Wasted Time

Psalm 73:11 And they say, "How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?" 12 Behold, these are the ungodly, Who are always at ease; They increase in riches. 13Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, And washed my hands in innocence. 14 For all day long I have been plagued, And chastened every morning. 15 If I had said, "I will speak thus," Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children. 16 When I thought how to understand this, It was too painful for me-- 17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end. 18 Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. 19 Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. 20 As a dream when one awakes, So, Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image. 

Verse 13 of Psalm 73 is the epitome of what the enemy would seek to achieve in my life. Essentially, that seeking after the Lord is a, “waste of my time.” Vain, in fact. He really doesn’t need to accomplish much more to make me turn away from the Lord.

If Satan can get me thinking this way, the rest of what he would seek to do in my life comes relatively easy. It begins with his incessant desire to have me think temporally, as if this life is all there is; as if there was no such thing as eternity or judgment or heaven or hell…

For evidence this is the case, all I need to do is look around. Who even believes in Satan, for instance? Even with all the evil present in the world today, let alone across the pages of history, most people regard Satan as a fantasy of the human imagination. (It is therefore a waste of time to be concerned about Satan.)

And then there’s the problem of facing what other people have compared to what I have. This is a constant in life, and it turns our brains into launching pads of lust and jealousy and covetousness. “Why am I not blessed like the folks on Gulfshore Drive? After all, they don’t even go to church. How can God continue to bless them this way…Is there a God?”

You see how this works? (A very effective slight-of-hand designed to take my eyes off God and put them on this world and this life.) There is such a patent unfairness to this life it just makes me angry and tired and miserable, and it can make me feel like giving my life to God was simply a waste of time. A product of my imagination… But really, really, what is the truth?

This I can only find out in the sanctuary of God, (see verse 17,) away from the lures and appeal of the world. The truth is the world is vain, and time is short, and that judgment is real. The truth is eternity is a really, really long time, and the things I bear in this world are light afflictions compared to the time I will spend with a God Who loves me in heaven.

The truth is what takes place OUTSIDE the sanctuary of God is a waste of time.

-  Pastor Bill

Cause and Effect

Psalm 69:13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in the truth of Your salvation. 14 Deliver me out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the deep waters. 15 Let not the floodwater overflow me, Nor let the deep swallow me up; And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.16 Hear me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good; Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. 17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in trouble; Hear me speedily. 18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; Deliver me because of my enemies.

When it comes time to evaluate your life, what will you have to say for yourself?

I know people like to avoid these kinds of thoughts, but isn’t it sort-of inevitable there must be some kind of account we make for the content of our lives and our actions? Doesn’t our conscience drag us into these sorts of self-conflicting moments of really-rational thought?

Phew! If you’re like me, well, that’s enough of that kind of thinking! Just thinking about the process of evaluation is hard enough, and that’s as far as I want to take it. We’ll just leave it right there, okay?

Well, no, not really. It avoids truth, and truth is all that matters. There is truth in the process of evaluation, or else there would be no concern. Absolute truth. Truth that cannot be avoided. “Oh, what have I done?!”

That’s a very common expression for all who encounter truth. The truth is we are all pretty rotten deep down inside. We cover it up very nicely – and that’s why we’d really rather NOT talk about any kind of evaluation process based on our actions, because there is much which has gone unseen by our current associates which cannot stand the light of day without a great degree of shame. “Who knew I was capable of that? I’d really rather no one knew...”

But it’s too late for that because God knows - and God Himself is truth. There’s no getting around it. What we are dealing with is the cause and effect of sin. The cause is us, (me,) and the real effect is: death.

I don’t want to die, do you? Yet, truth teaches me sin causes death, and I am daily committing sin which leads to death. How could I be so stupid? The truth is I agree with God I deserve eternal damnation for the grandiose multitude of sins I have committed in my life. And the truth is I must have a Savior, or else my sin will be judged for exactly what it is. That is the truth of Jesus’ saving grace.

-  Pastor Bill

A Cup of Trembling

Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Given the nature of the founding of the nation of Israel, it is no wonder the prime focus of the entire world has been and remains upon this tiny little land approximately the size of New Jersey. No (yet discovered) oil, no vast wealth or resources, no great population, no present threat to their neighbors – and yet…here we constantly watch little Israel, founded by God, (and now re-founded by God.)

Israel remains a petulant thorn in the side of those who are ignorant (blatantly unobservant) of God’s role in history. It is thought rational in the world these days to discount God’s wishes and to deny the existence of Satan, but that does not make it true, (any more than disbelieving gravity will help you when you jump out of a tenth-story window.)

Here’s the truth: You cannot change God one iota by what you think of Him. He is, in fact, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

And God has certainly said that all those who bless Israel will be blessed, and all those who curse Israel will be cursed. It really doesn’t matter how men strive to achieve a political end with a “two-state” solution, attempting to coerce Israel into a division of their rapidly-dwindling land in order to appease an enemy, (Satan, really,) who will never be appeased. God has profoundly warned any one who would seek to divide God’s Land. (The Land of Israel is God’s Land.)

Joel 3:1 "For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land.

And so, here we are, (the U.S.,) Israel’s sole remaining ally in the world today, and we are placing ourselves in judgment. How will we respond? Will we be led by God’s Word - or will we seek to find our own way? God’s way brings a blessing. Our own way promises to bring a curse. Has not God said it?

Isaiah 51:21 Therefore please hear this, you afflicted, And drunk but not with wine. 22 Thus says your Lord, The Lord and your God, Who pleads the cause of His people: "See, I have taken out of your hand The cup of trembling, The dregs of the cup of My fury; You shall no longer drink it. 23 But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, Who have said to you, 'Lie down, that we may walk over you.' And you have laid your body like the ground, And as the street, for those who walk over." 

-  Pastor Bill

Your Example

Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.

On a good day at Costco you can walk through the aisles and sample the specialty foods they have to offer for sale. Of course, the marketing principle is that once you have tasted some unusual thing, you will have to have it – and will pay for it. “Try the Lobster Spread – it’s great!”

Some people, however, just graze and knosh on the food samples, never intending to buy. In fact, I know some people who have said when they are hungry they make a special trip to Costco just to eat the free food samples.

Does Costco lose money on this deal? Sure they lose some – but they regard everything they “lose” as an investment, not a loss. In fact, it has been proven they make far more than they lose, and I can make that statement with certainty because Costco continues to offer free food, and they wouldn’t do that unless it were true.

Every Sunday we offer free “food” as well, here at Calvary Chapel Naples. The principle is the same. The difference is what people feed on as a ‘sample’ is you. (Not the Koinonia Kafe.) Did you know that?

David does.

He understands the principle of ‘first-fruits,’ and that for every work of God there has been a preceding work. So the church becomes a work upon a work, and every generation is founded upon the lives of those who have gone before. Without you, there can be no “he,” or “she,” who also receives the Lord. You are an important conduit to God for those who have never known God.

The problem with David, (and it’s a huge one,) is that for the better part of the preceding year his life has been mired in wickedness and un-confessed sin. He has been in that horrible position of being one who might say, “Don’t do as I do, do as I say.”

The power of repentance is restoration. God does an amazing work in even the worst of sinners, and He restores the joy of His salvation – even in those who have thoughtlessly and wickedly turned away – like David. There are good examples to follow, and bad examples to avoid, but there are also bad gone good examples such as David who reveal the power of God in a way that can never be revealed by those who have only been good – as bad as that may sound. Praise God for the power (and the example of,) repentance!

 -  Pastor Bill