Rest in Distress

When emergency responders found Harold Storelee in front of his house with a broken hip, they did their best to take care of him. As it turned out, that care included attending to the task that injured Storelee--tending his lawn. According to Storelee’s grandson, the lawn was his “pride and joy of the house.”

So, when the trio of EMTs finished responding to the other emergencies of the day, they contacted their supervisor and asked for an additional hour or so to finish the job Storelee had been unable to finish. One of the EMTs said: There was no hesitation from anybody. We talked to our lieutenant and captain, and they were 100 percent behind it. We knew he’d be down for a while, (so) we figured the least we could do was go back and help out. We’ve done similar things before. We look at it like a family community. I’ve seen people with broken porches and replaced a couple of boards. If we see someone in need, we can go help and buy them groceries, and the department will refund us our money.

Many times life can make us feel this way… we find ourselves on our backs injured, immobile, paralyzed. We find that we cannot deal with life and we cannot even take care of what we would call our pride and joy. So many times we can also feel like we are all alone in our distress and we find that we just don’t know where to go; we just don’t know what to do. These are the desperate times where we find out so much about who we are and what we are made of. These are the times where our faith is tested, revealed, and displayed. These are the regular season starts… the preseason is over. The game is for real. We see all that we have trained for, all we have prepared for, all we have suffered for.

But for many of us we find we are not able…this is the killer, this is the jump ship times, when I’m counseling this these are the moments where people will walk away from Christ. This is when some will find out that they have no faith at all. It’s easy to be an angel as long as no one ruffels your feathers. But then they find that they are not angels at all.

And then for some we find that we are not a strong as we think. We did not know as much as we think. We are not gonna walk away from Christ, but we feel like we just cant walk at all. We are weak. We heard all the discipleship warnings from the pastor but we did not listen and now in suffering and in distress we feel alone and not sure how much longer we can take it.

And then da da da dah!!! It is declared that our comfort is found in Christ and our guidance comes from the word. But errrrrgh… downer? Shane I try to read the Bible and I do pray but it does not help. It does not give me comfort. It does not help. The problems just don’t go away. Im trying … I read and it does not help. I pray and it does not help. Well do we not realize that it is the Lord who will sustain us through the trial… it is the Bible that will give us wisdom and comfort through the trial. But isn’t that the pattern we see in the scriptures. That God wants to take us through the trial, not eject us from it. Even Shadrach Mishac and Abendnego still got thrown into the furnace.

Hebrews 10:32–34 NLT

Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.

It is the supernatural Word of God that will guide us through the difficult times and the suffering we go through. We will be able to stand even when we feel like we are alone. We will be able to stand when all is lost and all have abandoned us. We will be able to stand because though we may feel it… the Word declare that Christ will never leave us nor forsake us. Lets check out Gimel today...

Psalm 119:17–24 NLT

Be good to your servant, that I may live and obey your word. Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions. I am only a foreigner in the land. Don’t hide your commands from me! I am always overwhelmed with a desire for your regulations. You rebuke the arrogant; those who wander from your commands are cursed. Don’t let them scorn and insult me, for I have obeyed your laws. Even princes sit and speak against me, but I will meditate on your decrees. Your laws please me; they give me wise advice.

The grass withers the flower fades but the Word of our God stands forever.

We Live to Serve

I Am a Foreigner

Salvation in Christ

The first thing we will look at today is how the purpose of life and the reason why we live is to serve the living God. Second, we will see a vivid picture of what it means for us to be foreigners in the land. Third, we will take an honest look at ourselves and see that it is Christ and in Christ alone that we find salvation.

Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world cause us to lose sight of truth in the confusion of distress, it is the Word of God and the power of the Spirit that will cause us to see the truth of the Gospel, Salvation, and the sufficiency and value of Christ and His Word.

I. We Live to Serve

- We do not live to sin, but live to serve.

A. Clearly we see at the beginning the identification of the psalmist to be the servant of the most High God. And most importantly… as he proceeds through his trials and tribulations he shows and knows that his hope is in God and in God alone. And in his appeal, he makes a plea as a servant looking for grace and generosity of his master, not a reward or a legal claim. Very important to get this.

Spurgeon writes, “The psalmist is asking God to let his wage be according to God’s goodness and not according to his own merit. Reward me according to the largeness of your generosity, and not according to the meagerness of my service.”

Heidelberg Catechism - Q&A 63

Q. How can our good works be said to merit nothing when God promises to reward them in this life and the next?1

A. This reward is not earned; it is a gift of grace.

Luke 17:10 NLT

In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’ ”

B. So this makes even more emphatic that our hope is in Christ and in Christ alone. For to be a man without the favor of God is the same as a dead man. And the cry is to live. There is nothing wrong with wanting to live, but to live is not to sin, but to live is to serve the Lord.

Matthew Henry writes it beautifully, “Life is therefore a choice mercy, because it is an opportunity of obeying God in this world, where there are so few that do glorify him; and this David had in his eye: “Not that I may live and grow rich, live and be merry, but that I may live and keep thy word, may observe it myself and transmit it to those that shall come after, which the longer I live the better I shall do.”

C. That every breath we take and every move we make is in the direction and purpose to obey His word and bring glory to our Lord. For every beat of my heart will cause me to incline to the wonders of the Word of God and see Him glorified in all things. And for every thought and plan in our minds will be to meditate of the treasure that is the Word of God and to bring endless glory to our prophet priest and king Christ Jesus.

D. The pattern of this world asserts that the purpose of living is pleasure, success (how ever you define it), wealth, prosperity, knowledge, advancement, relationships, popularity, fame, social media followers and according to Kaiser… not just survive, but thrive. No. Our prayer today when it comes to our very lives is to live in order to serve the Lord in accordance to His word.

E. Live to follow the word of the living God. Live to declare the goodness of the gospel of Jesus. Live to be a vessel of peace. Live to be a disciple of Christ who loves others and shows the world that we belong to Christ. Live Live to overcome the world by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony and loving not our lives even unto death. Live to love the law of God. Live to glorify the Lord. Live to harvest the fruit that comes from obedience to the Word of God. Live to demonstrate to the world that the Word of God is more valuable than millions in gold and silver. Live to walk in step with the truth of the gospel. Live to be salt and light in this world. Live to shine like stars in the universe. And we thank the Lord for eternity for the life and life more abundant we have in Christ. And I need His grace because...

II. I Am a Foreigner

- For our citizenship is in heaven.

A. We have got to understand the implications of what it means for us to be foreigners of this world and citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Those whose home is this world are concerned about the things of this world, what it provides the ease and luxury it promises. But for those of us who are foreigners in this world, we are on a journey, we are foreign exchange students, we are here to learn to study, to be trained, our home and our inheritance is in heaven so we do not get caught up and engrossed in the perishable things that the world promises.

B. We don’t invest in these things. We do not belong here. We are just visiting. How foolish would it be for us to store up property, furniture, food sources, storage, cars, houses, trucks, businesses, ect… when we are just visiting. We cant take the stuff with us on the plane. We get that stuff where we live. Are we storing up treasure in heaven? That is our home.

C. And because we are just visiting and foreigners in the land, we are asking our king for the necessary support for our time here. And what the psalmist years for is the Word of the Living God. Take away all the earthly possessions and we are ok… take away the Word of God and I am done for. We have got to get that today… if we do not have the Word of God we have nothing.

Spurgeon asks a question, “Since nothing around me is mine, what can I do if I lose Your Word? Since no other people around me know or care to know the way to You, what will I do if I fail to see Your commands, by which alone I can guide my steps to the land where You dwell?

D. The psalmist is making it clear that his only comfort as a foreigner is the very Word of the Living God. It is the scriptures that describe to us the wonder and beauty of our real home. It is the scriptures that shows us the way to go home. Please Lord please Lord don’t ever hide Your Word from me.

E. What in the world is the point of opening our eyes when the greatest thing for us to see is actually hidden from us. If the words that remind us and teach us of all the beauty and wonder of the promises of God of our inheritance in heaven is hidden from us what a travesty it would be. What if we are our to sea without a compass? In the forest without a map? In a high school lunch room without a friend? I am a stranger in the land, please be gracious to me as you desire us to be gracious to foreniers, sojourners, visitors in our homes. Do not hide it from me.

F. This is a real thing. This is a vivid eye opening thing. God will do this.

Amos 8:11–13 NLT

“The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from border to border searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it. Beautiful girls and strong young men will grow faint in that day, thirsting for the Lord’s word.

III. Salvation in Christ

- The judgement of God is real.

A. We also see that God will rebuke some. He will rebuke the arrogant. He will bring a curse upon those who turn away from His word. God will stop those who who scorn and insult His people. Even when leaders in our country come against us we pray that our God will uphold us.

B. And for us… we look and we are thankful that the Lord will be just. We are thankful that the Lord will deal with those who are in opposition to His word and will not follow His commands. We are thankful that he will deal with those who will insult us. He will deal with those who scorn us. And all the people in high places of authority will have no power over me when they come against me. With our God the justice of my cause will shine the the noonday sun. Go get them God. And this is true true. And we are always eager for God to dish out justice.

C. But what if our problem is that we are the offenders. What if we are the arrogant? What if we are the one who are turning away from the Word of God? What if we are those who scorn and who insult people. What if we are a person of authority speaking against the innocent? What if that is us? The judgement of God is real and the judgement of God is coming… the psalmist is not wrong. God will come against the offenders? There will be no escape.

D. But Shane can we be saved from this? You bet we can. Though all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Though there is no one righteous no not one. Though there is no one on earth who always does good and never sins. Though the wages of sin is death. Though the wicked will be cast into the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Though we are all by nature children of wrath. God did not abandon us. Our heavenly Father did not forsake us.

E. Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures and he was buried and he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. He became sin who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Jesus came into this world to seek and save that which was lost.

F. And the promises continue… All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. If you confess your sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. All of this is written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God and that by believing you will have life in his name.

G. This is the beautiful news and promise of the living God who cannot lie. From the word of God which is more valuable than millions in gold and silver. There is no doubt why the psalmist yearns for the Word. Why he desires the Word. Why he pleads for its light. This is the Word of the Lord this is Gimel… heaven and earth will pass away but His word will remain forever.