Back To The Garden
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In The Garden
One day a father was pondering out loud, “I wonder if God has a first name?” To which His 5-year old son replied, “Of course He does, Daddy!”
“You know God’s first name?” “Yup. It’s Andrew.”
“Andrew!? How in the world do you know that?”
“Because it’s in the song we sang Sunday, ‘Andy walks with me Andy talks with me.’”
The Hymn: In the Garden
Charles Austin Miles who wrote this hymn was pondering his next song. He grabbed his Bible and it fell open at his favorite chapter, John 20. This chapter describes Mary Magdalene weeping at the Garden Tomb of Jesus and Jesus calling her name. Miriam.
And he walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.
And the joy we share as we tarry there. None other has ever known.
Last week I talked about making much of the Greatness, Goodness, and Glory of God, and here we see an example of spending time in the glory of God.
Jesus had been arrested by the military, and on trumped up charges was killed and buried, but true to His word, He rose again and was standing in His resurrection glory in a garden with Mary.
Mary says, “Rabboni” both a greeting and a salute.
Then she kneels at his feet and clings to Him, in awe and relief and just wants to bask in His presence and glory.
The joy we share, in that garden, as we tarry there, none other has ever known.
Hold that thought.
My wife mentioned the other day about a podcast she had listened to by Jessica Sowers and I’m going to paraphrase Jessica’s point.
We were created to steward the land. We were created to work in a garden, the Garden of Eden, and enjoy God’s creation.
But more importantly, we were created to have sweet fellowship with our Creator.
And we were supposed to walk in that garden of God’s creation with Him.
The joy we share, as we tarry there.
Again, we were created to tend and walk in the garden with Jesus.
But instead of walking in a garden we are now marching in a war.
Because of the devil and sin, we find ourselves on a battlefield instead of before a fruit tree.
Instead of eating from the Tree of Life, we are eating from the Tree of Death.
And sometimes, just like Mary, when chaos is all around us we cry, Where is the Lord?
But then Jesus appears and we find ourselves for a moment back in the Garden.
David Crowder has a great song called Back To The Garden which embodies the cry of our hearts as we travel as pilgrims through this weary battlefield.
I was born to be royal, I was made to be free
But I was torn from the garden when that devil lied to me
Take me back to the garden, take me back and walk with me
For Your presence I am longing, take me back, God take me back.
And thus begun the genesis of this sermon.
Back To The Garden
Back To The Garden
We’re going to examine this thought of finding Jesus in the garden, even in the midst of the battlefield.
We’ll briefly look at the battles we are currently facing, what we are NOT to do, what we ARE to do, and HOW we are to do that.
And we’ll see all of this through Psalm 46.
Read Psalm 46.
Side Note: This is a Messianic Psalm regarding the second coming of Christ. The victor on the white horse.
The Battles We Face
The Battles We Face
Natural Evils (vs 2-3)
In The Midst Of Earthly Changes – natural disasters
Mountains slipping into the sea
Waters roaring and foaming – The waters are in uproar
Mountains quaking
Moral Evils (vs 5-6)
In The Midst Of Societal Changes
The nations are in uproar - same word as waters roar in vs. 3
The nations here mean Gentile or pagan nations - none Christians, ungodly.
Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”
He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
He raised His voice:
The same power of the voice that created the cosmos is now speaking again.
Enough! Peace Be Still!
Melted
The weakening of and fear filled hearts.
Dissolve, cringe.
Political Evils (vs 9)
In The Midst of Governmental Changes
Wars
So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
“For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
We were created to walk in a Garden and now we march in a battlefield.
A battle against nature
A battle against society
A battle against governmental leadership
What Are We NOT To Do? (vs 2, 10)
What Are We NOT To Do? (vs 2, 10)
We Are Not To Fear
We Are Not To Freak Out
We Are Not to Fight
(vs. 10 can be translated: Quit Fighting)
And in context it’s about fighting against God.
Stop trying to do it on your own and let me handle it.
But That Doesn’t Mean We Leave It Fallow.
What Are We To Do? (vs 10)
What Are We To Do? (vs 10)
Sow Your Fields
if we see bad weather coming, or society going crazy, or nation warring against nation, we still go and work and plant our fields.
We don’t bury our heads in the sand.
We prepare what we need to prepare.
So we can share what we need to share.
We still need to go and sow the seeds of the Gospel.
We still need to go and love the unloveable.
We still need to go and serve the needy and help the helpless.Gal 6.7-10
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
Be Still
Opposite of Fear and Freak Out.
Cease, Relax, Chilax, calm down.
Leave Alone; Letting Go – “Drop it”
Let go and let God
Wait - God’s timing
Stop It - you’re not helping the situation
Know That He Is God
Intimate knowledge
Experiential knowledge
God - Elohim
Titles: Creator, King, Judge, Lord , and Savior
Character: Compassionate, Gracious, Faithful
The Threefold Confessional Statement (vs. 1, 7, 11)
These profess God in His grandeur, but also in His closeness.
These present God in a very personal way which allows for discovering God in an intimate and experiential way.
He Is Our Refuge– This word signifies a place of safety. A Safe Place. Why? We are His and He will protect us.
He Is Our Strength– Both proactive in the giving of strength and reactive in being a strong defense.
Proactive: Blood shed, sins atoned for. Promised resurrection. Songs Sung - The Blood of Jesus.
Reactive: Our defense attorney. Grace readily available.
Romans 8:34 (NASB95)
...Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
He Is Our Stronghold - A naturally fortified place. A high cliff or rock. Helm’s Deep.
He is our stronghold - our safe haven, our fortified citadel where the storm of His wrath will not affect us.
He Is A Very Present Help In Any Trouble Anytime, Anywhere.
Ever Present - Immanuel - God with us.
The righteous cry, and the Lord hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
In Trouble - Come hell or high water, we have to remember this, always.
In the battlefield of natural evils - God is a very present help
In the battlefield of societal evils - God is a very present help
In the battlefield of governmental evils - God is a very present help.
But there will be times when it doesn’t appear to be that way.
In hope, against hope, Abraham believed that He who calls into existence out of nothing, would be faithful to His promise.
In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb;
yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.
The Lord of Hosts Is With/For Us
Often translated as Lord Almighty, or Lord of Powers, but literally means yahweh of the angel armies as in the hosts of Heaven.
Connects with stop Fighting.
Let God fight for you.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
God Is For Us
God Is For Us
How Do We Do This? (vs 4-5, 8-10)
How Do We Do This? (vs 4-5, 8-10)
Swim in the River.
Water is a metaphor of blessing and restoration
imagery of river and streams is reminiscent of the description of the four branched river in the garden of Eden.
John 4.14 - water welling up to eternal life - remember you are forgiven. Grace
John 7:38 - Living Water - Holy Spirit
Ezekiel 47 -
the water makes what it flows into fresh.
the trees on the banks are for food and healing.
“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
Think About The City of God
Think about Heaven.
Long for Heaven.
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
Loiter In The Holy Dwelling Places
Qadosh - Sacred
Moses and Holy Ground in the desert.
Psalm 84 - Valley of Baca - tears turned to springs in the valley
These are garden moments.
Dwelling places - Sanctuary
The temple
Church
Skillet Concert
Why? God Is There!
Remember, no one’s going to move God.
to waver or wobble
Though the mountains wobble (vs. 2 - slip into the heart of the sea), the city of God will not.
And He will help us.
Behold The Works Of The Lord (vs. 8)
Behold The Works Of The Lord (vs. 8)
Get a Bigger Perspective.
God is in control.
Ponder What He Has Done.
All the times God has delivered and brought people through difficult times.
Even through times of punishment – exile and return.
Charity Gayle - Will you believe the report of the Lord?
Ponder What He Will Do.
Make wars to cease.
Shatter the bow, cut the spear, burn the chariot
And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they train for war. Each of them will sit under his vine And under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid, For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
Know That God Will Be Exalted
Lifted Up – Made much of
Nations and Earth (Society/Government and Nature)
the 2 categories discusses in this Psalm
Not only am I above these two things which I have created...
I will be acknowledged by both that I am exalted!
For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Let them praise the name of the Lord, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven.
Remember that God will bring us back to the Garden.
River…glad…city of God…dwelling…in her midst. All foreshadowing of the New Heaven and New Earth.
Indeed, the Lord will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And her wilderness He will make like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.
Ezekiel 47 fulfilled - The Messianic Psalm of the fulfillment.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
When The World Feels Like It’s Falling Apart, Don’t Fear, Be Still And Know That I Am God; I Will Be Exalted And I Will Bring You Back To The Garden
When The World Feels Like It’s Falling Apart, Don’t Fear, Be Still And Know That I Am God; I Will Be Exalted And I Will Bring You Back To The Garden
Closing Song: Peace Be Still