If God, then man.

 Today as we start worship we are asked to meditate on:

Psalm 65:4

Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,

    to dwell in your courts!

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,

    the holiness of your temple!

As a reformed congregation we sometimes get accused of concentrating on the doctrine of predestination. Raised a Baptist myself, the reformed faith rocked my world.  Going from "accepting" God to being "chosen" by Him was a hard thing to grasp.

But as you read scripture the thread, or rather the foundation, of God's sovereignty is present everywhere.

Listen to Elihu (the fourth friend of Job) as he stumbles through the doctrine:

Job 33:22-28

His soul draws near the pit,

    and his life to those who bring death.

If there be for him an angel,

    a mediator, one of the thousand,

    to declare to man what is right for him,

and he is merciful to him, and says,

    ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit;

    I have found a ransom;

let his flesh become fresh with youth;

    let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;

then man prays to God, and he accepts him;

    he sees his face with a shout of joy,

and he restores to man his righteousness.

    He sings before men and says:

‘I sinned and perverted what was right,

    and it was not repaid to me.

He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,

    and my life shall look upon the light.’

It is faith building to see across scripture the order repeated 'If God, then man', for truly if the Bible was of man's authorship, the central theme would be 'If man, then God'.

Sometimes we need to be reminded.

 This morning we start worship encouraged by:

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Sometimes we need to be reminded.

Possibly the most dreaded scolding from a parent is "Didn't I tell you . . .?"

The command here is to be strong (ḥāzaq).  Funny thing about strength is that it can, generally speaking, be improved.  It is not like other physical characteristics that cannot be changed.

We are also commanded to be courageous ('āmēṣ).   This is a different kind of strength and yes, it too can be improved.  But unlike physical strength, which may take weeks of training to improve, courage can be improved instantaneously.  Courage is a decision.

We are not to be frightened (ʿāraṣ).  Literally trembling.

We are not to be dismayed (ḥāṯaṯ).  Literally laying down mentally.

Now we are given one reason . . . God.  When we are reminded that God is present, everywhere, at all times, in every situation, in the past and in the future, then it is easier to make the decision to be courageous and to daily take up our training.

Yielding to the Groomer

 Today begin worship with:

Isaiah 26:7-8

The path of the righteous is level;

    you make level the way of the righteous.

In the path of your judgments,

    O Lord, we wait for you;

your name and remembrance

    are the desire of our soul. 

Few of us take paths these days.  But when this was written paths were important.  They were the means of travel.  To get from one place to another you took a path.  Isaiah is praising the Lord because He has made level the path before the righteous.

We had a real-life example of that this weekend.  We are up north enjoying the snowmobile trails.  With use, however, they become rutted and bumpy.  The trails across the state are maintained by a patchwork of clubs.  Each club owns what's called a groomer which must regularly be dragged down the trail to "make level the way".

Yesterday, we reached a trail that had not been recently groomed.  The going was tough.  We nearly turned around.  It was a relief when we once again returned to a smooth trail.

How does God make level (pālas) our path?  

Isaiah 26:9 

My soul yearns for you in the night;

    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.

For when your judgments are in the earth,

    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

God's law lays out a path of righteousness.  When he removes his favor, His judgements teach us that simple lesson, that you must always yield to the groomer.

Our Approach

 On this Sabbath we begin worship with:

Hebrews 10:19-22a

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith . . .

How often do we do anything with confidence?  Do you trust your latest decision, action, or purchase?  Has COVID not filled our life with a series of daily concerns?  Did we wash enough?  Are they sitting far enough away?  Will my company survive the pandemic?  Will the vaccine  work?

But in this verse the confidence is not in ourselves or our circumstances.  It is in our Savior.  He has opened a new way to the very mercy set of God.  His blood.  His righteousness.  He has accomplished what was necessary.

That said, the verse does command us to do something.  We are not to be idle or passive.  We must “ draw near”.  And that we must do it with a “true”(alēthinos) heart.  

The idea here is that what is on the outside is the same as what is on the inside.  Recently a cruel picture of a Krispy Kreme box of donuts was circulated on social media, which when opened revealed celery and carrots all neatly arranged complete with a side of ranch dressing!

Unlike that, we should make our approach being sincere in our preparation.  As you worship today, take this moment to align your heart for the task that was so important that the blood of our savior Jesus Christ was spilt.

Thy kingdom

This morning we begin worship seeking:

Luke 12:29–31

And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

But when you are in the army, you do not worry about what you are going to eat, or what you are going to wear, or where you are going to sleep.  That is all provided for you.  We are in God's army and in His kingdom.

But somehow we are to "seek" the kingdom.  One can seek (zēteō) by locating, by thinking, by striving, or by demanding.  We are told later that it certainly does not need to be "found":

Luke 17:20–21

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

But people stumble on this word "midst" (entos) and are still trying to find it.  Like when you are staring into the fridge looking for the pickles and your wife yells from the other room "They are right there!".  God's kingdom is never found by looking.  Jesus used the word to explain that it had already come not where it was to be found.

So we need to stop using the phrase "where is it?" and switch to "what is it?" in our seeking.

Simply understood, a kingdom is where the will of the king is done.  Anywhere the king's will is not done is not part of the kingdom.  That is why these two phrases were spoken together:

Matthew 6:10

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

    on earth as it is in heaven.

Search me

 This morning to begin worship we read:

Jeremiah 23:24

Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.

One of Job's friends, Eliphaz, thought that God could not see through dark clouds (Job 22:13-14).  Laban thought that his god could be stolen (Genesis 31:30)!  But when David explored God's omnipresence in Psalm 139, he was awestruck:

Psalm 139:6

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

    it is high; I cannot attain it.

When his thoughts settled, he knew how this great truth could be used:

Psalm 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart!

    Try me and know my thoughts!

And see if there be any grievous way in me,

    and lead me in the way everlasting!

You see, in every dark alley, in every corporate boardroom, at every dinner table, at every marital spat, on every walk with a child, in front of every internet screen, between you and the COVID virus, . . . is God.

Two loaves

 This morning we read in preparation for worship:

Psalms 37:7

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

    over the man who carries out evil devices!

The english word "fret" might be a little light.  It describes the bubbling of fermentation.  The Hebrew word charah describes a burning fire of your own making.   You look to your neighbor's condition and burn with envy.  You follow the rules.  They don't.  They prosper with immediate satisfaction.  You are asked to wait!

Many years ago, after nine years serving at the home office of the SIM missionary agency, I was let go as a prudent cost-cutting measure when software became available off the shelf.  We found ourselves unemployed and with small children.  Yes, I "fretted".  

But one morning, during quiet time, I read this Psalm.  Then I went to church to pick up groceries that the women of children's ministry purchased for us.  Two large paper bags (remember them?).  To pick them up I had to bear hug the pair of them.  I could barely see over the top of them because sticking out the top were loaves of fresh bread that criss-crossed my face.

Psalm 37:25-26

I have been young, and now am old,

    yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

    or his children begging for bread.

He is ever lending generously,

    and his children become a blessing.

Not only does the LORD care for our current circumstances, this Psalm reminds us that those circumstances must be held in an eternal perspective.

Psalm 37:28

For the Lord loves justice;

    he will not forsake his saints.

They are preserved forever,

    but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

Evil will end.  What we will enjoy will not.

A new babe

 As we begin worship this week, we read

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Many a young father has paced the waiting room floor, waiting for the doctor to arrive with the news.  All of creation waited for this day, when the Redeemer would be born.  Barred from the Garden and unable to remove the effect of the Fall, it waited.  But no more!

This is no ordinary birth.  This is a royal birth.  This child will have dominion (misrah).  Only from this position, can redemption come.

Then as the family gathers around a new born, the conversation quickly turns from who does the baby look like, to what they will be like, to what they will do.

We see in this babe:

• Both the comforting counsel of the Holy Spirit and the all-powerful hand of the God the Father.
• Both the origin of all eternity and the executor of its peace.

God's Wage

 This morning as we begin to worship we receive a challenge:

Go on up to a high mountain,

    O Zion, herald of good news;

lift up your voice with strength,

    O Jerusalem, herald of good news;

    lift it up, fear not;

say to the cities of Judah,

    “Behold your God!”

This advent we are challenged to let the world know.  Instead of the false gods that people erect, we are to point them to the one true God.  Notice please we are not simply telling them of "our God" with "our voice".  The subject switches so we are telling them of their true God.

Behold, the Lord God comes with might,

    and his arm rules for him;

behold, his reward is with him,

    and his recompense before him. 

He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

    he will gather the lambs in his arms;

he will carry them in his bosom,

    and gently lead those that are with young.

In creation, six days God worked.  In this beautiful pair of verses we are shown His wages.  All that work is for those He has already gathered and those He will yet gather in.  

If you have not already, cry with joy for those around you with young.  Then take this advent opportunity to introduce them to their God.

Peace has a Name

 For the second week of Advent, we start worship reading:

Micah 5:1-5

Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;

    siege is laid against us;

with a rod they strike the judge of Israel

    on the cheek.

Last week we saw the nations stream toward Israel for its justice as a way to peace.  But rather than aligning with that law they rail against it.  For any law they would want applied to others to obtain justice would be applied to them.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

    one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose coming forth is from of old,

    from ancient days.

Instead of a judge, now a ruler will be sent. A judge administers the law.  A ruler writes the law.

Therefore he shall give them up until the time

    when she who is in labor has given birth;

then the rest of his brothers shall return

    to the people of Israel.

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,

    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great

    to the ends of the earth.

But this ruler is not a warlord, but rather a shepherd who gathers.

And he shall be their peace.

Instead of using war, or diplomacy, to obtain peace.  This ruler will use . . . himself.  For the law that He authored will be applied to Himself on our behalf.  

Our peace has a name.

 

Peace

This first week of Advent, we start with:

 Isaiah 2:2-5

It shall come to pass in the latter days

    that the mountain of the house of the Lord

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

    and shall be lifted up above the hills;

and all the nations shall flow to it,

    and many peoples shall come, and say:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

    to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways

    and that we may walk in his paths.”

Visiting the Netherlands my family experienced a pedestrian-jam.  Imagine a street where cars are not allowed.  Imagine too, the need to do maintenance like on any other street.  People still needed to get where they where going and filled shoulder to shoulder by the workman shuffling in a continuous stream toward their goal.  This passage speaks of a goal so wonderful that the nations would stream to it.

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,

    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

What are they seeking?  They seek the law.  They want to be taught how to worship God and to live in justice.

He shall judge between the nations,

    and shall decide disputes for many peoples;

and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

    and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

    neither shall they learn war anymore.

Be careful to note that this is not a world government.  National identity is still preserved.  This is not a single race.  Racial identity is preserved.  But each willingly streams to Zion for what we all crave and that is peace, the end of war.

O house of Jacob,

    come, let us walk

    in the light of the Lord.

During Advent we light candles.  We worship a baby who is "the Light of the World".  Understand that peace and justice can only occur in this light.  Darkness hides.  What is hidden cannot be brought to justice.  

So starting with ourselves let us join this wonderful stream and walk toward that light.