Beatitudes #6

DESIRE FOR A PURE HEART

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.”

Pure. What does that word make you think of? Pure gold? Pure milk? Pure honey?

            Most products that we buy in the store are not pure anything. Cleaning products advertise 99% effectiveness in killing germs. Food products might contain pure ingredients but contain additives that we can’t pronounce.

            But we know that honey is a pure product. Unless it comes from China. The world’s largest producer of honey, China is actually notorious for NOT producing the purest honey. On the one hand, Chinese honey contains a banned antibiotic chloramphenicol which is used by farmers to keep bees from falling ill. The European Union outlawed Chinese honey as a result. On the other hand, Chinese honey producers dilute their honey. They will inject honey with liters of water, heat it, pass it through an ultrafine ceramic or carbon filter, and then distill it into syrup. This process will take out the antibiotic impurities but you won’t think its good honey.

            Your best option for pure honey is to buy Kleefeld honey. But you knew that already. Kleefeld honey is pure honey – it says so right on the container. Sharon had bought some “other” honey a while back and I could tell the difference. From now on, I said, let me buy the honey. When you have had pure anything, the impure version does not satisfy.

            Jesus makes a startling statement when he said, “Blessed are the pure in heart…” Those whose hearts are 100% will see God. The most obvious question we face in this beatitude is, what is a pure heart? The next question is, do I have a pure heart? How do I get one?

            The short answer is: A pure heart is one that is totally committed to living a life that pleases God. That is the target, but we need to meditate on this blessing before we understand that statement.

1. The Anatomy of a Pure Heart

a) What is a pure heart? The Greek word for “pure” is katharos. You might recognize the English “catheter.” A catheter is an instrument that removes impurities from the body. The Greek noun suggests that the heart is already pure or clean through the removal of contamination. The OT contains some examples of what we mean by “pure.”

            David wrote, “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false” (Ps 24:3-4). David tells us that a pure heart is devoted to God. Another way to say this is: a pure heart is single-minded. A person who loves God, loves only God, and does not share that allegiance with anything or anyone. A pure heart recognizes only God as God.

            Later on in the SOM, Jesus talks about the heart. He says, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Jesus clearly speaks about the lure of wealth, something that can take our hearts away from God. He says no one can serve two masters – that would be double-minded.

            A pure heart also loves the truth. It is painstakingly truthful and free from deceitfulness. Deceit is what you do when you will two things, not one thing. You want to do one thing but you want people to believe that you are better than that. If we show people what they want to see in us rather than who we really are, we are deceiving them and ourselves. A pure heart lives the truth, shows the truth of who we are – “poor in spirit” as Jesus began the beatitudes. A pure heart loves the truth, as David declared of God, “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts…” (Ps 51:6).

            In keeping with this thought, a pure heart is transparent. It is not afraid to let people see the hidden rooms of its life. If you have a pure heart we will see that the person before us is the same person we see in private. The pure in heart will not bless you to your face and curse you to your back. No, the pure in heart are utterly sincere so that we can take their words at face value. Their whole life, public and private, is transparent before God and people. Their thoughts and motives are unmixed with anything devious, ulterior, or crude. Hypocrisy is detestable to them.

            Though we know this truth, we seldom remember that God sees all. A pure heart is bare before God. David said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps 139:23-24). A pure heart wants God to examine it and to surgically remove offense.

b) How can I have a pure heart? These are but three of the many aspects of a pure heart – I could mention more. But the question on your hearts and mine is no doubt the same: How can I have a pure heart like this? As a Christian who wants to please God, this should be our desire. So how do we go about growing a heart like this?

            You can’t. It would appear to be an impossibility. You cannot grow a heart like this. You cannot train your heart to be pure. You cannot learn enough or do enough good to get a heart like this. The Russian novelist, Ivan Turgenev, said, “I do not know what the heart of a bad man is like. But I do know what the heart of a good man is like. And it is terrible.”

            The Bible has said this all along. When humankind spiraled into sin the first chapters of Genesis, the writer declared that God saw that the heart of humans was only evil all the time (Gen 6:5). And the prophet Jeremiah famously said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jer 17:9). Beyond cure…

            If your heart is like mine it is a lying heart. Deceitful, is what Jeremiah said. My heart lies to me. In one instance it tells me I am no good, that others are better at living the Christian life. It deceives me into thinking I am beyond hope of Christ’s redemption. On the other hand, my heart likes to puff itself up and look down on others who are not as mature or as educated as I would like them to be. Isn’t your heart like this too? Kind of double-minded right?

            But Jesus did not give us a standard of “pure heart” and then stand back to watch us flail at an impossible height. Scripture tells us that while you cannot attain a pure heart on your own, a pure heart is given to us.

            First of all, there has only been one man who has had a pure heart, Jesus Christ. His singular focus on the Father’s will is beyond comparison. Christ’s love on the cross is the one act of pure love, unsullied by any taint of ulterior motive that has ever been performed in the history of the world. It is the self-giving of God in Christ on the cross for undeserving sinners.

            And second, it is through believing in this beautiful Savior that the promise of a pure heart is realized. Jeremiah prophesied, “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts…I will give them singleness of heart and action…” (Jer 31:33; 32:39). God promised that one day people would not struggle to have pure hearts; He would give them pure hearts so that they could focus on Him.

            So the answer to having a pure heart is to acknowledge that a pure heart is not attained by our own efforts; a pure heart is created in us through faith. David, the man after God’s own heart, prayed, “Create in me a pure heart, O God…” (Ps 51:10). A heart that seeks God in all things – work, family, school, play and rest – is created only through being poor in spirit, mourning our sin, meekly seeking mercy, hungering and thirsting for what we desperately need, and finding it all in Jesus Christ.

2. The Satisfaction of having a Pure Heart

Now, the blessedness of being pure in heart is that these people will see God. This is the most comprehensive of all the blessings. Nothing but the sight of God will satisfy the longings of the disciple’s heart. But what did Jesus mean when he said that the pure in heart will see God?

            We are told by John the Evangelist, “No one has ever seen God, but God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known” (Jn 1:18). Even when Moses spoke to the Lord on behalf of Israel he only saw a form of God, or saw God’s back, as it were, when the Lord showed Moses His glory. In the OT we are told that if anyone saw God directly, face-to-face, they would die (Ex 10:28-29). Most likely this was because no one had a pure (read: sinless) heart. So when will the pure in heart see God?

            John is the one who told us that no one has ever seen God; he is also the one who said that we will see Him when we pass from this temporal world into eternity. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall we see him as he is” (1 Jn 3:2). So we will see God in eternity. There is a promise of ultimate transformation in these words: we will see God and that will make us become something brand new. The pure in heart can see God; and the reason the pure in heart are blessed with seeing God is because only the pure in heart will want to see God. And to see God will be life-changing.

            For some of us, this promise is so far in the future that we scarcely delight in it now. It is one of those theological ideas that we know is true but cannot grasp in real time. But I believe there is another aspect to the blessedness of seeing God. I believe we can see Him now.

            One of the only poets I care to read said this beautifully: “Earth is crammed with heaven, and every bush aflame with God, but only those who see take off their shoes” (Elizabeth Barrett Browning). To see God is not necessarily seeing God in heaven, but it is seeing God here and now. The pure in heart will see God in everything. Not just in nature, but also in their circumstances, good and bad, in their family, church, school, job and so on. Life is full of the fingerprints of God and those who seek Him will find Him in it.

            The Apostle Peter said something similar, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy…” (1 Pe 1:8). A pure heart, a single-minded devotion to Christ, will be able to find joy in life, even when others do not see it.

We often hear the expression “think with your mind, not with your heart,” or some variation of that. The point is that we tend to divide the mind and the heart. We see the mind as the seat of the intellect, logic, rational thinking; we see the heart as the seat of emotions, like love and other “gushy” feelings.

            The ancient Jews saw the heart and mind as one. The heart is the seat of the total person, the true person. If the appearance of a person said one thing, and the heart was totally opposite of the appearance, the heart would eventually betray the appearance. Our hearts will tell on us.

            When we allow Christ to come and rule our hearts, we allow Him to change that dichotomy, that dualism, that hypocrisy. We allow Jesus to transform us, giving us a pure heart that seeks one thing, lives one way, desires only God. Then we begin to have a heart that is pure and is committed to living a life that is totally pleasing to God. Obedience to the law of God written on hearts becomes a delight, not a duty.

            Does this describe your heart? Do you long to see God? If you long for this, if you realize your heart is not pure, I direct you to the beginning of these beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” because the beginning of this transformation is admitting that you need Jesus to change your heart. I know I do.

                                                            AMEN

Beatitudes #1

HAVE YOU GOT A “POOR” ATTITUDE?

Have you got a “poor” attitude? I’m not talking about a bad attitude, but a poor attitude.

            A bad attitude is a negative attitude or a cynical attitude. Like the bad attitude I had going into Ethan’s grade 9 grad last week. Katy’s grade 9 grad had sub-par food and not enough of it and we were stuck in a dark gym. So, armed with my low expectations I was pleasantly surprised to have good food and great company in a really nice outdoor setting. See, my bad attitude served me well.

            But a “poor” attitude is not self-serving like a bad attitude. A “poor” attitude like the one Jesus commends in Matthew 5:3 is essential to being a disciple of Christ. Having a “poor” attitude means acknowledging that we come before God with nothing. It means admitting that we are spiritually bankrupt when faced with our true condition as human beings before Almighty God.

            Before we explore the heart of this attitude, we need to put it into context. We are starting a summer series on what is known as the Beatitudes. That’s a fancy Latin name for “Blessed.” We want to look at the nine “Blesseds” that begin the Sermon on the Mount.

1. Defining “Blessed”

There is so much that could be said about the Sermon on the Mount. The imagery, the setting, and the importance of what Jesus said and did are heavy with meaning. “Jesus saw the crowds,” or literally, He saw the people, He saw the nation of Israel. So Jesus goes up on a mountain and begins to teach – shades of Moses and the giving of the Law. That’s exactly what Jesus meant to do.

            But notice that those who come to Jesus on the mountainside are His disciples. Not just the general crowd; these are specifically those who came to follow Jesus as their Rabbi. These He begins to teach. To these He explains the Beatitudes. Let’s look at three aspects of the “Blesseds.”

a) The People – The people Jesus describes are not 8 separate people or kinds of disciples – some being meek and others being merciful. They are 8 qualities (8 because 8^th and 9^th are the same) of the same group who are all meek, merciful, etc. This is not an elite group of super-Christians; the Beatitudes are Christ’s expectations of all of us who are called Christian. Just as the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit is one all-encompassing fruit (Love, Joy, Peace…), so also the 8 Beatitudes are singularly the character of a follower of the Lord Jesus.

b) The Attitudes – The attitudes Jesus commends are not literal. That is, we are not called to be poor, to live in poverty per se. Though Jesus does teach that money can stunt a Christian’s growth. But He does not expect us to be poor, or to go around hungry. Being poor and hungry does not make you more spiritual than those who have a full plate. What Jesus refers to here are spiritual attitudes: Those who are poor in spirit; those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. These are the ones who are blessed.

c) The Blessings – Please understand that “Blessed” does not mean “happy” as some translations and speakers put it. Happiness is a subjective emotion and Jesus is making an objective evaluation of these people. He is not telling them what will make them feel happy, but what God thinks of them and what they are – blessed. If there is happiness involved it is an internal joy of being blessed by God. And the blessings comingle: It is not possible to inherit the kingdom of heaven without inheriting the earth, or to be comforted without being satisfied. These blessings belong together.

            One more thing bears mentioning. Jesus is not talking to unbelievers telling them how to be happy. The SOTM is for disciples. Go to the zoo and get to the lion’s cage and teach that lion millennial truth.  You teach that lion that he is going to lie down with a lamb and you get it clear in his mind.  Then you take him over and put him in with the lamb.  You know what will happen?  No lamb.  You know why?  That lion will not cooperate on the basis of the sermon.  The lion’s got to have a new nature.  You see?  You can’t preach the Sermon on the Mount to an unregenerate person and expect them to live it.  He’s got to have a new nature.  That all begins with poverty of spirit.

2. What does God want from you?

Have you ever wondered that? What does God want from me? There are standard answers we think of: faith, obedience, service. There must be something I have to do to be worthy of God’s love. Not according to Jesus’ first statement, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” (3a). Jesus wants us to have a “poor” attitude.

            There are two words for poor in the NT. The first speaks of a person for whom life is a struggle but manages to get by. They eke out a living. The second speaks of absolute poverty, being destitute, bankrupt. This person has no choice but to be a beggar. This second word for “poor” is the one Jesus uses in the first beatitude.

            In the OT, “poor” meant to be literally poor in material things. But over time, because the poor and needy had no place to turn but to God, being poor came to have spiritual meaning; poor meant “humble dependence on God.”

            So to be poor in spirit means three things:

a) To have a broken and contrite heart. This is the attitude of a person who knows that they have nothing to offer God. We know we can try to bring our good works, our charity to others, our service in the church to God, and still be bankrupt before Him. Like the story Jesus told of the unmerciful servant who owed his master millions and could not pay. We cannot pay God what we owe Him and we know it. But knowing this, we still come before the Lord and beg for His mercy.

            David got this. He said, “This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles” (Ps. 34:6). Later in this Psalm, David said, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (18). David knew he had no bargaining chips with God. He had nothing in his hands to convince God to act on his behalf. But David begged like a poor man. And God loves that attitude. Not that we should loathe ourselves, but admit what we are – spiritually poor.

b) To have a humble heart. It takes humility to admit that we are not all that we think we are and that we need help. Pride says, “Look at me. I’m a righteous dude. I’ve got it altogether,” like the Pharisee in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. Humility recognizes that any good there is in me comes from God – it is a gift and I can’t take credit. Pride compares myself to others – I’m not as bad as some people. Humility compares me with God and says, “Look at how far I’ve fallen short of God’s glory.” Humility makes me run to God.

c) To be dependent on God. I don’t often quote the Message but here goes: Peterson translates v. 3, “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” A poor attitude is one where we stop relying on ourselves and start relying on God.

            You might be wondering, “Am I poor in spirit?” Do I have that attitude? If I don’t, how do I adopt this attitude?

1) Look to Jesus. Now consider the cross of Christ. There is righteousness. There is the fullness of love. There all your sins were dealt with. When you look at the cross of Christ you realize your own state in comparison with the Lord Jesus. We become like Isaiah when he was in the throne room of God, before the Holy One, and we can’t even stand. That’s a “poor” attitude.

2) Humble yourself. You’ve got to. Confess your pride-filled heart. Do it every day. Recognize again and again that it is only by the grace of God that you live and have what you have.

3) Acknowledge God’s love. Even though you have nothing to bring before the throne of God – you are a pauper in the throne room of God, wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked (Rev. 3:17) – God loves you like crazy. Let that wash over you. God loves us the way we are, as we are, with nothing to show Him. And the greatness of His love does the work in us that we can’t do – changes us into the likeness of His Son Jesus Christ. “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son…” (Ro 8:29).

            That’s a “poor” attitude. That’s what Jesus calls “blessed.”

3. What does God want to give you?

Only His kingdom!

            Heaven belongs to the poor in spirit. Because they don’t deserve it, God gives it to them as a gift.

            The truth is, God wants rejects for His family. He wants failures, sinners, losers, geeks, and nerds. He wants rejects who see their failure and run to Him for help. To these who see themselves as they really are, Jesus says, “Come right in. This place was made for you.”

            Sure, in the future, all will be made right. But that’s future stuff. No, actually, the kingdom of heaven entered this realm of life when Jesus was crowned King at his death. The kingdom is now! And we who have received the kingdom have begun to know the kingdom of heaven when a kindness is shown, when a stranger is welcomed, when an outcast finds a family of believers to belong to.

            The kingdom of heaven is the reign of Christ in your life. When a Pharisee asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come visibly, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you” (Lk. 17:20-21).

            The kingdom of heaven reigns in you when you have that “poor” attitude that acknowledges Christ as King of your life. When you accept your status, Christ lives in you.

            Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary, tells of passing a little house at a railroad crossing. Inside the house was the flagman for the railroad. As Dr. Chafer looked inside, he saw the man reading a family Bible. Although the door said, “No Admittance,” Dr. Chafer walked in. “I saw you reading the book and wanted to greet you,” he said.

            “Oh, I read that book a great deal.”

            “But are you saved?”

            “No, I’m not. I never could be good enough to be saved.”

            Dr. Chafer thought for a moment and then said, “Friend, if God would make an exception in your case, and give you heaven as a free gift, would you receive it?”

            “I’m no fool mister. Sure, I’d take an offer like that. Who wouldn’t?”

            Dr. Chafer said, “Take your Bible and read John 10:28 and Romans 6:23.” The man read the verses which speak of eternal life as the gift of God.

            “Stranger, I don’t know who you are or where you’re from, but you’ve done more for me than any man.”

            “What have I done?” replied Dr. Chafer, “I’ve got you in a trap. You told me if it was a gift you’d accept it. Now what are you going to do about it?”

            “Well, I’ll accept it right now.” Dr. Chafer led the man to the Lord and went on his way. That’s the simplicity of salvation. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now what are you going to do about that?

            How about adopting a “poor” attitude?

                                                                       

                                                                        AMEN

Psalm 62

RESTING IN GOD ALONE

A four-year-old and a six-year-old presented their mom with a houseplant. They had used their own money to buy it and she was thrilled. The older of them said with a sad face, "There was a bouquet at the flower shop that we wanted to give you. It was real pretty but it was too expensive. It had a ribbon on it that said ‘Rest in Peace,’ and we thought it would be just perfect since you are always asking for a little peace so that you can rest.

            Do you need a rest?

            Ask someone how their week went and they will likely answer “busy.” That has become the automatic response out of our mouths these days. We frantically rush about making our lives busy with work, school, our kids’ after-school events, and social demands. One would almost be ashamed to say that their life is not busy. To be busy is to be productive, to be useful, to be important. But to be “busy” is practically and fundamentally idolatrous.

            Being “busy” has left no time for hospitality (a pastor colleague of mine shared a familiar observation – no one invites anyone over for Sunday dinner or visiting anymore). Being “busy” keeps us from being available to others or to God. Being “busy” has become a god in that we find our satisfaction and fulfillment in it.

            But being “busy” is exhausting. You need to rest.

            David wrote this Psalm (62) saying, “My soul finds rest in God alone…” The rest he speaks of could also be called security, comfort, peace of mind, or being at peace. David wrote this psalm, as he did all his psalms, out of personal experience. His sense of personal security was threatened and all that he depended on for peace had failed him. Once more, through trials and testing, David was reminded that true rest is found only in God. When life threatens your personal security, you will always find rest in God alone.

1. What threatens your security?

Applying Psalm 62 to our lives is difficult since few of us have ever been in the situation that David found himself in. Evil men were trying to kill him and take the throne; his own son, Absalom, tried to usurp the throne. The attacks on David’s rule and life seemed to be prolonged as David cried,

            “How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw down this leaning wall, this tottering fence?” (3). There were some serious threats to David’s security and well-being. One does not sleep in peace when all that you know and love is at risk of being taken away.

            David indicates that it would not take much to do him in: he calls himself a “tottering fence,” suggesting that he is wearied from all his troubles. His critics might imply that his troubles are the result of a lifetime of sins and bad choices. If he had lived a sinless life, David would know peace. Yeah, this is faulty theology. Look at Jesus, the sinless One, and the conflict and troubles he faced from others.

            No one is threatening your life, but perhaps that which you thought was secure and trustworthy is anything but.

            Young people often find comfort and security by having a sense of belonging, being part of the crowd, fitting in. They also gravitate to the newest thing because it’s cool and exciting (music, gadgets, etc.). But the new thing can quickly become old. Crowds and peers can often lead you in the wrong direction and leave you behind when you fall or fail to fit in with the current trend.

            People in midlife find their comfort and security in the lives they have built for themselves. The dream home, career, education, businesses – we put our stock in these things as status symbols and securities that we are successful or significant. But these things can disappoint too can’t they? Jobs can be lost; businesses succumb to financial downturns; homes foreclosed on.

            And if you survive the middle-ages, retire with your health and home and spouse, everything stable and secure with your RRSPs – that changes too. My dad has what a nurse called Alzheimer’s-like dementia. He’s on a loop that plays over and over. He says he has no wife, no house, no car, no money, and all his brothers and sisters are dead. He’s the only one left. As one senior told me, “these are not the golden years they promised me.”

            What threatens your security? Practically everything because everything is temporal. It lasts for a short time and then is gone.

2. In what do you find security?

I have mentioned a few things that we put our hopes in, or that we trust in for our futures. Obviously I can’t mention all of the securities that you depend upon for a peaceful life.

            David mentions two that failed him in his life. As king, David had the command of people as well as great wealth. When your subjects obey your commands and the coffers are full of gold, all is well. Or so it seems. David found out quickly that this was not enough:

            “Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance they are nothing; together they are only a breath,” (9).

            There are sayings that people go by: “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” – work with your enemies and give them positions near you in the office so that you can keep an eye on them. Here’s another, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” (the friend of my enemy is my enemy?) – so if we hate or oppose the same person, we’re on the same side. That’s no way to live, but it does seem to be a philosophy of our age. We take sides and build walls with this attitude, an attitude that contradicts “loving your enemy.”

            What David found, however, is that his friends, both common and noble could not be counted on. Unfortunately, they will disappoint you. The apostle Paul discovered this too in ministry when he sadly wrote to Timothy, “…for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me…” (2 Ti. 4:10). We walk a fine line of trusting people but not depending on them wholly.

            Psalm 118:8 even says, “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.”

            David also found that money could not save him from his problems: “Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them,” (10).

            Again Paul echoes David when he exhorted Timothy, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment,” (1 Ti. 6:17).

            The more you have, the more you can potentially lose. The more you think about how much you can lose, the more you worry about it. The more you worry about it, the less security it gives. Ultimately there is no rest for the wealthy.

3. What security do we find in God?

So obviously the answer to finding rest or security is going to be God. God is the answer. But why is He the answer? What did David finally concede is the truth about resting in God?

            We turn to what I call the bulls-eye of the psalm, verses 5-8. Here we find a heavenly treasure chest of reasons to find our rest in God alone.

            The first important observation we want to make is the word “alone.” The root of this word is found in vv. 1,2,4,5,6 and 9. It can be translated as “truly,” “only,” or “surely.” Whatever word you use, the meaning is that God exclusively is the object of our trust. Nine times “God” is directly or indirectly mentioned as the object of David’s faith. “My soul finds rest in God alone,” is a declaration of exclusive trust.

            Secondly, David makes this personal. Nine times he uses the personal possessive pronoun “my” to declare that the God he trusts in is “my God.” God is a personal God. He delights in relationship with His people, with those who acknowledge that He is God. He is not content to wind up creation and let it spin; God desires intimate relational connection with people. David recognizes that and claims God for his own. God is my God.

            David then uses several metaphors and expressions to tell his readers why God alone is the refuge of his soul.

God alone gives rest – This is the key theme of the Psalm: finding rest or security in life when everything crumbles at your feet. What does it mean to believe in God? It means having Someone greater than ourselves, mighty and powerful, caring and loving be our refuge and source when we are looking for good. To have a God is nothing less than to trust and believe Him with your own heart, and to say “My God,” to possess Him as He possesses me. This is the beginning of rest.

God alone gives hope – David said, “my hope comes from him.” Ravi Zacharias said, "Hope is that indispensable element that makes the present so important. Significantly, the absence of future hope has an amazing capacity to reach into the present and eat away at the structure of life, as termites would a giant foundation." I wonder if a person can say, “I hope…” and still profess not to believe in God? For what or in whom do they hope if not in someone greater than themselves? Hope is what keeps us alive. Without hope we have nothing to live for. Our hope comes from God alone who is overall and through all and in all things sovereign.

God alone is consistent – Twice David says God is his rock. A rock is something you build a fortress upon. A rock is steady and unchanging, consistent and steadfast in a storm. When floods and storms beat down, a rock is as safe a place as any. God is a rock: His love, His promises, His power, His character, and His grace are all unchanging. The writer of Hebrews declared that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever,” (Heb. 13:8). Jesus is the rock that doesn’t roll. You can count on Him to never lose power or grip of those He loves.

God alone saves – Three times, David says that God is his salvation. In our context we turn our gaze to the cross of Christ. I don’t think that eternity is what David had in mind, nor of this kind of salvation, though he believed God forgave his sins. I think David means “vindication” in the present tense. He believed that God would show that David was right to trust in Him by bringing about a positive result for David.

God alone is compassionate – What David discovered and told his people was to “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge,” (8). To whom else can you share all your fears and anxieties and not be ridiculed or told to grow up? God will not turn you away.

            A pastor went to see a lady in his church who seemed to always have troubles and difficulties. A new calamity had fallen upon her and she poured out her heart to the pastor crying, “What shall I do? What shall I do?” The pastor read scripture to her about God’s faithfulness and assurance that God cared. After he read Scripture to her he said, “You see, my dear sister, God wants to bear all these sorrows whether great or small.” “The best thing we can do is to take them to Jesus ... We must tell Jesus!” For a moment there was silence and then with a face aglow she exclaimed “Yes, Pastor, you are so right ... I must tell Jesus ... I must tell Jesus!”  For the rest of the day those words kept burning in the heart of Elisha Hoffman: “I must tell Jesus ... I must tell Jesus.” You know this song: I must tell Jesus all of my trials,

I cannot bear these burdens alone; In my distress He kindly will help me, He ever loves and cares for His own.

            God alone is compassionate. Peter wrote, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you,” (1 Pe. 5:7).

            These are the securities that we find in God; this is why we find rest in His presence alone. But there is one thing more, and with this thought we close:

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light,” (Matt. 11: 28-30).

            I thought that this didn’t sound restful. Jesus wanted to put another yoke upon me and make me pull some extra weight. But no, that’s not right. Jesus wants to exchange our yokes, the yokes of slavery to legalism, to the rat race, to the greed for more, to the upward climb of prestige and reputation, for the yoke of true life.

            But there’s more to it than that even. One of our deacons with more animal husbandry experience enlightened me that her take on the yoke was different. When you put a new animal in a yoke it can be quite uncomfortable and unfamiliar. So you put an experienced animal together with the inexperienced animal in the same yoke. The new learns from the veteran animal how to pull.

            You see the picture? Jesus doesn’t just give us a new yoke; He gets into the yoke with us. He’s teaching us how to live by living alongside of us.

            As we learn what it means to rest in Christ’s work on the cross for our sakes, we learn a new way of living and resting. We rest in the fact that God calls us His own. We learn to know and do what pleases Him. We choose to correct our path and to be transformed by the Holy Spirit out of sheer joy and delight to serve the One who saved us. And then this happens…

            “…the fears and anxieties and insecurities that haunt us begin to dissipate. Success and failure in our work neither puffs us up nor devastates us. We are not driven by unhappiness over our looks, or our status – we are not deflated by criticism as we were before. Our self-image rests in a love that we can’t lose.”[i]

            Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you…”

                                                AMEN

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[i] Timothy Keller, Encounters with Jesus, p 118.

Psalm 57

GOD-CONFIDENCE

Are you a confident person? You might say “It depends.” If we are doing something that we have done before and are sure that we know how to do it correctly, we are confident in ourselves. Put yourself in a totally unfamiliar situation and do what you have never done before and you might not be so confident.

            Some people have an aura of confidence about them no matter what situation they are in. They appear to know exactly what they are doing all the time. Either they are faking it or they really believe they can do anything.

            Confidence is generally described as a state of being certain that either a hypothesis is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Self-confidence is having confidence in oneself, even where others doubt you. This does not necessarily mean “self-belief.” You can be inept at a sport or other activity but still be confident as a person. When you are self-confident in this way you are not worried about failure or the disapproval of others if you do fail. Self-confidence actually allows you to enjoy what you are doing no matter the outcome. Arrogance though, is believing you are correct when it is obvious you are not correct at all. And Overconfidence is excessive belief in yourself without regard to failure and perhaps to your own detriment.

            I want to introduce a different term this morning regarding confidence. Have you heard of God-confidence?

Self-confidence is good, but being confident in God is better. When we put our trust in God and His revealed Word, our lives take on a new stability, focus, and poise. God-confidence is really confidence in God’s promises and power.

            David exemplified God-confidence in the situation that Psalm 57 celebrates. And we can know God-confidence in our own lives if we choose to adopt David’s attitude. David teaches us what it means to be confident in God even if we are holed up in a cave.

I want to look with you at five principles in Psalm 57 that teach us something about the God-confidence that David possessed. As we read in 1 Samuel 24, David was once again being pursued by Saul. King Saul was jealous of David, the giant-killer and knew that David was next in line to sit on the throne of Israel. People sang the praises of Saul, “Saul has killed thousands,” but they really exalted David who “killed tens of thousands.” So Saul set out to kill David, that young upstart. Now he’s got David trapped in a cave, though he does not know it. And David is face with a dilemma: kill Saul or…

1. David’s Confidence began with God’s Mercy

Psalm 57 is called a miktam. There is some controversy as to what this means. Derek Kidner says that it is a silent prayer. As David fears discovery while Saul “uses the John” in the cave, David prays, “Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge,” (1a).

            Ironically, David and his men fled into the bowels of the cave to find refuge. But their refuge has become a trap. We learn two things from David’s predicament: First, we cannot rely on human merit. Our intelligence or genius is limited. It seemed like a good idea to run into the cave and hide but genius turned to folly. Second, we cannot rely on human means. Our best methods and plans or programs are sometimes not enough to “save us” from our problems.

            David, in the midst of the cave found his true refuge to be the mercy of God. The picture of “refuge” David gives is of baby chicks nestling under their mother’s wings as a predator flies over. For a chick this is the safest place to be.

            Saul was David’s predator. Pressed against the wall of the cave, a wave of fear must have caught in David’s throat. On the cusp of discovery you almost want to yell out and end the suspense, but the words won’t come. Instead, David prays silently to his true refuge, to his God. He could kill Saul and end this, or rest on God’s power to protect him.

2. David’s Confidence rested in God’s purposes for him

David’s prayer continues with the line, “I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purposes for me…” (2). Saul was a disappointment as Israel’s king. This is why the Lord had Samuel anoint David as Israel’s next king. David’s men saw this moment in the cave as a shortcut to the throne for David. How does David answer, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lift my hand against him…” (1 Sam. 24:6).

            Saul may have been a disappointment but God put him on the throne and David believed that God would remove him in His time. David submitted to Saul as the rightful king and vowed to serve him, even if he was insane. That’s how much David trusted God and God’s purposes for him. He was confident that the Lord would make him king of Israel just as God promised he would, but David was not going to sin to make this a reality. God-confidence requires a patient trust in God’s plans.

3. David’s Confidence allowed him to claim hope in the midst of trouble

I found verse 4 perplexing. I wondered if the lions and beasts, these men with spears and arrows for teeth and tongues like sharp swords were Saul and his army, or David’s own men urging him to kill Saul. I didn’t know – still don’t. Both are possible. David says, “They spread a net for my feet – I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path – but they have fallen into it themselves,” (6). The net or the pit may have been the temptation to take the shortcut. Or it may have been Saul slandering David to the people of Israel.

            Take note of this: between v. 4 and 6 there is an insertion, an interlude if you will. In the midst of trouble, David praises God. It’s like he’s saying, “This is not good; this is gonna be real bad – Praise the LORD! – Oh, this is bad.” But it’s not that way at all. As David considers the beasts and the traps, he thinks to glorify God, “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth,” (5).

            What does it mean to glorify God? The Hebrew word for glory has the idea of weight, heaviness, worthiness, reputation, honor. We might say of someone, “He’s a heavyweight in his field.” What we mean is, “This guy is a person of substance, someone to be reckoned with.” When glory is applied to God, it means that we consider God worthy of all honor because of who He is, perfect in all His ways.

            So David is looking at the heavy situation of pits, traps, and beasts, at the tight spot he’s in, being between a rock and a hard place, and he suddenly remembers “God is heavier.” God is greater than all my troubles.

4. David’s Confidence in God led to worship

David’s God-confidence leads him to continue worshiping God, even in the cave. Praise is not our natural response in a time of trial. We would sooner complain or get angry with God, or pout. But even though David’s enemy had “fixed” a net to catch him (6, “spread”), David had “fixed” his heart (7, same root word) to praise God. He said, “My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast…” (7).

            That word “steadfast” shows up in Isaiah 26:3 where the prophet said, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you.” David had peace in his cave; that peace caused him to worship God.

            If you don’t feel like praising God, does that make you a hypocrite if you raise your hands and sing anyways? No, it’s obedience. Hypocrisy doesn’t mean doing things you don’t feel like doing. If this is hypocrisy, then I’m a hypocrite every morning, because I don’t feel like getting out of bed. Hypocrisy is trying to present a false impression to others so that you look better than you are. Praising God is obedience and an attitude of giving God what He deserves.

5. David’s Confidence glorified God to others

More than likely, David wrote the content of this Psalm some time after the event occurred. His intention was that others would know what it means to find their confidence in God. David said, “I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies,” (9-10).

            Why share this praise of God with others? Charles Spurgeon wrote, “I think I may say to every person whom I am addressing, if you are yourself saved, the work is but half done until you are employed to bring others to Christ. You are as yet but half formed in the image of your Lord. You have not attained to the full development of the Christ-life in you unless you have commenced in some feeble way to tell others of the grace of God; and I trust that you will find no rest to the sole of your foot till you have been the means of leading many to that blessed Saviour who is your confidence and your hope?”[i]

            David wanted to tell others of his confidence in the glory of God so that they also would glorify God. His love stretches to the heavens; His faithfulness is as great as the sky is broad.

Application

I have focused exclusively on David in briefly examining Psalm 57. What does God-confidence have to do with us? With you? Why do we need this confidence in Christian living?

            We know that faith is the law of God’s kingdom, so as Christians we cannot be spiritually successful if we don’t have faith. But confidence is like the match that ignites the faith fuse. Confidence like this is developed as we spend more time with God. We know that spending time with our spouses or friends develops our confidence in them because we get to know their character through time spent. By constantly fellowshipping with the Lord, meditating on His Word, rehearsing the great things He has done in our lives, and remembering His faithfulness, we develop ultimate trust and confidence in Him. The more confident we become in Him, the more our faith will be activated.

            So as we consider the pattern of David in Psalm 57 we see a similar pattern of God-confidence in the letter to the Philippians.

            1. Paul puts the first principle in negative terms: “Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh…” (Phil. 3:2-3). Paul goes on to say that if anyone had reason to put such confidence in oneself it is him. But before God, what you have done, whatever degrees you have earned, who your family is (your pedigree), your status before people, your religious devotion, whatever prestige you think you have to be confident in…it’s all rubbish. Paul counts it all a loss for the sake of Christ and so should we.

            The only confidence that assures us of anything is the confidence that Christ has gained our mercy before God.

            2. When we think of God’s purposes for us we need to beware the temptation of some vainglory. What I mean is – don’t get all Jeremiah 29:11 on me. God specifically called David to a special task, being the king of Israel. God had a special purpose for Israel too as referenced in Jer. 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you, etc.” That is not for you. If you look at the context you will see clearly that you do not live in Babylon and so on. The principles of this passage can be applied generally, but God does not have some special assignment for you, as He did for David. Get over yourself.

            Today, many preachers speak of God having a purpose for your life. Unfortunately, their teaching pushes that there is only one thing in life God wants you to do, and somehow you have to find out what that is and do it or miss out.

            But hear Paul and know this, “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus,” (Phil. 1:6). That which was begun in you is the work of salvation, and God will not stop working this out in you until Christ comes again. In this you can be confident. You are not yet what you will be, but neither are you what you were before.

            3. God-confidence that is built upon the foundation of knowing Christ Jesus, for whose sake I have lost all things, allows us to do everything that God calls us to do. Paul declared, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength,” (Phil. 4:13). That is quite a claim. Do you and I believe this? I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength?

            I am confident that what Paul means includes the prospect of failure. I can do all things, and even if I fail, God can use it for His glory (Ro. 8:28). I can confidently fail knowing that God can do more than I can imagine. I confess that my God-confidence quotient has not risen to that challenge yet, but I’m working on it.

            4. Finally, David rejoiced in God even while he lingered in the cave waiting for deliverance. You know what Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). This requires God-confidence so that we rejoice even when we don’t yet see the results.

            Someone asked me the other day how the ministry was going. My response surprised me, a melancholy type, as I replied, “Can’t complain,” and then said, “God is good.” I wondered who said that. Me? God is changing me. God can change you too if you put your confidence in His work in you.

                                                            AMEN

I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air.[ii]

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[i] Spurgeon, Charles " Instruction In Soul Winning "

[ii] Dr. E. Stanley Jones

Psalm 32

IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS…

Sin is a burden we all bear. Even as Christians we struggle with the constant reality that we sin. If we deny our sinfulness we deceive ourselves.

            We also know the joy of forgiveness. Christians of all people should know that sin has no chain that God’s grace cannot break. Sin has been defeated and the confession of our sin makes it roll off of our backs.

            The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan illustrates this beautifully. This is an old classic story that I encourage you to read. The Pilgrim’s Progress has been largely forgotten in our time. But the dramatic picture of forgiveness speaks to our hearts today even still.

            Pilgrim leaves his wife, children, and village to seek out the calling of his soul. He is restless and keenly aware that his life is headed for destruction. So Pilgrim sets out with a large burden on his back to find the truth that will set him free.

            Through a series of adventures on his long journey to find redemption while carrying this burden on his back, Pilgrim finally comes to a cross on a hill. There Jesus appears and Pilgrim hears him say, “Father forgive them.” Pilgrim realizes his sin put Jesus on the cross and says, “Forgive me.” Immediately the burden on his back loosens and rolls down the hill. Jesus tells Pilgrim his name is now Christian.

            The joy we know in the confession of our sins, the freedom of forgiveness that we experience ought to compel us to run to Jesus whenever we sin. Sadly, we carry our sin around with us like Pilgrim’s burden for various reasons.

            David wrote Psalm 32 with both of these perspectives in mind: the joy of forgiveness and the pain of unconfessed sin. We are going to study the first five verses of David’s maskil. A maskil is a term of instruction meaning that David wanted his readers to learn from his own experience how wonderful it is to know God’s forgiveness and to seek it for themselves.

1. The Power of Forgiveness

Two decades ago a nationally-known pastor in the US resigned, explaining to his congregation “Along the way I have stepped over the line of acceptable behavior with some members of the congregation. He added that “he tried on his own to face unspecified childhood issues and had been involved in years of denial and faulty coping techniques.”[i]

            David does not say, “Blessed is he whose unspecified childhood issues are forgiven and whose denial and faulty coping techniques are covered…” David uses direct language to tell us about his moral failing. Psalm 32 is a companion piece to Psalm 51, both expressing David’s remorse over his sin with Bathsheba. He felt his sin deeply and names it pointedly.

            “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit,” (1-2).

            David uses four words for sin and four concepts for forgiveness to make his point. Hebrew is very much a picture language and so the words need unpacking:

a) Transgression is a word that means “to step over the boundaries.” We know that God has set up laws for human behavior, a code of ethics for right living, but we choose to go against those laws even though we know better. Transgression refers to human defiance of God’s good and perfect will.

            David says that his transgressions are forgiven. Forgiven means “to bear, carry off, or take away a burden.” Our sin is a burden which God bears and takes away through Christ on the cross. Christ is our scapegoat, an animal designated in Hebrew Scriptures to take the blame while everyone goes free.

b) Sin means “to miss the mark” and is an archery term referring to an arrow missing the target altogether. Sin is coming short of what God intended for us in terms of righteousness.

            David says his sins are covered. We might use the common colloquialism today, “I’ve got you covered,” when we think of someone taking care of our debt. But God puts our sins out of His sight; as far as East is from West, so far has He removed our transgressions; we are covered by the blood of Christ.

c) Iniquity as a term is not used in the NIV here but KJV and NASB do. It means “bent or twisted.” Iniquity is the result of our twisting or perverting that which is good and using it for wickedness.

            David’s iniquity, he says, was not counted against him. It was not charged to his account, in other words. Romans 4:1-8 tells of how Abraham believed God and it was credited to him, or counted or reckoned to him as righteousness. Paul goes on to explain that a man’s wages are not a gift but an obligation, but a man who trusts in God to forgive his sin is credited with or gifted with righteousness apart from works.

d) Deceit is the deliberate cover-up of sinfulness. We present a false front to look good even though you know you are not. “If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves…”[ii]

            David says “happy is the one in whose spirit is no deceit.” There is no guile, no pretence, no falseness before God. The person who is happy is the one who comes before God and says “I sinned” and does not cover it up with psychological terminology such as “faulty coping techniques.”

            We live in a time when we are afraid to call sin what it is – “Sin.” Sexual promiscuity is sin; pornography is sin; gossip is sin; adultery is sin; lying is sin; slander is sin; rebelling against your parents is sin…and we are all guilty. But there is joy in forgiveness. David tells us that these burdens can be rolled away the moment we come to the cross of Christ and confess that for these sins Jesus died.

2. The Problems Associated with Concealed Sin

David tried to go on living with his sin, ignoring it, pretending it was not a thing, and discovered three problems with hiding his sin. David’s disavowal of sin led to three results:

a) Physical Effects – David discovered that concealing his sin from God produced physical problems in his body so that he felt like an old man. “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long,” (3). Sin takes a physical toll on us. When I withheld a confession that I wrecked my car from my parents I lost my appetite till I confessed.

            Charles Spurgeon wrote, “When through neglect I failed to confess, or through despair dared not to do so, “my bones,” those solid pillars of my frame, the strongest portion of my bodily constitutions, “waxed old,” began to decay with weakness, for my grief was so intense as to sap my health and destroy my vital energy. What a killing thing sin is!”

b) Spiritual Effects – David also discovered a spiritual price to pay in concealing his sin. “For day and night your hand was heavy upon me,” (4a). Guilt can lie like a stone on your chest. David felt as though God were pressing down on him so that he could not sleep. The truth is that sin creates a barrier between us and God; sin hinders our relationship with God.

c) Emotional Effects – David tells us that he has dried up! “My strength was sapped as in the heat of summer,” (4b). I enjoy warm summers but humidity always gets me. When we were in SD it was 40 degrees and humid; I nearly fainted because of my high blood pressure issues. David’s concealed sin was leading to depression; his emotional well-being was at risk the longer he denied any wrong-doing.

            These verses remind us that when we don’t fully confess we will experience physical, spiritual, and emotional distress. Anger and bitterness can come as a result of unconfessed sin and will eat your insides out. Ulcers, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, and lower back pain can come from concealing our sins. Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75% of them would walk out the next day!

            One famous atheist said, "The one thing I envy about you Christians is that you have someone to forgive you." Indeed, why carry sin and sin’s effects when God is so willing to forgive you?

3. The Pattern for Confronting Sin

David knew that holding on to his sin was “killing” him. He also knew that the cure for the effects of sin was personal confession of sin. He said, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.’ And you forgave the guilt of my sin,” (5).

a) Don’t cover it up – Note that there is a difference between God “covering” our sins (1b) and when we try to cover our sins (5a). Adam and Eve realized they were naked in the garden following their sin, so they tried vainly to cover their shame with leaves. This futile attempt at disguising sin is as bad as trying to cover one’s nakedness with a washcloth. It just can’t be done.

            Blessed is the one…whose sins are covered…by God. When confess our sins and accept the work of Christ on our behalf on the cross we are covered. “…for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ,” (Gal. 3:27).

b) Confess your sins – David said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD…” In Hebrew, “confession” means “to throw down or to cast down.” The Greek word for confession means “to agree, or to say the same thing.” Put these concepts together and we get what God wants us to do with our sins. He wants us to say the same thing that He says about our sins. He wants us to agree that sin is wicked, to admit they are wrong. Then He wants us to cast down our sins. Throw them down. Stop carrying them around.

            John seems to reflect Psalm 32 when he said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness,” (1 John 1:9).

c) Receive and Leave – The last thing David says in v. 5 is that God forgave the guilt of his sin.

            Some people have trouble accepting that they have been forgiven. They apologize to you but then are still wracked with guilt and continue to apologize and beg your pardon. You said, “I forgive you,” but they continue to seek peace and assurance from you.

            Here we need to trust the Word of God. What John said in 1 John 1:9 is true – if you confess, God will forgive. Peter told Cornelius, “All the prophets testify about (Jesus) that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name,” (Acts 10:43). So BELIEVE it, RECEIVE it, and LEAVE it.

So why don’t we confess our sins to God? Thinking on this I believe that there is an element of fear involved. We are afraid of what God will do; we are afraid of what He might ask us to do; we are afraid of what people will say when they find out.

            We may also feel that we have not suffered enough for our sins and we need to do more penance for what we have done. Like we could ever really pay for our sins?

            David left us Psalm 32 to relieve such fears and feelings concerning sin. He left us a testimony of what a sinner feels like when forgiveness comes showering down like a refreshing rain on a thirsty land.

            What does the joy of forgiveness look like?

            [Play clip: The Mission (1986): Redemption (Redencion) on Youtube]

            In the film, “The Mission” Robert DeNiro plays a mercenary who has taken asylum in the local church after killing his brother in a fit of jealous rage. He eventually leaves the church and heads to a mission post located above the waterfalls in a South American jungle. Because of what he has done, and how bad he feels, he ties himself to a heavy bundle of armor, swords, and other weighty objects. The bundle represents his sinful life. He feels compelled to drag this sack of sin around with him as a way to do penance for what he has done.

            Inexplicably, one of the natives of the jungle has enough of this and cuts Rodrigo Mendoza (DeNiro) loose. A flood of emotion overwhelms Mendoza as he receives this act of mercy and forgiveness from God through the native’s knife.

            If you feel like Mendoza this morning, you are carrying an unnecessary burden around. God’s forgiveness in Christ is graciously free and there for the asking.

            If we confess our sins…

                                                            AMEN

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[i] (Los Angeles Times [2/22/93], p. B1)

[ii] 1 John 1:8

Psalm 27

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

We are all afraid of something at some point in our lives. Fear can paralyze us; fear can be an obsession; fears may be based on real or imagined threats; fear can cripple healthy living. If fear is allowed to run wild in our hearts and minds it can even mess with our faith.

            Several years ago I was in a poor state of mind. I was filled with anxiety over many things. Even the phone ringing gave me cause to panic and send my heart racing. One of the worst things about anxiety and panic is when your imagination tells you that the pain in your side is some disease. A person who is overly sensitive to fears and effects will run to the computer and look up diseases on WebMD. This is a bad thing to do because you will find that your symptoms match many medical issues, or so you think.

            One day, after a having given a blood sample, the doctor’s office called me for a special consultation. I thought, “Here we go,” and my fears led me to the worst place. I was sure the doctor was going to give me bad news. Sure enough, the doctor told me I had Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). My immediate thought was, “How long do I have?” I must have started babbling about how I knew this day would come and so on. But the doctor just mumbled that antibiotics would take care of it. I thought, “Huh?” He said, “It’s just ulcers.”

            We don’t have enemies to fear like David did, men who want to take our lives. Our enemies have more to do with our health and threats to our livelihood. But fear is fear. How do we deal with those things that cause us to be afraid?

            Psalm 27 was the Bible’s answer to my own personal fears. David’s struggle with fear and the answer to it is found in this Psalm. The answer is so simple you might scoff at it. David basically says: To overcome fear, seek the LORD.

            I found that the 14 verses of this Psalm are like an inflatable life raft: once you pull the cord it’s bigger than you thought. So we are going to look at four thoughts – fear, seek, pray, and wait.

1. What is there to fear?

David had faced bears and lions when tending his father’s flocks. As a teenager he had faced down Goliath and killed him with a mere stone. Scholars suggest that David was being pursued by Saul at this stage of his life due to several notes in this Psalm: David is away from home, far from the Tabernacle in Jerusalem, far from mom and dad, while being pursued by enemies. Despite his successes, the absence of these familiar comforts could add to his anxiety. Plus, his successes may have caused him to trust in his own reputation, but in his time of fear David turns to the Lord.

            “The LORD is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” (1).

            When our fears grip us, our tendency is find our own way out. We put our trust in our own devices and try to figure out our own solutions. Fear, however, has a way of muddling our senses and logic. Our decisions can become knee-jerk reactions instead of thoughtful and reasonable.

            David recognized that God was his light, his point of reference while darkness closed in on him. He saw his salvation, his deliverance, was in God alone. David could run to God, no matter the circumstances, and God would be like fortress walls surrounding him, protecting him.

            Salvation can be seen in two ways: There is the ultimate salvation we receive in Christ who died for us and forgives us our sins which we will realize fully when He comes again; then there is the “deliverance” we experience in the day-to-day experiences. We might wonder about this second aspect because we are still waiting for deliverance from some fear we are wrestling with. But consider this: If the Lord has saved us apart from our own efforts, will He not defend us and help us and save us in the here and now until He comes again? As Paul put it, “…those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Ro. 8:30-31).

            What can be against us? What is there to fear?

            Martin Luther made this interesting observation in his Table Talk: "God and the devil take opposite tactics in regard to fear. The Lord first allows us to become afraid, that he might relieve our fears and comfort us. The devil, on the other hand, first makes us feel secure in our pride and sins, that we might later be overwhelmed with fear and despair."

            Fear can go two ways. It will either drive us to the Lord or away from the Lord. David took fear as a signal to run to the Lord.

2. Seek the Presence of God

If you and I were writing this Psalm we might have written v. 4 differently: “One thing I ask from the LORD, this is what I seek: GET ME OUT OF HERE!”

            “One thing…” How would you finish that sentence? If you could ask God for one thing, what would it be?

            David puts his finger on the one thing that matters to a believer – the only deliverance that matters comes from seeking the presence of God.

            In verses 4-6, David writes about dwelling in “the house of the LORD all the days of my life,” seeking Him in His temple, being safe in His dwelling, hiding in the shelter of His tabernacle. These are all synonyms for the same thing. David was not talking about literally living in a church building; he was talking about living in God’s presence, knowing God’s presence daily in his life. This is the singleness of desire that he was talking about. This is the ONE THING that a person afraid needs to desire.

            How does seeking the beauty of the LORD quell my fears? A few years ago my family visited Bear Country USA in SD. In one compound they had the big and lazy bears that you could drive through and observe. In another compound they had the cubs who were full of life and fun. One cub was being picked on by the other cubs, so he ran to the ranger and wrapped his paws around her legs for protection.

            David wasn’t just looking for an escape from his fears and troubles, but for an ongoing experience of God. He used his fears to drive him to a deeper relationship with the God who loved him and could protect him. To behold the beauty of the LORD is to be emotionally caught up with the very being of God. This is the ONE THING David sought.

            This may remind you of another story. Jesus and his disciples stopped at the home of some friends in the midst of their journeys. Martha and Mary opened their home to the men and Martha set to work preparing food while Mary sat and listened to Jesus. Martha was upset that Mary did not help her, but Jesus replied, “Martha, Martha…you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her,” (Lk. 10:41-42).

            Oh, to sit at the feet of Jesus. Let the worries and fears be what they are, just let me sit at the feet of Jesus. That is the ONE THING.

3. Pray when Fear threatens again

Even so, seeking the presence of the LORD can be interrupted by our human tendencies. In other words, we are easily distracted. Fear will try to get back into our minds. Someone said that if we close the door on fear it will try to come in the window. When fear returns, we need to seek the LORD by redirecting our focus to Him through prayer.

            In verses 7-12 David says five things about prayer.

a) Prayer is my needing God – David acknowledged his need of God through prayer. He cried out, “Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me,” (7). We really are dependent on God for all our needs. God is good and all good things come from Him. If we want to know the source of all the good we desire, Col. 1:17 tells us that all things hold together in God. He sustains all things.          

b) Prayer is my seeking His help – David desired mercy; he desired God’s help, so he asked God. He was not too proud to ask. Sometimes we don’t ask because we think we won’t get what we desire. Other times we may think that what we ask for is too insignificant. A woman approached the well-known Bible teacher, G. Campbell Morgan, after one of his talks and asked, “Dr. Morgan, should we pray about everything in our lives, or just the big things?” In his formal, British manner Dr. Morgan stiffened up and said, “Madam, can you think of anything in your life that is big to God?” David said, “Your face, LORD, will I seek,” (8). To seek His face is to get lost in His mercy.

c) Prayer is my acknowledging my best relationship – David’s parents did not abandon him, as we read v. 10. He said, “Though my mother and father forsake me…” (10). What he meant was that even if the most basic, intimate, earthly relationships should fail, he knows that he still has access to God. There is nothing that will cut us off from prayer as our link to our Heavenly Father.

d) Prayer is my obedience – David understood that nothing hinders prayer like disobedience. Conversely, when we commit ourselves to doing what pleases God, we open up the possibilities in what we seek from God. “Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path…” (11).

e) Prayer is my way of seeking God’s protection – That’s what we are looking for when our fears overwhelm us, right? We want God’s protection from what scares us. But the whole process of what I just described is a package of prayer: we need God – so we seek His help – because it is my best relationship – so I will obey God – and out of that love relationship with God I find my divine protector. David prayed, “Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence,” (12). One thing I love about David’s prayers is his honesty. He just lays it out before God. This is what I fear – this is what I’m up against – please deliver me. That’s prayer.

4. Wait for God

David concludes this psalm with a confident note. “I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living,” (13). This is biblical proof that our “salvation” is not just a future hope but also a present reality. God does care about the present difficulties we face and He does deliver us.

            The key for David is to wait, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD,” (14). But what does it mean to wait?

            Let the Bible answer that question:

Proverbs 20:22 says, “Do not say, ‘I’ll pay you back for this wrong!’ Wait for the LORD and he will deliver you.” Scholars figure that Ps. 27 is based on 1 Sam. 23:26ff where David and his men are on one side of a mountain and Saul and his army are on the other side. They are about to collide in a bloody battle at the end of the mountain when a messenger comes to Saul and says the Philistines are raiding the land. Saul leaves and David is spared a possible defeat. Strange huh?

            Lamentations 3:25-26 reads, “The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” Waiting implies a confident trust in God rather than in human means. Waiting takes patience and faith when the enemy is closing in but it also shows that certain trust in the Lord and His will.

            And for those who are infirm or feeling weak, we turn to the famous Isaiah passage in the KJV, “They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles…” (Is. 40:31).

            Wait for the LORD. That’s a tough prescription in an instant society. It’s tough when our fears, our worst fears look to be winning and coming true. But we cannot lose hope. We must believe that “The Lord is my light and my salvation…the stronghold of my life.”

Many years ago a number of people in the jungles of Central Africa came to know Jesus through gospel preaching. Since they had no church building where they could gather for prayer, they cleared a central spot in the jungle for this purpose. Soon individual trails from many different directions converged there as believers walked through the grass to that place of meeting with God. Whenever a Christian seemed to be losing his first love, the others would admonish him by saying, “Brother, the grass is growing on your path.”

            Mary discovered that only one thing is needed: to sit at the feet of Jesus. Nothing else mattered. David preceded her in discovering that the one thing that mattered in his life was hiding in God, not just when fears and enemies assaulted him, but always.

            How grows the grass on your path?

            Wait for the LORD. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ…” (Titus 2:11-13).

                                                            AMEN