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Church Leadership Requirements - part 2

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Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, August 14, 2011

1 Peter 5:1-4, “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”

What does it mean, what is required to lead in God's church? Last Lord's Day we began a look at the subject of church leadership in preparation for the election of church officers coming up next month. Though the national scene, straw polls, presidential debates and candidates announcing their intentions to campaign for the highest office in the land, though all of that political hype and hoopla may get a lot more media attention and to some seem more significant, listen, I don't think there are too many things more important than finding out what this Book has to say about leading in God's church. I don't think there are too many things more urgently needed than prayers for and insight into what God desires for His people. That's why I want to invite you and encourage you to be here each Lord's Day over the next few weeks, so that you can benefit, and so that you will know better how to pray for and encourage those who lead or will lead in this congregation.

What does it mean, what is required y God, if a man is to lead in God's church? I mentioned last Sunday that the nature of church leadership, shepherding, feeding God's flock, setting an example to the sheep, testifying to the saving work of Jesus Christ, all of that DEMANDS that we understand these things NOT from a world point of view, but from a Biblical point of view. And, where does that Bible-view point pertaining to church leadership begin?

It begins with the simply, yet profoundly critical fact that to lead in the church a man must be converted. He himself must be born again.

No, Jesus Himself is not here, in a physical body, to lead His church. But He has sent forth His Spirit to fill and empower men, re-born men, to lead in His stead. Before you and I mark out ballots, we must consider that weighty question: do these men's lives testify to the reality of the new birth? Have they truly been converted? Does it show?

And men, as we consider the calling and the responsibility, the accountability of the calling to lead in God's church, we must look into this 'mirror', God's Book, and honestly ask ourselves if the new birth, Christian conversion, is something that is true of us. 'Is my life producing the fruit of Christ-likeness? Am I truly born again?'

To lead in God's church is more than to wear a title, to win a popularity contest, to come out on top of a straw poll. To lead in God's church, one must be BORN AGAIN. Secondly, to lead in God's church, to lead in God's way, a man must be acutely aware of the needs of others. Priests and Levites may pass right on by the half-dead who lay helplessly beside life's road. But not good samaritans. Hirelings, self-centered hirelings may be blind to their predicaments and deaf to their cries of distress, but not good shepherds! They see the flock the way Jesus sees it, helpless and harassed, scattered and vulnerable and they realize that what they need, who they need is not a hireling, but a shepherd. Men, do you see the need, the needs of God's flock, the crying needs of the countless LOST sheep outside these four walls? To lead in God's church, what does it mean, what is required? Vision, listening ears, why? So that you might come to be aware, ACUTELY aware that people are in need, in need of what the GOOD Shepherd can bring to them, through you!

The nature of church ministry, the nature of church leadership is not a second, third or fourth tier issue. No! Rather, every year, every day it ought to be on the front burner for God's people.

Genuine conversion, an acute awareness of others' needs. Indeed these qualities should mark the life of the church leader or potential church leader. But so should two or three other important components. Let's take a look at them one at a time, shall we?

The next step toward active, vibrant, meaningful leadership in God's church takes us from a simply awareness of others' needs, to a desire, a willing, want, to meet those needs. There's an old adage that has a lot of truth to it when it comes to what we are discussing here. It goes like this, 'A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.'

Notice how the apostle Peter puts this truth here in our text. He writes, “the elders who are among you I exhort, I, who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly...” It's interesting, if not insightful to note carefully what Peter is saying here. In a manner similar to what Paul stressed when he said in 1 Timothy 3, that a church leader, specifically, an elder, must “desire the office,” he must aspire to be, year to become, all that church leadership requires; so Peter explains that the church leader is not really qualified, or at least not quite ready to take up that critical role, if he has to have his arm twisted to do so. “Not by constraint”, “not under compulsion”, “not because you have to, but because you want to”, because it is a part of who you are, a part of who and what God is making you!

In the flyleaf of my Bible where I have these gems regarding church leadership written down, next to this one, the one about a church leader having a DESIRE to meet others' needs, I penned these words: “Here am I, send me, use me, God, to meet those people's needs!”

What does it mean, what is required to lead in God's church? Genuine Christian conversion, an acute awareness of the needs of others, a desire, a willingness to be used to meet those needs. Then, next, an ability, a capability to meet those needs.

Of the five characteristics of the call to church leadership that I have jotted down in the flyleaf of my Bible, this is the one, it seems to me, that gives men the most trouble. Can I do the work that being a church leader would require of me? Without sounding too pious or super spiritual, allow me to answer that question this way: no, you can't! Without God's help, without the power of the Holy Spirit, you can't! And, without sounding like I'm double-talking, contradicting what I've just declared, allow me to answer your question this way: can you? Yes, you can! I mean, if the apostle Paul, a former blasphemer, an ex-persecutor of the church, a self-proclaimed 'violent man', the chief of sinners, if God can choose him, if God can use Him (see 1 Timothy 1:12-17), listen, brothers, He can use you! You CAN do the work of church leadership! If you are a Christian, truly born-again, and growing in your walk with Christ. If you have a desire, an eager willingness to be God's instrument to meet some of the needs of which He has made you aware, then, listen, “God has not given to you a spirit of fear [a timid, doubting spirit, 'I don't think I can!']...” No! Rather, 2 Timothy 1:7, “God has given to you the Spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Are you a Christian? Have you received the gift of His indwelling Holy Spirit? Then, listen, hear what His word says to you and to your doubts and uncertainties: Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to His power that is at work, in us [in you], to Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” In Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, instructed, shaped, equipped by His mighty word, you have the power! You do! So, then what? Last question, last characteristic of the nature of the call to church leadership. Do you have the opportunity? Has God opened a door for you to be His instrument to meet others' needs?

The subject of the open door, the door of opportunity, is an interesting topic for study from the Scriptures. It is one that relates directly to the subject of church leadership at this point. Open doors, doors of opportunity, what do you think of them? How do you react to them? Exciting – does that word seem appropriate? Frightening – how about that word? Exciting AND frightening... interesting combination, isn't it? Kind of like riding a double-loop roller coaster, right? “A great and effective door has opened to me,” is the way Paul described it to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 16:9). And then he added these words, “And there are many adversaries!”

“A door for the Word, an opportunity to speak the mystery of Christ” - that's what Paul asked the Colossians to pray for him. By the way, did you know that Paul was in chains, in jail, when he wrote that? A door, an opportunity to be God's man to meet others' needs. Exciting? Yes! Frightening? Yes! But, listen again to what the Spirit of Christ said to the angel of the church at Philadelphia: “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, a wide open opportunity, and no one can shut it! [“I know, I know,” Jesus says, “I know that] you have only a little bit of strength [to pursue those open doors]” but listen, listen to Jesus' precious promise to all who will say, “Here I am, use me!” Revelation 3:7 - “I hold the key of David. I open, no one – no one – can shut and what I shut, no one can open!”

Exciting and frightening! When it comes to leading in God's church, I can't think of two more fitting adjectives, can you?

But listen – what are they in comparison to these nouns? God's unlimited power, Jesus' abiding presence and the Holy Spirit's infinite wisdom.

Brother, if God is calling you to lead, if you truly are His child, born again, if He has opened your eyes to the needs, stirred in you a zeal to address those needs, flung the door open for you to be His instrument to meet those needs – what are you waiting for? The excitement, it will be there, and so will the fearful adversaries! But, listen – best of all, God will be there. God will be there to lead you, to help you, to use you, for His glory, to feed His sheep.

Church Leadership Requirements - part 1

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, August 7, 2011

1 Peter 5:1-4, “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”

In the flyleaf of one of my Bibles, I have written a summary of what my father-in-law shared with me a long time ago about church leadership.

As we begin a month-long look at this subject, in preparation for our church elections, I would like to relay some of these gems my father-in-law gave to me all those years ago. I trust that these insights into church leadership will help and inspire those of us who lead, but also that they will guide and instruct those who are led, both as they vote in the coming election, and as they pray for those who lead.

What does it mean, what is required to lead in God's church? Any more there ways of answering those questions, and many definitions of church leadership. But, because the church is a Divine-institution, not the creation of man, but of God, because Jesus calls it His church and refers to Himself as its Builder and declares that it is founded on the world-changing fact that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, because all of these things are true about the church, it is imperative that we go not so much to the thoughts and ideas of men for help in understanding what it means to be a church leader, but that we come back to this Book, God's Book, for guidance and instruction.

The nature of church ministry, the nature of church leadership – shepherding, feeding God's flock, setting an example to the sheep, testifying to the saving work of Jesus Christ, DEMANDS that we understand it NOT from a worldly point of view, but from a Biblical point of view. No where is that fact seen more clearly than in the first nugget of truth about church leadership that my father-in-law shared with me. See if you don't agree. What does it mean, what is required to lead in God's church? Listen, it may not top a lot of people's lists, but if we are going to be people of the Book, it will, it should, it MUST top our list! What does it mean, what is required to lead in the church? At the top of the list, to lead in the church, a man must be converted. He must himself be truly born again.

I know, I know, that Peter denied Jesus three times, though he steadfastly claimed that he would never do so, that he would DIE before doing so. I know... And, yes, I know, I know, that Andrew, James, John, Philip and all the rest fled into the darkness when Jesus was arrested, leaving Him alone just like He said they would. And, I know, I know, Thomas, the doubter, he stuck to his guns, and said, 'Unless I see the nail prints in His hands and feet, and can put my fingers into His side, I won't believe He's alive!' I know...

But, listen, can you imagine, just try to do so for a minute, what kind of church we would have if Jesus would have left it in the hands of Judas Iscariot?! What's the difference? I mean, Peter denied our Savior, three times he denied Him, and James and John and Philip and Andrew and the others they left Jesus to fend for Himself, ran off and left Him so as o save their own necks! And, Thomas – does the term skeptic seem appropriate?

But, listen, where was Thomas one week later? John chapter twenty tells us that that night Jesus appeared in the midst of His disciples, this time Thomas was there, and he got to see Jesus' wounds, got to touch Him, got to hug Him. And, what did he do? He fell on his knees and cried, “My Lord, and my God!” But where was Judas?!

And, as for James and John, Philip and Andrew and the rest, just who was it that stood up to declare to the Jews gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost that 'this same Jesus, whom you have crucified, God has made both Lord and Christ'? Read Acts chapter two and you'll see. It wasn't Judas! It was them!

And, then there's ol' Peter, we remember him, he's famous, or maybe we should say, in-famous, for the 'cock-a-doodle-do' incident, right? But, listen, do we also remember that it was Peter - who two times – boldly declared to the very same Sanhedrin that declared Jesus guilty, “I cannot BUT speak about the things I have seen and heard, I must obey God rather than men!” That was Peter, but where was Judas?

What was the first gem regarding church leadership that we must wrap our arms around? To lead the church, a man must – he absolutely HAS TO BE converted! Born again! When it comes to failure, there IS no difference between Judas and all the others. But, listen, when it comes to conversion there is! They sinned, they failed, they doubted, but they repented! And were saved! Judas didn't! That's the difference, and that's why Jesus used them to establish His church!

So what? That's church history, right? Yes, it is. But listen, if we want to be God's instruments in His work, today, listen, it must also be church reality, church PRESENT! Before you cast that ballot in a few weeks, fellows before we say 'yes' to invitations to fill positions of leadership, this must be our burning issue, our number one question! Is he converted? Can I see the evidence, the 'fruit' in his life? Am I truly 'born again'? Is my life an illustration of a Judas-like faker or of someone ready to bow the knee and exclaim, 'Jesus, you are alive! You are my Lord and God'?

Peter, the human author of the Scripture text we read a moment ago, alludes to all of this, when he humbly says of himself, “I am a witness of the sufferings of Christ”, “I am partaker of, a participant in Christ's glory that will be revealed...” This Is who I am, because of Calvary. Judas didn't live to see Jesus die! This is who I am because of Resurrection Day! But, Judas' body swung from a tree on that first day of the week. This is who I am because of Pentecost, but by that time Judas' coins had purchased a field called 'Akeldama' – 'field of blood' – and, by that time, the day of Pentecost, instead of standing with Peter and the others, testifying to the fact that Jesus is both Lord and Christ, Judas' lifeless body was a bloody, broken-open heap...

Because he was converted, truly born again, a witness of the suffering and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, because of all of that Peter could rightly be called an 'elder', a 'fellow elder'!

There's a second gem of truth regarding church leadership which my father-in-law shared with me, that builds on this first one, and it goes something like this: having been converted, truly born again, to lead in God's church, a man must have an AWARENESS of the needs of others! A church leader, to be Scripturally qualified, must be acutely aware of the needs of God's people, and of those God desires to call to Himself to be His people.

Speaking of my father-in-law, two months ago my family and I had the privilege of sharing in his celebration of retirement from 50+ years of work and ministry for the Lord. You should have been there, especially for the 'treasure hunt' that my father-in-law's oldest daughter, my wife, put together to spice up the occasion. In a nut shell, the treasure hunt was a fun little 'driving game', where Julia's dad drove all over Tyler picking up 'clues' pertaining to his 50 years of work. Now here's where I'm going with this little story. The first clue he retrieved was a baby chick. Strange clue, I know, unless, like him, as a 20 year-old newly-wed, and soon-to-be-first-time-father, you're in the business of raising broilers – 10,000 of them! Delivered on the very same day my wife, his first child, was born! Talk about an acute awareness of need!

Looking at a 'sea' of humanity coming His way for His healing touch, His tender compassion, His truth-filled teaching, like a brand-new chicken farmer listening to the incessant 'peeps' of all those 'cheeps', Jesus didn't smack His forehead and exclaim, 'Look what I've gotten myself into!' No! Instead, He said to those who would later carry His mantle of leadership, the Peters, the Thomases, the Philips, 'Look! Do you see the need?! The fields, they are white unto harvest!' 'Look! Do you see the need?! That 'sea' of humanity, it's not a mass of nameless, faceless flesh. No! It's My flock! Helpless and harassed, scattered and vulnerable, like sheep without a shepherd! “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers, the willing workers who really see the need, are few, very few. So pray, ask, BEG, the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest field.'

To lead in God's church, the converted man, the truly born-again man, must see the need, he must be acutely aware, as Peter puts it here, that the flock of God must be fed from the grassy green pastures of God's Word, and led to the nourishment of God's streams of living water... Peter knew it. Jesus opened his eyes to it, remember? 'Peter, do you love Me? Feed my sheep... Peter, do you love Me? Feed my sheep... Peter, do you love Me? Feed My Sheep!”

Peter knew it, Jesus opened his eyes to it. And, as Jesus' inspired instruments, speaking to born again 'fellow elders', he asks, 'Are you aware? Do you see the need?' “Feed, shepherd, the flock of God which is among you...”

What does it mean, what is required of a man, if he is to be a leader in God's church? The rest of this message I must leave for next time. But, before we close, I have to tell you one more thing. The chick, the baby chick, that my father-in-law picked up as clue #1 in the treasure hunt – what happened to it? 'Cheep' as we affectionately call him (or her?) now resides in our backyard, and is nearly full grown. But, here's the deal: I know, I know, you're wondering, 'why would anyone want a chicken in the city?' Well, like you, we like eggs and legs, and all that other tasty 'chicken stuff'. But, listen, we brought the chick home, not 10,000 of them, just one – why? To help a future church leader named Jaden learn what it means, what God's Word through Peter means, when it says, “Feed the flock of God which is among you...” We kept the chicken so that he might come to see the need! To prepare him to enter those white and ready fields, to reap the harvest God intends to bring into His garner.

What does it mean, what is required to lead in God's church?

Would you join me over the next few weeks, in looking right here, in God's Book, for the answers to those questions?

Understanding True Freedom: Give Thanks to the Lord

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Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, July 31, 2011

Psalm 107:1-22, “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons— because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High, therefore He brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He has broken the gates of bronze, and cut the bars of iron in two. Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.”

What does it mean to be truly free? As we come to the end of 'freedom month', I want to take one last opportunity to examine this important question with you from the perspective of God's Word.

As you remember, our theme texts for this study on true freedom have been found on the lips of Jesus and from the pen of the apostle Paul. We have heard and read words that describe for us what true freedom is, and how to obtain it. Think again of these passages with me for a moment, will you? “Brethren, you have been called to liberty, to freedom, only do not use [that] liberty as an opportunity, a launching pad, for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this: 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself.' “ (Galatians :13-14) And the words of Jesus in Luke 4, “The spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19) And, then, of course, our starting point, from the from the eighth chapter of John's gospel, the words of our Lord, “If you abide in My word, then you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Therefore if the Son makes your free, then you shall be truly free – free indeed!” (John 8:31-32, 36)

What does it mean to be truly free? We've covered quite a bit of ground as we have explored this subject, but one thing we haven't examined as much as I think we should in this study, is the response, the proper Biblical response of the liberated, of those who have been set free, to the One who has freed them. Come again to the text we read a moment ago from the psalms, and you will see it written all over the passage, won't you?

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever! Let the redeemed, the rescued, the liberated, of the Lord say so, those whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.”
Thanksgiving, you see it, don't you? A joyful expression of gratitude to God, our Liberator! I know it's not late in the month of November. I know that we're not all sitting around a table spread with a juicy turkey, a warm pan of dressing and a delicious helping of pumpkin pie, but listen, if the Son has set you free, it's 'Thanksgiving Day!' It's the season, as the Redeemed of the Lord, to say so! To say, 'Thank you, Lord! You are so good to me! By your eternal mercy You have rescued me! Praise God!'

I know that you and I are not Jesus, not Old Testament Israelites, and that the details and specifics laid out in this 'historical psalm' pertain to ancient Israel and God's gracious dealings with that nation. I know all that. But listen. In many ways, their history, Israel's history, is not that different from the history of each one of us. Take a look.

Verse 2 – Ever felt like you were in the clutches of someone or something greater and stronger than you? Something or someone intending to harm you, to steal from you, to destroy you? Are you, have you been freed from that 'enemy'? Has God rescued you from that 'evil grip'? Say so! “Thank you, God! For in Your goodness and in Your everlasting loving kindness, you have set me free from that 'enemy'. Praise God!”

Verses four through nine: ever been lost and lonely? I mean, have you ever felt like you were wandering in a limitless desert without a compass, with no landmarks to guide you, and, maybe worst of all, without an oasis anywhere in sight? Ever been there? Then, you know what it means to be hungry, don't you? And you know how it feels to be bone-dry, parched! You know what it means to be weak to the point of fainting! And, by the way, we're not just talking here about desperate situations physically, but also the desperation we sometimes experience in our souls! Ever been there?

Look at the words the Bible uses to describe what we're talking about here: verse 6, 'trouble', verse 6, 'distress', verse 8, 'longing' – intense, deep-down longing, and nagging, gnawing hunger. Ever been there? Have you? Then, you will understand, you will join with the psalmist and the Israelites of old in exclaiming, 'Thank you, God! For Your goodness, for Your wonderful works to me, this child of a man!' For in my 'desert', no compass, no landmarks, no oasis, in my desert, You supplied me with Your leadership! You “led me forth by the right way, that I might go to a city for a dwelling place!” And to my parched lips, my gnawing stomach, my stressed-out soul look what You did for me! Verse 8 – You provided satisfaction, You filled me with Your goodness! Hallelujah!

What does it mean to be truly free? For the Christian, set free by the Son, liberated by abiding in His Word, and by knowing His truth, for the Christian, in ways not too dis-similar to the Old Testament Israelites, you've been there.

Yes, we've been there, sitting in that dark, dungeon at midnight, bound there, not because we were preaching the gospel, as Paul and Silas had been, but held there, like that jailer at Philippi was held there, not by literal chains and stocks, but by the iron-like grip of our sins against God.

Yes, we've been there, haven't we? Some of us maybe are still there. As verse 10 says, in a place of deep darkness, in a place over which death, the unmentionable, casts its horrible shadow. Been there, are there, because we rebelled against the words of God, because we despised His lofty and righteous counsel, thinking, we know better! We could handle it without Him!

What happens eventually, in the long run, what happens to every, single, solitary person who thinks he know better? Who arrogantly tells God to 'get lost 'case I can take care of this without you!'?

Look at verse 12, with me, will you? Have you ever considered your work as a form of slavery? A type of imprisonment? When you kick God out of the equation of your life, that's what your work becomes! Worse yet, look at what the text says, verse 12, tells us, when you tell God to get lost, who is left to help you? Who?! 

 

Do you know what it means to be truly free? I mean TRULY FREE? It doesn't mean you think you're big enough, strong enough, rich enough, smart enough to tell God to get lost! No! Rather, look with me at what it means. Verses 13, 14, 15 and 16. True freedom comes, when, on your knees in desperation and in genuine humility, you invite God into your life, to save you out of your distresses, to break your chains in pieces, to cut your prison bars of iron in two! Praise Him!

Why does God do it? I just said it, didn't I? So that we will praise Him! He extends His goodness to us, displays works more wonderful, more gracious, more life-transforming than we can begin to imagine. Why? So that the children of men, are you a part of that group? A child of a man? God saves us from our distresses and the shadow of death, He breaks the gates of bronze that imprison us, why? So that we will give thanks to Him! So that we will praise Him!

What does it mean to be truly free? There are at least two words that don't go with the idea of true freedom. Anybody have any idea what those two words are? Verse 17 – Foolishness, that's the first word and affliction, that's the other word. Foolishness - remember the 'I know better than You, God!' way of thinking we mentioned earlier? Fools, thinking they know better than God, transgress, they step outside of the boundaries God set forth for them. Fools, daring to kick God out of their lives, commit iniquity, they end up twisting and perverting all God meant for good in their lives. Fools, who think they are so wise, are, in fact, as blind as can be. They can't see, maybe choose not to see, where their foolishness is leading them. You see where it leads, don't you? Remember the second key word from verse 17?

Foolishness, 'I'm smarter than You, God', “I don't need You, God!' takes everyone who walks that path in one direction, and in one direction only, and it isn't the pathway to true freedom! No! It is the pathway to and through affliction.

But isn't our God so very gracious? Can I get an 'Amen' to that?

Do you understand why I say that a season of reflecting on the nature of true freedom ought to be also a season of Thanksgiving? Fools, at the end of a thorny, pot-hole-filled, booby-trap laden, way called 'affliction', if, like the prodigal son, they come to themselves and turn back toward Daddy's house, what does Daddy do?

Verse 20 – He sends forth His word and heals them, He commands deliverance toward them when they are on the brink of destruction. Verse 19 – He does what they though they could do without Him! He saves them out of their distresses. He rescues them from the affliction their pride and foolishness caused. Ever been there? A traveler on that pathway that began with your foolishness and ended with the affliction God said it would bring?

Maybe you are still there, now. Verse 21 - “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” If you've been there on a path that began with your foolishness and ended with it's terrible 'destination', affliction, but have been rescued by the hand of the mighty and merciful God, that's what you're to do! “Sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and joyfully tell everyone what He has done for you!”

But, if you're still there, here's what you are to do: verse 6, verse 13, verse 19, verse 28; cry out to the Lord, His ears are open to your prayers. Cry out to the Lord, He's listening, been waiting for you to call on Him for years! Cry out to Him, come to Him, through His Son, the Liberator and His 'statue of liberty', the Cross! Cry out to Him, and when you do, listen, help is on the way! Help is on the way!