Monday, August 24, 2009

Wisdom Works!

Let me toss out for you the first part of some proverbs--feel free to answer me (out loud!) by finishing the line. "Spare the rod . . . spoil the child." "When the going gets tough . . . the tough get going." "What goes up . . . must come down." "A fool and his money . . . are soon parted." "If you give him an inch . . . he'll take half a mile." "The grass is always greener . . . on the other side of the fence." "With friends like that . . . who needs enemies." "People who live in glass houses . . . should not throw stones."

How about these ones from Proverbs

As a door turns on its hinges... so a sluggard turns on his bed....I used this one as motivation for my fellow students in school!

Guard your heart for it is.... the wellspring of life

For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;....but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death.

What we learn about wisdom literature:

· Right and wrong are hard wired into creation. There is a moral core to his creation that we will either align with or crash against

· The pitch is always the same...with get rich quick schemes. What is the pitch...no one has figured this out, we have the formula so that you will live forever...your skin will never age with this cream...

· Sexual liberation always leads to more slavery

· The teaching is the teaching of persuasion not command. The desire is to win you over, convince you, not force you, but just lay it all out for you in full view. It invites you to make good choices early on,

· It doesn’t speak about final judgment as much as it speaks to the consequences of present actions. The bottom line is that choices do have consequences. An example of this in the NT is you reap what you sow.

· We live in a world that wants to make the negative consequences go away instead of making choices that don’t lead to negative consequences

· Your children learn much more from your life than your instruction or teaching

· Proverbs do not all stand alone...13:21. They don’t always come out exactly like they are told and that is why they are inadequate in and of themselves. There is one who know that life is mysterious and that it is not simple. We know that there is not an explanation for every form of behaviour. We know that not everything can be boiled down into an equation or a formula; however proverbs are meant for our good

There was once an intern here who many just thought he just drank too much Coke and played way too many video games into the night....He had health issues and it was easy for us just to look no further than his habits; however, it wouldn’t be too long until we realized more was going on here than we realized. As it turned out there was a blocked passageway for proper breathing into his nose and it had to be broken and reset. I think all too easily we are quick to make judgement calls on situations and people and wisdom keeps telling us to not make the decision in haste and lose the way. Wisdom can give us those insights if we let her.

The interpretive key to the book of Proverbs is essentially built on one verse, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline’. The fear of the Lord is foundational to how we approach every situation in life. When we have a healthy fear of God in our lives, it will shape our thoughts, attitude and direction. Wisdom is gaining a proper perspective of God and responding in how we ‘do life’. It has been said that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react or respond to it. Reacting speaks to a knee jerk response, one that has taken in little or no thought and responding is something that I believe only time and the Holy Spirit can teach you.

While most everyone can gain insight from Proverbs for everyday life, the goal of this book is not to make us better neighbours, make us more financially stable or morally upright. The goal is to make us holy and sensitive to the Lord. It is my prayer that you will discover that today.

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

2 for attaining wisdom and discipline;
for understanding words of insight;

Whenever you pick up a newspaper and read a columnist be it the Star or the National Post or watch the news on CBC vs CTV or Global for that matter you know you are going to get a different spin on every story because each person, each anchor, each station will focus on different aspects and each one will have their people’s opinions and thoughts just laced through everything you read.

So, how do we begin, we begin with the source, King Solomon, who’s one request from God was the very thing we are in search for, wisdom. 2 Chronicles 1:7-12

Nobody wants to be ‘taken for a ride’ or seen as a ‘sucker’ or easy sell. We all want that kind of savvy, follow the advice of a Dave Ramsay on finances and James Dobson on families. We have to be people of discernment, have the ability to cut through what’s true and reject what isn’t.

The fact is that we never stop learning.

Wisdom is personified to us as a woman.

Wisdom – Where She Originates v1-7

v6 prudence – wise decision in your daily life...street smarts

the fool – morally deficient; simple – morally inept; naive, without moral direction, inclined to evil

v7 is repeated in 9:10 and mentioned in the Psalms and Job as well.

Wisdom – Where She Flourishes v8-19

Wisdom – The Cry of Her Heart v20-33

The city is such a noisy place, so many people seeking our attention. Advertisers, films and friends. Lots of voices with advice on how we must live. How to be popular, how to get the right job, how to make money, how to look good. So many voices the noise can be deafening. It is the same in the area of religion- go into the bookshop and you see all the options, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, New Age, Scientology, or a mixture of them all? So many choices, so many options. It is no surprise that lots of people are fooled into thinking there is no one right way to live. Above all the noise of the city, above all the lifestyle options and advice, above all that, the voice of a woman is shouting at us tonight.

“People reject God’s Wisdom for all kinds of reasons. We know friends who are able to ignore God so easily. Perhaps they refuse to come to a meeting with you or refuse to read a book you offer them. Proverbs 1 lets us see how the heart of God views people ignoring Him. We are watching a tragic movie scene. The beautiful woman in the busy city street. She is calling out to passers by, begging them to listen to her. Grasping at their coats and shouting after them as they walk on. She has such vital things to say- but nobody cares. They are just too busy; work, family and things to do. The pain and frustration this woman feels is the pain and frustration of the God who begs people to listen to Him. Understand that the heart of God is pained by people ignoring Him.”

In all things she points beyond herself. As much as we can benefit from all of her warnings, inspiration, encouragement, correction, she goes beyond a life well lived to the delight of God in us. She makes us hungry for more, more of the life of God in us. There is a verse in Jesus’ ‘Sermon on the Mount’ that I absolutely love....they that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. It is not those who have achieved it but those who long for God to intervene on their behalf, who aren’t there yet and know it, who long for God to bring wholeness to their life.

She points to the suicide and self destruction of the simple.

How long will you fight the facts

The simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them.’ Do you get the shock of it? People kill themselves by being complacent. By not bothering to make the effort to listen to God’s Wisdom we commit suicide.

Wisdom is like taking on one of those 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles where the ultimate attempt is to piece together a portrait of the living God. There is a grand design here, there are no random pieces and together they form the whole which is where v7 begins. It entices us to begin the journey, to walk along the road

The only place of safety is to listen to her.

There are a few different ways that we learn....demotivational posters...MISTAKES...it reads,’the purpose of your life is to serve as a warning to others!’

learn by experience, learn by advice, learn by intuition and inner sense of the Spirit

Close with Colossians 2:1-10

Jesus is the wisdom of God personified, the fullness and perfection of wisdom.

My daughter Brynley was really struggling in primary school no matter how much she studied. It was really frustrating for her to learn and we just thought that she just needed to grasp concepts quicker and work harder until we took her to hearing tests and discovered something else that was going on. The problem for Bryn was that she could not discern the voice of her teacher over all the other noises in her class. We learned that for her the voice was just a murmur and she couldn’t zero in on it. We would learn that she had CAPS – central auditory processing disorder and that she needed an ‘edulink’ that would be an earpiece that she would receive that would be hooked to a mic on the teacher. In the process, the edulink would drown out all background noises and allow her to concentrate. This is the very thing that wisdom is crying out to us and the question is can we hear her voice above all the other voices going on inside of us. For this very reason we need the Holy Spirit to put us on God’s edulink system! My prayer is that God’s voice of wisdom would become more clear and strong in our lives.

Inspired Through His Word!


Have you ever heard a passionate love song about the law?


I fought the law and the law won!!


Psalm 119 is the most complete discussion on the intrinsic value of God’s Word in the Bible. It was never just about following a list of rules. The author wanted us to discover it in all its richness, to view the depths of the Word of the Lord. Actually in following His laws, there is great freedom.


The structure of the chapter is 22 stanzas, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is an amazing work of art in that all eight verses in each stanza begin with the exact same letter which is something that is lost on us in translation.. Also, just about every one of the 176 verses refers to God’s Word in some way. It was done in this way to help the Hebrew reader of this psalm to sing or memorize the words and phrases.


The psalmist uses several different words to refer to God’s Word: word, way, judgments, law, testimonies, statues, decrees, commands, precepts.


There is no way that I can could ever begin to tackle a running commentary on each of these verses but Charles Spurgeon did. In his Treasury of David, a commentary on the Psalms, he devotes 350 pages – more than 250,000 words – to the study of this one psalm


However it is my heart’s desire that we will walk away with even a greater appreciation and love for His Word. However, not only that, but I want you to feel so drawn into its teachings and how God speaks to us through it!

You will walk away with practical steps to making the Word of God come alive when you commit to exploring its depths!


Testimonies/ Statues refer to God’s own witness to His will for all people. It is the dynamic outflow of His confirmation to us.


How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart. v2 nasb

If we keep God's testimonies they will keep us; they will keep us right in opinion, comfortable in spirit, holy in conversation, and hopeful in expectation. If they were ever worth having, and no thoughtful person will question that, then they are worth keeping; their designed effect does not come through a temporary seizure of them, but by a persevering keeping of them: "in keeping of them there is great reward." Charles Spurgeon


Way is just that. It is God’s ability to give guidance through the complex and intricate details and varied landscape of life. v1 ways



The Law refers to legal instruction in that it is perfect because it is precise in bringing salvation, it is the source of hope and life. The law brings an awesome sense of fear of the Lord v1


The law represents God’s name and His life giving presence. We are taking on God’s character when we live out His truth in our lives.


Precepts, commands, truth refer to separate commands and prohibitions, boundaries that bless us with freedom. We obey the commands not as a duty but because it is indeed proven truth. They embody truth.

Devotion to the law is not enough to inspire obedience. He recognizes that the law must be established in the mind and heart, in the vital core of His being. Obedience to the law requires wisdom and at the same time it produces wisdom as it is proven through our lives.


Understanding is a big prerequisite to obedience and it is a gift from God. The law can only be obeyed as God’s presence fills the worshipper and enables to abide in it, in His teachings, His way and instruction.

So, what keeps us from loving God and diving into His fullness?

· the reality of everyday life and routines

· the good things that outweigh the best things

· the pit that we all face at one time or another.

And in no time at all we quickly become ignorant.


However, we overcome these setbacks when we truly understand what His Word can do in us! His Word is the most complete revelation of who He is, He shows us how to know Him, the way to be acceptable to Him and the right perspective on life itself.


It was Jesus who said in John 15 that abiding in Him was letting His words abide in us. A genuine love for God will prompt us to know more of His Word.


v9-11

LIVE

SEEK

HIDE

The Benefits of His Word

1. Blessing v1,2 – Success – Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1

2. Peace v165 – freedom from anxiety, stability

3. Teaching v12,18,135,144

4. Insight and Understanding v99,v100,v104

5. Victory over sin v11

6. Eternal v44,v152

7. Direction v105

8. Discipline v67,v71, v176

9. Salvation v155



Where To Begin



1. Prayer and the Holy Spirit; Ephesians 1:18

The Word is an objective safeguard, while the anointing of the Holy Spirit is a subjective experience; but both the apostolic teaching and the Heavenly Teacher are necessary for continuance in the truth. And both are to be personally and inwardly grasped. The is the biblical balance too seldom preserved by men. Some honor the Word and neglect the Spirit who alone can interpret it; others honor the Spirit but neglect the Word of of which he teaches. The only safeguard against lies is to have abiding within us both the Word and that we heard from the beginning and anointing that we have received from him. John Stott.

2. Choose a book

3. ZOOM IN - for example use pencil crayons ...red – I AM; blue – prophetic, HS; yellow –inspiration; black – sin; its affect; green –salvation; orange – commands;

Mark it up!

4. Reinforce - studylight.org; biblegateway.com

5. Go Inside OUT. Let His Truth transform you by being a doer of the Word

6. Set your own pace.

7. Take time to Journal and memorize!

Let the clear passages interpret the unclear ones.

First read in context; is this history, poetry, prophetic

You can study the same passage many times and discover new things.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Returning Home

It was my brother Lloyd who told me that ‘idleness is the mother of all sin’.


David was idle when he should have been in service, he should have been at war leading his army yet here he is taking time off. What is the result? He is given over to lust when the flame that should have ignited his soul been service for the King. When we don’t follow the impulses that God places in our soul, sin cannot help but transpire.

Psalm 51 is a reference to one of the largest scandals in the history of the great Kings of the Bible. This chapter is David’s response to the conviction and pain of his own sin.

We will look at the road back home to where we our hearts are able to feel again. We will discover the path that leads us through spiritual bankruptcy, past our own failings and excuses and brings us back to the heart of God.

For those who are not familiar with the story, it is told in 2 Samuel 11, about a battle in which the people of Israel were engaged, but here is the beginning of the downward spiral, ‘David remain at Jerusalem.’ From there he found himself out on the roof of his palace and then he saw Bathsheba bathing. He sent for her, had sexual relations with her and then the unexpected, she became pregnant. He then sent for her husband, Uriah, to come home, to be with his wife, but he would not and slept with the servants at the gate of the palace. So, in frustration, David asks him why won’t you go and be with your wife? Uriah’s responds by telling him how can I go and be with my wife when my fellow soldiers are sleeping in tents and fighting for our country. ‘I will not do such a thing.’ So, after another attempt on David’s part to loosen him up of his convictions by drinking with him and having no luck, he does the unthinkable. He tells Joab, the commander in chief, to put Uriah on the front lines and then withdraw the rest of the troops.

Returning home begins with a recognition of God’s character. v1,2

When you have lost your confidence, your way, your direction, where do you begin? In David’s case, it was blatant ‘black and white’ sin, but this isn’t the only kind of sin or situation that puts us in this place. Doubt and disappointment can easily rise up when there is sickness, pain and death.

What frames David’s view of God?

The mercy of God – claiming His forgiveness and the fact that we don’t get what we do deserve. In David’s case, he knew he deserved death. His mercies are new every morning.

His unfailing love -

His great compassion

Psalm 91 framed our view of God in Mexico and it didn’t take very long for that view to be tested.

David also reflects on God’s ability alone to deal with our sin (NLT)

blot out the stain of sin

cleansed from guilt – the aftershocks

purified from sin –

Returning home calls for a ruthless position on self v3-5

Repentance – The beautiful 180 degree turn

Until we really come to grips with the emptiness within our own hearts, strategies and plans, we will not really seek or treasure God’s hope

David comes to grips with God on the full extent of his sin, his offense against God

‘For I recognize my shameful deeds – they haunt me day and night’ v3 NLT

Sin fills us with shame and shame overwhelms us with a sense of inadequacy and unworthiness

Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge. V4

Yes it was a sin against Bathsheba and Uriah, but it was first and foremost a sin against God, a sin against his perfect way, against his ultimate design.

In being ruthless as well, he takes full ownership of his sin and accepts God’s judgment.

When we sin hopefully most of us get to the point that we acknowledge it and accept me. I think what is most difficult is the realization that there will be consequences for our actions. That is often a place where many will lose their way and not make it home.

In David’s case, God allowed the son that Bathsheba was pregnant with to become deathly ill and die.

David’s judgment was swift and severe, but remember it was David who wrote of God,’ that He does not treat as our sins deserve’ in Psalm 103:10 David was the king of the nation and leaders always come under more strict judgment. The sin was no secret, every soldier in his army knew exactly what went down. They knew what happened to Uriah and they saw what happened to Bathsheba. I’m sure many if not all of them had lost their respect for him and quite possibly their respect for God so that is why we read, ‘you have given enemies of the Lord great opportunity to despise and blaspheme him’ in 2 Samuel 12:14

Being ruthless with self is a recognition that we are not born innocent. As beautiful as Sarah McLaughlin might sing it, it is just not true. David clearly identifies the fact that we were born into sin.

Being ruthless also means that we don’t try to rationalize, excuse, defend, justify, explain. With David there it is clear that his inner spirit is crushed and he recognizes his rebellion against God

It is more than just shedding of tears or feeling bad. Being ruthless does not seek to blame others or circumstances but know where the issue squarely sits...on my shoulders.

Solomon said, "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion." Proverbs 28:13


There was no glossing over sin here.

Where do we go from here? We go home!

We have had a recognition of God’s character and we have been ruthless with self.

What is true of David was true in the story of the prodigal son and is true with us. You get to the place where you remember who your Father is and what you have lost.

The way home is revealed. v6-19

What are the signposts along the way?

1. Honesty – I really admire those who are really honest with where they are at. During our debrief times Rick showed a powerful message on being lukewarm by Frances Chan. It was at our final fireside with one of the groups where one girl just openly admitted that is where she was at, she was lukewarm, but knew there was so much more.

2. Purity

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. v7

This hyssop was a small plant that could be easily used for a brush. In the Temple ceremonies, the priests used it to sprinkle blood. It was in Exodus 12 where the people of Israel were commanded to paint their doorways with the blood of a lamb in order that the angel of death would pass over their house and their firstborn would be spared. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. ‘Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’

3. Joy - Sin robs of our joy and what brought Jesus the greatest joy. It is when the 72 returned in Luke 10 and realized the power they have found in the name of Jesus. The opposite of idleness

4. Clean heart or conscience

5. A right spirit - the ability to sleep soundly again at night, to know that your past will not be brought back up again to your account. It is settled.

6. The Holy Spirit – If we are truly a child of God, the Spirit will not leave us, but His work can be grieved by what we do in sin and quenched by what we don’t do when prompted by the Spirit.

7. Telling others the way home

V16,17 David finishes with one of his greatest ‘a ha’ moments. He tells us the way home.

We cannot quench our own guilt, we cannot cope with it alone. You can’t attend enough worship services, go to enough altar calls, you will never be good enough to deserve your own forgiveness

We get to the place of spiritual bankruptcy , that is what a broken and contrite heart is.

He realizes God isn’t interested in just empty apologies that offend again. The attitude that thinks oh yes, confess, confess and go right back out and do it again.

He is looking for a willing mind, wholehearted devotion

In closing...

I want to return to where it all began to unravel for David. He allowed himself to become idle. There is a real danger here for the church especially in the summer months when programs and ministry are stripped down to become just that....idle. As I mentioned that when we are idle, sin can’t help but transpire.

The last time I checked my Bible it said this in Ephesians 4:29

29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Maybe I should feel glad that some things have fallen apart in my absence, but I have to admit my heart was very heavy until a wonderful time of prayer and intercession with some of our people gathered informally. It was so difficult for me that I could barely focus and have the ability to write a message this week.

Now I want to also add that I know that there are new things that are happening, a new small group has formed in the summer and we are gearing up for another amazing soccer camp.

However...

I also want to say that being idle in the church is the fastest tickets out of here. We will never be able to do enough to make you happy. One pastor I listened to likened the idle or consumer mentality in churches to being in a stroller.

Here is a stroller for your babies, another one for your children, for your youth, your young adults, your young marrieds....etc

We need the church to get out of the stroller and be ready to do the work of the ministry. Now is the time to start praying and ask God what have you got in store for me at Southside?

The blueprint is that we are all to grow up to be the hands, feet and mouth of Jesus. Individually we can’t do it, but together, we can look like Jesus and that is what happened in Ensenada.

One pastor on a short term team from New Jersey, Stephen, had an incredible tooth infection. Together, over 40 of us laid hands, anointed and prayed for him before he went to the dentist. When he got there, the dentist was amazed to tell him that it had completely drained itself which seldom if ever happens.

To the families that we blessed homes with we looked like Jesus. At one of the homes that we gave away, it was Teresa who said she saw how much we sweat for her and it moved her to tears.

We all need to play our part in the church, there is no room for any of us to be on the sidelines. That is only for the really big churches. You have a much better chance with getting away with it there, but we need everyone here.

Some of you have been attending Bible study and Bible study and it is time now for you to lead one and better yet invite people who aren’t presently going to church to your Bible study. We need more ‘in lab’ assignments!

The Takeaway

If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose.

That is right out of 2 Timothy 2:21,22 and it goes on to say, ‘Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.