“What is Man that You Are Mindful of Him?”
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Great Questions Series: Psalm 8:3-4

Introduction: Who are the ones you think about the most? I would guess it would be your family and good friends, and maybe God. Also, it might be someone who you are in conflict with, and this person has gotten under your skin, and this anger causes you to dwell upon them and the situation a little too much. We tend to think about that which has importance in our lives, and/or that consumes our emotions.
There are many people that believe that the God we believe in, is made up; that this God doesn’t really exist. We have just made this God up in our imagination. But if this were true, I believe that this God would look much different. More like the Greek gods: Aphrodite, the goddess of love; Apollo, god of music and healing; Ares, the god of war; Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom; Hermes, the god of messengers; and on and on it goes. These made up gods have their own specific power and place in this world. And these gods don’t have much to do with the humans, and are definitely not personal with them in any way.
But there is something different about the God of the Bible. In our question for today we look at: What is Man that You are Mindful of Him?

I. Mindful of him- (Psalm 8:3)
a. God knows us- From the very beginning of time there has been a
personal nature between God and us, His creation. We are told in Genesis 1 that God wanted to make us in His image. This shows how much thought went into our making. In Psalm 139 we are told that God knows about what we do, and cares about what we do. In fact, the Bible is full of passages that talk about a God who cares for us and for how we live.
This is a profound thought, because it would be easy to think that God has so many more important things to care about. What about the whole of the universe? What about creating others worlds? What about holding this world together? Why would God even care about you or me?
Imagine with me for a moment: by some occurrence you come to know the president of the United States; you become friends with him. He knows your name, knows your family, knows some personal things about you. One day the president comes into town, and he is giving a speech; you are in the audience. At the end of the speech many are trying to get to him, trying to talk with him, trying to touch him, and you walk up, he sees you, and calls out your name. How would that make you feel? You have been set apart above all the other people, because someone that everyone else wants to know, is known by you!
This is how it is with God. God is far greater than the president could ever be. God is far more powerful, far more capable, far more important. And this God knows you. As we talked about a few weeks ago, when we looked at Psalm 139, we saw that God knows everything about us. If God were present here on this earth, and you walked by, God would call you out by name!
b. God is mindful of us- But even more than knowing us by name,
God is mindful of us. Meaning, that we are in God’s thoughts.
Whenever we go to my in-laws house, right there in the kitchen, on the
refrigerator, are many pictures of our family. Why are these pictures there?
Because it helps them to be more mindful of us; to keep us in their thoughts.
Someone once said, “If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.”
We want to feel important in this world. We seek to feel important in our relationships with others. We seek to feel important by establishing ourselves in a good job. We seek to feel important by having nice clothes, and a fancy car. The problem with all of this, is what happens if we don’t get these things? Or what happens if we do get them, but then lose them? The “importance” we attained was not real importance. We were only important for how we appeared. That is why it is so hard for many athletes to retire, because once the retire, they are not seen as important anymore.
Our importance with God is not based on what we attain, or who we appear to be, but by the mere fact that we are God’s creation. I’ve said it before, and I will keep saying it, because to me it is a profound truth: as I understand the importance my children have in my mind, it helps me to understand the importance I have in God’s mind. Because I am a part of God as a part of His creation, God is mindful of me; AND YOU.

II. Care for him- (Psalm 8:3, 4; Mark 1:13; 1 Timothy 2:5)
a. Man- This psalm is really about the psalmist, David, as a king,
thinking that he was important. But then he says in verse 3: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place.” David begins to understand that even though he was a king, and a powerful king at that, even though he felt important, he realizes that there is so much more to the world. He realizes that the universe stretches out to infinity, and that he is just a small part of all that exists. He begins to wonder why God would pay any attention to him at all. “What is man that you are mindful of him?”
God has absolute authority over this universe, and that authority includes you and me, and all of God’s creation. While God gave authority to Adam to care for this earth (and by inheritance all human beings), God still oversees all. God has not relinquished control, or concern for this world; or for you and me. While this world is to be in subjection to us, we are to be subject to God.
But so often we fail in this call. We have failed in that sin came into the world through Adam and Eve. We fail in that we often do not love others as God would have us to love them. We have failed in that we are not caring for this earth, but rather we are destroying it with our misuse.
b. The Son of Man- So God turned His attention to the Second Man;
Jesus Christ; God in the flesh. God gave the Son of Man authority over the universe. So the Second Man comes onto the scene. We are told a little about Him in Psalm 8:4- “You made Him a little lower than the heavenly beings…” When God the Son took on flesh, He was lower than the heavenly beings in that He was human. As a human He had flesh and blood; He had emotions; He had temptation. He needed care, as we see in Mark 1:13 at the end of Jesus’ being tempted in the wilderness and having gone 40 days without food, we are told: “…and the angels waited on him.” The Son of Man became for us a mediator to help us. God showed His care for us in that He didn’t want us to stay lost, so we were given a Savior who now mediates on our behalf. 1 Timothy 2:5 tells us, “There is…one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” Though Satan has sought to thwart God’s plan, and to keep us from the care of God, through the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, we continue to be cared for and counted as precious in God’s sight. Therefore, knowing that God is going to carry out His purpose, we not only see that everything is put under His purpose, but it is done so because He cares for us through and by the care of Jesus.

III. Made him- (Psalm 8:4; Matthew 1:18-23)
a. Jesus was born into the world- One of the interesting notes of the
Scriptures is that for God to come into the world as the Son of Man, He had to be made, created, born into this world. That is why the psalm says “you made him a little lower than the heavenly beings.” Or another way to say it would be to say “you begat” him. Like begats like. Meaning that as a cow begats a cow, or a human begats another human, so God begats God.
Listen from the gospel of Matthew, 1:18-23: “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us.’”
And so we have the Son of Man come into the world with a purpose; to be God with us, but also to ‘save His people from their sins.’ The purpose of His being made God in the flesh was very specific; He was to come to redeem His people!
b. Used Him to redeem us- “A Stranger at the Door,” Hot
Illustrations… p. 25; There is a story of a man whose wife and children were getting ready to go off to their church’s Christmas Eve service. The wife was hoping the husband would go with them, but he wasn’t a believer and thought it was all nonsense. So his family went off without him while he sat by the fireplace reading his book. Not long after his family left it began to snow. He noticed it outside the window, but then something else caught his eye as well; 3 young cats walked past the window. The man put on his coat and decided to check it out. As he opened the door a shiver ran through him by a blast of the cold air. He saw the cats were very young and needed to be helped out of the cold, or they might die. So he called out to the cats, but the cats ran away, frightened by his voice and presence. He again called out to them saying, “Come back, don’t be afraid.” But this did not help at all. “Well,” he thought, “I’ve done everything I can for them,” realizing that any attempt to go toward them just drove them farther away. The only way that I could help them would be to become a cat and lead them to safety. Just then the church bells rang. The bells stopped him in his tracks as he remembered how his wife had told him that God had become man so that He could help us and lead us to safety. At this he went inside, dropped to his knees before the fire and wept, asking for God to forgive his doubting and to take away his sin!!!
Jesus came to this earth to save us because God cares deeply for us!

IV. Crowned him- (Psalm 8:4; Philippians 2:9-11)
Yet, even more than our mediator, Jesus, the Son of Man, is our LORD! The
psalmist says: “You crowned him with glory and honor.” We learn at Easter that the resurrection is important. It is important because of Jesus being resurrected from the dead. A dead Lord would not be of any use to us; not have any power on our behalf. But Jesus is not dead, He has been raised from the dead. And we are told that He sits at the right hand of God, on the throne of God, crowned with glory.
As God in the flesh, Jesus is more than God’s son; He is more than man. He is God in all fullness! As we are told in Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Poem: Face to Face, by Carrie Breck (The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, p. 317)
“Face to face with Christ my Savior, Face to face—what will it be—
When with rapture I behold Him, Jesus Christ who died for me?
Only faintly now I see Him, with the darkling veil between;
But a blessed day is coming when His glory shall be seen.
Face to face! O blissful moment! Face to face—to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer, Jesus Christ who loves me so.”
God cares enough about us to not only come to this earth to live among us, but also to die for us so that our sins would be removed, and even more, to bring us to heaven so that we will behold His glory face to face.

Conclusion: We see that in this psalm King David moves from a position of pride, thinking that he is great, to realizing that he is just a small part of creation. And yet, in his asking this question, (What is man that you are mindful of him?) David begins to realize that because of the Second Son, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, God has shown the depth of His love; that He is indeed mindful of us through the love shown to us in Christ. This shows us all the more how wonderful it is that God is mindful of us. He is mindful of us as Creator, as Savior, as Redeemer, as Lord.
So what is man that God is mindful of us? We are God’s creation. We are God’s people. We are sinners who are saved through Christ. We are God’s beloved. We are people who have been given gifts by God.
EXAMPLE: Imagine that you had won the following prize in a contest:
Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400 in your private bank account for your own use. However, this prize has rules, just as any game has certain rules.
The set of rules?
1) Everything that you didn't spend during each day would be taken away from you.
2) You may not simply transfer money into some other account. You may only spend it.
3) Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400.00.
What would you personally do? You would buy anything and everything you wanted, right? Not only for yourself, but for all the people in your life, right? Maybe even for people you don't know, because you couldn't possibly spend it all on yourself and the people in your life, right? You would try to spend every single cent, and use it all up every day, right? Actually, this game is a reality, but not with money! Each of us is in possession of such a magical bank. We just don't seem to see it. The MAGICAL BANK is TIME! Each morning we awaken and receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life, and when the day is done, any remaining time is gone and NOT credited to us. What we haven't lived up to that day is lost forever. Yesterday is forever gone. SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds
God is indeed mindful of us; He has given us life itself! Let us be thankful for this truth! Amen.

“What Must I Do?”
Matthew 19:16-26
Great Questions Series: 7/25/10

Introduction: What do you treasure in life? There are many things to choose from. Maybe you have a nice house that you love. Maybe you enjoy your car. Maybe you love to take trips. It could be your health, or your family, or your friends. For some people it is money: either they have a lot and they love what they can do with it, or they don’t have enough and they are always seeking to get more. In Matthew 6:21 Jesus tells us: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Jesus is straight with us when He tells us that whatever we treasure, there our heart will be; that is what will dictate how we spend our time, our money, our energy, our passion.
The challenge is that our treasure can actually keep us from having a deep relationship with God. How is this? To have a deep relationship with someone, you need to spend time with them; you have to spend time talking, and sharing, and becoming comfortable with each other. In this time you build trust and caring. Through this time you give your heart over to the other person. It is no different with God: with God we must build trust, and caring, and give our heart to Him! And if we don’t treasure our relationship with God the most, we won’t put our time and energy into it.

I. What Must I Do? (Matthew 19:16-20, 5:4-10, 17; Heb. 11:6; Jn. 14:6)
a. The man- In our story today we see a man coming to Jesus. He
thinks of Jesus as a teacher; as one who can impart wisdom, but not necessarily God in the flesh; not the Messiah. He knows Jesus to be a spiritual teacher, because he asks Jesus about attaining eternal life. But he is confused, because he asks Jesus what “good deed” he must do to inherit eternal life. This man thinks that it is by his efforts that will gain him entrance into heaven. He believes that if he works hard and is a good person, then that will gain him eternal life. He believes that he can do “good deeds” that please God, and this will be enough.
If you remember from last week, we learned that it isn’t about doing enough good deeds, but about having faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Throughout Jesus’ time here on earth, one of His biggest challenges was getting people to understand that heaven wasn’t gained by sweat and blood, but by the giving of the heart.
Back to the man: the man was also rich; in some translations he is called the “rich young ruler.” In Matthew we are told that he was young. In Luke we are told that he is a ruler. So through these facts, we gain a little understanding of this man who is coming to Jesus. This man is trying to gain understanding of religion. Maybe the teachings of the day weren’t satisfying him, and Jesus, as this new “hip” teacher can shed some new light into his dilemma; his seeking for eternal life.
This man seems to be seeking happiness, satisfaction with life. Which could lead us to think that even though he is rich, and even though he has power as a ruler, these things are not satisfying him. He wonders if there is more: perhaps the “road to God would be the ticket,” he wonders. It seems that he might even think that he can “earn” his way into heaven with his money and position.
And isn’t this the place we fall all too often. How many stories do we see of people trying to be good, and thinking that this is what gets them to heaven. I have had so many conversations with people who tell me: “I believe that I am a good person, and that is what is important to get me to heaven.” People really believe this. They believe they can live a good enough life that will earn them a place in heaven.
My question then is: Who determines what is good? Who determines how many “points” you have to earn by doing good to get to heaven? Where is the barometer for “goodness?” As we learned last week, your good deeds alone won’t be pleasing to God if they are not accompanied by faith.
If our being good was all that it took, then why did Jesus have to go to the cross? If it is about being good, then why do we need forgiveness? You see, the logic gets all fuzzy, and doesn’t make sense. There is no absolute. There is no specific plan to follow. Somehow we want to earn our way to heaven, but without a guide.
If getting to heaven is about “good deeds,” about our works, then why did Jesus give a long discourse that we know as The Beatitudes? The Beatitudes tell us in Matthew 5:4-10, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”/ Jesus here isn’t talking about the powerful and the rich, but the meek, the merciful, and the peacemakers…
b. The desire- Yet, the rich young ruler’s desire seems to be
somewhat genuine, from how it seems that he is living his life; trying to follow God. We know this because Jesus tells the man that he needs to follow the command-ments. He responds saying that he has done this. Jesus is really playing a game with the man, because Jesus knows that the way to heaven is not through the command-ments, but through Him. Jesus made this clear in His teaching when He said in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” And again in John 14:6 when He said: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus, here in Matthew 19, is leading the rich young ruler to the climax of His teaching. Will the rich young ruler be able to carry forth what Jesus tells him? Will he have the desire to do what is called upon him to do?
Story: There is a story of a new captain who jumped from the cockpit, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the boat owners who were swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you're drowning,” the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. She looked at her husband and said: “We're fine, what is he doing?” The husband waved his arms and yelled at the captain that they were fine, but the captain kept swimming hard. ”Move!” he barked at them, as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not ten feet away, their nine-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, “Daddy!”
The truth is, that when someone is drowning they aren’t yelling or waving their arms, because when they come up above the water they have just enough time to get a breath of air before they go back down. We mistakenly think that there is much fanfare when someone is drowning, but usually it is much more subtle. Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help.
Some other signs of someone who is drowning is:
· Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
· Not using legs – Vertical
· Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
Spiritually speaking, people who are drowning have glassy eyes and aren’t focusing on Jesus. They are not using their legs to go where they need to go. They might be moving in a direction, but they are not making any headway. Jesus understood that the rich young ruler was drowning in his life of money, and position, and power. The man didn’t know. The man’s friends didn’t know it. But even though it was subtle, Jesus knew it.

II. Giving Away- (Matthew 19:21-26)
a. Jesus’ terms- If you were being saved from drowning, you would
not try and negotiate with them: “Please lifeguard, let me look like I’m swimming so I won’t be embarrassed.” OR, “When we get close to the shore, let me walk the rest of the way.” NO, the lifeguard grabs you, puts you in the float, and drags you to the shore! Here we see that Jesus is not negotiating with the man, but rather giving the man the terms: Jesus’ terms.
The man was really treading water, and looking like he was alright, but he wasn’t. This encounter discloses the true place where the man is, and helps the man, and us, understand how our treasures can get in the way of salvation; or at least get in the way of our relationship with God.
After the rich young ruler tells Jesus that he has kept all the commands, Jesus then says to him in verse 21: “…"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” In answer to the man’s question, “What must I do?”, Jesus tells the man the true answer; it is more than following the commands, which we can fool ourselves into thinking that we have done.
It’s like the woman who is praying, and she says: “Lord, I've been really good so far today. I haven't been angry, fueding, nor fighting with anyone. I haven't gossiped, backbited or lied. I haven't even been envious of my neighbor, nor coveteous in any way. Lord, I haven't been rude, ungrateful, high-minded, impatient, unkind, intolerable, uncooperative, nor impossible to get along with. And I know that my husband will appreciate that I haven't been crabby, demanding, unrealistic or nagging toward him at all today. Now Lord....dear Lord...I'm about to get out of bed......so...... I REALLY could use your help the rest of this day. AMEN
The man thinks that he is perfect; that he has perfectly kept the law. But Jesus tells him that if he really wants to be perfect, if he really wants to be able to follow Jesus on this earth and then onto heaven, he needs to get rid of all his possessions. Why? Because they are what the man treasures, and we know that the 10 commandments tell us that God is a jealous God who wants us to have no other gods besides Him!!
b. The man’s decision- The man is now faced with a decision. He has
asked the question “What must I do?” and now he has received an answer: “Go and sell all of your possessions, and then follow Jesus.” He is understanding here that it is not about keeping the laws in a legal sense, but a spiritual sense. He is being taught that it is about his attitude towards others, and learning how to share and give. He is learning that he is a selfish person who is hoarding his “things.”
Jesus wants the man to be free of this hold that his possessions have over him. And Jesus wants us to know that our possessions can have a hold over us. A couple of years ago I preached a sermon where I talked about a pastor who gave his church what he called “The Kingdom Assignment.” Because of this sermon, I was given the opportunity to receive from this pastor and his wife $1000.00 to give away to people in our congregation. I gave it to 10 people, who used it in wonderful ways:
· The children’s ministry multiplied the money from $100 to $300 and gave it away to the children at the Rescue Mission.
· Someone else had some friends donate money to them and they bought Bibles for the women at His Nesting Place.
· Another person had others donate to them and they used the money to buy Christmas gifts and food for a family who couldn’t afford to do anything special for Christmas.
· The money was also used to do our first youth VBS last year and to fund our outreach programs to the WomenShelter of Long Beach!
But there was a follow-up program for this church who did the Kingdom Assignment. They simply called it The Kingdom Assignment 2. This second assignment was a challenge to the people to sell something worth $100, and then to give the proceeds to the poor. This book here is the story about what happened.
In this book there are stories of:
· One of the most amazing garage sales for the poor in Southern California history.
· A beloved Beanie Baby collection of 150 furry animals sold for the poor.
· A couple who led their neighbors to collect three tons of food for the hungry.
· A Surf Magazine art director who gave up great wealth for treasure he could never lose.
But most importantly, when we follow this idea of The Kingdom Assignment 2, or even more specifically the idea of what Jesus is teaching the rich young ruler, then we will be led down a path towards having a significant relationship with God!
c. Impossible for man- The rich young ruler had to make a decision:
his possessions, or God. That is what it really came down to. And when the man walked away from Jesus, his decision had been made: he chose his possessions. At this point the disciples were dumfounded, because they knew what a hard decision it was for the man. Jesus sensing this in them, responded in verses 23-24: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Jesus knew the pull that possessions can have over us. They can really rule our lives.
Verse 25 then says: “25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’” You see here that the disciples as well understand the power possessions can have over us. And yet the disciples in essence lived up to this challenge when Jesus called out to them to “follow me,” and they immediately left everything and followed Jesus. By following Jesus the way that they were, they had given up their possessions, and made Jesus the most important relationship in their lives.
Jesus, always the teacher, responds in verse 26: “26Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” Jesus is telling us that there are powers in this world that are great, and that if we are going to truly follow Jesus, then we must get rid of anything that has power over us, and the only to get rid of these things is with the power of God. That is because anything that has power over us, will control us, and lead us to do many things that are not pleasing to God. Even more, they take away our focus from our relationship with God. To have the right relationship, we need to put things into our lives that lead us on the right path: a healthy prayer life; regular Bible study by ourselves and with others; people in our lives who encourage us and lift us up and lead us into a deeper relationship with God.
When I was a teen, I would often times go to my mom and play a game I called Let’s Make A Deal. The way this game would work would be me coming to my mom, and saying: “Okay, mom, a friend just called and wants to go to the movies with me. I know I don’t have any money, and that I haven’t done my chores yet, BUT, if I do more chores and get done in time, could I have some money to go with my friend?” My mom would almost always say “yes.”
This passage in essence is the rich young ruler trying to play Let’s Make A Deal with Jesus. He believed that with his position, power, and money, he could influence the situation to his favor and win a place in heaven.

Conclusion: The great truth of this story is how it helps us to understand the true meaning of eternal life. Eternal life really starts here on earth, after we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When this happens, we are changed in who we are, and how we desire to live. Life becomes first and foremost about loving God, and living in the way God would live: being loving and unselfish, and giving ourselves to others.
The essence of eternal life is not living by the commandments, but by having a sacrificial generosity. What if Jesus challenged you to go and sell your possessions? Could you do it? Honestly, I’m not sure I could. What if we chose to sell something worth $100 for the purpose of giving it to the needy? Could you do that? That I do want to challenge myself with. I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet, but when I do I’ll let you know. And if you choose to accept that challenge, let me know how it turns out!
Most importantly, don’t let your possessions, or even any other relationship, keep you from living in the way that God would have you to live, and/or keep you from deepening your relationship with God each day. Amen.

“What is Good?”
Micah 6:6-8
Sunday, July 18, 2010

Introduction: For many people, the idea of goodness is relative. Meaning that they have no set definition that tells them what is good and what is bad. But the problem with this is, if goodness is relative, then who decides what is good, and what is not? We see that this idea creates many negative situations in our world, because if it is good for me to do whatever I need to do to get ahead in life, then in the process I will harm many other people along the way.
Thankfully, the Bible is there to give us guidelines into the idea of goodness. At the core of goodness is a kindness that is directed toward another who doesn’t deserve it. Even more, it is a desire that resides in us that permeates our whole being; we are good because that is who God has made us to be; we are good in character.
This morning our question to consider is: What is good? It is a question that is answered by our text. And so our goal this morning will be to put into perspective all that Micah 6:6-8 tells us.

I. Can I be good enough to please God?- (Micah 6:6-7; Hebrews 11:6;
2 Corinthians 4:18, 9:7)
a. What is required?- The prophet Micah, in this passage, is
pondering what God wants. This is a common issue that people have: What does God want of us? If we remember back to the first sermon of this series, we saw that Cain came before God with his offering, but God rejected it. We learned that it was rejected because Cain did not bring it with the right attitude. Cain brought it out of a feeling of requirement, as opposed to an attitude of desire. As Jesus Himself said in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Let me tell you 2 stories that have a connection…
Story 1: Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for everything from boot-legged booze and prostitution to murder. Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason; he was very good! Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Capone out of jail for a long time. To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie also got special dividends. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block. Eddie lived the high life and gave little consideration to anything around him.
Eddie did have a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his had all that he needed, including a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object. And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified. Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended. On Eddie’s dead body they found a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine. The poem read:
"The clock of life is wound but once, And no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, At late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a
will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still.
Story 2: Let me tell you a second story about a World War II heroes; Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet. As he was returning he saw something that turned his blood cold: a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet. The American fighters were all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.
Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes attacking one surprised enemy plane after another. Butch fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible and rendering them unfit to fly.
Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had destroyed five enemy aircraft. For that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor.
A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man. SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER? Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.
b. Pleasing God- In the end, Easy Eddie’s son was a “good” man; a
hero. But is this what pleases God? I believe in part the answer is “yes” because anytime we do good things with our lives for others, God is pleased. But I believe it takes more than doing some good things to please God. In fact, the writer of Hebrews actually tells us what we have to have in order to please God; listen to Hebrews 11:6… “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
How is it that we can’t please God without faith? Didn’t I just say that God is pleased when we do good to others? However, we must understand that without faith, when we do “good deeds,” we are really taking the credit for ourselves. Why is someone a hero? Because honor is shown to them for their actions. But to please God, we need to do acts that bless God, and honor God, and further the kingdom of God. While saving lives has its sense of importance in our world, there are actions that are important in the eternal realm.
Without faith, we fail to see that life is more than just what we know on this earth; more than what we can see. As 2 Corinthians 4:18 tells us, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” What is seen is temporary…….what is unseen is eternal. God has work for us to do that has eternal impact. That is why when Jesus was on this earth, it would have been “GOOD” to heal people of their afflictions, or make their life “BETTER” in some way. But Jesus knew the eternal aspect of SALVATION was the more important aspect, and so Jesus came to “save us from our sins.”
The work we do for God is what pleases God far more than any work we do that honors ourselves, or others. EXAMPLE- If you have watched the news at all, even if you are not a basketball fan, I’m sure you have some knowledge of who LeBron James is, and the decision he just made. LeBron James is one of the best basketball players in the world right now. He has won the Most Valuable Player award the last two years. But there is one thing that has still avoided him, and that is a championship ring. For a player to be considered “GREAT” they have to have at least one championship ring. James was a free agent this year, and the debate was whether he would sign again with the Cleveland Cavaliers, or go to another team. In the end, James signed with the Miami Heat because he believed it to be his best shot at winning a title (that is because Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, two of the other top players in the NBA also signed with Miami). Now James believed this act to be GOOD because he sacrificed money for the chance to win. He believed he wasn’t being selfish, but trying to do good for himself and others. However, almost nobody else, except for his family and the city of Miami believes this to be GOOD. Why? Because they believe it is just for himself; it is a selfish act in the eyes of others.

II. What is good according to God?- (Luke 10:25-37; Micah 6:8; Philippians 2:4; Proverbs 3:5-6)
a. The Good Samaritan- A lawyer once asked Jesus the question,
‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus in essence translates this question into the question, ‘What must I do to be good?’ We know this to be true because the story Jesus tells is about someone doing the good, God wants us to do in response to the lawyer talking about loving God and loving our neighbor. It is the story of the Good Samaritan. Of course in this story there is a man who is robbed and greatly injured. So who will show love to him? A priest happens by, but the priest passed by on the other side, not helping the injured man. Then a Levite came along, but he too passed by on the other side. Both of these men were obliged by their offices to show compassion to him, but they did not.
Finally, a Samaritan came upon the man. The Samaritan was not obligated by position to help. Even more, as a Samaritan, the Jew would be his enemy, and would despise him as such. But the Samaritans’ heart was opened to the man, and he cared for the man, and bandaged his wounds, and took him to an inn so that he could get more care, and even offered to pay for the expenses himself.
Jesus uses this story to illustrate that love should not come from position, or trying to lift up oneself, or from even opportunity, but out of something much deeper. Jesus then asks the lawyer, in Luke 10:36-37: “‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’ 37The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” The lawyer astutely understood that it was about mercy; an act of love that is undeserved and unmerited.
b. What the Lord requires- This too is what the prophet Micah tells
us in Micah 6:8… “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah points out here three important qualities that the Lord requires of us; three qualities that make us good: justice, mercy, and humility. While there is a place for giving our offerings to God, God wants even more than that; God wants all of us. And in our giving ourselves over to God, God places in us the desire to be just, kind, and humble.
1. Justice- First, there is justice. Justice is about fairness;
being fair to all. For example, Tyler and Tiffany are both smart in their own ways, and good students. But for Tyler it comes much easier. There is just something about Tyler’s mind that helps him to pick up concepts easier than Tiffany does. Consequently, Tyler has always gotten straight A’s, while Tiffany always gets more A’s than B’s, but not all A’s. In this scenario, it might happen that we compare Tiffany’s grades to Tyler’s. But that would not be FAIR, because we know Tiffany works hard, and does her best (which is all that we want). So to be fair to others, we must render to them what is their due.
Fairness is also about not wronging others. Now there might be times when we inadvertently do something against another, but we must not willfully seek to do wrong. To be fair to all means that we treat all people with the same respect as we would anyone else, and that we seek to be good to others as much as we can.
2. Mercy (kindness)- Next, we are told to show mercy. Being
merciful is about being kind to others, especially those in need; ust as we saw in the story of the Good Samaritan. But Micah 6:8 stretches us even more, telling us that we aren’t just to “show mercy,” but we must “LOVE mercy.” This again can only come from God placing mercy in us. The Samaritan in the story could only have been as merciful as he was, as kind as he was, because God was fully alive in him. We cannot show this kind of mercy on our own. There are too many variables that can lead us to not be merciful. Only when our heart is fully given to God can we be so totally merciful in all situations. To be merciful we must do as Paul tells us to do in Philippians 2:4 and follow the example of Jesus, as he says: “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others.”
3. Walk humbly- Lastly, we are told to “walk humbly” with
God. To walk humbly with God is giving up our desires and our will so that we might seek the “will of God.” This is exactly what Jesus did: sought to live out the will of God, even to the end. For this reason, when the Father spoke of Jesus, He said: “This is my Son, with whom I am well PLEASED.” Our selfish nature leads us to want to do what we want, not what God wants. That is why so many people don’t come to church every week, because they want to sleep in, or watch a sporting event, or go to the beach. They want to be in control of what they do with their time. That is why people don’t give 10% of their income to God, because it would limit what they could spend on themselves.
In our desire to be grown-up, we seek to be independent. But this independence usually means independence from God as well. We want to make our own choices. But to walk humbly with God means that ALL of our choices are based on what God would desire for us. As Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Conclusion: Again, the question of the day is: What is good? And even though we can do things in life that are “good” in nature, true goodness comes from us loving God with all of our heart, and soul, and mind, and body. When we give ourselves over to God as a living sacrifice, instead of just ‘burnt offerings,’ our physical offerings, then we can begin to truly live our lives in goodness. We will desire to be just to others, to be merciful in how we care for others, and we will seek to live out the will that God has for us, instead of the will we set for ourselves.
It is the difference between doing something good on this earth for our own glory, and doing something that has eternal significance for the glory of God. By far, doing something that has eternal significance (like leading someone to salvation, or helping someone give themselves over to God’s will) is far more good than anything else we could possible imagine. SO, let us act justly, love mercy, and humbly walk with God, starting today. Amen.

“Can I Hide From God?”
Psalm 139:1-12
Sunday, July 11, 2010

Introduction: When Tyler was in fifth grade, he decided to run for Treasurer for the Student Council. One of his friends decided to run as well. One of the requirements for running was they had to give a short speech. Tyler worked hard and wrote a nice speech. The day he was to give it, for some reason his friend asked him to read his speech. Tyler read it; it was brief; one of his points was: “I will make a good treasurer because I am good at finding things.”…. Tyler immediately encouraged his friend he needed to change this part of his speech.
There are times in our lives when we want to hide. Maybe we hide because we are embarrassed. Maybe we hide from someone we have done something against, or who has done something against us to avoid further conflict. Maybe we hide from the IRS if we have failed to report everything on our taxes. And sometimes we try and hide from God. Our question this morning is: CAN I HIDE FROM GOD?

I. Hide-N-Seek Can Be Fun-
a. Junior High Camp- When I was in college I worked with the
Junior High group at the Crystal Cathedral. Junior Highers are actually one of my favorite age to work with. While they have some definite challenges about them (such as a short attention span, they are very emotional, and they can have an attitude), they are also very teachable and are just at that age where they can do great things with their lives.
One summer I was told by the Director of the Crystal Cathedral Day Care that she wanted to run a Junior high summer camp. The kids would be there from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Would I like to run the camp? Well, in my desire to have a job I said “yes,” not realizing what I was getting myself into. Think about that, 12 hours a day with Junior highers. On top of this, the budget was small, so we only had money to go on one or two outings a week. (We went horse back riding, and to the beach, and to the park, and to the amusement park), but what to do the other days and all the other hours I would have them?
This became quite the challenge, since Junior Highers are challenged in trying to entertain themselves. SO, I had to get very creative. I played some regular games (such as ball tag or trivia or board games), and we also played Hide-N-Seek. Game 1- The kind we played was one person would hide, then the others would look for him or her. When you found the person hiding, you hid with them. So slowly people would disappear, until there was only one person left. That person became the next person who would hide. Game 2- But in my creativity, I also developed a new hide-n-seek game called “Find the penny.” In this game, we were all in a small room; then I would turn off the lights so it was dark. Everyone was scattered around the room, then someone would throw a penny. You would hear it bounce off the wall, then off a table or chair, then it would land on the ground. Everyone would scatter around the room until the penny was found. The person who found the penny got to throw it the next round. LIKE I SAID, I HAD TO GET CREATIVE. Hide-n-seek can be fun.
b. With my kids- As a parent of 2 kids, I have also had my moments
of playing hide-n-seek. It seems for some reason that it is one of their favorite games. Actually, it starts when they are very young; when you play peek-a-boo with them. This is actually a form of hide-n-seek. You hold something in front of their eyes so that they can’t see you, then you lift the cloth and of course say: “Peek-a-boo.” And of course you have to have that right voice. Everyone seems to use it. J
Then when kids get older they want to play the actual hide-n-seek game. I’m not sure what is so attractive about the game, but kids love it. My kids loved to play it when they were younger. The problem with playing it in our house is that we have a small house, and not many places to hide. Of course for them, as they are smaller, they had many more places they could hide. But for me, well, I was quite limited to where I could hide. I couldn’t hide under the bed, or in a stuffed closet. I had to hide in the shower, or behind a door, so it wasn’t too hard to find me; maybe that’s why they liked playing with me so much.
Hide-n seek however, isn’t limited to a game. It is part of our lives.

II. God can and does find us- (Genesis 2:15-3:15; Jonah 1:1-3:5)
We too like to play hide-n-seek with God, only when we hide from God it isn’t a game. Well, maybe for us at first it is. It is a game to us because we think we can hide from God. We play this “game” in many ways: maybe we stop going to church, thinking that if we are not at church, then God doesn’t know where we are or what we are doing. Or maybe we play hide-n-seek by not praying any more. Maybe we feel that God isn’t answering our prayers, and we get frustrated thinking that prayer doesn’t work. So we stop praying, and in our stopping, we are hiding from God.
a. Adam and Eve- The first time this happened was with Adam and
Eve. Of course you know the story, but let me recap it for you. Adam and Eve have been given each other as partners. They have each other, and they have God. God has blessed them with animals, and the Garden of Eden. God has given them everything they need, and even many things that they could want. However, God gives them one rule: Genesis 2:16-17, “And the Lord God commanded the man: ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall die.’” God gives them this command, but with a reason: IT WILL LEAD TO THEIR DEATH.
Again, we know the story, that the serpent comes and deceives Eve, and she eats of the fruit, and she tells Adam about it, and he eats of the fruit. Then the scripture tells us, in Genesis 3:7- “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.” Then they hear God in the garden, and verse 8 tells us: “…and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” SO, here we have the first hide-n-seek game. The choice of hiding spots is amongst the trees. One that has been used many times since.
God calls out to them, “Where are you?” Here it seems that God is fooled by their hiding, but in truth God is calling out to them to give them the opportunity to come clean and to confess. And we see as the passage goes on that Adam does confess to God what happened. But there was still punishment for their actions, for their actions were great, in that they brought sin and death into the world! They hid because they knew they were guilty. They hid because they were trying to avoid the inevitable punishment from God. But in the end, while there was punishment, God established the depth of His love by talking about the coming of the Messiah, who would crush Satan, and in this act would defeat this condition of sin and death.
b. Jonah-Another occasion where we see hide-n-seek in play with
God is in the story of Jonah. Jonah was a prophet of God. Jonah was told by God to go to the city of Nineveh because of their great wickedness. But Jonah didn’t want to preach to Nineveh; Jonah didn’t want to see them saved. So the hide-n-seek game begins. Jonah 1:3 tells us of this, “But Jonah set out to FLEE to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” Jonah gets on a boat that is sailing to Tarshish. His goal is to get “away from the presence of the Lord.”
The Lord decides to play Jonah’s game of hide-n-seek. To flush Jonah out God sends a mighty storm upon the sea, and the ship was being tossed about, and was on the verge of breaking up. The captain comes to Jonah and asks Jonah to call to his God, so that they will not perish. Jonah realizes that he has brought this on the people of the boat, and tells them to throw him into the sea; Jonah knows that God has found him.
Even in the midst of Jonah’s rebellious spirit, God shows the depth of His love by providing a great fish to swallow Jonah up and save him from drowning. The fish delivers Jonah onto the shore safely. God again calls out to Jonah to go to Nineveh, and this time Jonah does not try and hide, but goes to Nineveh and preaches God’s word to them. We read of the result in Jonah 3:5- “And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.” This act was an act of repentance for their sin.

III. God’s finding us is a good thing- (Psalm 139:1-12)
a. Psalm 139- So we see that Adam and Eve couldn’t hide from God;
that Jonah couldn’t hide from God; BUT CAN WE? Psalm 139 gives us great insight into this question…The wonderful aspect of Psalm 139 is that it helps us to understand that we cannot hide from God, but it is done not in fear (like Adam and Eve), or anger and willfulness (like Jonah), but in adoration and praise. The language is a beautiful tribute to who God is…
Verse 1- “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me...” The psalmist acknowledges that God knows him, and then goes on to talk about how God knows him. “2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.” The Lord knows our thoughts, our ways, where we will be going, what we are going to say. But again, for the psalmist this is not a negative thing. The psalmist goes on to talk about how the Lord is even there to help keep us in line:
“5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.” This laying His hands on us is not to harm us, but to protect us and to provide for us. In all of this understanding, the psalmist reflects: “6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” The psalmist then gives his realization that we cannot play hide-n-seek from God, as he says: “7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” We see here that the Lord is in the heavens, which wouldn’t be a surprise to us, but the Lord can also find us in the depths, on the far side of the sea, in the darkness AND in the light. There is nothing that can hide us from God; no place we can go that the Lord can’t go. God is the ultimate Hide-n-Seek player!
b. Hiding through change- Example: WITNESS PROTECTION
PROGRAM- The United States Federal Witness Protection Program is a witness protection program administered by the United States Department of Justice and operated by the United States Marshals Service that is designed to protect threatened witnesses before, during, and after a trial. In the United States, the Witness Protection Program' (also known as the Witness Security Program) was established under Title V of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, which in turn sets out the manner in which the United States Attorney General may provide for the relocation and protection of a witness or potential witness of the federal or state government in an official proceeding concerning organized crime or other serious offenses.
In this relocation, people often have their names changed, they are relocated to a new state, and their lives become totally different. They are in hiding, even though they are living in plain sight! Sometimes we think we are in the witness protection program in trying to hide from God. We change our identity by becoming someone we were not created to be by God. When we live in sin, we are not who we were created to be. When we seek out the world instead of God, we become who we were not meant to be. In essence, we are changing who we are, and thinking that our actions are not visible to God!
But if we remember that God knows when we sit down and when we get up, God knows what we will say, or where we will go, then we realize we cannot hide from God, even if we try to change who we are. And if fact, why would we want to change who God created us to be? When we do, we will always feel that something is wrong with our lives, missing in our lives.

Conclusion: I find it an interesting concept that people try and hide from God. I believe this is because people don’t understand who God is. Yes, God is the judge, but we are told in Romans 8:33-34, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” While God is the one who can condemn us, instead of condemning us, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die for us so that we could be forgiven. Why would we want to hide from the one who could forgive us?
In God we have great possibility. In God we can overcome all things. As Paul says, it is in God that our weaknesses are made into strengths. It is in God that we can do all things. God is a God that plays hide-n-seek with us, because God will always seek us out. He won’t force us to change, or coerce us into doing what is right, but He will come to us to give us the opportunity to do the right thing, just like He did with Adam and Eve, and Jonah, and so many others.
If or when you are hiding from God in any way, then know that God is there, seeking you out, ready to help you move to the place you need to be. Instead of hiding, confess, and turn back to God. You will be glad you did. Amen.