Crossroads Bible Fellowship

I had a great time talking through God’s law and grace with you guys this Sunday.  How are you viewing God’s law this week?  Are you keeping in mind the gracious purpose of God?  Do you have a “bloody fist” mentality or a gracious “key” perspective?

JJ

“So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.” Verse 4

Knowing God like David does means you will praise Him your whole life. You can’t help but praise Him. I really do want to know God like this! There is either something wrong with me or something wrong with the way I have been thinking about God since I do not praise or bless Him always. I will fail and must rely on the gospel even here. As I said in the previous post, Jesus died for my lack of praise too. Even so, I long to know God like this psalm describes.

“Lifting my hands”

This is a little more difficult for me. Why am I so hesitant to have outward actions show my affections toward God? The challenge is that even though I know God does not “require” certain outward motions, I also know that my attitude must change. Since they are not required, my response is then I don’t have to do them. That is not the right attitude. Why am I so hesitant?

1. “I get concerned that I will just do it to be seen by men.” This is probably the biggest reason I give myself and it is legitimate to some degree. Matthew 6 comes to mind. The answer to this one is to address my motive, not to avoid the issue. I can’t stop praying simply because I am afraid I will do it for the wrong motives.
2. “I’m scared to “let go.”" I realize I like control and motions like raising my hands seems less controlled. Now that is a scary reason to give. I need to work on that one.
3. “No one else around me is doing it.” Isn’t it amazing that I can talk myself out of doing something good simply by using reasons like this? The fact is that I should not be concerned about what others are doing. And, by the way, why am I noticing what others are doing at this point? Shouldn’t I be focusing on God?
4. “It is not my personality to be so outward.” That reason is a hard one for me because I want it to be that simple. Then I could legitimately ignore all things I don’t feel comfortable doing. As I have thought about this, comfort is a learned thing. When I first started praying out loud, I was completely uncomfortable. I was even uncomfortable praying in front of Pam. At the time, I would have said it was my personality to be more reserved and would have suggested that outward actions like that are for other people.  Now praying out loud is not a big deal for me. I have learned to be comfortable simply by doing it and doing it often.

Now, none of this means I must physically express myself every time, but what it does mean is that I should ask myself why I don’t want to express myself outwardly. Is there something I must change in my thinking? For me there is. For David, raising his hands was a natural expression of his affections.  How do I express mine?

“Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.” Verse 3

Praise is meant to be a natural outworking of treasuring or valuing Christ. If I truly believe that God’s love is better than life, I will end up praising Him. I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. Do I praise Him? Do I just break out into praise at times?

What does praise actually look like? I think I often limit what praise must look like. Is it singing? Is it falling on my knees and acknowledging my dependence?  Is it closing my eyes? This is my problem. I tend to think about praise in visual terms rather than a heart crying out in joy to the One he treasures. I can be totaly silent and still praise or I can be completely expressive in a variety of ways and still not be praising.

It is about the heart, but not strictly about the emotions. I tend to get those two confused. If I am praising from the heart, often emotions will be expressed, but they are not required. I think that is a topic for another reflection later. Back to the Psalm.

Sometimes I act as if God does not deserve praise. I wish I thought of it in such stark terms as that since it might shake me out of that sin. Other times I get so caught up in life that I ignore God. Sure, I pray at meals and talk about God (since I am a pastor I must do these things ), but functionally I act like He is not involved and deserving of all my allegiance. How can I change that? How can I be focused on who God is and how much I need Him all the time?

The “funny” thing is that there are many things in life that remind me I need Him, but typically I complain about them and pout until they go away, not letting them drive me to my God. Thankfully the gospel is true and even my lack of love toward God is paid for, freeing me from God’s righteous wrath.I am perfectly accepted even while I fail. This is the amazing gospel and it just makes me more thankful, drawing me back to praise. He is infinitely worthy of all my praise.

What is my response to all this? First, I must seek to praise Him. I must set things in my life that remind me of who wonderful He is, how worthy He is of all praise. Second, I must ask God to help me with my lack of praise. The fact is that I need Him so much that I can’t even praise as I should. Now that is humbling.

“So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.” Verse 2

What does this have to do with the previous verse? It seems to me that David is thinking back to when he did see God. He is explaining how he can continue to praise God and trust Him, longing for Him this way even when enemies are coming against him. That is what I want. I want to be able to praise God and long for Him even when things are not going well. In fact, that might be the time I need Him most. David would have gone to the sanctuary to see God. It was an actual location where God showed up. Sometimes I just wish there was some location I could go to see God. Those are my foolish days.

David would go to where he could see God. How can I do the same thing? As I have thought more about this, I realized this is a major theme that runs through Scripture from cover to cover. We want and need to be with God. Adam and Eve, before the fall, were with God in Eden. After that God had Moses and company build a tabernacle. After that came the temple. With both of these, there was a location within them where God actually dwelt called the Holy of holies. Later in the book by Ezekiel, we read that God left the temple. That was a sad day for Israel, but it was not the end. All of this prepares us for John 1:14

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” ESV

Do you know what this means? Jesus “tabernackled” with us. He dwelt with us. Do I want to see God? Look to Jesus! Jesus shows us the power and glory of God. He shows us everything we need to see about God. What a privilege.

How can I prepare to face hard times and still long for God like David does here? I must look to Jesus. I must savor Jesus and all the He is. I must value Jesus more than any other comfort that I might receive. Often I struggle with this because the other things I turn to are more tangible than Jesus, but that is simply unbelief. I must trust His promises. He has an impeccable track record. I want to meditate on Jesus so much that I can see and remember His glory and power.

Here are a few passages to reflect on in this process.

• Ephesians 1:19-20
• Philippians 3:10
• Matthew 16:28-17:13 with Mark 9:1-13 and Luke 9:27-36

“my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” verse 1

Still here and it is good that I am.

This section is wonderful since it shows that David’s longing is not just in the immaterial (soul) part of him, but rather David’s whole being is caught up with who God is. Every part of him screams out to be satisfied in Him. It is as if David is dying of thirst and God Himself is the only one that can satisfy that longing.

I must admit that this is not my experience. What should I do?

1. Confess my sin. Understand and embrace it. It is actually sin when I do not long for God because I do long for something. Whatever I make as crucial for my happiness is what I long for. If that is not God, I have an idol. Now, I should not expect that I will always have the passion expressed here. That is not essential, but the longing for God is and it needs to be expressed. Confession is a great place to start.
2. Remember the glorious gospel. The fact is that the gospel alone should help me to long for God more and more. He has given so much and I still try to live on my own. Will I never learn? Meditation on the gospel should be a daily, if not hourly, plan for me.
3. Pray for God to give me this longing, with the right motives. God must give me this longing if it is to be true and not mustered up. The last thing I want is desires that I force rather than an accurate reflection of God’s worth. This means I must plead with God to give me a longing for Him.

As I think about reasons I do not long for God like David does, I ask myself a couple of questions. Perhaps these will be helpful for you as well.

• Am I too comfortable in my life?
• Do I see real need in my life that points me beyond material things?
• Do I see that everything I have must come from God if I am to get it? This includes my very life and breath.
• When I am struggling, do I turn to other things for comfort and security? What are those things?
• Do I realize that turning to other things is actually idolatry?
• What will God need to do to get my attention?

“earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you;” verse 1

Personally I still want to wrestle with this section of Scripture as I see the need in my own life for the truth of this passage. I do not earnestly seek Him as I should and it is because I do not see Him for who He is.

Does my soul long for God, hurt with desire like my body would if  I desperately needed a drink? Thirst is a natural desire that cannot be denied. We simply cannot go without water. Do I think this way about God? I need to. He is everything. He keeps me alive every moment of every day.

What exactly does earnest seeking look like? As I shared in church a couple weeks ago, I think of two main ideas. The first is a movie illustration. Every romance basically shows at least one person longing to be with another person so much that they feel they cannot live without them. Isn’t the seeking shown in these movies a good example of earnest seeking? The problem many have with this is that after you get married, you settle into a relationship that is less than exciting and “seeking.” Every Christian has an initial experience of seeking and loving God like we seek a potential mate, but often we settle into something less. God is better than this and deserves more. He can and does satisfy every need we have. We should always be seeking Him with earnestness.

The second illustration hits home with me more. Kohl is currently 2 years old and I started thinking what would happen if he got lost in the mall or in downtown Greenville. How would I seek him? Do I really even need to answer that question? I would seek him with everything I had. My earnestness would be tangible for everyone to see.

So, do I seek God with this much earnestness? He is infinitely worth it! Why wouldn’t I seek Him this way? What must I do in my own life to pursue God this way? Now that is a good question.

Hello everyone!

I wanted to open up the discussion from yesterday’s message. What did you think? Were you encouraged? Were you challenged? Did you see how to adore Christ even as we discussed the passage? Did you understand the passage? This is really a forum for you to help me as well as get some of your questions answered. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your posts.

In Him, Michael

I thought we would add something to this blog so that we can continue to encourage one another with God’s goodness. Since we spent some time working through Psalm 63:1-8 Sunday, I thought it would be helpful for we to write down some of my own thoughts that will go along with what we walked through. This Psalm has been great to reflect on.

“O God, you are my God” Verse 1

These words are tremendously sweet when I reflect on them. How often do I think of God as “my God?” He is not someone who is distant and disengaged with my life. He is working everything for my good, so that I might be like Jesus. (Romans 8:28-30) He loves me and is intimately involved in every aspect of my life. He died for me to satisfy His own wrath. What amazing truth and so sweet when I actually take the time to meditate on it. I should always turn to Him and long to know Him more. It is so sad that I settle for things that are far less satisfying instead of the Creator who completely satisfies. Using C.S. Lewis’s quote: “We are far too easily pleased.”

Isn’t “My God” what Jesus cried out while He was on the cross? (Matthew 27:46) I’m not sure this helps us more, but it is interesting.

Sometimes I have thought it arrogant for me to call Him “my God, ” as if I own Him or something. Lately I have reflected on the fact that when I say my God, I am not claiming He is there to serve me, but rather that I need Him. He is mine in the sense that He died for me, but that is not a proud declaration any more than a slave saying “my master.” This is actually how I should think about God. Another aspect I thought about in relation to this is how my son approaches me. he calls me His dad and that is also meant to reflect our relationship as well as his dependence on me. What a great picture of my dependence on my heavenly Father.

I have been thinking about how much I need God’s help recently for a variety of reasons, but thinking about Him being my God has helped that. I need Him to be my God and actively involved in everything I do. If there was anything He was not involved in, I would be in trouble. The fact is, this is only the response of someone He has promised to care for. If God was still my enemy, Him being my God would not be a good thing in my mind. “My God” would take on more of the idea of my authority who will punish me forever in hell.

Anyway, there are a few thoughts to get us started. Feel free to add your own thoughts below and feel free to send me any thoughts you have that you would like to post here. I will post more in the next couple of days.

Hello everyone! Well, we had an interesting time Sunday discussing things. I hope I was clear and we can proceed from here with a good perspective. I would open this up for anyone to throw out questions and comments that you have thought about since our time. Please feel free to throw it out there and we can discuss it.

Thanks for your patience as we work this out. It will really be a great thing and will help us serve Christ more effectively.

I do want to clarify something I said. i made the comment that we should have some outward form of expression. The example in teh text was lifting our hands. I am not sure you MUST have some outward expression, but I will say that it will be perfectly natural to have outward expressions if we are affected by what we are learning. Anyway, I hope that helps.

Looking forward to your comments.

Michael

Hey everyone!

I know it was a bit heavy on Sunday, but I hope we were able to work through the text in a way that helped us to understand what Paul was saying. What are you challenged with or learn from this passage?

Michael