The Goodness of God That Holds You Steady

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God and make disciples in your community.

Our passage, our main texts will today will be on

Psalm thirty four, verse eight.

Can everybody uh say this verse with me? One two three,

go old taste.

Blessed is the man who trust in him.

Blessed is the man who trust in him.

In some version, like in ESV said, blessed is the

man that takes refuge in him. So whether you're high

or low, you're you're you're seeking comfort, you're seeking for clarity,

have refuge in him, trust in him. Okay, don't taste

and see yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're hearing it right.

I know I'm doing this right before fasting. Okay, but

this is not an allegory. When when when David wrote this,

it's not pertaining anything. No, it's pertaining to food. Okay,

he said, oh, taste and see what he is saving.

What he's saying here.

Is his is engage all your senses, taste and see. Okay,

when you see food. When you see food, to fully

engage it, you have to actually swallow it and taste it.

At first, when you see food, you just see and

then you when you come closer, there's gonna You're gonna

smell the aroma.

Right of the food.

But but that's not complete. You can't tell if the

food is good or not by just seeing and smelling.

Engaging your food seenses mean you have to put it

inside your mouth, taste it, feel the texture, and actually

taste how good it is, and swallow it. Maybe some

of us you've been.

In church last year was your bandary year wide?

Because in twenty sixteen, I've perfected church. How did you

perfect church, perfect attendance, not only that perfect victory group.

My victory group leader got laid twice and I did not,

So I perfected church. That's that's good, But that's that's

not really good. Engaging full census means you have you have,

you have embraced, you have embodied the fullness and the goodness.

Of not church, but of Jesus, of the one that

we serve.

When you come to church just for attendance, when you

come to to to church just just for a checklist,

check things.

Maybe maybe you've seen me after services.

There are some kids who would ask me to sign

their their Christian living for school, Christian living something for school,

curriculum for school that I have to sign it.

I hope it's not for mere attendance.

You have to taste, you have to see, you have

to engage the fullness in the goodness of what God

offers in our church. Whenever tastes and see almost I'm

always reminded of this picture.

This is not this is a candid shot.

It's Tammy did that post this Pastor Dennis, the one,

the oblivious one on the other side, Mika when she

was three years old and Tammy.

It's a candid shot. That that's how she tastes and

see food.

She savors, the aroma, she savors, the time, she savors them,

everything about eating. She's very passionate when it comes to food.

I remember one time early on when when when we

became friends and we went to a buffet. I saw

Tammy in the line and then she approached me and

asked me Larry Denis. I was kind of frantic because

I see that tear is starting to roll from her

from her eyes, and I was wondering, Okay, what's wrong.

What happened?

So I approached her and said, okay, what's going on.

I don't wear Dennis's but what's wrong? And she was like, no,

I just need somebody to share my happiness. I'm full

of joy because I'm in this buffet. She's not overacting.

That's really how she is. When you come to church,

are you just merely tasting? Take a pic, I mean

testing lung, take a bitem sat.

I don't like it.

I don't like the sound too loud, I don't like

the video. Jared didn't do a good job. The lights,

I mean destructs my trying to be spiritual. I can

fear the Lord because of the all the lights.

Are just merely trying to taste it? Or do you

want to embrace the fullness of what this is?

All of what church has to offer, what of the

presence of God? We when we come to church, we

have to realize that it's it's not just for for

us to listen to take notesice good uh, to take

a picture of the of the of the slides. But

my prayer is there's always a response. Is your responsor

really inching your way closer to the Lord or just

testing trying smell? Is it feeling the cushion? You have

to fully enjoy God's goodness. Indeed, you have to savor it.

You have you have to take time, you have to

grow into it. And uh and and and I've had

I have hundreds of pictures of my wife just enjoying

her time with God. This is this was taken when

when we had our New Year celebration in Bagyo and

conchant Hey and and she would deliberately wake up early

year than any one of us.

We have a six year old daughter.

You know, once she's awake, it's all about Lara, Lara, Lara.

But but my wife would wake.

Up earlier than anyone just to enjoy her time, just

to enjoy, just to savor her time time with God,

time with the Lord. And we hear come taste and

see it's all about God's goodness.

And the Lord is good. He is good.

He is good all the time and all the time,

the Lord is good. But to be amable to fully

appreciate this ur text, we have to go to its

parallel verse in First Samuel twenty one, This is David

talks about David. But David was actually David. Remember David, right, David,

the one who killed Goliath. David, the future king of Israel.

But he's in He's running away. He's scared for his life.

Saw us after him, Saul and and and ten tens

of thousands of his men was trying to kill him.

He's being chased, the future king of Israel. And and

out of desperation. Out of desperation, he went to God, the.

City of God.

Okay, what's what's so significant with the City of God,

with King Akish there is that this is the city

where Goliath comes from.

Remember Goliath, Goliath, the giant that Joseph slain.

Remember that we may not yes, David, I'm just testing

you guys.

The fast Mahagan.

He went to the hometown of the giant that he's laying.

What's going on in his mind? I don't know, I

really don't know. But he was desperate. Maybe it's strategy.

Maybe it's because I don't think Saul would would would

ever go there and and and check me out or

if I'm there, but out of desperation went.

David heard these comments and was very.

Afraid of what King Akish of God might do to him.

So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and

drooling down his beard. While he was there, somebody recognized him.

Somebody recognized David and told on him out of desperation

what he did. He acted insane, scratching his back on

the door, drooling and drooling. Maybe you're in that desperate

season now. Maybe you're not acting insane. You don't know

if you're insane, but you're in that desperate moment, desperate

moment that worries of life, debtors, consequences of sin that

you've done before.

Whether you're in that moment or that, what do you do?

Who do you turn to?

Do you just simply forget God, his goodness, what he

has done to you, turn your back on him. So

David left God and escape to the cave of Adam.

Soon his brothers and all his other relatives joined him there.

Then others began coming, men who were in trouble, or

in debt, or who were just discontented, until David was

a captain about four hundred men. The context of Psalm

thirty four is He was writing it inside a cave.

He got away from the City of God from King Akish,

went to a cave in Adam and wrote this psalm.

Wrote this psalm. It's a thanksgiving him.

It's a thanksgiving song, he wrote inside a cave.

Are you in that desperate moment?

Are you right running, hiding or trying to veer away

from anything?

What do you do? Do you sing songs? Do you

ready your arsenal? David just said, Praise God, Praise the

Lord for you are good. Praise the Lord for your good.

Verse one said, I will bless the Lord at all time.

His praise shall continually be in my mouth. He had

four hundred men in his troops. Instead of rallying them saying,

come on, we can do this. We can go against Saul,

we can go again against Akish, he said.

No, no, stop the war. Worship God, Bless the Lord,

Praise the Lord.

Let's stop worship him, be thankful, praise his name, Praise

the Lord. That's his answer. My soul makes its bows

in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad.

David said, I bows in the Lord.

Why because of answered prayers?

Okay, where's the answered prayers? He's inside the cave. He's

running for ten thousand men, but saying.

Lord, you are good always, you are still good. I

am still alive.

I was able to hide in the city of God

when they recognize me, I was able to escape. Now

in the I'm in the cave. Lord, You're still good.

Praise be to God.

When you're in that desperate moment, what do you do?

Who do you run to? Who do you call? Who

do you call for help? They call for God, they

cry for God.

Is it the only time that you go to your

Bible and chich hang emergency, break the Bible?

You open? You only open the case in case of emergency.

You go to God.

To know God more, to praise his name, to pray,

to be able to praise the Lord.

You need to know him more. You need to know

his goodness.

Talking about God's goodness today, talking about how how how

our lives should should should should should be seen, that

should be a testimony of his goodness. In Verse three said, oh,

magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his

name together. Inside the cave, he's writing this magnify, He's

calling out this troupe he's rallying his troop instead of

telling them make arms.

Magnify the Lord with me, and.

Let us exalt his name together. How do you can

you imagine this? I'm a kid church pastor, so I

always have an object lession in mind.

Okay, can you imagine you're inside the cave?

If this is kid's church, I would ask everybody to

close your eyes. But can you imagine you're inside a cave?

Magnify? How do you magnify? It's dark? How do you magnify?

You can even see anything? I mean, when you move

to your level, to your right, it's another person's face.

You don't even have to look there because you can

smell them. You're inside the cave. Sometimes what we magnify

in our situations is not God. Most of the time,

what we magnify is our circumstances. Faster I thought break

through years twenty sixteen. But still the Lord rejected. The

Lord did not approve, the Lord with hell, the Lord.

The Lord won't withhold. It's not for you yet, But

the Lord wouldn't. The Lord is always good. He is

always good. What we always magnifie in our situation focus

is always on us, you know, when you look at

the magnifying glass.

There's two things to two sides here.

When you hold the magnifying glass, when when when you

hold it close enough, you'll make things bigger. But then

when you close it's so close to you, you won't

see anything in You only see your reflection. Maybe you're

holding the magnifying glass and looking at circumstances. Is it

it always reflects back on you.

It's still you, it's still you, It's still us. Magnify

the Lord, Praise the Lord.

Magnify who he is, his goodness, his greatness, Magnify him.

I always think about this, that there's a part of

us because of how the fraility of us being human.

It's our finite human wisdom can never fully comprehend God's

infinite goodness, our finite human wisdom. My prayer is that

you always seek wisdom for discernment to be upright, but

it will always fall short of His goodness.

Of how great a God he is.

Remember, there's a study by Barner Group in the US.

Barner Group is a think tank, and one of the

main obstacles for people to become Christians.

Is this.

They always want to answer this, how can a good

God allow all this evil in the world. This is

always their question, How can a good.

God allow all the evil in the world? The question is,

how can you say that God is good when there's

evil around you? Have you ever thought about, Yeah, why

does he allow poverty? Why fast? Or why did he

allow the breakup of my parents? Why did he Why

did he allow wickedness or sickness? Why did he allow

some people to have to live in lack? Why did

he allow this? How? Why?

How?

Why?

This is my simplest answer to all of you.

I don't know.

I don't but I'm certain of one thing that when

he said that when he gives us promises.

It will come to pass, it will come to pass.

I know that who that is the God that I serve,

that he is faithful and he is true. In some

one verse five, he said, for the Lord is good,

his tad fast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to

all generations.

He's faithful to old you.

I claim this now in the lives of my children

and my children's children.

Yes there will be poverty, Yes there will be there

is sickness.

But then I name, I know that God has a

great plan, that his purpose will prevail.

That is true to his word. When he promises me

that he will never leave me, nor forsake me. He

will never leave me, the forsake me. When he promised me,

blessing to generations and generations, blessing all the words of

our hand.

He will come, he will pull through. It will come

to pass. Because that's his promise. That is only me

because I can say that I seek God and I

want to know God, and I'm knowing I'm living this

relationship with him.

Can can you say that? Okay?

Can you say that? Or you would go back again

and magnify what you're going through your circumstances. I know

that I trust him so that he can turn around situation.

For our own good that he.

Needs and he wants the best for you and I.

I remember, I remember what C. S. Lewis wrote.

We said, God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks

in our conscience, but shouts in our pain.

The thing is, when we are so consumed with pain with.

Me, me me, what what I'm feeling, What what I'm suffering?

In? You hear your own Christ, You hear your own,

your own misery, and it takes the place of God.

Already whispering to you his comfort, his joy, his peace.

My prayer is that in pain and suffering, we know

that God is still in control, that we will not

let go and just succumb to the pain. Not We're

not just going to go back to our cave and

hide there and have our own pity party. Romans eight,

verse twenty eight says, and we know that in all

things God works for the good of those who love Him,

who have been called according to his purpose. Again, it

is about his purpose when you come to church and

and what you try to seek God. You come to

church and it's all about you because I need this,

I want this.

Church is not for you. It's not a relationship that

you want with God.

You're asking like a like God is an atm. I

do this, I do this for you, So give me back.

No. Remember, God has given us everything.

Everything after salvation is already a bonus. He gave his

one and only son for you and I.

It's enough.

It should be enough that He is for you, he's

not against you, that he's sovereign over your situation.

He knows what is best for you and I. You

know Joseph, You know Joseph.

The dreamer, with with with the with the Rainbow code Joseph.

He simply just waited when when when?

When?

When his brother sold him and sold him to become

slave in Egypt. And in Egypt, he thought that he

would he would, he would be okay because he's in

the household of Potiphar. But then Partiphar's wife tried to

do something to him that he was accused of of

of lasting over Partifar's wife. He was put in prison,

in prison, he was he he remembered the dreams of

the the fairy.

He was called. He was promised this.

He never even had the one bitter word for God.

But he just simply waited. He knew his time. He

knew his time would come. So with David, he knew

all along that I will be the next king of Israel.

Why am I going through this? Why am i inside

the cave? I can have a I cannot have a

kingdom inside the cave. He was not after the promise

because he has a relationship with the promised giver. He

has a relationship. He knows God who promise him that

you will be the king of Israel.

So I never never did his his his faith.

Waiver I remember a story from this book Hiding Place

about Corey and the Betsy tan Boom. There they're they're

Christians from Denmark, but during the time of holocausts uh,

they were imprisoned inside the Nazi camp, Nazi concentration camp, and.

They were assigned to one of the worst German barracks.

Nazi barracks, full of fleas, no electricity, rarely water, no

no no uh, no windows, no air inside.

It's it's horrific.

Every day Betsy would would Betsy and Corey would read

the Bible and pray, and they would sing songs. They

would worship God and pray for each other, pray for

pray for people there, and sharing the Gospel.

In one of their morning devotional they came.

They came to first the Salonian five eighteen, where it

said give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the

will of God in Christ.

Jesus for you. So Betsy told Cory, why don't we

do this, Why don't we give God thanks for our circumstances,

because this is the will of God for us.

Corey couldn't do it. Corey told Betsy, I don't know,

maybe you do it, but not me. I'm not gonna

thank God.

For this circumstances where we are.

This situation, this this madness where we are. But after

much prodding, Betsy actually prevailed and and and Corey started

blessing the place.

Said Lord, thank you Lord, that you've given.

Us a roof over our heads, that we are in

side this camp. Thank you Lord, that we are not inside,

that we're inside and we're not outside freezing.

Thank you Lord, even for the fleece.

I know, Lord, there's a purpose why you've given us fleece,

So thank you even for the fleece. Sounded crazy, But

months later they found out why they are still they

were still alive. Months later, they found out that the

reason why the guards don't go to their barracks, it's

because of the fleece. Their barracks was actually infested with fleece.

That's why they can praise God freely. That's why the

guards never knew that they had Bibles. That's why they

can they can pray for each other.

It's because of those fleas. Now, I hope when you

look at fleas.

You would thank God as well before you actually kill them.

God is good, He's always good.

It's not about your situation, But it's about him. We

have to know who this God that we're having a

relationship with. Verse four, I sought the Lord and he

answered me and delivered me from all my fears. David

is saying, I sought him. I seek the Lord and

he answered me.

That's why I can praise God. That can even though

I'm inside the crave, I'm running for my life. It's

okay because God is always good.

Because I sought him and he answered me. Have you

sought after God? Do you seek the Lord? When do

you seek the Lord? When do we seek the Lord?

Do you in play and fastening pastor? Because I'm a

fasting and I want the fast thing to be faster, so.

I seek the Lord? When do you actually seek the Lord?

Inside the cave counsands after him Future King of saying,

I'm certain that God would fulfill his promise.

I seek him. When God is present in your life, fear, worry,

doubt exits. It's out the door. It's out the door.

It's never there's not even a room for doubt, fear

worry inside.

If God is present, if you're full of faith, full

of faith means you don't see it yet, But you're certain.

That it would come to pass. You know why, because

I have a big guard and he is good. Because

I know him, I have a relationship with him. So

now fear, get out, sickness, worry.

Get out. God is present. Remember this is almost eleven

years ago.

When my wife and I were were praying for God

to restore our marriage. You know what, we we actually

didn't undergo any marriage counselors. Okay, we not not a

single we got separated. Not a single marriage counseling happened.

None.

When when when when we talk to our cousins, the

people who share the Gospel with us, they immediately plugged

us into a victory group.

It was a small group back then.

They immediately established us in word and prayer. And inside

the church there wasn't There wasn't marriage counseling, one, marriage counseling, two,

family therapy one, uh psychiatric reward one psychiatric ward.

None.

We simply sought the Lord. We continue to seek the

Lord now. That is the only thing that restored our marriage.

When we sought God. When we fully intentionally see God,

seek the Lord, know him, praise his things.

Those who look.

To him are ragant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

The thing, the thing with us, the thing with.

The how our mind comprehends stuff, is that we we

always get easily embarrassed when we do sin. We don't

get embarrassed, we just do it. But when being confronted

and coming coming in the presence of God asking for forgiveness,

suddenly we're ashamed. We turn to a to a small

dog cowering there. No God is saying, you don't have

to hide anything. I've known you, I've seen you at

your worst. What are you ashamed of? I know who

you are, I know you by name, I know the

count of your hair, and I know whatever he did.

And there's nothing we can do can actually make us

inch closer to him. He knows the very worst in us.

And when we were there, he took us plainly. He

didn't wait for us to be clean, but as dirty

as messy as we are, he took us in. So

why are we now ashamed? In two thousand and eight,

I remember it was the first time that me and

my wife were given a chance to share our testimony

and how God restored our marriage.

I wasn't the pastor yet.

It was in music museum, and we got so many calls,

so many text messages from friends, families, and then from

people around us. They were actually apprehensive on us going

on stage and sharing how God restored our marriage. They

were actually as embarrassed for us, or they.

Were they fear or they're worried that something.

Might happen, or people might not take it. But we

had peace. We prayed about it, and we knew that

it was the right moment, it was the right time,

it was the right venue, it was the right place.

So we shared the testimony and then and when we did.

So, because we know that it is for God's glory.

We know that people would eventually and would see and

would magnify on His goodness, not on our imperfection. We

knew all the while that if it's God's calling for

us to share that testimony, they would.

Know that we are imperfect.

But then there's a big God who made us righteous,

who clothed us, who.

Gave us that road of righteousness.

Remember that robe that they put on us to cover us,

the robe of majesty. It's not ours. We didn't even

earn it. He just freely gave it to us as.

Heirs, as sons.

And daughters, now we are clothed in majesty because of

His righteousness. That's reminded when to talk about Joseph a

while ago in Genesis fifty, verse twenty, he said, you

meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.

God can turn it around and put it.

To good, for his purpose, according to his will, according

to his purposes.

Verse six.

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and

saved him.

Out of all his troubles. Are you in trouble or

in times of trouble? What do you do? In times

of trouble? Who do you run to? Who do you

run to?

In times when I'm afraid? I seek the Lord and

he delivers me. When I'm afraid, when I'm not certain,

I just run to him.

And that's small thing and big thing, like an assignment

in church. How to raise up my children?

We have issue in finances, I would go stay to

him because I know that he will deliver me. In

times of shame, yes, they're a shame if he did

something wrong circumstances, What do you do?

Who do you run to? How do you cover?

Do you look for your own cave somewhere and hide there?

What do you do I'm always reminded that when I'm

a shame, he took my shame away. Jesus did that

on that cross. Jesus did that on that cross. He

took all the shame from all of us. In times

of trouble, I just simply run to God. Why again?

Because I know God, and I know that God is good.

That is good.

When we say fear and trust the Lord, it doesn't

mean fear. Go hide in your cave and fear.

No.

Fear is the absence of evil. If you fear the Lord,

evil is not there, because now I can fully trust.

Fear is if faith is not there. Fear and trust him. Fear, trust,

O pay praise him always because he is good.

As we end. I want to share this story.

In twenty fifteen, a lot of our staff, around eight

of them, either staff or spouses of our staff, were

praying to conceive twenty fifteen, and one after another they conceived.

One after another, eight were praying, and around seven of

them conceived. Can you imagine twenty sixteen for us and

noahula three months, three months, three months. But we know

that God is good. Some of them those pregnancies were

actually hard. Some who got pregnant.

The doctors would tell them you won't get pregnant, but

still they conceive it. Now they have babies.

We have actually seven or in new babies in our

in our staff now.

But Gay and Mike kept on hoping, and they prayed

and fasted.

One baby after another got born, and still they were

waiting until twenty sixteen when they got pregnant, but then.

They lost the baby.

It was it was really hard for them. This story

could have been good, right if it ended me announcing

now that they're pregnant, But they're not. They're still waiting,

they're still hoping, but their faith never wavered.

Actually, Gilla said that her faith.

Even got stronger and stronger because she knew that God

is good and God is sovereign.

And then and that God is God, she.

Writes, answered prayer or not, God is still God, and

God is good. His steadfast love for us is there,

no matter what, no matter what.

Thank you for listening to this message. For more messages

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God bless you all.