Purposeful Humilty - Psalm 41

*Click the title above to go to the webpage with this week's Psalm*

For the last post, we talked about how Jesus himself kneeled down at the disciples feet to wash them. It rocks my world every time I get a full glimpse of our humble savior, Jesus Christ - that he, while being fully God, had such an unquenchable passion for us sinners that he purposed in his heart to redeem us to the father by the means of his own blood. Basically, Romans 5:7-8 sums it up well when Paul reminds us that a man will rarely even die for an innocent friend, but Christ died for people that willing-fully rejected him. After all, that is sin right? The willful disobedience that put Jesus on the cross. The willful rejection of Jesus Christ - in action. I'll be the first to admit that it even hurts to write that convicting portion of text, as I am guilty of the same crime. Jesus, being the perfect example of servant-hood first to the father and then to his flock, made it clear that we are to be humble in the same manner. Just as Christ had sacrificial love for us, we in turn are to lay our selfish ambition aside so that God's love may be expressed to the world, but also so that it may be made perfect in us (1 John 4:8-12). Humility has a two-fold purpose - to pave the way for Christ to enter others' lives, but also to protect us from ourselves. Why? God loves sinners but knows the destruction that sin brings.



Before we start. Let me just mention one more point. In Matthew 19:23, Jesus tells his disciples that it is harder to a rich man to go to heaven than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. That is not to say that people with money cannot be saved, but more so that people who allow money to be their god, their focus, and their lives' priority are more likely (almost guaranteed) to lose sight of God's influence in their life. But that goes for anything. Biblical humility is not simply the antonym of "pride". It is sacrificial. It is selfless. It gives God's plans and purposes for our life the priority over our own goals and self-centered pursuits. In other words - it's makes a person spiritually "hollow" in a way that allows God to fully pour the living water of Jesus Christ into the Christian life.

Verse 1 This here is my inspiration for this week. Verse 1 is so cool because it's seems so simple ... but so many strings are attached. Did you know that having "regard for thew weak" was something that God invented. It was, well actually everything was, God's idea first. Why? Because in our weakness, God is strong (2nd Corinthians 12:9). In our times of struggle with evil, God remains faithful, strong, and good (Nahum 1:7). When David says that we are to have regard for the weak, I believe there is an idea attached to it that many often overlook. To have regard for the weak (at least as a sinful being) is to realize that you are incapable as well. When we are self confident, or when we are proud is when we are the weakest spiritual. On the other hand, a humble spirit allows the almighty God to work in unexpected and unmeasurable ways - in ways that we couldn't even believe if we were told (Habakkuk 1:5). Yes, we are to have regard for physical sicknesses and weaknesses, but always remember to take it as a reminder to humble yourself. Why? ...


Verse 2 - God protects the humble, because humble people know to take refuge in our omni-potent God.

Verse 3 - God places a healing hand on those who are his. Both spiritually and physically ... more importantly spiritually. Why? Because God brings restoration to the seemingly unredeemable sinner. God brought what was once dead to life (Ephesians 2:1-10).

Verse 4 - God cannot heal a prideful sinner because a prideful sinner will not fall to repentance at His feet. But God's love will cover a multitude of sins for those who confess them (1 Peter 4:8,1 John 1:9).

Verse 5-11 - God is victory to those who let Him be. There is no battle against evil that God has not already won (1 Corinthians 15:50-57).

Verse 12 - He establishes us in his presence never to be snatched up again (Amos 9:15,John 10:28)

Just to close up:
Jesus said this - "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Pretty boss yeah?
-Chris

Friday March 18th [6:00-10:30PM]

Dirty Feet

My parents' house is less than a mile away from a creek and a small forest ... which is just stinkin' awesome. I spent at least a quarter of my childhood summer days at the forest - digging "caves", building "forts", and pretending to be some sort of extreme wilderness animal. Every day that I went to the forest, I came home completely covered in all sorts of mud and dirt. Before I went back into the house, I was always sure to clean my feet ... just my feet. Needless to say, the rest of my body was an absolute mess, which is probably the reason my parents went from carpet to wood floors. Anyway, my point is that, as sinners, we are born a complete spiritual mess. Contrary to the example, this mess is not something that we can clean up on our own - this mess is not something that we can sweep under the rug or spray off with a hose. This mess sticks. Fortunately for us, we have a God that is willing to get his hands dirty. For the sole purpose of buying back his creation, 2000 years ago God sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross so that every spiritual mess that has walked this Earth could be washed clean. This is the message of Psalm 40



Verses 1-5 Obviously, there is a slight emphasis on verse two this week. David proclaims that God has brought him out of a "horrible pit" and pulled him out of the "clay." Make a note that clay is nothing like dirt - clay is hard sometimes, sticky and wet sometimes, and completely messy always. If you have ever dug a hole and ran into clay, then you understand how difficult and time consuming it would be to actually get something out of it. Romans 3:10 says that there are none righteous, no not one. Every human being that has every walked this planet has been bound by sin ... and they're stuck. Sin is not a "situation", sin is not an "occurance" - sin is the reality that man failed God and missed the standard of perfection. In fact, the mighty king David was no exception. He never claims to be righteous or holy ... he claims to have found salvation in a God that listened to his cry and came to his aid. David continues and says that any man who places his trust is God is blessed. Why? Because they are free, and have been freed by a relational God. In Ephesians, we're told that God was willing that all should come to repentance, that God not only wants to save, but wants to gather all of his children back to the family. Again ... Why? Because God's thoughts towards us individually are endless (verse 5). Because his love is unceasing, unchanging, and passionate. How are we freed from the clutches of sin? Just like David, we can call upon the Father for forgiveness and salvation (John 3:16).

Verses 6-12 Hebrews 11:6 says this - "without faith, it is impossible to please God." In verses 6 and 7, David comes to the realization that our God is not one to be please by the religious aspects of Christianity. In the Old Testament, he was not pleased with the acts of sacrifice themselves, but what they stood for. Even more so, it grieved the Father to send his son to die on the cross, but the cause brought nothing but joy to the Father. When we have been freed from sin, God does not want us to be ritualistic in the way we live our lives. God does not want people that "have to", but people that "want to." David says that he delights to do God's will. If your feet have truly been cleaned - if you have been transformed by Jesus blood, the Bible is clear that you are now a new creation (2nd Corinthians 5:17). Loving God should not feel like a chore. If it does ... check your heart. My mom said this the other day - if we had a full grasp on the God that we serve, how much harder would it be to sin? David struggled. We struggled. But one thing is clear - that David chose to spread the good news. To share what God did for others so that He could do it for them too.


Jesus washed the disciples feet clean (John 13) ...
Let him wash your life clean continually ...
Live free in the grace and mercy of our Savior!
AND
Share the good news!

-Chris