Psalm 16:1-2

Psalm 16:1-2 ESV
Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. [2] I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."

Boy is this one we do not pray;
Often enough
Loud enough
Humbly enough
Sincerely enough

You really can't expect verse 1 without verse 2

It's tough to hang on to the "no good" of verse 2
We really fight that
Or
Ignore that
Or
Conveniently forget it

It's not a comfortable truth
It pricks our flesh
It irritates the abiding sin in us
It pokes us in our pride
It's an "ouch"

But a failure to remember verse 2
Set us up for failure
Disappointment
Despair
Depression
Confusion
Consternation
Complications

We really don't get the power behind the word "Lord"
We forget that to call Him Lord
Is to surrender
Abdicate
Give it all up

We want to be preserved
Our way
Under our power
In ourtime
For our purposes
Admit it's true

But that gives lie to our calling Him Lord

It's tough
It's uncomfortable
It's even a little scary
But
It is imperative

Takes commitment
Focus
Faith
And remembering
Lots of remembering

Great prayer
But
It demands a lot more than we want to think about

Synopsis - wisely said 101013

Mark Deckard write (base upon a work by J. Burroughs (the Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment)

"Contentment is not found in obtaining our desires, although God may sometimes grant them to us if they are not harmful.  Rather it is found in finding God in the midst of our unmet desires and in the end discovering that he is all we trule need (Matt. 6:25-33)."

Matthew 6:25-33 ESV
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? [26] Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [27] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [28] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, [29] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' [32] For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

How hard it is to lay aside our own answers and solutions and to wait upon His!  The flesh is strong when we are in distress and contentment seems so far from us.

The occassional Christian who runs to God when they have run out of themselves will find times of trial and discontent harder to bear than that believer whose habit it is to go before the Lord regularly seeking His will and the mortification of the fleshly, abiding sinful desires.  

I have come to think that we are to see our lives as a moment by moment battle not just an occassional skirmish with the world the flesh and the devil.  To see our lives as having but an occassional struggle is to see our lives as needing God only occassionally.  This leads to spiritual weakness and desperation in tiimes of great confrontation.

There are "musts" in the Christian walk.  Prayer, worship, stewardship to name a few.  They are not intended to gain us favor with God but to keep us close to Him to facilitate our growth and usefulness.  They also prepare us for those times of trouble and discontent that we must know we will face in this life.  When we fail in these Christian duties we are simply setting ourselves up for pain and agony.

Is he all you truly need?  Can you accept that and settle your soul?  Are you seeking to discover that through faithfully engaging with Him?  Are you seeking His kingdom, His kingship and all the mercies that come with them?  

Or, are you simply getting through life as best you can under your own power and effort?

Contentment is wonderful but without godliness it is an empty shell, a fractured pillar, a damaged foundation.

In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said, "Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart." Then my spirit made a diligent search: (Psa 77:2-6)

"When I remember God . . . ."

It is so easy to go through our day and forget God.  That is until something goes against our plans or our comfort.  Then we remember but do we remember rightly?

Consider:  

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.   (Eph 2:11-13)

Do we "remember" this or do we simply remember the comfort we have lost and that God has allowed (willed) it to pass?  Do we remember that He is sovereign or do we simply remember that He is able to bring us comfort and bring us out of any affliction.  Do we remermber God or our warped and twisted view of God as a Genie or Santa Claus?

Do we remember:

"Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,  (Isa 46:8-10

Do we remember that God is God and we are not?  Do we remember that we are His slaves and He is not ours?  Do we remember that regardless of our perspective and sense, all He does is good and gracious?  Do we remember rightly or selfishly?

Our God is the God of grace and mercy as well as the God of justice and holiness.  His goal for us is to be holy as He is.  At times this means we see Him protecting and providing comfort.  At other times we see this in His twisting our plans, taking our comfort, saying no to our dreams.  This is the God of the Bible, the God who is first and whose goal is first - at least for Him if not for us.

We read in James and Romans that "patience" is a product of trials.  But we often see patience wrongly.  We tend to see patience as our "putting up with" whatever difficulty we are facing.  We tolerate it until it is over - at least we pretend to.  But this poor view of patience/perseverance is faulty.  It is not a standing still in the face of adversity - it is a moving forward.  It is a pressing on towards the goal we have in Christ Jesus.

There is as much good purpose in God's buffetings as there are in His blessings.  Indeed, from His and the Word's perspective, buffetings are blessings.  

Too often our faith is a facile faith.  We prefer to live by "Jesus loves me this I know," and to ignore that His, "counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose."  

We forget that His purpose is to conform us to the likeness of the Son, to enable us to do the good works He has prepared for us to do, to glorify and enjoy Him.  We forget that even though we are redeemed we still fight the principle of evil that resided in our flesh.  We forget that only heat will bring the dross to the surface that the gold or silver may be pure.  We forget that God is good and we are not - that God is God and we are not.  We forget.

And why do we forget?  Because we do not work at remembering.  We do as little as we can to fill our minds and hearts with Him.  Not in some belly-button meditating manner but rather in intentional, consistent and continuing hard prayerful work and intellectual effort .  We don't mind being told what He has said and He has done but we do mind having to go dig the ore out for ourselves.   We don't want to do the hard work of living as His - which begins with His work in us and continues in our work with Him by the power of His Spirit within us.

Like Israel in the dessert we murmur against Him when either the good He brings doesn't measure up to our expectations or the evil (trials) He allows inconvenience of discomfort us.  We whine and pull our hair and complain to and about Him.  

Where did we ever get the idea that anything He does for, to, in or around us is bad?  How could we ever be brought to such a blasphemous place?  One reason is that we have failed miserably to take advantage of all He has given us to prepare us for all He will give us.

We fail to study and meditate upon His word.

We fail to pray diligently and often.

We fail to be about the work He has given us to do.

We fail to examine ourselves in the light of the Word.

We fail to put Him and His agenda first.

We fail to be grateful.

We fail to be humble.

We fail to submit.

We fail.

And in that failure He works even harder to bring us to Himself.  He may well have to buffet us to bring us to blessings and He will.  What parent would not risk injuring their child to remove a poison from their tiny fist.  What loving friend would not shove one into the dirt to save them from a rushing car?  A surgeon must cut to save.  A doctor must poke and prod to diagnose and yet while we allow this for our benefit we resent God cutting and poking and prodding for our blessing.

I do not, ""remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart," if I ever sang one to begin with.

Our Psalmist says he will make a diligent search and this follows:

"Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" Selah Then I said, "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High." I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? 

(Psa 77:7-13)

He repents, recalling God as God and nothing else.  Will we?

Free slaves?!? Faithful Master!!!!

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.   (1Pe 2:16)

Free!

Free?

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.   (Rom 6:22)

This is the whole of our freedom.

Whether Peter is referring to a freedom from the Law is not certain, but we know that Paul references it:

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.   (Gal 5:13)

We are free from the bondage of sin and free from any pretense that we can in and of ourselves resolve the conflict we had with God when we were still unredeemed. 

We are free but it is not a wide-open freedom rather it is a freedom in Christ, by Christ and for Christ.  What we undertake, that we cannot undertake in His name, is never an act of freedom.

Jesus said:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  (Joh 8:34-36)

Sin and freedom are mutually exclusive.  We are free from the imposed rule of sin but when we sin, we are submitting to that which has no rights over us.  When we sin, we are re-shackling ourselves – binding ourselves to that from which we have been loosed.

We receive our freedom for we have been redeemed, forgiven, saved.  But though the grace of God has no limits for us, to abuse and misuse it, to rebel against His rightful authority over us, is to bring into question the surety of our redemption. 

Consider:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,   (Heb 12:1)

Forgiven we may be – free of sin’s bondage we may be – but free of Christ, never. 

It is sometimes the way of believers to see themselves so utterly apart from the “world” that they may do or say what they will for they are “saved.”  Yet ours is a freedom that is defined by the One who provided it, the One into whose hands God has delivered all things.

Many use their freedom to vilify unbelievers.  Many use their freedom as a red cape to a bull.  Many use their freedom as an excuse to disassociate from those to whom they are called to witness.  Many use their freedom to – just go along as they have – only avoiding the grosser types of sins.

But this verse has a catch.  We are free – free servants of God.

But – that word “servants” is troublesome.  The “authorities” I regularly consult in my studies hold that it is more accurately translated slave.

One reason for this is quite simply:

for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.   (1Co 6:20)

and 

For he who was called in the Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a slave of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.   (1Co 7:22-23)

We were bought out of our bondage to sin to be the slaves of Christ.  In this we have great freedom – freedom from sin and freedom to serve God as His.

Though it may irritate some, our freedom in Christ is far beyond any freedom a document written by man can give – anyone.  The tough side of our freedom is that we are free to be oppressed, harassed and even killed because of it. 

In chains, on the rack, in dungeons, on desert islands, and even in the flames we are free.  We have to keep in mind that this freedom is not of man and indeed is often opposed by man.   With this freedom we need to accept:

Luk 21:17  You will be hated by all for my name's sake.

Father, help me understand and appreciate my freedom as well as Your ownership of me.  Make me quiet and trusting under Your loving hand.  Teach me, patiently, to be a good and faithful servant.  Teach me Your faithfulness as my Master.

Calm my heart and still my mind with the assurance of Your sovereignty and grace.

Amen

Examine yourselves!!

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. (2Co 13:5-6)

Examine:  peirázō = to ascertain the character of some hing, someone 

In the faith:  a true believer

Test:  dokimásō = to prove a thing worthy

Fail the test:  adókimos = prove to be spurious; unapproved

As I pray and study the Word and read the works of our Puritan fore-fathers I grow more and more convinced that somewhere along the way we have so cheapened and minimized the "Way" (Acts 19:9) that the designation "christian" is for all intents and purposes, meaningless.  

The term "christian" was originally used as a pejorative term intended to vilify followers of the Christ.  Today it most aptly commonly describes those whom can only be called false believers or hypocrites.  When someone asks you if you are a "christian" ask them what they mean by "christian."  My experience has been that what they describe bears little resemblance to the "Way" as it is taught by the Word of God.

What passes for common christianity today is but a sorrowful caricature of the true faith.  

Through what I see as the cultural compromise of the faith we have fallen into the condition of Israel at the end of the book of Judges.

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.  (Jdg 21:25)

Though it is still proclaimed as true, in almost every practical sense Christ is not held as King and everyone does what it right in their own eyes.  We have moved further into a faith that has no crosses in it.  We have moved deeper into a cheapening of grace and a rejection of God's sovereignty.

What passes for the "Way" is not the "Way" we find in the Word.  Indeed in our making Jesus our own, we have made a Jesus of our own.  In even supposing and implying that we "make Him Lord and/or Savior" we have, at the very first, denied God's sovereignty in the redemption.

To "accept" Jesus as Lord and/or Savior has come to mean that we "allow" Him to save us.  We do Him a kindness by accepting His death so He'll feel good about Himself.  It no longer means that we fall to His feet in utter recognition of our sin and our need for His salvation and His absolute right to condemn us.  No, we do Him a good turn by joining His team - by telling Him He, "did really good," so we'll let Him save us.

Let me put it plain and main - If you do not recognize the utter hopelessness of your sinful state before God and your deserving or His righteous condemnation - then regardless of what you "say" about Jesus, you are none of His.  Unless your heart has been broken by your sin and His taking it upon Himself on the cross, you are none of His.  Unless you have acknowledged that He has every sovereign right over all of your life - that he is indeed King of Kings and Lord of Lords - and you kneel before Him in surrender of your self to His authority, you are none of His.  Unless, by His gracious providence, the Holy Spirit has convicted you of the worthlessness of your every effort in redemption and sanctification apart from the provision of God and His power - you are none of His.

Unless, in relation to Him, you hate everything and everyone, you are none of a His.  Unless you live in Him, by Him, under Him and for Him - you are none of His.

Do you pray much, study the word much, examine yourself much, give much?  Then you may well be none of His.  Are you raising your children in the Lord?  if not you may be none of His.

Is your walk with God the absolute priority in your life?  If not you may be none of His.

I will say this - and I do so because have been convicted and I am convinced by the Word of God, that unless you are humbly, depending upon His promises and power, seeking to obey Him in all the duties and obligations appropriate to a citizen of His Kingdom you may well be none of His.

If you are not healthily obsessed with His glory and honor, you may well be none of His.

His Word and His Spirit must be working in His to enable them to serve Him with all their minds, hearts and strength - and we must know that our minds, heart and strength, apart from His providence and power, are never enough.  

Where is the zeal for Him and His Kingdom?  Where is the single focused commitment to be conformed to His likeness?  Where is the crushing conviction of our sinfulness and His graciousness?  

Where is that cry, "Not I but Christ!"

I do not have any pleasure is writing this for it is indeed as much about me as it is anyone else.  But it is about all of us who would claim He is our Lord - utterly.  It is not about your goodness but His.  It is not about our righteousness but His.  It is not about us but Him.

Are you a tare of a stalk of wheat?  Are you a sheep or a goat?  Are you His or are you still your own?

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. 

(2Co 13:5-6)