Kingdom People: Living as Christ’s People in Christ’s Power

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied’ (Matt. 5:6)

Happiness through Holiness

Major V. Gilbert tells a story from the British Liberation of Palestine in WW1. The Allied forces were driving up from Beersheba across the desert (combined forces of Brits, Aussies and Kiwis) and were pressing after Turkish troops on fast retreat. The attack out-distanced its water carrying camel train. Water bottles were empty…the sun blazed above and beat down on the weary men…even the vultures wheeled above expectantly. Major Gilbert describes their fatigue, ’Our heads ached, our eyes were bloodshot and our tongues began to swell but desperate to catch our foe we pressed on all the more’.  Finally they got to Sheria where they knew there would be water wells. The Turks held on for a while – but the Allied men battled on knowing that if they didn’t secure the wells many of their men would perish from thirst and exhaustion. Finally, after a fierce battle, they entered the Sheria station on the heels of a retreating Turkish army. The first objects to meet their eyes were large stone cisterns filled with cool drinking water. Everyone was thirsty… really thirsty - but Major Gilbert gave orders for the men to fall into company. He commented on the character of his men…’desperately thirsty they fell into order and lined up…allowing the wounded and those on guard duty to take first…the last of those men waited for over 4 hours before having a drink…I myself decided to take the back of the line’.  Major Gilberts concludes, ’The march to Sheria taught me a powerful spiritual lesson: If such were my thirst for God’s righteousness – how rich in the fruits of Christ I would be! Will I hunger and thirst like this for Christ?’

 

In our verse, Jesus explores a new vantage point as we are told to ‘hunger’ and ‘thirst’ for a quite unlikely thing in order to find true, spiritual happiness. The question Jesus is dealing with is this: How do sinful people attain a righteousness that is both acceptable to God and satisfying to the soul?

 

People today ‘hunger’ or ‘thirst’ for lots of different things…successful careers, a great education and a wonderful family. Behind all these things is a deep desire for happiness. Isn’t the stated American dream, ‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?’ What is often a bit strange is that in these pursuits those very same people are often quite indifferent to God and His ways. Now, don’t get me wrong - many of these pursuits are worthwhile in and of themselves. But Jesus tells us that if we want to be truly ‘satisfied’ (or blessed) then there is a spiritual satisfaction that comes from a different kind of pursuit – a pursuit of righteousness. Jesus tells us about the essence of this pursuit in two parts. First, the ‘kind’ of righteousness we must pursue is a specific type of righteousness and therefore it must be pursued ‘intentionally’. Secondly, the language Jesus uses challenges us to the ‘intensity’ of this pursuit. But what does this mean and how does it work?

 

Most people do desire some type of righteousness or moral code – even thieves have a code of conduct. Others take pride in their philanthropy, good works or goodwill – but the type of righteousness Jesus is describing is a ‘perfect’ righteousness. Later on in Matthew 5 Jesus says to His Disciples, ‘Be perfect therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect’ (Matt. 5:48). Perfect? Well, that seems impossible! Even for the religiously inclined or piously correct! The ‘true’ righteousness that Jesus sets as the perfect standard is nothing short of the righteousness He Himself embodies. If only perfect righteousness will do, then Jesus supplies the only righteousness that satisfies God and sustains our souls. In simple terms - Jesus is telling us (in a kind of ‘code language’) that we should hunger and thirst for Him. We are supposed to long for Him…to seek Him…to pursue Him and His righteousness so that when we are tempted to evaluate our own performance (which is often really rotten) we don’t have to fall into utter despair. We look to Christ’s perfect righteousness (and His perfect performance) as we pursue Him. Consider these words in John 6:35, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’ Or John 4:14 ‘…but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ That is good news for weary souls, but how is this appropriated in your life and mine? Herein then is the ‘intentionality’ of this pursuit – it is a specific, narrow, single-focused ‘hunger’ for more of Jesus Christ and His righteousness  - the only righteousness that is good enough for God and satisfying to our souls.

 

But we must also pursue this righteousness ‘intensely’…Jesus uses the words ‘hunger’ and ‘thirst’. In the original language these words conjure up desperation, starvation or famine. Obviously they are used metaphorically, but there is a truth Jesus is driving home – righteousness must be pursued with fervency and focused resolve - with ‘intensity’. In Luke 15, when the prodigal son left home he expected to be satisfied. He wanted life, liberty and fame but all he got was poverty, rags and loneliness. Having squandered all his resources he is left to starve and reduced to eating in the pig trough. It is there that he remembers his father’s house and longs for home. We know the story – he returns and his father clothes him, feeds him and restores him. Perhaps the prodigal son shows us the way….we too may need to repent and turn from the things we once ‘hungered’ for and then, with a new found intensity and singleness of heart, pursue Christ only and His righteousness.    

 

Martyn Lloyd Jones said, ‘There are large numbers of people in the Christian Church who seem to spend the whole of their life seeking something which they can never find, seeking for some kind of happiness or blessedness – they go around from meeting to meeting, convention to convention always hoping for the next wonderful thing – hopefully something will fill them with joy….we are not meant to hunger and thirst after experiences…we are not meant to hunger and thirst for blessings…We must hunger and thirst for Christ’s righteousness…’

 

Perhaps today we should cry out to God asking Him to help us pursue Christ…intentionally…intensely…

Dan. 6:10, ‘When Daniel knew the document was signed...he got on his knees and gave thanks before His God as was his custom’

Everything was a ‘God-issue’ to Daniel....look at how he eats. Remember, Daniel was one of the captives taken to Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem. He was chosen with others to be trained for service in the royal palace and fed with the king’s best food and wine. But Daniel saw his food as a ‘God-issue’. Or, look at how he interprets dreams. The same God-drenched way of life comes out in the way Daniel interprets the dreams of king Nebuchadnezzar and the vision of Belshazzar his grandson. Daniel gives all the credit to God. For example, in 2:28, “There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.” And he accuses the most powerful rulers on earth of irreverence and treason against God. For example, to Belshazzar in 5:23, “The God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.” Every interpretation Daniel gives has God right at the center of it and great kings like Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar fade from history like a cloud (2:39; 5:28). Our text visits how Daniel prays...when the chips are down...when the momentum is against him...how does he respond?

Daniel nurtured a life of daring, defiant and disciplined prayer. If what God thinks matters most to Daniel - then you consult him most. If what God does matters most - then you ask him to act first. In other words, you live your life by prayer. Now don’t forget that Daniel was a very powerful political person. Back in Daniel 2:48 Nebuchadnezzar had made Daniel “ruler over the whole province of Babylon.” Here in our text (6:2) Darius makes Daniel one of the three presidents over the 120 satraps (or governors) of the entire empire. Sometimes we slip into thinking that prayer is the way monks spend their time. We think it’s something for pastors or professional religious people; that it’s not for activists, or men of affairs, or people with power and influence. But that is a very wrong way to think about prayer and about your life as a busy person. Daniel was more immersed in secular life than most of us and he lived by prayer—daring, defiant, disciplined prayer. What God thought and what God did mattered most to Daniel. So Daniel lived by thanking God and by asking God to act. Maybe everything in our lives should be a ‘God-issue’ too......

 

It’s been a dangerous journey...but it’s ‘with God’

Keith  

‘A Statue, A Stone and A King’ – based on Daniel 2:11-45

‘A Statue, A Stone and A King’ – based on Daniel 2:11-45

We’ve started a ‘Dangerous Journey’ with Daniel. At the outset of our story, Daniel, the exiled Jewish captive, had ‘…purposed in his heart not to defile himself’ (Dan. 1:8) by eating King Nebuchadnezzar’s food. This decision took great courage as Neb was very powerful and the chief of the eunuchs was equally fearful. So, a 10 day private test was agreed upon between the chief eunuch, Ashpiraz, and Daniel’s tribe. Daniel and his friends would eat vegetables and drink water for the said 10 days. Amazingly, the four Hebrews prevailed and passed the test – but not because of human ingenuity or a few miraculous vegetables. Our text tells us that, ‘God gave them learning and skill...’ (Dan. 1:17). Hence, this dangerous journey which Daniel has embarked upon becomes possible because it’s a dangerous journey ‘with God’.

Our story now becomes inherently more dangerous. Our new, proud Babylonian king (Neb) has had a frightful dream and he starts demanding answers. In fact, he threatens the death of all the soothsayers and Chaldeans should they not come up with two things: 1. They have to tell him what his dream means (this seems reasonable considering their vocation). 2. They also have to tell him the dream (this seems equally unreasonable...nigh impossible!). They push back at Neb, stating that they can do neither as his demand is beyond their job description – Neb isn’t playing by the rules! In fact, no one alive can fulfill Nebuchadnezzar’s decree - no one except, ‘the gods...’ (Dan. 2:11). Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, informs Daniel of the king’s dream, the interpreter’s inability to discern its contents and their impotence in interpretation. After winning some time Daniel returns to his home to tell his three friends of their peril. They have now but one course to follow – prayer to God for ‘mercy’. The Babylonian wise men were only half right - while no human being could ever tell the king the contents and interpretation of his dream, God could – but not just any god – One God - Daniel’s God. In the late night God speaks to Daniel in a vision, revealing that He is the source of the dream and He grants its meaning. Before rushing off to the king’s court Daniel lifts his heart in prayer again to God. This time it’s a prayer of praise.

There is good reason for Neb to be frightened by what he has seen in his dream. Daniel begins to describe a large statue which is both striking in size and composition. The head is of gold, the arms and chest of silver, the belly and thighs of bronze and the legs and feet of iron and clay. Daniel explains that this is a prophecy. There will be four great Gentile Kingdoms – from Babylon to Rome. World history proves this vision to be true. For just a moment we are awestruck with what God is up to. God has caused it so that only two men on the planet know the dream – and only one of them knows what it means! It is His man in Babylon, Daniel. For just a moment Daniel becomes a ‘sword’ in God’s hand and shows the Babylonian Empire (and her king) its vulnerability and dependence on Another. But it’s not about the statue which is ‘made with human hands’. It’s about something else...something surprising. As Neb watches this huge, strange statue, a small stone ‘not formed with human hands’ (34) strikes the statue at its feet and reduces it to powder. The wind then blows the powder away and Neb’s big statue disappears into nothing. This seemingly small stone, which amazingly destroyed a much larger statue, grows supernaturally into a mountain eventually filling the whole earth. Daniel identifies the stone as the Kingdom of God. He also reveals that these events (although future) begin with Neb himself as the ‘head’. Was his face on the statue? How frightening! In a sense, Neb is seeing the destruction of his own grand empire – this, of course, would have been shocking news for him. But what’s the point of all this?

Well briefly...it’s not about a statue of a man or a picture of a weird stone – it’s about a Kingdom. And specifically it is about a King who is coming ‘from heaven’ (37) to build a Kingdom that will be unlike all four of the kingdoms described. This Kingdom will have no end. It will also come in a ‘seemingly small’ way (like a small stone) but it will grow into ‘gradual greatness’ and will ‘stand forever’ (44) – crushing all four of the powerful Gentile kingdoms and reducing them to fine powder. Jesus put it this way, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the Chief Cornerstone’. The small rock will become the ‘head of the corner’ – he goes on to say, ‘...this is the Lord’s doing - it is marvelous in our eyes’ (Matt. 21:42). Neb is now confronted with God’s doings. These ‘doings’ probably don’t seem too ‘marvelous’ to him! He may think he has the advantage – he certainly has temporal power over the Hebrew people whom God has given into his hand. But does he? Does God ever relinquish His sovereign advantage or is this simply Neb’s false perception? Daniel powerfully reminds arrogant Mr. Neb of an eternal truth: all human empires, fiefdom’s, corporations, causes and cultures are temporal...all will vanish like powder. Jesus comes (in His first coming) as a seemingly small, suffering servant who humbled Himself in obedience to a cross, laying down His life. In this ‘seemingly small way’ He strikes sin, death and the ‘steel-like’ Roman Empire at the foot of Neb’s statue, thereby establishing His everlasting, glorious Kingdom. He is coming again! This time it is in greatness as He comes, ‘...in the clouds and every eye will see Him’ (Rev. 1:7). This second time it will be in great power and glory as Jesus, ‘...inflicts vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ...’ (2 Thes. 1:8). Who is your allegiance to? Do you know this King?

Joining the journey,

Keith Doyle - Lead Pastor, Winnetka Bible Church  

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A Dangerous Journey with God

A Dangerous Journey with God

‘To Eat or Not to Eat’ – based on Daniel 1:1-17

An old Farmer and a Pastor were having a conversation one day. “Do you belong to the Christian family?” the Pastor asked. “No, they live two farms down,” replied the Farmer. “No, no friend - I mean are you lost?” “Lost?” said the Farmer, “I've lived here for over thirty years!” “OK...” said the Pastor, “I'm not sure you understand me - are you ready for the Judgment Day?” “When is it?” said the Farmer. “Well, it could be today or it could be tomorrow,” said the Minister, getting quite exasperated. “Well,” said the Farmer, “find out for sure and let me know - I'm sure my wife will want to go both days!” 

Divine Judgment...retribution...complete desolation...a nation destroyed...God's people killed and scattered...these hard words were fitting of what was left when King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 605 B.C. Daniel 1:4 tells us the horrific news, '...and the Lord gave Jehoiakim King of Judah into his (Nebuchadnezzar) hand with some of the articles of the house of God.' Why would God do that? Why would He allow Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan, self-absorbed King of Babylon, to rubbish and ruin His people and plunder them into exile in Babylon? Tough questions to navigate - it gets even tougher in the narrative of Daniel's story. A series of ‘tests’ will now be placed upon Daniel’s wearied shoulders. Over the next few weeks we will contemplate each of these tests.

The first test was about the King’s ‘assimilation plan’, which included Daniel’s food. It all seems harmless enough, King Nebuchadnezzar thinks he has the finest food in the world and he wants to share it with his new ‘prisoners’, including the exiled Jewish captives. The problem is that Daniel and his three friends know that the food has been dedicated to idols in a pagan worship service called a ‘dullu’ (a ritual). The statues of ‘gods’ were dressed and ornamented. Worshippers brought their food (allocated by priests) to each ‘god’ and gave it in thanks and sacrifice. Upon the completion of this ritual, the food was consumed by the worshipper in a ‘celebration’. We can see from this description why Daniel would have had a problem with the food.

At the outset Daniel had ‘...purposed in his heart not to defile himself’ (Dan. 1:8) by eating the King’s food. This decision took great courage as Nebuchadnezzar was very powerful and the chief of the Eunuchs was very fearful. So, a 10 day private test was agreed upon between the Eunuch and Daniel’s tribe. Daniel and his friends would eat vegetables and drink water for the 10 days. At the end of this time they would appear before the King with his presiding, objective eye to ‘let the chips fall’. If the result was not favorable, two consequences would rest on Daniel’s head. First, he would subject himself to eating the King’s defiled food. Second, he would face the wrath of the King with all of its consequences. This all seems quite risky for Daniel, but he approaches it with a level of confidence.  How? Why? We may be tempted to think that Daniel is handling all this pressure alone in foreign Babylon - but our text reminds us that it is God Himself presiding over all these affairs, even the details. It was God who gave Daniel’s King and nation into Nebuchadnezzar’s hand (Dan. 1:2); It was God who gave them favor in the sight of the Chief Eunuch (Dan. 1:9); It was God who gave them the knowledge and wisdom they needed as they stood before the King (Dan. 1:17). Daniel knows God – God knows Daniel. Daniel knows that this journey into exile, fraught with evident danger, is not a journey he is walking alone. Daniel has experienced the power and presence of God as he shuns the King’s food, refusing to ‘cave’ to pressure and expediency. The personal power of God is now directly experienced by the ‘fattening’ of a few vegetables and a lot of prayer. Dangerous, yes…but it’s ‘with God’ and that makes the difference. The Psalmist said it this way, ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...you are with me...’ (Ps. 23:4). This same God goes with you...

Starting on June 3rd, 2012 at 10:30AM, at Winnetka Bible Church, we will start a new sermon series from the book of Daniel called, 'A Dangerous Journey with God'.  Together, we will explore this fascinating story of God's surprising work through a desolate time. The subtitle of our series is 'Experiencing Daniel's God'. It is my hope that as we take this 'journey into exile' with Daniel, we will learn more of the God whom Daniel loved and served. Consider joining us.  

Joining the journey,

Keith Doyle - Lead Pastor, Winnetka Bible Church

Casting Care

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want...” – Psalm 23:1

            A construction crew was building a new building in a rural area, knocking down trees as it progressed.  The project manager noticed that one tree had a nest of birds who couldn’t yet fly and had marked the tree so that it would not be cut down. Several weeks later the man came back to the tree.  He got into a bucket truck and was lifted up so that he could peer into the nest – all the birds were gone.  They had obviously learned to fly. The man then ordered the tree to be cut down.  As it fell, some of the material which the birds had used to build the nest fell free. Part of the scrap the man picked up and noticed was a piece of a Sunday School pamphlet.  On the scrap of paper were the words from I Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” That day the project manager learned of God’s intimate care of his creation in a whole new way. But the question I have for us is - do we doubt it? I find I do. There are times where my own heart doubts God’s care. If I were to be truthful it is because I actually doubt something about God Himself.  Like, if there are 6 billion other people on the planet, why would He be concerned with me? Or, surely God has enough other things to think about – what with stars, planets and comets flying through the galaxy? Yet, somehow in a way that may seem or feel elusive to us – God really cares about the intimate details of His children’s lives. 

            David helps us reorient our ‘wondering’ and ‘wandering’ hearts, as he declares that God is his Shepherd – but what does this mean? Well, David knew all about being a Shepherd. Do you remember this young, ruddy boy who picked out five stones from a stream to battle a giant? Where else did he learn these skills than from fighting off predators from his sheep? But what is most remarkable about our verse is that David attributes a shepherding roll to God, as the Great ‘Pastor’ of the universe. David knew with certainty that God was transcendent, high above and ‘other to Himself’ – he speaks of this in some of his other writings. But here he is consumed with the nearness of God – the personal, powerful and practical way that God relates to David, in a quite mundane and lowly task – that of shepherding.

            First, David uses the personal Name for God, ‘LORD’, translated ‘Yahweh’ in Hebrew. This word is used 4,000 times in the Old Testament.  It is the same word that was cherished and hallowed as unspeakable by the Hebrew people. It is the word that God used with Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3) in answer to Moses’ question, ‘When the children of Israel ask Who has sent me to them what shall I say?’  - ‘Say, I Am that I Am’...lit. Lord, the self-existent One. This word speaks of God’s timelessness, His self-sufficiency, His inexhaustibility. God is wholly unto Himself. But there is something more – this amazing, Holy God is David’s Shepherd. The God of eternity has related to David in a lowly, meaningful and nurturing way.          

            Second, David says that because God is his Shepherd he has no deficiencies, ‘I shall not want.’  The Hebrew word for want is ‘chausere’ – it means to lack nothing and is a statement of satisfaction. David’s confidence is that if God is his Shepherd he needs no one else.  The hopes, longings and dreams for his life are fully met in God. He is literally saying, ‘Because the Lord is my Shepherd I need no other Shepherd.’ God is his all-satisfying One.  He needs not prosperity, prominence, or position.

But what kind of Shepherd is God? I have often said that the best commentary on Scripture is Scripture itself. Consider Jesus’ story in Luke 15 – responding to criticism about His mingling with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus responds with a story. It’s the story of a shepherd but it’s also a story about the kind of Shepherd that He is.  A Shepherd has 100 sheep and one goes missing. The Shepherd leaves the 99 and goes off in search of the one. When He finds the one, he places it upon his shoulders and returns home. After returning home he calls his friends to a party to celebrate saying, ‘Rejoice with me, I have found my sheep that was lost’. Then Jesus connects it – there is similar rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents. Jesus teaches us something important about the ‘kind’ of Shepherd God is to His people. In John 10 Jesus adds another level, ‘I am the Good Shepherd...the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep’.  So, if God is the kind of Shepherd who pursues us...loves us...and dies for us, then surely He is a capable enough Shepherd upon whom we can, ‘Cast all our anxiety on Him because He cares for us.’ Have you cast that burden yet?

Rediscovering God together,

Keith M. Doyle

  

The Mystery of Forgiveness

Keith M. Doyle

Lead Pastor, Winnetka Bible Church

            “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

            A four year old was praying one night having been listening in church, “And forgive us our trash-baskets, as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets!” Out of the mouth of a child comes great wisdom!

Lewis B. Smeades tells this story of Corrie ten Boom to illustrate the power of forgiveness: She was stuck for the war years in a Nazi concentration camp, humiliated and degraded, especially in the delousing shower where the women were ogled by the leering guards. But she made it through this suffering, and eventually felt she had, by grace, forgiven even those fiends who guarded the shower stalls. So she preached God’s forgiveness all over Europe. One day, after giving her testimony at a church in Munich, she saw a man come walking over to her. “Ja, Fraulein, it is wonderful that God forgives us of our sins, just as you said.” She remembered his face – it was the leering, lecherous, mocking face of the S.S. guard of a shower stall. Her hand froze by her side. She could not forgive. She truly thought she had forgiven all, but how could she forgive this guard as he stood before her? Ashamed and horrified at herself, she prayed, “Lord, forgive me, I cannot forgive!” As she prayed, she sensed the Holy Spirit remind her of the forgiveness that was hers in Christ – God reminded her that she was accepted by Him, in spite of her shabby performance as a forgiver. Her hand was suddenly, miraculously unfrozen. The ice of her heart melted instantaneously. Her hand slowly reached out…and she forgave as she had been forgiven.

The cross of Jesus Christ stands as the climax of God’s forgiveness and makes all future forgiveness possible. For all who will come to God through Christ will find forgiveness from the penalty of their own sins. Then, on the basis of Jesus’ cross, we have the spiritual power to forgive others. That is - being forgiven by Christ - we are enabled to grant this to those who have offended us. As someone said, “You can only give what you have received!” Until you have experienced the stain-washing, sin-absorbing, guilt-destroying forgiveness of God through Christ, you will not be able to forgive others – no matter how hard you try. The reason for this is because in our sinful, human capacity we cannot unconditionally extend forgiveness to those who have wronged us. It is unnatural…even impossible! Our humanity demands we be right…selfishly nurturing our grudges against others. We don’t want to forgive someone who has sinned against us and we feel quite justified in our own positions, passions and pride. It is only through Jesus’ power that this proposition of forgiveness is even possible. We must appropriate His forgiving power by asking Him to consume us with His mercy and forgiveness - just as in Corrie’s story. I have some parting questions for us to ponder as we consider this verse and story:

·         Have you nurtured a grudge against someone and refused to forgive them on the basis of your own sense of ‘rightness’ or justice?

·         Have you ever expected others to forgive but have simultaneously harbored an unforgiving spirit towards someone else?

·         Have you said you ‘know Christ’ or ‘love Christ’ and yet have used ‘circumstantial reasons’ to refuse to obey our verse above, ‘forgive each other…just as in Christ God forgave you’? 

I invite you to come to Christ today and ask for His help…He is gracious to save, heal and empower you to forgive your worst offender or offense. Have you encountered Jesus as your compassionate forgiver? Has He captured your heart with His love? Only with His forgiveness working in you will you be able to forgive others.  

'God's Glory - Our Hope'

“For the Lord will not cast away His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for Himself.” (I Sam. 12:22, NKJV)

            A few months before his death in 1747 at age 29, David Brainerd, the missionary to the Indians in New England, wrote to a young ministerial candidate, “Give yourself to prayer, to reading and meditation on Divine truths: strive to penetrate to the bottom of them and never be content with superficial knowledge – in this you will find your worth.” It was good advice. And not just for ministers – but for us all because at the bottom of this pursuit (that Brainerd spoke of) you will find a granite foundation of hope for victory in the mission of the Church. You will also find an affirmation of grace by a God whose commitment to the cause of His people is grounded not in His people but in Himself. His passion to save, heal and bless feeds itself not from the shallow soil of our value, but from the infinite depth of His.

            This truth is captured in the verse printed above: God's mercy is grounded in His allegiance to His own name. Mercy is not receiving what I do deserve. When I was 14 years old I recall a hot summer day spent at the pool side. I had two sisters (I have one now), both younger than I, and I was having a great time pushing them into the pool and then walking around the pool and pushing them back in each time they attempted to emerge. My Dad saw this happening and decided he would correct this injustice by sneaking up behind me and giving me a piece of my own medicine. The problem for him was that I saw him out of the corner of my eye, and at the last minute I ‘dodged’ away and he went crashing head-long into the pool with a mighty splash. I didn’t get what I deserved! Neither did he!

            Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t just destroy His enemies? Those who hate His Name and despise His truth? Has it ever bothered you that evil seems to be allowed to exist…and sometimes thrive? If God is so powerful why does He not just end all injustice? But I must respond to these often asked questions with two more: Which one of us would dare say we have been ‘good enough’ to please God? Which of us would say someone else does not deserve mercy when we are in need of it ourselves? Our verse above captures a truthful answer to these puzzles – God does not cast His people off…no matter how broken we are. The reason for this is because He is committed to the glory of His name. The deepest reason given for God’s commitment to His own people is His prior commitment to His own great name. First, He is committed to act for His own name’s sake. And then, for that reason, He is committed to act for His people. “Because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for Himself.” It was God’s pleasure to join you to Himself in such a way that His name is at stake in your destiny and care! Therefore, for His name’s sake he will not cast you away – if you are His!

            The Psalmists often lamented the seeming prosperity and arrogance of the wicked – Consider Psalm 73:2, ‘But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled…for I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked’. But then in v.17, ‘...until I went into the sanctuary of God; and then I discerned their end...(v.25), whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.’ May we find solace and hope in this truth of God that the Psalmist did.

‘For the Lord will not cast away His people...’ – in the midst of present abounding evil, trial and temptation...what wonderful news.