DIY Salvation {Video}

A Different Angle on Valentine’s Day

1 John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God, and [because] everyone who loves has born of God and knows God.  8 He who does not love has not come to know God, because God is love.  9 In this way God’s love is made evident in our midst, in that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world in order that we might live through Him.  10 In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the propitiation [atoning sacrifice] for our sins.  11 Beloved, if [in fact] God loved us like this, [then] we also are obligated to love one another.  12 No one has ever seen God.  [But] if we love one another, God lives in us and His love has accomplished its goal in us.” (author's translation)

“Love is of God,” (4:7).  With these four short words, the apostle John makes a very powerful and quite provocative statement both about love and about God.

For the countless people who are looking for love in all the wrong places (and in all the wrong forms), John says simply that “love is of God.”  He is its Source.

But then, take note that John also informs us that “God is love,” (4:8).  In other words, whatever He is, it is.  However, so that we do not misunderstand, the point is not that love defines God, but that He defines it.  Simply put, knowing God is the way to know [real, lasting] love because He is love.

Next, the apostle indicates that God’s love (the fact that He loves and, especially the way He loves) is both revelatory and redemptive.  God’s love is revelatory in that, when He loves, He does not merely say it, He shows it.  It is a love that He ‘makes evident’ to the objects of His love (4:9; John 3:14 - 17) in and through the cross – the atoning death of His Son.

But, then, take note that the reason for the revelation of God’s love is redemption.  God’s love is redemptive, in that, when He loves He gives so as to address the huge issue of sin in all of our lives (4:10).  But also, when God loves His love is redemptive, in that, in dealing with our sin (and sins), we are changed and our relationship to Him is changed (we come to be His children – ‘born of Him’ – 4:7).  In loving us redemptively, we are no longer [spiritually] dead, but are given [eternal] life through Jesus Christ (4:9; Ephesians 2:1, 4 - 5).  In loving us redemptively, God makes us His beloved children even though we were formerly His enemies (4:7; Romans 5:6 – 11).

So what?  ‘Well, God, I am really glad you are that way . . . All of that is really great . . . Time to move on to the next thing . . . Right?’

Wrong!  If we claim to be God’s children – loved by God – begotten by His love – able to relate to Him because of that love – then, what?  Then, we are obligated (the idea is that of being ‘indebted’) to love not just Him, but every other child of God.  And, in responding to His love for us in this way, we make Him known.  The Unseen One is made visible through us (4:12).  His love accomplishes the goal He had in mind for it from the very beginning (4:12).  Amazing!

Success in the New Year

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, January 1, 2012

Genesis 39:1-23, “Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.  Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”  But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”  So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.  But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”  So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”  So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused. Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.

How many of you believe that, all in all, your life was successful during 2011?  How many of you would like to be more successful this year, in the New Year, 2012? 

Success, what we mean by success, and, how to go about measuring it and when we are successful, varies from person to person, doesn’t it?  Some would say that success has to do, like they say in the business world, with the ‘bottom line’.  Did we make a profit?  Did that profit level exceed previous years’ profit levels? 

Others would suggest that success is not so much a matter of profits, but product.  Is this year’s model or version of whatever we are manufacturing or producing better – improved – than last year’s? 

Still others, perhaps those in areas like education and social influence measure their success – or failure – with yet a different ‘bottom line’.  No, not profit, and not product, but progress.  And they ask themselves, at crucial junctures, questions like this, “How far have we come in society, how far have our students come, since this time last year?” 

Profit, product, progress.  As you can see, success, what it means, and, how to recognize if and when you have attained to it, vary, differ, from person to the next.  However, this Book, who’s Book is this?  This Book, how much about success does the One whose Book this is KNOW about success?  Though people’s definition and means of recognition of success DIFFER from person to person, listen.  This Book, and the all-wise, unchanging Person behind this Book, has one CONSTANT definition of success, one unvarying way of determining success, and that is with three simple words: “God – with – us!”  If it can be said, truly said, not just based on our fluctuating emotions or some passing whim, but based on what this Book says, that God is, was will be, with us, then – and only then – can it be said that we are a success, that what we have attempted to do or be was successful. 

Genesis 39 – A Powerful glimpse into the life of Joseph, a man who went – literally – from the pit to the pinnacle, what does the Scripture say of him?  Count them, repeatedly, the text says of Joseph, that “the Lord was with him…”  (Genesis 39:2, 3, 21, 23)  And, because the Lord was with him, what else does the passage relate to us about Joseph?  Verse 2, verse 3, verse 5, verse 21, verse 23 – The Scripture tells us that because the Lord was with Joseph, yes, even in places and circumstances like slavery and prison, because of those three simply words: God with him, Joseph was successful, Joseph prospered.  And, look at it, “the blessing of the Lord was on all” that pertained to his master Potiphar, and upon all who were connected to Joseph in jail. 

Success, I mean, who wouldn’t want to be a little more, maybe a lot more successful, this year, than last year?  I would.  I do. 

Every year, about this time, I get a year-end report from my bank.  And, in simply terms, that report over views for me, where my family was, financially, at the beginning of 2011, and, where we are now, twelve months later.  And, every year, maybe like you, I look at those figures and at the ‘bottom line’, and ask myself, “Are we any better off than we were twelve months ago?”  I mean, in economic times like we’re in today, who wouldn’t want to see at least a little more in the bank at year end than a year ago?  But, how?  And, have you ever asked this question of your life and finances?  Why?  Why do I want to be more successful financially?  What would be the goal, the purpose, the hoped-for outcome, of such success?  A newer car?  A bigger home?  The latest in gadgets?  How about more to give to the Lord’s work?  How about more to share with the poor?  How about more to send to missionaries?  How about more to use in assisting orphans and widows? 

You may not see it quite yet, but listen, those three words: God-with-us, alter, they affect, in amazing, can’t-calculate-it-or-display-it-on-a-spread-sheet, kind of ways, both the How? and the Why? of our pursuit of material and financial prosperity.  Let me show you how: Psalm 24, and then, Psalm 50, material prosperity, financial success, in this economy and in this New Year.  Is that for which you’re hoping? 

Where do you being in that quest?  Go to MONEY magazine, right?  Go to the Wall Street Journal, right?  Go to your broker, or your banker, or your investment adviser, right?  Psalm 24 – How many of those people, those supposed ‘experts’ will bring this perspective to the discussion?

Psalm 24:1-10, “The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.
For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters.  Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?  Or who may stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.  He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.  This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face.  Selah  Lift up your heads, O you gates!  And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!  And the King of glory shall come in.  Who is this King of glory?  The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.  Lift up your heads, O you gates!  Lift up, you everlasting doors!  And the King of glory shall come in.  Who is this King of glory?  The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory.  Selah

Psalm 24, material wealth and possession, what we call “ours”, our ‘stuff’, our ‘net worth’.  Whose is it, really?  And, why?  Psalm 24, verses one and two, it is the Lords!  Judy S----, G.C.’s wife shared with me a tremendous word of testimony the other night at the funeral home.  A word that is based, ultimately, on what David the psalmist teaches us here: she said, “As far as my dear husband is concerned, the Lord gave him to me, and now the Lord has taken him from me.  Blessed be the name of the Lord!”  What a testimony!  What a perspective!  An accurate, Biblical perspective that all of us should desire to have in this area of money!  My “stuff” is not really mine!  It’s the Lord’s, why?  Because He made it, and, because He made me.  And as Creator, my Creator, He owns me and owns what pertains to me!  That’s the first principle related to material prosperity and success that goes with the words, “God-with-us!” 

Then, look further with me here, would you, please?  Psalm 24:5 – Notice the reference to receiving “the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of salvation…”  Question: Who is the ‘he’?  Who is the person, or, perhaps, we should ask, ‘what kind of person is in line to be blessed by God materially and financially?  Psalm 24:3-4 – Have you spent some time examining your year-end bank statements?  What did you see?  Are the words, ‘God-with-me’ written anywhere on those reports?  If not, then what? 

Then it’s time to look in the mirror!  (The BIBLE)  It’s time to look in the mirror!  Psalm 24:3-6, read them with me one more time, will you?        

Psalm 24:3-6, “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?  Or who may stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.  He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.  This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face.  Selah”

Material prosperity, financially successful, who wouldn’t want to be more that way this year, than last?  God-with-us, have you looked in the mirror?  Looked at your hands, and your heart, your soul and your speech?  How do they line up with God’s measurement of success? 

Genesis 39 – The life of this great man of faith, Joseph.  Repeatedly, the Scripture describes him as successful, and, as being the reason, the human reason, the flesh and blood instrument of God to bring success to the likes of Potiphar and the prison warden.  How did that happen?  God-with-us.  Joseph lifted up his life, and said, “King of Glory, won’t you come in, please?  Please, enter my life, O Lord of Hosts, every part of it, including the “stuff” I call mine, and do so, with Your strength, and with Your power!”  What are we talking about here?  God-with-us.  Three simple words.

Material prosperity, financial success in the New Year, the How’s?  And the Why’s?  What are we talking about here?  How is it, why is it, that Joseph was so successful? 

Psalm 50 – Take a look at that passage with me, will you, please?  Psalm 50 – pick up the reading of the text with me, in verse 7:

Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God!  I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are continually before Me.   I will not take a bull from your house, nor goats out of your folds.  For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine.  “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness.  Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?  Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.  Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”  Psalm 50:7 -15

Material success and prosperity, notice that, once again, the unchanging starting point on this issue is not profit, or product or progress, but what?  God owns it all!  That 4-wheeler, you got here on the ‘back’ of…  Whose is it?  Verse 10 – That 4-footed beast you’ll eat from in a little while, Who supplied it?  Verses 9, 10, 11 and 12. 

Material prosperity, financial success – how?  In this economy?  How?  Joseph shows us how.  The psalmist Asaph tells us know, God-with-us, the God-centered, not profit-centered, not product-centered, not even progress-centered, but the God-centered life! 

Notice how Asaph details that for us in verses 12, 13 and 14:

If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness.  Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

It all belongs to God, my ‘stuff’ isn’t mine!  It’s His!  So, what?  So, “offer to God thanksgiving”, step one.  So, “pay your vows to the Most High,” step two.  So, “call upon ME in the day of trouble,” - we don’t have time to unpack all of what each one of those steps mean, but study them out.  You want to be more materially prosperous in 2012, there’s your assignment, study them out. 

God-with-us, offer to God thanksgiving [step one], pay your vows to the Most High [step two], and step three to attain to financial success, “call upon the LORD in the day of trouble…”  That’s the How?  The means, the method.  But what’s the goal?  What’s the purpose behind a God-centered-life?  Verse 15 – Here’s the answer to these Why? questions:

“Offer to God thanksgiving; pay your vows to the Most High, call upon the Lord in the day of trouble”, if we will do these things, IF, then what?  Then, God will deliver us, and we, as He grants success in His way, according to His means, and in His perfect timing, then, we will glorify Him!  We will do, we MUST do, what Joseph repeatedly did, as he moved from the pit – rejected and hated by his brothers – to Potiphar’s house as a slave, to prison – unjustly accused and condemned – and finally, to the pinnacle of authority in Egypt.  God-with-us – As God graciously grants us success, in His way and in His time, then we must do what Joseph repeatedly did, we must honor God!  We must turn the spotlight on Him! 

God-with-us – 3 words, 3 simple words that have everything to do with material and financial prosperity and success in the New Year.  The God-centered, not the profit-centered, not the product-centered, not even the progress-centered life, but the God-centered life, that’s real success!  That’s real prosperity! 

Solomon, wisest man who ever lived, perhaps the richest man ever also, summed it up like this: “Honor the Lord with your possessions [your stuff], and with the first-fruits of all your increase…  Then, your barns [your pantries] will be filled with plenty, and your presses will overflow with new wine…”  (Proverbs 3:9-10)

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!

This God Is Our God, Forever and Ever

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Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, June 5, 2011

Psalm 48:1-14, “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God,in His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge. For behold, the kings assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marveled; they were troubled, they hastened away. Fear took hold of them there, and pain, as of a woman in birth pangs, as when You break the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it forever. Selah. We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, in the midst of Your temple. According to Your name, O God, so is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness. Let Mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of Your judgments. Walk about Zion, and go all around her. Count her towers; mark well her bulwarks; consider her palaces; that you may tell it to the generation following. For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death.”

There's nothing quite like a funeral to get you to thinking about the things that really matter in life. You know how it is, don't you? We plod along in life, living it day-by-day, sometimes even minute-by-minute, and often, we get caught up in the necessities of life, maybe even the urgencies of life. But until something like a funeral comes along, we don't stop, perhaps won't stop, to consider, to wrestle with, to face the things that really matter in life.

You know our tendency, don't you? We awaken in the morning, and almost before both feet hit the floor, we're thinking about what we've got to do today! The list is long with the necessities of life, fix a meal, fold the laundry, pay the bills, punch the time clock, fight the traffic, purchase the groceries, cut the grass. Makes you tired just thinking about it, doesn't it? But, then along comes the flat tire, the trip to the emergency room with the sprained ankle, the burst water pipe, the hail damage to our roof or our car, and suddenly, we're faced with a list of urgencies also, to go along with all those necessities.

Then comes the call, or perhaps the notification by way of an obituary in the paper or a message that comes to your email inbox, that so-and-so has died, and all of the sudden, as if someone is jamming on the brakes of your run away train life, you're forced to stop and think. Forced to consider what really matters in this world, not things that moth and rust can destroy or objects that thieves can break through and steal, but what has more lasting value. Forced even to ask, “where is God in all of this?” Or, even, “have I even stopped to ASK HIM to be at work in all of my necessities, urgencies and crises?”

I was thumbing through a little devotional book my brother bought for me in Germany over 25 years ago, and again came across these verses that, along with the funerals, pulled me up short. Listen to them with me, would you please? Psalm 48:14, the last verse of the passage I read at the outset, declares it this way: “For this God is our God, forever and ever, He will be our guide even unto death.” And, then, along with that verse from Psalms, was set this verse from 2 Corinthians 12 (verse 9): “And He said to me...” Here's the Lord Jesus giving His gracious counsel to the apostle Paul in a time of great 'thorn-in-the-flesh' testing Paul was struggling to endure, to this discouraged, yes, even distressed, servant of God, the Lord Jesus speaks these words of counsel and comfort, “My grace is sufficient for you; for power [Christ's power] is made perfect in weakness [in our weakness].”

There's a lot to chew on in just those two short and simple verses, isn't there? And, I encourage you to spend sometime chewing on them. But, while you're doing that, allow me to remind you, maybe even to confront you, with a thought or two that we'd probably rather not have to deal with.

Here goes: As I said, there's nothing quite like a funeral to bring issues back on to the 'radar screen' of our lives, is there? And, so, here are the reminders, the 'blips' on our lives' radar screen that we would much rather ignore.

Mom and Dad are gone, I mean they are laying in that cemetery across town or across the country from where you are, your spouse is gone also, even though the two of you enjoyed life together for 40, 50, maybe even 60 years, your siblings, the freckled-faced, curly-headed, mischievous youngsters you grew up with, their hair turned gray, then silver, then white and the freckles gave way to wrinkles and guess what? Now they're gone too! And, yes, for some, in God's mysterious plan, even the children, your own flesh and blood offspring, are gone, too. And you find yourself all alone. One day, something like that, a situation similar to all of that, will be your situation - what then? To whom will you go, then? On whom will you lean, then?

Psalm 48:14 – Look at that verse a little more closely with me now, will you, please?

The verse simply says: “This God...” the psalmist is talking there about the God of Israel, the One, True Living God of the Bible, not one of those 'gods' that we often make up or pursue, when we're zeroing in on the necessities of life, and the urgencies of life, and certainly not one of the 'gods', made up by the minds of sinful man, made in his own image, in man's image, in order to fashion out of it a 'religion', a false religion meant to suit his tastes and desires.

No, the psalmist, or perhaps I should say, the psalmists, the Son of Korah, when they pen the words, “This God...” they are talking about the God who had repeatedly secured and kept and blessed a nation, a people, and, in particular, a city, to the extent that they could say of that city, and of the Lord and God of that city: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God,in His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge.”

When your parents are gone, for some of us, long gone, when our spouse is gone, our siblings are gone, perhaps even our children are gone, what then? Who will be there for you, then?

Psalm 48:14 - Are you beginning to get the picture as to why I love this verse? Read it with me, please. “This God is our God forever and ever, He will be our guide even unto death...”

Recently, at our home, we have been reading through the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament, during our family devotional time at the breakfast table. And, reading through it, I have been reminded of dramatic, gripping accounts of Bible heroes I have looked up to since I was 4, 5, 6 years old. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Adednego. And folks like Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Cyrus and Darius, whose lives and authority over their lives, serve as the backdrop for an amazing series of accounts that illustrate this verse from the psalms. You think about those four Hebrew young men, those four young Israelites, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Dust off your Bible memory, and think again with me, will you?

Those 4 young Jewish men, when King Nebuchadnezzar and his army took those fellows away from their homes and families, as his captives and transported them to his country, hundreds of miles away from their homeland, they were just teenagers, 15, 16, 17 years of age. Imagine that happening to your son or daughter or grandchildren...

There they are, young teenagers, torn away from everything they knew, uprooted, replanted and, it was every bit Nebuchadnezzar's intention to reprogram them through a 3-year long period of educational indoctrination so as to re-make them into good pagans, good Babylonians - and what happens?

Do you remember the accounts of these 4 young Hebrews recorded there in Daniel, from all those years ago in Sunday School or VBS? Torn away from all you know and love and are acquainted with, force-fed with a new language, culture, customs, and even a new religion, as captives, in a foreign land, and in training to serve, and even worship the king of that foreign land – what would you do? Most 15, 16, 17 year-olds I know would melt, they would just fall in line, and become good Babylonians. Incidentally, so would a lot of 50, 60 and 70 year-olds I know, too! But not Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And not Daniel!

Why no? I mean, it's a choice between bowing to the king's 90 foot tall golden image, or burning in his fiery furnace? Which would you choose? I mean, it's a choice between hiding your prayer life, so that no one knows that you worship and serve the God of heaven, avoiding a den of hungry lions, or throwing back the curtains and shades and letting the whole world know Whose child you are – hungry lions or not. Which would you choose? I mean, it's a choice between pacifying an angry, capricious ruler with a phony interpretation of the handwriting on the wall, and perhaps keeping your job - or your head - or telling him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and letting the chips fall where they may. Which would you choose?

I mean, it's even a choice, for Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, it was a choice, some might say a simply, easy, 'no-brainer' kind of choice, I mean, just blend in, eat the king's food, drink his wine, never mind the spiritual implications of the fact that those things have been dedicated to the king's 'god', eat them anyway, conform, blend in, when in Babylon, do as the Babylonians do, and you'll make it alright. 'No brainer' - right? Not for those 4 young Hebrews! No, that was a choice with very deep and very, very serious spiritual implications; what did they do? What would you do, if you had to face any or all of these difficult choices and dilemmas?

“This God is our God forever and ever, He will be our guide even until death!”

When you're lacking wisdom, needing direction in life, at one of those 'crossroads' we all come to along life's road, when you're even having to venture into uncharted waters, like Joshua leading his people into the Promised Land, like Peter stepping out of the boat – what do you need to know? “This God is our God – my God – forever and ever, He will be our guide even unto death...” When you're alone, so very, very alone, like young Joseph was in Pharaoh's dungeon, falsely accused, turned against by those whom you have loved and served, what keeps you going? This God is our God forever and ever, He will guide us even unto death...”

When you're devastated, I mean your life is in shambles, like Job's was, like the people of Joplin - who can put it all together, who can help you deal with the loss? “This God is our God forever and ever, He will guide us even unto death...”

When you're tempted, like Adam and Eve were, to eat of the forbidden fruit, like Jacob and his mother were, to deceive and get your way, like Peter was, to deny your Savior and King - is there a way of escape? Any help available to overcome? “This God is our God forever and ever, He will guide us even unto death...”

When you're sick, as Epaphroditus was – sick – nigh unto death, and Paul's hands can't effect a healing, there's a Great Physician! Oh, do you know Him, my Friends? “He is God, our God forever and ever! He will guide us even unto death...”

Yes, when you're facing death, as Mary and Martha did at that little cemetery outside of Bethany, as Eileen Spearman's family is, as the Apostle Paul did, when he struggled with a terrible thorn in the flesh, and later, when he received word from the Emperor that he had been found guilty, and was going to be executed – how are you going to do? Who will be there to help you?

“This God is our God forever and ever, He will be our guide even unto death...”

Then one more, and most important of them all; when you're lost, I mean, like the Ethiopians Eunach was, like the Philippians jailer was, like the people on the Day of Pentecost were, when you're powerless, ungodly, sinful, even God's enemy, with out hope, without God in the world, an object of God's righteous wrath – what then?

This God, the God we read and learn about in this Book (the Bible), this God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, has made a way for Him to become your God, your Guide even unto death, and a way – Hallelujah! - an everlasting, path of righteousness for His names sake, the Way, the Truth and the Life, that you might be His child forever and ever!