Psalms For Life, 2: With Or Without God? Scripture: Psalm 127

- As we think about this Psalm, we need to remember the particular gifts of the one who wrote it. We need to keep in mind that it was composed by Solomon whom God gifted with great wisdom. The Bible describes Solomon's wisdom in this way: ²⁹ "God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. ³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt" (1 Kings 4:29-30, NIV)

- The wisdom of Solomon was such that it is always immensely spiritual and immediately practical for daily life. A person who puts into practice the wisdom she or he learns from Solomon will be seen as a very wise person indeed.

- After reading this Psalm, the first thing that stands out to me is verse one and that verse is traditionally used as a call to worship at the beginning of the marriage ceremony. Granted, this Psalm has some important things to say about family, but the subject of this Psalm is not primarily the family. The main idea of this Psalm is the utter meaninglessness of life without the living God.

- What does Solomon say is the value of all of life's accomplishments? According to Solomon, all of life's accomplishments are vanity, unless the Lord is their source, family included.

- Life only remains meaningful with God; life without God becomes meaningless.

- Unless God is at the center of our lives, then all our efforts, all our building, all our striving, all our work, and all that we invest in our families is meaningless.

- If we are wise, then our everyday, ordinary lives will demonstrate that God is central to our life and our living.

- If we want to raise a godly family, then God must be at the center of the family. Otherwise, all of our efforts to produce a family that lives right in the eyes of God will be in vain.

- If we want to produce a godly community, then God must be at the center of that community. Otherwise, all of our efforts to produce a godly community, which lives right in the eyes of God, will be in vain.

- From the beginning of creation, we have seen the results of human efforts to live without God. With the disobedience of Adam and Eve, God gave all humanity a taste of what life would be like without him. The result of the fall of the first family unit is a world in bondage to sin, death, and decay. Life without God is a life without his sustaining and redeeming power.

- The family unit that fails to place God at the center is a broken and dysfunctional family unit. The evidence of that brokenness is all around us and it shows itself in domestic violence, child abuse, adultery, addictions, disrespect, low self-esteem, marital strife, disobedient children and so on. The only solution for the brokenness of the family is to return God to his rightful place at the center.

- The community that fails to place God at the center is a broken and dysfunctional community. That brokenness is also evident all around us in communities gone wrong.

- Remove God from schools and what do we find? Increased violence, drug use, bullying, and gangs. We find unsuccessful students, teachers that are more concerned about their jobs than the students, program focused education rather than student focused education, and so forth.

- Remove God from government and what do we find? A culture of entitlement, corruption, and political jockeying become of greater importance than doing what is right for the sake of the country and good government.

- Remove God from the legal system and what do we find? We find laziness & corruption in the police, in attorneys, the judges, and in the system itself.

- Remove God from public life and family life and other false gods will rush in and fill the vacuum that is left behind; false gods which wreak havoc and destruction upon the communities of the world and upon the family.

- The world of the 21st century has placed nearly all its eggs in the technological basket. Technology, for all its value and all it's good, cannot save us from ourselves. It keeps us busy yet unfulfilled, entertained but dissatisfied, socially connected but somehow isolated and lonely. For all our technological accomplishments, on their own, they fail to bring greater meaning and depth to our lives.

- We could continue to list the effects of what happens when we remove God from the place where he belongs but that isn't going to help us this morning. All it would serve to do is lead us to lamenting and complaining about the culture in which we live and the communities to which we belong. It is depressing, disheartening, un-motivating and gives no hope.

- In the 127th Psalm, Solomon gives us a pattern for hope and shows us where we need to focus our work if we are going to change the culture around us.

- If we are going to see renewal in the church and revival in our community, then placing God at the center begins with each one of us and our families. As Solomon reminds us in verse one, "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain."

- It was the very first family unit that chose a life without God and it is with the family unit life with God must begin.

- Family life only remains meaningful with God; family life without God becomes meaningless.

- ³ "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
   the fruit of the womb a reward."

- The legacy of right living godly parents is right living godly children (that also goes for those who are spiritual parents in addition to biological parents, which many of us are).

- When God is at the center of your life and your marriage, then you will have an eternally significant influence upon the lives of others. Your legacy will be children in the faith. When God is at the center, your life will have eternal significance. With God, life remains meaningful!

- ⁴ "Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
   are the children of one's youth.
⁵ Blessed is the man
   who fills his quiver with them!"

- When God is at the center of your life, your marriage, and your family, then you reap a sense of security and protection that people living without God do not have.

- Just as many arrows protect the archer, so a person's godly influence brings the blessing of God.  A reproducing family ensures the family line and gives security and protection to the parents in their old age. Will the aged parents of a godly family be lonely? No. Will they be abandoned and isolated by society? No, not while their children are living.

- Isn't this also true of the church? The church that is producing godly offspring is a church which God protects as it ages because it will continue to reproduce godly offspring, offspring who will do what is right in the eyes of God.

- Life without God becomes meaningless; life only remains meaningful with God.

- When I was in senior high school, I made a decision that I didn't want to be told what to do anymore. I didn't want to do my homework, so I didn't. I didn't want to listen to my parents, so I didn't. I didn't want to go to youth group, so I didn't. I didn't want to read my Bible, so I didn't. Oh, I showed up for church and Sunday school. I went through the motions, but essentially I was living life without God.

- That first series of poor decisions led to another series of bad decisions. Let's just say the old saying, "I don't drink & I don't smoke. I don't cuss & I don't chew & I don't girl go with girls who do," doesn't apply to me. I did all those things and a few more.

- What I found was that none of those things fulfilled me. I found that what I like to call, "my little experiment" in life without God was empty & meaningless.

- When I hit rock bottom, which for me meant sinking low enough that I felt like dirt, then I knew it was time to turn things around and get my life back on track by putting God at the center.

- I learned that life without God becomes meaningless. When I turned back and committed myself the following him, then I began to learn that life only remains meaningful with God.

- I have learned that my life can have no greater purpose than to fulfill the calling that God has placed upon my life. Without him at the center everything this life has to offer is in vain. But with God at the center, every effort, every accomplishment finds meaning and purpose and fulfillment in him and for that I'm eternally grateful.

- Life without God becomes meaningless; life only remains meaningful with God.

Psalms for Life: "Finding Your Centre" Scripture Lesson: Psalm 73 For Remembrance Sunday

Psalms for Life: "Finding Your Centre" Scripture Lesson: Psalm 73

- The Psalm we just read this morning was written by a fellow named Asaph. Asaph was a Levitical priest, which means he worked in the Temple. He was also appointed by King David as a worship leader. Asaph lead God's people in prayers and songs of thanksgiving and praise, directing God's people in worship facing the ark of the covenant which contained Moses' staff, copies of the books of the law, and the stone tablets upon which God inscribed the 10 Commandments.

- Asaph makes clear in the first verse that he believes that God is good and that God is good to his people. But Asaph also tells his readers that he has a problem, something that really sticks in his craw; the prosperity of wicked people.

- You see, in Asaph's day the common belief was that good people prospered and wicked people did not. You know, there is a revival in that kind of unwelcome thinking going on today. A group of supposedly Christian teachers are misleading people by telling them that good people will prosper, period. But the Bible warns its readers continually against this kind of thinking.  For example, Job was a good man, but he lost everything.

- Why do good people so often suffer and the wicked so often prosper? Why does God allow evil people to become prosperous? Is God really just?

- As we think about life in this world and as we think about the experience of war on this Sunday before Remembrance Day, we remember that we live in a world that is full of injustice and greed, hostility and violence, hatred and bigotry. We remember not only the ultimate price that many paid, but also that so many still pay because of physical and emotional scars. We remember those whose lives are never again the same, who are filled with doubt and wonder if they will ever be whole again.

- In the first 12 verses of this Psalm, Asaph poetically explores his thoughts and feelings about the prosperity of the wicked. He lays his envy out on the table for God, and for himself, to see. He takes the courageous and honest step of putting his feelings on paper and offering them to God in prayer.

- "God, I am stumbling over what I see. All around me good people suffer and wicked people prosper. And I admit I envy them. Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I cling to innocence for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long and every morning brings the pain."

- But then in the 16th & 17th verses, Asaph stumbles across a thought that catches him off guard and sends him in another direction: "But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end."

- Trying to figure out why the wicked continue to prosper and good people continue to suffer is a question that has been asked down through the ages. Asaph realized that it was a question for which he could not come up with a satisfactory answer. In fact, he admitted that just thinking about that question wore him out.

- What we need to realize is that we cannot fix the problems of the world. We cannot fix anyone's problems. We cannot even fix our own problems. Life is not in our control. What can we do to make the best of it? How can we find our center and begin to refocus our lives?            

- Lately, my wife has been reminding me of something so simple but so important: Do the next right thing. It's that simple. Do the next right thing. That is just what Asaph did.

- In the midst of his doubt and the prosperity he saw in the wicked, how does Asaph center his heart? Asaph remembers and worships the living God.

- Asaph put aside the question that was such a wearisome task to him and he went into the sanctuary of God to lead God's people in worship.  As a Levite, that was his job. He did the next right thing. He put aside his doubt and lead God's people in worship and as he was worshiping he found the answer to what was troubling him.

- Asaph found himself confronted by a glorious and wonderful God. He remembered the early history of God's people: how God brought them out of Egypt and destroyed the Egyptian armies in the Red Sea, Joshua and the fall of Jericho, Gideon and the defeat of the  Midianites, Ruth's eventual marriage to Boaz, the rise of David to the throne, and how God remained faithfully present through it all.

- When confronted by who God is and his actions in the past, Asaph realized how faithful God is. He felt stupid and thought of himself like a beast, stubborn and ignorant.

- While he did the next right thing in the sanctuary, Asaph realized that his envious feelings were not important. He understood that trying to deal with the question of the problem of evil was not so important. What was important was being in the presence of the living God.

- God is the one who will hold your hand. He is the one who will guide you and give you counsel and receive you to glory. Who is like him? Certainly, there is no one in heaven or on earth like him!

- He alone is capable of dealing with the deepest problems and brokenness of the human heart. He alone can help you to find the center of your life and make you whole. After all, He alone is at the center of it all.

- Asaph came to the conclusion that it is good to be near God. Matthew tells us that when Jesus began to preach the thrust of his message was, "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." In other words, "repent, for God is near." The message of Jesus reflects the message of Asaph in this Psalm.

- To repent essentially means to change your mind which is what Asaph did. He changed his mind about the way he was thinking. Instead of trying to tackle the question of why God allows evil, Asaph allowed God's character and faithfulness to become his focus.

- Jesus told his first listeners the same thing. Change your minds, change your thinking because God is near and God wants to have a relationship with you. God doesn't want your religion, he wants you.

- We live in a broken world that fills us with doubt and that brings much envy to our hearts when we see how the evil in the world prosper. But Asaph reminds us that God didn't put us on this earth to solve the world's problems. No, God put us on this earth so that we would learn to love him and love one another. When we fail, we simply need to remember to do the next right thing. Doing the next right thing is the practical side of repentance.

- Asaph found his center by remembering and worshiping the living God.

- What is the next right thing for us to do on this Remembrance Sunday?

- Remember God; let your heart worship him and you will find your center.

The Real Values Of The Kingdom: Real Kingdom Goodness 3.0 Matthew 5:38-48

- We've been exploring for the last month what the goodness of the kingdom of God looks like in a person's heart and we've been looking at some ways that we can get our hearts into that condition.

- We've explored how to move out of being angry, having contempt for others, and dealing with selfish desires. We have been reminded in the words of Jesus that a good heart is a heart that repents, a heart and life that turns away from what we know and learn to be wrong and commits to doing what is right, that's repentance.

- As we go to the last 10 verses of Matthew chapter 5, I want to ask a question for us to keep in our minds that I believe Jesus answers: what did Jesus tell his listeners is the best response when others hurt them? And what is Jesus telling us is the best response when others hurt us?

- A university professor awoke from a deep sleep to the sound of his telephone ringing off the hook at three o'clock in the morning. The voice on the other end of the phone said, "This is your neighbour Mr. Smith. Your dog is barking and keeping me awake." The professor thanked him kindly, hung up the phone and returned to bed. 24 hours later, Mr. Smith's telephone rang at exactly 3 o'clock in the morning. "This is the professor," said the voice, "I just wanted you to know that I don't have a dog!" (Paul Lee Tan, 7700).

- A very religious but cranky old woman was very annoyed because her neighbours forgot to ask her to go on a picnic they were having. On the morning of their picnic they realized how they had offended her and so they sent their young son to invite her to come along. "It's too late now," she snapped at the boy, "I've already prayed for rain." (Paul Lee Tan, 7700).

- What is the best response when others hurt us? The professor's return call at three o'clock in the morning and the old woman's prayer for rain remind us of the importance of Jesus words to us this morning. It is never right to get even because revenge does not come from a loving heart.

- When we are getting even with someone, love is the furthest thing from our minds. Revenge and love are opposites. The two simply cannot go together. Like oil and water, they do not mix.

- Jesus paints a very simple picture of what someone who has a kingdom heart does when they are wounded or hurt by others: "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also...If someone tries to take your shirt, give him your coat as well. If someone forces you to go 1 mile, go with him 2 miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."

- For the sake of the ones who hurt us we need to: stay vulnerable; help the one who sues us for our shirt; do more than others ask of us by going above and beyond; and give to those who have no claim on our money.

- Does it mean doing these things no matter what? No, it means freely deciding to do them in the moment. It means we do them for the greater good because we are keeping in mind God's eye view of our situation and the situation of the one who hurt us. 

- On a tall ship who has the better view, someone standing on the deck or someone perched in the crow's nest? The answer is obvious the one perched in the crow's nest, but God has the greatest point of view.  If we can keep God's eye view in mind, then we will be able to choose what is best.

-And why would we want to do these things? We do them because they show to others that the kingdom of God is present in our hearts and lives. We do them because the God of love lives in us and calls us to love others.

- If we love God and love others and if God lives in us, then we will respond to others in noticeably different ways than the cranky old woman responded to being left out of the picnic and we will respond differently than the professor to his early-morning caller.

- We will respond as Jesus responded. What did Jesus say about his murderers? Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing.

- I wonder how often though we need to pray that prayer of Jesus only turn it around on ourselves like this, "Father, forgive me for I don't know what I'm doing."

- Jesus always kept a God's eye view of everyone around him. He was always able to see people through the eyes of his heavenly Father. How do we keep a God's eye view of people? There really is only one way to do that and that is to look at others in the same way that we expect God to look at us. God has not just made himself available to you and to me, but God has made himself available to the people who hurt us and even to our enemies.

- Speaking of enemies, Jesus said, ⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

- A person who has the goodness of the kingdom of God in his or her heart is a person who is able to love their enemies and pray for their persecutors. How is that person able to do that? The kingdom hearted person is able to love their enemies and pray for their persecutors because they are able to keep up a God's eye view.

- Now, does this all mean that we will act like we are doormats and allow people to walk all over us matter what, being passive all the time merely accepting whatever comes our way? No, what it means is that we will knowingly choose to act out of love.

- You know, even terrorists, motorcycle gangs, the Mafia, and other criminals love those who love them, but the highest demonstration of love is loving your enemies and praying for those who persecute you.

- Why would we want to do that? Well, we would do that because God does it. In his love, God causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall for both the evil and the good. His love is perfect, it is total, complete and he calls each one of us to learn to love as he loves. As Jesus said, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

- The response of love and prayer for enemies and persecutors is the opposite of how we would normally respond. Our natural response for those who hate us, persecute us and who would call themselves our enemies would be to pray and wish for God to wipe them off the face of the earth and maybe even to lay plans for that to happen.

- That is the response of Islamic fundamentalism. Certain fundamentalist Muslims hate the United States of America so they laid plans to bring the powerful country to financial ruin through the destruction of the twin towers and to cripple the government through the attempted destruction of the Pentagon.

- People who belong to the kingdom of God are not to behave this way, but are to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them.

- The message of Jesus is a message of love.  If we want to become the kind of person that Jesus is talking about, then we need to learn to love.

- God's love is the right response to all of life's harmful forces.

- Remember the Pharisees. It was a Pharisee's goal in life to keep the law rather than become the kind of person whose actions naturally show that godly love fulfills the law. - How do we become the kind of person who responds with godly love when the harmful forces of life press in on us and hurt us? How do we do that?

- I believe Jesus gives us at least two disciplines that we can practice in our Scripture lesson today. The first spiritual discipline I want to mention is the discipline of service, doing something that needs doing for someone else. If we are going to learn to turn the other cheek, give up our coat as well as our shirt, go the extra mile, and give to those who ask of us, then we are going to have to serve people that we don't particularly like or that we think don't particularly like us. At the very least, for service to be a spiritual discipline, we need to choose to do some things we either don't like doing or would not ordinarily do, and we need to do them out of love. If we can learn to serve others as an act of submitting our life to God, keeping his eye view in mind, and knowing he loves them as much as he loves us, then we can learn to love as he loves. Not only that, but we will start becoming the kind of people God wants us to be.

- The second spiritual discipline I want to mention is prayer. When we pray for people who don't like us, who have it in for us, or whom we feel are out to get us, then we are disciplining ourselves to exercise godly love.  When people hate us for whatever reason and we choose to respond by praying for them, by forgiving them, by asking God to remove any bitterness or resentment from our hearts, by praying for God to show up and show off in their life and show them that he is real, and that they would come to know the Lord Jesus, then there is no greater prayer, no more loving prayer than that.

- God's love is the right response to all of life's harmful forces.