His steadfast love endures forever: Psalm 136

His steadfast love endures forever

Psalm 136

Good morning! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Christmas season has officially started! Go ahead and turn in your Bibles with me, we will be anchored in Psalm 136.

This is one of the Psalms I had read Wednesday evening at the Thanksgiving  Service. And either despite of or because of the repetition in it, it is one of my favorite psalms and one that really emphasizes giving thanks to God.

One of the clearest messages from the Bible is that God deserves our thanks.. We are going to see that we are to give thanks to the LORD for two reasons. First is Who he is. The second is what He has done for us.

God has so many attributes that make him worthy of our thanksgiving and our praise and our worship. Psalm 136 gives us 26 verses of things that God is and things that God has done that make him worthy of thanks, but it repeats the same thing in the second part of every verse.

We are going to read parts of Psalm 136  this morning and I want you to follow along. I’ll be reading out of the English Standard Version. I encourage you to read along in your preferred translation. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we read a Psalm of Thanksgiving, starting in verse 1:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;

4 to him who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
5 to him who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;

Now as I said, this continues on for an additional 17 verses and each one repeats “his steadfast love endures forever.” The word here translated as steadfast love, is also translated “lovingkindness” in this psalm, or just “love” in some of your translations. The Hebrew word, “chesed”

In other passages, this is often translated mercy, kindness or goodness. One commentator explains the use of the word in this psalm this way: “The LORD’s loyal love, mentioned in each of the 26 refrains, is his covenant faithfulness to his Chosen People whom he loves.”

 

So, Who is God? Why is who he is a reason to worship him, to praise him and to give thanks to him? God has spent the entire Bible (and all of time before and since then) revealing himself to us.

First, he created the universe, the world, the heavens and earth, and us. He is more awesome and powerful, more loving and merciful and good, the Most knowing and creative being that has ever been. He has spent the entire Old Testament doing mighty works, performing miracles, delivering and saving people, making himself known to the Jewish people and the nations around them. He saved nations, destroyed cities and had individuals turn to salt or swallowed by fish.

We also see that God instituted the sacrificial system in the Old Testament to make atonement for our sins. Sin requires blood and God allowed us to sacrifice animals in our place for the forgiveness of our sins. But those were not the only sacrifices, or offerings that were instituted. Leviticus 22:29 also makes reference to giving a sacrifice of Thanksgiving. Psalm 50, a psalm of Asaph tells us the same thing, saying in v 14: “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the most high.”

What’s really neat when we look at the Old Testament sacrifice of thanks, is what is required in it. The sacrifice requires a blood offering of a lamb or goat with no blemish. It requires bread or crackers made with yeast and bread or crackers made without yeast.

These three pieces are symbolic in what they represent. A lamb without blemish is a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ. His blood was sacrificed for us and poured out on the cross just like the lamb here.

The unleavened bread, or bread made without yeast is very specific as well. Yeast and leaven are associate with sin, and so bringing bread without yeast represents a life without sin, a life of holiness and purity. Again, who amongst us has lived this life? Only one man. Also, a part of the unleavened bread was that it was mixed with oil, which is often times associated with the Holy Spirit.

 

Give thanks to the LORD, His steadfast love endures forever.

Forever means forever. God’s love endures forever. Nothing can take it away; nothing can change it. It always was and always is. His steadfast love is part of who he is. This is based on his qualities, not ours. Just like the other things the psalmist lists in Psalm 136.

What I like about this psalm in particular, is that it so completely lists that many reasons to be thankful to God, and as I mentioned earlier, it splits it in to two categories, who he is and what he has done. The first 9 verses, what we just read, are about who God is. HE is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. He is good and he alone does great wonders. And it starts talking about the wonders of his creation. Genesis 1:1 starts off everything, “In the beginning, God created…” The first words of the Bible. Out of nothing, nothing! God created the Heavens and the earth, the seas and the lands, the skies and the mountains, the animals, the birds and the fish. And he created man.

 

Now we are made in God’s image, so we are born with the ability to create with the gifts and materials that he has given us, but we cannot create something out of nothing. God is greater than us and deserves our thanks, and our praise.

The next section of the Psalm takes us into some of the things he has done. In the specific context of the Psalm, they start looking back at God freeing the Israelites from Egypt and bringing them to the promised land. But towards the end, it also becomes more general so that it applies to us as well. v. 23-26 reads:

It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
24 and rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
25 he who gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

The psalmist points out here that when we give thanks for what God has done for us, it’s not enough to just give thanks to him for the good things in our lives. The Bible makes it clear that we are to give thanks in all circumstances. Here in psalm 136, the psalmist is saying that they were in low estates.

They were down on their luck; nothing was going right. This would be where we start to wonder where God is. We wonder what possible reason we have to give him thanks. We have some of the moments and feelings in our life and some of you might be going through some of those times right now.

This is where chesed comes in. It is his ability to be faithful, not our ability to see or not see him working. But the psalmist points to God’s grace. First, specific grace that is given to his people. V 24 says that God rescued us from our foes. Second, he points to common grace. This is grace, love and gifts that are given to all people, He says in v 25 that God gives food to all flesh.

Jesus parallels this in the Sermon on the mount. In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us not to be anxious, not to worry about what clothes we will where and what food we will eat. He says in v 26, “26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

Jesus is not telling us not to plan, not to be prepared, but what he is telling us is not to doubt the love and the goodness of God. We will always have this common grace to be thankful for. Charles Spurgeon speaks of these times in our lives, saying:

Some of us think at times that we could cry “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” There are seasons when the brightness of our father’s smile is eclipsed by clouds and darkness; but let us remember that God never does really forsake us. It is only a seeming forsaking with us, but in Christ’ sake it was a real forsaking. We grieve at a little withdrawal of our fathers love; but the real turning away of Gods face from his son, who shall calculate how deep the agony which it caused him? In our case, our cry is often dictated by unbelief: in his case it was the utterance of a dreadful fact, for God had really turned away from Him for a season. O thou poor, distressed soul, who once lived in the sunshine of God’s face, but art now in darkness, remember that He has not really forsaken thee. God in the clouds is as much our God as when he shines forth in all the lustre of his grace.”

God wants us to see him in the good and the bad, and see that he is in control, that he is our creator King, and he will continue to take care of us, no matter what. James tells us right at the beginning of his letter, in verse 2, “Count it all joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of various kinds.” God has a way of working things together for his glory, that we can’t always see now, and we may not ever see.

When we read the Bible, we have the advantage of seeing from 30,000 feet. What I mean by that is that we often get to see the big picture, how God uses different circumstances and brings them around to his will and his glory. Two narratives that come to mind in the Old Testament are that of Joseph and of Job.

In Genesis, Josephs brothers do not like him and are jealous of him being their father’s favorite. They sell him into slavery, and he ends up in Egypt. He is faithful to God, becomes respected, ends up in jail on false charges, becomes respected again and ends up being the Pharaohs right hand man. He is the one who is essentially running the country.

When there is a huge famine in the area, Egypt is the only country with food and people are coming from all around to try to buy food. This includes Josephs old family. He reveals himself to them and moves his family down to Egypt. His brothers show regret and think that there will be retribution for what they did to Joseph. In Genesis 50:20-21, Joseph tells them:

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people[b] should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Joseph was able to look back and see why God had put him through all the trials that he was put through. He saw the bigger picture. Job was not so lucky. We, reading the Bible see the part in the beginning of Job where Satan and God are talking, and God gives him permission to put him through many various trials. So, Job was put through all this to prove that he would not turn against God when everything he has was taken from him. See, Jobs fear of the LORD, his worship of God, his giving thanks to him was not only based on what God had done to him and for him, but because of who God was. Job got through the trials and God restored all that he had and more. But during the entire time that God was revealing to Job who he was and talking with him, Job never found out why he went through all the trials he did.

So, we can see in each of those stories what there is to give thanks for, what good has come of them, and who God is in them. We see them from high up in the air, putting the puzzle together and seeing it in totality. When things are happening to us, we don’t see it from up in the air, we are seeing it from the ground and we can’t always, or even often see the big picture.

But what we do have is God’s word, his promises. And his promise is that we go through the things we go through for a reason. Lets go back to James. He tells us to be thankful for the trials that we are put through, but he goes onto tell us why. Starting in v 3,

for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

When we give thanks to God during times of trials, our faith grows and we come to know God better, growing closer to him. Paul tells us that no matter what, God’s will will be done. That He is in control and that he has our best interest in mind. Our job is to worship him and to follow him, giving him thanks and praise.      Paul tells us on Romans 8,

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,[h] for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

The point of this passage is not just that God is good and will work everything to his will, which he will. But more than that it tells us a part of what his will is. That those of us that know him will be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. That we will grow to be more like Jesus and that we will grow to be closer to God. That we will give thanks and worship and praise to he who is our creator King and is all good all the time.

Now let’s be clear. The bible is not saying and I am not saying that these times aren’t hard, that they aren’t difficult and that we shouldn’t hurt. When Lazarus died, Jesus wept. His friend’s death hurt him and he mourned. What the Bible is saying is that when we know him, we can look at these circumstances and we can know that somehow, someway, someday, sometime, God will use this for his glory.

This past Thursday, our nation celebrated Thanksgiving. Many Americans sit down as a family, tell each other what they are thankful for and spend time together. Many Americans do this only on this one day of the year. But I want to challenge us to something more. Each day, tell each other what you are thankful for. Each day, whoever you are spending your time with, family, friends coworkers, tell them what you are thankful for in your day, in your life, big and small. And let everyone know who you are thankful to. For tomorrow is never promised.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke on the importance of biblical thanksgiving, saying:

“The way out of spiritual trial leads through thanksgiving.  . . . When thanksgiving fails, all else fails.  If there is something in our lives that we cannot include in thanksgiving, the Devil has found an open gate.  .

Giving thanks to God, having a thankful heart and mind towards him are vital for our well-being, for our growth and for our worship and right understanding of God.

It matters to God. It should matter to us. It matters to the point that Revelation shows us in Ch 7 that the angels are on their faces before the throne of God and in v 12, : saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

The most important reason for us on a personal level, to give thanks to God is what we saw earlier in the quote by Charles Spurgeon. Our sins needed to be dealt with. We turned our back on God, we disobeyed his directions and found our selves separated from him. Because he wanted to restore that relationship, God sent Jesus Christ to take our punishment. We see that God had to forsake Jesus, to turn away from him, so that Jesus would feel that separation from God. We see the agony and the utter torment that it caused Jesus on the Cross. That was supposed to be us. Instead Jesus took it so we didn’t have to. Doesn’t that deserve Thanks?

God is Good. Give thanks to the LORD for his steadfast love endures forever.

 

Lets Pray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ephesians 5:11-21 Christ Will Shine on You

Ephesians 5:11-21

Christ Will Shine on You

 

Kids are dismissed for Childrens church.

 

Please turn with me to Ephesians chapter 5. In Paul’s letter on unity within the church, he has been focusing on what our lives should practically look like, on Gods immeasurable riches and the change that he has caused inside of us.

The big, recent idea is that there is right and wrong, there is darkness and light, there is sin and holiness. And we were once in one camp, we were on one side. We were in the darkness. Now, through Christ, we are changed. We are now in the light.

We are putting off the old, putting on the new. We are to stop sinning and to pursue holiness. We are to be imitators of God and to walk in Christ. We are to discern what is pleasing to the LORD, to do what is good and right and true.

Paul is going to continue the light and dark illustration as we get into this week’s scriptures. Though here he will focus on the light, and the goodness of the pouring out of Gods grace and mercy and His light shining out on us.

So, let’s go ahead and read this morning’s passage, Ephesians chapter 5 verses 11 through 21. Ill be reading out of the English Standard Version. Please grab your preferred translation and follow along as we read the very Words of God.  Ephesians 5:11-21, Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, writes:

 

11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

 

 

May God Bless the Reading of His Holy Word.

 

 

Paul continues from the previous verses, what we looked at last week, he says to take no partners with the unfruitful works of darkness. Scriptures are clear throughout that we are to be careful and discerning who we partner with and who we yoke with.

We see this warning about not marrying into a relationship that is unequally yoked. We see this here with light and darkness. We see this with who and how we look to, who we hitch ourselves too politically or nationally.

When a person, when a group, when a movement or a party share a purpose, or a goal, or an ideal, but they compromise on the Gospel, and more specifically, the fruit and the commands of scripture, then they are not to be partnered with.

Just as the wrong thing done for the right reason is wrong, so too is the right thing done for the wrong reason. We are not to fight fire with fire. We are not to do whatever it takes if the cause is just. The ends do not justify the means. That is 100% unbiblical.

Scripture is clear that what is done in the dark will be brought to the light. We do not ignore evil and wrongdoing in others.

 

We do not gossip about them or slander them, but we do need to be able to say, “This is Wrong.”

And one of the reasons is because evil and wrong will become known at some point, whether in this world or the next.

And what happens to the church’s credibility, or to our individual credibility when it becomes known that someone, something, some organizations, some group we partnered with was steeped in darkness, when it or they were actually opposed to the Gospel, and it comes out that we knew about this wrongdoing and did nothing about it? Or knew they were opposed to the Gospel, and we decided that wasn’t as important as whatever the reason we partnered with them?

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

 

It will become visible. All will be revealed. God knows all and sees all. And he won’t be fooled.

 

We also see in verse 13, that God will redeem all things for his glory. What light illuminates, it will also transform. We were dead in our sins, but he has brought us out of death into life. He has made us alive. We were asleep to the truth but now the Holy Spirit has awakened us to our sins and to the darkness.

And when we are awoken from the darkness, we are then in the light. And when we are in the light, the light of Christ will shine on us.

We are called to, and we will reflect that light that Christ is shining on us like the moon reflects the light of the sun to shine in the night. That is to be us reflecting the light of Christ and the good news of the Gospel to the dark in the world around us.

Paul tells us to be conscious and purposeful, we are to be active in choosing how you walk, how you live, how you act. Not as the unwise, but as the wise.

We cannot just stumble blindfolded through life and expect to do the things that God has called us to do.  We are to be wise as serpents but gentle as doves. We are to discern what is pleasing to the LORD, what is good and right and true.  And to do all that means we are to seek wisdom. Wisdom not of this world, but wisdom from above, the wisdom of God.

James writes in his letter, chapter 3, verses 13 through 18:

 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

 

We need the wisdom of God in order to do what he calls us to do, to be light in a dark world. To pursue righteousness, to give all the glory of all the world directly to God.

The wisdom of God reminds us to make the best use of the day because the days are evil. No one knows the time or the hour, but we do know that the days of this world do have a limit. There is an expiration date to these evil days. And so, we are to use the wisdom God has given us to, as one commentator says, “actively take advantage of every opportunity to do good.”

Essentially, the days are evil and dark and so we are to shine as much light as possible, every day, by the wisdom given to us by God.

Therefore, because of this, do not be foolish. Use the Wisdom given by God but understand what the will of God is. This is not a secret. God has not hidden his will from us. Instead, he has revealed his will to us through his word.

This is emphasizing to us that the Bible is absolutely vital to our walk with God and to us knowing him, knowing his will and being able to shine His light in this world.

Reading his word, knowing his word, seeing his wisdom, knowing his will.

His word, the Word of God, and the only perfect rule for faith, creed and conduct.

His word is where we find his will. And when we know his will, and act according to his wisdom, we will see within us what Paul describes next.

He says in verse 18, do not get drunk on wine. This is not a blanket prohibition, but Paul is addressing the effects that wine, or alcohol can have, controlling one’s mind. It affects your judgment and thought processes. It leads to foolish decisions and to living and acting in darkness.

And so, instead of letting that control you and your mind and your spirit and your judgment and your decision making, instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

When you are filled with the spirit, Paul says this is what happens, you address one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. In other words, being filled with the Spirit results in joyful praise.

And we make melody to the LORD in our heart, giving thanks and for everything to God the Father in the name of our LORD Jesus Christ.

We are to have joyful praise and gratitude and thanksgiving at all times.

This week is thanksgiving and so, hopefully, our hearts and mind are already attuned to the things in our life that we are to be thankful for.

And we have so much to be thankful for. Friends, family, homes, jobs, food, shelter, transportation, freedom, so much.

But we need to remember the source of all that is good and right and true and where it comes from.

James 1:17 & 18:

 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.[d] 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

 

God our Father is a good and merciful God. He created us to be in perfect and eternal communion with him back in Genesis 1 & 2. Sin came into the world in Genesis 3 and separated us from that perfect and eternal communion with God. God immediately told Adam and Eve that he had a plan, a solution to this very bad problem. That solution, we now know, was Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, God himself.

? Jesus was a real live historical person. There is more historical evidence for him than for Julius Caesar.

Jesus was the Son of God who came to redeem mankind. He came to reconcile us back to God. He came to bridge the divide that sin causes between us and God. And he did it by taking our justice, our punishment for the sins we have committed.

Each and every one of us here. Each and every person born, with Jesus being the only exception, each and every person has sinned and been separated from God. Each and every person who has sinned deserves to pay the consequences of that sin, which is eternity in Hell, having the full, perfect, holy wrath of God poured out on them. The wages, meaning the payment for sin is death. That is what each and every single person here deserves, especially me.

And yet, God loved us in that while we were yet sinners, he sent his son to take that penalty, that that wrath, to substitute himself, in our place. He who knew no sin became sin so that we could become the righteousness of God. He died the death that we deserved. He took and absorbed the wrath that was justly and rightfully due to us. He paid our debt and bridged that gap for us, on our behalf.

And Jesus did this, not because we obeyed well enough. Not because we did the right thing. Not because our good outweighed our bad. Because none of that is true.

For it is by grace we have been saved, through faith. God’s grace poured out on us, through the vehicle of our faith in his son. And this is a gift, not because of us, but because of God and through God alone so that none of us may boast. And there is no name except Jesus by which we are saved. There is one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ.

Those who are saved are saved by the grace of God alone, through Faith alone in his Son Jesus Christ alone. All of this is revealed in Scripture Alone and all of it done for the Glory of God alone.

As Jonathon Edwards famously said, we contribute nothing to our salvation except the sin that made it necessary.

Here’s the deal. If you have believed in the Son, then you get the Father. If you reject the Son, you reject the Father. That’s it. Nothing else you do matters.

And so, when we know this, when we truly know this, it is nothing to let the joy and gratitude flow out of us.

Last night at the Father/Son dinner, we sang the Doxology, letting praise for God the Father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit flow out of us.

That’s what Paul is calling us to, let the praise of God flow out of you. Bible commentator Dunnam writes:

The early church, Spirit filled, was a singing church, the dominant theme was joy. It was a thankful church. Knowing who God was, and what he had done, keeping at the surface of their awareness the fact that they were recipients if unmerited mercy and grace, gratitude was the keynote of their life.

 

How many of us can say the same? How many of us can say that our lives are marked by joy and thankfulness and gratitude? How many of us can say that others see that as our dominant theme?

Paul calls us to be filled with the Spirit and when we are, this is what flows from us. Wisdom and light, joy and gratefulness, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

That last verse is what’s called a tease for where we will go next week in the next passage.

In the meantime, let’s pray.

 

Your Plans or Gods Will?

 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

James 4:13-17

As a friend of mine and I say,  It doesnt matter what your plans are, you can run, and try to do your own thing, But if God wants you to go to Nineveh, you will end up in Nineveh…

Casey

James 1:23

Mens Bible Study this week

Testing of Your Faith Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

(James 1:2-8 ESV)

Casey

Romans 5:3

Active Faith, and Holy Spirit convictions

So here is the follow up to my sermon on Genesis 13. This ism y sermon on Genesis 14! Its names you can never pronounce, more than you ever thought you would hear about Melchizedek and learning that people cant change before they meet Jesus, they need Jesus in order to change.

Thanks ahead of time for the feedback!

 

 

 

Casey

Proverbs 8:1-11

Godly wisdom vs Earthly Wisdom

So this past Sunday, February 23rd, I preached on Genesis 13, where Abram and Lot went there separate ways. Im pretty proud of the content, even though i can find many critiques about my delivery. What feedback do you all have?

 

Casey

Matthew 6:25-34