“He Restores My Soul…”
Psalm 23:3
This particular psalm is probably one of the most beloved of the psalms and the imagery used describes God as the Supreme Shepherd of his people. The first verse puts forth the heart of the psalm –“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want…” However, we will not deal with the entire psalm today. The Holy Spirit pointed out verse (3) to me and that is what we will look at in this message. “He restores my soul…”
To restore implies something has been taken away or needs to be put back into a previous state. In this psalm, the word restore carried the meaning of renewal, repair, or restoration and rest. In addition, the word soul often referred to the whole person rather than the moral and emotional nature of our human makeup.
What is the significance of having our soul restored? We may get a better idea by recalling the pastoral setting the psalmist uses. Sheep would often wander off; most of the time it was not deliberate. As they fed in the pastures and hillsides, their habit was to eat and move a little, then eat and move a little more. They would keep this up until they simply wandered away from the herd and got lost.
Stay with me here.,
This particular psalm is ascribed to David and was supposed to have been written later in his life. David most likely looked back at his life and saw how God had so graciously and tenderly cared for him as a shepherd does his sheep. In fact, David himself had been a shepherd at one time. Therefore, it would be natural for him to see God as a tender and caring Shepherd. However, David also saw himself as one of the sheep in the fold who had wandered off and was in need of restoration. David needed to be renewed; restored, healed…David needed some rest from the wanderings in his life.
After a rather glorious start in his calling, David began to wander…he left the place of intimate fellowship he enjoyed with God. He also looked to fill the gaps in his life by pursuing things that the Lord was not giving him at this time.
David wandered…David lusted, coveted, murdered, lied. Now his heart was beginning to grow hard and his godly influence grew weaker by the day.
Perhaps you’ve wandered…maybe by accident or neglect…or maybe as in several instances in David’s life, you deliberately wandered. David began to pay the price for his wanderings. He experienced the bitter taste of death in his family. He also felt the crushing pain of disobedient children. David knew the weight of a guilty conscience and the ache of a heart broken by betrayal. There was not too much that David did not experience, yet in and through it all, he was able to look back and say that God had cared for him and went after him in his wanderings.
We begin to wander when we hurt…when we question…when we leave the place of fellowship with the Holy Spirit…we begin to wander when we sin.
Earlier I mentioned that the word soul carried the meaning of the whole person and that it precisely what God wants to restore in us. The Holy Spirit impressed on my heart that many of us have wandered. Some by accident, some from neglect, some deliberately….That it not so much the point right now. What is the point is that God wants to restore, renew, heal, and give rest. Some of us are so weary in our walk and we need the rest of God. When your are weary you can make mistakes.
How do we arrive at the point of restoration? Of course, it is by the work of the Holy Spirit but we must cooperate with Him. As I looked at David’s life, I saw three specific things David did to get to a point of restoration that are found in Scripture.
First, he needed to return. In other words, he needed to remember where he came from and turn his attitude in that direction. Many of us know we need to return but refuse to point our attitude in that direction.
2 Chron 30:6-9
At the king's command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read:
"People of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your fathers and brothers, who were unfaithful to the LORD, the God of their fathers, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked, as your fathers were; submit to the LORD. Come to the sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. 9 If you return to the LORD, then your brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back to this land, for the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him."
Isa 44:22
I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you."
Second- Take responsibility-
Num 18:1
The LORD said to Aaron, "You, your sons and your father's family are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the sanctuary, and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the priesthood.
The Lord gives each of His children responsibilities and He empowers us to carry them out. Too many of us find excuses and ways to justify our laziness and neglect. But God is not impressed by excuses…although he is moved when we take responsibility for our wanderings
Third – repent –
Jer 15:19Therefore this is what the LORD says: "If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me Acts 3:18-20 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
When we return and take responsibility for our wanderings and repent of our selfish, rebellious ways, God can and will restore us. Restoration is mentioned at least fourteen times in Jeremiah. One verse in particular spoke to me –
Jer 30:17
But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the LORD, (my wounds)
God will go to unimaginable lengths to restore his children…far beyond any thing we could conceive. The Bible says, “We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” (Isa 53:6)
“My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.” Ezek 34:6
“For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.” Ezek 34:11-16
During the recent uprisings in the Middle East, Ron and Jake Jones, who serve with the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Israel, communicated the following in their prayer letter:
The result of the fighting and killing has left a profound sense of discouragement that hovers over the country. Several times we have come into closer contact with this conflict than our comfort zone allowed.
Yesterday a friend shared with us something she observed that was a delightful reminder of God's care for us. She watched a shepherd caring for his flock near the area where guns are fired. Every time the shots rang out the sheep scattered in fright. The shepherd then touched each of them with his staff and spoke calmly to them, and the sheep settled down immediately because they trusted the shepherd. And then another shot sounded, and the same routine happened again. Each time, the sheep needed the shepherd to orient them again and to reassure them they were safe.
We are like those sheep, and our Shepherd reaches out and touches us with his staff, speaking words of calm and comfort.
Acts 3:21-22
“He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.”
Before we leave today, take some time to prepare your heart for restoration.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Thursday, December 1, 2011
"Is Not This Thing in My Right Hand A Lie?"
“Is Not This Thing In My Right Hand A Lie?”
Isaiah 44: 6-23 esp.v. 20
In our world of virtual reality and Hollywood special effects, the line between real and artificial is often blurred.
Here are some examples of reality according to Hollywood. In the movies…
All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French bread.
The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place. In the movies…
The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.
A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.
Cars that crash will almost always burst into flames. . In the movies…
Persons knocked unconscious by a blow to the head will never suffer a concussion or brain damage.
It is always possible to park directly outside the building you are visiting. In the movies…
Any lock can be picked by a credit card or a paper clip in seconds—unless it's the door to a burning building with a child trapped inside.
All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they will go off. In the movies…
Medieval peasants had perfect teeth.
It is not necessary to say hello or goodbye when beginning or ending phone conversations.
Any person waking from a nightmare will sit bolt upright and pant. In the movies…
It does not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts; your enemies will patiently wait to attack you one by one by dancing around in a threatening manner until you have knocked out their predecessors. (Citation: Brett Kays)
It still amazes me that we can believe almost anything that Hollywood produces, not to mention music, the world of the internet, psychics, magicians etc. We are so easily fooled…so much so that we even fool ourselves…even in some very important matters.
The prophet Isaiah talks about a man who is so immersed in his own delusions that he cannot even bring himself to ask if what he has been relying on is a lie.
It is inevitable we are going to come to moments in our lives when we are forced to ask ourselves questions that will expose our *delusions (misleading the mind, trick, frustrate), lies, and faulty foundation.
In ch. 44, Isaiah (vv 9-20) Isaiah makes a sort of sarcastic evaluation about the manner in which idols are made and the foolishness of relying on these dumb idols instead of the living God and trusting in God’s care, love and most importantly, His forgiveness.
I want to concentrate on verse 20 for a little while and see what someone looks like who trusts in false gods. We see that this person…has -
An un-natural appetite – “He feeds on ashes…” We direct our energies to vain, empty objects or persons. We have un-natural appetites (like the “clay eaters” of S. America). This may not be so easily detected simply because it becomes part of our search and quite possibly even partially satisfies our disturbed appetite. This then becomes the habit – seeking, appropriating, chewing and digesting and making what is empty and vain an actual part of who we are and what we will become. Warning – do not tamper with the natural appetites that God has given us but rather allow them to be fulfilled in God’s way.
There was a television show – “Honey, We’re Killing the Kids!” that looked into families who lack the discipline of appetites. Through computer imaging, the parents are given a glimpse of what their children may look like at age 40 – if they live that long. Without question, the parent is shocked and extremely disturbed. The family is given a period of time to bring discipline, proper nutrition and exercise into their children’s lives. Normally, there is a lot of rebellion, but as time goes by attitudes and appetites are brought back to what God intended. At shows end, the parents are shown what the children will look like if they continue on the right path.
What if we could see what our lives could look like without God? We can…Isaiah is showing us. Additionally, the Bible says the wages of sin is death; the soul that sins dies; if we do not remain in Christ we wither up and die and are thrown into the fire.
How does this un-natural appetite happen? Let’s continue reading verse 20.
A deceived heart – “A deluded heart misleads him…” My wife led a Bible Study on Wednesday evenings and mentioned that our rationalizations and excuses are signs of a troubled spiritual life…reflecting insincerity and a lack of humility…so true.
One look at Romans 1:18 & ff shows us that the consequences of pursuing anything below heaven will be disastrous. The great prophet Jeremiah summed up the trustworthiness of the human heart – “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (17:9) Of course this is BC, nevertheless I also found no less than two dozen scripture passages that indicate the possibility of even the regenerated heart becoming faithless.
The writer of Proverbs tells us above all else, guard your heart, for out of it flow the wellsprings of life (Pr 4:23). Listen; be more careful of the condition of your heart than your credit score. Protect your heart more than your stuff…your possessions. Guard your heart more than…your ego. The fountains and springs in ancient times were especially well guarded and taken care of, for water in that part of the world is extremely precious – water meant life. C.S. Lewis said, “When a man is getting better; he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less.” Isn’t that true? If our heart is deceived, it will mislead us and place us in a position of vulnerability.
Isaiah describes this man as one who has…
A vulnerable life- “He cannot save himself”
Vulnerability - no spiritual strength, a worldling; one who lacks wisdom and vision; one who is cynical and critical; suspicious and just plain miserable. There will be that emptiness with a sense of lost-ness and lack of hope.
Vulnerability indicates a lack of self-control and self-discipline. Life, as you know, requires sacrifice and sacrifice requires self-control and self-discipline. And this is exactly where we can begin to make a real difference in people’s lives. Gordon MacDonald said, “The man or woman who learns to make peace with routine responsibilities and obligations will make the greatest contributions in the long run.”
Finally, Isaiah describes a man who has…
An unreliable future – “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?” Listen, if what this man is holding in his hand is a lie…if it is misleading, if it is a trick; then what kind of a future does he have?
Barnes says of this passage –
“The right hand is the instrument of action. A lie is a name often given to an idol as being false and delusive. The sense is, that that which they had been making, and on which they were depending, was deceitful and vain. The work of their right hand-the fruit of their skill and toil, was deceptive, and could not save them. The doctrine is, that that which sinners rely on to save their souls; that which has cost their highest efforts as a scheme to save them, is false and delusive. All schemes of religion of human origin are of this description: and all will be alike deceptive and ruinous to the soul.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database Copyright © 1997, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
What can we do to avoid this pitiful end?
Listen to what Isaiah says, “Remember these things…” (Vv.21-23)as I mentioned in my previous blog;
We belong to God – “You are my servant…”(C.f. Romans 1:6-7 First -“Called to belong, second – “to be[come]”
God made us – “I have made you…” Psalm 103:14 He has compassion for us, for he knows what we are made of…how weak we are.
God will not forget us – “I, the LORD, made you, and I will not forget to help you.” (NLT)
God has forgiven us – “I have swept away your offenses…your sins.” C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity talks about how God uses the process of failure and forgiveness to cure us of our illusions about ourselves and teaches us to depend on God…that we cannot trust ourselves in the best moments nor do we despair in the worst moments because of God’s mercy and forgiveness. “The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection.”
God issues an invitation to us – “Return to me…”
God encourages us to rejoice – “Sing for joy…”
God will display his glory in our lives – “He displays his glory in Israel…”
“Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends.” George Mueller
“God is looking for men in whose hands His glory is safe.” A.W. Tozer
Prayer focus – Ask the Lord to help you honestly and sincerely examine your life; to show you who or what you are depending on rather than Him. Ask Him to govern your appetites, guard your heart and secure your future. Remember you are called to belong, and then called to be; you are forgiven and ask Him to display His glory in your life.
Isaiah 44: 6-23 esp.v. 20
In our world of virtual reality and Hollywood special effects, the line between real and artificial is often blurred.
Here are some examples of reality according to Hollywood. In the movies…
All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French bread.
The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place. In the movies…
The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.
A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.
Cars that crash will almost always burst into flames. . In the movies…
Persons knocked unconscious by a blow to the head will never suffer a concussion or brain damage.
It is always possible to park directly outside the building you are visiting. In the movies…
Any lock can be picked by a credit card or a paper clip in seconds—unless it's the door to a burning building with a child trapped inside.
All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they will go off. In the movies…
Medieval peasants had perfect teeth.
It is not necessary to say hello or goodbye when beginning or ending phone conversations.
Any person waking from a nightmare will sit bolt upright and pant. In the movies…
It does not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts; your enemies will patiently wait to attack you one by one by dancing around in a threatening manner until you have knocked out their predecessors. (Citation: Brett Kays)
It still amazes me that we can believe almost anything that Hollywood produces, not to mention music, the world of the internet, psychics, magicians etc. We are so easily fooled…so much so that we even fool ourselves…even in some very important matters.
The prophet Isaiah talks about a man who is so immersed in his own delusions that he cannot even bring himself to ask if what he has been relying on is a lie.
It is inevitable we are going to come to moments in our lives when we are forced to ask ourselves questions that will expose our *delusions (misleading the mind, trick, frustrate), lies, and faulty foundation.
In ch. 44, Isaiah (vv 9-20) Isaiah makes a sort of sarcastic evaluation about the manner in which idols are made and the foolishness of relying on these dumb idols instead of the living God and trusting in God’s care, love and most importantly, His forgiveness.
I want to concentrate on verse 20 for a little while and see what someone looks like who trusts in false gods. We see that this person…has -
An un-natural appetite – “He feeds on ashes…” We direct our energies to vain, empty objects or persons. We have un-natural appetites (like the “clay eaters” of S. America). This may not be so easily detected simply because it becomes part of our search and quite possibly even partially satisfies our disturbed appetite. This then becomes the habit – seeking, appropriating, chewing and digesting and making what is empty and vain an actual part of who we are and what we will become. Warning – do not tamper with the natural appetites that God has given us but rather allow them to be fulfilled in God’s way.
There was a television show – “Honey, We’re Killing the Kids!” that looked into families who lack the discipline of appetites. Through computer imaging, the parents are given a glimpse of what their children may look like at age 40 – if they live that long. Without question, the parent is shocked and extremely disturbed. The family is given a period of time to bring discipline, proper nutrition and exercise into their children’s lives. Normally, there is a lot of rebellion, but as time goes by attitudes and appetites are brought back to what God intended. At shows end, the parents are shown what the children will look like if they continue on the right path.
What if we could see what our lives could look like without God? We can…Isaiah is showing us. Additionally, the Bible says the wages of sin is death; the soul that sins dies; if we do not remain in Christ we wither up and die and are thrown into the fire.
How does this un-natural appetite happen? Let’s continue reading verse 20.
A deceived heart – “A deluded heart misleads him…” My wife led a Bible Study on Wednesday evenings and mentioned that our rationalizations and excuses are signs of a troubled spiritual life…reflecting insincerity and a lack of humility…so true.
One look at Romans 1:18 & ff shows us that the consequences of pursuing anything below heaven will be disastrous. The great prophet Jeremiah summed up the trustworthiness of the human heart – “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (17:9) Of course this is BC, nevertheless I also found no less than two dozen scripture passages that indicate the possibility of even the regenerated heart becoming faithless.
The writer of Proverbs tells us above all else, guard your heart, for out of it flow the wellsprings of life (Pr 4:23). Listen; be more careful of the condition of your heart than your credit score. Protect your heart more than your stuff…your possessions. Guard your heart more than…your ego. The fountains and springs in ancient times were especially well guarded and taken care of, for water in that part of the world is extremely precious – water meant life. C.S. Lewis said, “When a man is getting better; he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less.” Isn’t that true? If our heart is deceived, it will mislead us and place us in a position of vulnerability.
Isaiah describes this man as one who has…
A vulnerable life- “He cannot save himself”
Vulnerability - no spiritual strength, a worldling; one who lacks wisdom and vision; one who is cynical and critical; suspicious and just plain miserable. There will be that emptiness with a sense of lost-ness and lack of hope.
Vulnerability indicates a lack of self-control and self-discipline. Life, as you know, requires sacrifice and sacrifice requires self-control and self-discipline. And this is exactly where we can begin to make a real difference in people’s lives. Gordon MacDonald said, “The man or woman who learns to make peace with routine responsibilities and obligations will make the greatest contributions in the long run.”
Finally, Isaiah describes a man who has…
An unreliable future – “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?” Listen, if what this man is holding in his hand is a lie…if it is misleading, if it is a trick; then what kind of a future does he have?
Barnes says of this passage –
“The right hand is the instrument of action. A lie is a name often given to an idol as being false and delusive. The sense is, that that which they had been making, and on which they were depending, was deceitful and vain. The work of their right hand-the fruit of their skill and toil, was deceptive, and could not save them. The doctrine is, that that which sinners rely on to save their souls; that which has cost their highest efforts as a scheme to save them, is false and delusive. All schemes of religion of human origin are of this description: and all will be alike deceptive and ruinous to the soul.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database Copyright © 1997, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
What can we do to avoid this pitiful end?
Listen to what Isaiah says, “Remember these things…” (Vv.21-23)as I mentioned in my previous blog;
We belong to God – “You are my servant…”(C.f. Romans 1:6-7 First -“Called to belong, second – “to be[come]”
God made us – “I have made you…” Psalm 103:14 He has compassion for us, for he knows what we are made of…how weak we are.
God will not forget us – “I, the LORD, made you, and I will not forget to help you.” (NLT)
God has forgiven us – “I have swept away your offenses…your sins.” C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity talks about how God uses the process of failure and forgiveness to cure us of our illusions about ourselves and teaches us to depend on God…that we cannot trust ourselves in the best moments nor do we despair in the worst moments because of God’s mercy and forgiveness. “The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection.”
God issues an invitation to us – “Return to me…”
God encourages us to rejoice – “Sing for joy…”
God will display his glory in our lives – “He displays his glory in Israel…”
“Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends.” George Mueller
“God is looking for men in whose hands His glory is safe.” A.W. Tozer
Prayer focus – Ask the Lord to help you honestly and sincerely examine your life; to show you who or what you are depending on rather than Him. Ask Him to govern your appetites, guard your heart and secure your future. Remember you are called to belong, and then called to be; you are forgiven and ask Him to display His glory in your life.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Terms of Endearment
In Luke 8 Jesus spoke one extremely powerful word which changed a hurting woman's whole worldview - "Daughter." Most of the time we focus on how much money this woman spent, the doctors she saw, the touching of Jesus' garment, etc. In the midst of the crowd, onlookers, the curious. the skeptics....the hopeful...all eyes were on Jesus and now- on the woman with the issue of blood. What would Jesus do now. He spoke a single word and commended the woman for her faith. I believe that this one word spoken by the Son of God penetrated the many years of suffering and shame and healed not only the sickness...but the estranged heart. We all are separated from God by our uncleanness...our sin. When we place our faith in Christ as the one and only Son of God and Savior of our souls...we - belong. When Jesus said -"Daughter" He was speaking to this woman's soul a very profound truth - that she now belonged to God. I read something in Romans 1:6-7 that so impacted me. The Apostle Paul said, "And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:"
Allow this truth to saturate your weary soul. We are called to belong before we are called to become. The Lord Jesus speaks a term of endearment to the sin- weary, sin- sickened soul...."Daughter" "Son"...come to Me. Place your faith in Me...Belong to Me.
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:"
Allow this truth to saturate your weary soul. We are called to belong before we are called to become. The Lord Jesus speaks a term of endearment to the sin- weary, sin- sickened soul...."Daughter" "Son"...come to Me. Place your faith in Me...Belong to Me.
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