a lofty truth. We can't out-loft God's actual loftiness in our minds. So I wonder how lofty is your view of God's sovereignty? But it's also a practical truth. It's Bunyan's impregnable rock to which we cling, and Spurgeon's soft pillow for anxious heads. Don't we often reverse that? Clinging to that flimsy pillow of our circumstances and laying our heads down at night on the hard rock of our worry? Lots of other things do seem to be in control, don't they? They loom large in our lives. Death. Disease. Politicians. Technology. Money. What's really in charge? Is it a toxic cocktail of human free will, the devil, physics and chance? Are any of those comforting thoughts? More importantly, are any of them true? No. There is only one sovereign. Isaiah 44:6 says, Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; besides me there is no God. It is good for us to know that God is good, that he's loving, and he's a merciful father, that he does draw near to his brokenhearted children. It's also good to know that God is righteous and holy and a sovereign king, and we are his subjects. He is a loving king. He is a gracious king. He's a righteous king. The common link - he is king. I have three points today. First is sovereignty defined. Second is sovereignty declared. Third is sovereignty depended on.

 

First sovereignty defined. What is sovereignty? I have a slide for the first textbook definition, the short one. It’s a short one from one theologian. "God's sovereignty is his exercise of power and rule over his creation as its king." Straightforward. I've got a longer one. You do not or should not even try to write this down, but I think it's going to put all the cards on the table about what we mean by God's sovereignty. So bear with us here. "Whereas omnipotence tells us how much and which powers God has, sovereignty clarifies the extent to which God uses those powers. Divine sovereignty is God's power of absolute self-determination. God does his own actions and they are in accord with his choices. God's choices are determined only by his own nature and purposes. To say that God's sovereignty is absolute also means that his choices and control cover all things. God is the ultimate, final, and complete authority over everything and everyone." Wow. Now that is sovereignty. So I wanted to make an effort to blend those two into something that is both simple and yet as complete as I can make it. So one more slide. This is the eminent theologian Todd Jacobs, so take it with a grain of salt, but here it is. "God's sovereignty is his rightful and constant exercise of absolute rule and control as the unchallenged King over his creation, which is the entire universe, all things seen and unseen." All things seen...That's all the earth. That's all the stuff that's out there in space that we keep discovering. That's all living creatures. It's all space. It's all matter. It's the entire universe. All things unseen...Subatomic particles, all forces, energies, laws of physics, the spiritual realm. God is king over angels, Satan, demons, and all human souls, all of which he created. God rules over time as a property of his creation. Time is not an eternally self-existent thing to which God is subject. When God created space, time came with it. That's the only reference to the theory of relativity you'll ever hear from me from the pulpit, but that's where that comes from. And it's true. Prior to Genesis 1:1, there was no prior to. God is not subject to time. God doesn't wait to see what will happen before making his plan, as if he's dependent on our actions. To  worship a god who only reacts to our actions, subject to our wills and decisions, is to worship an idol made out of moldable clay. That's Gumby, not Yahweh. God delegates authority in a sense, right? He delegates authority to governments, parents, husbands, church leaders, employers, and even to the devil who Jesus called the ruler of this world. But these are all always under God's ultimate authority. Next slide...R.C. Sproul, I have to quote R.C. and get in his name, because my favorite Pittsburgher of all time is in Cuba today. So one of my other top favorite Pittsburghers said, "If God is not sovereign, then God is not God." A longer quote from Sproul..."God's sovereignty prevails in every instance. Some have said God's sovereignty ends where human freedom begins, but it is blasphemy. And a moment's thought will reveal it to be so. The sovereignty of God is not in any way limited by, conditioned on, or dependent on man's authority. Our freedom is a gift from God. It is real. We exercise and enjoy freedom, but it is everywhere limited by God's sovereignty. That is what we mean by sovereignty. God is sovereign. We are not." If you like it really simple, here it is, the end of sovereignty defined. God made all; God rules all, no exceptions. That's sovereignty defined. I wish all three of my points were that short. But you're not in such luck today.

 

Second, sovereignty declared. What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty? Psalm 115:3 says, Our God is in the heavens. He does all that he pleases. God himself says in Isaiah 43:13, There is none who can deliver from my hand; I work, and who can turn it back? Our sovereign God is the almighty King of the universe all the time. He knows all. He rules all. What he wants, he wills, and what he wills is what happens. Now, the word sovereign itself is rare in most English Bibles, but from beginning to end, the Bible declares, demonstrates, and outright assumes the rightful sovereignty of God as the creator of all things. What you do see repeatedly in the Bible, directly related to God, are these words: King, kingdom, throne, rule, dominion, reign, and most of all, Lord. Here's a short Bible survey. There are many scriptures, and you probably have a favorite or two that I'm going to leave out. But here we go. Let's begin at the beginning. Genesis 1:1, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. There was a beginning to time, space, matter, to everything except God himself. It all began exactly when and how and because God alone decided it would. As creator he has the absolute right and power to rule over everything. First Chronicles 29:10-11 David prays, Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel, our father, for ever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. Daniel 4:34-35, At the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will, among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say to him, what have you done? In Luke 1:32-33, the angel announces to Mary Jesus's coming birth and says he will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Jesus is proclaimed as King to the Old Testament prophets, to the Gospels, and all the way through to Revelation. In the Bible's last chapter, that glorious, wonderful vision of our eternal future. Revelation 22:3 says, No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. Amen.

 

We could do this all day, but you get the point. God is the sovereign King of creation from beginning to end. We see the fullness of God's sovereignty expressed in his other attributes. You've already heard that this summer. So let's look at that in Scripture. Adam started us off with eternality. God's eternality is a sovereign eternality. Exodus 15:18 says, The Lord will reign forever and ever. Psalm 10:16 says, The Lord is King forever and ever. Lamentations 5:19 says, But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations. Last week we heard from Kurtis about grace, and earlier from Chris about mercy. God's grace and mercy are sovereign grace and mercy. Kurtis taught last week on Exodus 33:19. God said to Moses, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name, the Lord. And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Kurtis also taught about sovereign grace from Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 9, so I won't repeat those today. David taught us about God's wisdom. God's wisdom is sovereign wisdom. Job 12:13-15 says, With God our wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding. If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open. If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land. Proverbs 19:21 says, Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Lorin taught on holiness. God's holiness is sovereign holiness. God says in Isaiah 43:15, I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. And most well known, perhaps of all, is Isaiah 6, the first five verses...In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory! And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts! Scott taught on love. God's love is sovereign love. Romans 8:38-39, For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. In John 10, Jesus declares that nobody can snatch his sheep from his hand or the Father's hand. Christian, nothing can separate those of us who are in Christ from the love of God. Nothing. That's not because we're so lovable. It's because God's sovereign grasp on you is unbreakable. He alone decides on whom to set his steadfast, covenantal, faithful, sovereign love. And when he does, it's unshakable. He chose to love us by his will. First, John 4:19 says it as plainly as possible. We love because he first loved us. We haven't had the attribute of wrath, but God's wrath is sovereign wrath. Jeremiah 10:10 says, But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting king. At his wrath the earth shakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. At the final judgment... Revelation 19:15-16 says this of the returning Jesus Christ, From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. God is not just a king. He is the just king. He is the king. We might not sense or trust in God's sovereignty all the time, but our feelings don't change the truth that God is now and forever the sovereign ruler of the universe. He is the King whose throne will never end and never be moved. To summarize point two...The Bible declares that God is sovereign over everything. Period.

 

Now sovereignty, like his other attributes, should not be a dry fact for our chin scratching. We can get that way. It's a glorious truth for worship. If you rightly see God's sovereignty, you will be awed. And if you fully believe it, you will be comforted. When Jesus was born, Herod feared him as a coming king. Most of the Jews of Jesus's time rejected him as their king, even using his claim of kingship as a reason to have him crucified. Pilate and the Roman soldiers mocked him as a supposed king. But guess what? He is king. One day he's going to come back and make that undeniably true to everyone who rejected or believed in him. For now, Colossians 1:13-14 says that God the Father has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Are you in that kingdom? Have you bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ? Philippians 2:9-11 says, Therefore God has highly exalted him, and put on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen. Every knee in all creation will bow to King Jesus in one of two ways...As his willing, adoring subject or as his doomed enemy. There is no second chance after you die. Purgatory, prayers for the dead…they're myths. They do nothing to alter your eternal destiny when you die. There is no second chance. The Lord Jesus calls you today to trust in him, and bow the adoring knee to him as King.

 

Before going on to point three I want to address some questions. If God is completely sovereign and he is…why are we morally accountable for our sins?  Do our actions matter? Why evangelize? Pray? Worship? Why do anything? Why is there evil? And isn't he responsible for it if he's sovereign, good and all powerful? If you've asked any of those questions...Congratulations! You rightly understand what's been said about God's sovereignty. If you think you have simple, completely satisfying answers to those, you've probably distorted or neglected some biblical truths. We have centuries of the best Christian thinking, if you need those for help. There's also been a lot of not so best thinking; pat answers about human free will, the devil and creation's curse might look good on X or TikTok, but they don't ultimately answer our deepest questions. And they don't always square with Scripture. Here are some brief thoughts… I think all of these are biblical, even though we don't have time to exposit all of them. Number one, we do have God given wills and minds, and we do make real choices. And we are each morally responsible for our choices because the Bible says so. Paul, after writing about God's sovereign mercy and election, wrote in Romans 9:19-21, You will say to me then, why does he (God) still find fault? For who can resist his will? Paul says, But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to the molder, why have you made me like this? Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? Did you notice Paul doesn't answer his own rhetorical questions? He just warns us to stay humble. So as you ask God your questions and search scripture, be careful how far you go. Don't doubt him. Trust him. Second, God as Sovereign commands many actions that include prayer, sharing the gospel, worship, and many others. Using his sovereignty as an excuse not to do them makes no sense. We do them because he's our king, and we listen to him. He has also ordained those as our responsibility and his means to his ends. I don't know exactly how prayer changes things or affects God when he already knows everything and has already ordained everything, and that his will is not subject to mine. But I know prayer does change things. We are to pray. We are to evangelize, to worship and do many other things. And all of those things do make a difference. Third, God is not responsible for evil. Despite the difficulties this raises when viewed in light of his sovereignty and his power and his goodness, the responsibility for evil always rests with the creature who committed it as a moral agent. God is neither the author nor the approver of sin. God himself does not tempt us. I don't know how to fully reconcile the existence of evil with God's sovereignty over all things. I don't ultimately know why God allowed, ordained, willed, decreed (choose your favorite verb) the fall of Satan and of man, and the entrance of evil into this world. I don't believe God-given free will by itself totally resolves the problem, and sometimes might unintentionally deny God's absolute sovereignty if it's overemphasized. I believe this question calls for faith and humility. God willed and controlled all the events that led to the greatest injustice in world history. Peter said of Christ's crucifixion in Acts 2:23, This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. One author writes about this verse, I have this on a slide. I love this quote. "Here, too, is the mystery of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Those parallel lines, to our finite minds, never meet. Those who try to make them meet succeed only in distorting both. It is possible, but by no means certain, that in heaven the parallel lines in question will be seen from a different perspective. In this life, they must not be tampered with. They are both true and that is enough." I think that's a good place to leave things. Divine sovereignty and human responsibility are both true, and that's enough.

 

Finally, point three, sovereignty depended on. I have three final reflections for application. Because God is our sovereign King, we can suffer faithfully. We can wait hopefully, and we can obey lovingly. Suffer faithfully, wait hopefully and obey lovingly. First, suffering faithfully. Many of you are suffering or know someone who is. One of the privileges the elders have is to know and share in many of your sufferings, to pray for them. So I want to take some time here. Spoiler alert: doctrine is sometimes hard,

suffering is always hard. My desire today is to provide comfort to the sufferers. But I also want to be truthful about suffering. The Bible teaches all of the following... Number one, some suffering is a direct consequence of our personal sins. Our response to that should be repentance, realizing that God can and often does sometimes let sin's consequences persist. Second, some suffering is God's loving discipline of his children. Our response should again be repentance and spiritual growth. Some suffering is from persecution for following Christ. Our response to that should be to rejoice, glorify God and look ahead to our great reward. And finally, the big category that I think we face, some suffering is from evil actions of humans or demons, or simply from the cursed physical creation since Adam and Eve sinned. How should we respond to those? Each Sunday, including today, we sing about our King, our Lord reigning on his throne. We sang those very words this morning. In other words, sovereignty doesn't show up in the songs because, hey, that's hard to rhyme with. So we'll say throne, rule, reign, King. All of those refer to his sovereignty. But let's be honest, singing about that in here, in this comfortable room with our beloved church family, is a lot easier and not the same as trusting in it when we feel alone and we're suffering. It doesn't always seem as if our loving father is in control. We might doubt, forget, or outright reject his sovereignty. We'd probably never say that with our lips, but we can act as if that's true. We might restrict our belief in God's sovereignty to the good things, how he's blessing us, and then respond to suffering with anger, despair, and doubt. It's easy to leave God out of our suffering, except when we ask him to please remove it. That's not wrong to do. It's easy to act as if it's entirely up to us to overcome our suffering, as if it's something outside his will. Is God just watching the sin stained world and creation's curse unfold? Does he sit back and wait for suffering to happen, and then decide if he'll relieve it if we pray enough? Is God's sovereignty that passive? Is the devil or the world ultimately sovereign over our suffering? The Bible, as we've said, says that God is absolutely sovereign. He is holy. He is pure. He is sinless. We dare not charge him with any guilt for sin or evil, but evil, sin, disaster, disease, death, and suffering are all very real. Is God in control of all of that? In Isaiah 45:7 God says, I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord who does all these things. Amos 3:6 says, Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it? Lamentations 3:37-38, Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Again, God was sovereign over every detail of Christ's betrayal, suffering, and death. Jesus repeatedly prophesied this. Luke 22:22, Jesus said at the Last Supper, For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined. And then in Acts 4, praying to the sovereign Lord, believers prayed to this...That's how they address their prayer, Sovereign Lord. In this city, they were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. It was God who cursed creation in Genesis 3, not the devil. Romans 8:20-22 teach that God Himself has subjected creation to futility. Even those things that make us groan are under God's sovereignty. How many of you memorize Romans 8:28? I bet a bunch of you. We know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. I would encourage all of you who love that verse and have memorized it to now memorize verse 29 right after it, and to never separate the two. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be what? Be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Brothers and sisters, one of God's great purposes through suffering is to conform you into the image of Christ. Our sinless Lord, who needed no sanctification, suffered greatly. Should we be spared? James 1:2-4 says, Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James isn't saying yay, cancer! Yay, pain! Woo hoo! I lost my job. He's not saying to cheer those things. Those are real sorrows. But what he is saying is that we should be joyful about passing the test of faith, about the steadfastness that comes from passing it and going through it, and the righteousness that comes at the other side. Another of God's purposes for our suffering is for us to learn to trust His Word. Psalm 119:71 says, It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. Four verses later, 75 - I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Who afflicted the psalmist? Who was it? God afflicted him. Although we cannot always know God's specific purposes, suffering is always an opportunity to grow in our trust in him, our dependence on him, to examine, to see if our hope and joy are truly in him and not in some temporary thing. However you are suffering, remember God is sovereign. He is wise. He is loving. He has good purposes, even in our suffering, including when we can't see them, and we often can't. There are times when we need to steer someone back from suffering, despair, or bitterness, but remember to be gentle. Let compassion and service to the sufferer be your first instincts. We don't mourn and weep without hope. But we do mourn and we do weep. And we suffer together. 1 Corinthians 12:26 says this, talking about the church, If one member suffers, all suffer together. One of God's purposes for someone else's suffering might be for you to grow in compassion and service to the sufferer, ministering to suffering. This is my only rant about social media and smartphones here, and then I'll stop. Ministering to suffering requires in-person, face to face, hands-on ministry to one another. Texting, emails, social media posts are not a substitute. Not saying those are always bad. They're not inherently evil. They are not a substitute for the face to face ministry to suffering people. Suffering is one of many reasons why we need a real church. You need to be part of a church, not just an invisible member of the “church universal”. And don't hide your suffering from your church. You might be withholding a God-given opportunity for someone else to learn how to minister.

 

So, I've ducked the hard one. What are we to make of the Book of Job? In Job's first two chapters, God gives Satan permission to severely afflict Job. After great financial loss, and the deaths of his children, Job said in 1:21, The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Then the book says, In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. After Job was further afflicted with sores from head to feet, in verse 2:10, Job said, Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? In all this Job did not sin with his lips. And then at the end of the book, Job 42:11, it says that after God restored Job's health and prosperity, his family and friends rallied around him and consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him. It does not say that Satan had brought on him, though that is true. Both Satan's activity and God's sovereignty over Satan were instrumental in Job's suffering. Friends, be careful that you don't restrict your view of God's sovereignty in an unbiblical way that undermines your faith and suffering while you're suffering. Don't restrict your view of suffering to the here and now, and forget that God always has eternal purposes. Is it comforting to think that Satan, or any other physical or spiritual power, could cause something outside of God's will? Is that comforting? How then, could we really trust God? How then, could we really believe his promises? Are we to fight on our own against suffering as something outside of his will? I am not saying you should be totally passive. You can avail yourself of modern medicine. You can take a new job if your job is miserable. You can flee abuse. You can take any number of wise and sinless actions to seek relief from suffering. The Bible shows God's servants praying and acting often when they are facing hard times, all the while trusting God. There is no comfort in divorcing God's sovereignty from our suffering. That only leads to doubt and despair. There is nothing...nothing outside God's sovereignty, including our sufferings' causes and results. And this ought to comfort us. About this tension, one theologian gives this summary. I think it's my last slide. "So in the end, infinitely wise, all knowing permission is the same thing as bringing something about. And oh, how good it is to know that the permissive will of God and the more direct will of God are always wise and always pursuing the highest good for those who trust in him." Suffering is never easy. I skipped from Job 2 to Job 42. The vast bulk of the Book of Job shows him and his counselors struggling to make sense of this, and they don't always do it that well. Always go to God. Always go to God. His love and compassion for you are real and so is his sovereignty. I don't know why you suffer. I don't always know when I suffer,  why it is. But we can always trust God with our suffering. There will be mystery. There will be wonder. There will be human limits that call for faith. You can trust him when you don't understand. We do not worship a God that we can fully understand. So what current suffering is calling for you to trust in God and His sovereign purposes. Take some time. Write it down. Share it. If you need more help in dealing with suffering, I have two book recommendations. There's one many of you I hope have read, Trusting God by Jerry Bridges, and also one I read this summer simply called Suffering by Paul David Tripp.

 

Many of you know, um, for half the summer, about seven weeks, I was suffering with this outbreak of painful sores in my mouth. I felt like yellowjackets were stinging me. They would come and they would go and get worse and heal, then new ones would come and no one could figure it out. Three trips to the dentist, two to my doctor, multiple texts, finally into an ENTs office. And, um, it was hard to talk. It was hard to eat and it was hard to sleep, and those are three of my favorite things. The sleeping one was really the hardest. Um, and, uh, it was tough. It was tough on Andrea to watch me go through it. And, um, so many of you have suffered so much worse, I hesitate to even bring it up, but it's fresh. And reading that book on suffering was so encouraging to remind me of much that I have folded into this message. Um, people ask me, I was supposed to preach July 6th and I had to punt it to now because I just couldn't talk back then. And God is good, it's all gone now. And, um, I've been asked many times by many of you here who have been praying for me, what finally caused them to go away? How should I answer that? Was it the medicines at the end? The final ones? Was it time? My body's own immune response? Was it your prayers and mine? Was it simply God acting? Yes. Yes. I hope that helps.

 

Second, wait hopefully. Don't freak out. These last two are really quick. Suffering was the big one. These are going to be 3 to 4 minutes each. I'm glad that the clock is broken, so I don't even know how long I've been talking. Thank you in the back. Kurtis set the bar at 56 minutes last week, I'm trying not to go over that. I'm not Kurtis, obviously. Um. Here we go, wait hopefully. Number two, wait hopefully. So, worry is rampant today. It's rampant here in this church, it's rampant in our culture and it crosses generations. Worry is a type of self-inflicted suffering. When things don't go our way, when we can't control the outcome, we worry. Now, maybe especially for the men in the room that often comes out as anger. But the root is the same. When you think through the big messy wad of your worry or your anger, what is that root? I want to suggest that it's this: you aren't sovereign. You aren't omniscient, and you aren't omnipotent. In other words, you aren't God. Our worry says in our hearts, no matter what else we pray, not your will, Lord, but mine be done. I have good news for you. There is someone who is omniscient and omnipotent and sovereign, and he's way wiser than you, and he's way better than you. He knows the best who, what, where, when, and how, and he always chooses it, whether we like it or not. You can trust him while you wait. Look at New Testament passages about worry. Not now, but write these down. Look at Matthew 6:25-33. Look at Philippians 4:4-9. Look at the Old Testament when God's choicest servants were most distressed; Abraham, Moses, Jacob, David, Job, Paul. God usually does not answer their worry with why this is, he answers with who I am. Is there

a lesson for us? I think there is. God is not going to always give us the why, but he has promised us who he is. Like Romans 4:28, many of you memorize Philippians 4:6-7. Be anxious for nothing. Do you know the four short words that immediately precede it? The Lord is near. The Lord is near. That is not a reminder from Paul for our heads to embrace God's omnipresence. That is a balm for our hearts. Do you know where Paul was when he wrote those words? Was he in a cozy chair with his Bible, journal and fresh coffee? He was in prison. He was in prison when he wrote those words. When things look bad or uncertain, God gives us the promise of his sovereign character to break us out of our worry. His sovereign character, all that he is is promised, and ultimately, Christian, what are we waiting for? What are we waiting for? That day, which will be here soon for some of you, maybe for all of us if he comes back, that day when we see Jesus Christ face to face. He will be our King. Brothers and sisters, is that worth waiting for? Yes. While you wait, you can believe in and rejoice that God is totally sovereign. He will sustain you. So what are you worried about? What are you worried about? How can submitting to God's sovereignty help you through that worry while you wait? Write it down. Think about it. Pray about it. Take it to scripture. Share. Our sovereign God's will and timing are always perfect. If you want more help for worry, I recommend this book, Consider the Lilies by Jonny Ardavanis.

 

Finally, in a couple of minutes, because God is our sovereign king, we can obey lovingly. Many earthly kings and dictators have been evil. And I get it, there is biblical warrant for civil disobedience when obeying would clearly be sin against God. But guess what? The King, God, is perfect. He is wise and he is just. He is full of compassion and mercy, but he is the King. There's no defense for disobedience to this King. He is the King of kings. All earthly kings are mere subjects that do his will. Proverbs 21:1 says, The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. God has given us commands to obey as a sovereign lord ought, and his commands are right, and they are good. On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus said repeatedly in John 14 and 15, what? If you love me - what will you do? You'll keep his commandments. He said it four times in those two chapters. 1 John 5:3 says, For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. Friends, love for God and obedience to God are inseparable. That's not legalism. That's saving faith. That's what it looks like. And it befits the sovereign king of the universe. Who else are you going to obey? It's a joy to obey him because our Father always knows best. God's sovereignty can never be an excuse for us to sin. Hey, he's sovereign. He's going to figure it out. And we certainly can't neglect loving one another because of it. If you have been saved by faith in Jesus Christ, then you do love to obey him because he's your King. So how specifically should you repent from your disobedience and lovingly obey him today? God, and I mean God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit is the sovereign King of the universe. We believers are his willing subjects, redeemed by his sovereign grace and secure in his sovereign love. We love him; we obey him even while we suffer, even while we wait, according to his sovereign plan.

 

Pray with me. Heavenly Father, your sovereignty is...hard to grasp sometimes and hard to trust in sometimes, when we suffer, when things don't go the way we would want them to go. Help us to trust you then, especially, Lord. Help us to know that you are the sovereign King whose plans cannot be thwarted. And your plan is to have us with you forever in sinless heaven. Help us to wait with great joy and patience for that day. In Jesus name, Amen.

 

The Grace of God

Pastor Kurtis Massey

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The Righteousness of God

Ronald Laitano

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The Righteousness of God

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Well, Good morning, HBC family.  My name is Roland Laitano, and if I haven't had a chance/privilege to meet you. Maybe you're new to the church. You're new, and you've seen me behind that microphone with a guitar. I'm the worship director here at the church. Um, and I have the joy usually in leading in song. And this, I have the privilege of bringing do the Word of God, and I'm going to get right to it. I have a question for you to start this morning. What determines right and wrong? Is it always that easy? Just ask this guy. Let me set the scene for you. The date is July 23rd, 2018. It's the fourth inning of Sunday's game between the Chicago Cubs and the Saint Louis Cardinals. The Cubs first base coach picks up a foul ball and tosses it to a smiling youngster in the stands, wearing a Cubs hat endearingly too large for him. But the kid bobbles the baseball and drops it. Now what people saw next shocked the world. Video clips all over social media showed a man who was sitting behind the boy scoop up the ball the boy dropped and give it to a woman next to him. Outrage, anger, calls for justice. Tweets and social media posts began a moral barrage aimed at this evil man who would dare steal a baseball from a little boy. There could be no doubt...this is live. We all saw it. And again, I remind you, this is happening live. The Cubs front office quickly dispatched a staffer mid-game down to the seats, and gave the little boy a new ball signed by Javy Baez, the Cubs shortstop. The little boy smiled under the brim of his boat sized hat and held two baseballs, and what the cubs discovered from people nearby was that the evil man in question wound up with four foul balls during the game, but gave three to children, including one to the little boy who had appeared to be swindled. He also gave one to his wife, the woman next to him, as it was their anniversary. Julian Green of the Cubs said in a statement. Unfortunately, a video that was quickly posted and unverified has made a national villain out of an innocent man.
So I ask you again what determines right and wrong? And is it always easy to make that distinction? If you're joining us today for the first time, we're in the middle of a sermon series on the attributes of God. Attributes are qualities or features. They're capacities or descriptions of God himself. They tell us what God is like. It's important that we remind ourselves of two things for this sermon, and really, for all the sermons that have come and all the sermons that will come after. First, these divine attributes are just ways of describing a person. God is a person. He's not a thing. He's not a concept. He's not a power. He is a person. When we use these attributes to describe God, we're describing a person, a divine person, God himself. When we celebrate birthdays with my family. We will often go around the dinner table and ask everyone, hey, what are the three things you enjoy or you like or you appreciate most about the birthday person, right? And what follows is everything from seriousness to ridiculousness, right? But the descriptions that are used, the attributes that are used to describe that person, usually tell something endearing about them. This is what this person is like and this is what we like about them. And that's what we're doing in this series. Second, these aren't man-made words for God. They are God made words for God. We live in a time when people are really concerned about their identity and their self-expression, and they want to be known and described in specific ways. Well guess what? God is a person too, and he wants to be known and described in certain ways. He is concerned about his identity. He's revealed himself because he's so concerned about his identity. And in the Bible, we know his name, his self-expression, his purposes.
So in this series, we're simply taking God at His Word by using the words he uses to describe himself. So far, we've looked at the eternality of God, the love of God, the holiness of God, the wisdom of God, and the goodness of God. But this morning we're looking at the attribute of the righteousness of God. Pray with me. Father, give us eyes to see, ears to hear and joyful hearts to obey and submit. Help me, O Lord, and help us glorify you as we receive your Word. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
Psalm 11:7, Psalm 129:4 and Psalm 145:17 all describe God this way. They all say the Lord is righteous. And what does that mean? What is the Bible trying to say when it calls God righteous? Well, we get a hint inside the word itself. The first five letters of the word righteous spell the word right. So righteous, righteousness has to do with what's right. But not everything that's right is righteous. Knowing that two plus two is four makes you right in math, but it doesn't make you righteous. So righteousness...when God is described as being righteous, this is a moral attribute. This is an ethical claim the Bible is making about God. God is righteous. He is moral. He is ethical. Theologian Wayne Grudem gives this helpful definition. God's righteousness means that God acts according with what is right and is himself the standard of what is right. Theologian John Frame gives another helpful definition when he says, the main idea of divine righteousness is that God acts according to a perfect internal standard of right and wrong. All his actions are within the limits, if we can use that term reverently, of that standard. So the righteousness is the structure of God's goodness. I love that word picture, but God's righteousness is the structure of God's goodness. You see how good God is by witnessing his righteous acts. So what this means is that when the Bible talks about God being righteous, it's saying two basic things.  
First, the Bible makes the clear claim that God is right and is the standard of what is right. Moses describes God this way in Deuteronomy chapter 32. He says the Rock, his work is perfect for all his ways are justice, a God of faithfulness and without iniquity just and upright is he. God himself speaking to Isaiah says in Isaiah 45. I, the Lord, speak the truth. I declare what is right. There is no other God besides me, a righteous God and a Savior. There is none besides me. Only in the Lord it shall be said of me are righteousness and strength. So the Bible presents this clear, emphatic claim that God is right. He is righteous. There is no wrong in him. There is no moral ethical deficiency in God as who he is himself, but he also is the standard of what is right, and his actions speak of his righteousness. Psalm 89:14 says, righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. This is beautiful imagery of a king on his throne. And what do kings do on thrones? They exercise their rule. They exercise their will from their throne. They command from their throne. They send ideas and influences into their subjects. And so this picture of God sitting on his throne, of which the foundation of his throne is righteousness. Jesus has actually spoken of this same language himself in Jeremiah 23. He has prophesied this way. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he shall reign as king, and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. The New Testament picks this up in 1 John 2:1, where John says, my little children, I am writing these things to you, so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with God the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. So God is righteous and is the standard of what is right and righteous. That's the first thing that's being communicated. The second thing that's being communicated is that God's actions accomplish righteousness. What he does is just. When God works, when God wills, when God does that action, that work is righteous. It is just. It brings about justice. Now you're hearing me use the word righteousness and justice. The reason for that is in English justice and righteousness are two different words, but they have similar meaning. In the original language, there is one concept of righteousness/justice. And there's a number of words that are used that get translated righteousness/justice. So you may read a passage in Scripture, and that same Hebrew word in one section is translated righteousness. That same Hebrew word in another section is translated justice. These are the basic family of ideas. Justice and righteousness are basically twin attributes of God. They're not exactly the same thing, but together they help communicate this clear truth that God is morally perfect and shows his moral perfection in everything he does. There is no questioning of God's actions because God's actions are perfectly pure, morally excellent. When God acts, you witness ethical perfection on display. There is no deficiency. There is no evil. There is no less than. There is no derivation of what should be good. When God acts, that's what good is. Psalm 9:7-8 says, but the Lord sits enthroned forever. He has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness. Daniel 4:37, now I Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just. We get two glorious visions in Revelation 15. One says, and they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the lamb, saying, great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty. Just and true are your ways. In Revelation 19:11, then I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, the one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges.
What's the Bible trying to communicate to us about who God is and about the quality of his actions in history? When God works in history, when God involves himself in the affairs of man, when God creates boundaries for human behaviors, decisions, and desires, when God writes laws to regulate human behaviors, decisions, and desires, when God brings judgment on humanity for breaking his laws that create those boundaries for behaviors, decisions, and desires...God is showing his moral perfection. He is showing us not just that he is righteous, but what righteousness is. What does that mean for you and me? Well, when God answers prayer, he is righteous. When God delays or denies prayer, he is righteous. When God protects us from evil and harm, he is righteous. When God allows us to experience evil and harm, he is righteous. When God forgives a sinner and brings him to heaven, he is righteous. When God condemns a sinner and sends him to hell, he is righteous. The Bible's clear and categorical message about God is that he is righteous all the time, perfectly morally true and just in himself and in his actions. God is righteous.
Two takeaways from this first section. God himself is the perfect and pure standard of righteousness. He and he alone can declare what is right. Therefore, God is the ultimate moral authority. Over the past six months, we have all been witness to our government's attempt at the use of division of powers. Right? President writes an executive order. District court judges get involved. Supreme court gets involved. The legislative branch gets involved. Everyone wants to have a say on what is right and what is wrong. Everyone wants to determine how things should or shouldn't be. God doesn't work that way. There is no division of powers in heaven. There is no constitution. There's no governmental system. There's no rule book. There's no external authority that God looks to and references to determine what is right. God does not consult think tanks or focus groups or take polls to determine what is moral and immoral. He hasn't deputized or democratized his authority to determine what is right. God is righteous, and therefore he is the ultimate moral authority. And so what this means is that the standard for our moral authority is not an idea or a principle, but a person, an infinite person, God himself. God himself is our standard for righteousness. We cannot know righteousness outside of knowing God. This has tremendous practical applications. I mean, just go back to 2020, right? Five years ago, it seems like ages, but it's just around the corner. This just happened since 2020. Did you notice a slight uptick in protests? People marching and gathering and calls for justice. Have you noticed that on social media? How people have really worked up about this is right...that's wrong. We need to do this because this person is being wronged. We need this, right. Because...have you all noticed that or is it me, right? Everything from the MeToo movement to calls for racial equality, to outrage over conflicts in the Middle East, to calls for justice on victims of Jeffrey Epstein. You see it play out every day on the television and on social media. What does this mean? This means that our society is a society that's crying out for justice. Desperately desiring to do what's right but hopelessly lost if God is not the center of that picture. Can we truly know what is right without not knowing God? Can we truly know what is right without knowing God? Now the concern, of course, is that's not going to stop us from attempting to define what is right and what is wrong. And this is part of the chaos around our lives nowadays. God has been abandoned. And so he's being replaced with self autonomy as the arbiter of...this is what's right...this is what's wrong. But for us as believers, God Himself is the perfect and pure standard of righteousness. He and He alone can declare what is right.
Some questions for you to ponder in this first section. What do you call righteous? What do you call good? What or who do you look to to determine what is right and what is wrong? Do you look to tradition?...maybe family values?...maybe your upbringing? Do you look to human experience? Do you look to consensus? If we all get together and agree. Oh, that's right then that's right. No. If we all get together and say, oh, that's wrong, that's wrong. Do you notice the amount of outrage? If a higher number of people are really upset about something, that must mean that determines right or wrong. What do you look to determine what is right and what is wrong? First take away.
Second take away...because God is righteous His actions are unquestionably good and his commands are the pathway to righteousness. Psalm 119 describes the joy of a believer living under God's precious law. Blessed are those whose way is blameless. Who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong but walk in his ways. Do you see that contrast of there is this pathway of life called wrong, and there is this pathway of life called right, and that's defined by God's laws and his commands? He continues. And he says, you have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh, that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes. Then I shall not be put to shame. Having my eyes fixed on all your commandments, I will praise you with an upright heart when I learn your righteous rules. So if you've ever asked the question what is right, what is just, what is good? The Bible's answer is show me something God has done. Show me something God has said. Show me something God has commanded. That is right. That is good. That is just. Every plan God has, every promise God's made, every purpose he will fulfill is righteous. God stands above all human scrutiny, all human judgment, and all human analysis and observation. In his actions and in his commandments rather than confuse or cloud or stain the ethical and moral pureness of his goodness and righteousness, or bring into question his goodness or righteousness, his law shows us what righteousness is. So what that means for you and I...is that we, believers, we ought to show extreme care when we come to the Word of God, and we find fault with it. When we come across his law in the Bible and we find a section of Scripture distasteful or disgusting or lacking or deficient or limited. Or maybe we could surmise a way of probably this would have been better. To question God's actions and commandments is to question his character. We understand this, right? This is easy for us to see in everyday life. If you're a college student in the room and your professor commands you, gives you an assignment during Christmas break. You don't like it, so you question their moral character. Anyone in here who has a job, who has a boss, if all of a sudden he calls you into his office and he says, I want a specific breakdown of how you spent your time this week. I want a strict accounting. You don't like that. You don't want to do that. So you question his judgment. Children in the room when your parents, just by virtue of them existing, right? Any command they may set forth in front of you. You question their goodness. So, brothers and sisters, do not question God's character by questioning his commands. The Bible describes them as a delight, as a sweetness, as something beautiful to behold and sweet to experience. Now someone may say, but Ronald, if God is righteous, then why does he allow this to happen or that to happen? If he is righteous, then why is there so much unrighteousness in the world? He's the ultimate moral authority. What he says is right, but there's a lot of wrong. I see a lot of wrong in my every day. My first answer would be, do you really want this sermon to last another two hours? Maybe. My second answer to that question would be this. I don't know. But that's God's problem. It's his problem to reconcile his goodness with the lack of goodness in the world. The Bible comes up and tells me God is righteous and that's all I need to hear. That is something I need to know. That is something I need to feel. That is something I need to rejoice in. That is something I need to submit to and rest in knowing that my God is righteous. I don't need to know. I don't need to have an explanation of what...why things happen that I disagree with. Things happen that hurt me. Things happen that are scary. I don't need that when the Bible sees fit to provide the clarity of an attribute called God's Righteousness. Brothers and sisters, questioning God's character or commands is a recipe for unbelief and rebellion. Just ask Adam and Eve...how did things turn out for them? Not good. Thank you, Vicky. Where and when you can't delight in God's commandments, take this home with you. Follow the example of the man in Mark chapter nine. Where he said, I believe. Help my unbelief.  And a sermon series like this becomes so immediately helpful, so practical. It meets us in a day to day. These aren't just fancy schmancy, you know, lofty ideas. We're getting to know the person of God. And so someone may say, Ronald, my current trial, my current condition life is really painful right now. God is righteous. You can trust him. Ronald, my current trial is unbearable. It's too much, I can't. God is all powerful. He will give you strength. Ronald, my current trial is disorienting. I don't know what to do. I don't know where to go. God is all wise. He will guide you. Ronald, my current trial is more than my heart can take. God is love. He will care for you and satisfy the desires of your heart. Ronald, my current trial is going to lead me to death. God is life. He will raise you into glory one day at the appearing of His Son. You need to know, believer, who God is. These attributes are rich and encouraging our faith.
Some questions for you to ponder in this first section, and then we'll move to the second section of God is righteous in the gospel. How well do you know God's law? How well do you know God's law? Now, I'm not asking you how many laws did God write in the Old Testament? There's 600 and change, by the way. That's not what I'm asking you. What I'm asking you is how well do you know them? Have you taken the time to investigate sections of Scripture that make certain moral demands that don't sit well with you? Have you submitted to them and sought to understand how God is good in light of a passage of Scripture that in our limited, sinful mind makes it seem like he's not...He is good. The problem is with us, not with his law. So how well do you know God's law? How much do you love and delight in God's laws. Are you more like the Pharisee who just wants to do what's right to get a spiritual handout from God? Or do you love God's law? Do you love his commandments? Do you seek in them, do you find in them life and fulfillment and joy? Question three, do you ever feel the temptation to want some of God's actions or laws to be different? Do you have that temptation? Do you sometimes see yourself as being a peer to God? Yeah, I would do that different. Yeah. You know, maybe this should have gone this way. Last question. Where do I need to confess the sin of rejecting the goodness of God's law? God is righteous. It's what the Bible says. It's what the Bible presents.
But God is also righteous in the gospel. For all the glorious good that the righteousness of God accomplishes, it creates a massive problem for us. It's been in the background since we started talking, since we started making these statements, reading them from Scripture. God is the ultimate moral authority. He is righteous and just in his ways. What he does is right. Behind that is the idea that as the perfectly pure and righteous person that God is, he doesn't keep those standards to himself. God expects it from other moral creatures. It's God's universe, and he expects his creatures to be a certain way. In other words, God demands obedience to his righteousness. God's righteousness is not just a principle in heaven that we look to, and we point to like a statue and say, that is really cool. It's really shiny. It's really nice. No, that statue comes down and it tells us what to do and what not to do. Who you are and who you are not. We see this all the way back in Genesis chapter one, where the Bible isn't shy about telling us who is in charge. God creates the universe and expects it to stay within the patterns he's ordained. You look at Genesis chapter one and you see God telling, this is going to go here, this is going to go there. This is going to be this. This is going to be that. This is going to end here. This is going to start there. God is just ordaining things. He's telling the world, this is how you ought to be. This basic pattern of creation in Genesis 1 goes something like this. God brings order to chaos. God fills the void with life, and God exercises dominion over his creation. Genesis 1 is basically that. Those are the three main movements of what's happening in Genesis chapter one. Now, when God creates humanity, notice what he's going to expect of Adam and Eve. He's going to expect them to follow that same pattern. Genesis 1:28 says, So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female He created them and God blessed them. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over every living thing. The pattern is there. Subdue the earth that's bringing order to chaos. Be fruitful and multiply...that's filling the void with life. Have dominion...that's exercising authority. So what is God communicating to humanity when he creates humanity? What is he saying to them? He's saying you ought to be like me. Your existence reflects my existence. The types of things I do, you do. In Genesis chapter two, we read even more expectations of God to Adam. He says, the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. For in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. So what's absolutely clear about these two texts is that God expects obedience from humanity. This is the default setting of a human being before God. The very first interaction mankind had with God. The very first conversation mankind had with God. When Adam opened his eyes into life and beheld the glorious face of his creator...the first words out of God's mouth were not I love you. Now he does. The first words out of God's mouth to Adam and Eve were not, I have purposes for you. He does. The first words out of God's mouth towards Adam and Eve were not, you're special. They are. The first words out of God's mouth to creatures made in his image is...obey. I am God and I am creating you to function in a certain way. There are patterns of who I am that are now imprinted on you, and my glory is broadcast throughout my creation when you follow those commands. The opposite is also true. When you disobey my commands, you do not bring me glory. You lie about who I am, because I've made you in my image. So because God is righteous and because he made us in his image, God expects humanity to be righteous like he is. He's not subtle about this. He commands it. And if humanity fails in the quest to be perfectly righteous like its Creator, God rightfully judges humanity and declares them the opposite of righteous, which is what?...unrighteous, sinful, wicked. And what does Genesis 3 show was the consequence of this declaration of God...death and banishment. So, in a sense, righteousness in the Bible functions as a kind of heavenly currency. We need it to have access to God. Without righteousness, we cannot come to God. Without righteousness, we could not speak to God. Without righteousness, we could not commune with God. This heavenly currency of righteousness, the human condition is depleted of. We have none since Adam and Eve, God has declared us unrighteous. And this is the problem I was talking about. Listen to how the Apostle Paul describes the consequences of being found unrighteous. 1 Corinthians 6:9 Paul says, or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who practice homosexuality, thieves, greedy, drunkards, revelers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. How do I inherit the kingdom of God? I need righteousness. Romans 1:18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Romans 2:8, for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. Brothers and sisters, God doesn't just dislike sin. He will judge it in righteousness with wrath and fury. God doesn't just endure sinners, he will judge them. And he is reserving his wrath and fury for them. This is why a sermon like this is helpful coming out of a sermon out of the goodness of God. And this is why we need both sermons. This is why we need to study the attributes of God. So what do we do if this is our condition? If the creator, the perfect, pure moral authority of all that exists, has labeled humanity unrighteous. What do we do? Well, two takeaways.
First, if you're an unbeliever, come to Christ. We've been singing about it all morning. It is done. It is finished. No more debt I owe. Paid in full. All sufficient merit. It's now my own. Friend, if you don't know where you stand with God, let me assure you that God knows where he stands with you. If I can use this language, the Bible is an equal opportunity offender. When it talks about who's a sinner, who's unrighteous. The Bible says none is righteous. Romans 3:10. Not one. Nobody. My sweet grandma who is sweet. The Bible says unrighteous. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good. Not even one. God has looked down from heaven, declared everyone to be unrighteous. So what can be done about it? Here's a joy of the righteousness of the gospel of Christ. There's one thing you can do about it. Come to Christ. Romans 10:5 says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Saved from what?...the wrath and fury that we were talking about. 2 Corinthians 5:21, for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Christ has done something. Living a perfect life achieved for him infinite righteousness that he takes to the cross. And when God the Father brings judgment on the cross, he's transferring that righteousness to us. He's purchased righteousness for us. He's not guilty of anything, but he's dying for the guilt of everything. And that righteousness becomes our safe place, our security, our sustenance. When we look upon that act of God judging His Son, pouring his wrath on His Son, and we say, it should have been me. I deserve that death. I place my hope and faith on that man. And I believe that what happened to him on that cross will not happen to me. That's faith. So, friend, confess. Come to Christ. Trust in him. Cry out to him as a Savior. You don't need a special prayer. There's no special offering. There's no special ritual. Repent. Believe. Trust in Christ.
Now for the believer...what do you do? What's your take away? Cling to Christ. Cling to Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, and because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. That very God who demands righteousness provides the means for the unrighteous to attain righteousness through the blood of his Son. So, believer, cling to Christ.
Let me close with a hymn. If you know this hymn I've messed around with the lyrics, but this just really encapsulates this idea of clinging to Christ.
Believer, when this life of trials tests your faith, when the questions come and doubts remain for the deepest wounds that time won't heal. Cling to Christ. When you falter in this war with sin. When you fail the fight and sink within. When the shame drowns you in its sea. And you dread the waves of righteous justice. Cling to Christ. When the world calls you to leave your Lord. When it offers all its vain rewards. When that heart of yours, like mine, is so prone to stray. When you're tempted to believe you'll be cast away on the final day. Cling to Christ.
Let's pray together. Oh, Father, your Word says if you would count iniquity, who could stand? But there is forgiveness in you. There is mercy in you, Lord. And we thank you for what you've done in Jesus Christ. Father, we pray that your righteousness be a sweet reminder of how truly good you are. May we delight, O Lord, in your commandments. May we seek to follow them, for in following them we are seeking your design for life, which means there is where true fulfillment, true meaning, and purpose is found...to walk this world in the pathways that our Creator has designed for us. Forgive us of our sins, O Lord. For those of us who know Christ...we continue to sin. We continue to harbor unrighteousness in our hearts. We continue to blaspheme the precious blood of Christ. So we ask you again to have mercy on us. Oh, God help us love your law. Help us love you. Help us love each other. Father, for those who would be here, who do not know your Son...would you do what you have done with every one of us who has confessed Christ. Would you open their eyes to see the glorious things of Christ? Would you breathe spiritual life into them, Lord? Would you lead them into repentance and away from condemnation? Father, we now join our voices. We sing about our great High Priest, who to this day right now is in heaven interceding for us. May you be glorified, Lord, by what we do, by what we say in all things. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

 

The Goodness of God

Pastor Mark Ikerd

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​​​​The Goodness of God 

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If you have your Bibles, if you would, please turn with me to Psalm 73. Psalm 73. And if we haven't met yet, my name is Mark Ikerd, and I serve here in several ministry opportunities and help to give oversight to these. Adam helped me put them into categories so that I could kind of keep my arms around it and stay focused on it. So there's four C's-Care Ministry, Counseling Ministry, Connection Ministry, and the Campus. So I help oversee the campus. Um, any questions or problem with the campus, just email Caleb White. Seriously. So he has come on board and he's much better at it than I've ever been. So he's... He's just been a blessing to me. And just I mean, he was already very well aware of the campus when he came on, and he's excellent in the kitchen and just very talented young man, and I'm thankful for him.

 

So as we continue our study on the attributes of God, today I would like to draw our focus to the goodness of God. I think it's helpful for us to know that in the goodness of God, as well as in the greatness of God, he is perfect in all of his ways. So not only is he perfect in all of his ways, he's perfect in all his perfections. There's nothing lacking or to be added to his character. One commentator put it this way God is fully each of his perfections. Whatever God is, he is totally in essence. If God is not fully and absolutely love or fully and absolutely holy or fully and absolutely good then he is not fully and absolutely God. God's perfection must characterize him totally, eternally, and indefinitely. Because if they do not, God would neither be immutable or simple. And Brother Dave, I had to do my definition, as you've taught me. Um, immutable being, um, ageless, changeless and consistent. Psalm 34:8-9 says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you saints, for those who fear him lack nothing." For the word "fear" here, church, is not the same as being anxiously afraid of something. The word fear in light of the Scripture would would be a believer's reverent respect and natural response to the knowledge of God. So in summary, God's goodness is that he is the perfect sum and source and standard of all that is beautiful, wholesome, virtuous, and beneficial both for himself and for all that he has created. Consequently, when he loves his creatures, he loves them with a chief regard to himself. He he is absolutely perfect and good. God is the source of all his creatures' blessings. He is the highest good for his creatures, which is the proper good for all who strive for true goodness.

 

So now that's of course not exhaustive, of course, but I feel like that gives us a theological foundation to work from. So I would like to, I would dare say that the majority of, of us here today would easily say yes and amen to all those things. But even as we agree that God is perfect, perfectly perfect, and that he is always good, and that all good things come from above. And his chief desire is to bless and encourage and have intimate fellowship with his own. Here's the question. Why would we ever doubt, fear, fret, and agonize over life's situations? Well, I hope you would say, wow, that's a great question and I'm glad you ask. My hope and my prayer today is that Psalm 73, with God's help, will help give us some insight and answers to those questions.

 

So as we turn to Psalm 73 and we clearly see an open and transparent and sincere heart, if you would, if you just glance over the text. There's 28 verses, a lot of material to cover. If you notice, the word heart is used over five times in the text, depending on what translation you're using. So we see this is a true confession of the heart. The word heart here in this case refers to your very core, the very center of your being, the data center, so to speak, from where all your emotions and convictions originate from. So Psalm 73 is written by Asaph. He is a chief musician. He is a worship leader under King David. He writes 12 different psalms. This particular psalm is a song of wisdom, but it reads more like a testimony. And I think you'll see that as we work through it. Asaph writes this particular psalm, looking back over a season of life that he has already gone through. So we will see very clearly that even though a very godly and gifted worship leader, he experiences a crisis of faith, which proves that even those who lead in the church are susceptible to sin, temptation and doubt and fear. No one is exempt. And I think that's helpful to know. There are no super Christians. Amen? Amen. None of us have arrived or ever will till we get to heaven. And I'm thankful for the Apostle Paul. If I were to ever think about a Christian being a super Christian, uh, unhuman, it would be Paul, of course, with with all his trials and accomplishments that the way God mightily used him. But I'm thankful that even Paul, as godly a man, missionary, witness that he was and all that he suffered. I'm glad in Paul's openness and honesty, he didn't say, oh, wretched man that I was. He said, oh, wretched man that I am. And that that gives me hope. Amen?

 

So our subject today is the goodness of God. The big idea, which there should be some blanks on your outline, the big idea is the goodness of God cannot be measured by the success or failure of man. And I feel like I'm hollering. My daughter told me this morning or last night, Dad, you don't have to holler the whole time. You can just emphasize the points you want to make, which is good and helpful. And I need to remember that. So forgive me if I'm hollering. Hey, I'm excited. Amen? This is God's word. Alright, so Psalm 73, if you would please look with me as I read. "Truly, God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the arrogant. When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death. Their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are. They are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore, pride is their necklace. Violence covers them as a garment. Their eyes swell through fatness. Their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice. Loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens. Their tongue struts through the earth. Therefore, his people turn back to them and find no fault in them. And they say, how can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High? Behold, these are the wicked, always at ease.

 

They increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I've been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said I will speak thus, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went to the sanctuary of God. Then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places. You make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, oh Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms. When my soul was embittered, I was pricked in heart. I was brutish and ignorant. I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I'm continually with you. You hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail. But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish. You put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord my refuge. That I may tell of your works."

 

Please pray with me. Lord Jesus, thank you for your word and we are praying, Lord, that you will speak and work through your servant, Lord, and by your spirit, through your word and, Lord, as I talked to Ronald this morning, Lord, I just pray that your spirit would carry me away. I just pray that I would just be along for the ride, that you would speak and work and move as only you can. That you would do something that I would never be able to do. So Lord, just work and move through your word by your spirit. I pray that your people would be blessed, that they would be encouraged, and that they would also be challenged. And so bless as only you can, be glorified, in Jesus' name, Amen.

 

So again, the big idea or the heart or theme of the message again is the goodness of God cannot be measured by the success or failure of man. As I read Psalm 73, just on a surface level or at face value, which is really one of our hermeneutical responsibilities. I remember in school our professors used to say, men, what does the text say? And we're like, well, I mean, you know, we-we get it. No, no. Literally, what is the text saying? And before you start poking and prodding and tearing it apart and adding your own opinion and getting on your own soapbox, what does the text say? And I hope I haven't oversimplified this. Um, but in saying that, I felt like I had an immediate connection with Asaph, when he starts out in verse one by saying God is good, which is right and true in every sense of the word. Then right after that, him being a mature, grounded in his faith leader, he immediately followed up with in verse two...But. And I thought, man, that's that's me second guessing as I normally do, which is a tendency of mine. So which comes across to me is doubtful or second guessing. So I'm not claiming this is scriptural or biblical, but just in my simple mindedness when I think of how I relate to Asaph and Psalm 73, here's a good way I relate to it. In many, if not most, couples, opposites often attract. That certainly is the case with me and my wife, Jackie. My tendency, my bend, my personality is to be critical, negative, and judgmental. In most cases, the cup half empty mentality. Now Jackie, on the other hand, hers is positive, uplifting, choosing to see and believe the best. In other words, to look on the bright side of things. So hers is the cup half full mentality. So I'm uptight. She's laid back. And so that's all great and good, for a while. So early on it can be an interest or attraction for couples while dating. But as time goes on, as I hope that y'all would agree with me, these characteristics can easily, easily lead to major differences. I would call it a rub, a grind, can lead to division, strife, but thankful both perspectives submitted to the Lord can be used by God in a mighty way to grow and refine each other, to help us to see things from a different perspective. So Jackie... I thought I saw you. Where are you at? Right here. She's hiding. Jackie, thank you for your patient endurance over the years. For the many ways that you have faithfully sharpened and refined me. You have been my God-given change agent. And I promise I won't mention Holy Spirit Junior. So with that, with all that being said, finally a text I can approach with a somewhat negative or critical questioning perspective, which leads me to the first point.

 

So how can I know, believe, and trust in the goodness of God when, number one, the proud prosper? If you would please look with me in verses one through three. We can see an honest confession. Verse one. God is good to Israel and this is, church, this is representing all his chosen people. It goes on to say to those who are pure in heart, and that would be those walking with God and in obedience to His word. Verse two goes on to say, but I almost stumbled, I nearly slipped, and the meaning of that would mean to bow or to bend under the weight of. So- question, why did he almost stumble and almost slip? Well, we see the reason in verse three, because I became envious of the arrogant. Asaph envied the wicked when he saw their prosperity; his focus, his concentration had weakened. He became distracted from the main thing. Psalm 37:1-2 says, "Fret not of evildoers. Be not envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass." Reminds me of Psalm 1, where the psalmist mentions the wicked. He says they're like chaff driven by the wind. In other words, no purpose, no impact in life, nothing that lasts. So what caused or led Asaph to envy, or to begin to admire the wicked? Look with me in verses four and five. A life free from pain. They're sleek and fat, for they have no pangs until death. Their bodies are sleek and fat. Verse five, they are not troubled or stricken. In other words, hit or wounded as others are. Another translation for verse four says no bands in their death speaks of cords of chronic disease or pain. Bands are translated to be knotted or tied. And speaking of the sleek and the fat, Paul warns us in  Philippians 3:18-19. This is what Paul says for many of whom I have often told you, and now tell you with tears, walk as enemies of the cross. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly and they glory in their shame with minds set on earthly things. So, Asaph's observance is when they die, they die in their strength. No suffering. They do not struggle with slow, tedious sicknesses. They live in pleasure and they die in ease. Not a bitter death like the righteous often suffer. In verse five they even seem to be exempt from the troubles that most have. Look with me in verses six through 12. These verses give a great detail to the life and lifestyle of the proud. It says in verse six, they are proud of their pride and also their violence. It goes on to say it's as much a part of them as the clothes they wear. The Scripture goes on to say it covers them like a garment. It's kind of like we wear our name brand clothing. You know, when we invest the money in quality clothing and it's, you know, has a symbol on it. We don't hide it. I mean, we wear it and are often proud of it. Um, so they're proud. They're proud of their pride and violence. They wear it like name brand clothing. It covers them as a garment. Verse seven, their eyes are fat. This speaks of bulging from indulgence and always looking for more.

 

Their hearts desire more foolish, sinful, wicked, outlandish behavior seems to be normal to them. Verses eight and nine, they speak loud and proud of their behavior. The scripture says they scoff, in other words, mock and belittle. They ridicule and threaten anyone that disagrees with them. Verse nine it says, even against the heavens, they have scoffed. And what was the impact on God's people? I think it tells us in verses ten and 11. It says his people turn back to them and fail to find fault in them. Church, here's how that goes. So when the godly see the wicked and the wealthy prosper, they begin to easily envy the easy, luxurious lifestyle because of the wicked's wealth and prestige and influence, many again, even God's people, begin to respect or follow them. The scripture says they turn to them and find no fault in them, is what the verses say. And they come to the unfortunate conclusion that obviously God is allowing or or permitting this, so he must be okay with it? Verse 11, it goes on to say, how can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High? Is he aware, church, of the impact of their actions? Amen. So verse 12 summarizes this spiritual dilemma. These are the wicked living in a lap of luxury, a life of ease while their wealth increases.

 

So as we look for clarity, I think it's helpful to consider two scenarios. Um, one being the most popular, and I think we've heard and thought about this a lot. We think about why bad things happen to good people. And so most commentators, when they're unpacking this, these verses, this text, they refer to Job, um, as a, as an easy referral, to explain the text. And the second scenario is less popular, but is the case here in Psalm 73. The question is why do good things happen to bad people?...would be the question. So for an explanation on why the wicked prosper, most commentators do refer to Job in this context. A lot of commentators refer to the scripture and Job as an ancient theme. They even go on to call it the stumbling block of good men. So Job's friends could not seem to get past the prosperity of the wicked and the sorrows of the godly. So we see we're not alone in our temptation to question or despair when this happens. So as I studied Job, I saw two interesting arguments between Job and his so-called friends. Job 4, one of Job's friends, Eliphaz tries to explain Job's suffering by pointing out basically that the innocent always prosper. He asks a question, verse seven, who that was innocent ever perished. And he goes on to ask, or the upright were ever cut off. So of course he's he's insinuating that no suffering or harm comes to the godly. Then in Job 4, Zophar, along with his other well-meaning friends, Bildad and eventually Elihu have just emphasized in great detail, right? In great detail that suffering and hardship always indicates God's punishment for sin. That Job was just simply getting what he deserved. So verse 21, and I really appreciate this. Um. When Job stands up, Job's honest and transparent response. Job says emphatically. Now this is where I'd like to holler it out. Um, Job says emphatically. No, he said, the wicked do prosper. He goes on to say in verse seven, they live to a ripe old age, mighty in power and influence, even though they deny God. Verse 14, he says, they say to God, depart from us. We do not desire the knowledge of your ways. Verse 15, what is the Almighty that I should serve him? These are the same words, if we think back, that Pharaoh used when he was confronted by Moses in Exodus 5:2, when Pharaoh said, who is the Lord that I should obey his voice? So here's the point. God often allows the prosperity of fools, in the hardening of their hearts towards sin. This is not by their own doing, because they are thinking that they're in control of their own life. This is God's doing. God simply rewards them according to their deeds. And we see that in Galatians six where it says, we reap what we sow. So Job continues to question the punishment of the wicked. Verse 17, how often is the lamp of the wicked put out that their calamity comes upon them, that God distributes his pain and anger? So Job's friends knew nothing of the events in heaven that produced Job's suffering and loss. These men tried to oversimplify the logic of Almighty God.

 

So back to the simple question that I have failed to answer. Why and for what purpose would the Lord allow the proud to prosper and the godly to be oppressed? I'd like to share a true story with you that I think will help bring some light to this. Um, there was a young man in his mid 20s, and he was from a family that was once wealthy and influential. This young man was cocky, arrogant and proud, which led to an attitude of entitlement. I told you I was critical. Shortly after the company started, by God's grace, the Lord sent another man to work for this family who was gifted and experienced in construction. This man was humble, meek and lowly and had recently come to Christ. He was a new believer. He was born again and on fire for God. So let me ask you this question. Why would the Lord orchestrate or even allow the connection between this wicked and proud person and this meek, humble, and lowly new believer? Why would the Lord allow a new believer to be placed under the arrogant and the proud? I thought through that and I asked myself this question-why would Christ obey His father and submit to the Roman government, unjustly, unfairly, to cruel, unlawful punishment?...for a greater good, for the salvation of all mankind. Back to these two men. A couple of things come to mind. In the new believer in his life, how can the Lord use it? The Lord could use it to test, to develop and refine the new believer's faith, to let his light shine into a dark place. I think of Romans 5:3-5 where it says, perseverance leads the character, character to hope, and the hope that doesn't disappoint. The other case with the arrogant and prideful man. So the Lord could use the mercy, grace, and patience, along with the long suffering of the believer's life, to soften the proud heart of the other man to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Part of the true story is the Lord did just that. The relationship between these two men has lasted for over 30 years. They are still very close and intimate to this day. Both of these men are serving in ministry. Have you figured out who the arrogant and prideful man was? Absolutely.

 

Psalm 37 says, the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. The wicked plots against the righteous, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees his day coming. Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of the wicked. So the prosperity of

 

the wicked greatly troubled Asaph, for they seem to have no pain and sorrow. Asaph's focus was their worldly prosperity, despite their wicked lifestyle, he saw the wicked and forgot their future. Matthew Henry said this on the prosperity of the wicked. He said, "It's not because God has forsaken the earth, or because he does not see, or does not hate or cannot punish their wickedness. It's because the measure of their iniquities is not yet full. This is the day of God's patience, and in some way or the other, he makes use of them in their prosperity to serve his own counsel while it ripens them for ruin."

 

Okay, so, number one, how can we trust in the goodness of God when the proud prosper? Number two. How can we trust in the goodness of God even when the saint struggles? So this is where Asaph seems to question his own guarded life. So read with me verses 13 and 14 where it says, all in vain have I kept my heart clean, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. So Asaph had guarded both the inner and the outer spiritual man, and it was a very bitter thought for him to think that it was all in vain or completely useless. Matthew 5:8 says, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. So, friends, that's not saying that Asaph had sinless perfection or innocence, but this is referring to a whole-hearted devotion toward God, um, to be set apart. It's the word consecration. Um, so that's where Asaph felt like that he was serving the Lord out of a whole heart, that he was devoted completely. So this statement, all in vain have I kept myself, it's just not from a clear headed, right hearted believer. Amen? I think all of us have been there, I certainly have. And so the point I'd like to make here is a worldly focus can lead to spiritual amnesia. A worldly focus or distraction can lead to spiritual amnesia.

 

The example of this would be Moses in Exodus 32 and 33. This is right after the nation of Israel has experienced miraculous events, and has been miraculously delivered from Egypt. And all the people saw these things, um, even the Red Sea being parted and the Egyptians all washed away. All these people are witnesses to this. And then in Exodus 32:1, this is when Moses went up on the mount. When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves to Aaron and said, Up! Make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses, this man, we we don't know what has come of him. I mean, how do you forget that? I mean, he leads like a nation of a million people out of Egypt after 400 years of slavery. Are we quick to forget? Or is it just the Israelites? Amen. So this goes on to say how quickly we tend to forget. Notice the events that followed that scripture. Verse ten, God threatens to wipe them out. Verse 11, Moses reminds God, hey, these are your people whom you have delivered. Verse 12, Moses begs God to please relent and do not destroy your people. Verse 13, and this is important, he then reminded God of his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. If you notice with me, he uses the name Israel instead of Jacob. Perhaps this is a reminder of back in Genesis 32:28, of one who wrestles or strives with God. So speaking of the struggling saint, Jacob's personal name, which meant heel, catcher, twister, trickster or deceiver; of course, none of those good, was changed to Israel, meaning God's fighter, the name God gave him after he wrestled with the Divine Messenger in Genesis 32:28, meaning one who struggled with God and man, and won! Amen? A victory. So I listed some of the the victories that Jacob had. I think it's important if we're looking at the struggling saint. Um, a record of Jacob's battles and also his dominating victories in those battles. One, he struggled with his brother Esau in the womb and would eventually become two divided nations. Number two, he struggled with Isaac, his father. Even though God told Rebecca, these are two divided nations, and the older will serve the younger, Isaac still wanted to anoint or give the heir to Esau. So he struggled with his father, struggled with Laban, his father-in-law, over the wages, and his daughters. He struggled with his wives, Leah and Rachel. And here's the important part, he struggled with God at Peniel before crossing the river and emerged victorious. So this can be seen as the sanctification in our lives, in other words, working out of our salvation. It's referred to in Philippians 2:12, and this is simply a commitment to obedience in the hard things. It's not referring to a works-based salvation, but a believer's responsibility for a continued active pursuit of obedience in the process of sanctification. It's a working out what God has worked in through salvation. So did God have a plan and a purpose in Jacob's struggles? I think he did. And I think it was important that Jacob fought through. So Jacob's experience at Jabbok ultimately becomes the foundation for the nation of God's chosen people. Jacob, or Israel, as he's known after that battle, um, is the father of 12 sons that would ultimately be known as the 12 sons of Israel. That later became, of course, the nation of Israel.

 

So, friends, a question, what hard task does the Lord have before you right now? And you feel it's a battle. It's ongoing. It's unrelenting. Is it health? Is it finances? Is it a relationship? Is it a wayward child? Is it your job? Whatever it may be, God is faithful in the battle. He does have a plan, and he does have a purpose. And ultimately it should lead to intimacy with him. Not anger and frustration and bitterness. But we have to guard our hearts because we can easily default to that. Um. Psalm 37:39-40 said, the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord. He is their stronghold in times of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them. He delivers them from the wicked and saves them because they take refuge in him. So Asaph is far from being the only saint to struggle with his call and service, as well as his sacrifice. C.S. Lewis said this, "He who has God and everything else has no more than the one who has God alone." Um, so the the saint's struggle can be a good thing.

 

Look with me in verse 15 as Asaph reaches the turning point, reaches a turning point. If I had said, I will speak thus- and this would be, of course, a worldly and cynical view- I would have betrayed the generations of

 

your people. Asaph is reminded that his words are far reaching and have great impact as a leader. So it's not always wise to speak your mind. I thought of a situation that I normally face with my family. Anytime I say something, and this is not often, anytime I say something wise or helpful, nobody remembers. But anytime I say something sinful and selfish, it's almost like the date and the time and even the place... I mean, the whole deal. And I'm just saying it seems that way. Um. And I think you can get that. Um, and just speaking of struggling saints that have suffered well, um, have recently fought through some struggles and adversity and loss, have been a great example and encouragement to me. Um, I just want to mention a couple of them. They're dear to my heart, and I believe they're dear to this church as well, um, like a cornerstone of, so to speak. Think of Dwight Stone, Chris Shook, Larry and Deedy Ferguson. Just recently, Bill and Joyce Plough, Ed and Brenda Ragan. I mean, I could go on and on and on. But I think y'all get the point. Um, Mike and Angie Cleary. Um, all of these suffered well and were not angry. And I never heard them question the goodness of God. Ever. Matter of fact, it was just the opposite. They were telling others about the greatness of God. And so while I'm giving out roses... Um, somebody on staff has, um, done the same thing. Um, we've been together 12 years. Pastor Kurtis. Some of these other guys left for a season. They got a break. We stuck to the stuff, didn't we, brother? We've been together 12 years. And in those 12 years, we've been through a lot. Not all of it pretty. I haven't always been pretty, and I'm talking about my attitude and behavior. We have lots of similarities. So if you haven't noticed, we look alike. Um, some people confuse us as twins. At least brothers. Um. No, seriously. Um, we dress alike, a lot of times. Both of us have four kids. Both of us have two boys. Both of us have two girls. Our kids all need braces. Our kids all need cars. Our kids all need surgeries. And all our kids want to go to college. So we're yoked together... No, I can't dance. I didn't mention that. Absolutely not. I don't even get beside him when he breaks out. Um, so anyway, through it all, and it's been a lot. Um, when you spend 12 years with somebody day in and day out. You see the man. You see the man. He refuses to give in to being critical of God's purpose and plan, whether it be health, family, finances, the weight of counseling. He chooses to trust God and give him the glory. And for that, I'm thankful. I love you, brother.

 

So how can I know God is good even when the proud prosper, the saint struggles, and finally, when the flesh fails. If you would please look with me in verses 16 and 17. We see Asaph have a right focus. Scripture says, when I thought how to understand this, it became a wearisome task until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I discerned therein. Friends, he received clarity when his mind entered heaven, where God dwells in his holy place. Spurgeon said this, "His heart gazed within the veil. He stood where the thrice and holy God stands." Point being, my help comes from the Lord. And here's the enormity of God and the greatness of God. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Hey friends, if he made heaven and earth, spoke it into existence, are my problems a problem? No, but I think they are. Amen? Get overwhelmed by them, I lose focus. Um. So 18 through 20. Then we see a proper view. The scripture says, Truly, you set them on a slippery slope and make them fall into ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment. Swept away by terrors. Like a dream when one awakes. Oh, Lord, you rouse yourself. You despise them as phantoms. One commentator said the same hand that placed him on a pedestal shook them from it. Their eternal punishment will far outweigh their former prosperity. So those who despise him will be despised. His eyes shall see his destruction, which he would not be persuaded to believe. The eyes that have been willingly shut against the grace of God shall be open to see their destruction. Verses 21 and 22 we see an honest confession. Asaph says, when my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant like a beast toward you... I don't know why I thought of this. I don't know why I think a lot of things. But when I thought of brutish like an animal, I thought a road rage. So we don't compare ourselves to animals, but now I've acted similar to an animal with road rage. Can anybody...? Am I...? I got one hand in the whole place. One honest man in the whole place! Two honest men in the whole place. So, I mean, we can become like an animal in such a simple thing. And so I was brutish like an animal to you. So it's not that hard to get to that place. My heart gave into despair. I had become embittered. The psalmist had foolishly judged happiness and contentment by the outward appearance and fleshly enjoyments of the wicked. Friends, it will not last.

 

He goes on to say, I was senseless and ignorant, I judged unjustly. I allowed my faith to become buried in self-pity and self-realization, so he had become totally focused on himself. Verses 23 through 25, we see a joyful remembrance. Nevertheless, I'm continually with you. You hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel. And afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? There's nothing on earth that I desire besides you. Point being, our past failures become blessings when it drives us to this realization. Asaph stumbled, but God was steady. He never left or forsook him. Verse 26, my flesh and my heart may fail, but God alone is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. His flesh failed him, but his God would not. In Old Testament times, the priests were not allowed to be heirs or owners of property, to manage property because it would distract them. Um, and so God himself was their portion, their property, their inheritance, their sustenance. It's really no different than us. We don't own anything. We just manage it. Amen. Because we're just passing through. This is not our home, ultimately. C.S. Lewis said, "We are

 

half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink, sex and ambition. When infinite joy is offered to us like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea, we are far too easily pleased." Look with me in verse 27. We see the destiny of the wicked. Those far from you shall perish. You put an end to those who are unfaithful to you. So when I thought about this. I thought about the life and the destiny of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. If we remember, the rich man, of course, was clothed in fine linen and feasted sumptuously every day. Where, Lazarus, on the other hand, was the poor man covered with sores, dogs licked his wounds, and he longed for the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. But their destinies were quite different in the end. The rich man to Hades, being tormented by flames, he could see but not reach, Lazarus being comforted in the bosom of Abraham. Here's what one commentator said, "Our Lord has let us know how little pleasure the rich man had in hell, and in his house after him. When the remembrance of the good things he had received in his lifetime would not cool his tongue for eternity, but added much to his misery, as did the sorrow of his five brothers, who he left in his house after him should follow him to the same place of torment." Friends, what example are you setting? Who's following you? What will it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Verse 28, we see a testimony of praise. And praise be to God, we as well as Asaph, return right back where we started in verse one, dwelling on the goodness of God. Verse 28, but for me it is good to be near God. I have made the Lord my refuge. That I may tell of your great works.

 

Two things I'd like to try to take away, as we close. Friend, do you have a testimony? Can you clearly and confidently proclaim to yourself and to others that God is your strength and your portion forevermore? I encourage you today if you hear the the voice of the Lord. Do not harden your hearts, but repent and believe. There is forgiveness and hope as well as peace in the Lord Jesus. Hebrews 9:27 warns us, it is appointed to every man once to die, but then the judgment. We'll simply be judged according to our deeds. And to be clear, this is an appointment that every one of us will keep. Second take away... Have you given God thanks for his unfailing, unfading goodness and mercy? Or are we taking it for granted because God has been good? Amen? Amen. Let me close and pray. Lord Jesus, I thank you for your faithfulness. It's, uh, unending, matchless; we can't comprehend it, and certainly our words can't give credit to it. But we thank you that we are not the only ones that struggle, that we can be open and honest about our questions and our doubts and our fears. We can wholeheartedly take them to you. And that you meet us where we are. I just think of Jacob and all the trials that he suffered through, and I think of how miraculously you used him to birth a nation, your nation, your people. And we're heirs from that. And so, Lord, thank you for who you are and all that you've done. I pray that you'd be glorified through everything that's done and said in Jesus name. Amen.

 

The Love of God

Scott Willms

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The Love of God

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Good morning once again, I am Scott Willms. Uh, for those that don't know me, maybe first-time visitors...what have you. I'vebeen attending for about five years. Became an elder in January of this year and then three weeks ago came on staff at the church. Well, I've had people ask me, how's it going at the church? I said, well, let me tell you...after my first week, Julie announced that she needed a vacation and was gone like the wind for the next week. Then Justin, Sam and James also vacated the premises...were not seen for seven days. Then after my second week, Kyle disappeared the following week and Elizabeth just flat out quit. Then in the middle of my third week, Adam got on a plane headed out and has not returned as of yet. And then Kurtis let it slip that he was hoping to get his vacation started sooner rather than later. Now they all have some flimsy excuses like planned vacations and camp clarity and scheduled commits from a year before, but I feel sure you may be wondering, maybe it's Willms. So I do appreciate your prayers in my new position, and obviously the staff need your prayers too, right?

 

So, as you guys know, this summer we have been going through the attributes of God and so far we have seen the eternality of God and how there is no beginning ever...which blows my finite mind. And then we have seen the mercy of God, and the fact that we have a God who sends missiles of mercy in order to hit man's hearts. Then we saw the wisdom of God, and he is indeed all wise. Any wisdom that exists emanates from God the Father. And then last week we saw the holiness of God, where there is no one like him. And His holiness is truly one of the most sobering of his attributes for us non holy humans.

 

So today we are going to look at the love of God. And the challenge for me, as it has been for the men who have stood here in the past weeks, is...what in the world do you leave out in order to deal with the attribute of God? We have an infinite, unfathomable God, and I've got a handful of minutes when we could take years in order to cover any one of them, because it is so deep. So, I know I'm going to fail, but I'm hoping that we succeed enough that we will understand more how God loves us and in response, how we should be loving him.

 

The words that are in the Bible for love...there are Hebrew words and Greek words. About 6 or 7 main words that are usedthat talk about love in their various facets. The advantage of that is there is very specific kinds of love that are detailed where our English language we say things like; I love Taco Bell tacos. And by the way, I do love Taco Bell tacos. In fact, my sister once sent me a little thing, you know, a little news thing that said Taco Bell may have to reclassify that it's not really meat that they'reputting in their tacos like it wasn't enough, like it was other stuff. And I said to her, I said, listen, I don't care if it's meat or not. I just like the way it tastes, right? So, I love Taco Bell. And then we turn around and say, I love Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior. Right? And you go, huh? That really confuses the depth of the meaning. But in the Greek and the Hebrew, the word 'hesed' in Hebrew is the kind of word we're going to focus more on that coming from our Old Testament scriptures today. And in the New Testament the agape love, which both of those are God's like, strongest, highest, most supreme type of words for love that are in Scripture. So that's going to be our focus today on those two words.

 

So, let's begin by looking at first of all the basics of God's love. The basics of God's love. My first point here is that God is love. How many of you think that's offensive? Anybody?...even the world, likes that one, do they not? In other words, lost people. Yay! God is love. Okay, everybody likes that one, even if they really don't believe in God. The thing is, is that God is love and it does come out of him. Emanating from his eternal existence. Just like his eternality, his mercy, his wisdom and his holiness. So, we can see in 1 John 4:8 what that looks like. It says, the one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. There'sour Scripture underpinning.

 

The second point is God loves eternally. God loves eternally. Look at what Psalm 100 and verse five says, which we read in a call to worship. For the Lord is good. His loving kindness is everlasting and his faithfulness to all generations. It is an eternal love, and I always like to contrast. Sometimes it helps me to see things, what they are to see what they're not. And so post 19, about 1955, the plastics industry in the United States really began to make stuff like plastic forks and paper plates and all kinds of disposable. They called it the disposable Society. And so, a whole bunch of, a lot of our lives has been where you use something and you toss it. I always come to the one. And when I think about disposable ones, I think about diapers. Right. And you go, oh, well, yeah, that's, uh, a lot of, uh, a lot of waste. Yeah, those babies are productive. And there's this idea of, well, maybe it'd be better to use cloth and so forth. In the Western world, 95% of diapers used are disposable. But the idea is you use it and it's thrown away.

 

God's love...there is a steady hum throughout history of him loving eternally. Okay. It never has a break. There is never a Duke flicker of power. It is just always flowing. God loves eternally. Lamentations three reinforces this. It says this I recall to my mind. Therefore I have hope. The Lord's loving kindness indeed never cease. For his compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. Is it not a wonderful thing to realize that God loves always, eternally?

 

Then the third point. God indeed does love the world. Okay, we know this because we're going to look at the most famous verse in scripture, John 3:16. It says, For God so loved the world. That he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. So there is God loving the world. Otherwise, there wouldn't be anybody here that would be able to come to him and to be redeemed to have your sins forgiven. He has to love the world; he came to seek and to save that which was what?...lost. Okay. And so these basics of God's love, he is indeed love. He loves eternally. And he does love the world.

 

But now the second point I want to look at. And this we're going to spend a good bit of time. So, don't get your hopes up that the first point was short.

 

Because the second one is long. Okay. So the next is the glories of God's love. The glories of God's love. God loves his chosen people in a very special way, in a very special way. It is a concentrated and more intense and more encompassing love than a general love for the world. It is a covenant love. And thusthe word of hesed in the Old Testament, which is used like over 230 times, that word shows up. So you ladies, when you were studying Psalms, you came across the word hesed, often...translated loving kindness or steadfast love, or sometimes mercy. You'll see that word, uh, and once you've once you'veidentified it and you read through the Psalms, you won't read far without coming across his great loving kindness.

 

So the first thing under the glories of God's love is he delivers this steadfast love...this covenant love. This dog not letting go of the bone love, right. He holds on to this and he delivers it to... I've got good news for all of us. He delivers it to unworthy individuals. There isn't a single person in here who is worthy of God's love. You may be thinking, you don't know me. I don'thave to. Because the Bible knows you and God knows you're a sinner like me. And like everybody else in here. He delivers his love to unworthy individuals. In fact, Jacob in Genesis 32:10 said, I am unworthy of all the loving kindness and of all the faithfulness which you have shown to your servant. For with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. You see, Jacob knew he wasn't worthy. And yet God had chosen him and blessed him. But how about a NewTestament version of it? Romans 5:8, but God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You want to talk about being unworthy? We'reunworthy. We're sinners at our core and sinners by will on top of that. Thank heavens we have a God who delivers his steadfast love to unworthy individuals.

 

The second point here is he delivers salvation to those desperately in need, desperately in need. David in Psalm 13 says it this way. How long, O Lord. Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day. How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God. Enlighten my eyes or I will sleep the sleep of death. And my enemy will say, I have overcome him, and my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. But I have trusted in your loving kindness. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me. So you see David in a desperate situation, how he knows that God's loving kindness and steadfast love is there, and he knows he can claim it.

 

When we go to the New Testament, we go to what is one of my favorite passages of Scripture, and I quote it often...it'sEphesians 2:1-10 one. So hang with me as we read these words, because I can tell you this, the words on the screen are more important than any of the words that will come out of my mouth today. It is the word of an Almighty God, and he says this. Paul writes, 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...period. Do you understand how desperate the situation is for all of us in these first three verses of Ephesians two? Were damaged, doomed, damned, and a whole bunch of other bad things. We are children of wrath like everybody else. Until we get to these two glorious...the worm turns with...But God.

 

But God. And what is the but God? Notice what it says, being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

 

So you see the desperation of the first three verses. We are hopeless without God's love. And it's such a glorious truth to know that his love comes to unworthy individuals like me. It comes to people who are desperate for salvation like me. And it comes for you too.

 

The third point here is he delivers forgiveness repeatedly to his chosen. We have a forgiving God and it's driven out of his love for us. So when we look at the Scripture of Moses writing in Numbers, chapter 14 verse 19, he says this, pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your loving kindness, just as you have also forgiven this people from Egypt even until now. 

 

You see, even once you enter into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ, do you become sinless? No. No. And we need God's forgiveness. And I'm going to say we need God's forgiveness on a daily basis, because I don't think we ever hit a day where we fully give him all the praise and all the glory and all the honor, and bend and bow to him and worship him the way that we should. I think we miss the mark every day, which means we need forgiveness from a loving God, and he just keeps delivering it. Jesus dealing with Peter in the passage of John chapter 21. Peter has just denied Christ days ago and he says, I'm going fishing. He goes. He's fishing. The encounter ends up happening on the seashore. When Peter recognizes its Lord...jumps...goes. The Lord already has fish cooking for breakfast. Okay. He's already.

 

I want to see that in heaven, by the way. Time out. I want to see in heaven. Did Jesus just. Did he fish or did he just say fish...grill, you know, and they popped up, right. Because we know that he told Peter, go out there and catch a fish, open his mouth and there will be the tax in there, both for me and for you, that you committed to that really, we shouldn't pay, but I'm doing it anyway. We know that he has control over all the animals.

 

So he was fixing breakfast and it says this. So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him. Shepherd my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grievedbecause he said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, tend my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wish, but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you and bring you where you do not wish to go. Now this, he said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had spoken, he said to him, follow me. Peter had committed the denial of Christ three times outside Caiaphas house when he was approached by people and said, hey, you're one of them...three different times. And now Christ asked him three different timeson

 

the beach a few days later, and it had to be ringing in Peter's head, right? And yet when he finishes this exchange, he says, follow me. His forgiveness was.. Peter, it's time to get up and start following me again. How many of us at times have failed so miserably? Sinned grow grotesquely and then wonder if God can even forgive us? The answer is because of his great love, He does and will when we seek repentance and turn from our sin and turn to him. As a result, his forgiveness of Peter leads to...not so many days later, Peter is going to preach at Pentecost when the church is just launched. Think about that. The guy who had denied him, just not so many days earlier. Thank heavens we have a God who loves us enough to forgive us of all our sins and transgressions.

 

The fourth thing he delivers to people in life's difficulties. If you live long enough, you are going to experience life difficulties. Seems right now in the church we've got a lot of people with life's difficulties, and it's a glorious truth to know God's love hasn't ceased in the middle of those because remember, his love is eternal. It is a constant hum throughout history. If you are in relationship with him, it is covenantal. He is not ever stopping to love you. Even in the midst of life's difficulties. 

 

So if we looked at Joseph in jail in Genesis 39:21, this little word says, but the Lord was with Joseph, and extended kindness to him. By the wat that is the hesed word. That is the lovingkindness or steadfast love. And he delivers kindness to him, andgave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. Joseph is in jail for no fault of his own, and God is loving on him even still.

 

And when we go to the New Testament in John 11, we see the story of Lazarus and Mary and Martha. And you recall Mary and Martha were hoping Jesus to come right away when they said, Lazarus is sick. Jesus deliberately waited a couple more days and to show that the glory of God was going to be experiencedin a radical way. Lazarus actually dies. So when we see this passage in 11:3-5, look what it says. So the sister sent word to him, saying, Lord. Behold, he whom you love is sick. But when Jesus heard this, he said, this sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and Lazarus. Then goes on and a little later in the chapter, in verse 33, it says, When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her all sleeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, see how he loved him. You see, Christ was moved in his humanity over the effects of sin and the death that is inevitable. I just had my first Sunday school superintendent, Baptist church. I grew up. And you had a Sunday school superintendent, right? And he just passed in the past couple of days. And when I think about the difficulties that all of us have dealing with the loss of loved ones, friends, family, and if you live long enough, um, a whole bunch of them you end up burying. Aren't you thankful God's love is constant to us in our grieving and mourning and in our loss. He loves.

 

And I must speak to about the fifth thing...he delivers in all his promises the glories of God's love. He delivers on all his promises. Unlike me, because sometimes I will, with the best of intentions, say I will get that done and then forget, right? God says, I will do. And he does it...100% of the time. When he proclaims truth in His word to us, when he gives us instruction and he says, do this and this will happen. Guess what? It does. Okay. I am so thankful. He delivers on his promises. Look at Solomon in First Kings chapter eight, verse 22. Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven. He said, O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath. Keeping covenant and showing loving kindness to your servants who walk before you with all their heart. Who have kept with your servant my father David that which you have promised him. Indeed you have spoken with your mouth, and have fulfilled it with your hand as it is this day. So you see. Solomon was praising God for the promises that he had made to Solomon's father, King David. And this temple was actually built as God had promised it would be under Solomon's reign. So we see that.

 

But how about the New Testament side, this single little verse? John 13:1 says this, now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come, that he would depart out of this world to the father, having loved his own, who were in the world, he loved them to the end. In other words, when Jesus said, I love you, it's delivered all the way to the end. Again, it'seternal. He is love. True or false, his apostles were just the model citizens the entire time under Christ. With three years spent with Christ, they nailed everything, right? False, right. The fact is, they were sinful men who still needed repentance and needed God's forgiveness. Of which we've already looked at. He graciously gives. And so when he says something, it is going to happen.

 

And that ties into my last sub point under the glories of God's love, how he loves his people in a special way. Is he delivers confidence for the future. He delivers confidence for the future. One reason that I am as confident as I am, as I stand before you today, is because I believe and take God at His Word, because he can be trusted. We've been looking at that. So when we look at King David in Psalm 23:6, he says this. Surely goodness and hesed, loving kindness or steadfast love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Forever. That eternal God, with his eternal salvation and his eternal love, and his eternal mercy, and his eternal wisdom and his eternal holiness, I will dwell with him forever, not because I'm all that, but because Jesus Christ is all that. God's love delivers confidence for the future. And then Paul wrote it this way in Romans chapter eight. He said, 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, what?...love of God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. The laundry list of things, and you can see, as Paul is writing this, I can envision in my head that he probably had to stand up with the glorious truths that he was penning under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. What a loving God who loves his people in a very special way.

 

Well, now we come to the controversial third point. The problem with God's love. The problem with God's love. Now, I propose this point to market research of three people. Okay. My wife being the first one. Then Julie and Tina got to be the next. And I said, do you think people will rush the stage and try and kill me when I say the problem with God's love? And they thought, no, I think they'll give you a little bit of time, you know, to sort that out. So there are elders sitting close to can remove me. They do have replaced knees, the ones that are closest. So it may take them a little bit to get up here.

 

But the problem with God's love. Here's a little secret for you. The problem is

 

on man's side of God's love. God's perfect. His love is perfect. It is without flaw. The problem is this...his love does not, will not, and cannot trump or outweigh his holiness. It cannot...ever. The reason this is a problem is because we live in a society when the "religious-ish" which they say, well, God is love, therefore I can live any way I want. Everything goes, anything goes right. Is that not the society we live in? It is God has to let me not only let me, but almost thank me for my lifestyle. No, no, his love does not, will not and cannot trump his...and when I use the word trump, I'm talking card game. Rook. All right people. Anybody play rook out here? Okay, I got a few of you, fellow heathen. Thank you. Um, so in college, my major pursuing a bachelor of religious ed. But I tell people I said I minored in rook. Now, when I tell young guys that, they kind of. Because they've grown up in the age with silly, uh, college degrees you can get. They kind of look at me. Oh, minored in rook. I said, no, that's a joke. I just spent 20 hours a week playing rook at night. And so rook has all of the, uh, suit of color, and you have to count trump because trump can take any card. If it's not a higher trump, it can just boom. It takes it. And it's a point system. And I'm looking forward to just bring this up. I eyeballed some of you. We'll have to start playing some rook.

 

God's holiness cannot stand one ounce of sin. Not one ounce of I'll do it my way. Okay. His love is governed by his holiness. The way that I equate this in my head is how many of you ever had the delights of food poisoning? Has anybody had the delights of food poisoning? Okay. Having had food poisoning a couple different times in my life, here's what I know. Your body will revolt until every last speck of food poisoning is gone. Okay? And that's what I think about when I think about God's holiness. Because when I stole candy from my mother's purse when I was a little boy, I was damned to hell by holy God. Let'smake no bones about it. Any sin with a holy God has to be removed, has to be thrown out. He revolts against it. So this is bad news for the person who thinks you can live any which way that you want, and God still has to approve and love your behavior. That's just not the way it is. John 3:17 says this. For God did not send the son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not judged. He who does not believe has been judgedalready because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light for their deeds were evil. For anyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God. So you see, John 3:16 says, God so loved the world. But John 17 and following says, you cannot continue to live in the way you are rebelling against him, rejecting his gracious gift in order to solve your sin problem. There's a theologian todayJason Deford. Who says I'm not okay, but it's going to be all right. It's not okay, but we're all going to be all right. That theologian is JellyRoll. Okay, Jason Deford's his real name. But by the way, R.C. Sproul says everyone's a theologian. They'reeither good or bad or various degrees in between. But when I heard this catchy song on the radio in the store, I went, oh, that's. And then I start because I can't help myself. I go, you know what? I'm not okay, and we're not okay. But guess what? We'renot all going to be all right either. It is only going to be those who bend before a holy God. Repent of the sin that you are practicing and harboring and come to him, pleading with him to save you, Trusting in him fully to do what he said he would do, which is to forgive you. And enter into covenant relationship with him. 1 Corinthians 16:22 says, if anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha!...meaning Lord, come.

 

Matthew 7:21 through 23. The most terrifying passage in Scripture for good church people. Okay, good church people. This passage should terrify good church people who are not fully loving God. It says this, 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 workers of iniquity, you who practice lawlessness. We're talking about the religious, the quote unquote good here...that you're trusting in your parents faith and you'rejust kind of along for the ride. What God's Word is saying to you is, no, you don't get to ride your parent's coattails into heaven because the way is narrow. You go in the turnstile one by one, and you also go in without carrying, like the massive duffel bag. You go in with nothing but faith and trust in Jesus. That's it. Sothis is one of those sobering passages that we can have people that are serving faithfully in HBC, and you've never really come to know God and love him in the way that he requires.

 

So this is one of the problems with God's love. The second problem with his love falls into the camp of...I would suspect the majority of the people in here...is his perfect love for us reveals to me ho often my love is lacking back to him. As I've been preparing this message for a while because we got our topics a month or two ago. I've just kept coming back to the fact of Wilms, you're not loving him nearly as much as you should be loving him. Why is that? Why is that? And I think sometimes it'sbecause we grow so accustomed. Take it so for granted.

 

I've been married 40 years, and I'm not proud of times when I'vetaken the marriage for granted and haven't pursued my wife in the way that I should pursue her. I've taken it for granted. So it'sin our humanity often to take things for granted. But when we think about perfect love and how it should be responded to, I find it fascinating that Scripture gives us a glimpse of the perfection of love in the Godhead. Meaning, look at what John 17 says.

 

John 17:22 says, the glory which you have given me, I have given to them. By the way, this is Jesus praying to God the Father, that they may be one just as we are one. I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that you sent me, and love them even as you love me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory which you have given me. For you loved me before the foundation of the world. Oh righteous father, although the world has not known you. yet, I have known you, and these have known that you sent me, and I have made your name known to them. And I will make it known so that the love with which you love me may be in them, and I in them. Do you see the love of the son for the father? Okay, Yousee the glories of that. And then another verse, John 14:31 says, but so that the world may know that I love the father. I do exactly as the father commanded me. Get up! Let us go from here.

 

You see, perfect love is followed with perfect obedience. So we see it illustrated in the Godhead, where God the Father and God the Son, the intense love for each other. Eternal love. The constant hum. And Jesus expresses it as his love means he is going to do whatever the father has told him to do. And he did indeed do that, because he came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to live this perfect life...never sinning. Never having a wrong thought...perfection and was crucified, taking our sin on him. Paying my sin debt and your sin debt. To satisfy the wrath of God due because of his holiness. It must be dealtwith. God the judge has to do it in this way. And he pays for our sin debt on the cross of Calvary with the Lord Jesus Christ, absorbing the wrath of God. And indeed, the world went dark for a few hours as the light of the world was extinguished on my behalf and on yours if you have entered into a relationship with him.

 

His perfect love, revealing our own lacking love. Um, here's the command and common sense response of how we should love him. John 14:15 says this. If you love me, you will keep my what commandments. Okay, so don't. Don't tell me. And don'ttell God how much you love him when you refuse to follow his commandments. They are not separable. You must do what he has commanded us to do. All right. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Then look at John 14:21. He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my father, and I will love him and will disclose myself to him. So Jesus, again, making it crystal clear that obedience to His Word and to his commands is how we illustrate real love. Again, if I said to my wife, I love you and never do anything at all for her, with her I just live life separately And I look at her and say, I told you I love you. That'senough. Right? It's like it's ridiculous. And yet, as Christians, how often do we live that way? We absorb all this great love of God and the glories that are in it, and yet we fail to love properly in return. I want to encourage you to seek to love the Lord more than you have been. He deserves it.

 

So the solution to these man problems with God's love. If you never have really loved God with all your heart, mind and strength, but you've pretended to fit in with church people or to get the blessing of your family. I want to encourage you to turn to him, to repent today. To ask forgiveness for your many manifold sins, and to change your mind and to turn and pursue him. He will save you. He is faithful. He is merciful.

 

And for the large majority in this room to just evaluate what is it that's holding you back from loving God fully? What are some actions of obedience that you can take that maybe you haven'tbeen doing? Not taking it seriously? May we all love the Lord more as a result of just a glimpse into his love this morning? Let's go Lord, in prayer.

 

Father God, we thank you for the fact that you are eternal. That you are love. That indeed you love the world or there would be no hope for any of us. And yet, Lord, we can glory in the fact that you have indeed thrown so much love at those of us who have entered a relationship with you. Lord, I pray for those that are out there wandering, confused, even. Do I really have the love of God? Do I really understand it? Do I love him that youwill help make that clear to them even now and today. Lord, may you help those that are in the room who realize my love has been deficient because I haven't been obedient like I should be to his commands. May help each one of us to look for ways to honor and glorify you with our lives that go beyond just lip service, but in hands and feet and service to you. Lord, may you bless the balance of our service and Lord as we enter intocommunion. That we will search our hearts. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

The Holiness of God

Lorin Bilhorn

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The Holiness of God

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Good morning. Your phone rings and you look at it, and across the screen it goes likely...telemarketer. However, your finger like it's possessed...hits answer. Hello. And the voice, on the other hand, says good morning. Yes. I'm here just to ask you a few questions. If you could give me just a couple of minutes. Yes. What's this about? The person on the other line says I have just three questions. I'm hired by a company to ask these questions about product preference, what you think are the best products in certain categories. You know what you would say are one of a kind products. Come on, you're trying to sell me something. No. No, sir. I am not trying to sell you something. Three quick questions and you can go on your day. You can't believe this, but you say, sure. Go ahead. So he says, first question. Which brand of frozen pizza would you think is one of a kind? Oh, Okay. Digiorno. Thank you sir. That's good. Okay. Second question. Which brand of ice cream would you name as being one of a kind? Oh my goodness, Turkey hill, blue bunny. Kemps. Uh. Whatever. Uh. Um. Turkey hill. Oh. Very good. Thank you. Thank you. Third question. Which brand of mayonnaise would you regard as being one of a kind?...Dukes. That one comes right out. No problem. He immediately says, thank you, sir, very much for your time. Have a good day. And he hangs up. You look at your phone, right? Because you go. I can't believe I did that. But then you sort of feel good about yourself. I helped somebody out today. I hope he has a good day.
So that hypothetical interaction focused on making differentiations between items in a group. You know, sort of all these are a kind. All these are a kind. Which one do you think is the best in that group? So let's go back in time. The Romans and the Greeks, the Romans and the Greeks had lots of gods. For the Romans, Jupiter was their top god, sort of. Of all their gods, he was one of a kind. For the Greeks it was Zeus. So let's bring it to today. NBA former or present players...who would be one of a kind basketball. Jordan. Come on. Somebody else. Who? All right...Pete Maravich. So there's an opinion, but different. You know, that person's one of kind. That person's one of a kind. Now, really small group, HBC elders. Who would you say when it comes to dancing is one of a kind? Okay. You shouldn't be talking so loud. And of course, I think if we said, hey, who's one of a kind when it comes to preaching. Good. Okay, here's an easy one. If the only criteria was height...Kurtis. All right. All these examples illustrate that the phrase one of a kind means that when comparing the individuals comprising a group, one individual most highly stands out is superior, excels compared to the others in the group. Now let's look at the word unique. Sometimes people use it as a synonym for one of a kind, but it's really not. So picture with me. I take out a 732 carat purple diamond. I don't know if it exists, but you just got to picture it. So here's this 732 carat diamond. The gemologist, they examine it and they say, yeah, it's a diamond. It is a diamond. Is it unique or is it one of a kind? One of a kind. It is a diamond. There are millions of diamonds, so it's not unique. Okay, now somebody gets to Mars and they get back from Mars, and they bring back a chunk of something. The scientists, they really study it, and they can't figure out what it is. It's one of a kind or unique. Unique...on Earth. On Mars, it may be 1 in 10,000,000, but on Earth it's unique. So unique is a French word. It means one. And I mean, you get that right. The first three letters U N I uni like a unicycle one. It means one. Something that is rightly unique means that there's nothing else that can be compared to it. So when people say, well, that's more unique than that, that's using the word incorrectly. So I'm sorry if you do that, but stop it. So let's now turn let's turn to God. God is unique. God is not one of a kind. Isaiah 45:5...I am the Lord, and there is no other. Besides me there is no God. Isaiah 46:5 and 9, to whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike? Remember the former things of God. I am God, and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me. Finally, Deuteronomy 4:39. Know, therefore today and lay it to your heart that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below. There is no other. So first, do you know that to be true? Is it laid on your heart? Is it embedded there? God is one. There is no other. He is unique. There is no group of gods. So this summer series is on the attributes of God. And which attribute best communicates that God is unique? I'm going to argue it's the holiness of God. But there is a difficulty in defining holiness. 1 Samuel 2:2 in Hannah's song she says, there is none holy like the Lord, for there is none besides you. There is no rock like our God. This verse is not implying that God is one of a kind, relative to his holiness. Like there's other holy beings. As if it was okay to evaluate him and compare him to anything else. God's holiness means his uniqueness. There is no other God. God is holy. Holiness is God. So the second half of Hosea 11:9 reads, for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst. So I'm going to lay out a definition of holiness in a bit, but here is a very succinct, three word definition for holy or holiness. Holiness is God. As you come to understand holiness, you come to know God. But then it begs the question, well, what does the word holy imply? What is it? What does it mean? What does it teach us about God? What does he want us to know about himself when he calls himself holy. So the word holy is not one we use in everyday life, is it? Except when you consider things like. Holy cow! Holy smoke! So last week I'm getting ready to come on to 127. The light's green and somebody plows through the red light and I blurt out, Holy cow! Now that's pretty innocuous. But we don't use it in any other way, do we?...the word holy. There are several forms of the word in Hebrew. All of them are used to denote something that is set apart for God or devoted to God, when people or things are being considered. When applied to God himself, it really indicates that He himself is set apart, distinct. But the word means much more. In our English translations the words implying holiness are at times translated as...let me read them here: sanctify or consecrate. So when you see the word sanctify, sacred, saint, consecrate, holy, holiness, hallowed. They are all really conveying the same basic idea, something set apart exclusively for God, or that God himself is separate or distinct. So the meaning of the word holy, something or someone that is set apart for religious reasons, does not elicit much reason to give me an amen, does it? There's no reason to really erupt in praise just based on that. So we've got to go a lot deeper. When we look into...when we truly understand and then come face to face with what holiness says about God, we should be moved emotionally. Our minds should be stretched...blown. Our spirits humbled. Our bodies should respond. Perhaps with trembling. Perhaps having trouble getting a breath. Maybe even prostration...that is face down. And I am not implying that this sermon this morning is going to elicit any of that. But God's holiness, God's holiness, God's holiness should. Here is my definition of the holiness of God. Holiness is God's glorious moral perfection in the totality of his manifold attributes such that he is holy, distinct from anything else. So we're going to unpack it now, word by word. First, God is in the definition as my earlier three word definition. Holiness is God. There is no holiness apart from God. That is why there is no day to day use of the word holy or holiness other than related to God. Second...glorious. Think back to the illustration of the unique rock found on Mars and brought back to Earth. The scientists studied this thing, right? Boy, we don't know what to do with it. Has no value to us. They stick it in a closet, sits there. Somebody finally says, huh? That'll keep the door open. They stick it down. It acts as a doorstop. Uniqueness does not necessarily imply value, but God's holiness is unique and it is of infinite splendor and value. His holiness is glorious. Third...moral. This concerns what is right and good versus what is wrong or bad. You know, people in general have a concept of morality, but when used in this definition, it indicates that everything that God does or commands or chooses is good, right and wise by definition, because morality originates with God. God is the standard of morality. Fourth, perfection. God manifests, he displays, expresses every one of his attributes in such a way that they cannot be improved upon. His love is never lacking. His wrath is never inappropriate, his mercy is never misplaced, and his wisdom and justice are unquestionable. God is pure, complete in each and every one of his glorious attributes. One writer's definition of holiness is. God is complete in moral purity. Fifth, totality. God is love, but not limited to love. God is merciful and slow to anger, but also wrathful. God is transcendent. That is beyond us, and yet he is imminent. He is close to us. He is wholly holy. So, wholly holy because God lacks nothing. Sixth, manifold. Manifold is just a word that means various or many. Pretty simple. The final phrase of this definition, such that he is wholly distinct from anything else, emphasizes that God is unique. There is no other being that possesses essential or inherent holiness. And yet, even after all these minutes of me talking, we still do not grasp God's holiness. And don't say amen, because I haven't told you anything yet. Really.
So what we're going to do to try to understand God's holiness is we're going to look at a dark frame of holiness. So picture a painter...Randy Clontz is a painter. We actually have one here. So you picture Randy. That's it. That's it. That's done. The brush goes down. He's done with the painting. And yet, it needs a frame. I've got to get a frame, the right frame to bring out, to highlight, to accent this painting that I've finished. So we're going to draw a frame around the holiness of God, as it were. This frame is going to be bold and dark. It is God's holiness in relation to humans, particularly when people fail to uphold or honor His Holiness. So we're going to start in Exodus 19. Exodus 19, this is after Moses has led them out of Egypt. They come to Mount Sinai. He is going to give them the law, his instructions for a holy, pleasing, whole life. And God says to Moses, go to the people and consecrate them. There's that word. That means get ready for a Holy God interaction. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready on the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot. Whether beast or man, he shall not live. Go some pages over...Exodus 30:9-10. This passage is in reference to the altar of Incense and the instructions for its use. You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year, with the blood of the sin offering of atonement. He shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord. How holy is it?...most holy. So now let's read in Leviticus 10:1-3, and I'll read it. Now. Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, put fire on it, laid incense on it, and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, this is what the Lord has said, among those who are near me, I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified. Aaron held his peace. Now, going farther, 1 Samuel 6:19, Adam recently preached on this chapter of Samuel. So you should hopefully remember the text. He struck some of the men of Beth Shemesh because they looked upon the Ark of the Lord. He struck 70 men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow. If you're reading the New American Standard, it says 50, 070 men. So there's a discrepancy. Either way, this is a great slaughter. These men were curious about the Ark, and they treated it as a curiosity, a mere physical object. Now, let me let's be clear. Right. It was a physical object, but it represented God, his presence, his holiness. Their lack of honoring this object and what it represented, and then the presumption to look into it results in death. We're not done. Numbers 4:15...this is the background. Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings. Everything's covered. Everything's ready to go. As the camp sets out after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these. But it says they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. So now we jump ahead. 2 Samuel 6:5-9, and David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with songs and lyres, and harps, and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah and God struck him down there because of his error. The New American standard reads because of his irreverence. And he died there beside the Ark of God. And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah and that place is called Perez-Uzzah to this day. And David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, how can the Ark of the Lord come to me? So Uzzah treats the Ark as something to be managed. He does not view it as holy. Maybe he thinks his hand is holy that can grab it. I'm sure he reacted with little thought, right? It was just a reflex. But God said unmistakably, that the holy things should not be touched. Now consider David in this episode. Why did he become angry? They were having a great...they were having an incredible worship service with the Ark as the center of attention, being carried on a cart pulled by oxen. But God intervenes when Uzzah tried to not upset the service...this worship service due to the possibility of the Ark hitting the ground. David is bummed because their rocking worship service has just been derailed in a real heavy way. But then David becomes afraid. He sets aside his anger and understands that God is to be treated as holy. There is valid reason to rejoice and worship when God is obeyed and honored as he instructed. In fact, later they carry the Ark as they were instructed to. So one might be tempted to conclude that in the Old Testament, God really had a hair trigger for punishment. He was just waiting for somebody to mess up. In Exodus 34, God emphasizes his attributes of mercy, grace, and being slow to anger, though. But when it comes to God's holiness and whatever represented His holiness...that is the Ark, the altar of incense, a mountain. With Moses it was the burning bush. When any of these are treated as mere objects, able to be used according to man's whims and personal inclinations, God is uncompromising. So let's look at two occurrences in the New Testament. Turn all the way over to Acts now...Acts 5. But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge, he kept back for himself some of the proceeds, and brought only a part of it, and laid it at the apostles feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land. While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man, but to God. When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up, and carried him out and buried him. Then verses ten and 11, Sapphira comes in after her husband, not knowing what had happened to him. Peter questions her, and when she lies, as did her husband, immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her next to her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church. And upon all who heard these things. Why were they killed? Because they did not treat the Holy Spirit as holy and they lied to God. This was not an object...in this case. This wasn't an object that they mishandled or touched. They dishonored the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity...God. Then see what is repeated twice in this passage. Great fear came upon all who heard it, including the whole church. The whole church did not fear because they thought, oh man, we don't know what God's going to do next. He's, you know, God's sort of capricious or unpredictable. They feared because it was clear to all that God should not be lied to and treated less than holy. Second passage in the New Testament.  1 Corinthians chapter 11 Paul is teaching on communion. I'll just read this here to give you the whole context. In the same way. Also, he took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then and then so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats, and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. How does one treat communion unworthily? It's going to be next week, and treating it unworthily implies treating Christ's sacrifice unworthily by considering it to be common...run of the mill. Just something you do once a month. Hey. It's communion. Maybe the sermon will be shorter. Paul says that the reason that many people in the church are weak, ill, and some have died is because they have taken communion in an unworthy manner. They did not treat it as holy, and they did not rightly prepare themselves, that is, consecrate themselves. How do we consecrate ourselves before communion? We confess known sin, receiving the forgiveness that is promised, 1 John 1:8-10,  which makes us holy and we rightly esteem...or we can use the word hallow. We hallow the offered bread and cup as representing the act of Jesus the Christ, when he gave his holy life for ours. 1 Peter 3:15 reads, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy. When we take communion among brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to honor Christ the Lord as holy. These instances, all the Old Testament ones and a couple in the New Testament, comprise the dark frame that helps us understand what holiness is. Holiness is the essence of God's character, which he will not compromise by allowing it to be treated as common as just one of a kind, as not unique, as not beautiful, as not glorious, as not to bow down before, as not worthy of honor, as not to be worshiped, and as of not infinite value.
So there were a lot of nots in that sentence. So let's make it positive. Holiness is the essence of God's character, which he will always uphold. We must regard and treat his holiness as unique, beautiful, and glorious. We should bow before the Holy God and honor him as worthy. We should acknowledge his infinite value and worship him. Psalm 96:9 reads. Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. Tremble before him all the earth. Or, as the New American standard reads. Worship the Lord in holy attire. Tremble before him all the earth. But holy attire does not mean as long as you put on the right clothes, that makes you holy and thereby worthy to worship the Lord. One needs to have a right heart in order to come before the Lord. And one aspect of the right heart is right here in the text. Tremble before him because he is holy.

Before we leave behind this dark frame, I want to look more closely at Moses. Moses is described in Numbers 12:3 as the meekest man upon the earth. God calls to him from the burning bush. God calls him for a great mission. In Exodus 34, God shows Moses glory and reveals his holy character to him. In Matthew 7, Moses comes down with Elijah at the time of the Transfiguration of Jesus in front of Peter, James, and John. Finally, in Hebrews 11, Moses is made one of a kind relative to his gift of faith. But in Numbers 20:10 through 13, God declares that Moses will not enter the Promised Land. What?...Moses led those difficult people for more than 40 years. Moses suffered with them. Moses went to bat for them numerous times. Moses obeyed God more than most anyone else described in Scripture. Why would he not be allowed to enter the Promised Land? Numbers 20:10 and 12...here's the reason. Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock and said to them, hear now, you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of the rock? Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice, and water came out abundantly. And the congregation drank and their livestock. So the people got what they wanted. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them. Deuteronomy 34 relates that Moses is allowed to see the promised Land from the top of Mount Nebo, but then he dies on the outside. Numbers 20:8, God instructed Moses to speak to the rock and water would come out. Moses loses his temper with the people and instead of speaking to the rock, hits it. Then comes God's verdict against him. I mean, could not God have sort of taken Moses off to the side, you know? Coached him up a little bit. Moses, uh, you hit the rock. I told you to talk to it. I don't want to embarrass you in front of everybody. You've done a good job up until now. I'm going to give you a break this time. Why does Moses not get a break? Because Moses did not uphold God as holy in the eyes of the people. It is essentially the same sin as Nadab and Abihu. In both cases, Nadab and Abihu, and Moses and Aaron, they fail to honor God as holy. Now a necessary further point, though I need to make here regarding Moses. He did not get to enter the Promised Land, but recognize...God did not strike him down immediately as he did others. For when he died, God took him into his own presence. God showed him mercy. Regarding Nadab, Abihu, Ananias and Sapphira, Uzzah... We don't know. God does not compromise his holiness. In all of these examples, people made a decision to assume that what God had instructed was open to interpretation or modification according to their desires and feelings. Their actions communicate that God's way is not necessarily the only right or holy way. Therefore, God's holiness is not honored or treasured as unique and of infinite value, which means God Himself is not honored or treasured as unique and of infinite worth. Brothers and sisters. What chance do any of us have? Have we upheld the Lord as holy. Have we honored him as holy? Isaiah 8:13 reads, but the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. Like the church in Acts 5, do we have great fear when we contemplate our God, our holy God? Have we obeyed him according to his Word, such that we demonstrate that we value his incomparable, unique beauty and perfection above anything else? Or else have we treated his instructions, his commands, as suggestions possibilities that can be assessed and compared to other possible actions. We're going to choose the actions that we think are one of a kind and do those. So all of this leads to a demand to be holy. Three times in the book of Leviticus it reads, be holy. Leviticus 19:2, 11:44 and 27 all say nearly the same thing, for I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. Then Peter quotes this in 1 Peter 1:14 through 16. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you as holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. Since it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy. Finally, Hebrews 12:14. Strive for peace with everyone. Strive for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. So this is a fairly quick point to make, because it's what the Bible says repeatedly and quite plainly. There is a command to be holy, and if we do not possess holiness, we will not see the Lord. But let me be clear. We will not see the Lord welcoming us with loving pleasure into his presence. Which leaves us with the same question I just asked. Brothers and sisters, what chance do we have? God requires holiness, and yet he is the only inherently holy being. None of us are holy. Romans 3:23 says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Now notice the verse does not say that we fall short of the holiness of God. It says, we fall short of the glory of God. Does that matter? No. God's glory is the shining forth, the display of his attributes and activity which makes known his holiness. Falling short of his glory is falling short of his holiness. Why must we be holy to be in God's presence, you might ask? So I'm going to give you at least two reasons. The first one, think of people who freak out if they see or get close to a spider or a snake or a mouse. And I say people, because this is not just a female thing. Such a person cannot abide the presence of such a critter like a mouse or something, because that person just gets all fearful and squeamish. That is not God when it comes to having an unholy or sinful persons presence. God does not stand on a stool saying, oh Angel, get that unholy person out of here. That's not God. God does not receive unholy people into his presence because it is an affront to his holiness. How so? God receiving or accepting an unholy person communicates that his holiness is not uniquely perfect. Doing so would condone or affirm the actions, decisions, desires of unholy people by allowing them in his presence. Does that make some sense? Here's where toleration of sin communicates that there is not just one morally way, pure, of holiness. The second reason why we must be holy to be in God's presence is that unholy people will not find satisfaction and joy in the presence of holy God. And that demeans God's worth and honor. So here's my illustration. Imagine you're invited to Buckingham Palace by the Queen. And I'm going to use the Queen because I just admire the Queen more than the current king. So we're going to use Queen Elizabeth as if she was still alive. First of all, you arrive wearing an old t shirt and sweatpants. They usher you in. You. Hello, Queen. Wow. How much did all this cost? Well, this is quite something. Where did you get that? You know, is that old? You're picking stuff up, looking at it. Finally, you sit down in a chair, you put your feet up on a table and you fall asleep. They come and arouse you. It's time for dinner, sir. They usher you in. But you can't appreciate the meal because you don't have refined tastes. You don't know what to do with the 17 forks. You don't know what to do with the little bowl and all the little plates. And then you eat stuff and go, oh, I don't know. You do not hold conversation with the Queen because you know nothing about her, and frankly you do not care. You're really only wondering if there is a Cookout around and you want to get home to play a video game or watch a ball game. All the beauty, all the lavishness, all the generosity, the history, the preparation is wasted on you. And most seriously, you dishonored the one who invited you and wanted to bless you. An unholy person entering into the presence and kingdom of God will not be satisfied or pleased or joyful. His or her heart is set on common or base things. He cannot appreciate the beauty and wonder of God, all that he is, and all that he has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9, but as it is written, what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, nor the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. So if being in God's holy presence is appealing, then you have to ask yourself, how do I become holy? There is a merciful means of holiness. There is a way to become holy. Which finally brings us to the text that I think some of you are probably thinking I would start with Isaiah 6. I'm going to read verses one through seven. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings, with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory, and the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called and the house is filled with smoke. And I said, woe is me, for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said, behold, this has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away, your sin is atoned for. Isaiah sees this incredible vision of the reality of God's holiness and glory. We are going to focus, though, on verses five through seven. Isaiah's response to this vision, his need and God's provision. We have seen in several of the passages that we have looked at this morning, that fear is a repeated, appropriate response to the holiness of God. So I'm sure you've witnessed, maybe even yesterday, you're outside and a thunderstorm starts to form. The clouds darken, they begin to churn, and it's like they're starting to form in a circle over you. The first few flashes of lightning fire off, and then the thunder begins to boom. And it rolls sort of like the old stadiums when people would do the wave. It is exciting and fascinating, and your attention is drawn to the power and majesty of the storm. As it continues to increase, you begin to feel a little bit afraid while remaining mesmerized and in awe of the power and sound. Finally, a bolt of lightning hits really close. And the sound of the crack is instantaneous with the light, and you feel the reverberation through your whole body. Now you tremble. Now you want to get down on the ground. Or you go inside as fast as you can. This is what Isaiah's physical experience is, but something much deeper and more personal occurs, which is vastly more frightening. Isaiah yells out, woe is me, for I am lost, or I am undone or I am ruined. The sense is, as R.C. Sprollexplains...it's like disintegration. You are being torn apart at the seams. And I'm sure you can picture some sci fi movie where somebody pulls out some weapon and shoots somebody and their body just falls apart. Last week, David alluded to this more recent phenomena that people have described as deconstructing their faith. This passage is God's holiness deconstructing Isaiah. Adam ended last week's service with a quote from Calvin that we should first contemplate God, the vision of his majesty, holiness, and glory. And then Isaiah's self-scrutinization. Both of these happen in a very short period of time. Isaiah immediately recognizes his unholiness relative to God's majestic holiness, and he knows he is in deep trouble, and need. Isaiah cries out, I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. In other words, Isaiah agrees with James chapter one that says, if anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart. His religion is worthless. Isaiah's personal appraisal is correct and appropriately humble. God responds to his correct assessment of himself. He sends an angel with a burning coal from the altar and touches Isaiah's lips and says to him, behold, this has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away. Your sins are atoned for. Isaiah is made holy. This vision that Isaiah had had real life significance for him. What is the actual means of mercy to become holy for us? How do you become holy? The coal that touches Isaiah's lips is taken from the altar, where the Holy Sacrifice is offered to atone for sin. Jesus Christ, is that offering that sacrifice for us. John 1:29, John the Baptist declares about Jesus. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Remember that only a lamb that was unblemished...holy, was a suitable sacrifice. In John 6:69, Peter confesses about Jesus. We have all believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God. And then Peter in chapter three, verse 18, we read. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God to be in his presence. Being put to death in the flesh, but being made alive in the Spirit. Jesus' death on the cross as the unblemished lamb is our sacrifice. The sufficient sacrifice is graciously offered for each of us. We receive it not by a holy angel touching our lips with a burning coal, but by faith, believing, embracing that Jesus is the Holy One of God the Lord, and that his willing sacrifice cleanses us from all sin and makes us holy. Hebrews 10:14 reads, for by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
God's holiness is difficult to comprehend. He is unique, and it is challenging to understand something that is unique. It's much easier to understand something that we can easily compare to things that are similar, or with something we're familiar with. God will not compromise his holiness, but one of his outstanding, astounding attributes is his grace. Therefore, God gave his Son Jesus to pay the deserved penalty for our sin and to make us righteous or holy. But there is a grave warning to anyone who spurns this offer of forgiveness. Hebrews 10:29, how much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God?...treat him like common dirt...and has profaned,...treated as unholy...the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has outraged the spirit of grace.
This morning, if you don't know the sacrifice of Jesus for yourself, please do not treat this invaluable gift of forgiveness as being unholy or of no value. Receive it freely with joy. Let me end with this passage. 2 Corinthians 6:1-2, working together with him then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, in a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the favorable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Be like Isaiah. Recognize your need. Call out to God and he will respond in his holy mercy and grace. Let's pray.

Holy Father. I recognize, I am far from understanding...comprehending Your Holiness. I do not have the proper reaction. Someday every knee will bow before you, Father God, and before your Son Jesus, who is called Lord. We will experience the glory and majesty that is all yours, and we will experience it with a combination of awe and trembling and joy. Today, Father, today, please, Lord, by your mercy and grace through your Holy Spirit help us to honor you as holy. Help us to treat you as holy in all our activities. For you are worthy. We love you, Father. We hope in you. We worship you. Amen.