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First of all, I apologize for the delay. It's just been a crazy Summer overall. I actually have a life again after several years of not really doing much. Anyway, you don't visit my site to hear excuses, you come for the Word of God (and hopefully the crafts) ;) Oh, and if you want to hear last week's Official Sermon, you'll have to like CenterPoint Church in Concord, NH on FB to catch the live feed. (I haven't done that yet, myself... watch the feed, not like the page)
Okay, so here we go --
How many of you wear glasses, raise your hands?? Both my hands and one foot are raised!! (I have progressive tri-focals) LOL Pastor Matt's side-story was brief, but fitting, as he shared about a friend he knows who has driving glasses, sunglasses, and readers. He explained how entertaining it is to watch her finagle them all. ;p Today's message has us looking through three sets of lenses at the same time.
So now for a social etiquette question to open our Biblical conversation -- What are the 2 major subjects one should absolutely not discuss in polite company?? (especially if strangers are involved) You guessed them -- Religion and Politics!! Gold stars for all who guessed correctly!!
Turn with me to Psalm 72 for a serious "breach of etiquette" --
Psalm 72
Of Solomon.
1 Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. 2 May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice.
3 May the mountains bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. 4 May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor. 5 May he endure[a] as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations. 6 May he be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. 7 In his days may the righteous flourish and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.
8 May he rule from sea to sea and from the River[b] to the ends of the earth. 9 May the desert tribes bow before him and his enemies lick the dust. 10 May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring tribute to him. May the kings of Sheba and Seba present him gifts. 11 May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.
12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. 13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. 14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given him. May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long. 16 May grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. May the crops flourish like Lebanon and thrive[c] like the grass of the field. 17 May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun.
Then all nations will be blessed through him,[d] and they will call him blessed.
18 Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. 19 Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.
20 This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.
As we read through this passage, a couple of things stare back glaringly at us. Say them with me -- Religion and Politics!! Yep, that's right, the author (probably David) has the outright audacity to combine the 2 most taboo subjects in a single song!! (not only a man after God's own heart, but my own, bth) (Seriously though, handsome, strong, influential, musical, animal lover, seeker after God... what's not to love??)
The true theme here, however, is God's justice and righteousness. As Christian believers, we know and understand that the only perfect king in history was and is Jesus Christ. Now I mentioned above about lenses. This passage is only fully appreciated and understood if we look through the lenses of the past, present, and future; all at the same time.
Past -- in this case, we are looking not only at our own past, but David's. First of all, we see evidence of God's Covenant with David himself. Verses 1-7 show this in particular. "Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness... " God promised David that he would always have an heir on the throne of Israel. Look at verse 5 "He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations." Now look down to verse 17b -- "All nations will be blessed through him..." Where have we heard that before?? That's right, God's promise or Covenant with Abraham.
Kingdoms/Governments inherently involve 2 groups of people -- the King or Rulers, and the people being ruled or electing others to represent them. (the Royalty and Commoners, if you will) (I know... but it works here) As Christians, Jesus is our King and we are His subjects. This fulfills both Covenants with a "new and improved" version, as God knew would be needed.
Present -- Here, we are also looking at both David's "present time" as well as our own. As David reached deeper into knowing who God was/is, he had a better understanding of his own life and purpose. We have that same opportunity today.*
As you may know, the Psalms were the hymns of their day. Written to God or about Him by those who worshipped and adored Him. Judging by the content of Psalm 72, it was most likely also used as a Coronation Hymn. We see both praise for the king and his long life and successful reign, and also praise to God for seeing it done.
Every new leadership cycle comes with its own mix of admiration, expectations, aspirations, and the inevitable disappointments from those who disapprove of the new policies either being presented or mandated. That being said, it's also always true that the present times on these occasions anchor us in the ideals of justice and righteousness. The problems arise when we seek our own methods of achieving these rather than God's ways.
Let's explore the words righteousness and justice for a second in light of God's Word. First of all, "righteousness" literally means that one is "right by God", they are holy and pure. Then we have the word, "justice". This is the idea of something (law or system) or someone (individual or group) not being right. It's always someone else who's wrong, not us if we're viewing it through human lenses and not God's. (I've learned a lot about this over the past year or 2 myself, full disclosure) God's ideal of justice is His re-ordering and restoration of a broken world.
The idea of failed aspirations is suggested above, there may be a few different reactions to this -- they may include disappointment, discouragement, and resentment. Either personal failure or else failure to live up to someone else's expectations. A look to the future can offer an alternative here --
Future -- The future can bring hope for success later on. This can be personal success for those who strive for it, or simply hope for eternity with Jesus for those believers who live more quiet lives. Potentially both for those who desire it. Either way, we can live our best lives now while awaiting eternity, whatever it may hold for us.
Skip back to verses 5-7 for a minute, there's more to see here -- not only is Jesus the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant, but as we read through here we can see that God's will is for nourishment and prosperity for all in the Kingdom.
Now take a good look at verses 12-14 -- "For he will deliver the needy who cry out... rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight."* As we see in the life of Jesus, it was the poor, outcast, and needy who were featured most prominently in His ministry stories. Think about it --
the woman with the issue of blood
the Roman soldier's child
the prostitute He refused to stone
If we really think about it clearly, we are all weak, vulnerable, and poor. And that's God's point, because the Gospel only makes sense to that kind of person. If someone is prideful and thinks they've got everything well in hand, then they don't see a need for Jesus in their lives. It's only those who are humble enough to realize they can't make life work on their own who seek Him out.
The difference in Jesus' kingdom as opposed to those of the World is that He didn't come in overt power. He came in gentle compassion, humility that appeared as a curse in the Crucifixtion. The self-sacrifice it all required... this was how He conquered sin and death. Not with soul-crushing oppression, but soul-rescuing freedom.* And again, a reminder of the Abrahamic Covenant where all are blessed. Another place we see this difference is in Matt. 5 with the Beatitudes.
In summary, God's proclamation of righteousness and justice in the Gospel are a reminder to a World that has forgotten both. What will we do with this information?? Pastor Matt closed with the following thoughts --
Recognition of God as our only hope.
Receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord.*
We all have some type of leadership role in our lives. (parents, boss, Church, community influence) This connects us with the aspiration to live Godly lives.
Church -- as believers, we are gathered under Jesus' authority. We need to recognize that the Gospel is not peripheral (or a side-line) of the Church, but the very key that unlocks our purpose.
God Bless!!
Footnotes --
Sunday evening I attended a service at Alton Bay Christian Conference Center. I forget the speaker's name, and it's not on the list because it was a last minute thing. I just know he's from Florida. You can call the Conference Center Office and ask. Anyway, I'm mentioning him here because his message was the first in a 3 day series on how Christians should behave in these crazy days. This one the other night was on Generosity. He was basically using scriptures tied to Tithe and Offering to show that God wants all of us to be prosperous, but not to trust money over Him. (1 Tim. 6:17-19) He shared a great personal story of generosity where he and his family were gifted with Olive Garden certificates, treated 2 elderly women to dinner after the Christmas Eve service last year, and thought someone else had paid their bill... only to find out they had paid it themselves with a "tap to pay" credit card!! LOL
Godly guidelines for this in 1 Tim 5, among other places -- I've seen those posts that say something to the effect that it's not a Christian's place to judge who needs help, but the Bible tells us otherwise -- https://bible.org/seriespage/14-caring-widows-and-those-need-1-timothy-53-16
"... oppression/freedom.." my own thought as I typed this.
Savior/Lord -- Jesus is savior to all who believe, but He's only Lord over those who allow Him full access into their lives.
This week's worship songs --
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