Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Christianity has become one of two extremes: mindless enthusiasm or dead intellectualism.

Within Baptist circles we tend to gravitate to the dead intellectualism side of things.

We want to understand doctrine deeper.

The bible is our sole authority so we pour over its pages missing the purpose for why it was written.

The bible was given to show us God to mediate an experience with God.

It is not just a record of dead men’s stories and neat poetry.

Many approach their relationship with God as merely reading some words on a page.

Can I make this statement?

You can read the bible and not meet with God.

Somewhere between mindless enthusiasm and dead intellectualism is a real authentic experience of God that is mediated by the word of God.

A relationship with God is not a mere list of facts.

A relationship with God is meant to be experienced, enjoyed, and sought after.

But so often, modern Christianity has lived in a wilderness when it comes to their experience of God.

We don’t know what such an experience is like let along how to have such an experience.

In our Psalm today, David was in such a wilderness.

Notice the title under the Psalm A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

Most believe this time in David’s life was when he was fleeing from Absalom not when he was fleeing from Saul.

Notice in vs 11, he references himself as the King.

Often times it is in these wildernesses that men and women meet their God.

Consider Hagar who met the God who sees in the wilderness Gen 16:13.

Or Moses as he watched his father Jethro’s flock in the wilderness in Ex 3;1-4.

There God appeared in a burning flaming bush that was not consumed.

Or Elijah under the Juniper tree a day’s journey into the wilderness and now we have David in the wilderness.

Wildernesses remind us of our need for God because everything that would meet our needs is stripped away.

David did not long merely to memorize the Torah, he did not long merely to perform ceremonies in the temple.

David longed for a true experience of God.

I cannot in one sermon tell you everything there is to know on this topic.

Rather I am going to limit myself to what David says in this Psalm because if we can grasp this we will be a long way towards experiencing our God in a deeper way.

So how do we know if we have met with God?

I am going to give you three tests from Psalm 63 this morning.

I.

The Test of Desire vs 1

Let’s define desire first of all.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, desire is a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.

Desire could be defined as delighting, wanting, finding your joy in something.

So when I have a desire for God it is a yearning to be near Him and to be with Him.

Have you ever had that aching in your heart because you want to know more of God, to spend more time with Him?

I would say that most Christians have never experienced this relationship with God as is evidenced in the fact that they don’t spend any time in prayer or reading the bible.

What brings you joy?

What makes you truly happy?

Is it laying out on the beach relaxing?

Is it standing on top of a mountain and breathing in the fresh air?

Is it reading a book or watching a movie or game?

Is it a person?

Your kids?

Your wife? girlfriend?

Is it video games?

When you get to the point that your happiness comes from God, then you are desiring God.

One author once said that your religion is found in your solitude.

Let me explain what that means: When you have nothing to do, nothing to distract you where does your mind automatically go?

Whatever that thing is is your religion.

You could say it is your God.

It is the center of your life and what is most important to you.

A. Personal- my- God wants a personal relationship with you.

I can not deal with anyone else’s relationship with God although I am the pastor.

I can encourage you, I can guide you, I can set an example for you; but there is one thing I cannot do and that is walk with God for you.

I can’t desire God for you.

I can’t make you love God more.

I can’t make you desire him more.

Trust me I have tried to hold people by the hand before, but you have to do this.

Its a choice you have to make.

B. Priority- early, eagerness- The word early is not actually a word in the text, it is a preposition called an energetic nun (you look at the word and it looks like an energetic nun) carrying the idea of priority or eagerness.

What comes first in you life?

Is it God?

What takes up the majority of your time?

I must make seeking God a priority in my life.

C. Pining- longeth- longing is the sense of lack or desiring more.

sensing the absence.

Soul/flesh speak of the whole person.

This longing is not merely intellectual.

It is not mythical made up.

It is not even spiritual of another domain that we can’t really experience but we just imagine it to be so.

This longing is real.

The relationship of soul and flesh here is important because in scriptures flesh is often a negative term.

And while our fleshly desires often want to pull us away from God, the soul influences the flesh to yearn for God here.

Don’t we see this very thing in the gospels?

Our hearts burned within us.

Luke 24:32 “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”

There were two things that produced this burning in their hearts: the presence of God and the words of God together.

The verse speaks of longing like a dry wilderness where there isn’t any water.

Think of an Oklahoma summer day when we haven’t had rain for a month.

The ground starts to dry up and pull away from the concrete.

If you pour water on it, it will suck it all up.

The ground is thirsty.

How do you know if you pine after God/ How do you know if you desire Him and long for Him? Do you ache when he seems absent?

Do you miss Him? Do you crave more of Him?

II.

The Test of Sight vs 2-7

1 John 4:12 “No man hath seen God at any time.

If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”

God is invisible so how do we see God.

Part of the answer to that question is Jesus Christ.

John 14:9 “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” but that is not the answer David gives in this text.

I am teaching my daughters this semester how to study the bible.

We are learning the inductive bible study method.

We have really just begun but one of the most helpful things they are learning right now is to ask questions of the text.

Who, what, when, where, why and how.

We are going to ask some of those questions today about seeing God.

1. Who are we seeing?