Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 38

Psalm 37 is the third of the penitential psalms, which are psalms in which the author express sorrow and shame over his sin. All of us sin and fall short of the glory of God and there must be times in our lives when we go to God in prayers of penitence. The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God has imputed the guilt of our sin upon Him, but our part in this demands repentance and confession. Amazingly there are times in our lives that we think we are hiding our sin from God, but we are not. God knows our very thoughts, even before we think them. In this psalm, we find David to be reaping the consequences of his sin. He has realized that it is this sin that has brought him into severe discipline at the hand of the Lord and in this psalm, we see three responses people have to the Lord’s discipline, as seen in the consequences of David’s sin.

The first response is to focus upon yourself, which simply allows us to experience the pain that comes because of our sin.

Psalm 38:1-3

O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath!  For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.  There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.

David is sick. He cries out to God. But he begins by blaming God, suggesting it is simply God’s anger and indignation that has brought this upon him. But then he remembers that it is his sin that is at the root. Far too many Christians fail to consider the possibility that it is their sin that is the reason God is allowing sickness to inflict their body. God is so patient with us, yet we should never be presumptuous with it and think we can stay in our sinful state. Listen to the rest of David’s description.

Psalm 38:4-8
For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness,  I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning.  For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.  I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

David knew it was his sin that needed to be dealt with and he started to look to God for the answer. But then he digressed and in that we see the second response we often have to the discipline of the Lord. He starts to focus on other people and begin to feel isolated.

Psalm 38:9-14
O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you.  My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.  My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off.  Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long.  But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth.  I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

Sometimes God moves in those around us to allow us some time to suffer alone. This is the place we usually hit rock bottom and then realize it is God who we need. Then we can finally move into the third response, which is put our focus on Jesus. Then we can receive the forgiveness and restoration that we so badly crave.

Psalm 38:15-22
But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.  For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me, who boast against me when my foot slips!”  For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me.  I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin. But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully. Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good.  Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me!  Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!

Salvation is in the Lord. Once David wholeheartedly confessed his sin and turned back in repentance, he knew there was forgiveness. So, he waited confidently in the Lord, knowing even his vigorous and mighty enemies could not stand against God.

Hebrews 12 is clear that God disciplines His own. If we are truly His, our sin will bring discipline. How will we respond? Not all sickness and sorrow is a direct response of our own sin, though in general sin has brought death and sickness to the world since the fall of Adam. But when we find ourselves where David was, it is a good idea to ask the Holy Spirit to awaken us to any possible unconfessed sin. God loves us so much He sent His own Son to die for our sins. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. Keep your eyes on Him. Confess and repent. It’s that simple.

Forgiveness - A Perpetual Act

Being a Christian comes with heavy demands. One of them is forgiveness. Jesus does not mince words in Luke 17:3-4 saying, “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

True Christians forgive. Always. The Bible is clear about what love looks like and forgiveness is the hallmark of love. Nowhere is this more important than in our marriages. Countless times I have heard Christians say things like “I’m tired of him/her. I’m done with them.” These complaints come from things as serious as adultery but also are spoken about the littlest things like leaving clothes on the floor instead of picking them up and putting them in the laundry basket. Listen to Jesus as recorded by Dr. Luke.

Luke 17:3-4
Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Notice anything there? Look again. “…if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

The implication here made by Jesus is that people are going to often do the same thing over and over. And we do. All of us. Our reaction is to say, “Enough! I am tired of you doing the same thing over and over.” But Jesus says that doesn’t matter.

Most people don’t like this verse and want to argue it out. The truth of what Jesus is saying is that we are not to stop forgiving. Instead of harboring resentment towards others we need to follow our command to forgive. Become about restoration. Yes we are supposed to confront each other with our sins. Jesus did say to rebuke the sinner. But then forgive him. Then help him.

We can change marriages and relationships by simply living this out. Is it easy? No, but the true Christian is not left to fight this through alone.

I leave you with more words from Jesus that explains how to live this out.

John 14:15-17
 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. “

Make forgiveness a priority in all your relationships. It will change your world.

How To Have Unity in the Church as Taught by Jesus

Have you ever pondered the idea of what heaven will be like? The picture we see so often on TV is one of clouds and people floating around with halos on their heads. I don’t know about the clouds but I do know that people don’t turn into angels when they die in spite of all those Facebook posts that suggest it. In Matthew chapter 18 we get a glimpse of the Kingdom of Heaven right from the mouth of Jesus.

Matthew 18:1-3
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Heaven will be filled with those who have become like children because unless we become like that Jesus says we will not be there.

Before we go on I must give the caveat so many need to hear. Jesus is in no way teaching that salvation is earned by our behavior. What Jesus is teaching is that those who have been given the free gift of salvation will be changed. An accurate understanding of our new birth in Christ includes the fact that we are being changed. There is a work going on in us that will one day culminate in us being like Christ. But it is like the old saying about “putting the cart before the horse”. We cannot change ourselves. But when we become saved God makes His abode with us through the Holy Spirit who takes up residence in our hearts. Thus we have the power to fight the new battle of the flesh against the spirit. Jesus is teaching us what that will look like in those who are truly His.

So what is going on in the beginning of Matthew 18 is that Jesus is rebuking the disciples for their attitudes of arrogance in which we see in scripture several times. The disciples are arguing over which one of them will be the greatest in heaven.

“What in the world is wrong with these guys” is the typical Christian reaction to this passage. How can they walk with Jesus and not see the folly in their own behavior? But in truth the church is no different. Jesus was not only trying to teach the disciples a lesson, He was teaching us one as well.

Sadly the church is no different. Oh we don’t usually verbalize the idea that we think we are worthy of the title of the greatest. No, we are much too humble for that. Right? Right. If that is true why is there so much dissension and bickering in the church?

The Bible is written for our instruction. 1 Corinthians 10:11 reminds us that “…these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” I love the warning that comes right after that verse. 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

In Matthew 18 Jesus gives us three essentials that the church (by the way we are the church you and me) needs to follow so that unity and harmony can exist amongst us. Humility, honesty, and forgiveness are three attributes each and every one of us should seek to instill into our own lives.

When Jesus stated that in order to be like children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven He was speaking of a humility that is like a young child who is completely dependent on someone else for its very survival. We must be like that towards God and if we are then we will take no pride in self. This type of humility transcends self. It puts Jesus first, then others, which leaves only last as the position for self.

Jesus goes on in Matthew 18:15-20 to teach us about how to deal with those who sin against us in the church. Never should we teach this practice of dealing with others unless we have first taught the lesson of humility Christ spoke of here. If you cannot humble yourself before taking the steps set forth in this section then you will not handle things Biblically.

There are four steps Jesus gives to take when we are offended against by a brother or sister in Christ. First is to go privately to them. Do this in humility with truth in love and most times you can resolve the issue.

If not take a brother or two with you to try again. Don’t just take your best friend who might ignore the truth in his loyalty to you. Maybe you are the real problem and the second opinion might reveal how it wasn’t them who needed correction. If they agree that the other person was wrong then with prayer and love the issue might get resolved. But if not there will be another witness to the situation as you take the next step.

If the first two steps don’t accomplish the mission of reconciliation then you should go to the church for help. You see the goal isn’t for you to win the case but it is that you will win back your brother. The disciplinary procedure Jesus set forth here is most often misunderstood. The third step means that the entire church is unified in both the accuracy of determining the offense and in seeing that unity is maintained throughout the church. This doesn’t really speak about the pastor or the elders taking someone into their office and rebuking them, it means the whole church is appraised of the situation. Sadly few churches follow this procedure and even sadder most are not spiritually mature enough to do so. This isn’t about gossip and punishment; it’s about truth being spoken in love through humility, which will help bring restoration.

At the end of all this if the person refuses to hear the truth then the instruction is to remove the person from your own fellowship. But this isn’t about giving up on them. Pray for them daily. Love them even in this process. Through love things change. Proverbs 10:12 says, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” 1 Peter 4:8 tells us “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”

Jesus finished up with His lesson on how to restore a brother by reminding us about the power of prayer. Matthew 18:19-20, “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Prayer is the key to the Christian life. Restoration is always possible. Pray for it.

Jesus finishes up this lesson with the most important of the three attributes He is teaching us about; forgiveness. It is no coincidence that it follows the other two. He shares a parable in Matthew 18:21-34. I won’t share it here but I suggest we all look at it carefully for the last thing Jesus says in this section is a stern warning.

The parable is the story of a man whose debt, a debt that could never be repaid, as it was too much, was completely forgiven by the king. But then the forgiven man refused to forgive a much smaller debt to another man just like him. When the king heard the man refused to forgive as he had been forgiven the king cast the man into prison with the stipulation that he must only get out when he paid his debt. In other words never as his debt was impossible to repay. Listen to the words of Jesus as He gives the warning.

Matthew 18:34-35
“And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.  So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

People Jesus is serious about forgiveness. So serious that here we find Him actually suggesting that our refusal to forgive will keep us from eternal life with Him. Again let me remind you, Jesus is not preaching salvation by works. The full counsel of scripture is clear that we are saved by grace alone. But what is a fact of the Gospel is that there is a way to test it. Not to be the pessimist here but the truth is some of us think we are saved when we are not. Again listen to Jesus as He states this.

Matthew 7:17-20
“So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.  A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

Jesus follows this up with a very sobering statement.

Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. “

The Church is the Bride of Christ and He loves it very much. We are the Church. We need to find harmony and peace with our brothers and sisters. Matthew 18 is about just that. How we can accomplish this is by doing the things He put forth in this chapter and the only way to do that is by walking in the Spirit.

So read Matthew Chapter 18 again. Pray for the Holy Spirit to be your teacher and for the power in your life to do what Jesus says. Then we can stay on the mission of the church instead of wasting our time with disputes and arguments.

9 Ways To Be Happy According to Jesus (Part 2)

This morning we look at three more requirements for happiness.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Have you ever really been starving? Or faced with the possibility of actually dying of thirst? Most of us have never really been in that type of desperation. So we miss the seriousness of these words. But in the days of Christ, life wasn’t so easy. We take a trip somewhere and we get a little hungry or thirsty we just whip into a drive-thru and instantly can fulfill our need. Our daily lives rarely if ever involve the dangers of getting caught somewhere in a desert with no food or water. So when Jesus speaks of hunger and of thirst He speaks of a life or death need.

How often I hear people, Christians, say they just don’t feel close to God. The truth is that if we are Christians then God is never not there. Jesus promises in Hebrews 13:5 that he “will never leave you nor forsake you.” James 4:8 says that if we “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” He is there, but you must hunger and thirst for Him. God is not interested in lukewarm relationships. It’s all or nothing. Jeremiah 29:13 is right from God’s mouth, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” 

But there is one thing that can separate us from God and that is our sin. Jesus is the bridge. In Him is the righteousness we need to approach God. We need the covering of His blood to give us access to the Father. As we read the Word of Christ in this sermon we must truly search our hearts. Do we hunger and thirst after Him? And are we willing to forsake everything to drink from His cup? It’s a question worth looking into. Without that hunger and thirst for Him we will never be happy.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

So we say we hunger and thirst desperately for Christ. We go to Him and we confess our sins and we ask Jesus to forgive us. We cry out as the tax collector does in Luke 13 and beat our chests begging for mercy. And Jesus sends us home justified. Completely forgiven by the mercy of Christ Himself. But we won’t forgive Uncle Bob. We can’t we say. They hurt us too much. And down the list of excuses to not forgive we go. So we live out our Christian life. Then we wonder why it just doesn’t seem right. Why we just cannot find that intimacy with God we crave.

There is a basic Biblical truth here in this beatitude. If you want mercy you must give mercy. Otherwise there will never be true peace or happiness in your Christian walk. Jesus was clear. He was very clear a few verses down from this same sermon in Matthew 6:14-15, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Friends, I cannot judge your salvation. But you can and must. If you are unwilling to forgive others then according to Jesus you are not forgiven. Quite frankly this means you are not saved. This is not I judging you; this is what Jesus Himself has declared. I’m just asking you to see the truth.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

We will never be happy unless we have a relationship with God. He made us solely to have fellowship with Him and to bring glory back to Him in our lives. To see God we must be pure in heart.

What does it mean to be pure in heart? This really means that our desire deep within our hearts is to be holy, to be like Christ. This must be our life passion and goal. It is good to have goals in life. Education, job, marriage, and so on are good things to seek, but first and foremost what must drive our lives is a journey to holiness that seeks to make us exactly like Jesus.

Jesus says this later on in the sermon in verse 48, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Perfection is the goal. While this pursuit seems unreal, through the power of the Holy Spirit it is possible. I don’t think anyone has achieved it in this life, but the point is that we must accept no less of a thought process to permeate our minds. So the first step is to train our hearts through our minds to strive to be like Jesus. Be pure in heart and the mind, and the body will start to follow. But if purity isn’t in your heart then there is no chance you will seek to live it out.

Salvation is free but when we accept the gift we are also accepting the responsibilities that go with it. We struggle with happiness because we struggle with the cost of discipleship. Jesus warned us about this in Luke 14:27-30 saying, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.  For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.”

There is much to think about in all this. We must get on our knees daily and seek forgiveness in our failings. It should humble us. Next time we will look at the final three beatitudes that teach us how to be happy.