Pleasing God? Pleasing Man?

As I’ve been reading in 1^st and 2^nd Samuel, as part of our Daily Walk Bible readings, I’ve been challenged by the actions of King Saul (1 Sam. 15) and King David (2 Sam. 6). On the one hand, you’ve got King Saul who was all caught up in what people thought of him. For example, when Saul didn’t fully obey the Lord’s commands via Samuel he made the following excuse, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the Lord’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded” (1 Sam. 15:24, NLT, emphasis mine). For Saul, his decisions and actions were governed by what he thought the people desired and not what Samuel commanded or what the Lord required. A few verses later he was worried about his appearance before Israel when Samuel announced that he would not go with Saul to worship the Lord. Saul said, “but please, at least honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel by coming back with me…” (1 Sam. 15:30). For Saul, he was more concerned about what the people thought of him then what God thought of him. Saul was the quintessential people-pleaser.

On the other hand you have David who, in 2 Samuel 6, because of the return of the Ark of the Covenant, was dancing and leaping with joy before the Lord and he didn’t care what others thought. Even when his own wife, Michal, rebuked him for his supposed dancing to impress the ladies David responded with this defense, “Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes!” (NLT) Apparently, to Michal, David’s worship was for show but David felt his dance was exclusively for God. His audience was an audience of One, God. As the commentary in our DWB showed, “in the eyes of the God who distinguishes motives, David’s worship was accepted, and Michal was rejected for her judgment.”

In these passages we saw that there were two kings with two different modes of operation. For David, his concern was God and his glory and decisions were made based on what God would want. While Saul was concerned with what the people thought and how it would bring him glory or shame.

In these challenging days I have been encouraged and heartened to have the attitude of King David. I want to also be like Paul who strove to live out Galatians 1:10, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ” (NIV).

People pleasing can lead to all kinds of negative consequences, just ask any teenager who gave into peer-pressure at some point and they will relay their regrets of their poor decisions. With our faith in Christ, and the pull of our society against Christian faith and Biblical values, this is even more the case. No matter what we face, I pray that we would “cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked” (1 Tim. 1:19, NLT).

My Final Sermon...

Palm Sunday, tomorrow, will be my final Sunday to preach at FPC and so I thought it fitting to show the marquee for this last sermon. The title reads "Givin' A Shout Out to Jesus" based on the Matthew 21:1-11 text where the crowd in Jerusalem loudly welcomes Jesus. I'll be focusing on:

1. Jesus, Lord of all (vs. 3)
2. Jesus, the humble King (vs. 5)
3. Jesus, the King who saves (vs. 9)
4. Jesus, the Prophet (vs. 11)

-->The problem with the crowds was that they welcomed him on Palm Sunday with shouts of "Hosanna (Save!) to the Son of David" but then they yelled "crucify Him" later in the week. Clearly they had all kinds of misconceptions of Jesus. And so do we!

We see, and restrict, Jesus to be our: ticket to heaven, or our fire insurance, or a nice guy who loves little children, or our homeboy who hangs with us, or our friend who only asks us to do easy and nice things, or our heavenly doctor who is at our beck and call to heal our diseases and aches and pains.
We mold him into an image of ourselves, what we would want, what we would be if we were God.

Therefore we avoid, myself included, his challenging statements of: the last shall be first, take up your cross daily and follow me, sell all your possessions and give to the poor and what you do to the least of these you do to me.

And so my question is, are we making the same mistake that the crowds made? Are we caught up in our misconceptions of who Jesus was and is? Or, are our thoughts about Jesus driven by what we see in God's Holy Word, specifically for my Palm Sunday purposes, here in Mt. 21:1-11?

My resignation from our church

Dear First Presbyterian Church Family,

It’s with mixed emotions that I announce that I will be resigning as the Pastoral Associate here at First Presbyterian effective April 1^st, 2013. I never dreamed things would unfold the way they did and it saddens me to think about the ministry potential here at FPC that will go unfulfilled. Yet, I remember the Apostle Paul’s words to his young disciple Timothy, “Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result their faith has been shipwrecked” (1 Tim. 1:19, NLT). As much as I love the people in FPC I have to do what I think is necessary to keep my conscience clear, and most importantly to cling to Christ, and I can’t do that and remain in the PC(USA).

I greatly appreciate how you welcomed this “Yankee” transplant from Ohio, via Massachusetts, into your hearts and lives. You all have blessed us immensely with your warm hospitality, your prayers and your numerous invitations for lunch, dinner and Breadbreakers. Thank you! My wife and I are grateful for the 22 months of ministry and service that we have had here and Lord knows I have learned a lot from my time as your Pastoral Associate. I pray and trust that these trials that we have faced, and are facing, “will show our faith is genuine” (1 Peter 1:7, NLT).

God bless you all! And no matter where we go, may this scripture passage from a recent Daily Walk Bible reading be true for us all, “May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace” (Numbers 6:24-26, NLT).

Soli Deo gloria, Seth

The House on the Solid Rock

 

Good Harbor Beach, Gloucester, MA

Photo Credit, click here

As I was reading 1st Samuel 4-8 this morning for our Daily Walk Bible reading I found myself thoroughly frustrated by the actions of the Israelites! How could the Israelites ask in 4:3, "why did the Lord allow us to be defeated by the Philistines?" Seriously!? In chapter 2 we read about how "the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the LORD or for their duties as priests" (vs. 12, NLT). And we recently read through Judges and we saw how abysmal the Israelites were in keeping the Covenant and commandments of the LORD. I shouldn't have been surprised by the Israelites question because this is human nature. But nevertheless I was still amazed that they could be so brazen to ask and imply that it was God's fault that they lost to the Philistines!?

Deuteronomy 28 was pretty clear that if the Israelites "fully obey the LORD your God and carefully keep all his commands...the LORD your God will ... conquer your enemies when they attack you" (vss. 1, 7). Obviously Joshua's command to the Israelites before his death "to be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction" (Josh. 23:6) was clearly forgotten or ignored.

And so somehow it was now God's fault that they lost. It was God's fault that 4000 men were killed.

I was also dumbfounded by the Israelites presumption to not consult God (think the Gibeonite debacle in Joshua 9) but rather to assume that if they take the Ark of the Covenant into battle that the LORD would automatically save them from their enemies (4:3). What was probably well meaning and good intentioned turned out to be nothing more than treating the Ark of the Covenant, and therefore the LORD, as a talisman or a lucky charm. It's no surprise that they lost, again; and it's no surprise that Eli's daughter-in-law failed to realize that "the glory has departed from Israel" (4:21-22). Not so much because the Ark was captured (though that is certainly true) but more so because the LORD himself had left His people because they had first left Him.

I fear in the coming days and weeks I will be hearing similar questions, "why did the Lord allow..."

We need to remember that it wasn't God's fault that the Israelites lost to the Philistines. And we need to remember that it isn't God's fault when we fail to be a Gospel witness in our community.

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash” (Matthew 7:24-27).

"Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place" (2 Chronicles 7:14-15).

DWB Summaries - Ruth and 1st Samuel

Phew, we are done with Judges and were uplifted by Ruth! Praise the Lord that we have a Kinsman-Redeemer in Jesus Christ!!

Below I have included my summaries for the book of Ruth and the book of 1st Samuel, I hope they are helpful.

Also, check out this funny picture about the book of Ruth that was recently forwarded to me. Warning: it is on the "edgy" side but I hope you can find the humor in it. These days I'll take all the laughs I can get :)

Ruth

This is an incredible book which foreshadows the redemption that will come from the line of Obed, the line of David. A woman has cleaved (Gen 2:24) to her husband so much that after he is dead she is willing to leave her home country to go with her mother-in-law back to Bethlehem. There is also a righteous man who is deeply compassionate towards the poor and is willing to put his own estate at risk to redeem the property and wife of Elimelech (4:6). The two, Ruth and Boaz, meet in his fields where Ruth is gleaning behind his harvesters. Boaz takes notice of Ruth and after hearing about her character and dedication to Naomi (2:11) he makes this pivotal comment, “May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge” (2:12). Little does Boaz know that God has ordained him to be the redeemer to spread his “wings” over Ruth. The story climaxes at the threshing floor when Boaz agrees to Ruth’s marriage proposal (3:9) and after giving the first kinsman-redeemer the opportunity to lay claim to Naomi’s land and Ruth’s hand in marriage (4:1-6) Boaz receives the man’s sandal (4:7) and assumes responsibility of Naomi’s land and Ruth. God’s providence and sovereignty is evident, He provides for this foreigner-widow who gives birth to Obed, father of Jesse, father of David and thus Ruth is a key player in the continuation of Jesus’ line (Mt 1:5).

1st Samuel 

            1^st Samuel is a major transition point for the Nation of Israel because the elders of Israel make the following comment to the last judge, Samuel “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have” (1 Sam 8:5). This key verse illustrates how Israel rejects the LORD as their King (8:7; 10:19) and thus their desire to be like the surrounding nations. Despite God’s mercy in giving Saul the Spirit of the LORD (10:6, 10) the nation doesn’t realize how different a man’s leadership is compared to God’s leadership (8:11-19). As a result of the anointing of Saul (ch. 9) the days of the judges are over and Samuel, the last judge, takes a back-seat to King Saul.

            The Israelites continue to struggle with their Canaanite neighbors whom they did not destroy and this posed continual problems for King Saul, and then, David. In one instance Saul allowed King Agag and the best of the Amalekite animals to live thus disobeying Samuel’s command to completely destroy the Amalekite people and property (ch. 15). Coupled with this, and Saul’s illegal offering of a burnt offering, Saul’s kingship is rejected and Samuel declares that God has “sought out a man after his own heart” (13:14). This man is David, the youngest son of Jesse (ch. 16). The rest of the book covers the power struggle between Saul and David and the accounts of how David arose to a leadership position. With the death of Saul in chapter 31, and with the recognition by Jonathan who is David’s best friend that he will not be king, the path is clear for David to become king.