Christ Church (Moscow, ID)

<p>In the Garden, we see Jesus ask His Father to do something. And we see His Father deny Him. This is the Incarnate Word, the One through Whom all things were made. This God-Man was the lynch-pin of all history. The One Whom the prophets foretold, the Lamb to unmake and remake the world. And in His most desperate prayer, His Father denied Him.</p>

<p>Most Christians are familiar with the exhortation to “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2), but we often assume that this merely means we should have Christian friends we can share our struggles and hardships with. But Paul is actually exhorting Christians to practice the kind of spiritual authority and wisdom that flows from knowing Christ crucified and having His Spirit. We see this pattern of bearing burdens going back to the godly counsel Jethro gave to Moses.</p>

<p>As we seek to live our lives as faithful Christians, informed by the Word of God, we soon discover that it is not a simple process. It is not as though the Spirit gave us a rule book, in outline form, fully indexed. He gave us laws, principles, stories, and parables, strewn across various ages and cultures of men. What are we to do with it all?</p>

<p>To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:<br><br>The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:<br><br>‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’</p>

<p>The Christian faith and the Christian church are glorious results of the Word of God. The voice of God thunders in creation and in the gospel, and then we thunder with His grace.</p>

<p>A distinguishing feature of the Christian faith is that we proclaim the assurance of salvation. Christians aren’t left guessing if God hears their prayers. We aren’t crossing our fingers wishing that our God will be gracious to us. The saints of God aren’t cowering in the corner wondering what sort of mood God is in today. No. Those who are born again are as certain of their standing with God and His love to them as they are that the sun will rise tomorrow.</p>

<p>This psalm is the most frequently quoted passage of the Old Testament in the New Testament. The verses quoted have various applications which we will consider as we work through the psalm.</p>

<p>1. Love is not easily provoked.<br>2. Love thinks no evil.<br>3. Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.</p>

<p>This psalm has been a challenge to many Christians for centuries. It is an imprecatory psalm, and of the most bracing variety. Many commentators have been reduced to saying something like, “We know it is inspired, but we don’t have to like it.” The great C.S. Lewis stumbled over it, saying that God put it in Scripture so that we might have an example of how not to behave. And even Charles Spurgeon said the psalm represented “no small difficulty,” and that “we have need of all our faith and reverence to accept them as the voice of inspiration.” This psalm, he says, “tests our teachableness.” And so it does.</p>

<p>There is a true theological balancing act that is able to handle two very different sentiments that are both found in Scripture. The first is the response of a humble servant of Christ—“So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luke 17:10). We are to say that we are unprofitable servants, and when we do that, we are doing no more than what we were told to say. But what does the Lord say to us? “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matt. 25:21). How do we reconcile the two? To paraphrase Spurgeon, we don’t need to reconcile them. Why reconcile friends?</p>

<p>If Jesus retold the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector, who would be the characters today? The Pharisee could be a student at the classical Christian school or a successful business man or a very industrious housewife––the defining trait is someone who trusts in their own righteousness. The apostle Paul fit the description of parable’s Pharisee and he had quite a bit that he could put his trust in––his parents, his history, his education, his career success, his spiritual zeal. Paul summed up all of this as “my own righteousness” (Phil. 3:9).Then Paul had a radical conversion, but not the kind of conversion we often think of. Paul was saved from his own righteousness. In Philippians 3, Paul tells about the great discovery that he can and must abandon all his self-righteousness because he gained that which is so much more excellent and valuable in Christ Jesus––who saves him from his self-righteousness.</p>

<p>If there is one lesson that the psalmist would like for us to take away from this psalm, it is the desire that men would learn how to praise God for His goodness. It must follow from this that—either from the difficulty of the lesson or the sluggishness of the students—this is not an easy thing to accomplish. We consider some of the central aspects of this difficulty shortly.</p>

<p>God is always to be praised for His wondrous works, but we also need to remember to make sure to catalog our praises. God works wonderfully in creation, and He works wonderfully in the salvation of His people. He also works wonderfully, as we shall see here, in the salvation of ingrates.<br><br>One level of praise is to extol God for His creative work in the heavens and earth. Another level of praise has to do with His work throughout the course of history—and because of the fact of sin, this is largely the work of redemption. And, as we shall see here, it frequently involves the salvation of stupid ingrates.</p>

<p>The world is fundamentally divided between the truth and all lies. Jesus is the Truth, and He speaks the truth of God, and those who are born of God love the truth and hear His voice. But those who are not born of God cannot hear the word of God because they are sons of the devil, who is a liar, and the father of lies. So when we come to considering the importance of telling the truth, repenting of our lies, and learning to hate all lies, we are talking about nothing less than fundamental loyalties, allegiances, and eternal destinies.</p>

<p>What we have here is a glorious retelling of God’s deliverance of Israel in the Exodus. In addition, we find that it is a retelling that is theologically sophisticated, on several levels.</p>

<p>The Trinity is the source and archetype of true Christian community: “truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 Jn. 1:3). We have been made alive together, and the resulting community is a glorious part of the riches of His grace (Eph. 2:5-6). But we want our fellowship to be shaped by the Bible and not whatever we (or our culture) assumes it to be.</p>

<p>In this psalm, among many other truths, we see that the Holy Spirit of God is the one who gives all forms of life. “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created” (v. <a href="http://30).And" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">30).And</a> in the Nicene Creed, which we recited today, we confessed that we believe “in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life.” He is the one who brooded over the face of the deep at the first creation, and He is the one who was poured out upon the first residents of the new creation at Pentecost. He is the giver of life, and the giver of new life. In this psalm we are invited to exult in the truths of creationand a detailed providence.</p>

<p>In this most encouraging psalm, we have a plain statement of what our condition is apart from the grace of God, coupled with a clear testimony of the giving of that grace regardless. One of the worst things a man can be is an ingrate, and in this psalm we are catechized in the glorious discipline of not forgetting His benefits.</p>

<p>As the school year comes in for a landing, and we launch into another summer, it’s worth giving thought to what you might need to be on the lookout for. Summer is worth preparing for.</p>

<p>We have in this psalm a prayer offered up in the midst of desperate affliction. The afflicted are those who feel most in need of answered prayer. They are those who feel like getting an answer is a true long shot. But affliction makes them eloquent anyhow, and it is the kind of eloquence that moves Jehovah. Moreover, the fact that the affliction could be the result of our own sin doesn’t really alter that. God loves the cry of the desolate.</p>

<p>The most likely occasion for the composition of this psalm is shortly after the death of Saul, when it looked likely that David was going to ascend the throne. This is a psalm that declares what he wanted his administration to look like—he is talking about the kind of behavior that will get a man excluded from his court, and what kind of loyal and upright behavior will result in preferment. Another possible occasion for this psalm is when David was about to become the king of a unified Israel, but the import would be the same.<br><br>Older commentators called this psalm “The Mirror for Magistrates.” A prince needs to understand the importance of character as he picks his courtiers, and as he selects his cabinet. What kind of people gather around the center of power will determine if it will be a righteous or an unrighteous power.<br><br>Bringing the stakes down a notch, another name for the psalm has been “The Householder’s Psalm,” but the principle is the same. How are employers to make their decisions? What kind of servants do you have? What kind of employees?</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>The last several years Christ Church has tried an experiment in grace and has not charged for the Grace Agenda conference. In keeping with the spirit of grace, we are accepting free will donations at <a href="http://christkirk.com/give" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">christkirk.com/give</a>. Be sure to select 'Grace Agenda' in the form.</p>

<p>Those Christians who have spent much time in conservative Christian circles know that we are pro-life. That almost goes without saying. And we often have some of the basic arguments down, but we need to make sure that we have the true foundational issues down as well. That means, as you should instinctively know, that we have to ground our convictions on the Scriptures that have been given to us by God.</p>

<p>The Apostle Paul commanded the Corinthians to: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong (1 Cor. 16:13).” The greek word there is a wonderful one: andrizomai. It means, “be a man.” God commands the bride of Christ to “man up.” We are to be watchful, vigilant, courageous, and strong. This is one way of saying the Christian life isn’t for pansies or pushovers.</p>

<p>The presence of the Lord Jesus, alive just as He promised He would be, transforms everything. We can see this very clearly in the fall and restoration of the apostle Peter after the resurrection. The account of Christ’s care for Peter is given to us so that we might understand more of His care for us.</p>