Kingdom People1. A Taste of the Kingdom Dan Bidwell, Senior PastorMatthew 17:1-13 28 August 2022

When people find out Im from Australia, they often ask: What are some of the differences between Australia and here?

There is a lot that is similar and most of the time I feel right at home. Until something happens that makes me remember this is a second culture for me.

That happened at our sons High School graduation a couple of months ago.

Our youngest, Jamie, went to Vintage High School in Napa, and we were excited to go to the graduation. My wife and I both worked as teachers back in Australia, so we have been to graduations before. And every American high school movie has as scene where the students walk onto the stage and receive their diploma. How different could it be?

Back in Australia, every school child wears a uniform. And the graduation ceremony or Speech Day as we call it is a very formal affair. The school where I taught held Speech Day right in the center of Sydney, in the Town Hall an ornate marble building from the 1800s. All the parents and students would come in and take their seats, and then when it was time to start, the teachers would walk in procession, wearing our academic robes and the hoods signifying which university and which degrees we held. If you cant picture it, think of Hogwarts in Harry Potter. Thats basically what education is like in Australia.

The graduation here was a bit different. Walking into stadium, it felt more like we were going to a football game than a graduation. There were people in baseball caps and cowboy hats and woollen hats. There were air horns, and air balloons and life-sized cutouts of graduates.

As the ceremony started, two soldiers in uniform marched onto the football field with the flag. The crowd rose and with hands on hearts and hats removed, they joined in singing The Star Spangled Banner. As the sun began to set, the words of the Pledge of Allegiance echoed through the bleachers.

I loved it. I didnt know all the words, and I didnt expect it. But I could see what was happening, as this magical moment unfolded and I felt part of something bigger. America.

Now what does that have to do with our Bible passage today?

Our passage today comes out of a different culture. And we might not recognize all the cultural references at first. But when we immerse ourselves in the moment, well see that this passage is about something much bigger. A magic moment that is part of our story

Thats what Im hoping to show you today. So why dont we pray and ask God to help us experience that magic moment.

Our heavenly Father, as we open the Bible today, will you open our eyes and our ears and our hearts to understand the magic moment that happened on the hillside that day. Will you remind us of your plans and promises and leave us with the feeling that we are part of something bigger. Will you speak to us today through your word. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

Well, we are back in the gospel of Matthew. We have been working our way through Matthew section by section for the last 3 years. Over the next 10 weeks or so we will work our way through chapters 17-21 in a series Im calling Kingdom People.

These chapters are all about the culture and values of the Kingdom of Heaven. But they are not just cultures and values for when we die Jesus wants us start living the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. As the church, as Jesuss followers, we are to be Kingdom People.

And when we live as Kingdom People, God willing, the world around us will see the difference. Theyll experience the goodness of God through us. And our prayer is that many of our friends and neighbors and colleagues will want to know more about Jesus kingdom because of what they see in us, and ultimately find life and hope in Jesus for themselves.

So thats where were going. But it all begins with a life-changing experience, the kind of experience that alters your perception forever.

And thats what we have in Matthew 17:1-13, with a story we call the transfiguration. What does that word mean?

Transfiguration

Let me start with a little story. A couple of years ago a young photographer in Chicago decided she wanted to capture beauty on film. The photographers name is Shea Glover. She would approach people on the street and ask if she could take their photograph. She would take the first photo, and then tell the subject, The reason I wanted to take your photo is that you are beautiful.

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You can see the faces of the people light up, and completely change, cant you? And this portrait gallery contains the two pictures of each person, the before and the after. Isnt that great! The power of a simple compliment

Well in our Bible passage, we see Jesus face completely change. Thats the meaning of transfiguration. His appearance is completely transformed as something very special happens. Lets read from v1:

1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. (Matthew 17:1-3)

Just to remind you of some of the backstory, Jesus has been on the road now for almost 3 years. He has spoken to crowds of thousands, astounding them with his teaching about the kingdom of heaven. Hes performed miracles, he has healed the sick and raised the dead. He is this massive celebrity, very much in the public eye.

But on this day, Jesus takes only his three closest friends his inner circle up onto the mountaintop with him. Peter, James, and James brother John. And when they reach the top, Jesus is changed before their very eyes transfigured.

His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.

I want you to picture this in your mind. If you were Peter, James or John, what would you think was going on?

Its kind of like the pictures of angels we see in the Bible, isnt it? Angels always appear like a figure shining with bright white light. That would be a good guess, that Jesus is like an angel. But every other angelic messenger comes and goes. They never stick around like Jesus did for 33 years. Nobody ever saw an angel born of a human mother, and grow up like a regular kid. Jesus was not an angel.

We have to dig deeper into our Old Testament cultural references. There are a bunch of clues that tell us what is happening here.

First, Jesus and his companions are on a mountaintop. The mountaintop was often a place where God met with key OT figures, like Moses on Mount Sinai. That was where God gave Moses the stone tablets with the 10 Commandments, and the rest of the law for Gods people.

And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, do you remember what was different about him? His face was radiant, presumably shining like Jesus face was at this very moment. Exodus 34 says that Moses face became like that whenever he entered the Lords presence to speak with him (Exodus 34:34).

The prophet Elijah also met God on a mountaintop on Mount Horeb. That story is in 1 Kings 19. It was there that God spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice almost a whisper.

Coming back to our story in the NT, who is there on the mountaintop with Jesus and his 3 disciples? Moses and Elijah, men who had been dead more than 1000 years.

So we have the shining face of Jesus, the mountaintop location, the OT prophets Moses and Elijah. The scene is set for a theophany, an appearance of God.

Thats exactly what happens. Skip down with me to v5:

5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! (Matthew 17:5)

We have another OT reference here. The cloud. This is the same as the cloud that went before the Israelites as they escaped from Egypt. The same cloud descended on Mount Sinai when God was speaking to Moses. This cloud represents the presence of God with his people, his glory descending to earth, and his voice speaking to his people (Exodus 24:16).

With Moses and Elijah there, its almost like God was rebooting the OT prophets, getting ready to recommission them, and relaunch the vision of the Promised Land that was the center of the OT promises of God.

That was what the Jews expected to happen in the last days. They expected Moses and Elijah to return.

The very last words of the OT from the book of Malachi say:

5 See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. (Malachi 4:5)

God had given Moses a similar prophecy for the people in his day:

15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. (Deuteronomy 18:15)

Do you see what is happening here? All the weight of prophetic expectation from the OT is piling up on this moment on the mount of transfiguration. Something big is about to happen.

God speaks from the cloud.

This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! (Matthew 17:5)

These are the same words that God spoke to Jesus at his baptism. But probably only Jesus heard them back then. Now Gods voice is plain to everybody listening. Jesus is the prophet Moses was pointing ahead towards. The prophet who would bring his people into the promises of God, and into the promised land. And all of them were to listen to him. Moses and Elijah, as great as they were, were just precursors. Humans with a very important job, but just people nonetheless.

Not Jesus. Jesus, we learn, is Gods own Son. God himself declares it from the cloud. To the great prophets of the OT, and to the messengers of the NT the apostles who would take this truth to the ends of the earth.

And Gods glory is no longer just a reflection in the face of the prophets. Jesus radiant appearance tells us that he himself is the glory of God , he himself is the presence of God among his people. Jesus himself will speak the words of God to his people, calling them back into repentance and back into fellowship with God. Jesus is God in human flesh.

Recognition

Have you ever had one of those moments when the penny drops? (Do you all know that expression when the penny drops? It means when you finally understand or realize something in a new way.)

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In literature, Aristotle gave this device the name anagnorisis (a Greek word which means the moment of recognition).

The classic example is in Oedipus Rex, when Oedipus finally learns his true identity and realizes that he has murdered his father and married his mother. Thats a fairly high brow example.

Perhaps a more accessible example is in The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy spends the whole film trying to find the Wizard, so that he can help her get back to Kansas. But in the end she learns that she had the ability the whole time because of the ruby slippers she just needed to tap them together three times and say Theres no place like home

In our passage, the disciples have their moment of anagnorisis, their own moment of recognizing something that was there all along. They had been traveling with Jesus for three years, but somehow they hadnt truly recognized him for who he was.

But in this moment, with Jesus shining with the glory of the Lord, with Gods voice booming from heaven, this is the moment that they finally see Jesus. Their eyes are opened to see not Jesus the man, but Jesus as God incarnate, standing in front of them.

And like everyone who comes face to face with the living God, they fall to the floor terrified6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.7 But Jesus came and touched them. Get up, he said. Dont be afraid. 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. (Matthew 17:6-8)

I think there are many of us who spend our lives like Peter and James and John. Weve known Jesus for a long time. But have you had that moment of anagnorisis, that moment of recognition, when you understood that Jesus is more than just a moral teacher. He is not just one voice amongst all the philosophers and psychologists and leadership podcasts of our generation. He is the definitive voice, the voice of God. God himself says (in v5): Listen to him!

You see, Peter and James and John had a life changing moment with Jesus. A moment when their physical eyes were opened to see what only the eyes of faith can see. They were given a moment of spiritual clarity.

At that moment, Jesus was revealed as God to them. Not just their friend, not just their teacher, but God himself.

Have you had that moment of spiritual clarity? Have you recognized Jesus as this passage reveals him?

Because one day you will. Whether youre prepared for it or not. The Bible says that on the day that Jesus returns, every knee will bow before him, and every tongue will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. (Philippians 2:10-11)

And for those who have lived as enemies of Jesus, and those who have not paid him any heed, that day will be terrifying.

But not for those who have recognized Jesus, and aligned their lives with him.

I love the way that Jesus responds to the terrified disciples in v7.

Get up, he says. Dont be afraid.

Jesus does not want to terrify us. He wants to bring us into the presence of God, where all the goodness of creation is restored for all of eternity. We see that idea in the last few verses of our passage. Jesus wants what is best for us, what is best for our families, what is best for our community. Jesus wants to give us life to the full (as he says in John 10:10).

That all begins when you recognize Jesus.

I know that many of us here know Jesus as Lord.

But if you are someone who hasnt had that moment of recognition for yourself, can I encourage you to join us at Alpha this Fall.[SLIDE]

Alpha is a 6 week course designed to help you find out about life and faith and meaning, and how Jesus fits into it all. Its a free course, theres good food and discussion, and the chance to really interrogate the Christian faith and whether it is for you. If youre interested, grab one of these brochures at the front of church or click on the link on the homepage at yountvillechurch.org. Wed love to have you along for the ride.

In the moment

Now there is a little part of this passage that I skipped over. Back in v4. The three disciples are up on the mountainside and the transfiguration happens. Jesus is shining, and the two greatest prophetic figures in the OT show up, and theyre talking to Jesus.

Did you notice what Peter was doing? He was loving it.

4 Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three sheltersone for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. (Matthew 17:4)

Peter was a fisherman, a salt of the earth guy, practical and hands-on. And I love the way he offers to build shelters for Jesus and Moses and Elijah. Maybe its because Moses spent 40 days and nights on Mount Sinai Peter wanted to make sure they were comfortable if they were camping out. Or maybe it was going to rain. Or maybe Peter had his mind on the things of this world, like Jesus had said to him in the previous chapter.

It's a kind of odd interaction, but there is something profound in what Peter says, and I dont want to miss it in the awkwardness. Look again at the first thing Peter says there:

4 Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here.

Peter realized the goodness of being in the presence of Jesus, and in the presence of God. He didnt want it to end. He wanted to camp out with Jesus, and stay with Jesus. He wanted to hang out with Moses and Elijah.

It is good for us to be here, Peter said.

Do you think about church the same way?

It is good for us to be here.

As we spend time together, asking God to speak to us, trusting that he is present here by his Holy Spirit. It is good to be here.

What about your small group? Do you get together and think, it is good to be here!

What about when youre getting coffee with someone from church, or praying with them over the phone, or serving on a roster together here at church, or handing out food at our monthly food pantry. Do you stop and think, it is good to be here!

There is something very special about being the church. God has put his Holy Spirit in each of our hearts, so we dont need to be church for God to show up in our lives.

But were not made to do this alone. We are made for church. And when were together, we get a foretaste of what heaven will be like. We get a foretaste of the kingdom of God, and a foretaste of the heavenly family and the heavenly banquet table and the heavenly worship. It is good to be here! And I hope you want to be here, because this is the most important couple of hours of your week.

In a moment were going to stand and sing our final song, and when we do, I want you to say to yourself, it is good to be here! This is what I was made for. And this is a taste of eternity

Lets pray

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Psalm 13 intersects with the experience many of us have had with sorrow, mental anguish and depression. But it reminds us that even in the darkness, a light of hope shines through.

Songs of Jesus5. The God Who Is Good Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Psalm 13 24 July 2022

At the age of 22, Charles Haddon Spurgeon had already become the most popular preacher in London, preaching weekly to a church of thousands. In fact, his congregation had outgrown the 1200 seat New Park Street Chapel, so Spurgeon leased the Surrey Gardens Music Hall which was much bigger.

The opening night arrived, October 19, 1856, and the Surrey Gardens Music Hall was packed with a crowd of 10,000 people, eager to hear The Prince of Preachers, as Spurgeon was called.

But soon after the service started, mischief makers cried Fire, Fire! In the ensuing panic, seven people were trampled to death and almost 30 more were seriously injured. When Spurgeon realized what had happened, he passed out. At least one newspaper reported that he died; others held Spurgeon to account for the tragedy.

Spurgeon was devastated. He fell into a deep depression, and he wondered if he would ever preach again. After just 2 weeks he did go back into the pulpit, and he went on to have a very successful ministry over his lifetime he preached more than 3,600 sermons that were circulated widely, and translated into different languages. Spurgeon had an impact on generations of Christian believers.

But that event, that tragedy, became the trigger for a lifetime of mental anguish and suffering that never left Spurgeon, until his early death at age 57. He lived with sorrow, suffering and depression, despite his deep faith in Christ.

Our Psalm today intersects with the experience of Spurgeon, and I suspect, the experience that many of us have had with sorrow and mental anguish. Psalm 13 reminds us that this is not something new it is something that Gods people have always had to contend with.

Spurgeon once said (quoted in your handouts):

The Road to sorrow has been well trodden, it is the regular sheep track to heaven and all the flock of God have had to pass along it.

So today I want to delve into that space of mental health (and depression particularly), and to see what light the Bible can shine into the darkness.

Bear in mind this is the beginning of a conversation, not the end, and its a conversation that I want us to keep having as a church. I also understand that this topic might raise issues or feelings for people, and you may need to get up and take a break during the sermon. Thats OK let me give you permission to do what you need to do. This sermon is recorded, so you can

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listen later. I do have some great books and resources that Ill be sharing later, because this is such an important topic to talk about. And our passage of scripture really helps us think rightly about our experience of sorrow.

So why dont we pray that God would speak into our lives and our hearts, as we open Psalm 13.

Our heavenly Father, the Bible says that you know everything about us: you know our hearts, and you know our sorrows. We pray today that you would speak into our lives, with words of understanding and words of hope. We pray that you would use this time to make sense of suffering, and to equip us as a church family to love and support one another in every season. We pray for your Spirit to be with us now, ministering in our hearts. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Well, we are in the middle of our summer teaching series, making our way through some of the Psalms. The Psalms are a collection of songs, written by Gods people, that make sense of the world the way it is. I love the Psalms because they dont shy away from the real challenges of life. They record expressions of great joy and praise and worship. But they also take us into lifes darkest moments and the cries of the heart, as Gods people call out to him in desperation.

And thats the context for Psalm 13. David cries out to the Lord in restless torment:

1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughtsand day after day have sorrow in my heart?How long will my enemy triumph over me? (Psalm 13:1-2)

How long?

How long? Have you ever noticed that when things are going badly, time seems to slow down?

In the first year that Jo and I were married, she wound up in hospital had to undergo a pretty major surgery. Then there were complications, and by time she healed enough to go home, it had been 10 days that she had been in hospital.

I do not have the patience of a saint, and it felt like a lifetime of waiting and worrying.

But we were lucky, I guess. Within a few months, Jo was back to full health. Plenty of people battle health conditions that are ongoing, and exhausting, and oftentimes dont have a happy ending.

How long, Lord? I wonder how many people have asked that question over the millennia? 2

Just in the Psalms alone, I counted 21 different times that the Psalmists cry out to God, wanting to know how long the suffering will go on for? How long will we have to wait? How long until you answer our prayers? How long until this is over? How long until rescue?

In Psalm 13, David begins with that same question. How long will the suffering last, he asks God.

BTW we dont know the specific cause of Davids suffering. In this Psalm, he doesnt tell us.

But we do get an insight into Davids experience of suffering. Davids suffering focuses on God, himself and his enemies, the first 2 verses show us.

Look at v1 with me:

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1)

In his suffering, David feels like God has forgotten him. Like God is deliberately hiding his face, or deliberately ignoring him. Twice he asks how long God will be absent from his suffering.

This is essentially an accusation against God, isnt it? David is accusing God of abandoning him...

It seems like dangerous territory... But it shows us that Davids relationship with God is not polite, and formal, and impersonal. David trusts God with an impassioned plea from the depths of his heart, confident that God will not judge.

Tim Keller says,

It is almost a howl, and the fact that this is included in the Bible tells us that God wants to hear our genuine feelings, even if they are anger at him.1

Timothy Keller, The Songs of Jesus

And thats our first big takeout idea for today. When things are difficult, keep crying out to God, even if it is in anger. The Psalms give us permission to do that. They even give us a language to use when we cant describe whats going on inside of us. When our thoughts seem unutterable and unmentionable and unconscionable, we often find those very thoughts expressed in the voices of the Psalmists.

Ive put some book covers on the back of your handout today. First I wanted to mention Paul David Tripps book Suffering. I think this is an excellent book that anybody could read. Tripp writes as someone who has recently gone through his own life-changing health crisis, and so

1 Timothy Keller, The Songs of Jesus, p19.

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the book is not an abstract or academic work about suffering. It is very real for the Tripp, who is a renowned pastor and author.

He writes about the way the Psalms give voice to our suffering.

Suffering is real, and its physical, spiritual and relational effects are real. We should all take comfort in the fact that that the Bible never treats suffering as anything but a real, significant and often life-changing human experience. The content of the Bible is again and again punctuated with stories of suffering. Scripture records the real travail of people. Disease, rape, weakness, murder, corrupt government, racism, famine, domestic violence, injustice, war, torture, betrayal, poverty and death are some of the things that the Bible presents as the real suffering of real people.

Not only does Scripture record the history of sufferers, but a large portion of Scripture is dedicated to giving voice to their cries. I have always thought that the psalms are in the Bible to keep us honest about the messy nature of faith in this broken world. [...] In a real way, the psalms record the emotional and spiritual drama of everyone who has ever suffered.2

Paul David Tripp, Suffering So thats the first big idea keep crying out to God, just like the psalms teach us to do.

The Heart of Sorrow

The second big idea comes in v2, when David describes his experience of personal suffering.

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughtsand day after day have sorrow in my heart? (Psalm 13:2)

A few years ago I met up with my triathlon team for a long bicycle ride. We were planning a training ride through one of the national parks in Sydney a 50 mile ride with spectacular coastal views and some big climbs. This was a fairly regular thing.

Only on the day Im thinking of, we got about 10 miles into the ride and one of my friends was visibly struggling. I pulled up alongside him and he said, I just cant stop crying. I dont know why.

This guy was handsome, athletic, successful, he has a great wife and kids. He was a much better triathlete than me. But on that day, his depression told him none of that mattered. He was at the bottom of a deep hole. And it wasnt the last time I saw him like that.

2 Paul David Tripp, Suffering, pp44-45 (Crossway, 2018).4

Depression is a common but serious mood disorder. Sometimes called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it causes severe symptoms that affect how you feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working.3

Depression affects about 8% of adults each year in the US, and those numbers are much higher for teenagers and under 25s.4

And I think Psalm 13 gives us a little insight into the lived experience of someone with depression. In v2, David asks how long will he have to wrestle with the thoughts going around and around in his head. How long will the sorrow remain, sorrow which is his daily companion.

There is no one quintessential experience of depression, but this psalm seems to capture the idea of prolonged mental anguish and sorrow.

Reading the Old Testament, we see that depression is nothing new. We see signs of depression in King Saul, in the prophets Jeremiah, Jonah, Elijah, Job. And of course, David who wrote our Psalm.

Now I dont have the time or expertise to speak too deeply about depression, but if you want something a bit more clinical than Tripp, I can recommend Ed Welchs book, Depression: Looking up from the Stubborn Darkness.

Ed Welch is a licensed psychologist who has counseled for over 30 years. However his specialty is Biblical counseling, and there are some excellent certificate and Masters courses offered through the college that he has helped to shape, CCEF (Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation).

What I love about Welchs book is that he sits Biblical wisdom alongside the best clinical practice, and that he doesnt jump to quick and easy solutions. Because depression doesnt work that way. But he does suggest ways forward, both spiritually and medically.

My favorite chapter is for families and friends of those experiencing depression. There are a couple of little insights that really helped me examine myself in the way that I interact with people experiencing depression. It can be hard to have empathy for something you havent experienced personally, and it can be hard to be patient when depression lasts days and weeks. But thats what Psalm 13 tells us depression is like. Persistent mental anguish and sorrow.

The Enemy

And that brings me to a sensitive topic, but one thats important to talk about. Suicide.

3 https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression4 https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression

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If you buy Ed Welchs book, youll see he has a chapter that talks about suicidal thoughts. Zack Eswine has a similar chapter in his book.

Rather than stay quiet on the subject, they acknowledge the feelings that often accompany major depression. It can be quite confronting as an outsider, but mental health workers regularly ask the question: have you had any thoughts of self-harm?

At the end of v2 in our psalm, David asks:

How long will my enemy triumph over me? 3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,4 and my enemy will say, I have overcome him,

and my foes will rejoice when I fall. (Psalm 13:2-4)

Now David could have been talking about a physical enemy he had plenty of those. But some commentators suggest that the enemy here is death. I wonder if the enemy is depression.

David asks how long will his enemy triumph over him. He cries out for God to answer, for God to turn his face towards him, and to restore his watchful gaze over Davids life (c.f. Numbers 6:24-26). David asks God to give light to his eyes to shine some hope into the darkness, to give his eyes something positive to look at. Otherwise, David worries that he might not be able to take it much longer...

How long is a question that my triathlon friend asked a lot. How long do I have to feel this way?

If you are in that dark place today, can I encourage you to talk to someone about it. A loved one. A professional. You can come and talk to me, or I can help you find someone who can help.

Because help is available.

And this psalm doesnt end at v4. It goes on to give a testimony of Davids hope in the midst of the darkness.

And thats our final big idea for today: remembering the good.

The Good

I told you that my triathlon friend was a much better athlete than me. He would often invite me out for a training run, or a hill session in the local sand dunes. Actually on the bicycle, when we would ride up big hills, he would often ride right beside me and keep my mind off the pain in the legs. He was so fast that he would unclip one foot and pedal one-legged...

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But one of the reasons my friend did so much exercise was that it was good for his mental health. He knew it helped. And so he would train, even when he didnt feel like it.

And I think David does that in our psalm today. In the middle of his mental anguish, David does what he knows is good for him. He remembers the goodness of God. He holds onto the promises, and reminds himself of what is true, even if he doesnt feel it.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 I will sing the Lords praise,for he has been good to me. (Psalm 13:5-6)

David reminds himself of Gods unfailing love his hesed the promise that God had made to his people to show kindness towards them.

When it feels like God isnt listening, or that God has turned his face away, it simply isnt true. God has made a covenant with his people, an unbreakable promise to be with us; to be for us. He has said that nothing can separate us from his love that is in Christ Jesus. Nothing! Not life or death, not angels or demons, not depression, not suicidal thoughts. None of that puts you outside of the realm of Gods perfect care for you. His hesed love is unfailing, even when we sin.

David knows that God will save him, even when it doesnt feel like it.

There was a worship song that was popular a few years ago called Waymaker. It had a line in the bridge that said:

Even when I don't see it, You're working Even when I don't feel it, You're working You never stop, You never stop working

You sing that bridge 3 or 4 times, and it starts to teach your heart what is true, even if it doesnt feel like it. God is still working to bring us to salvation in Jesus Christ, even when the world feels like its falling apart.

Sometimes we just need to be reminded. Sometimes we just need to sing the Lords praise, like it says in v6 of our psalm, because God has been good to us, and we need to keep that truth close.

It may not make the depression disappear. Psalm 13 is not a magic formula for curing depression. But it might make it easier to endure.

It might also help to remember you are not alone in your suffering.

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Jesus knew what it was like to experience overwhelming sorrow, even to the point of death, in the garden of Gethsemane. He faced the taunts of his enemies who wanted him dead. On the cross, he experienced the abandonment of God, calling out: My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me? He faced death alone, and in pain.

And yet in all of this he trusted in the unfailing goodness of God, and his promise that he would not sleep in death forever. The light of the world rose to life after 3 days, and now he shines hope into the darkest corners of our souls. He promises life forever, in a kingdom where the enemy will no longer triumph, where death and darkness have no more place.

Thats something to hold onto, isnt it? Shall we pray?

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When we see God up close , his majesty is a mixture of magnificence and terror. But Psalm 8 reminds us that God is not unapproachable. Join Pastor Dan Bidwell for a message about the dignity that God bestows upon his children in Christ Jesus.

Songs of Jesus4. The God Who Crowns Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Psalm 8 17 July 2022

We might start with a little audience participation (apart from God) name as many things as you can that you would describe as majestic.

When I think of the word majestic, I think of lions. Im fortunate to have seen lions in the wild in Africa a couple of times.

On the Serengeti, a few times we saw lions sitting up on rocky outcrops, just like Pride Rock in the movie Lion King.

But they were lions at a distance. To really feel the majesty, you need to see lions up close...

On safari in Rwanda one time, we came round a corner and there was a fresh kill on the ground a wildebeest. And so the driver started looking around for whatever had made the kill. Suddenly he stopped the car. There, in the limbs of a tree just 10 feet from the car were not one, but three lions.

They were taking a little lie down after filling themselves up on wildebeest, and they barely even looked in our direction. But there they were, up close, in real life, in all their deadly power, just feet from where we were sitting.

I was glad that we were in the car. I had been in exactly the same place the year before when our safari car got a flat tyre, and the driver and I had to get out and try to put on the spare, only there wasnt one. We had to wait until somebody came and got us. I was glad we didnt see the lions that day...

There is something majestic about lions (and something a little bit terrifying if Im honest with myself, but maybe thats part of the appeal).

In a similar way God is described as majestic in our Psalm today. And when we see God up close there his majesty is a mixture of magnificence and terror and reassurance all mixed in together...

Thats what were going to explore as we open Gods word today, so why dont we pray that God would speak to us from Psalm 8?

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Will you teach us today about your majesty, your glory, and help us to see you for who you are the king exalted above all things.

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But will you also show us the softer side of your majesty your great love for us in Jesus Christ, and the dignity you bestow upon us. Teach us, we pray. In Jesus name, Amen.

Well, we are in the middle of our summer series in the Psalms. This series is all about making the Psalms part of the soundtrack of our life listening to them, learning from them, letting the words teach our hearts, and letting them shape our prayers as we sing the Psalms just like Gods people have been doing for thousands of years.

And todays Psalm starts by lifting our gaze to recognize/appreciate/behold the majesty of God.

Majesty (v1-2)1 Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:1)When we think of the word majesty, we often associate it with royalty. For example, we

address the Queen of England as Your Majesty.

But did you know that tradition only started in the early 1500s during the reign of Henry VIII? Apparently when Henry heard that the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V being called Your Majesty he didnt want to be outdone so he adopted the term for himself.1

But the original meaning of the word majesty came from the Bible. Majesty was a word used to describe the grandeur of God, his greatness, his splendor, his sovereign power and authority and dignity. Majestic is a word that describes what God is like.

And I think it is important for us to appreciate the majesty of God, because it helps us have the right perspective about God, to see him as he really is, to remember the incredible power and authority that are contained within him.

C.S. Lewis captures this idea in his famous childrens book, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Four children find themselves in a parallel world where animals talk, and a wicked Queen has brought an eternal winter to the land. But she is not the legitimate ruler of Narnia. The true ruler is Aslan, the great lion, as Mr Beaver explains to one of the children, Susan.

Mr Beaver said, Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion.""Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.

1 https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-henry-viii 2

If you were to come face to face with a lion, even a trained one, you would have respect its ability to tear you to pieces. That power is part of its majesty, and the very same reason why you should never underestimate it.

And I think that idea is contained in v1 of our Psalm, when David refers to God as Lord. There is an appropriate respect for God, when we use that name for Him the Lord, or YHWH, a name that the Israelites would not even say out loud, because they held it in such honor, and they didnt want to be held in contempt for blasphemy.

David says that this name of God the Lord is to he held out as majestic in all the earth. It is to be honored, and revered and exalted.

Jesus taught his disciples to begin their prayers in the same way

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be your name

And this isnt just about words. This is about the way we think about the Lord, the place we give him in our lives. Verse 1 asks us: who is the Lord of your life?

Because its all too easy to forget the majesty of the Lord. Its all too easy to domesticate God, like a lion in the cage. We can shrink God and keep him around for when we need something, like a genie in a bottle, but other than that we can push him out of our daily consciousness, we could even forget hes there.

Does that ever happen to you? Because it happens to me.

Were going to come back to this idea of capturing the majesty of the Lord, because I think its the main take-home idea of Psalm 8.

But for now lets keep moving through the Psalm

Mindful (v3-4)

Have you ever laid down at night and looked up at the stars? I grew up in the city, so you could always see a few stars, but nothing like when you get out into the country. One of our family friends had a huge sheep ranch, and I remember as teenagers we would sometimes drive an old truck out into the middle of nowhere and just lie down in a field and gaze up at the stars. They were so bright that they would cast a shadow on a clear night, and when the moon is full it felt almost like daytime. And as you lie there looking up at the stars, you can get lost thinking about how many there are, and how far away they are, and just how small we are as humans in the universe.

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David (our Psalmist) also grew up on a sheep ranch. And as a shepherd boy, perhaps he had looked up at the stars in wonder as well.

Because in v3-4, he describes that feeling of being very small in the universe.

3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4)

When David thinks about the expanse of creation, and the creator God whose hands threw stars into space, he marvels because that same God cares for us.

I love the way v4 is translated here - what is mankind that you are mindful of them.

I dont know if youve heard about mindfulness. Mindfulness is a practice that has gained a lot of popularity in recent years. In a world that is full of distraction, mindfulness is all about learning to keep your attention in the present, and learning to be attentive to your body, and to thoughts and feelings and sensations without judgment. Its kind of like mediation, but you dont empty your mind, you actually listen to it. Mindfulness has been shown to foster stress reduction, increased concentration, better working memory, sense of happiness and more.2

If you want to try mindfulness, you can get free guided exercises on apps like Calm and Headspace.3 Its something that has helped me and members of my family at different times.

But I love the idea that God is mindful, right there in v4. In the midst of sustaining the universe, God does not forget us. We are always present in his mind, always under his watchful gaze, always held in the palm of his hand, always known and always loved.

David asks:

4 what is [hu]mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4)

And its an important question, isnt it? Why does God care? Why does he pay attention to us? Why does someone so important think about tiny creatures like us, on a tiny planet in the midst of a vast universe? Why is humanity so important to God?

The answer is in v5-8, an answer that takes us back to the moment that God created humanity. 2 https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/07-08/ce-corner

3 https://www.headspace.com, https://www.calm.com4

Made (v5-8)

My moms first job was as a librarian, so I grew up with books. Books are our friends, my mom used to say.

And so when our kids were little, it was important for us to pass on our love of books to them. We have lots of favorite childrens books that we read together, but I also remember the different childrens Bibles that we got for them. We made it a part of the bedtime routine to read a Bible story and pray. Praise God that both of my kids are next door right now sharing Bible stories with your kids and grandkids in our Childrens Program.

But one of our favorite Bibles was The Big Picture Story Bible this one tells the story of the Bible in a way that helps you see the big picture, hence the name, and of course there are lots of big pictures too.

Anyway I thought I would read you the creation story from this book, because its done so beautifully. Sorry I cant show you the pictures online copyright.

But you can listen along and imagine.

The Bible is Gods story, and it begins with these big words: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.Do you know how God created everything?Simply by speaking words.

Imagine, making the world with words! Strong words. Powerful words.With words, God created everything! He made the stars, the sun, and the moon. He made the animals, the fish, the trees, and flowers too. Everything!And then after all these things, God created... People!Can you see Adam and Eve? God put his people in the garden of Eden.They were made in the image of God.They were to be the rulers of Gods place.Adam and Eve were very special to God.Did you know that you are also very special to God? You are special because you are made in his image too! 4

I love that!

4 Taken from The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm, Copyright 2004, pp. 16-26. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.

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God creates everything, but the last thing he creates is humans. And Genesis 1 tells us that God created humankind in his image. And part of that image-bearing is that he makes us rulers over the rest of creation. Look how David puts it in Psalm 8, from the end of v4:

what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.

6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:

7 all flocks and herds,and the animals of the wild,

8 the birds in the sky,and the fish in the sea,all that swim the paths of the seas.

Out of all the creatures that God made, only humans are made in his image. Only humans are given the mandate to rule over creation. Ive said before this is not a license to plunder the earth and destroy it God gives humanity the responsibility to steward and care for the natural resources that He has provided for us.

But come back to v5 with me, because we are reminded there of the very great dignity that God has bestowed upon humanity.

5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.

This verse tells us that we are very special to God, to quote The Big Picture Story Bible.

God has endowed us with a royal status. Humans are the crowning glory of all creation, unequaled (except perhaps by the angels, but Im going to say more about that in a moment.) God crowns humans as the rulers over the earth, ruling in Gods image, as Gods representatives on earth. Given the glory and honor that befits a queen or king...

It doesnt always feel like that, does it? Were so good at forgetting who God has made us to be. And were so good at acting in ways that are less than God has made us to be.

And thats where this Psalm takes on another dimension (when we look at it through the lens of the New Testament).

Messiah

Can you nod your head if you were taught grammar at school? 6

Back in Australia, there was a teaching movement about 30 years ago that did away with teaching grammar to kids, at least in the old fashioned way. And so generations have grown up not knowing what a noun, or a verb, or an adjective is.

Anyway, let me give you a little grammar test to see if you were taught well. Im going to give you a word in the singular, and you tell me the plural.

For example, I say child, you say children. Got it?

- I say Book, you say...

- I say House, you say...

- I say Mouse, you say...

- I say Goose, you say...

- I say Moose, you say...

- I say Person, you say...

That was fun! Why the grammar test?

If you were reading a paper Bible, or the Bible online, you would see little footnotes all the way through our passage from v4-6 that tell us that this passage can be translated with plurals, or singulars.

Our translation uses the plural the collective idea of humankind, and how God has created us put the world under our feet. Plural.

But the original Hebrew could be translated as a reference to a particular man...

And that is how the New Testament reads this passage. The writer to the Hebrews quotes these verses and relates them to Jesus. Hebrews 2:9 says it was Jesus who was made lower than the angels for a little while and is now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death.

And Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, says that ultimately all things must be put under Jesus feet, that he will be the undisputed ruler over all creation. Jesus is the perfect Adam, the only human able to rule without corruption. Humankind perfected, unstained by sin. Crowned with glory and honor.

Thats how Jesus would have read Psalm 8. How he would have made sense of his mission to leave his Fathers side in heaven, to come to earth and be born in human flesh, with all its frailty. Jesus became human to fix us from the inside. To redeem us. To restore what was broken at the fall. And to give us back the glory and honor that was ours at creation.

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Psalm 8 reminds us that the God of all creation has remembered us, despite our sin, and has enacted a plan to remake us in his image, flawless and perfected, through Christs death on the cross.

And thats why the Psalm finishes like it started. Praising the majesty of God, and proclaiming his name in all the earth, bringing him honor and telling the world what he has done for us.

Lord, our Lord,how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:9)

Will you pray with me?

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What is leading you? And is it leading you down the right path? Join Pastor Dan Bidwell as he tackes this important question at the heart of Psalm 5.

Songs of Jesus3. The God Who Leads Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Psalm 5 10 July 2022

A couple of years ago, there was a crash on the main road leading into Denver International Airport. The crash blocked most of the access to the airport and caused a huge traffic jam outside.1

You can imagine the chaos it caused, especially for all the people trying to get to the airport for their flights, and for those trying to pick up arriving travelers.

And so a number of drivers did what you and I would do they looked up Google Maps to see if there was detour or a shortcut. And sure enough, Google came up with an alternative route.

The problem was, the detour led to a dirt road. It had been raining heavily, and almost 100 cars ended up getting stuck in a muddy field.

So why would you drive down a road that looked sketchy?

One of the drivers who got stuck said that crowd psychology played a role. Connie Monsees who was on her way to pick up her husband reported, Well, all these other cars are in front of me, so I thought, it must be OK.

Once the road turned to complete mud, she realized the mistake, but there was no place to do a U-turn.

Google said that they take many factors into account when determining route guidance, but issues can arise due to unforeseen circumstances, such as when weather conditions affect the quality of roads." Google encourages "all drivers to follow local laws, stay attentive, and use their best judgment while driving."2

Connie Monsees doesnt blame Google. She said: "I don't know that it's so much about Google, it's about us. We want so badly for life to be efficient that we try to take shortcuts that aren't really necessary."

~

I love this story because its exactly the sort of thing Id do in fact I have done exactly the same thing before, Ive just never been stuck because weve always driven 4WDs. (But thats not the point!)

1 https://gizmodo.com/dozens-of-drivers-got-stuck-after-blindly-following-goo-18359102692 https://www.npr.org/2019/06/27/736572732/google-maps-leads-about-100-drivers-into-a-muddy-mess-in-colorado

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No - I love the story because it reminds me how easily we can be led astray.

So as we open the Bible this morning, I want us to ask ourselves the question that is at the heart of Psalm 5: What is leading you? And is it leading you down the right path?

Thats what I want to answer from our Psalm today, so why dont we pray that God would speak to us as we open his word.

Our heavenly Father, we ask that you would speak to us today. Show us what leads our lives, what leads our hearts, and would you lead us towards yourself. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen

Well we are in the middle of our summer sermon series in the Psalms. Were calling it Songs of Jesus. The idea is that we all have songs that form the soundtrack to our life: songs that bring back significant memories, songs that lift us when we are down, songs that inspire us, songs that move us.

And for Jesus, those songs were the Psalms. Songs that he had grown up singing, songs that taught him about God, songs that taught him about himself, songs that taught him how to pray. Im hoping that these Psalms will teach us how to pray as well.

So how does Psalm 5 teach us to pray?

Surrounded By Prayer (v1-3)

The first lesson it teaches us is to start the day surrounded by prayer.. (v1-3)

1 Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament.

2 Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;in the morning I lay my requests before you

and wait expectantly.

(Psalm 5:1-3)

King David, who wrote this Psalm, records one of his morning prayers. In fact, he turns it into a song for the director of music, to be played on the pipes.

David asks God to consider his lament in v1, and to hear his cry for help in v2. Davids morning prayer is a ritual asking God to listen and hear. David brings his requests to God, and he lays

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them before God in expectation, just like worshipers would lay their sacrifices at the altar in expectation of Gods mercy...

This morning prayer is all about coming into the presence of God as you face the day ahead of you. Bringing your hopes and fears to God during the calm before the storm. Giving your day to the only one who can make a difference. Asking God to be with you, and waiting expectantly to see how he acts...

Thats a pretty good way to start the morning, if you ask me.

And so thats our first big idea from vv1-3. Start your day surrounded by prayer.

Surrounded By Wickedness (v4-6, 9-10)

Second big idea comes from the middle section of the poem: v4-6, 9-10 Surrounded by wickedness.

I grew up surfing on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Newport Beach particularly. Its a bit like Newport Beach here in Southern California, but just with much warmer water.

Anyway when you grow up surfing, youre always aware that you might not be alone in the water, if you know what I mean. Im talking about sharks. The men in the grey suits, we sometimes call them. You know they are there. Every time a school of fish jumps out of the water, you imagine what might have been chasing them. And even when the water is perfectly clear, you never see them until they are right there.

I was surfing one morning, and a pod of dolphins breached just yards away from me. I hadnt seen them at all (and dolphins need to breathe!). But there they were 10 or 12 dolphins riding in on the wave that I was about to paddle for. (It was actually a really amazing experience, but it reminded me that you would never see a shark until it wanted to be seen...)

Another time I was watching from the beach when all of a sudden, the guy next to me pointed to a massive dark shadow swimming under a group of surfers. He started yelling and shouting. This thing was huge like 12, 14 maybe even 16 feet. The surfers noticed it just as we did and then it turned and surfaced. It was a pilot whale, I think, clearly just wanted to say hi to the crew.

And now with drone technology, the internet is awash with videos of surfers paddling unaware of the great white sharks swimming all around them.

Whenever you go in the ocean, you are surrounded by all kinds of wildlife, whether you know it or not.

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David was surrounded by another kind of wildlife. And we see that in vv4-6, and vv9-10. David is surrounded by sharks. He is surrounded by wicked people intent on doing him harm. Listen to how he describes them (starting at v4):

4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome.

5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence.

You hate all who do wrong;

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you, Lord, detest. [...]

9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice.

Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.

10 Declare them guilty, O God!Let their intrigues be their downfall.

Banish them for their many sins,for they have rebelled against you.

David is surrounded by wickedness. Look at the words he uses: evil, arrogant, wrongdoers, bloodthirsty, deceitful, malicious, liars.

David was a king, which meant he was a politician. Sadly we see these wicked behaviors play out in politics all too often.

And David was a leader. Sadly some leaders attain their position through the wicked behaviors described here. And almost every leader will find themself under attack at times from the kind of wickedness that David finds himself surrounded by. Its the downside of having power and authority there is always someone who wants what you have.

But you dont have to be a politician, or a leader to recognize the wickedness that surrounds us every day. Wickedness touches everyday people, like those gathered to celebrate the independence of a nation this week in Highland Park, Illinois, and like the schoolchildren in Uvalde, Texas earlier last month.

Wickedness surrounds us whether we see it or not. And sometimes it surfaces right in front of us, reminding us that the world is not as shiny and perfect as we want it to be.

And this reality of good and evil, it creates dissonance for those who want to say that the world is only getting better. You know the rhetoric with enough education and opportunity, with enough love, with enough goodwill, we can end wars and poverty and human suffering.

you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful

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The reality is, we live in the most technologically advanced society in history, with the highest levels of education and still we cant hold back the darkness.

And that brings us back to a word that David used in v1: lament.The traditional definition of lament, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is; A passionate

expression of grief or sorrow. We might lament the death of a friend, for example.

But Davids lament in this Psalm is a bit different. David laments the evil that surrounds him. He laments the fact that the wicked are still in positions of power and influence. He laments the fact that God has not yet brought an end to all the evil that taints the goodness of Gods good creation.

And this is where Psalm 5 teaches us to pray in the midst of evil. It teaches us the biblical idea of lament.

Pastor Aubrey Sampson describes lament like this. She says:

For those of us who follow Jesus, we live with down payments on the Already of Gods Kingdom on earth. We see glimpses of Gods healing power, his love, and his victory over evil. But we also live in the Not Yet of a broken, sinful world.

It is in between the Already and the Not Yet where we wait expectantly for the return of Jesus, who will one day make all things right, whole, and complete. Thankfully, we experience glimpses of gospel hope every time we see bits and pieces of Gods reign and presence and power at work. But that final redemptionGods Kingdom arriving in full, all brokenness redeemed, all evil thwarted, all suffering endedis our ultimate hope.

Lament, meaning a crying out of the soul, creates a pathway between the Already and the Not Yet. Lament minds the gap between current hopelessness and coming hope. Lament anticipates new creation but also acknowledges the painful reality of now. Lament helps us hold onto Gods goodness while battling evils evil at the same time.

[...] Lament is actually a godly concept, a spiritual discipline, and a powerful handhold in our seasons of sorrow. God has given us the biblical language and practice of lament as a way to express our pain and survive our suffering.

Aubrey Sampson, Renewal Church West Chicago3

David uses this morning prayer to make sense of the reality of evil, but without forgetting Gods ultimate plan to bring evil to an end.

3 https://www.tyndale.com/sites/unfoldingfaithblog/2019/01/22/lament-what-does-lament-mean/ 5

Scanning from v4, David says:

4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome.

5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence.

You hate all who do wrong;

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you, Lord, detest. [...]

10 Declare them guilty, O God!Let their intrigues be their downfall.

Banish them for their many sins,for they have rebelled against you.

Psalm 5 reminds us that God will not let evil go unpunished. Evil will not surround us forever thats not ultimately the world we will live in. One day, the evil will be banished for their many sins...

PAUSEAnd thats where this Psalm sneaks up behind us and taps us on the shoulder, doesnt it?

Because this Psalm reminds us that the evil isnt just out there. Its in here, in our hearts. Perhaps we havent been bloodthirsty, but who of us has never acted with arrogance, with deceitful intent, with trickery. And who among us has not rebelled against God?

When you come to the New Testament, the Apostle Paul uses part of Psalm 5 (specifically v9) to show that all of us are by nature unrighteous, all of us by nature rebel against God. None of us deserve to stand before God.

Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 3:10 There is no one righteous, not even one;

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12 All have turned away,they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good, not even one.

13 Their throats are open graves;their tongues practice deceit. (Romans 3:10-13)

you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful

there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.

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If we read Psalm 5 correctly, we are counted among the wicked. We are part of the evil that surrounds the good of this world. We are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Its a terrifying truth to find out. When we read the Bible, we always want to play the part of the hero. But it turns out were the villains...

Unless someone saves us from ourselves.And that brings us to the third big idea, Surrounded by favor. Surrounded By Favor (v7-8, 11-12)

The first time I went to Germany in 1997, I remember arriving in Frankfurt at 7 in the morning. I dont think they had direct flights back then, so Id already been traveling for 24 hours, and I arrive exhausted and its only 7 in the morning. The youth hostel didnt open until 4pm, so I was wandering the streets of Frankfurt trying not to fall asleep.

And I have this distinct memory of a bakery and they had these round, hot donuts covered in sugar. It was winter and it was freezing, so I got this donut and a coffee. And I remember the feeling of biting into the donut and getting this incredible surprise. The donut was filled with warm strawberry jam. It was heavenly!

Sometimes the best surprise is right in the middle, and thats true with Psalm 5. The Psalms are often written where the middle is the most important part.

And right at the middle of this Psalm is a truth that cuts through all the wickedness that surrounds it. Have a look at v7:

7 But I, by your great love, can come into your house;

in reverence I bow downtoward your holy temple. (Psalm 5:7)

David knew his own capacity for evil. He had committed adultery, then when he found out the woman was pregnant with this child, he had her husband killed to cover up the affair. David knew his own capacity for evil.

But... and this is one of the best buts in the Bible ;-)But (look at v7) I, by your great love, can come into your house.

David comes into the presence of God, not because of his own righteousness or goodness or virtue. No, (v7) he comes into Gods house because of Gods great love.

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This love of God, its the central theme of the entire Bible. God, in his loving kindness, will invite forgiven sinners to return to him. Gods love will undo the sin that began with Adam and Eve, so that one day, many will again live with God in paradise for eternity.

That is Gods promise. And God is faithful to his promise.

The word in the original language for great love is hesed it means Gods covenant faithfulness, his love expressed in actions, his promise to his people that is unbreakable, his loving kindness that comes from the heart of his character.

God is love, it says in 1 John 4:8. And John goes on to say:9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the

world that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9)

Jesus died on the cross to demonstrate Gods love for us. He died in our place, so that we might live through him. And thats what Davids prayer in Psalm 5 anticipates. The great love of God that would bring forgiveness, to all who put their trust in Jesus.

David begins the psalm laying his lament our before God I am surrounded by wickedness.

But the psalm finishes with a new perspective. It finishes with gladness and joy and blessing, with David surrounded by the favor of God, protected like a warrior behind a shield.

11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy.

Spread your protection over them,that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

12 Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;you surround them with your favor as with a shield. (Psalm 5:11-12)

What is leading you?

I began the sermon today by asking what leads you. What is leading you, and is it leading you down the right path?

In Psalm 5, we see two distinct pathways. The pathway of the wicked that leads to destruction. And the pathway of those who approach God because of his loving kindness.

Those who rebel against God. And those who return to God in reverence. Those who are banished, and those who are blessed.

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Two distinct pathways, and two distinct outcomes.

And so this psalm asks us, what pathway are we going down, and who is leading us down it? Because just like David, we all have the capacity to choose the pathway that ignores God, because we are surrounded by people who are going down that same pathway to destruction. Like a faulty GPS, the wickedness can cause us to take the wrong pathway and we might not realize it until its too late.

Or we can follow the route guidance that can be trusted. We can listen to God and allow him to lead us down the pathway that comes back to him...

In v8, David says:

8 Lead me, Lord, in your righteousnessbecause of my enemiesmake your way straight before me. (Psalm 5:8)

This week, will you ask God to lead you in his righteousness, and to lead you towards Jesus? Will you pray with me?

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Songs of Jesus

2. The God Who Hears (The Evening Prayer)

Psalm 4

Speak, Lord, in the stillness, While I wait on Thee; Hushed my heart to listen In expectancy.

Back in 1987, there was a news story that made headlines all around the world. A little baby had fallen into a well in Midland, Texas, and rescue attempts were underway. Do you remember the name of the little girl?

Jessica McClure. She was just 18 months old when she fell into an abandoned well on her aunts property. The well casing was just 8 inches wide, and baby Jessica had fallen down 22 feet before getting stuck.

For 58 hours, rescuers tried to get her out of the abandoned well, by digging a shaft down parallel to the well through hard rock.

Progress was difficult and slow, but there was something that kept hope alive throughout all those hours. Rescuers could hear Jessica singing Winnie the Pooh throughout the rescue.

Although little baby Jessica was deep below ground, trapped in the well, she knew she was safe because she could hear the rescuers, because they answered when she called out. The rescuers knew that as long as they could hear her, they knew she was alive, and their efforts could still save her.

Finally, after 58 hours, baby Jessica was rescued, safe and sound.

There is something very powerful about knowing that someone is listening, knowing that someone can hear you, and knowing that they care. Knowing that when we call out, someone will answer.

And thats the context for our Psalm today Psalm 4 a Psalm Im calling The God Who Answers.

So why dont we pray as we open the Bible, that God would teach us how he hears and answers when we call to him.

Our heavenly Father, we know that you are listening even now as we pray. Will you speak to us today, will you answer our prayers, and will you show us how to find peace in you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor 3 July 2022

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Well, we are in the middle of our summer sermon series, which we are calling Songs of Jesus. The idea is that we all have songs that form the soundtrack to our life: songs that bring back significant memories, songs that lift us when we are down, songs that inspire us, songs that move us.1

And for Jesus, those songs were the Psalms. Songs that he had grown up singing, songs that taught him about God, songs that taught him about himself, songs that taught him how to pray.

And so for the next month or so, were looking at the Psalms as the Songs of Jesus, and as songs for us.

Now todays Psalm is sometimes called the Evening Prayer, because it has been used by the church for a long time as a prayer to recite before bed. Well see why in just a moment.

But lets start at the beginning.For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

With some of the Psalms, we get a little bit of historical context about the Psalm. This psalm was clearly a song, written by King David, for the director of music, and it was to be played with stringed instruments. We dont know the tune anymore presumably it was lost because David was King of Israel right around 1000BC, so this is a very old psalm. David was quite prolific when it came to writing Psalms he is credited with writing 73 of the 150 Psalms.

But lets jump in now at v1. Im calling this section: A Request for Relief.

A Request For Relief (v1)

In Psalm 4, David is in distress, and so he calls out to God... (v1)

1 Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God.

Give me relief from my distress;have mercy on me and hear my prayer. (Psalm 4:1)

David calls out to God, wanting God to hear and to answer his prayer. He prays for relief from his distress.

We dont know exactly what the distress was. In the story of Davids life, he spent a lot of time at war, often with members of his own family. In Psalm 3, the Psalm right before this one, David was on the run from his son Absalom who wanted to kill him and take over the kingdom.

1 Youtube videos of the non-Christian guy reacting to Hillsong... 2

Perhaps thats the context for Psalm 4, and there are some other clues well find later in the Psalm. But we can only guess at the real context, and perhaps thats why this Psalm is so timeless we all know what it is like to call out to God in distress.

And when we call out to God, we want an answer, dont we? We want God to have mercy on us, and to hear us and to understand whats going on with us. When we pray, we pray because we believe God can help us. We call out because we trust that he is listening.

So how will God answer Davids prayer?

Second stanza, vv2-5: The Restless Inner Voice

The Restless Inner Voice (v2-5)

I said before that the Psalms teach us how to pray.

In Psalm 4 I think we get a glimpse into King Davids prayer life, and particularly into the way that our prayers are not always perfect and neat and undistracted.

In fact, as we read verses 2-5 it almost seems like David loses his train of thought. Its like he interrupts his prayer to process the distress that he is feeling in his life. Read with me from v2:

2 How long will you people turn my glory into shame?How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? (Psalm 4:2)

In the middle of his prayer, David turns his attention to the people who have been maligning him turning his glory into shame. This could easily fit the context of Absalom trying to take Davids kingship. Absalom and his allies spreading falsehoods and rumors about David, undermining him as the king, gathering factions to oppose him.

Or it could have been any one of the times that a leader comes under attack. It goes with the territory.

I imagine every one of us has experienced a time when we felt like we were under attack. It might have been in a work situation. It might have been a conflict with friends. Perhaps it has even happened at church its really disheartening when the source of distress is someone who is part of Gods family. But it happens, because church is a hospital for sinners. Were not perfect, but we are trying.

Conflict can also come from within your biological family. And perhaps out of all the kinds of conflict we experience, thats probably the hardest because it comes from people you love. Absalom was Davids son. And he wanted to have his own father killed. I know that many of us here have experienced the pain of families that turn against one another.

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Its no wonder David cant stop thinking about it, even while he is praying.

Its kind of comforting, isnt it, to know that other peoples prayers are like ours? Faltering, distracted, passionate and frustrated. David agonizes over what is going on in his life. He pours his heart out to God, even as he seemingly speaks to those who wished him harm.

Now I dont know if youre anything like me. Im a verbal processor. I need to talk things out in order to get to the bottom of them. Praise the Lord that my wife is a good listener! She often gets to hear me talk through an issue or a situation, and she sits nodding and occasionally asks a pointy question. That processing helps me get my thoughts in order.

And I think David might have been a verbal processor too. Because in v3 that inner monologue continues, that restless inner voice, processing what he wants his enemies to hear: (v3)

3 Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him. (Psalm 4:3)

Of all the characters in the Old Testament, David knew very clearly what God wanted from him. More than once, God had spoken to David through the prophets Samuel and Nathan. Samuel had anointed David with oil, as King over all of Gods people. And Nathan had spoken Gods promise to David that his throne would be established forever. And even when David had committed adultery and murder, still God had not removed the throne from him. God had set David apart as his chosen king.

Perhaps in the face of criticism, David was tempted to question the promise that God had made to him... Perhaps he wondered if his sin had pushed him too far to receive Gods forgiveness? Perhaps he wondered if God really did hear his prayers. Do you ever feel that way?

I think David wanted his enemies to remember the privileged position that God had put him in. But perhaps he needed to remind himself also?

And perhaps you and I need to remind ourselves of the privileged position that God has put us in. God may not have spoken to us through a prophet. But he has spoken to us through his Son. Jesus who says you are loved. You are forgiven. You are adopted. You are set apart, holy and redeemed. Jesus who says:

whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:24)

Sometimes we need to remember who God says we are. We need to remind ourselves, and we need to be reminded. If you have forgotten that you are loved by Jesus, consider this your reminder. If youve never known that you are loved by Jesus, I hope you hear that message today. You are loved.

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Well Davids inner monologue continues in v4:

4 Tremble and do not sin;when you are on your beds,search your hearts and be silent. (Psalm 4:4)

Do you ever lie awake at night unable to silence the thoughts that go around and around in your head?

I always know when Im really stressed because thats when I find myself lying awake in the middle of the night. If you know what Im talking about, then you dont need any help to understand what its like. If its not something youve experienced, this is what Pastor Scott Sauls writes about his experience of restlessness:

My most common prayer request these days is that God would give me consistent, uninterrupted sleep because in the middle of almost every night, I lay awake for two to four hours wrestling. I wrestle with preoccupation, with self-doubt, with the dissatisfaction of unmet expectations and unrealized goals and dreams, with pressure that I put on myself or that I fear others will put on me, with the burdens of the day behind me and the day ahead of me, and with the sense that my work is never going to be satisfactory or complete.

--- Scott Sauls2

Sauls describes restlessness due to the pressures of work and success. Some of us know this pressure all too well.

Davids restlessness was due to interpersonal conflict. And we all know the temptation of lying in bed and fixating on the problem: playing back in your mind the things that the other person said, the way they made you feel, the unfairness of it all. It becomes like an echo chamber where the noise just gets louder and louder and you get angrier and angrier.

That word at the beginning of v4 tremble its the same word for seething with anger. Quaking in anger. Anger that is barely holding back the rage. Its Incredible Hulk rage, if you like comic books.

But David doesnt want to indulge in his Hulk rage. Look at v4 again:

4 Tremble and do not sin;when you are on your beds,search your hearts and be silent. (Psalm 4:4)

2 https://scottsauls.com/blog/2021/11/07/insomniac-confessions/ 5

Now David is technically talking to his enemies in his prayer here I think thats part of how he processes things. But I think God is actually giving David the answer to his prayer in this verse.

David calls out to God in his distress, and God says: You can be angry, but dont sin when youre lying in your bed playing it back. Dont let bitterness get a hold of you. Search your own heart to see if youve contributed to the problem. And be silent. Listen for God to speak into the restlessness that is keeping you up at night...

Silence.

It can be hard to find a moment of silence in the world that we live in. Theres the radio in the car, the television on in the background at home. The internet constantly bombards us with noise and color and content. Theres email and text messages and funny videos to watch. But were not the first generation to be distracted. Even in Jesus time, Martha found it hard to sit still and listen to Jesus when he was right there in her house. She was too distracted with chores.

But v4 is clear. The antidote to the restless mind is to find... silence.

Time to put away the distractions, and spend time clearing your heart of the pain it is holding onto. Giving it to God. Doing that in a way that doesnt lead you into sin, but instead brings that feeling of catharsis, that feeling that someone hears you, the feeling that someone understands.

Because Jesus does understand.

Remember were reading these Psalms as the songs of Jesus. Jesus knew what it was like to be surrounded by people who maligned his glory, who exposed him to a shameful death on the cross. And yet he was the faithful servant who was set apart by God for exactly this task. He went to the cross in silence, not sinning in his anger, but praying for his enemies even as they crucified him. Knowing that God always heard his prayers.

No matter how busy he was, Jesus found time every day to go to a quiet place to pray. He found that moment of silence, to hear what God would say to him.

Are you making time for silence with God? PAUSEThird stanza (v6-8) Reorientation and Rest Reorientation and Rest (v6-8)

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My kids are all grown up now, just about anyway. But I remember when they were toddlers, and they would get upset about something like toddlers do. They wanted food. They didnt want food. They wanted different food. Cue the tantrum.

What do you do with your toddler when theyre having a tantrum? You redirect their focus. Look over here, I can see a book about fire engines! What sound does a fire engine make? (And 10 seconds later the tantrum is over, and theyve forgotten what they were upset about.)

It turns out as adults, were not so different from toddlers. A bit more sophisticated, but redirecting our thinking can really help us when we are upset about something.

One of my favorite books about the Psalms is by theologian and Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann.3 He divides the Psalms into three categories. There are psalms of orientation, psalms of disorientation and psalms of reorientation.

The psalms of orientation are the psalms where everything is happy, and the psalm praises God.

The psalms of disorientation are the psalms where it is very hard to see any happiness at all. These are psalms of lament, and sorrow, psalms written while Gods people were in exile, psalms where all hope seems lost.

And then there are the psalms of reorientation. These are the psalms where things start out badly, but then the psalmist remembers all the good promises of God, and their thinking is reoriented towards the good.

Psalm 4 is a psalm of reorientation. It begins with David in distress. Then there is the middle section which describes his inner turmoil. And now in this last section, well see Davids mind reoriented towards all the good things that he knows about God. (v6)

6 Many, Lord, are asking, Who will bring us prosperity? Let the light of your face shine on us.

7 Fill my heart with joywhen their grain and new wine abound. (Psalm 4:6-7)

It appears that people in Davids kingdom were asking if David would restore their fortunes, if he would make them a prosperous nation again. Again, we dont know the historical context for this psalm, but it doesnt make much sense, because for most of Davids reign, Israel knew a period of peace and prosperity that would only be surpassed in his son Solomons time.

But perhaps it looked to Israel like everyone else was getting rich, and they were missing out. Envy is a strong emotion. I know that myself. It can be hard when it looks like everyone else is

3 Walter Brueggemann, Spirituality of the Psalms.7

doing better than you are, enjoying more success, more wealth, more leisure, more of what you wished you could have. But you dont.

So whats the antidote to envy? Reorientation.Look at v6 and 7 again.

Let the light of your face shine on us. 7 Fill my heart with joy

when their grain and new wine abound. (Psalm 4:6-7)

Rather than looking at the shiny wealth of others, David asks that God would shine the light of his face upon him. That God would fill his heart with joy, even when others have a good harvest and a full wine cellar. David asks God to show him what is more important the fact that God is with him, that he experiences Gods presence and his blessing every day in this lifetime, and even in the life to come.

V6 echoes the blessing that God spoke over the Israelites in the time of Moses and Aaron:

24 The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;

26 the Lord turn his face toward youand give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

When we know God is with us, we can experience genuine peace. And that is what David experiences in the final verse of the psalm (v8)

8 In peace I will lie down and sleep,for you alone, Lord,make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)

David experiences the peace of God that transcends all understanding, as it says in Philippians 4:7. He experiences peace that allows him to lie down and sleep, trusting that God has got this.

Psalm 4 is not a magic cure for insomnia, but it is a prayer that reminds us we can find peace in the middle of conflict. We can find joy in the middle of trials. And we can find rest in the care of the one who never sleeps or slumbers.

Shall we pray?

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We all have songs that form the soundtrack to our life: songs that bring back significant memories, songs that lift us when we are down, songs that inspire us, songs that move us. And for Jesus, those songs were the Psalms. What can we learn from the soundtrack to Jesus' life?

Songs of Jesus1. The God Who Reigns Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor Psalm 2 26 June 2022

Not long ago my mom started scanning the old photo albums from when we were kids. If youre under the age of 30, you possibly dont know what a photo album is. In the olden days, photo albums were physical books where you kept printouts of photos you took.

Anyway, my mom has started scanning some of the old photos from when I was a kid. And recently she sent photos from a family trip in 1985. I was 10 years old. We were living in Western Australia at the time, and we took a driving trip up the west coast of Australia starting in Perth and driving almost 1000 miles north to Exmouth better known as the home of Ningaloo Reef, one of the best places in the world to swim with whale sharks.

This was before Instagram, before even a resort was built there. We spent the entire time camping at remote beaches, getting the car stuck in sand, getting the car overheated in the desert, I think we also flipped our camper trailer on a remote highway. But we also spent days swimming and surfing and fishing and snorkeling.

It was an incredible adventure and all through my adult life, I get flashbacks to that trip whenever I smell Reef Suntan Oil the one made with coconut oil. Not sure it protected anything...

I also get flashbacks to that vacation whenever I hear this song that seemed to always be on the radio Life In A Northern Town by The Dream Academy. AKA the heyamamama song. Funny, when Jo and I were first married and traveling through Europe, somebody did a dance remix of it that was on the radio all the time... Maybe its just my song?

That happens with songs, doesnt it? They become the soundtrack to significant periods of your life. The soundtrack to significant memories, and moods. They can transport you back in time, and take you to a different place.

This summer, we are looking at the Psalms as the soundtrack that Jesus listened to. The songs of Jesus. The songs that he would have known and recited, songs that taught him about God, and about himself. Songs that fueled his prayers.

This is our soundtrack for the summer, and a soundtrack that I hope fuels our prayers, as we take them to heart just like Jesus did.

So why dont we pray that God would teach us this summer as we open the Psalms together?

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Our heavenly Father, we thank you for the Psalms, for these songs that your people have been singing for thousands of years. Teach us your songs, and use them to sustain us in all the seasons of life. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Well we are starting our new sermon series with Psalm 2 today. I just want to take a brief moment to talk about the Psalms before we open todays passage.

Here at Yountville Community Church, we often work through the Bible chapter by chapter to see a story unfold. But the Psalms doesnt work quite like that. Psalms is more like an anthology of poetry, written by different authors. Within the book of Psalms, we can break down the individual Psalms into 5 different collections, or 5 Books as youll see if you have a paper Bible.

The Psalms, you can see, are written like poetry (theyre even laid out like it on the page). However its worth noting that these were originally written in Hebrew, during Old Testament times which means BC. To give you an idea how old the Psalms are, 73 of the Psalms are attributed to King David, and he was king right around 1000BC, so the Psalms are very old.

Traditionally, the Psalms have played a part in the worship of Gods people. Many of the Psalms were songs originally, but we dont have the tunes anymore. So that aspect is kind of lost to us.

And of course, we lose a some of the original poetic elements when the Psalms are translated from the Hebrew into the English in our Bibles.

Despite all the time and distance and culture that separate us from the original writers, what we have in common is the sentiments that the Psalms portray. The Psalms have sometimes been called the Prayer Book of the Old Testament. They record the words of the saints of old, as they called out to God in every season of life. And their prayers teach us how we also ought to call out to God in every season of life.

So I hope our series in the Psalms helps you to learn to pray, just as I hope it helps me to learn to pray.

But for now, lets jump into Psalm 2.

1. Desire for Freedom

1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth rise upand the rulers band togetheragainst the Lord and against his anointed, saying,

3 Let us break their chainsand throw off their shackles.

(Psalm 2:1-3)

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We live in a world of division. A world of conflict. A world where nations conspire, and kings and rulers rise up against others. All throughout history, wars have raged over territory, over power, over politics. Division seems to be our default stance as humans.

But in Psalm 2, there is a great surprise about the divisiveness of humans. Do you see it there in v2?

2 The kings of the earth rise upand the rulers band togetheragainst the Lord and against his anointed

Despite all their enmity towards one another, Psalm 2 teaches us that the rulers of this world have an even greater enemy. An enemy they hate so much that they will cease fire against one another to conspire and plot together against this (perceived) common enemy.

And who is the enemy? Its there in v2... The Lord and his anointed.

Bible scholars believe that this Psalm was probably written originally as a coronation Psalm for one of Israels kings. Something they read out at the installation of a king. And so it makes sense to imagine the other kings and rulers of nearby nations seeking to destroy this anointed king of the Lord.

And, of course, an attack against the king is the same as an attack against the Lord. So we could read this line from a very earthly perspective.

But when you look more closely, there is a very global aspect to this attack on the Lord and his anointed. Its the nations (line 1), the people (line 2), the kings of the earth (line 3) and the rulers all conspiring, plotting, rising up and banding together against God and his anointed one.

Anointing was a ritual to mark Gods approval of the kings of Israel. Consecrated oil would be poured from a sacred horn onto the Kings head by a representative of God, usually a prophet. And then that king would be called the anointed. In Hebrew, the word for anointed is mashiach, Messiah in English. The Greek translation is christos, or Christ.

You can see why this Psalm had a special meaning for Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one. Certainly in Jesus lifetime, powers and authorities conspired and plotted to have him killed.

And when we read v3, we see the reason why the nations and people rise up against God. Together, they say (v3)

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3 Let us break their chainsand throw off their shackles.

Psalm 2 teaches us a profound truth about humanity. As humans, we have this perception that God wants to put us in chains, and put us in shackles. This verse is an image of slavery, isnt it? An image of incarceration.

The perception is that God wants to control us. That God wants to control our actions, to control our thoughts, that God wants to put limitations on my freedom. That he wants to stop me doing the things that I want to do.

Have you ever had that thought? I was on an Alpha course a few years ago and a young guy in his early 20s said something just like that. Why does God care who I sleep with? Why does God care if I get drunk? I remember him saying: I like the idea of Jesus, but I dont want him to tell me what to do...

He didnt stay in the course long after that.

I want to say that its because hes part of the young generation. But actually the problem goes further back than that, all the way to Adam and Eve who didnt want God to tell them what they could and couldnt eat. What they could or couldnt do.

Turns out its a fundamentally human response to God, to want to break the chains, and throw off his shackles. I understand it in my own experience. We want to be the kings and rulers of our own lives. And we rebel against anyone who wants to take away our rights, even if its God himself! What would God know about what is good for us? [Maybe a thing or twoJ]

So thats the first stanza the Desire for Freedom. 2. Declaration of God

The second stanza Im calling the Declaration of God.For all the plotting and conspiring of the nations and people against God, did you notice the last

two words in v1?1 Why do the nations conspire

and the peoples plot in vain?

This Psalm, which is situated right at the beginning of the book of Psalms, is meant to teach us a fundamental truth about God, a truth that underpins everything else we read in the Psalms, and a truth that underpins every challenge that this world offers to Gods authority.

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4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.

5 He rebukes them in his angerand terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

6 I have installed my kingon Zion, my holy mountain.

The foundational truth of these verses is that God is The One enthroned in heaven. God sits on the only throne that matters. There are not many gods on many thrones, each ruling over their own sections of the world, their own constituents. No, this verse makes a truth claim about God as the only one The One it says, in v4 who rules and reigns in creation.

And when challenges to his authority come, they pose absolutely no threat to him.

I had a friend who worked in juvenile justice, in a home for boys with behavioral issues. He told me that he was regularly physically assaulted by the boys. And Im imagining large teenage boys. He laughed when I looked worried. Turns out these were little boys under the age of 12. He said they would come out swinging, and the guards would just wrap them up in a kind of a hug. The guards were never hurt, but they had to have the boys charged with assault so that they would understand the consequences of their actions.

And I think, in a way, God laughs at the puny efforts of the world leaders who conspire against him. Even joined together, the kings of this world are no match for the King that God installs on his holy mountain, on Zion. And ultimately, those kings will understand the consequences of their rebellion.

So who is the king that God installs on Zion? That becomes clear in v7. The Psalmist says:

7 I will proclaim the Lords decree: He said to me, You are my son;

today I have become your father. 8 Ask me,

and I will make the nations your inheritance,

the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will break them with a rod of iron;

you will dash them to pieces like pottery.

Historically, King David was the first great King over Israel. (Technically he was the second after King Saul, but Saul turned out to be kind of a dud.) But when David was King, God spoke to him through the prophet Nathan, and he made an incredible promise to David that sounds a lot like the worlds above. God promised David that his offspring would be on the throne of Gods

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kingdom forever, that they would be Gods sons, and that he would be their father. Sounds a lot like Psalm 2.

But historically, Davids offspring were not great kings. They didnt make the nations their inheritance instead in the centuries before Jesus birth, they were conquered and spread out to the ends of the earth. The Assyrians, and Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and eventually the Romans subjugated Gods people. And they must have wondered, how was the prophecy of Psalm 2 being fulfilled?

Until the Messiah was born... The anointed one Gods people had been waiting on for centuries. Jesus. Thats why it was so significant at Jesus baptism, that the voice of the Father would be heard saying:

This is my Son, whom I love... (Matthew 3:17)

And in that same ceremony, Jesus was anointed, not by a human prophet, but instead by the Holy Spirit which descended on him like a dove, confirming Gods choice of his holy and anointed King. I imagine this Psalm was the Psalm that soundtrack that was playing in Jesus mind on that day. And probably in the minds of his disciples, too.

Which is why it must have been so shocking for the disciple to see Jesus crucified. The gospels are very clear about the conspiracy of the religious leaders and the Roman governor to have Jesus killed. It must have looked like all was lost, and that God wasnt in control, that his anointed was unable to match the power of the kings of this world. The cross looks like the defeat of God.

But do you remember the last two words of v1? In vain...

Any attempt to rebel against God is ultimately in vain. You can try, but it is laughable to God. For all their ability to terrify us, the powers of this world are puny and pathetic and pitiful before the sovereign rule of God.

Not even death can stop God.

And he showed that when Jesus rose from the tomb on the third day.

And from that day to this, Jesus has been expanding his kingdom to the ends of the earth, making the nations his inheritance.1

1 Echoes of Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19

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And the Bible tells us that one day Jesus will return. In power, in the guise of a king. And the Bible says that on that day many of the people of this world will rise up and band together to take on the Lord and his Anointed.2

But their efforts will be in vain. Their power will be removed. They will be destroyed. And Jesus will establish his throne forever and ever.

You see, Psalm 2 finds its ultimate fulfilment at a time that is yet to come.

And thats a good thing, because it means we can decide which side of history we want to end up on.

3. Decision

Which brings us to the final stanza and our third big idea decision. The Psalm ends with a decision that each of us needs to make (v10):

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;be warned, you rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fearand celebrate his rule with trembling.

12 Kiss his son, or he will be angryand your way will lead to your destruction,

for his wrath can flare up in a moment.Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:10-12)

Verse 10 teaches us to be wise, and to be warned. Because rebellion against God is not just for world leaders. It is an attitude that goes right back to our first parents, to Adam and Eve.

Each of us needs to decide who will be sovereign in our life. Will we serve the Lord (v11), or will we serve our own interests? Will we celebrate his rule, or will we celebrate our own independence?

You see v12 reminds us what the destiny is for everyone who does not honor the Son.

12 Kiss his son, or he will be angryand your way will lead to your destruction,

I agonized over what to say about Gods anger in this Psalm. It comes up in v5, and again here in v12, same with his wrath. I agonized because so many of us want to believe that God is this

2 Revelation 19:11-21

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loving grandfather figure who would never get angry with anyone. Or a labrador who just wags his tail and loves everyone.

But the problem with a God like is that heaven would be just like the earth is now a place full of tyrants and rulers who conspire and plot and do whatever they want and get away with murder. And I dont want to go to a heaven like that it would be anarchy, literally. And God wouldnt be a good God, because he would allow injustice to continue.

And so the anger of God that the Bible speaks about is not capricious, or vindictive, or disproportionate. It is Gods measured and justifiable response to everything that would ruin the kingdom he is building.

And even though the passage warns us in v12 that Gods wrath might flare up in a moment, the reality is that God has yet to enact his final judgment. He has been patient for more than 2000 years, giving people time to wise up and be warned. Giving his church time to take the hope of Jesus to the ends of the earth, so that many might be saved. Its what were doing here at Yountville Community Church pleading with people to kiss Gods son, to honor Jesus and to find life in him.

Because thats how the Psalm ends.Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:12)

A life with Jesus is a life of blessing. Not a life of being shackles and chains. Actually its a life where we find true freedom. But thats a sermon for another Psalm...

Shall we pray?

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Prodigal means extravagant, lavish, unrestrained, excessive; carelessly wasteful. In this story, a ungrateful son lives a prodigal lifestyle after he takes his inheritance. But the end of the story leaves us asking: who is the real prodigal?

Fathers DayThe Prodigal Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor

Luke 15:11-32 19 June 2022

A tale of two sons, two brothers...Funny to read a story about two brothers. Im a second son, (I have an older brother, two younger sisters) so easy to read this and think about my relationship with my own brother...

With my brother and me, its always a competition when we were younger, it was whos taller, stronger. Now were older, its whos fitter, better looking, more successful...

Right now I am losing the competition for who is the toughest brother. Actually I think I lost that competition when my brother started racing Ironman Triathlon swim 2 mile, bike 112 mile and finish with a 26.2 mile marathon run... 8 hours for winner, up to 16 hours for the slowest. And theyre the ones who keep going...

He didnt race in sunny Kona in Hawaii either: he did his first Ironman in Wales in UK... Cold, rainy, windy. How do you come back from a challenge like that as a younger brother? Im still working on it...

There is a funny dynamic between brothers. Ladies, I dont know if it is like that for you with your sisters... But with brothers there is always a sense of pecking order, a jostling for position.

In the Bible passage for today, Jesus tells a parable of two brothers, an older brother and a younger brother. And part of the story is about their jostling for position as the good son, and another part is about each brothers jealousy for what he thinks the other has.

And like we often get in the Bible, the end of the story is not what we expected when we started...

So lets pray that God will teach us today about being good sons; but even more that he will teach us about him being the good Father.

Dear God, we pray as we open your Word today, that you will show us your character as the good Father who loves your children, in spite of our foolish behaviour. Teach us to come home to you when we run from you. And thank you that you celebrate when your lost children come home. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen

Well today we come to perhaps one of the best short stories ever written. A parable of Jesus a story that has a deeper meaning for those who look beneath the surface.

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To give you some context, Jesus is speaking to a crowd of people 15:1 tax collectors and sinners were gathered around Jesus, leaning in to hear him. And religious people were there too (v2) Pharisees and teachers of the law (Jewish rabbis) although they didnt approve of Jesus taking all this time with sinners...

But still, there they all are with Jesus.And so Jesus tells this hypothetical story of a man with two sons v11

There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, Father, give me my share of the estate.

Divide the inheritance. I want my money, and I want it now...

Can you begin to imagine what this must have been like? I dont know what would happen if I said that to my father.

Its not like the son asks politely. Dad, do you think you could give me an advance on what you might leave when you go?

No, this second son is cold. There is no please or thank you. I want my money and I want it now. Im taking my cash and I am out of here...

See, if you ask for your inheritance before your parents are dead, what is the message you are sending? You might as well be dead to me I want my money and I want nothing more to do with you. You and me its over between us. Were breaking up, and you owe me. So pony up...

Well, the father divided his property up between the two sons. And we read on in v13

13 Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

This part is easy to imagine the younger son is finally free of the old man, hes off the farm and he is living it up. He was off to Vegas, baby!

And this younger son, he lives the high life. Havent you ever wondered what it must be like to win the lottery? We think, oh yeah, Id give so much to the church and then Id be off to Vegas, baby. I have a list as long as my arm of toys I would buy, places Id visit, restaurants Id eat in. Man, if I won the lottery, I would live it up.

And this kid, he lives it up.But pretty soon there was nothing left to show. He squandered the lot. Wasted every cent.

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The cash dried up, the high life dried up, and because this is a parable that Jesus is telling, the countryside dried up too.

14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.

The younger son is in trouble. He has nothing left in his pockets. And so he takes the only job he can get he hires himself out to a farmer who sends him out to feed pigs (v15).

And as Jesus was telling this story, the people listening would have been turning their noses up. A Jewish man feeding pigs? Jewish people didnt even touch pigs, let alone work with them. If a Jewish person touched a pig, then he was unfit for God until he washed his clothes and waited until evening (Lev 11:7, 24). For Jewish people, eating a pig would be like eating a rat (Isa 66:3,17)... But here was the younger son, working with pigs, getting covered in their muck, and so hungry, that we read in v16:

16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

This younger son had gone from having everything to having nothing. The high life to the lowest of lows. He had nothing and no one...

And he began to think about home. The farm. The old man. Maybe it hadnt been as bad as he remembered. Actually, hed had it pretty good back home. And so did the workers on the farm, even the hired men. They had food to spare.

And so the son writes a speech the kind of speech that goes something like this - Dad, Ive been an idiot. I know I can never be your son again, I have no right to that, but please at least let me stay as one of your day labourers... (v18)

Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.

Its honest, and simple and humble. The son is truly contrite...

And so with the speech written he gets up and heads home...

And heres where the story takes a bit of a turn. We expect the dad to be indignant. Angry. Furious at this son who squandered his hard-earned, then who comes crawling back when it runs out. You expect the dad to be rightly angry at his son, dont you? And everyone listening to Jesus parable expected the same.

But thats not what happens. What happens instead is something completely unexpected, completely inappropriate something tender and something wonderful: v20

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But while [the son] was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

The dad does everything we would not expect a Middle Eastern father to do. He doesnt see his son in the distance, and then sort of stands with his arms crossed on the porch, waiting for him to drag his sorry behind home, waiting to chide, What do you have to say for yourself?

No instead, from a distance he sees his son and he was filled with compassion. And the fathers compassion moves him to action: he runs (which was a culturally inappropriate thing to do), and he throws his arms around his son the original language says he fell upon his neck, like he cant believe what has happened. And the father kissed his son, he kissed his little boy, just like when he was a baby.

I dont know if you still kiss your dad, but in this kiss we see a moment of tenderness between the father and son, a moment of reconciliation, a moment where the relationship is taken back to before the son said to his father, Give me my money.

But the son still doesnt feel worthy. He gives the speech he had prepared.

21 The son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

But the father ignores the speech completely in fact, he cuts the son off midway through.

How can a son ever be worthy to be called a son? We dont earn the right to be sons we are sons by the miracle of child-birth. Or if by adoption, it still has nothing to do with worth, we are brought into a family because people choose to share all they have with the child. To choose parenthood is to choose to give yourself completely to the other.

In our world, we sometimes hear parents say, Youre not worthy to be called my son. Youre not worthy to be called my daughter. This might be your experience...

But look again at what the Father in this story does. He completely ignores the sons speech about worthiness, because worthiness has nothing to do with sonship...

This fathers son was home, that was all there was too it. His son was back and this father wanted to show his son just how happy he was to see him, how happy he was that his lost son had come home.

And so the father gives from the abundance of love he has for his son. He gives extravagantly and over the top.

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22 But the father said to his servants, Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Lets have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate.

You probably know that this story is often called the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The word prodigal means extravagant, lavish, unrestrained, excessive; carelessly wasteful. And the younger son lived a prodigal lifestyle after he took his inheritance. He was unrestrained, excessive. He carelessly wasted the lot in an orgy of prostitutes and wild living.

But you have to ask yourself: Is the son the true prodigal in the story? [Pause...]

What about the Father? In a time when fathers were restrained, dignified, here we have a father who runs and drapes himself on his son, who showers tokens of love and acceptance on his son, far in excess of what was needed. It is extravagant and lavish and unrestrained. And killing the fattened calf, that was just carelessly wasteful.

Or was it?

Of course as Jesus told this parable, he wasnt just telling a story about a dysfunctional family. He was telling the story of the dysfunctional relationship between people and their heavenly Father.

Jesus was telling them how much the Father in heaven longs to lavish blessing upon blessing upon his children. How the Father in heaven longs to see his children come home to him. How the Father will receive even those who have squandered and wasted his blessings, those who have previously said, You are dead to me.

For the Heavenly Father, there is no-one too far away to return to him. There is nothing you could ever do that means he would reject you, if only you would return to him.

And when you return to him, you wont meet a stern parent waiting on the porch with arms crossed. No, the Father who sent his own son into the world to rescue us, will run to us with arms opened wide, hell shower kisses upon us and dress us in the finest robe and seat us in the place of honour. He makes us his children and shares the inheritance with us...

Galatians 3:26 says:

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith (Galatians 3:26)

This is the consistent message of the Bible. In Jesus, God has shown that he will stop at nothing to come and find us.

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And when he finds us, when we return home, what rejoicing there will be in the heaven over a sinner who repents (Lk 15:7, 10).

Can you imagine the tax collectors and sinners, sitting with Jesus, leaning in close; can you imagine what it must have been like for them to hear Jesus talking like that? Forgiveness. Restoration. Real family...

And you, sitting there in the pew this morning, how does this make you feel to hear Jesus speaking this way? Knowing what you have done this week, knowing the ways you have sinned, the ways you have squandered Gods good gifts... Have you made that same speech to God this week, Father, I am no longer worthy to be called your son...?

What does God have to say to you? If you return to him, he will say what the Father said when the prodigal son returned... Quick, bring the fattened calf, this son, this daughter of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

~

But the story doesnt finish there. Remember this is a tale of two sons. What does the older brother think about his little brother? The good for nothing, ungrateful, spoiled, selfish younger brother...

25 Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 Your brother has come, [the servant] replied, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.

The older brother is incredulous. He (point finger) came home and now Father has killed the fattened calf for him? People are dancing? What for?

28 The older brother became angry and refused to go in.

Im not going in there with him. Hes not my brother.Im guessing at this point that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law listening to Jesus, the religious guys, I bet they were nodding their heads at this point. How dare that younger brother turn up after what he did? What right does he have to expect forgiveness? And these sinners and tax collectors, what right do they have to turn up to God, expecting forgiveness?

And so I think Jesus told the next part of the story for them, but also for us... Remember, the older brother is standing outside refusing to go in. Jesus went on... v28

So his father went out and pleaded with [the older brother].

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And this pleading, its a bit like the kisses the father pleaded and he pleaded with the older brother, to the point where hes almost given up his dignity. The father should be able just to order his son to come in, but instead he is begging him...

And the older brother speaks: v29

29... Look! All these years Ive been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!

And it seems like the older son has a point. It hardly seems fair, does it? If either son was worthy of the fathers love, it was the older son, wasnt it?Look again at the way the older son describes his relationship to the father. V29 for years I have been your slave... Ive never disobeyed you... Yet you never gave me even a scrawny little goat so I could celebrate...

The older son feels he should be worthy of the fathers lavish display of affection, not the other son. And we hear it in the way the older brother distances himself from his younger brother (v30) when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!

This is an angry man... But he is an angry man who has misunderstood his relationship with his father and brother all along.

The older son feels like he has to slave away for his father to earn his inheritance. Like his hard work makes him worthy to be the fathers son.

This was the attitude of the Pharisees the religious legalists. You had to slave away for God, and obey his every command and that way you would be worthy to be called a son...

But family is not like that, is it? At least not when the father is God. Listen again to how the father speaks tenderly to his older son...

31 My son, the father said, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

You see, the older son thought he had nothing, but in fact he already had everything. The father was with him. And everything the father owned already belonged to the son after all, the

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father had already divided the inheritance. The animals they belonged to the older son. The farm it belonged to the older son.

And the younger son well he also belonged to the older son in a kind of way. Not like cattle, but like family. In v32 the father calls him this brother of yours...

And I think the point of the story about the older brother is to remind us that we dont have to earn the right to be children of God. Its not something we earn by doing religious things. We are children of God because God is our Father, our creator, our family.And God wants us to treat him like family. He wants us to spend time with him, to enjoy his good gifts, knowing that they come from him. Not feeling like servants or slaves or employees, but remembering simply he loves us because he has made us his children.

~

I picked this passage today for Fathers Day because it reminds us of the incredible love that our heavenly Father has for us.

The younger brother felt unworthy of his fathers love because of what he had done. But the Father loved him anyway, because he was his son.

The older brother felt like he had to earn his Fathers love through hard work. But the Father loved him anyway, not because of his works, but because he was his son.

And God loves us. Each one of us, just like the Father in the story loved his sons. It doesnt matter what weve done whether good or bad God loves us because he has chosen us as sons and daughters, dearly beloved. And when we come back to him, what joy it causes in heaven.

Will you come back to the Father today?

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In our final encounter today, were going to look into the future, to see an encounter with Jesus that every person who ever lived will someday have. An encounter that will have eternal consequences. An encounter we dont want to get wrong.

Encounters with Jesus9. Before the Throne Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor

Revelation 20:11-15 12 June 2022

To which St. Peter replied, "Yes, my dear, these are the Gates to Heaven. But you must do one more thing before you can enter."

The woman was very excited, and asked of St. Peter what she must do to pass through the gates.

"Spell a word," St. Peter replied."What word?" she asked."Any word," answered St. Peter. "It's your choice."The woman promptly replied, "Then the word I will spell is love. L-o-v-e."

St. Peter congratulated her on her good fortune to have made it to Heaven, and asked her if she would mind taking his place at the gates for a few minutes while he took a break. If anybody comes, he said, just ask them to spell a word, just like I asked you.

So the woman is left sitting in St. Peter's chair, when low and behold, a man approaches the gates, and she realizes it is her husband.

"What happened?" she cried, "Why are you here?"

Her husband stared at her for a moment, then said, "I was so upset when I left your funeral, I got in a car accident. And now I am here? Did I really make it to Heaven?"

To which the woman replied, "Not yet. You must spell a word first." "What word?" he asked.The woman responded, "Czechoslovakia~

A woman died and found herself standing outside the Pearly Gates,

being greeted by St. Peter.

She asked him, "Oh, is this place what I really think it is?

It's so beautiful.

Did I really make it to

heaven?"

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Well there are lots of jokes about how to get into heaven this was one of the more mild ones I found! But is this joke an accurate picture of what happens when we die? Can we expect to meet St Peter at the pearly gates, or does the Bible teach something different?

Thats what were going to find out today as we open our Bible passage together. So why dont we pray and ask God to show us what will happen on the day we encounter Jesus in heaven?

Our heavenly Father, will you speak to us now through your word? Will you show us what happens when we die, and what we need to do to be saved? Please reveal the truth to us now, so that we can look ahead with great trust. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Well, this is our final sermon in our series called Encounters with Jesus. It has been a series all about when people met Jesus, and had an encounter with him, and how it changed them.

In our final encounter today, were not looking into a historical encounter that Jesus had with somebody. Instead, were going to look into the future, to see an encounter with Jesus that every person who ever lived will someday have. An encounter that will have eternal consequences. An encounter we dont want to get wrong.

Now today Ive picked a passage from the very last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. Its a book that some Christians love, but its also a book that many find confusing and confronting because of the imagery it contains. After all it does speak about angels and demons and the antichrist, and the mark of the beast (ch13). It paints a picture of the end of the world, with lurid descriptions of chaos and war and destruction and judgment.

The reason it is full of that kind of imagery is because Revelation describes a vision that the Apostle John had a vision that Jesus showed to him, a vision revealing the future so that Gods people wont be afraid of whats to come.

And John relays that vision to us in language that is often symbolic and pictorial a bit like when we try to describe a dream in words there are often ideas or feelings that are difficult to articulate. Thats part of the challenge of reading Revelation. But remember this isnt meant to be confusing. Jesus revealed this to John, so that John could reveal it to us. Thats where the name revelation comes from its all about Jesus revealing Gods plan so that we can put our trust in Him.

Lets jump into the passage. This comes from Revelation 20, the third last chapter of the Bible. It is a picture of the end of the world as we know it.

The Throne

This is what John sees (v11):

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11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. (Revelation 20:11- 12)

Johns vision opens on a throne a dazzling white, brightly shining, radiant throne.

Im kind of putting words in Johns mouth here, but thats because all the way through the book of Revelation, John vision takes him time and time again into the throne room of God.1 And the vision that he sees of God on the throne harks back to the throne room visions that the ancient prophets had Old Testament prophets like Daniel and Isaiah and Ezekiel.

- In Daniel 7, Gods throne is portrayed as a flaming chariot, and God himself is dressed in clothing as white as snow, with hair white like wool.

- In Ezekiel 1, both the throne and God himself have the appearance of fire, and brilliant light, and radiance like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. (Ezekiel 1:28)

- In Isaiah 6, Isaiah sees God seated on his throne, high and exalted. (Isaiah 6:1)

There is something both awesome and terrifying about the presence of God, seated on his throne. He is holy, and majestic, powerful and pure.

(It doesnt help that God is always surrounded by legions of angels, not the cute chubby baby kind, but winged creatures with eyes all over them, that make a sound like thunder when they move their wings...)

But in Revelation 20:11 the angels are gone, and the scene focuses in on the throne. Now did you notice the strange detail about the one who is on the throne? John doesnt identify who it is. He just says him who was seated on it. (Im going to come back to that in a bit...)

Keep reading in v11. It says:

The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. (Revelation 20:11)

Remember this is symbolic language representing a vision. Im not sure what it would look like for the earth and the heavens to flee from the presence of the one on the throne.

Perhaps its an image of destruction. In Revelation 6, John has a vision of the heavens receding like a scroll being rolled up, and mountains and islands being plucked up from where they were placed. Perhaps this is another image of the same thing. An image of destruction.

1 The throne of God and the Lamb feature in Revelation 4, 5, 7, 8, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21 and 22 3

Or perhaps the idea of fleeing is associated with the judgment motif of the passage the earth and the heavens somehow flee from the presence of the one on the throne, because nothing impure can stand before the throne of the Most Holy God.

The earth and the heavens might flee, but the throne is not something humans can flee from.. (v12)

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. (Revelation 20:12)

The throne room scene has become a court room scene, a scene of judgment. And no one is exempt great and small alike stand before the throne as the books are opened.

There is something kind of terrifying about the idea of standing before a judge, and trusting in the justice system. Dont get me wrong. I think we have an excellent judicial system, but it isnt perfect. Human error does occur, and sadly there is room for corruption. Those in positions of power the great sometimes avoid the full consequences of their misbehavior. And the small often find themselves unable to compete with the legal resources of the great...

But here in Gods courtroom, both great and small stand in judgment, side by side, with no prejudice and no preferential treatment either way. Gods justice is perfect. And it is searching... (v12)

12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead werejudged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. (Revelation 20:12-13)

No one escapes Gods judgment it searches to the bottom of the sea, and even to death and Hades. You might know Hades from Greek mythology. The NT writers use Hades to translate the Hebrew word Sheol, which is the place where the dead wait until the day of judgment, when theyll rise and face God. Thats the picture we see here in Revelation 20.

The point is, there is nowhere in the universe that we can go to escape this judgment that awaits each of us.

The Books

What does that judgment look like? Again, remember this is a vision that John is seeing, full of symbolism, but the meaning is quite simple.

Books are opened. And (v12) the dead are judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.

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You might have guessed by now that Im not a fire and brimstone preacher. But this passage is a fire and brimstone passage. Jesus reveals to us what the final judgment looks like, a judgment that each of us must face, and none of us can escape. A judgment where books are opened and our life is laid out before us, and we must account for the choices weve made in life.

Its said that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, once sent a message to the twelve most respectable people he knew, just to see how theyd respond. The message simply said: Flee, all is revealed! Within 24 hours, six of these respectable people had left the country.

We all have skeletons in the closet, and there is nothing that weve done that God does not know about. Hebrews 4:13 says:

Nothing in all creation is hidden from Gods sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)

I was pretty well-behaved at school, but one Friday at lunch I mouthed off to the deputy principal of my private boys academy... He was a scary individual, and he said: Bidwell, come and see me in my office first thing Monday morning. I spent the weekend terrified that I was going to be expelled. Turned out he didnt even remember why he had called me in. But I knew, and I still remember that feeling of being caught doing the wrong thing, and knowing I was guilty.

The prophet Isaiah had the same feeling when he found himself in the presence of God in Isaiah 6 he understood that his sinfulness made him guilty before the holiness of God. He cries out:

Woe is me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty. (Isaiah 6:5)

Are you prepared for the day when you stand before the throne of God, and the books are opened, and your life is laid bare before the judgment of God? When all is revealed?

Its a terrifying thought, if Im honest.

The Second Death

The vision continues (v14):

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. (Revelation 20:14)

This lake of fire is an image from earlier in chapter 20, and in chapter 19 as well. There it is called the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Chapters 19 and 20 are all about the end of the world,

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and Jesus paints vivid pictures of a war between the forces of good and evil Jesus and his angels against Satan and the powers that he stands behind kings and beasts and false prophets.

But they dont stand a chance against Jesus. One by one, Jesus throws the powers of evil into the lake of burning sulfur. They receive their judgment.

And coming back to our passage, to v14, now death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire as well.

I want you to paint a picture of this in your head, a literal picture. What would it look like to throw death into a lake? You cant do it, can you? Maybe if death was represented by a person. Do the same experiment for Hades. Hades was a place for disembodied souls who were asleep, kind of like heaven but for the dead. Its not a physical place, like the prison of Azkerban, that you could pick it up and throw it into a lake.

The vision may not be completely literal, but the idea underlying it is clear. On the day of Jesus final judgment, there will be no need for a Hades, because there will be no more death. Death itself will be destroyed, burned up, finished, no longer any part of Gods good creation.

So there is something very good about the lake of fire. Because it represents the end of everything bad that happens in this world. It represents the destruction of evil, and everything associated with it. Justice will be done, every injustice righted. It is a great triumph of good over evil!

But as part of that triumph, it also means that every human must stand and be judged for any injustices that we have done.

And thats where we need to read v15, a picture that speaks for itself:

Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)

Its a sobering picture, isnt it. A graphic picture of Gods judgment, in which human life is lost. Verse 14 called it the second death. Jesus himself called it hell, and he spoke about it more than anyone else in the entire Bible. Because he doesnt want us to end up there.

Judging humans guilty is the last thing God wants to do. The big story of the Bible is the story of Gods plan to reverse the curse of sin and death, and to restore his good creation, so that we humans can enjoy life with God, just as he intended it to be in the beginning.

And thats where this sobering passage has a happy ending. Did you notice the other book that was mentioned?

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The Book of Life

The first books are records of our sins. Records that lead to death.

But the other book is the book of life. And those whose names are written in the book of life escape the lake of fire. They escape the second death. Do you see that in v15?

I love this. Because it means that there is hope for sinners like me to be saved.

You see, the book of life isnt anything about what weve done. It is purely about whether Jesus knows us, whether we belong to him, whether weve come to him for forgiveness.

Because when we are friends with Jesus, we dont get what we deserve. Theres an old Dennis the Menace cartoon, where

Jesus doesnt forgive our sins because we are nice, but because he is nice. Like it says in my favorite verse (Romans 5:8)

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Do you remember at the beginning of our passage today, the description of the one sitting on the throne of judgment? It was unclear who was on the throne, wasnt it.

Something else I love about Revelation is the way that God and Jesus are both pictured on the throne at different times, and sometimes together. But when Jesus is on the throne, he is referred to as the Lamb, or the lamb that looked like it had been slain.

In the OT sacrificial system, when Gods people sinned, they would bring a lamb to the temple, and it would be killed. It was a symbol of Gods punishment for sin, but also his provision of a substitute a life given for a life.

Gods Lamb, Jesus Christ, gave his life for our life thats what the cross was about.

And it will be Gods Lamb sitting on the judgment throne on that day that this passage speaks about. The day we all have an encounter with Jesus.

And the Lamb is the one you want on the judgment throne, because Jesus is the one who knows if you belong to him, if youve given your life to him. It is he alone who will have written

Wilson's house, their hands full of cookies. Joey says, "I wonder what we did to deserve this."

Dennis answers, "Look, Joey. Mrs. Wilson doesnt give us cookies because we're nice. She gives

us cookies because she's nice."

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Dennis and his friend Joey are leaving Mrs.

your name in his book of life, and he alone who has the power to save you from the second death. Know the Lamb, and you will know life...

Shall we pray?

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A criminal meets Jesus in his dying moments, and receives a welcome that noe of us deserve.

Encounters with Jesus8. The Thief on the Cross Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor

Luke 23:32-43 5 June 2022

An old preacher was dying. He sent a message for his banker and his lawyer, both church members, to come to his home.

When they arrived, they were ushered up to his bedroom. As they entered the room, the preacher held out his hands and motioned for them to sit on each side of the bed. The preacher grasped their hands, sighed contentedly, smiled, and stared at the ceiling.

For a time, no one said anything. Both the banker and lawyer were touched and flattered that the preacher would ask them to be with him during his final moments. They were also puzzled; the preacher had never given them any indication that he particularly liked either of them. They both remembered his many long, uncomfortable sermons about greed, covetousness, and avaricious behavior that made them squirm in their seats.

Finally, the banker said, Preacher, why did you ask us to come?

The old preacher mustered up his strength and then said weakly, Jesus died between two thieves, and thats how I want to go.

~

Well, our story today is exactly that Jesus dying between two thieves. But its also the story of a dying man who had an encounter with Jesus, and it changed everything for him...

So why dont we pray that God would reveal the truth of what happened that day as we open his word.

Heavenly Father, as we open your Bible today, help us to have a fresh encounter with Jesus. Help us to see him in new ways, to meet him in new ways, and to trust him in a way that changes everything. Father, help us to encounter Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen

Well we are almost at the end of our sermon series called Encounters with Jesus. Just one more week to go after today. Its a series all about what happens when people meet Jesus, and how a whole life can be changed just from that one encounter.

And thats exactly what well see for one of the characters in our Bible passage today.

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Now our story takes place on the very first Easter, the very first Good Friday. And so this encounter with Jesus is one that takes place in confronting circumstances. It takes place while Jesus is on the cross.

A week before our passage, Jesus had entered Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, with people shouting out Hosanna! Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!

But where our passage begins, just a week later, the king is sentenced to death.

Jesus had been arrested, beaten, and dragged before the Jewish religious council, accused of blasphemy.1 Seeking the death penalty, they religious leaders brought Jesus to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate for trial. Pilate finds no basis for a charge, but the crowd bays for Jesus blood. And so Pilate gives in to their demands. Jesus is handed over to be killed.

And thats where our passage begins:

32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminalsone on his right, the other on his left.

34 Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

(Luke 23:32-34)

Disinterest

Im always struck by Lukes account of the cross. For all the drama that had happened in the leadup to this moment the late-night arrest in the garden, the court-room travesty with Pilate, the crowds shouting Crucify him! this moment seems to leave all the drama behind. Listen again to the language Luke chooses to describe what happens at the place of the Skull (btw this is where we get Calvary from its the Latin word for skull).

33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminalsone on his right, the other on his left.

Luke skips over the horrifying details of the crucifixion the reality of men nailed to large wooden beams and hung up to slowly die Luke skips over that detail. Perhaps because the detail is too hard to think about, too much to process. So we kind of block it out, whitewash it and quickly make the cross a symbol of hope and victory, rather than the symbol of torture that it was. Maybe thats it...

1 Matthew 26:65

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Or maybe Luke skipped over the detail because he was making a point about the soldiers who performed the crucifixion.

The soldiers are more interested in gambling for Jesus clothing, than they are in him. Jesus didnt matter to them they were just following orders, it was just another day like any other, and Jesus was no more special than the criminals they hung either side of him.

The soldiers have an encounter with Jesus. And it means nothing to them. These verses have a kind of impersonal ring to them, and I think its to reflect the absolute disinterest of the soldiers.

I think lots of people share the same disinterested attitude towards Jesus. They know about Jesus. They know what happened on the cross that Jesus was killed. Perhaps they even know he was killed somehow for them. But they dont pay it more than a moments attention. Theres a detachment, an impersonal response to Jesus, and an impersonal response to the cross. Their encounter with Jesus is characterized by... disinterest.

Disdain

The second set of encounters with Jesus in the passage is much more personal. Luke captures the disdain of some of those watching the crucifixion:

35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, He saved others; let him save himself if he is Gods Messiah, the Chosen One. (Luke 23:35)

Im not sure what to make of the people who were watching. Luke just tells us that they were there. Was an execution seen as some kind of grotesque entertainment? It seems perverse, even voyeuristic. I want to think that were different as a society, but Im not so sure. Ill leave that for you to ponder.

Then there are the rulers these were the religious rulers who had conspired to have Jesus killed. They are there at the execution to sneer at Jesus. They mock him. They take pleasure in his demise, performing for the crowd with a show of sarcastic comments. (v35)

He saved others; let him save himself if he is Gods Messiah, the Chosen One. (Luke 23:35)

Its disturbing to me that religious people would speak this way.

Yes, these leaders had their reasons for punishing Jesus. They thought that Jesus had done the wrong thing. That was the heart of their complaint everything about Jesus ministry had painted him as the Messiah, the long-awaited savior king of Gods people.

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But this Messiah had challenged their traditions, their interpretation of the Old Testament Scriptures. He had threatened their authority, as he questioned the genuineness of their faith. They were right to be angry. Jesus told them that they werent good enough, even as seemingly upright, religious people...

And so they lashed out.

I want to hit pause on the sermon for just a moment, to come back to that thought I offered a moment ago. I find it really disturbing that Gods people, would delight in this kind of mocking of enemies. That they would delight in Jesus demise and take such smug pleasure in it.

Especially when Jesus himself taught that we ought to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Jesus had practiced what he preached. Look back at v34 did you see it? Even as the soldiers crucified Jesus, he prayed:

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. (Luke 23:34)

There is something very disarming about sowing peace where others expect a fight. Sowing love where others are preaching hate. Seeking to understand when everyone else wants to create division. We learn an important lesson from this encounter between Jesus and the religious teachers: as Gods people who follow after Jesus, let us never take pleasure in the demise of our enemies. Lets keep praying for them, keep loving them, because you never know what opportunities might open up for genuine dialogue, and the chance to change someones life...

But back to the story. The religious rulers, their encounter with Jesus is characterized by their disdain. In fact, if you look at v35, they dont even speak directly to Jesus they just speak about him in front of the crowd, belittling him.

He saved others; let him save himself if he is Gods Messiah, the Chosen One. (Luke 23:35)

Funny, that was the same thing the devil had said to Jesus in the wilderness: if you are the Son of God... (Matthew 4:3,6)

The soldiers join in the taunting. (v36)

36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. (Luke 23:36)

Even one of the criminals crucified beside Jesus takes up the cry: (v39)

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: Arent you the Messiah? Save yourself and us! (Luke 23:39)

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Disdain. Thats the attitude towards Jesus in these encounters. Disdain for Jesus because the cross is a symbol of weakness, and shame, and failure.

Disdain because the Messiah that they pictured would be an all-conquering king, a redeemer of his people, a mighty warrior, not this beaten and bloodied figure hung up to die.

Disdain because for all Jesus talk of saving others, it didnt look like he was able to save himself, let alone anyone else...

I sometimes wonder why people have so much disdain for Christians. Perhaps its because they see Jesus the way the rulers, and the soldiers, and the criminal saw Jesus. They dont see success; they only see failure. They dont see strength, they see weakness. They dont see a savior because weve been taught that salvation means winning all the time.

Its so frustrating because everybody there that day got it that Jesus was meant to save. They understand that saving is Jesus core mission.

But they dont understand how Jesus saves. And so they write him off as a joke, just like they write Christians off as sad, pathetic, pitiable fools... They encounter Jesus, but cant see past the foolishness of the cross.

Thats the second encounter with Jesus an encounter characterized by disdain.

Deserving

And that brings us to the final encounter in our passage. The story of the second criminal, who saw what the other criminal could not.

Remember the first criminal hurled insults at Jesus (v39): Arent you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!

40 But the other criminal rebuked him. Dont you fear God, he said, since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. (Luke 23:39-40)

The second criminal brings us back to the reality of the scene Jesus and two other men have been nailed to crosses, and all three are on their way to death. It seems almost impossible that the first criminal is still spitting out venom at Jesus, even in the throes of death. Maybe he expected Jesus to save them all, like in the old Western movies when somebody was about to get hung, and then the good guys shoot the rope and they escape.

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But there was no escape from the cross. And the second criminal knew that he and his friend werent the good guys. They were the baddies. Their crimes had caught up with them, and they were getting what they deserved. They were being punished justly.

But he also knows that Jesus wasnt one of the baddies. This man has done nothing wrong... (v40) he says to his friend.

And this idea stands at the heart of the cross, and why Jesus had to die that way. The Bible is very clear that each one of us does things that arent right, or good. Thats what sin is. Things we do, but also our attitude to God.

Did you notice in v40, the second criminal says to the first: Dont you fear God?

The Bible says that when we die, we will be held accountable for the things we do in this lifetime. And like the criminals on the cross, our sin renders us guilty before God, and deserving of death.

But our passage today is a reminder that God does not want to give us what we deserve, when it comes to punishment. God isnt like the religious rulers, sneering at us and mocking us in our failure. Hes like Jesus who loves his enemies and desires good for us. He offers forgiveness and not punishment, at least not for us.

This week Jo and I watched the fire burning on the side of Soda Canyon. It was scary to see it so close, and so close to the homes of people we love. What is amazing is that you can see where the airtankers dropped the fire retardant it looks like big strips of red paint on the side of the hill. In some places, you can see that the fire burned right up to the retardant, then stopped.

Theres another way to stop the fire, and thats by back burning. (Do you use that expression in the US?) In Australia, the fire crews used controlled back burning in winter to create fire breaks around key structures and to remove the build-up of undergrowth. The firemen burn the ground, so that when the wildfire comes, there is nothing left to burn.

And thats the same with Gods punishment of sins. God pours out our judgment on Jesus, so that when his judgment comes to us, there is nothing left to fan the flames, nothing left to punish. Jesus who never did anything wrong stands in the way of our judgment, so that we dont receive what we deserve.

Thats love. Thats mercy. And thats the gift that God the Father and God the Son made available that day on the cross. He made it possible for the criminal to go free.

And thats how the story ends for criminal #2. (Reading from v42)42 Then [the criminal] said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

43 Jesus answered him, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. 6

Today, you will be with me in paradise...

That was the second last thing Jesus ever said. He promises a criminal that he will go to heaven. Truly I tell you, Jesus says.

There is something special about this story, because it tells us how much we earn our way to heaven. How much we deserve our salvation.

And the answer is: not at all.

There is nothing this man does, other than acknowledge Jesus as his only hope. He hangs his hope on Jesus. He sees the kingdom of Jesus that everybody else was blind to. And he asks Jesus to look after him in his death...

Such a simple picture of faith.

I wonder how many people get to their death bed, and look back on their life and realize there are parts that they are not proud of. Parts that werent good. Things that they want to make right. I would guess that a lot of people turn to God in those dying moments, and like the criminal, I believe that Jesus welcomes them just like he welcomed the thief on the cross.

But I also dont think thats how God wants us to live our lives doing whatever we want and then repenting on our deathbed. If thats your plan, it feels a little disingenuous, a little insincere. The thief on the cross he had a moment of clarity before it was too late. We need to make sure that we dont leave it too late because you never know when Jesus will return, or call us home.

I think there is another type of person who gets to their death bed, and the thought of their sins is too much to bear. BTW you dont need to be on your death bed to have this realization. I had a friend who joined the army and did a couple of tours in Afghanistan, and at age 20 he didnt believe God could forgive him for the things he had done.

But this story of the thief on the cross is a story that tells us there is nothing God cant forgive. The theme of forgiveness is the subplot of the entire Bible, as God undoes the curse of sin so that he can welcome his children back into the garden once more.

Do you believe that?In John 6:37, Jesus says:

whoever comes to me I will never drive away. (John 6:37)

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That means, if you come to Jesus, no matter what youve done, no matter what sin you have committed, Jesus will never drive you away, if you come with sincere intentions desiring to be saved.

It almost seems too good to be true. And some of you are like my friend perhaps there are things that you cant even forgive yourself for, let alone asking God to forgive.

But Jesus says: Whoever comes to me, I will never drive away...John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrims Progress, imagines the conversation between us and Jesus

(in kind of 17th century language, but youll get the gist...)

But I am a great sinner, say you.I will in no wise cast out, says Christ.

But I am an old sinner, say you.I will in no wise cast out, says Christ.

But I am a hard-hearted sinner, say you. I will in no wise cast out, says Christ.

But I am a backsliding sinner, say you.I will in no wise cast out, says Christ.

But I have served Satan all my days, say you. I will in no wise cast out, says Christ.

But I have sinned against light, say you. I will in no wise cast out, says Christ.

But I have sinned against mercy, say you. I will in no wise cast out, says Christ.

But I have no good thing to bring with me, say you. I will in no wise cast out, says Christ.

- John Bunyan, Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ2

The thief on the cross knew that he was deserving of punishment, and undeserving of forgiveness. But thats the whole point we can never get to the point of deserving salvation, because we have all done things that God should not forgive us for. But he does.

Pastor and author Dane Ortlund says:

With Christ, our sins and weaknesses are the very resume items that qualify us to approach him. Nothing but coming to him is required first at conversion and a thousand times thereafter until we are with him upon death.

- Dan Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly

2 In Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly, p62

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The story of the thief on the cross reminds us that there is no more important conversation to have with Jesus:

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Jesus answered him, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. Will you pray with me?

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This encounter is a little different.It is an encounter between Jesus and the devil; anencounter where the devil tempts, or tests Jesus; and an encounter that reveals an importanttruth about character Jesus character, and our own character in the face of temptation.

Encounters with Jesus7. Meeting Temptation Dan Bidwell, Senior Pastor

Matthew 4:1-11 Sunday 29 May 2022

Im not sure what you think about the sermon at church each week, and how important it is. You know, if you listed out everything that makes church church, where would the sermon sit in importance? Theres singing, praying together, taking communion, just having fellowship and catching up with people, theres the Bible reading and then theres the sermon. And so I wonder how important do you think the sermon is, in that list of excellent things we do together at church...

When I first became a Christian age 16, our Senior Pastor at church was a Bible scholar, a PhD in Old Testament. He has written a bunch of commentaries, and he went from our church to become the Principal of the Bible College that I eventually went to.

So I grew up as a Christian with this Bible teacher who brought the scriptures alive. He loved Jesus, and he loved Gods word. And he described the sermon as a feast, where we sit down at the table with Gods word and open up the feast that God sets out before us, where we eat and drink of the story of Gods love in the world until we are filled each week, ready to go out and share that love with others...

Is that how you think of Gods word?

Because today well hear Jesus teach that man doesnt live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God...

So why dont we pray that God would feed us now, as we listen to the words that come from his mouth, as we open the Bible together.

Our heavenly Father, thank you for your word, for speaking to us, for teaching us, rebuking us, correcting us and training us in all righteousness thorough it. We pray that you would speak to our hearts today, and equip us for every good work as your servants in this world. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen

So we are in the middle of our sermon series called Encounters with Jesus. Its all about people who met Jesus and were changed by it.

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Todays encounter is a little bit different. It is an encounter between Jesus and the devil; an encounter where the devil tempts, or tests Jesus; and an encounter that reveals an important truth about character Jesus character, and our own character in the face of temptation.

So why dont we get into it.

Just to situate you in the timeline of Jesus life and ministry, this story happens right at the beginning of his public ministry, technically just before it. In Matthew 3, Jesus gets baptized in the River Jordan by his cousin John the Baptist, the spirit of God descends on him like a dove and Gods voice speaks from heaven:

This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:17)

Its this moment of confirmation for Jesus, that he is exactly who he grew up believing he was the Son of God. And we expect this to be the launch of his public career.

Thats not what happens.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1)

Before Jesus goes public, he will undergo 40 days of testing, 40 days of fasting, 40 days alone in the wilderness with the devil sitting on his shoulder whispering into his ear...

Did you notice, though, that its not the devil who is in charge. Look at v1 again: Jesus was led into the wilderness by whom?

By the Spirit.

So whatever takes place in the wilderness, it is in Gods presence, with Gods permission, under the Guidance of Gods spirit.

Interesting for our lives, that will be true of us whenever we face temptations of many kinds. We might think that we are in the wilderness, but we are never alone... God is always with us. Thats how Matthews gospel finishes with Jesus promising, surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age...

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So... Jesus is led into the wilderness where for 40 days and 40 nights he will be tempted, or tested, by the devil. This is Gods purpose for the 40 days and 40 nights.

Whenever we see the number 40 in the Bible, were reminded of judgment... The flood in Genesis 6, where God caused rain to fall for 40 days and 40 nights flooding the whole earth and wiping out everyone except for Noah and his family, because of the sinfulness of people on the earth.

And then we think of Exodus, of Gods people wandering in the wilderness for 40 years in the time of Moses, under Gods judgment because they didnt trust that God would bring them safely into the promised land.

So this 40 days and 40 nights for Jesus reminds us of those judgment stories. But here Jesus has a chance to do over the mistakes of Gods people past. That is, Jesus has a chance to face the temptations that are common to Gods people, and he has a chance to live up to the standards that God set for all of humanity. This story is Jesus getting a do-over, a chance to undo the mistakes of Gods people, a second chance for us all...

So Jesus spends 40 days and 40 nights without eating. It says in v2 that after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

When I was a kid, I did the 40 hour famine. Did they have that here? I think it was for World Vision, raising money and raising awareness of the poverty and hunger that are so terrible in developing nations. Anyway, for the 40 Hour Famine you would raise sponsorship and then on a particular weekend, you didnt eat from Friday night until Sunday morning, or something like that (math!). It was a great cause, but 40 hours is a long time to go hungry.

Jesus went 40 days without food.

And he was hungry. In our family, when people get a little bit angry with one another, we often say I think you need to eat something. Do you know the expression hangry hungry and angry hangry...

When you are hungry/hangry, we all find it harder to control our temper. And this is exactly the moment that the devil shows up to tempt Jesus.

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BTW tempting the same word used later on when the teachers of the law come to test Jesus, when they tried to trap him with questions of the law. Here the devil is trying to tempt Jesus or trap him into sinning just like Gods people had done in the past...

Now we may not like testing, but testing reveals character. When were tested, it reveals our character. It shows what we value deep down. What does this testing of Jesus reveal about his character?

Look at v3 with me. The tempter comes. And he says to Jesus:If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. (Matthew 4:3)

If...In Matthews gospel, Jesus is portrayed as the Son of God from chapter 1, and thats what God

said about him at his baptism This is my Son, whom I love...But the Devil now asks, are you really the Son of God? He wants to instill doubt in Jesus, just

like he did with Adam and Eve in the garden. Did God really say you musnt eat from that tree? If you are the Son of God, why dont you prove it?

Jesus is hungry and the devil says, you can end your hunger. You can tell these stones to become bread. Then youll know that you really are the Son of God. But if you dont, whats to say you arent just imagining the whole thing...

Now Jesus could have turned the stones into bread, just like God provided manna in the desert to the Israelites during their 40 years in the desert. He could have fed himself. And 10 chapters from here, Jesus will feed the 5000 in the wilderness, doing just what the devil tempts him to do here.

But thats not the reason behind this period of testing in the wilderness. No. v4 tells us what Jesus focus was in the wilderness.

Jesus answered [the tempter], It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

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Jesus is in the wilderness learning to trust Gods word. To trust every promise that comes from the mouth of God. His stomach may be empty, but he knows that our daily bread comes from God.

Sometimes when our refrigerators are full, we forget that we need God at all. We have everything we need... There is something about hunger that sharpens our focus, something about waiting that teaches us to rely on God to provide.

Jesus was learning to wait on Gods provision, to trust in Gods provision, even when the wait left his stomach crying out to be filled... There are many aches in this life, many pains that cause us to cry out to God, How long? Not just hunger but sickness, loss, grief, depression, loneliness... There will be some of us here deep in that season right now.

In those moments, how do we respond? How does Jesus respond? He says:

Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

In the season of hunger, Jesus reaches into the storehouse of scriptures that hidden away in his heart, and he reminds himself of what God told the Israelites in the desert. God had led them for 40 years in the desert to humble them, and to teach them to trust every word that God speaks. The God who spoke creation into being, the God who promised to bring them into the promised land, the God who promises to bring us into the heavenly promised land.

We can trust every word that comes from Gods mouth.

And in the moment of temptation, in the moments when were tempted to doubt Gods goodness, to doubt Gods provision, Jesus teaches us to go back to Gods word. To remind ourselves of all that he has promised.

God doesnt promise Christians a life of ease, a life of limitless blessing and perfect health. We all know that from our own experience, otherwise Gods a liar. No, just like Jesus, this life can often lead us into the wilderness, to periods of hunger, to periods of waiting before God unveils the glory that will be revealed in us, as Romans 8:18 says.

And so how do we remind ourselves of Gods good promises? The answer is to store up Gods 5

word in our hearts, just like Jesus did. Just like the Psalmist teaches in Psalm 119, the verse we read at the beginning of church.

The Psalmist says:

I have hidden your word in my heartthat I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)

So the question for us is, what are you doing to hide Gods word in your heart?What are you doing day by day to meditate on Gods word, to hear Gods word, to find comfort

in Gods word?

There is a verse in Psalm 119:35 where the Psalmist says he finds his delight in Gods word. If I were to picture an amazing day off, I would delight in getting a nice coffee and a nice brioche and spending hours by the pool reading a great book. Well the Psalmist pictures the same, only he imagines that that book is the Bible.

What delights you? Is it something that helps you draw near to God, or something that distracts you from his promises?

Just two verses after the Psalmist talks about his delight in Gods word, he acknowledges that there are so many worthless things we can fix our eyes on (Psalm 119:37). And so I think the Psalm is all about asking God to help us find our delight in the right things, in the things of God. In Gods word.

So what are you doing to find your delight in Gods word, to store it up in your heart? If you want some suggestions, come and ask me what I do, ask the person you came to church with today what theyre doing. Maybe you could start with Psalm 119. But you need to start somewhere.

And one day in the Bible turns into two days, and two days turns into a week, and weeks into months, months into years... and all that time you are teaching yourself that life is found in every word that comes from the mouth of God.

And youre not just teaching yourself. Its God teaching you, as his Holy Spirit works through the words on the page to speak to your heart. Like it says in Hebrews 4:

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the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

So thats the first big idea. Storing up Gods word for the time of testing...

The second and third ideas will be much shorter, youll be pleased to know ;-)

So the first temptation began: If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.

The second temptation begins the same way. V5: The devil took Jesus to the holy city (Jerusalem), has him stand on the highest point of the temple and says:

If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you,

and they will lift you up in their hands,so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. (Matthew 4:6)

Jesus said that he lives on every word that comes out of Gods mouth, so the devil quotes the scriptures at Jesus. (Kind of scary, to think that the devil knows Gods word, and knows how to twist it. Thats partly why we need to know it so well, and to hid it in our heart, so that we know what is true, and what is a lie!)

The devil says to Jesus, if you trust Gods word, then jump off the temple because Gods word says that angels will rescue you. If you are the Son of God...

The first temptation was about provision. This temptation is about protection.

And the devil dares Jesus to take a leap of faith... Prove to himself that God will rescue him, prove that you are the son of God. Call in all the privileges of your position. You can do whatever you want. You dont need to set a foot down for the rest of your life, you never need to get tired, or fight any battles. The angels will do it all for you...

That wasnt the path that Jesus walked, was it. He didnt live the pampered life of a king. In fact he wasnt spared any of the humanity that we all share hunger, tiredness, and the temptation to take the easy way out. Jesus never took the easy way out. He did what needed to be done to undo the curse of sin, to undo our failures.

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He never took the easy way out.

Not here in the desert. And not on the cross, not even when one of the thieves crucified beside Jesus said the same thing the devil said: If you are the Son of God, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you really are the Son of God...

You see, Jesus understood that being the Christ meant following the path of the suffering servant, before being revealed as the glorious king over all. He would be pierced for our transgressions, and led like a lamb to the slaughter, as the prophecy in Isaiah predicted (Isa 53).

And only after that would he would be given all authority and glory and sovereign power and everlasting dominion, as Daniel prophesied. On that day people of every nation would bow down and worship Jesus as king over all (Dan 7:14), exalted to the highest place, with every knee in heaven and on earth and under the earth bowing down and acknowledging Jesus as Lord (Phil 2:10)

Suffering and then glory.

Thats why the third temptation is so underwhelming to Jesus. The devil offers him all the kingdoms of the world, if only Jesus would bow down and worship the devil.

At that point, Jesus says (v10), Away from me, Satan... I know who I worship, God alone, and I serve him only.

None of us are the Messiah, but we can all be tempted by power. Or tempted to demand Gods protection.

Ive known people who walked away from God because they thought he should have cured their cancer, or kept their life from difficulty. Ive known plenty of people who have walked away from God because of the lure of power, the lure of the world and all its splendour. Money, sex, power, prestige, privilege. They wanted it all now.

And some preachers will offer that now, theyll promise victory and success and freedom from the struggles of this life... If you hear that, ask yourself if thats the path Jesus promises in this passage, or anywhere else in the New Testament.

Yes he offers us life to the full, but he also taught us that servant is not greater than his master.

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If they persecuted Jesus, they will persecute you also. God doesnt promise us a life free of suffering.

But he does promise to provide, according to his plan. He will protect, according to his plan. And he will bring us into the kingdom that is greater than any this world has ever known, and there we will know life to the full, life without the suffering of this lifetime, life without the pain or death or tears of this lifetime...

Thats what God promises. Its all in his word. Do you trust it? Do you trust him? Lets pray...

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Watch at: https://youtu.be/4i3XW3zt8mg File Downloads: https://dq5pwpg1q8ru0.cloudfront.net/2022/06/04/22/33/07/10aaf928-ccf5-49ec-a181-628719ce31b7/06.05.22%20%20Sunday%20Sermon%20Transcript.pdf