Love's Amazing Cover-Up

Sermon at Huron Chapel EMC, Auburn ON
Dec.22/19 - Advent IV  Is.7:1-16 (Mt.1:18-25)
I’LL COVER THAT FOR YOU — ALMOST
This is the fourth Sunday in Advent, when we traditionally light the “Love” candle. A key thought in today’s sermon is that Love covers over a multitude of sins. Bob Goff taught us Love Does. John 3:16 teaches us Love Gives - “God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son” (etc.). But today we see that Love COVERS. The love God showed at Christmas involved His Son Jesus coming to save us from our sins, to cover the debt we owed a holy God so we could be with Him forever.
    Love COVERS. There are stories going around of the “random acts of kindness” sort where the person ahead in the Tim Horton’s drive-through pays for the car behind – maybe that’s already happened to you! An elderly woman was standing in the checkout line at a grocery store ready to pay for her merchandise: a litre of milk and a loaf of bread. She opened her purse. No money was there; neither was her chequebook. As she was about to ask the clerk to put her things back, suddenly a gentle voice said, “It looks like that is your lunch.” A gentleman was standing right behind her, smiling. "Don't worry," he continued. "Today I want to treat you.Take your things with you." Then the man paid for her merchandise and his own.
    A week passed by, and the woman came back to the store. The cashier recalled the incident and recognized her. She approached the woman and whispered, "Ma'am, maybe you'd be interested to know...That gentleman's cheque — it bounced!" (!)
    When we cover the shortfall for another, there’s a cost to it. The beauty of Christ’s gift at the cross is that it’s rich and pure enough to cover over all our transgressions.
POLITICAL BULLYING: AND WE’RE SURPRISED?
Love’s grace, covering the debts of others, does not come naturally to us. Our fallen tendency is to mind our own business at best, or even try to take advantage of others, rather than pay extra when they can’t manage.
    It’s not been the best week for poor Mr.Trump south of the border: he’s suffered the indignity of becoming just the third president of the United States to be officially impeached. The two charges centre on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress – trying to cover things up when investigators were seeking details. Although the House of Representatives voted to impeach him (following party lines), it seems doubtful the Senate trial that’s coming will actually convict him: again, expected to follow party lines. Instead he may be acquitted. Political alliances override the more fundamental issues of whether what was done was actually appropriate for a person in that office.
    But when you step back and think about it, isn’t it actually remarkable that measures are in place for a nation to impeach its own leader? Don’t we sort of EXPECT politics to be about alliances, intrigue, half-truths, manipulation, manouvering to one’s own best advantage? Would the impeachment process even exist if the country weren’t founded on a cultural past which had Christian principles as its basis?
    In some developing countries, corruption is rampant. Expect to be delayed at the point of entry by some officer secretly hoping for a bribe. Dig further and you may find the line of corruption extends right through to the top: lesser officials pay off their bosses, who grease the palms of their own superiors, and so it goes – up to the top echelon.
    Jesus observed to His disciples in Mk 10:42, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.” He’s not introducing a radical thought here, just making an observation about how the world works, how business gets done in the political arena: rulers “lord it over” others, “exercise authority” – even if that means abusing their power. After King Herod found out from the Magi about Jesus’ birth, did he come to worship as promised? No, Mt 2:16 “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.” The so-called ‘slaughter of the innocents’ – welcome to our world!
    Secular scholars concede that Jesus was crucified. Not that He needed to have done anything to necessarily deserve it! His life was snuffed out because His popularity made Him detestable to the Jewish leaders of the day, and a threat to their Roman overlords. An innocent man was condemned for the sake of expedience. Pilate the governor and judge said, Lk 23:22 “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty.Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.” (Lk 23:22) But that’s not what happened.
    The criminal crucified just to one side of Jesus bore witness to Jesus’ innocence: Lk 23:41 “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.But this man has done nothing wrong.” Even the Roman centurion in charge of the grisly proceedings admitted an innocent man had been condemned and killed: Lk 23:47 “The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man."”
    Our fallen tendency to sin and attempt to pin it on someone else goes right back to the Garden of Eden. The serpent suggested if Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit their eyes would be opened and they would be like God; however when they ate the fruit, their eyes were opened, but they realized they were naked and sewed fig leaves together – the first attempt at a cover-up. (Gen 3:5,7)
    Things weren’t much different back around 735 B.C., the time of our Scripture passage read earlier from Isaiah 7. Assyria was the dominant world power to the north. The northern kingdom of Israel (the Ten Tribes) sought to make an alliance with neighbouring Syria to stand up to the Assyrian overlords. Whatcha gonna do when you’re bullied but try to find an ally so you can be stronger together? Then they pressured the southern kingdom of Judah to join their rebellious scheme. When Judah’s king Ahaz refused, they sought to force him by military means. Is 7:1f “When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.Now the house of David was told, "Aram has allied itself with Ephraim"; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.” Scary times!
    Coercion, pressure, and force were how things got done in the political world of Israel; ‘might makes right’. Since the northern kingdom rebelled against Solomon’s son, things got more and more unstable. The southern kingdom benefited from orderly succession through the line of David, but not the north. Consider King Pekah: 2Kings 15:25 “One of his chief officers, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him [Pekahiah].Taking fifty men of Gilead with him, he assassinated Pekahiah, along with Argob and Arieh, in the citadel of the royal palace at Samaria.So Pekah killed Pekahiah and succeeded him as king.”
    This was not a new way to seize power. Years before Pekah, Shallum had done something similar: 2Kings 15:10 “Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah.He attacked him in front of the people, assassinated him and succeeded him as king.” Can you hazard a guess what eventually happened to King Pekah? 2Kings 15:30 “Then Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah.He attacked and assassinated him, and then succeeded him as king in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.”
    Politics can be vicious, dog-eat-dog, law of the jungle. Power corrupts – in a fallen world. In some ways the wonder is not that a president has done something that warrants impeachment, but that a country has managed to put a system and principles of justice in place that holds its rulers to a higher standard.
    Christians are called to be different. In contrast to the ways of the Gentile rulers who are used to throwing their weight around, Jesus commanded His disciples: Mk 10:43ff “Not so with you.Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” To be a COVERING, a sacrifice on behalf of others.
ONE STRONGER YET – AND MERCIFUL
In a world of political bullies and violent ‘strong men’, God calls us to put our trust in Him and follow His ways; to be different, disciples of the Crucified One. He alone is to be feared, He alone is worthy of our trust.
    God commanded the prophet Isaiah to take his son and meet the king at a certain spot (ironically, the exact place where Assyrians would meet Hezekiah’s officials some years later). The Lord, speaking through the prophet, acknowledges the viciousness of the attack brought upon Israel by its neighbours: v6 “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” But Isaiah encourages Ahaz to have faith in the Lord. V4 “Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood...’” The attackers may be full of evil intent, but in God’s eyes they’re burnt-out firebrands. He need not be afraid because God is still in control: vv7,9B “Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "It will not take place, it will not happen...” “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”
    I love the firmness of that declaration: “It WILL NOT take place, it WILL NOT happen...” The Lord, YHWH, is God of everything that comes into being, whatever happens: He is sovereign, we can trust His plans. God promises in v16 that before a young boy that’s born about then knows who to choose between right and wrong, the land of the two kings Ahaz dreads would be laid waste. And in fact that’s how it turned out: Assyria came and crushed Aram’s capital Damascus in 732 BC, and its king Tiglath-Pileser III soundly defeated Israel that year.
    The sign given to Ahaz to reinforce this was going to happen was itself a miracle – a virgin becoming pregnant and giving birth to a son! Nothing is too hard for God. As the angel Gabriel noted when making the announcement to Mary in Lk 1:37, “For nothing is impossible with God.”
    The boy born so wondrously would be given a special name: Is 7:14 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” That means, “God with us” – that must have been reassuring for Ahaz and his officials to hear! God was stronger than any enemy, and He was not abandoning His people. Even when He disciplined them by sending them into exile in 586 BC, the name of Isaiah’s son accompanying him was a sign of restoration: Shear-Jashub means “a remnant shall return”.
RIGHTEOUS RESPONSE: GRACE THAT COVERS
In all this, the Lord’s loving graciousness is astounding. Let’s back up a minute and consider just WHO King Ahaz is – he could be classed as one of the LEAST deserving of the kings of Judah! Here are six reasons.
1) He gave away all the treasures in the temple storehouses in order to hire foreign help (2Kings 16:8)
2) He burned his son(s) in the fire – how horrid! (2Kings 16:3; 2Chron 28:3)
3) He encouraged corrupt Baal worship in the high places (2Chron 28:24)
4) He replaced the altar Solomon built with one patterned after an Assyrian altar (2Kings 16:14)
5) He used the original bronze altar for divination, a practice strictly forbidden by the Lord (2Kings 16:15)
6) He actually shut the doors of the Temple, forcing worship out into the streets (2Chron 28:24)
    Yet, in spite of all these evil acts – God does not desert His people, abandoning them to the enemy – but comes alongside to deliver them! Such mercy, overlooking the king’s many sins.
    Check out King Ahaz’ attitude in response to the Lord’s offer of a sign to confirm His promise. Is 7:10-12 “Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, "Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights." But Ahaz said, "I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test."” Such stubborn rebelliousness! If God commands you to ask for a sign, it’s not ‘testing’ Him to do what He says! Ahaz just doesn’t want anything to do with the Lord. If he were to ask for a sign, that might make him ‘beholden’ or obligated to God – whereas Ahaz sinfully just wants to do his own thing, rely on his own resources.
    Yet despite this sinful, adamantly stubborn attitude of Ahaz, the Lord goes ahead to provide one of the most breathtaking and awesome miracles in the whole Bible – the sign of the virgin birth. It would be fulfilled over 700 years later, at the coming of Jesus. Matthew points out the fulfilment in Mt 1:22, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet...” And Matthew, writing in Greek, uses an unambiguous term from the Septuagint so the miraculousness of the conception is clear. Jesus would be absolutely pure and innocent, free of any sin-legacy associated with male lineage.
    Love covers over a multitude of sins. God promised to be with Ahaz’ countrymen despite the king’s transgressions.
    Joseph and Mary were betrothed, a very serious commitment prior to marriage that could only be dissolved by an official action like divorce. When Joseph found out Mary was pregnant, he could have initiated proceedings for her to be stoned! That was the penalty for fornication under the law of Moses (Deut 22:23f). Instead, what did Joseph plan to do? Mt 1:19 “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” Quietly – not making a big thing of it: love covers over a multitude of sins.
    Because he was a RIGHTEOUS man...Today when someone’s described as “righteous” the intended meaning may be something like a self-appointed morality-Nazi! But because Joseph was righteous, he did NOT act like a morality-Nazi. He would have covered over the supposed sin, quietly. That’s God’s kind of loving righteousness.
    We see God’s merciful love reflected in the very name given to the miracle-boy. Mt.1:21 “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Yeshua, ‘Yahweh is salvation’, particularly God covers-over our sin. Jesus would be both Son of God and Son of Man, a unique birth of divine origin, sinless His whole life, a perfect sacrifice of infinite value – big enough to bring forgiveness for all people who repent and trust in His name, who He says He is.
    Jesus’ sinless purity is essential for His task. Hebrews 7:25-27 “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.Such a high priest meets our need— one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.”
    He’s got you COVERED! As the Apostle Paul explained in Romans 4:7f (quoting Ps.32:1f), “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” Have you received that sense of blessing? Or are you holding out like King Ahaz, stubbornly resisting so you can keep on sinning?
    What about when people attack us or insult us or treat us badly in our lives – will we respond with loving grace, or in an evil-for-evil manner that spirals downward? Without God’s grace in your life, you don’t have supply to be gracious to others. Listen to two apostles. First, James, the brother of the Lord: Jas 5:20 “remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”
    And the Apostle Peter states most clearly this quality of love that forgives, absorbs, makes allowance for the failings of others, going the extra mile in forgiving again and again: 1Peter 4:8 “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
LOVE DESPITE DISAPPOINTMENT
How would you respond if a family member hurt you deeply by something they did? Would you be able to forgive them? It’s not easy. Unforgiveness tears relationships apart. Bitterness hardens into a brick wall. By contrast, Immanuel - God-with-us – makes forgiveness and reconciliation possible, first between ourselves and God, then with other humans.
    In November 1991, Jerry Jenkins wrote an unusual true story about a man awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call. He was groggy. The girl on the other end was weeping. "Daddy," she said, "I'm pregnant." Though stunned beyond belief, he forgave her and prayed with her.
    The next day he and his wife wrote her two letters of counsel and love. Three days later the man received another phone call. His daughter was shocked by the letters. She was not the one who had called earlier...Apparently some other girl had dialed a wrong number! The daughter later said, “These letters are my treasure – real love letters written by a godly father who never imagined he would have to write them to his own daughter:” Here are a few excerpts:
    “Part of me seemed to die last night. Not because of what it means to me as much as what it means to you. You were free to make all kinds of choices. Now you are shut up to a few, and none of them to your liking. But God will see you—and us—through.
    “Though I weep inside, I can't condemn you, because I sin too. Your transgression here is no worse than mine. It's just different. Even if my heart did not shout out to love and defend and protect you—as it does—the New Testament tells me I can't take forgiveness myself and withhold it from others.
    “We think of sin as acts. But sin is a package, an attitude that expresses itself in different ways and to different degrees. But it all comes from the same sin package you inherited through us. Christ is the only difference.
    “God forgives this sin as well as others—really forgives and cleanses. David was a man of God when he went into his experience with Bathsheba and in the grace of God he came out a man of God. And his sin included murder!
    “Satan has no doubt tried to tell you that this affects your standing before God. It doesn't, but it will affect your relationship till you bring the whole matter to Him. There will be a coolness, a separation, an estrangement, until you open the problem by confessing and asking forgiveness.
    “I will not reproach you or [your boyfriend]. I will not even dare to look down at you in my innermost heart, but it is not because the issue doesn't matter. The responsibility is his no less than yours. This is not an ideal basis for marriage. You want a husband who takes you by choice. But if you face the issue and God so leads, He could build a solid marriage. We stand ready to do whatever we can.
    “We're praying much. We love you more than I can say. And respect you, too, as always.
    “Saturday I was very downcast. I tried to sing as I worked outside, and then, increasingly, I seemed to see a calm and loving face I knew was Jesus. It was no vision—I didn't see details—but it was a strong reminder that He is with us and waiting for us to remember this. He loves us and will help us through, especially you. It's great to know Jesus is walking with you.
    “While we can't say that God causes failures, He does permit them, and I think it's clear He uses them to build character and beauty that we’d never have without them. Remember, God’s love is in even this, maybe especially in this.
    “We're glad that in a measure, at least, we can help the daughter we love so much. This is a day of testing, but hold our ground we must. God will give us the victory. That's wonderful. We're looking forward to your being at home. Love, Dad.” Let’s pray.

“What are you Waiting For?” 1Pet.1:3-9 Dec.1/19 (Advent I)

HOPE’S TURN-AROUND
It’s the first Sunday in Advent, the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas. The word ‘advent’ comes from a Latin root meaning ‘arrival’ or “coming”. In this season Christians have traditionally looked forward not only to the annual celebration of Jesus’ birth – actually, we don’t really know exactly when Jesus was born, it likely wasn’t December 25th! – but we also look forward to His Second Coming. The first Sunday in Advent is associated with HOPE, anticipation, looking forward to something positive that has yet to arrive. So we’re not just looking back to an event in history, we’re also looking ahead to our Saviour’s return, taking us to be with Him forever.
    Hope – having something to look forward to – is SO important in life. When despair sets in, motivation to live grows dim. The school system in a large city had a program to help children keep up with their school work during stays in the city’s hospitals. One day a teacher who was assigned to the program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular child. She took the child’s name and room number and talked briefly with the child’s regular class teacher. “We’re studying nouns and adverbs in his class now,” the regular teacher said, “and I’d be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn’t fall too far behind.”
    The hospital program teacher went to see the boy in hospital that afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been badly burned and was in great pain. Upset at how badly the boy looked, she stammered as she told him, “I’ve been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs.” When she left she felt she hadn’t accomplished much.
    But the next day, a nurse asked her, “What did you do to that boy?” The teacher felt she must have done something wrong and began to apologize. “No, no,” said the nurse. “You don’t know what I mean.We’ve been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday, his whole attitude has changed.He’s fighting back, responding to treatment.It’s as though he’s decided to live.”
    Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization. He expressed it this way: “They wouldn’t send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?”
    He found a reason to live! Hope came alive.
    In today’s reading from 1Peter, we find the apostle encouraging those who were facing fiery persecution to keep hope and not lose sight of the good things that they already had and that were awaiting them. After all, we are all waiting for SOMETHING: are our hopes and dreams anchored in what they should be, or misplaced?
PURPOSES IN THIS WORLD’S PROBLEMS AND PERISHING
The month that’s just ended, November, can be a difficult one for some folks. Winter is setting in. Outside things look grey and tired, drab and dreary: nature is shutting down for its long winter’s sleep, temperatures are dropping, darkness is increasing as the days grow shorter and the sun spends less time above the horizon. Green vanishes from plant life as the vegetation seems to all be dying back.
    A prominent word in Peter’s letters is the word “perishing”... Unfortunately, our sin-struck creation being what it is, there’s a lot of disease and death and decay around us. The Bible doesn’t sugar-coat things, it acknowledges the world as it is, realistically. Journalist Malcolm Muggeridge observed, “The depravity of man is at once the most empirically verifiable reality but at the same time the most intellectually resisted fact.”
    Peter writes in v6, “...though now for a little while you may have had to suffer GRIEF in all kinds of TRIALS.” Grief intrudes its unwelcome presence interrupting our day to day struggle for survival. About a week ago I assisted with a short graveside service for my first cousin, a victim of cancer at 72. While returning to my vehicle, a few yards away I passed the graves of my father and mother and brother and wife. The brevity of life really struck me. Life involves loss. Perishing.
    V7 Peter refers to “gold that PERISHES though it is tested by fire” – even precious metals wear down and fade and get lost. At the end of chapter 1, Peter quotes the prophet Isaiah who contrasts our human temporariness with what’s really eternal: “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.’ And this is the word that was preached to you.”
    2Peter 3:10 predicts an apocalyptic end to the material ‘stuff’ that surrounds us: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” When you think about it, atoms are mostly empty space with little bits of matter held together by invisible forces of attraction, so it wouldn’t be that hard for the universe’s Designer to suddenly release the laws that hold it all together.
    Are we ready for that to happen?
    The situation was even more problematic for the early Christians to whom Peter wrote his letter in the region of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Much of the Empire’s capital, Rome, had burned; when suspicion grew that Emperor Nero had set it to make room for his lavish building programs, he spread the accusation that it was Christians who had set the fire instead. Persecution grew as Christians were targeted on account of their faith. They refused to worship the emperor as a god and thus were viewed as atheists and traitors. They refused to worship at pagan temples, so business associated with that dropped wherever Christianity took hold. They didn’t support the Roman ideals of self, power, and conquest; Romans scorned the Christian ideal of self-sacrificing service. And believers exposed and rejected the horribly immorality of pagan culture. (Life Application Bible) So, they became easy targets for persecution – scapegoats.
    Would WE ever stick out and become targets for persecution in our own culture – or do we blend in a little too well, accommodating to its ideals?
    Peter acknowledges the problems his fellow Christians are facing in their setting. 4:12-14 “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” Painful trials - sufferings - insults: believers were getting harassed and even killed on account of their faith. In fact in his second letter, Peter is quite candid about the likelihood of his own being martyred in the very near future (tradition tells us he was crucified upside-down): 2Peter 1:14f “because I know that I will soon put it [the tent of this body] aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.”
    So much grief and perishing and persecution, so many problems: is there a point to all these difficulties? When life hurts, where can we turn to find purpose, some sense of meaning for it all?
    There’s a little clue in v7 if you look closely. It begins “so that” - which is a ‘purpose clause’, not to be overlooked. Let’s back up and start in at v6: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.[7] These have come so that your faith— of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire— may be proved genuine AND may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
    Griefs and trials come, but they have a purpose, Peter insists: they ‘had to’ come SO THAT our faith (so precious, more valuable than gold) may be proved genuine AND so it will bring praise, glory and honour – both to ourselves, and to God to whom we belong. John MacArthur writes, “God’s purpose in allowing trouble is to test the reality of one’s faith.But the benefit of such a testing, or ‘fire’, is immediately for the Christian, not God.When a believer comes through a trial still trusting the Lord, he is assured that his faith is genuine.”
    You KNOW that you know – because you’ve come through it.
    So faith must be pretty important if that’s the reason such trials and griefs are allowed to befall us. Peter’s saying faith is more precious than gold. Faith, according to Hebrews 11:1, is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”; without faith it is ‘impossible to please God’, you can’t come to God without believing He exists and rewards those who earnestly seek Him (11:6). Faith perceives what’s unseen in the spiritual realm as real. 1Pet 1:8a “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him...”
    This is a striking fact for Peter because he and the other apostles were the ones who were physically present to Jesus and eyewitnesses of all He did, including His resurrection. 2Peter 1:16,18 “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” “We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” So Peter is glad others can believe in Jesus even though they’d never had the privilege of seeing Him and being with Him tangibly as Peter had. That took faith – trust – believing.
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
What we prize and value, we commit to, we devote our energies toward, we’re passionate about. Where faith leads, feelings and force follow. Advent, this season of waiting and anticipation and hope, prompts us to re-evaluate and take stock of what we’re really waiting for, what we’re most keen on in life, what gives our life meaning and we’re striving for. Is Jesus really at the centre, the focal point for our life? Or has something more tantalizing displaced Him?
    Are we eagerly waiting for Black Friday sales, or Cyber Monday deals? Decluttering my house lately, I had to visit the electronics recycling depot several times – computer parts that were once so valuable are now ‘junk’.
    By contrast, Peter emphasizes that believing in Jesus brings rewards both NOW and THEN (later, when He returns). It’s not all just ‘pie in the sky by and by’ – faith brings benefits in our present life. In fact it’s hard to understand how people can find strength to go on coping with life’s many difficulties and griefs and disappointments WITHOUT trust in the Lord.
    Rewards NOW: new being, new joy, new protection.
    New BEING (or BIRTH): V3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...” Also we have seen v23, “You have been born again...through the living and enduring word of God.” Being ‘born again’ isn’t some quirky phrase invented by American sports stars or TV evangelists: it’s what Jesus described to Nicodemus, the work of the Holy Spirit re-inventing a person’s life when they repent of their sin and trust in Him. Jn 3:3,5 “...No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again / born of water and the Spirit.” It’s a miracle God works in your life! John 1:12f “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” If you trust in Jesus as your Saviour and commit to follow Him as Lord, you already have a brand new nature, you’re a new being, spiritually speaking – God’s precious daughter or son in a way you weren’t before.
    New joy. Peter’s letter deals more bluntly than most other Biblical writing with persecution and suffering, yet strangely there’s a big emphasis on JOY in the midst of it. V6 “In this (an inheritance kept, and being shielded until salvation comes) you GREATLY REJOICE...” Literally, are ‘exceedingly glad, exuberantly jubilant’. Was that shining from our faces as we greeted each other this morning? Or do we default to ‘sad sack’ mode? V8 believing in Jesus leads us to be “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy”. Such joy attracts others who otherwise are faced with despair and cynicism in secular society.
    Here Peter echoes another apostle writing about the same time, James, Jesus’ brother. Jas 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” It’s the testing that produces the maturity and completeness – and that’s cause for joy.
    Recently we were watching a horse trainer put an animal through its paces. Part of the training involved dragging a noisy plastic barrel along a gravel road. Another part involved cracking a whip right beside the horse repeatedly so it would learn not to flinch or jump. Another test required the horse to ride straight through a tarp suspended and cut in strips so the horse couldn’t see and also had the irritation of material brushing its face. The more training that goes in, the more valuable the animal. Trials have a marked bearing on the finished product.
    New being (or birth) - new joy - new PROTECTION. Now, already, Peter says in v5 believers “through faith are SHIELDED by God’s power” until the coming salvation in the last time. NLT “God is protecting you by his power...” It’s a military term, literally ‘garrisoned’. There are griefs, but we are being guarded.
    Late Thursday we were coming back on the interstate from a quick trip to the States when cruiser lights started flashing behind us. You automatically think to yourself, “Oh no, what have I done wrong?” After we pulled over, the officer came up to our window and explained our trailer lights weren’t working. Uh-oh! But he went back and wiggled the connector, and on they came. I guess when I’d hooked up the trailer I hadn’t shoved it in quite right, or it had vibrated loose over the miles. (Probably in Ohio!) But he didn’t give us a ticket. Simply said, “Major violation of the motor vehicle traffic act...Have a nice day.” He was doing us the service of PROTECTING us (and others).
    So we are receiving some rewards for our faith NOW; there are others we are promised to receive later, THEN, when Jesus returns and judgment occurs – inheritance, salvation, commendation.
    INHERITANCE: v4 [He has given us new birth] “into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade— kept in heaven for you...” The Bible isn’t specific about the form this inheritance will take; Paul in 1Corinthians 3 talks about fire testing the quality of each person’s work on the day of judgment, then, 1Cor 3:14 “If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.” The good and faithful servants in Jesus’ parable in Mt 25 are put in charge of many things (Mt 25:21,23). Simply being in God’s presence will likely seem as if it’s reward enough.
    THEN there will also be salvation in a more particular sense – being rescued from destruction and punishment in the fires of hell for rebelling against the Almighty Creator. 2Pet 3:12 “...the day of God...will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.” Daniel 12:2 “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” (You really want to be in the first group!) Salvation from judgment and condemnation.
    THEN there will be commendation for believers. V7 “so that your faith...may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.” God will be honoured by our faithfulness, but we also will receive praise ourselves. 1cor 4:5 “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.”
SO REAL YOU CAN SEE IT
So, what are you waiting for? What’s lubricating your gears, giving you motivation, keeping you going on the ‘down’ days? Jesus-followers not only rejoice NOW because of so much we’re already receiving – we anticipate eagerly with great hope what’s yet to be unveiled at our Master’s return. Can we picture it? Does the vision of what’s to come keep pulling us forward when it’s muddy in the trenches?
    In his book Winning Life's Toughest Battles, psychologist Julius Segal wrote about the 25,000 soldiers who were held by the Japanese in POW camps during World War II. “Forced to exist under inhumane conditions, many of them died.Others, however, survived and eventually returned home.There was no reason to believe there was a difference in the stamina of these two groups of soldiers.The survivors, however, were different in one major respect: they confidently expected to be released someday. As described by Robins Readers in Holding On to Hope, ‘They talked about the kinds of homes they would have, the jobs they would choose, and even described the kind of person they would marry.They drew pictures on the walls to illustrate their dreams.Some even found ways to study subjects related to the kind of career they wanted to pursue.’”
    Segal goes on to point out that researchers have found that a hopeful attitude can lead to physiological changes that improve the immune system, your body’s defence against toxins and disease. Hope heals!
    As we prepare now to receive the Lord’s Supper, we’re reminded by Paul that this action points ahead to a pivotal event upon which our hope hangs: our Lord’s return. 1Cor 11:26 “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” Until then, may God grant us grace to keep rejoicing in the privilege of participating in His sufferings. Let’s pray.

The High Cost of Avoiding Recovery

[Article "From the Minister's Study" for Blyth/Brussels newspaper The Citizen]

            “He really doesn’t drink that much.”

            “Paul drinks more than I do.”

            “Look honey, I have a tough job; I work hard. I need a few drinks to relax. It doesn’t mean that I have a problem.”

            Do any of these statements sound familiar to you? Chances are you may be dealing with someone who has an addiction. Consuming substances obsessively can be an attempt to cover over pain that needs to be dealt with. Un-truths and cover-ups result.

            Or perhaps you encounter denial in areas other than substance abuse. What might that sound like?

            “Billy, if we don’t talk about it, it will go away.”

            “It really doesn’t hurt when he does that; I’m fine!”

            “I eat because you make me so mad!”

            “I’m not hurting anyone but myself.”

            Behavioral addictions may not involve drugs or alcohol, but can be equally life-damaging. Our mental health can be affected, potentially resulting in depression, chronic anger, or even suicide. As Jesus Christ observed about the devil, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” (John 10:10) Addictions drive us to consume or react in ways that we suppose will numb the pain – but that can have devastating effects.

            Consider the havoc wreaked just by substance abuse. AddictionCenter.com points out the following Canadian facts:

•                      In 2012, it was estimated that 21.6% of Canada’s population met the criteria for a substance use disorder. That’s close to 8 million people suffering from addiction in Canada.

•                      Alcohol, by a wide margin, is the most abused substance in Canada.

•                      More people were hospitalized in 2015 through 2016 for alcohol-related harm than heart attacks. (Think of it as hospital beds that were taken from 77,000 other people who may have needed them.)

•                      According to the United Nations, Canada is the world’s largest producer of ecstasy and methamphetamines. There aren’t any prescription options to substitute for meth, and the side effects of the drug makes users trying to recover violent and unpredictable. “[Meth] eventually gets you, and when it takes you down, it takes you down and you lose absolutely everything.”

•                      Approximately 4 people in Canada are killed each day in car crashes involving a driver under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or both. (1,451 in 2013)

            We can see from the above that the addiction of substance abuse alone takes a considerable toll on the well-being of Canadian society. The cost of avoiding recovering is considerable!

            The Bible offers several instances warning that overconsumption of alcohol can become problematic. Noah survived a cataclysmic environmental disaster only to become inebriated and undress himself in embarrassing fashion. (Genesis 9:21ff) The daughters of Lot (Abraham’s nephew) employed alcohol in order to induce their father into a state where he was vulnerable to involuntary incest (Gen. 19:31). Later, King Belshazzar of Babylon was drinking wine when he praised gods of gold and silver, and brought God’s indictment upon himself for his rebellion, idolatry, and irreverence (Daniel 5:2,4,23)

            Addictions drive us into behaviours that are damaging in the long term to ourselves and to others near us. So the Bible advises us to guard ourselves from the slavery of intoxication. “Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.” (Prov. 23:20) And in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul warns, “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: ... drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19ff) And – “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18)

            There is a BETTER alternative, as Paul says: being filled with God’s Spirit. Celebrate Recovery is a program beginning locally September 24^th which is based on Christian principles derived from Jesus’ teaching. For example, the first half of the eight principles are as follows:

•                       Realize I’m not God; I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable.

•                      Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him and that He has the power to help me recover.

•                      Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control.

•                      Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust.

            Recovery is not easy. It is seldom quick. There are often setbacks and re-starts. But those who stick with the program discover God’s help for their temptations – their hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Finding a supportive small group and accountability partner are key. Just opening up to admit one’s failings is a big start. There we learn to be humble, to walk alongside others who are also in the journey, and to discover God’s healing power for those who look to Him – before it’s too late.

Faith Facing the Flames

(for The Citizen column 'From the Minister's Study' - week of Aug.1/19)

            How does your belief-system stand up in the face of life’s most painful experiences?

            Saturday July 13 seemed to be proceeding pretty well. I had gotten some chores done around home, and later that afternoon was working through a short ‘honey-do list’ my fiancée had suggested for me over at her place. I managed to trim the tops off some fenceposts using my chainsaw without getting too disturbed by the spatter of rain that passed through. Finally there was just one item left on the list: set fire to the ‘burn pile’ that had been accumulating back behind her woodlot.

            It was a large burn pile, about nine feet in diameter, having accumulated all winter long. Conditions for ignition seemed optimal: the pile was surrounded by lush green herbage and a shower had dampened the surrounding ground. At home I would have sprinkled on some used motor oil, but since I wasn’t there, instead I sprinkled on a couple of litres of gasoline, which I did not figure was too much because it was such a large pile. Having carefully set the gas can over to one side out of danger’s way, I leaned over with a BBQ lighter and – in what probably classifies as the most FOOLISH act of this decade of my life – lit...what blew up in my face like an incendiary bomb! Apparently gasoline is not something to use on a warm summer day because the vapours are so volatile.

            I staggered back, stunned by the force of the blast. Since it was a warm day, I was wearing just shorts, socks, and shoes, and my glasses – thankfully, otherwise I don’t know if I would have been blinded. My exposed skin seemed covered with short brown crispy items - burnt hair? My chest hair was completely gone; eyebrows and beard half singed.

            My immediate reaction was to go and lay face-down on the nearby grass, in hopes this would somehow salve the pain. Then I curled up my knees to my chest, wrapped my stinging arms around them, and dutifully waited 20 minutes watching the flames to make sure the fire wasn’t going to get out of control. I proceeded to the house and submerged myself for half an hour in lukewarm water in the bathtub. When I got out, I found I was shaking uncontrollably so decided I had better go to Emergency at the hospital. The doctor assessed the burns to the exposed parts of my body, consulted the Burn Unit at London, and administered pain relievers. After a couple of hours I was allowed to go home, subsequent follow-up having been arranged through Care Partners and my family doctor.

            It has been a most uncomfortable couple of weeks! Some nights I could sleep a couple of hours at a stretch before getting up to take additional pain medication. I was very concerned about my right leg – its colour seemed quite inflamed, it became painful to stand on, and I was afraid I would develop flesh-eating disease. Thankfully, patches of healthy pale skin began to emerge, between doses of Aloe Vera and Afterburn gel. The clinic nurses were especially gentle applying Adaptic mesh, Polysporin, and clean dressings every couple of days, teaching me how to care for myself. So far my legs, face, torso, and right arm have almost completely healed, and the left arm is coming along nicely. At my final clinic visit the nurse observed I’m “a good healer”.

            The pain of being burned is not one I would ever want to experience again! Considering what might have been the outcome, I feel blessed, I have gotten off extremely lightly. A warning to be more careful next time, and a reminder to appreciate the health I have.

            The incident reminded me of the three Hebrews in Daniel 3 who refused to bow down and worship the golden image set up by a Babylonian tyrant, Nebuchadnezzar. He warned them they would be thrown into a blazing furnace unless they complied with his command. The depth of their faith evident in their reply is arresting: “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18) They had faith God was able to rescue them; but even if He did not, there were still not going to bow down to an idol!

            As it turned out, they were tossed into the fiery furnace, but a fourth figure looking like “a son of the gods” was seen accompanying them, protecting them from harm. Their trust in the Lord did not prove unfounded.

            Their defiant resistance captured in three short words (“But if not”) became the stimulus for the deliverance of over 330,000 troops of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk in May 1940. That was the message cabled by a British officer back to headquarters that spurred many civilian fishermen and pleasure craft operators to join in the gargantuan evacuation effort.

            The moderate pain and discomfort of my wounds has also prompted me to reflect on Christ Jesus’ pain endured on our behalf. Mainly just the front of my body was affected; in His case, His back was beaten and torn to shreds by scourging; vicious soldiers tore out his hair, clamped thorns to his head, and knocked him about; and the nails of the cross cut to the heart of sensitivity of his nervous system. Yet He chose to undergo such pain in order that you and I might be forgiven and brought to a Holy God, cleansed sinners reclaimed from hellfire. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” (1Peter 2:23-24)

            The burn pile mishap was a close call for me. Thankfully, my wounds are healing up; His wounds – heal others... to save us from eternal flames. (c.f. Mark 9:48)

When Things Get Worse, Watch God Go to Work

Blyth Community Outdoor Service
June 30, 2019 - Ex.5:15-6:5 (Mt.6:25-34 / Nahum 1:7)
VBS theme Day 1 “When Life is Unfair, God is Good”

MORE BRICKS, LESS STRAW: WHAT’S YOUR BIND?

The Israelites were in a bind. Ex 5:6-8 Pharaoh “gave this order to the slave drivers and foremen in charge of the people: ‘You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota.They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’”
    Many bricks: no straw. What a recipe for stress! Now in addition to the work of actually manufacturing the bricks and laying them out in the sun to bake, they would have to go foraging for raw materials, the straw that served as binding for the mud bricks. The slaves would soon be spreading out all over the countryside hunting for straw, all the while being expected to make just as many bricks as before. They could tell they were in a pinch!
    What binds do you find yourself in? Thankfully you’re probably not at a job that involves backbreaking labour forming bricks from dawn to dusk – with whips on your back to spur you on if you slowed up. But modern folks still find life stressful. Maybe your paycheque won’t quite cover the bills and each month you find yourself slipping farther and farther behind. Maybe there’s a bully on the schoolbus that keeps making themself annoying and not letting you sit where you like or be with who you’d prefer. Maybe you have a boss who just doesn’t seem to understand the amount of time required to complete your projects to the level of quality you feel is warranted. Or perhaps the doctor has just informed you of an area of concern in your physical health that’s taken you totally by surprise.
    Those are more serious challenges...Some binds are not so tough as others. One parent had a particular problem: her little five-year-old boy had locked himself in the bathroom and wouldn't come out, so his mother called the fire department. Within minutes, a firefighter was running up the stairs with an ax. He asked the mother, "What is the child's name, and how old is he?" She said, "Tommy, and he is five." The fireman then approached the bathroom door, and yelled authoritatively, "Come out of there, little girl!" Immediately, out marched Tommy, arms folded and looking pretty angry, ready to confront the fireman, who looked to the mother with a smile, and said, "Works every time!"
    We find ourselves in all sorts of binds. When we’re in tough spots, the natural reaction is to start getting worried and fret. But the Bible promises, Nahum 1:7 “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble.He cares for those who trust in him.” Or as the Day 1 VBS theme puts it: “When life is unfair, God is good.”
    What an assertion! Isn’t that one of the most common questions posed about religion, “How can God let bad things happen to good people?” Yet faith asserts, sometimes contrary to appearances: “When life is unfair, God is good.”
    The Israelites were being treated unfairly both in actions and in words. Ex 5:15f “Then the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: "Why have you treated your servants this way? Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people."” When they came short on their quota because they had to find their own straw, they were physically punished, abused, for no fault of their own.
    Pharaoh responded with verbal abuse. 5:17-18 “Pharaoh said, "Lazy, that’s what you are— lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’ Now get to work.You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks."” He called these slaves who were toiling long hours, working their fingers to the bone, “Lazy”! How unfair is that! Pharaoh didn’t even appreciate the cheap labour pool his country depended upon for its prosperity.
    What about you? When have people demanded from you more than you can give? Have you been abused more in actions, or words? Have you been the butt of rude jokes, caustic criticism, ridicule, harassment, put-downs? When have people treated you disrespectfully or failed to appreciate you as you deserved?
    So we find ourselves in BINDS of all kinds.

THE TRUTH ABOUT TROUBLE: A CLASH OF DOMAINS

It was a situation that couldn’t go on very long: it was headed for a showdown, coming to a climax. Their troubles were multiplying faster than the Hebrew babies. You would think it would be a good thing that their kind were proving fertile, but this made the Egyptians increasingly nervous, so they made it hard for the Israelites. Ex 1:14 “They made their lives bitter with hard labour in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labour the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.”
    Pharaoh had been trying to exploit the exploding population by ordering the Hebrew midwives to kill the boy babies when they were born and letting the girl babies live (Ex 1:16) - sly genocide. But the midwives feared God and refused to carry out Pharaoh’s order; God rewarded their bravery by treating the midwives kindly (1:20f).
    Yet Moses’ message to Pharaoh that God was ordering him to let the Hebrews take 3 days off for worship in the wilderness was met with stiff resistance, showing the stubborn lack of reverence of Pharaoh’s heart. It was a straightforward enough request: Ex 5:1 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.’” But Pharaoh wouldn’t let-go: it was a no-go. Instead he ordered the work cranked up because he reasoned they weren’t working hard enough if they had time to consider going away for a holy holiday.
    The increased workload spelled TROUBLE. V19 “The Israelite foremen realized they were in TROUBLE when they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day."” The Israelite foremen complained to Moses and Aaron, and Moses in turn complained to God. Ex 5:22f “Moses returned to the LORD and said, "O Lord, why have you brought TROUBLE upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought TROUBLE upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."”
    What troubles have you had to endure this past week? What troubles are you anticipating in this week coming up?
    I was in trouble a few days ago when I was using a small loader tractor with mower deck to put some rocks around a culvert. When, up on the edge of the bank, I lowered the bucket full of stones, the tractor didn’t stop at the brink even though I madly tried to step on the pedal to make it reverse – the weight of the load drew me further, beached me on the mower deck, and left the wheels spinning uselessly in the air! What a fix! There was nothing for it but to call for a tow-truck, which got me unstuck in about 10 seconds. Oh well, we all have our hang-ups! Lesson learned (I think).
    It’s good to keep our troubles in perspective. A female college student wrote the following letter to her parents: “Dear Mom and Dad: I am writing this letter on school paper because my stationery got burned in the fire. I got out of the hospital, and have moved in with my new boyfriend, Bill. He got me a job where he works – I'm a waitress at the Red Dog Saloon. Your new grandbaby is due next fall. [When they turned it over, the next page continued...] Mom, Dad, none of the above really happened. However, I made a C in French and I'm failing History. Love, Your Daughter.”
    The Bible promises that when we call to God in times of trouble, He will help us. Psalm 91:15 “He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.” Nahum 1:7a “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble...”
    Troubles sometimes arise because there’s a clash of domains, two competing powers. In Moses’ case, God was asserting His right to call the Israelites “MY people”, but Pharaoh did not recognize God and chose to claim the Hebrew slaves as his own private work force. God’s greater purpose in all this was to make His excellence known, to glorify Himself by showing His ability to save His covenant people from tyranny.
    There is a spiritual realm overlapping our regular physical realm, and there can be clashes that are invisible to us. One time Daniel mourned and prayed for 3 whole weeks. When an angelic messenger finally arrived in answer to Daniel’s prayer, the angel explained: Daniel 10:12-13 “...Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days.Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.”
    We live in a fallen world, where evil forces fight against what’s good and right. Sometimes trouble comes because we’re on a particular side of that conflict. We still need to keep trusting God even in the midst of trouble.
    A few chapters earlier, Daniel found himself cast into a den of lions because he refused to obey the king’s prohibition against prayer. Who wants to be a lion’s lunch??! He was in big trouble! But Daniel didn’t stop trusting God. Daniel 6:23 tells us the outcome, “And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.”
    When there’s TROUBLE: TRUST. Jeremiah 17:7 says, “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.” See there that ‘confidence’ is a synonym for ‘trust’: keep your confidence in God. 2Chronicles 16:9a “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” Keep committed to Him, trust in Him, and He will strengthen you.

GOD’S GOODNESS ANCHORED IN HIS NAME AND NATURE

We’ve been contending that “When life is unfair, God is good.” Or the title of this message is: “When Life is Unfair, Watch God Go to Work”. Nahum the prophet called God a “strong refuge” when trouble comes: even then, when difficulties assail us, we can assert that God is good. That’s pretty amazing! The Bible has lots of stories of people of faith who experienced God delivering them when they were in a tough spot, situations that were beyond their own solving.
    After hearing how rough things are getting for the Hebrew foremen and slaves, Moses turns to God with the complaint that they’re in so much trouble. At the beginning of Exodus 6, we see God begin to outline how He has everything under control: the situation isn’t as desperate as it seems on a purely human level.
    First, because of God’s mighty POWER. 6:1 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of MY MIGHTY HAND he will let them go; because of MY MIGHTY HAND he will drive them out of his country."” And so it eventually came about: ten horrendous plagues, culminating in the death of the Egyptian firstborn, would ultimately convince Pharaoh to relent and release the oppressed Israelites.
    God has AWESOME power. Jesus’ disciples saw Him calm the storm, walk on water, feed the 5,000, heal the blind and lepers, raise the dead: there was no question their Saviour had miracle-working POWER. Too often we restrict ourselves to thinking about just what we can manage on our own steam: we forget God’s might. After all, He created EVERYTHING! Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, Php 4:13 “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Such optimism compared to some religions that are fatalistic!
    But God’s POWER is harnessed to His PURPOSE. We see this emphasized more in verses 2-5, where God unpacks a bit the startling significance of His particular name, “YHWH”, translated LORD (in caps). Ex 6:2-3 “God also said to Moses, "I am the LORD.I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.” God’s getting very up-close and personal, revealing His name ‘YHWH’ from Heb.hayah to be / become: He is the-God-Who-is-becoming – in relationship to His people. He is the God who brings things into being, who makes things happen – to deliver those He loves. He becomes known by His loving interaction with us, on our behalf, FOR us.
    Notice the verbs in 6:6-8, all God promises to do that’s coming up for the Israelites: I will bring you out from under the yoke; I will free you from being slaves; I will redeem you...; I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God; “then you will know that I am YHWH your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.” We come to know God THROUGH our troubles as we trust Him and see Him show His glory and goodness in the process of our deliverance.
    God pledges or promises His support to us, expressed in terms of COVENANT. Vv4-5 “I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan...I have remembered my covenant.” God delights to carry through on His solemn promises to His people.
    God’s name, YHWH, suggests that we come to know Him dynamically, through His interaction with us, as we experience His saving acts in relationship with us. And a key part of that is His CARING for us. Ex 6:5 “Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving...” God is about to show He’s concerned for them, He’s heard their cries.
    When Moses returns from shepherding in the wilderness and explains to the Hebrew leaders how God has commissioned him to speak to Pharaoh for their rescue, we read in Ex 4:31: “...And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.” Do you believe God is CONCERNED about you? If you know He cares – worship Him!
    We read earlier in the responsive reading from Psalm 118:1 (in your bulletin), “Thanks be to the Lord because the Lord is good, because the Lord’s love never quits.” Never runs out on me. Nahum 1:7, the full verse, says - “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble.HE CARES FOR those who trust in him...” God CARES FOR YOU when you trust in Him. 1Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
    Even in the worst situations, the toughest problems, the biggest binds, we can be assured God hears our groaning and still cares for us. In the movie The Hiding Place, there’s a scene set in the Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany. Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsy are there along with 10,000 other women, in horrible, degrading, hideous conditions. They’re gathered with some of the women in the barracks in the midst of the beds, cold and hungry and lice-ridden, and Betsy is leading a Bible class. One of the other women calls out derisively from her bunk and mocks their worship of God. They begin talking, and this woman says what so frequently is flung at Christians: “If your God is such a good God, why does He allow this kind of suffering?” Dramatically she tears off the bandages and old rags that bind her hands, displaying her broken, mangled fingers and says, “I’m the first violinist of the symphony orchestra.Did your God will this?” For a moment no one answers. Then Corrie Ten Boom steps to the side of her sister and says, “We can’t answer that question.All we know is that our God came to this earth, and became one of us, and He suffered with us and was crucified and died. And that He did it for love.”
    We’re worshipping outdoors today in a park. The reading earlier from Matthew 6 reminds us Jesus looked around at birds and flowers as plain evidences of our Creator’s care for us: birds don’t store up in barns, flowers don’t toil or spin, and yet God provides their needs; how much more He’ll do for us! We’re not to worry about what we’re to eat or drink or wear because, Jesus says, Mt 6:32 “For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” He cares about us, He knows what we need. And if we will trust Him and put His concerns first, make His business our priority instead of just heaping up earthly possessions, He’ll help us take care of the rest. Mt 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
    So, in conclusion – when we’re in trouble, when we’re in a bind – keep trusting in the Lord: His goodness is anchored deep in His name (who He expresses Himself to be in relationship to us) and His nature, His character, His covenant purposes. As Lamentations 3:25 puts it, “The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him...” - no matter what your particular hang-up may be! Let’s pray.