Touching Base, Part 215

TB215 - Constance Lake

You can find a recording of this sermon here.)

God Listens – Luke 4:18-19

15 September 2013

Fred Grendel

(This article can also be found on our website

at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

This past Sunday, our Big Idea was “God Listens.” In this TB I challenge you to do two things: firstly, gather some of your own information using the Internet and follow the instructions below. As you read from these sources, try and listen to the hearts of our First Nations People. Secondly, we ask that you take the information from the service Sunday, from your own fresh research and from the requests we will list for you in this TB and use them to pray for our First Nations People.

A. Gathering Information and Listening to the Hearts of our First Nation People:

I. Google “Constance Lake First Nation” (make sure you look at the links on page 2 as well). What does this teach you about Constance Lake?

II. If you have access to Facebook, go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/146661252070132/ or search FB for “Constance Lake Classifieds”. Read the “about” and the posts.

III. Go to http://www.idlenomore.ca and take a look around.

IV. Listen to this powerful song. (Language Disclaimer: It is “authentic”). www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT1yq3UnrgU

V. Finally, listen to this fun song. First Nations people, and in this case Native Americans are talented and so much fun to be with! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO_tXJcKhZs

B. Prayer - God Listens!

I. Pray for the children and youth who just went back to school, that they would have the ability to stay in school and excel in their year.

II. Pray for the young man who received Bethel’s $1000 scholarship. He is taking a year off this year to work.

III. Pray for the teachers and leaders in the education system, for strength, wisdom and guidance.

IV. Pray for Chief and Council - Chief Fred Sackeney is the new Chief. Tracy Thomson’s brother Rick Allan is on Council as is Darius Ferris. Darius is active in the local church.

V. Pray for local church leaders - Pray for Pastor George and Margret, pastors of the Full Gospel Church. Pray for Linda and Ronnie Martin, Harmony and Darryl Wesley, and Steven Martin, all strong Christ Followers of the Full Gospel Church. Pray for Jimmy Sutherland and Stanly Stephens, the Elder leaders of the Anglican Church.

VI. Pray for people to respond to the heart of God. Our First Nations people are very spiritual - pray that they come to know the true Spirit.

VII. Pray against the oppression of drugs. Pray Luke 4:18-19 over the community.

VIII. Pray that the Lord would protect and bless Bethel’s/Day Star’s relationship with CLFN.

IX. Pray for our planned Christmas Trip, December 7th to 14th. Pray that we would receive confirmation about what we should give the children this year.

X. Pray for our summer trip of 2014. There is a new vision brewing that needs clarity.

XI. Pray for the Lord to send full-time workers to Constance Lake, who will go and work for the purpose of God’s kingdom.

XII. Pray for the relationship between the Federal Government and our First Nations People. Pray that the Federal Government and the Harper Administration would give our First Nation People a voice.

Kitchi Migwetch (Cree: A Big Thank You!)

Fred Grendel
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact
bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com

Touching Base, Part 214

28 JULY 13

ROOTED

(You can find a recording of this sermon here.)

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Heart Conversations with God is a series designed to help you engage with the Psalms in your personal God talk. The Psalms were integral to Jewish worship – they reminded them of their national history, explored the wide scope of human emotion, and expanded their theology of the God who called them. They are a rich resource for us today.

Our Big Idea from Psalm 92 this week was that “Life rooted in the character of Yahweh yields lasting rewards. Life rooted in senselessness will yield destruction.”

We discussed that obtaining the character of God does not start with work, it starts with being in God’s presence! This week, as you take time to be in the presence of God, I encourage you to meditate and pray through Psalm 92.

What time of day is it right now? This may seem simplistic but if it’s morning follow Part A, if it’s later in the day follow Part B. After doing Part A or B, move on to Part C.

PART A:

Declare to the Lord His lovingkindness (v.2). Does a praise song or a hymn come to mind? If you’re musically-inclined, play it for the Lord. If you are not musically-inclined, think about the words, and declare them out loud (v. 3-4)

PART B:

How has God been faithful to you today? Take a pen and paper and write down the things that the Lord provided for you today and the places and moments where He made his presence known to you (v.2). Think about how this makes you feel and write down these emotions as well.


PART C:

Out of all the character attributes of God listed from the Psalm below, which one does your heart gravitate to right now?
- The Lord’s lovingkindness (v.2)
- The Lord’s faithfulness (v.2)
- The Lord’s great works (creation, redemption and wrath) (v.4-5)
- The Lord’s has deep thoughts (v.5)
- The Lord is on High (v.8)
- The Lord has planted righteous people (v.12)
- There is no unrighteousness in God (v.15)
- The Lord is our rock (v.16)

As you think about these attributes of God, has your character measured up lately? Take a few moments to think about the last few hours and to apologize for any area where you have fallen short of God’s character.

Ask God to grant you deeper character, to continue to grow your character until your character is like “the palm trees” and “the cedars of Lebanon” (v.11). Thank God that His love and His blessings flow to us so richly. Think about what it would be like to have God anoint you with “fresh oil” (v.10). Pray that you would bear fruit in old age and that your presence among others today would be fresh and flourishing (v.14).

Now, move on and pray for friends, family and neighbors who are far from God, yet seem to spring up like grass (v.7). What is it that they need to come to faith in God and to come to an understanding that their lives are headed for destruction (v.7)? Pray that the Lord would give you opportunities to express His love and character to them. Pray also for enemies of the gospel, that the Lord would scatter their work (v.9) (consider referring to 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World booklet which was offered at Bethel earlier in the month).

Lord we thank You that You are our rock and that there is no unrighteousness in You (v.15). Would you please root our lives in Your character and remind us today of the things we do that are senseless and which can lead to destruction. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Fred Grendel
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 213

Heart Conversations with God 2013 - Part 6
Anyone need Grace?

(You can find a recording of this sermon here.)

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Heart Conversations with God is a series designed to help you engage with the Psalms in your personal God talk. The Psalms were integral to Jewish worship – they reminded them of their national history, explored the wide scope of human emotion, and expanded their theology of the God who called them. They are a rich resource for us today.

This week, I encourage you to take some time to pray through Psalm 24.
Big Idea: The greatness of God is demonstrated in the grace of God.

Where do we see grace in this Psalm?

For many, grace simply involves getting what we don’t deserve. Someone once said that “justice” is getting what we deserve, “mercy” is not getting what we deserve and “grace” is getting what we don’t deserve. Certainly salvation, God restoring our relationship with Himself through the death and resurrection of Christ, is an act of grace. Ephesians 2:8,9 clearly shows that we can’t earn it, pay for it or impress God for it. It is a gift, through faith, thus there is no room for boasting. “Hey look at what I did, I so impressed God that he gave me this great gift of salvation!” Sorry… that’s not going to happen.

Psalm 24 expands our understanding of grace and actually reminds us of what Paul talked about when referring to grace in the New Testament.

The Grace of God’s Presence
In the New Testament, grace means being near the living God through the work of Christ. Note Romans 5:1,2. Paul states that Christ opened the way for believers to have peace with God - the “charis” (grace) of God grants believers unhindered access to Him through our mediator Jesus Christ. So note that Paul says we stand in grace.

As we look at Psalm 24, what do you note there? Read through this Psalm and underline what words demonstrate presence.

Note that (sandwiched between v.1-2 and 7-10) we find the verses that talk about the presence of God (v.3-6).
The answer to the question of verse 3 is not “no one” but in fact “someone”, better than that, anyone who aligns themselves with the necessary steps. God is approachable, present, accessible and wanting to connect.
Note v.6 “seek your face” - “Face” means presence, appearance. This is language that describes a generation that wants to know God and, in fact, can know God.
But notice that v.7 and v.9 also talk about presence. In its original context, many believe that this Psalm was a reference to David bringing the ark (symbolic of the presence of God) into Jerusalem. The lintels or tops of the portals are pictured as being too low for the divine king to enter. Note in v.7 and v.9 the phrase repeated twice “come in.” This is a King who is present!

Who do you need to pray for these days that they might experience the presence of God?
Who needs to know that God is not like the watchmaker who wound up the universe then walked away, but more like the mother that gave birth to creation and is present, powerful and approachable?

The Grace of God’s Calling
Some think of grace as just the saving act of God, “for by grace are you saved”. But grace also has to do with the refining work of God in our lives.

“God does not give grace simply to save us, but to transform us from self-destructive sinners to believers - whole and refashioned to fulfill our God given purposes according to His calling.” Nijay K. Gupta

Check out what Paul had to say about this: Romans 15:15,16
“I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

Another way to put this is that, not only does God catch us, but He cleans us! He shapes us into vessels that will most glorify Him and most satisfy us. (That is a Piperism)

Note the calling of grace in Psalm 24.
What kind of hands are we to have?
Clean hands symbolized innocence (Ps. 18:20)
Idols were those attractions that usurped God’s authority in one’s life
Swearing by what is false had to do with things that are empty and contrary to God. In other words there are moral and ethical requirements if we wish to ascend the hill of the Lord.

Does anyone see the problem - how do I get clean?
Our hands are stained with sin that we cannot scrub clean. God holiness outmatches our best attempts to get clean enough for God. Jews understood this. This leads to the next and final idea of grace.

The Grace of God’s Power
Note the power referenced in this Psalm.

V.1-2 In ancient near-eastern mythology water referred to chaos or a monster. This text shows that they are fully under His dominion and power.

V.7-9 Note how God is described. Would it be fair to say that God is powerful? What are these names?

Now notice the power of God as it pertains to the one approaching this approachable God (v.5)
Blessing - To bless in the Old Testament means to endue with power for success.
Vindicate - Means to prove right and refers to righteousness. Note that this is not self-righteousness but God’s righteousness. He gives us something we could not earn on our own. Got any ideas where we see this ultimately fulfilled? Think of a cross and of Jesus.
The Old Testament taught of our need for a righteousness from God.

Isaiah 61:10

I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.

For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

This is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus:

1 Corinthians 1:30,31

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Thus God is our Savior, seen so clearly in the New Testament.

Saviour - This word can mean helper, liberator, and deliverer.

“Grace is acting in your life to accomplish what you cannot accomplish on your own.” Dallas Willard

Do you need grace?

Psalm 24 is filled with illustrations of grace. Might it encourage you this week as you expand your prayer language and think more deeply about God’s grace that we find cover to cover in the Bible, a book illustrating amazing grace.

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 211

Heart Conversations with God 2013 - Part 4
Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ

(You can find a recording of this sermon here.)

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

According to Christianity, what is the nature of saving faith? Is it mere allegiance to certain doctrine, that if we really believe certain things, we are in? And what does, “We are in” really mean? Is Christianity fundamentally about doing certain things and not doing certain other things, or is there more to it than that? James certainly thinks there’s more to saving faith when he writes in James 2:19, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder!” Let’s keep those questions in mind and see how Psalm 63 helps address them.

What is salvation? 

The problem – “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

The result – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The solution – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

The gift of God Himself – John 17:3, 24

Years ago, the 18th century’s most influential pastor/theologian, Jonathan Edwards, asked, “Is God more honored by His glory (His excellence, worth, beauty, value, supremacy, power to satisfy) being seen, or by His glory being seen and rejoiced in?” How would you answer Edwards’ question? How does David answer the question in the Psalm below?

Psalm 63:1-8

The most likely context for this Psalm is David’s hasty escape from Jerusalem after his son Absalom had decided to claim the kingdom. David is with the people loyal to him, hiding in a Judean wilderness under the very real threat of an imminent, bloody and probably lethal attack. From a “circumstance” perspective things could not be much worse. Knowing the context of this Psalm helps us feel the weight of what he says, and should help us say, when our Judean wilderness comes, or if we are currently in one, “If David could think and trust and feel like that in light of the terrible situation he was in, why can’t I ? Why could God not sustain me like that?”

v.1 “O God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek You. My soul thirsts for You, my flesh faints for You as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Notice the verbs seek, thirsts, faints, the language of desire, of longing.)

v.2 “So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary, beholding Your power and glory.” (In this case it is in thinking back to the communion he has enjoyed with God in the past, and the anticipation that he will have it again.)

v.3 “Because Your steadfast love is better than life my lips will praise You.” (How great is the quality of his relationship with God that he can say this?!)

v.4 “So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your name I will lift up my hands.” (Even in and through the hardest parts of life when the normal comforts and pleasures are removed and there is no assurance of restoration.)

v.5 “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips... (Even in the dark valleys there is satisfaction in God.)

v.6 “…when I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the watches of the night;” (not wringing his hands.)

v.7 “for You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I will sing for joy. (note that since God has been his help in the past, He is trustworthy to be his help in the future. Consider the shelter of mama’s wings to a young chick when it’s raining and cold. Recalls Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:37. Singing for joy when all around you is uncertainty can only happen if you are deluded or if the presence of Almighty God is actually there – does David give evidence of delusional leanings in any of his other writings?)

v.8 “My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me” (David embraces God as tightly as he possible can like a man hanging from a ledge with a deadly drop underneath, yet all the while God’s hand sustains him and keeps him from catapulting into oblivion.) Do you know that if you are His God holds you like that?

What do these verses tell us about the worth of God - that He is good only insofar as He is providing enough external comforts? Is He valuable beyond the gifts He gives us?

What do they say about the writer’s engagement with God? Does this look like duty-driven allegiance? Is this a mumble-grumble “I guess I better follow You even though I have a real problem with how You have planned this”?

Some Questions and Applications: 

Why do we not experience the presence and know and savor the excellence of our Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in our lives more than we do? What is casting God in shadow? Two major answers are:

1. We don’t know our Bibles very well and therefore do not know that this is what God is communicating to us for our good and His glory. Many of us have not thought deeply about the reality of biblical faith and the greatness of our salvation. In many cases, we have reduced saving faith to mere “mental assent” to certain doctrines, not seeing that to know God is also to love, delight in, hunger and thirst after, long for, obey, and enjoy relationship with Him as we see David doing here in Psalm 63.
2. We are more enculturated than we think. (Tim Keller has much good to say in this area through his book Counterfeit Gods. A very insightful read on modern day idolatry) The third soil – see Mark 4 - Cares of the world, deceitfulness of riches and desire for other things. Which member of this unholy trinity do you most labour against?

What are some practical helps?

• Fellowship – who do we spend time with? Who are we listening to? “He who walks with wise men becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” (Proverbs 13:20)
• Good books and sermons that point us to God – John Piper, Ravi Zacharias, Francis Chan, R.C Sproul, John MacArthur, Alistair Begg, Elizabeth Elliott, Nancy Leigh Demoss, Mark Driscoll
• Getting into the quiet – we live in a really noisy world whose noise serves to muffle the voice of God – Internet, TV, movies, iPod, iPad, magazines, newspaper, talk radio etc.
• Prayer – with and without scripture
• Scripture – steeping ourselves in it as we would a tea bag to make a flavorful tea – mind renewal, change into greater Christlikeness

Implications/Outflow

Superior Satisfaction – “The expulsive power of a new affection.” (Thomas Chalmers) When we cultivate a deeper taste for God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit, and God’s ways in our lives, then more and more of the excrements of life are purged and His good gifts to us get put into their proper place

Conclusion – as Christ becomes a greater reality in our lives, His glory is seen in and through us increasingly, God’s worth is magnified, we are most deeply satisfied, and others receive the best news they could possibly hope for.

Marty Everding
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 212

Heart Conversations with God 2013 - Part 5
Got Trouble?

(You can find a recording of this sermon here.)

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Our series, Heart Conversations with God, is designed to enrich your prayer language as we work through the Psalms. Hopefully, Psalm 20 will guide you and enrich your language of prayer as you work through it this week.

Context
Most commentators agree that, like Psalm 2, Psalm 20 was composed for the ceremonies and services concerned with the king’s office as a military leader and defender of the nation. It acknowledges that the king leads the nation into war and, by its very structure, it implies a ceremony of sorts for such occasions. The first section - verses 1-5 - was recited by the people. The second section - verses 6-8 - was recited by a priest or perhaps even the king himself. And the third section - verse 9 - was recited by everyone, including the king. (Psalm 21 was a celebration Psalm read after battle, thanking God for victory).

Big Idea: Trouble leads the Christ follower to look up!

Text: Psalm 20

1. THE PEOPLE LOOK UP! (V.1-5)

As the people look up in prayer on behalf of the King, there are a number of aspects of trouble that surface in this text.

• When we look up in trouble we can have some pretty profound, soul-searching questions (v.1a)

Got any questions that you need to bring before the Lord in prayer? Why me? What am I to do? Where am I to turn? Who can help me? When will this be over? Perhaps they need to be presented to Him, knowing full well that answers may never come while on this planet.

• Trouble has a way of making our thick, impenetrable fortress walls seem paper thin (v.1b).

Feeling super vulnerable these days because of trouble? How do you need God to protect you? What does it feel like to go from feeling invincible to feeling porous? How does this feeling shape our prayers?

• Trouble has a way of making us think that God has left us (v.2).

As we said on Sunday, the sanctuary (the temple in Jerusalem) and Zion (Jerusalem) were symbolic of the presence and rule of God. Protection was one thing but knowing that God is with us in trouble can seem, for some, like just a nice (but impossible) idea. We feel very far from God. How does this aspect of trouble shape our prayers?

• Trouble can break our healthy rhythms and disciplines (v.3).

This is a picture of a King who has been in communion with God, who has been seeking the face of God, and is in alignment with His purposes. He is contrite, humble, obedient, and submissive. David is modeling what we can get away from during troubled times.

How are you with seeking the face of God while experiencing trouble? Do you tend to run faster? Do you tend to abandon some of the foundational disciplines, like prayer, vital community or reading God’s word, when faced with the sharp-toothed tiger of trouble?

• In trouble our desires and requests need to come from a heart in submission to God (v.4, 5).

As you read this in context, you can see that “desire” (v.4) and “requests” (v.5) are not blank cheques for David to ask for whatever his little heart desires. These are desires and requests that come out of a heart (corporate and individual) in submission to God.

As you look up in prayer are your desires and requests coming from a heart in full submission? Why not list those desires and requests? Who is helping you pray through those?

2. THE KING LOOKS UP! (V.6-8)

Now the King prays. What do we learn about trouble and looking up in this section?

6 Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed.

He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary

with the victorious power of his right hand.

David started off by saying…”Now this I know…”

What are some revelations about God that you have experienced that are overwhelmingly obvious?

“When people describe their faith journeys, they always include events that could be described as ‘defining moments.’ Some are good positive experiences, awards, new opportunities, life events, but just as often the defining moments involved pain and disappointment: death, divorce, illness, betrayal. And when it comes to faith, circumstances cut both ways. A positive event can adversely affect faith or strengthen it. Adverse circumstances can damage an individual’s faith or deepen it. Either way, life has the potential to impact faith for good or bad.” Deep and Wide – Andy Stanley

Talk about a “pivotal circumstance” that was a ‘defining moment’ in your life?
Did it strengthen or shatter your faith? Why?

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

What are the past events in your life that keep reminding you that God can be trusted?

Are there scriptures, real or imaginary altars that you have built, stories that remind you of God’s faithfulness in your life? Can you recall different times in your life when you got to know God by a new name?

8 They are brought to their knees and fall,

but we rise up and stand firm.

We all need people who will help us put our circumstances into perspective.
Who encourages you to stand firm?

3. Everyone Looks Up (v.9)

We want to encourage you to work through this Psalm this week. Allow it to enrich your language of prayer as you seek Him! Look up and find strength in trouble!


Jamie and Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 210

Heart Conversations with God 2013 - Part 3
Fear: friend or foe?


(You can find a recording of this sermon here.)

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.
What do you do when your transmission fails, your basement floods, and the teacher wants to speak to you after school about your son (…again)? Or when your house is broken into, your contract isn’t renewed, and you’re awaiting medical results? Or when your livestock is stolen, your employees are killed, your kids all die, and you get an itchy skin disease?

Let’s start off with some questions.

1. Have there have been times in your life that you did not take the next step because of fear?
2. Is your fear often rooted in the truth or in a lie?
3. Did you grow up in a home that used fear as an unhealthy tool for discipline?
4. The greatest thing that you fear today is..... ?

In part 3 of our summer series, Heart Conversations with God, we looked at Psalm 49. This series is intended to enrich our language of prayer, and to expand our thinking on how we can pray. The Psalms were used in the liturgical worship of the Jews. As they recited, sang or listened to these Psalms, their language was enriched and their theology was deepened.

The big idea that we looked at was, fear can be a friend and fear can be a foe. Fear can act like a warning system that tells us what is to be avoided and what we should flee. It can also be an enemy that restricts us and confines us. Note what one writer says about the pervasiveness of fear:

“All anxieties are in some form rooted in fear and many people never

get past their fears and live restricted lives because of their fears.”

Is fear your friend or foe?

Psalm 49

V.1-4 - Who is the writer addressing?
Proverb - a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
Riddle - A perplexing saying or question - so we should expect to find a question perhaps.

V.5-20
What is riddle?
Where is the proverb in this text? Check out v.12, 20

Notice that while the audience may be broad in v.1-4, the writer focuses in on two types of people - let me introduce them to you:

• Mr. Yikes (as in “Yikes! I’m scared!”)
We find him in v.5. The writer is asking a question that, no doubt, is meant to address some in his audience who were fearful. Notice how v.16 illustrates that there were those who “feared” (were overawed by) the rich. The writer is saying he has no fear as a means of encouraging those who have fear.

• Mr. On Top Of The World
We are introduced to him in v.5b and 6. Mr. OTW represents the wealthy who have chosen to use their wealth to oppress and deceive the Mr. Yikes’ of the world. They are on top of the world because they have all they want, all they think they need and can do whatever they want. At least that’s what they think!

Note the contrast thus far. Mr. Yikes has fear, Mr. OTW has no fear.

What does the writer of the Psalm attempt to do?
How does the writer attempt to dismantle, to diffuse the fear of Mr. Yikes?
How does the writer attempt to instill some healthy fear into Mr. OTW?

Based on the proverb (v.12, 20) and the whole context, what is the lie that Mr. Yikes is believing? How would you state it? On Sunday I stated it this way,

“My oppressor has ultimate power, a power that I need to cower to.”

Would you agree that fear often can find its life blood, its nutrition and sustenance from a lie. It is parasitic. It sees something we believe (that isn’t true) and attaches itself to that lie and grows. Thus the object of our fear has power over us that is unfounded and not rooted in reality. If you dispel the lie, you dispel the fear even though the object might still be very real.

What lies often feed our fears? Can you identify with Mr. Yikes? If so, in what way?

Now think of the proverb and the overall context from Mr. OTW’s perspective. What lie does it reveal he believes? This is how I would state it.

“My ‘stuff’ is my god and it will sustain and define me.”

If he believes the proverb, fear is not dismantled but infused and planted in his heart. He will come to the realization that what he has been trusting in is faulty. Healthy fear (reverence, worship) will lead him to the true God.

Know anybody that needs a little healthy fear in their life?
Do you see the contrast of these two characters? For Mr. Yikes, a lie is feeding his unhealthy fear. Fear is a foe! For Mr. OTW, a lie is preventing him from having healthy fear. The writer wants fear to be his friend and lead him away from that which will cause him to perish like the beasts.

Finally note that both are experiencing a hindered relationship with God:

• For Mr. Yikes, the fear of man has skewed his relationship with God. Fear inflates the object to such a great degree that God gets lost in its shadow. The writer of this Psalm is trying to help Mr. Yikes get perspective. Notice v.15 - who is the redeemer? “To redeem” means to buy back someone from slavery or from incarceration as a prisoner of war. Note the contrast with how money cannot redeem (v.7-11). I think that for Mr. Yikes the writer is attempting to not only remove fear as a foe-fear based in a lie, but to reestablish some healthy fear (reverence, awe) of God. Have you ever found that fear rooted in lies can distort your relationship with God? This is what was happening to Mr. Yikes. Fear was a foe.

• How about Mr. OTW? Is his relationship with God distorted? Again notice the contrast. Mr. OTW, needs some healthy fear to cause him to renounce his faulty faith foundations and embrace the fear (worship, reverence) of God. The writer is trying to scare the “stuff” out of Mr. OTW so he will fear God. Fear, if embraced, would be Mr. OTW’s best friend, saving him from peril. Know anybody whose relationship with God is hindered, nonexistent or low on the priority list because they have bought the lie that “stuff” can satisfy? Do you need to pray for anyone that God would scare the “stuff” right out of them?

Let me challenge you to pray for Mr. Yikes and Mr. OTW this week. There are many in our world who need to be released from fear that is rooted in a long list of lies. Many Christ-followers have had their relationship with God deeply impacted by unhealthy fear. There are also many in our world who could be seen as identifying with Mr. OTW. They need a good dose of healthy fear to move them away from building their life on faulty foundations and draw them to the Savior.

If you think about these two characters, they should really switch names.
• Mr Yikes should be “on top of the world”, for the Lord is his redeemer.
• Mr OTW should be “yikes” for the Lord says of him he will perish like the beasts.

Fear: Friend or Foe? Which is it for you?

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com

Touchng Base! Part 209

Heart Conversations with God 2013 - Part 2
Rouse Yourself!


(You can find a recording of this sermon here.)

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.
What do you do when your transmission fails, your basement floods, and the teacher wants to speak to you after school about your son (…again)? Or when your house is broken into, your contract isn’t renewed, and you’re awaiting medical results? Or when your livestock is stolen, your employees are killed, your kids all die, and you get an itchy skin disease?

Do you scream that the universe is unjust? Do you curse God? Do you seek consolation from friends? Do you repeat, “Your will be done” over and over? Do you stop praying altogether?

This sermon series on the Psalms is about prayer. Pastor Mark showed in Part 1 that the psalms are often addressed to God like prayers and fall into several categories: penitential, liturgical, praise, etc.

Psalm 44 is a prayer of honest and difficult questions for God, interspersed with stark accusations – “You sold your people for a pittance,” “you crushed us” – and commands – “Rouse yourself!” (yes, again addressed to God).

Question: When you have your own hard questions, do you pose them to God? Have you ever accused Him of something?

The people speaking in Psalm 44 are pretty clear that they’ve done nothing to deserve rejection, defeat in battle, mockery, and misery (and we’ll have to take their word for it). They’re pretty clear that they would almost expect all this pain if they had been worshipping other gods or drifting away. But they haven’t. Injustice.

Job – whose kids died and, to add itch to bereavement, was then covered in boils – also was careful to proclaim his innocence (and God agrees with him). And yet the very worst befell him.

This is the Bible, not the prosperity gospel. This is not a message of “follow God as a path to earthly success and riches”.

Question: How do you think of God’s goodness and power when you are “brought down to the dust” (Psalm 44:25)?

If you turn from God, He may allow events to teach and redirect you just like a good Dad cares about his kids and doesn’t let them get away with disobedience. Our actions and choices have consequences: managing money poorly may result in debt and angry spouses may result in unhappy marriages, and we can’t scream injustice when these happen.

This is not what Psalm 44 and the Book of Job are about though. They are about the silences, times when the only noise is our questioning. Psalm 44 gives us a model, even permission, to question. For God can handle our questioning.

But can we handle His response?

If “Be careful what you ask for” is true, at least be ready for God’s answer when you question. It will be a divine answer for sure and, therefore, probably not the one you expect – more of a “response”, perhaps, than an answer.

Question: When you question God in prayer (if you do), do you actually expect a response? Can you think of an unanticipated – or unwelcome – divine response that you received?

Psalm 44 is mostly just a one-sided prayer. Only at the end is there a glimmer – and that’s all it is – of a potential response: “Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your [here it comes…] unfailing love” (v. 26, emphasis mine). Even as the psalm ends the people are simply entreating and commanding God to help, but they have, even while miserable and baffled, faith in His unfailing love.

Read: Take time this week to read the 4 short chapters in Job that are God’s own speech (Job 38-41).

Question: Is the speech comforting? Does it make any sense? Remember, it should probably be in red letters in your Bible. It’s God talking.

Question: How is God’s relationship to Job similar to His relationship to Adam in Genesis? God’s speech in Job is all about His creation, and it is only by comparing Job and Adam that I can get comfort from that speech.

Finally, Psalm 44 is quoted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:36. Paul doesn’t say that, with the New Testament, all will be answers and prosperity and comfort. It is in the context of writing about persecution and famine that he quotes the despair of Psalm 44. However, he then writes some famous words about the love of God (Romans 8:37-39). Read that, too, this week.

Eric.

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com