Confused by Religion

Father, we confess before you that we often think we understand and hear your word, but we actually aren't hearing your word.

That we are projecting, Father, onto your word our fears, our vanity, our demands.

Father, that we project these things onto your word, and so we do not hear your word.

Father, we ask that you would gently but deeply pour out your Holy Spirit upon us so that we might listen to your word, that your word might enter deep into our lives, and that as your word enters deep into our lives, we will bear much fruit that brings you glory.

And this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Please be seated.

You folks know about the taping as well? Is that starting?

Perfect.

Perfect.

A few things are going to be disorganized today.

In fact, when it comes time to do communion in a couple of minutes, well, more than a couple of minutes, there's usually a woman here who makes sure that all the right people are here.

I didn't know if the reader was going to get up.

I don't know if the intercessor is going to come.

I don't know if there's going to be enough people to help with communion.

And on top of that, the person who always does the audiovisual, they're away.

So if things are a little bit more chaotic than usual, then you can just tell your friends to come to a place that does not believe in organized religion.

And it'll make our church more attractive, I suppose, to people.

So we're taking a couple of weeks' break from the Book of Romans, which is what we're going through.

And I'm preaching on Psalm 1 today.

Now, here's the thing about Psalm 1.

I hope I haven't put you all to sleep by saying something like that right off the top.

And I didn't do something here.

Now I have.

Okay.

But I don't know if you remember when Laurie just read Psalm 1 just a couple of moments ago.

And if you have Bibles, we're going to be looking at Psalm 1.

But a lot of us hear Psalm 1.

Well, here's the thing.

I don't know how many of you here struggle with addictions.

I don't know how many of you struggle with alcoholism or maybe some type of sexual addiction or some other type of addiction.

But those of you who don't suffer from something like alcoholism or an addiction, you really don't understand the inner life of people who do struggle with those things.

Because often in the inner life of those who struggle with addictions, alcohol being one, it could be sex, a whole different range of sort of compulsive types of behaviors that people return to time and time and time again.

And for those who often are either struggling with them or succumbing to them or at least profoundly drawn to them and you have to fight against it, even if you're not engaging in the behavior, there's a very, very particular way that an addict understands themselves and talks to themselves.

And one of the things in the inner life of an addict is their belief that they're doomed.

And they believe, we believe, that we will be a failure.

That even though things can be going very, very well right now, that's not what is real.

What is real is that things will fail.

In fact, often as well what goes on in the inner life of a person who struggles with addictions is the belief that there's just basically something bad and wrong about them.

And that, in fact, at some point in time, it will be revealed to people that they're a failure.

And that, in fact, as people get closer to us, rather than this being something to look forward to, it's actually something to worry about.

Because as people get closer to us, they'll realize that there's something failed and wrong about us.

And that's the inner life, a key part of the inner life of somebody who struggles with addictions.

And it means that when they hear...

Now, all of us, of course, have times that we think that we're afraid of failure or that there's just something wrong with us.

But there's a profound difference between those who just...

It's a bit of a momentary thing or a short season in your life that you believe those things.

Whereas those of us who struggle with addictions, it's a far deeper thing.

It's like almost always going on there.

In fact, what often drives the person towards addictive behaviors is an attempt...

A belief that a particular thing, it's alcohol, drugs, or sex, you know, maybe sex with women or sex with men,

that will, if you can actually have that, it numbs things long enough for you to sort of function.

And so for people who struggle with addictions and that type of behavior,

when they hear a psalm like Psalm 1, you know, about the chaff that the wind drives away

and the righteous not stand, you know, the wicked not stand in the day of judgment,

for those of us, even though we might be Christians,

we hear this psalm and say,

I'm the chaff.

I'm the chaff.

And we might try to pump ourselves up to say,

no, I'm not chaff, I'm not chaff, I'm a tree of life, I'm a tree of life, I'm a tree of life, I'm a tree of life, I'm a tree.

But inwardly, we're saying all those things, but inwardly, chaff, chaff, chaff.

Not stand, not stand, not stand.

And for those who don't struggle with those types of addictive behaviors and stuff like that,

when we read the psalms, in fact, it can be very easy to think,

yeah, I'm going to stand in the day of judgment, I'll stand with the assembly of the righteous,

I'm a tree of life.

I mean, there might be times you sort of don't feel that way,

but it's just, it's far easier to believe those types of things.

Those of us who struggle with believing that we're chaff,

we wish that we could believe it, but it's sort of hard,

it's not in our bones, it's not sort of somehow in our DNA.

It got robbed from us at some point in time in our life,

and then our subsequent actions have made it even worse.

And so it's very easy, then, for a room like this,

even a room where probably the majority of us are Christians,

to hear a psalm like Psalm 1,

and in a sense to hear the common words,

but to experience the words in a radically different way.

I'm going to read the psalm again, just sort of now that you've been mindful of it,

that it might be very much the case that the person you sit beside,

or the person who's sitting across from you,

is going to have a very different experience of this psalm,

as I read it again, or as you read along with me.

It's Psalm 1.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers,

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

Now, it's interesting, not only to some of us,

those of us who struggle with addictions,

just it's very easy for us to believe that,

you know, at the end of the day,

I know and I believe that I'm going to go to heaven,

and I'm thankful for it,

but in our lived experience,

we just believe that we will perish,

that we are chaffed,

that we are the wind that will be driven away,

that we will be,

that that's just,

it's a very,

and in fact, actually,

those of us who are Christian addicts

might actually think that

these addictive types of thoughts

are a sign of humility,

and our knowledge of our sinfulness.

It can play in very, very deeply

in Pentecostal, or Presbyterian,

or Baptist,

Methodist types of circles.

But our self-attacking

is not actually coming from the Bible,

it's coming from this type of addictive lens

by which we understand and see the world.

Now, I'm not saying that religious people

and spiritual people are all addicts,

but it's also very interesting

that from a religious perspective

and a spiritual perspective,

we'll hear this psalm

in a very, very different type of way.

Like, we'll hear this psalm as if,

well, this is just,

this is very, very good.

God has given his laws.

And wise people

who are going to succeed in life,

they learn the laws of God,

and they do the laws of God,

and they don't spend time

hanging around with people who are bad

and going to give them bad advice.

And you stay away from people

who give you bad advice

who are going to get you into trouble,

and you follow God's laws,

and you will succeed.

And, in fact,

you know, that might take the form of,

you know, maybe very, very formal churches

or traditional type churches

which really emphasize the law

and the thou shalt's and thou shalt not's.

Or maybe it's a more modern

or postmodern church

where what they talk about more

are, you know, the ten laws

about how to have successful children

or the five laws for successful marriages

or how to have favor with your boss.

And there's a whole pile of how-to things.

But it's easy for us to hear this psalm

and think,

oh yeah, this psalm is really, really wise.

It's just reminding us

that there's these rules

or techniques

or advice that we need to follow.

And if we follow these advice

and these steps,

then we're going to be successful.

And we're going to go to heaven.

And we just stay away from bad people.

And bad people ignore what's going on with God

and ignore these rules

or these principles

or this advice.

And they're going to go to the bad place.

And interestingly enough,

not only then,

from a very religious perspective,

can we read this psalm

and think we agree with it,

but with very little changes in it,

a devout Muslim could like this psalm.

Now, the devout Muslim

will understand

that there's different things to do

than a Christian

will think there is to do.

If you come from a very,

you know,

Christian thing,

you might be thinking of,

you might be thinking of

the Ten Commandments.

If it's a very old-fashioned type of church

or in a new church,

it might be the Beatitudes.

How to be.

But in a Muslim,

it might be that you make your trip to Mecca,

that you fast during Ramadan,

that you give to the poor,

you do the normal things.

And if, in fact,

actually in traditional Buddhism

or Hinduism,

you could read Psalm 1

and you would also think

that this actually is just talking about

the fact that you're either

going to go towards reincarnation

or you're going to finally achieve nirvana

and you just do the,

you know,

you do the alms,

you do the sacrifices,

you do the meditation,

you do the yoga,

you do these different techniques

and you follow these techniques

that come from God

somehow or another

and good things will happen

and you don't do them

and bad things will happen.

And in fact,

it's very, very interesting

that religious people

and even spiritual people

where the rules might be

very, very different

for spiritual people

because spiritual people

have sort of made up

their own principles

or discovered their own principles

and mixed and matched

and it might be that

for spiritual people

that I don't know,

you vote green

or you vote NDP at least

but you definitely

don't vote for Harper

and you know,

you do some yoga

and you do a bit of this

and you know,

and a whole range

of types of things.

You show some kindness

and generosity,

you pay it forward,

et cetera.

But at the end of the day,

whether it's spiritual

or religious,

whether it's a Christian form

or a Muslim form

or a Hindu or Buddhist form,

we can all end up

reading this psalm

and actually agreeing with it.

And once you think about that,

you think to yourself,

one moment,

there's something wrong here.

There's something wrong here

with this.

And there's two different

types of wrongness.

It's the religious,

spiritual way of reading it

and there's the addict

and non-addict way

of reading it

which sort of gets mixed

into that other type of thing

but it still just sort of doesn't,

that really can't be

what's going on

with the Bible

and we don't really realize it

because it's just so easy

for us maybe in our circle

and that we know

that it's,

I don't know,

using the prayer book

or singing praise music

or having a choir

or whatever it is

and we just think

we know what the different rules

and the processes

and steps are

but you take a step back

and all of a sudden

you say,

I don't know

if this can actually be

really what the Bible

is all about.

Now some of you

might be wondering

why on earth

did I come to this church

where George is just

going to say

all these really boring

and depressing things

and it makes it sound

as if we can't read the Bible.

Doesn't George believe the Bible?

I believe that the Bible

is God's word written.

I believe that

every word in the Bible

is the word

that God wanted to have there

and I believe that

because I believe

and trust Jesus

and that's what Jesus taught

and it's what the Bible

teaches about itself.

And

but just

just because

in fact actually

if we believe

that ultimately

the Bible

is God's word written

then we have to be careful

about

replacing God's words

with our words

unwittingly

and not actually

trying to hear

what God is saying

but assuming

that from our

addictive perspective

or religious perspective

or spiritual perspective

that we understand

what he's saying

but we don't actually

spend time

trying to actually

listen to it.

And here's the thing

I believe that

in the heart of this text

not only

what I've just done

can show that it's possible

to misread it

but the very very heart

of this text

there's a riddle

and that if we read

the text carefully

we realize

that there's a riddle

in the very heart

of the text

a riddle

which in fact

is

very very

very

revelatory.

So let's read it again

follow along with me

and

now that I've said

that there's a riddle

in the text

just try to hear

if you can sort of

have a bit of a sense

about where this riddle

is in the heart

of the text

a riddle

that goes

you see the thing

about the Bible

is the Bible

is not cynical

but

and the Bible

is not hip

and the Bible

is not just

a whole pile

of series of rules

and techniques

that we can just use

for our own advantage

but the Bible

isn't cynical

but the Bible

is God's word

addressed to our

human heart

like it

addresses our heart

the center

of who we are

and how we understand

things

and how we make decisions

the center of our

allegiances

and the Bible

always confronts

our heart

in the context

of the reality

of the fact

that there is a God

who's created all things

that's how the Bible

speaks to us

so

listen

try to listen

the second time

as we read the psalm

and see if you can notice

the riddle

in the psalm

blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel

of the wicked

nor stands in the way

of sinners

nor sits in the seat

of scoffers

but his delight

is in the law

of the Lord

and on his law

he meditates day and night

he is like a tree

planted by streams

of water

that yields its fruit

in its season

and its leaf

does not wither

in all that he does

he prospers

the wicked are not so

but are like chaff

that the wind drives away

therefore the wicked

will not stand

in the judgment

nor sinners

in the congregation

of the righteous

for the Lord knows

the way of the righteous

but the way of the wicked

will perish

and we're not going

to be able to have

I have points

but just due to some

of our technical problems

we're not going to be able

to be up on the screen

those of you

who are interested

and can't write them down

they'll be on online

on Monday or whatever

but here's

here's the first thing

Psalm 1

contains

a revealing riddle

how can chaff

become a tree

planted by streams

of water

Psalm 1

contains

a revealing riddle

how can chaff

become a tree

planted by streams

of water

in other words

how do verse 3

and 4 work

how is it

that you can be

in verse 3

he is like a tree

planted by streams

of water

that yields its fruit

in its season

and its leaf

does not wither

in all that he does

he prospers

the wicked are not so

but are like chaff

that the wind drives away

and many of us

probably don't have

much of an experience

of chaff

hopefully you all

have experience

with onions

and so if you've ever

bought a bag of onions

a 3 or 5 or 10

or 20 pound bag

of onions

and just think

of those onion skins

that when you pick up

the bag

there's all these

little flaky

skin type things

of onion

that's chaff

okay

so how is it

that a tree

and an onion skin

like how is it

that onion skin

can become chaff

I mean

how can an onion skin

become a tree

like how on earth

can that be

like how can that be

you see

religion

our temperament

will just sort of

make us read this text

thinking well that George

all the text is just saying

is that

you know

some people are just

born doomed

they're just born to perish

George

they're just

they're not the elect

they're just born to

you know

some forms of Islam

understands that

your destiny is written

on you in the womb

and in some ways

it doesn't even really matter

whether you do

anything at all

any of the things

in the Quran

you're going to go to heaven

some people are going to go to hell

that's just the way it is

and in religion

and spirituality

there's in a sense

a type of proud assertion

that of course

by our way

by our church

if you're part of our church

and you follow our way

and you follow our rules

then you will be a tree of life

because you're part of us

and we are tree of life people

and if you don't do those things

you're on the outside

but surely

I mean

this Psalm 1

is recognized by Jewish people

and by Christians

right back from the early days

of the Christian faith

to today

as the entrance into the Psalter

is God just trying

to write something

so that at the end of the day

we read this

and we say

you know what

I'm reading this

I think I'm chaff

I guess I should stop

reading the book

like isn't

obviously

if this is the entrance way

into the Psalter

isn't it

isn't there some type

of encouragement

to be a type of tree of life

but how on earth

can chaff

how on earth

can an onion skin

how can an onion skin

become tree of life

that just doesn't make any sense

and so

I think

what this Psalm

wants to do

when you sort of

are gripped

gripped with this

and the fact of the matter is

is that unless you're

unbelievably

self-centered

we all know

that there's times

in our life

that we are like chaff

even the most

unbelievably

constantly positive

person

has times

that they're down

so at some point

in time

it has to hit them

now I have to remember

I do this from your point of view

okay your point of view

so I think for Christians

for people

in David's day

or whoever

wrote the Psalm

it wasn't David

and they didn't know

anything at all

about the cross

or anything like that

I think the only

response

that they could have

with reading this

that would have to

set them up

for the rest of the

of the Psalter

is a

is a

profound sense

that God

has to do something

otherwise they have

no hope

in fact

my second point

would be that

only God

by his grace

can turn chaff

into a tree

planted by streams

of water

only God

by his grace

can turn

chaff

into a tree

planted by streams

of water

and so if you

were a believing

Jew

and you were

reading this text

and you come

to Psalm 1

and it one day

strikes you

that how can

chaff become

a tree

it will make

you realize

that all the way

through the Psalter

as you're reading

the other Psalms

even as you're

praying them

that God

wants you

to come

to this view

that it's not

a matter about

you justifying

yourself

it's not a matter

about me

making myself

righteous

or declaring

that I'm

righteous

or forcing

people to

understand

that I'm

righteous

or forcing

people to

understand

that I'm

justified

or that I

can just

that I can

somehow

by my

willpower

by my

religious

acts

or by my

prayer life

or my

praise songs

or something

or other

try to force

myself

or force

others

into recognizing

me as

not chaff

never chaff

never perishing

always tree

of life

always

always

always

that if we

can't do

that I

read the

Psalter

saying

only God

only God

can deal

with this

that in

fact the

opening

Psalm

if we

actually try

to read

it and

aren't just

reading it

from an

addictive

or non-addictive

personality

or religious

where those

who just

like people

who just

give up on

religion

altogether

or any

type of

rules

or any

type of

following

God

or any

just give

up and

all

it's just

all a

whole

pile

of

crap

you know

religious

people

and spiritual

people

they're

just people

who think

that their

poop smells

better than

other people's

in fact it

doesn't even

smell at all

smells like

roses

but they're

just diluting

themselves

because their

poop just

smells as bad

as everybody

else's poop

they're just

diluted

we're just

being realistic

and honest

we just

sleep in

and then we

just go to

a bar

and then we

watch football

or we do

whatever we

feel like

and life is

just a lot

better if you

just

that this

Psalm is

saying that

all of that

type of

dividing the

world into

this

it's going

to have

only God

only God

if he is

real

only God

can change

chaff into

a tree of

life

and only God

can stop me

from perishing

and only God

can put me in

the assembly of

the righteous

and only God

can cause me

to flourish

only God

we start to

read the

Psalm

in a new

light

and

but for

those of

us

you know

who are

now reading

this Psalm

on this

side

of the

cross

the cross

is now

for us

in the

past

we see

that not

only does

the Psalm

have a

riddle

that's

forcing us

to recognize

that only

God

it actually

also gives

us a bit

of an

understanding

about what

it is

that God

is going

to have

to do

to answer

the riddle

listen to

the Psalm

again

in fact

I'll tell

you what

it is

and then

we'll read

the Psalm

in love

and grace

Jesus

became

chaff

driven

away

by wind

so

by faith

in him

God

will

make

me

into

a

tree

planted

by

streams

of

water

in love

and grace

Jesus

became

chaff

driven

away

by

wind

so

by

faith

in

him

God

will

make

me

into

a

tree

planted

by

streams

of

water

let's listen to the psalm again I'll start at verse 1

blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the

way of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers but his delight is in the law

of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night

he is like a tree planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither

in all that he does he prospers the wicked are not so but are like chaff

that the wind drives away just sort of pause there the heart of the gospel

is this idea that God looking down at human beings who cannot make themselves

into trees planted by streams of water by their own efforts

that if they think they're doing that they are just in a sense suffering under

some type of a type of of of sad delusion but it's they can't do it

and and God the son of God the second person of the Trinity

out of love for human beings and out of grace and mercy and out of love for the

father love for his creatures and love for the

creation he steps down from heaven he

sets aside his appearance as God his glory as God his majesty as God his power

as God he sets aside his his position at the right hand of the father he

sets aside all of those appearances as God and he

humbles himself he still is God but he ends up

being born in as a single cell in the womb of Mary and he suffers not suffers he

lives a normal human life but then on the cross he empties himself and

becomes chaff like even more the image of chaff driven away by the wind is a is an

image of judgment and Christians believe that on the cross when Jesus dies upon the cross

that he is suffering the judgment that you and I deserve that he suffers that for us

that he in a sense becomes chaff for us he takes upon himself the punishment we deserve

and he even on the cross experiences God's judgment that he experiences that he's driven

away from God when he cries out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me

and out of love for you and me Jesus becomes Jesus who in a sense was life was the tree of life was

verse 3 becomes verse 4 for you and me in fact if we go on and read therefore the wicked will not

stand in the judgment Jesus stands for the wicked and stands in our place in the judgment nor sinners in

the congregation of the of the of the righteous for the Lord knows the way of the righteous but the way

of the wicked will perish in my place condemned he stood in my place he perishes for me in my place

he becomes chaff driven away by the wind and in the gospel when we put our faith and trust in Jesus it's not

just that in my place condemned he stood but he he trades places with me like everything about the cross

is not only an act of substitution but it's an act of exchange his life given for me his life given to me

my chaff driven away by the wind taken upon him given to him and taken by him and that's what he does in the cross

there's a very very well known part in the Bible in Revelation 3 where it says behold I stand at the door and

knock and in fact here I'll just read it it's Revelation 3 16 I think it's Revelation 3 16

and it's a very very famous image it's verse 20 behold I stand at the door and knock if anyone hears my voice

and opens the door I will come into him and eat with him and he with me say it again behold I stand at

the door and knock if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into him and eat with him

and he with me see here's the thing about the shamelessness of God only God most people they're

probably a little bit like myself I had given up on religion I wanted to be part of the counterculture I

wanted to do all sorts of types of things I didn't I didn't I found religion I found Christianity boring I

found it irrelevant and then I this this God started to get my attention and then as I as I start to get

in the lives of different Christians whose lives have just been completely and utterly transformed

and being in in in Christian congregations and groups that just somehow it was able to break

through my force field and I was able to just sense that there was this that Jesus was there that he

loved me that there was a type of a longing for him that I had that could not be satisfied by anything

else and it started to be as if I I recognized that Jesus was standing the door of my heart and

knocking and the Christian life begins when you stop just sensing that Jesus is trying to get your

attention but you in a sense if you visualize you just open the door of your life the inner door of

your life and you open it up and there's Jesus standing on the other side and you say to Jesus

Jesus will you come into my life will you come into me and not only come into me but do just live in

me just have your way with me come in not just as a as a guest that I serve you but that you might

come in as savior and you might come in as lord and for every person we don't have to wait to figure

out whether we're part of the elect we don't have to wait for a particular religious experience for

every person who does that Jesus comes in and I only had a hazy notion of the cross I only had a

hazy notion of all of these things I just sort of understood that I was chaff and if I ever wanted to

be at all connected to life I had to let Jesus into my life but then God is so shameless

he comes in not expecting us to know perfect theology but then as as Jesus comes into our lives and

we start to read the word and start to think about things in it we start to realize what it is

actually that Jesus has done for us on the cross that he set aside his life he offers his life to me

and takes for himself my chaff driven away by the wind he offers his life that will never perish

and takes upon himself my life that will perish that it is not just an act of substitution but an act of

exchange freely and utterly given and that when he comes in by this act of grace he turns chaff like me

into a tree planted by streams of water not because of my beauty not because of my power not because of my

religion not because of my affections not because of my accomplishments not because of my IQ not because

I'm Canadian but all because of him all because of him

and so as we're gripped first by the riddle and then by Jesus and then by the gospel

as we're gripped by the gospel

it starts

to do its work

of

changing how we read

changing our experience

of God

my fourth point we're going to read this psalm again in light of this but as I am gripped by the gospel

I will humbly and hungrily read all of God's word and think on it as I am gripped by the gospel I will humbly and hungrily read all of God's word and think on it

as as the riddle of the text about how it is even though I might suffer from addictive thoughts

even though I suffer from all sorts of idolatries even though at times my default position is religion or spirituality

because at the heart of all religion and spirituality is self-justification and self-righteousness and the gospel as I'm gripped by what Jesus does for me on the cross

as I'm gripped by it

it undermines my self-justification

it undermines my self-righteousness

it undermines my idolatry

it undermines

my self-perception of myself

and it's

and all of those things are rooted in what Jesus has done for me

and so listen to the psalm again as we read it

blessed is the man

one moment only God can do that can't he

like only God

can bless

only God can do it

like even the very opening words of the psalm are teaching us

that there's to be this mystery at the heart of it

that it's not about my righteousness and

and my accomplishment

so I know that I am part of the elect

that it's going to have to be God doing a miracle

because it says blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked

nor stands in the way of sinners

nor sits in the seat of scoffers

and at the heart of the gospel

that at first might begin with a whole pile of fear about things

it's not

I'm not at all trying to undermine the fact that

that we should

that we should be a

a flee evil

but that as the gospel grips us

as the gospel grips us

it

it provides a

a different ground

for seeing and understanding things

and even understanding the Bible

it provides a shape

and it starts to shape us

as it grounds us

and it nudges us

into things

and draws us into things

so that we see evil and wicked

and all of those things

in very very different ways

and that we even start to understand

that it doesn't mean wicked and sinful

it doesn't mean

just people who I don't know

they

they

they do pornography

they're involved in this

in the sex trade

and

and

and slavery

and in violence

and all

but it also

it just includes anybody

and everybody

whose life is organized

around the claim

and the desire

that they will be like God

and they do not need God

the soccer mom in Kanata

who does not need God

because she has her life

completely under control

but

those of us

who've been humbled

by the riddle

know

we are all beggars

and all

we can do

is tell other beggars

where to find life

and that's what God offers us

in his son

his life

verse 2

but his delight

is in the law

of the Lord

and on his law

he meditates

day and night

and law

of the Lord

here's this really interesting

law of the Lord

in the Hebrew

it's Torah

and what does Torah mean?

Torah means

instruction

in the context

of a covenant

it doesn't just mean

some impersonal principles

it means instruction

by God himself

by Jesus

who becomes

chaff for us

and gives us

his life

it's his

instruction

in the context

of the fact

that in his death

and resurrection

he now lives

within me

that he knows

my chaff likeness

he knows

that I cannot

become a tree

by my own power

and it is in that context

that he instructs me

it's within this context

that I am a beggar

that it is in this context

that in my place

condemned he stood

that I hear

his instruction

and even the word

God

or Lord

here is very

very interesting

because in the Hebrew

and there is no way

we can capture this

in English

in Hebrew

the word Lord

for God

is a verb

in the Old Testament

the covenant name

for God

is not a noun

an object

out there

amongst other objects

that I can control

God is a verb

an action

an action

towards me

not something

that I can capture

and manipulate

or put in my debt

but Lord

as a verb

and then just

pause before I read

verse 3

and here is sort of

my final point

in closing

we read this next

description

as

we understand

that in light

of the cross

we are listening

to God's

a verb

that cannot be

controlled

him

he's wild

and untamed

but completely

and utterly good

and he who is now

within me

because he has died

to be my savior

and he knows me

deeply

because he's inside

of me

and he instructs me

and he instructs me

knowing

that I can never

by my own power

accomplish these things

that I am always

completely

and utterly

dependent upon grace

and as he speaks

to me

in his instruction

and I listen

to his instruction

then verse 3

begins to be true

of you and me

and as we read it

keep in mind this

God graciously

makes trees

not pipes

God

graciously

makes

trees

not pipes

listen to this

verse 3

but he is like

a tree

planted by streams

of water

that yields

its fruit

in its season

and its leaf

does not wither

a pipe

for water

takes water

from here

to there

or wherever it is

and a proper pipe

lets none of the water

out

all of the land

or whatever it is

around it

stays completely

and utterly dry

but God doesn't say

here that he turns

us into pipes

he turns us into

trees

planted by streams

of water

and a tree

also

in a sense

moves water

the tree

takes the water

in

but as the tree

takes the water

in

in the context

of the other things

that give it life

it turns into

leaves

it turns into

fruit

it turns into

a place

where birds

and small

critters

can take

their shade

it turns into

a place

where our

neighbors

and our

friends

can come

and have

a picnic

underneath it

in the shade

and the cover

that it gives

a tree

with its roots

helps to stop

the soil

from falling apart

and going into

the stream

and being washed

away

and the tree

provides

helps to provide

oxygen for us

to breathe

and it isn't just

that as we meditate

upon the God

who is in covenant

with us

that all of a sudden

through us

just flows

these spiritual

things that pop

out of our head

or come out

here and in here

and pop out

of our feet

and it's not just

all of a sudden

all we do

is that we

sprout out

Bible verses

but as our

Savior

as we are

gripped by the

gospel

and as the

gospel

shapes us

and grounds

us

and nudges

us

and draws

and pulls

us

and we start

to listen

to the

instruction

and the

words of

the one

who died

for us

because he

loves us

well out

of that

comes businesses

that we can

start that will

bless the city

out of that

comes poetry

and out of that

comes music

and out of that

comes art

and out of that

comes dance

and out of that

comes families

out of that

comes mothers

and fathers

and children

out of that

comes neighborhoods

out of that

comes

different ways

of handling money

and using money

out of that

comes a whole

range of fruit

and other

creational

consequences

all not for

our glory

but for

God's glory

it comes

in

as words

carried by

the Holy

Spirit

it goes

out

well

we're trees

not pipes

it doesn't

come into

us

and leave us

unchanged

it changes

us

that's why

it's so

important for

those of us

who are gripped

by the gospel

that we call

out to God

to ask him

to help us

to hear his

instruction

and to read

his word

and to read

not just little

bits and pieces

of his word

but to read

all of his

word

there's some

things in the

blog

there'll be

some more

things in the

blog

over the

next coming

weeks

to encourage

us to be

Christians

who read

the word

and read

all of the

word

and read

the word

every day

as it says

here

but his

delight is in

the law of

the Lord

and on his

law he

meditates

day and

night

please stand

I want to

challenge you

if you haven't

given your

life to

Jesus

if you

sense

you're here

this morning

and you

sense that

Jesus is

knocking on

the door

of your

life

I want to

exhort you

to not be

afraid

he's the

one who

left heaven's

glory to

become chaff

driven away

by the wind

for you

but there's

no better

time than

today

and maybe

you're an

imagine

a person

uses

imagination

maybe it's

words

but imagine

just opening

the door

that's inside

of you

and seeing

Jesus

who is there

who's been

knocking on

the door

of your

life

and say

Jesus

please come

in

please come

in and be

my savior

and my

lord

thank you

for dying

on the cross

for me

please come

in

I give you

permission

I invite you

to come

in

there's no

better time

than today

if you are

here and

you've never

done it

and you

sense that

knocking

answer the

knock

open the

door

I urge

you

and for

those of

us who

have opened

the door

and we're

reading the

word I just

want to

encourage you

to be

regular in

the word

and to be

regular in

reading the

word from

cover to

cover

and for

those of

us who

maybe not

understood

that God

wants to

continue in

the context

of a covenant

of love

and security

in the context

of the gospel

to speak

into your

life

to call out

to him

and ask him

that you

would help

he would help

you to start

to read the

Bible every

day and to

start to read

it cover to

cover

and then take

action on it

I encourage you

to make that

commitment before

God

let's just bow

our heads in

prayer

father for

those of us

who suffer

from

addictions

father we

ask that

you would

just continue

to pour out

your holy

spirit upon

us that you

would make

us disciples

of Jesus

who are

gripped by

the gospel

that understand

that even

though we

might believe

that we

are chaff

driven away

by the

wind

that you

father desire

to heal

that by

the ministry

of your

holy spirit

by the

instruction

of your

word

that we

might

understand

that in

Jesus

you are

turning us

who are

chaff

into trees

of life

out of

your love

and for

your glory

and father

for those

of us

who even

though we've

opened the

door of our

hearts to

Jesus have

slipped back

into religious

understandings of

the text

believing that

we can manipulate

you and

control you

that we can

manipulate and

control others

to see us as

righteous and

justified

all by our

own action

and by our

own effort

and for our

own glory

and to keep

you at a

distance and

people at a

distance

father we ask

that you would

continue that

work of grace

that you would

pour out your

holy spirit upon

us and help us

to die to

self-righteousness

and self-justification

to be gripped by

the gospel and

what your son did

for us on the

cross

father pour out

your holy spirit

upon us

make us

disciples of

Jesus gripped

by the gospel

who live for

your glory

and father for

all of us who

are your people

help us to be

people of your

word to listen

to your instruction

every day and

to think upon it

in light of the

gospel and this

we ask in the name

of Jesus your son

and our savior

amen

for you

to think upon it

to think upon

Some of us who

have givenply

you

have given terrorists

our

before

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