Earthly Blessings: A Hundredfold

8/5/12 “Earthly Blessings 1: A Hundredfold” Mark 10:28-30
I. Introduction
A. Four sermons on earthly blessings
B. Follow-up on “All things for you”
C. Conversation with Jacob: emphasis on the suffering of this life
D. When the painful drowns out the pleasureful.
E. The main reward is later
1. Jesus: store up treasure in heaven
2. And when earthly blessings and heavenly blessings are compared in Scripture, there is no comparison.
3. But, that doesn’t mean there are little or no earthly blessings.
4. In fact, when earthly suffering is compared to earthly blessing, earthly blessing clearly wins out.
5. And a good place to go to see that is Mark 10:28-30.
II. Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Mark 10:28-30)
A. Suffering in this passage is put in terms of things which are left, things which you do without, things which you lose by following Christ.
1. We lost some things, including closeness to our friends and families.
B. A hundredfold, even in this life
1. What we receive in this life can’t be compared with heavenly treasures, but it also is a hundred times more than you have to give up.
2. Not just more, but a lot more: Olympic basketball 156-72
C. A long list of things
D. houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands
1. There is no reason to think this list is exhaustive. It is just illustrative of the way we are blessed with earthly things.
2. My story re: my parents’ divorce
a. A new family and more than a family
b. This is the story of my life and Mary Ann’s. we didn’t have Christian families. There was a lot missing in our families. But God supplied thought the family of Christ. We have a hundred times as much family.
c. One of the very most precious treasures we have enjoyed over the last 40-45 years since we came to Christ was
d. Mothers: people who pray for us like a mother
3. Children: young people to love and be blessed by
4. How many hospital rooms have been filled, how many airports, how many performances
5. Houses and lands
a. Colorado Springs
b. Elizabeth Smith’s parents
c. The amazing creation around us
(1) Our access to it: roads built to many of the most beautiful places on earth, films
E. Family members which are both earthly family and eternal family
F. Ps.103:2-5 “who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
1. Forgiveness: the experience of it is not just in heaven
2. Healing: Have you ever been in tremendous pain? Have you ever been extremely sick? To the point you wanted to die? Did you get over it?
3. Refreshing things: God knows what they are for each of us
4. Scripture
G. So many other things
1. Pleasures and provisions
a. E.g. food, clothing
2. Bodies: so many parts working together so well! How many things can go wrong!
3. Protections from harm, from disease, from temptation
4. Talents and abilities which are useful and fulfilling
a. Talents and abilities given to others to bless us: doctors, mechanics, singers, inventors, athletes
5. Music
6. Machines
7. Beauty
8. Fun
9. Failures, dangers, losses, confusions, zits: things which keep us humble, help us keep perspective
H. “With persecutions”
I. “and in the age to come eternal life.”
III. Conclusion
A. We are rich even in this present age! “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” (1Tim.6:17)
B. These are only tastes and glimpses of greater things to come, things more than a hundred times better than what we can experience here in this life.
C. Great is thy faithfulness
1. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide, strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.

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“Earthly Blessings 2: Green Pastures, Quiet Waters” 8/12/12 Psalm 23

I. Introduction
A. Last week: stuff He provides for us to compensate for what we’ve lost for following Christ: a hundredfold.
B. But today we’re going to talk about even better earthy blessings, from Psalm 23.
C. The older I get, the more I fall in love with Psalm 23.
II. Explanation of Psalm 23
A. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
B. Here we realize that our greatest earthly blessings are the invisible ones.
C. Greater than all the gifts God gives us in this life is the fact that He is there watching over us, tending to our needs, protecting us from danger.
D. (God’s work of protection)
1. Most animals have some way to defend themselves, but sheep are utterly defenseless. They have nothing with which to escape danger or fight back.
2. There is actually historical record of two dogs killing 292 sheep in one night.
3. Sheep are helpless. There is nothing they can do but run. And that doesn’t work too well if they are in a pen or if the attacker is faster.
4. So, sheep are easily spooked. It’s not an accident that we call a timid and easily-frightened person sheepish.
5. The point is that sheep are completely dependent on their shepherd to protect them.
6. That is one of many reasons why sheep need a shepherd, and in particular, a shepherd that cares about his sheep and is diligent, watchful, alert, as well as strong and skilled.
7. Sheep have many enemies: not only animals like dogs, coyotes, cougars, wolves, bears, but also sheep stealers, pesky insects, disease, cliff and crags, straying.
8. THEY NEED THEIR SHEPHERD!
9. We are as vulnerable as sheep, and just as defenseless. Our enemy is so much smarter and stronger and craftier than us. We really need our Shepherd! And boy, do we have a good One!
E. God’s work of restoration
1. 2-3 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.
2. Not just leading the sheep to green pastures. Sheep won’t lie down until they’re very comfortable. They need to be well-fed. They need to be free from any threat or fear. And they need to be free from any friction with the other sheep or with the shepherd. THEN they will lie down.
3. The Good Shepherd takes good care of His sheep. He provides for all their needs. They are not left wanting.
4. It reminds me of Psalm 3 when David has been chased out of Jerusalem by his son Absalom, who has usurped his throne. And David and his people are running for their lives. “O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; 2 many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. 3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. 4 I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. 5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” (Psalm 3)
5. Sometimes a night of sleep is almost like a miracle.
6. Lying down in green pastures isn’t a constant state, but a place God sometimes takes His sheep.
F. God’s work of keeping us going
1. “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” (2Corinthians 4:8-11)
2. Output and input
3. Work and rest
4. Stress and refreshment
5. Mingling toil with peace and rest
G. God’s work of keeping us in line
1. You know that sheep are prone to wander and that the shepherd has to keep them with the flock.
2. 4 “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
3. What are these?
a. Rod: protection and discipline
b. Staff: Guidance, keeping in line: prevention of wandering
(1) He goes after the one who strays and using his rod and staff brings them back & restores them.
c. Comforting when stressed, by laying the end of the staff on the animal: “Don’t worry. I’m here.”
4. He has the tools to get things done.
5. He can get you where you need to go.
6. He’s not a go-your-own-way-and-see-if-I-care kind of God, at least not with His sheep.
III. Conclusion
A. The Good Shepherd
1. Psalm 23 isn’t the only passage in the OT which speaks about how the Lord is our shepherd.
2. Ezek.34 is a prophecy against the human shepherds of Israel. In this passage God condemns these leaders of His people with strong language: “Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts.” (Ezekiel 34:2b-5)
a. Then God goes on to say, I’m going to take over this job myself! (Ezek.24:11-22)
b. How’s He going to do this?
c. He tells us in v.23: “I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.”
d. This is hundreds of years after David died. Who is this shepherd whom God calls “my servant David”?
3. Well, that question was answered when Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep... 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. , 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. ...27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10)
B. The reality of trouble
1. “the valley of the shadow of death”
2. “in the presence of my enemies”
C. BUT
1. Jesus is shepherding us
2. He loves His sheep
3. He knows what sheep need
4. So there’s no reason for the sheep to fear evil, for even when surrounded by enemies, we not only can count on our Good Shepherd to protect us, but He has promised to set a table full of blessing and make our cup overflow.
a. The key is keeping our eyes on the Lord who richly supplies us with all good things, instead of focusing on the enemies surrounding us.
b. Peter walking on the water: intimidated by the waves and winds, takes eyes off Jesus
5. Our job in suffering is to keep our eyes on the big picture, to view and experience our pain in light of everything else. The pain is only a small part.
6. Jesus is God with us. He is with you! He is your shepherd! He has a deep personal interest in you!
D. Heidelberg Catechism Q#1: What is your only comfort in life and death?
1. Answer: That I am not my own but belong — body and soul, in life and death — to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; who, has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil and who watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my heavenly Father; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready from now on to live for him.

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"Earthly Blessings 3: The Story of Job" 8/19/12 Job 1:1-3; 42:10, 12-17

I. Introduction
A. Series on Earthly Blessings
1. First week: In Mark 10:28-30 Jesus’ followers will enjoy 100 times as much as what is lost for following Him.
2. Last week in Psalm 23 we reflected on our earthly blessings from having a good shepherd.
3. This week I would like to think about the book of Job together.
B. “Only Jack would use the book of Job to show us how blessed we are in this life!” Here’s a good and upright guy, who loses everything & suffers enormously. You might think that he teaches us about being cursed, not about being blessed.
II. Job 1:1-3 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. Job 42:10, 12-17 The Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before... 12 And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He had also seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. 15 And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16 And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, four generations. 17 And Job died, an old man, and full of days.
A. The book of Job has important lessons for us from his sufferings and losses. But there are also important lessons from all his years of blessedness and abundance.
B. In terms of the space in the book of Job, the vast majority is his suffering. But in terms of the time of his life, the opposite is true. The vast majority of Job’s life was spent in earthly richness and blessedness.
1. In one sense, Job is the ultimate example of a righteous person who enjoyed earthly blessings.
C. The thing that makes Job’s suffering so remarkable is how exceptional it is. What happened to Job isn’t usually the way things happen.
D. Job was both godly and blessed in terms of earthly things. And the fact is that those two often come together in the ordinary providence of God.
1. “For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1Timothy 4:8)
E. Everyone experiences little tastes of Job-like sufferings. But generally we don’t get it like Job got it.
F. Godliness has valuable earthly benefits, as it did in the case of Job.
G. For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (1Pt.3:10-12)
III. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)
A. There are MANY benefits of following Christ, including earthly ones.
B. All of us know this by experience. We have enjoyed enormous amounts of earthly blessings.
1. Houses, jobs, cars, family, health, friends, food, protection, opportunities, privileges, things these eyes have seen, things these ears have heard, how much love I’ve been shown, gifts I’ve been given, deeds done for me, enjoyable things I’ve been able to do, things I’ve seen God do
C. Job was a great example of this.
1. And in some ways, we’ve been blessed more than Job ever was. We are richer. He probably never took a hot shower in his life. He never drove in a car. He never traveled far from home. He never read a book. He never watched a movie. He never received medical care when he was sick or injured. He never played in a ball game. He never saw a great work of art. We are very blessed.
D. Matt.6:33 Keeping the object of desire in the right place: not seeking first all these things.
E. “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mat.10:39)
F. The notion that the righteous will be blessed in earthly ways is frequently taught in the Bible. The book of Job was given to us to correct the fallacy that this is always the case. But the principle is still true.
G. Today this fallacy that righteousness and faith always lead to earthly blessing is called “the health and wealth gospel.”
1. There is some truth to it. There are many passages which talk about how God blesses the righteous in earthly ways.
a. But every error is based on a truth. “Every heresy has its verse.”
2. The fact is that there’s no guarantee. There is no promise.
a. It’s not always a faith issue when you’re sick or poor or unsuccessful. There are other reasons God allows suffering.
3. Job’s friends didn’t know there were exceptions. They were the original ones to say, “The reason you’re suffering is because you don’t have enough faith. If you just believed more, you’d be healed.”
IV. You see, God knows that plenty doesn’t produce happiness. Happiness comes from knowing the love of Christ. That’s how God made us.
A. It is not that God doesn’t want to bless us with earthly advantages. But, as Paul warns in 1Tim.6:17-19, it is tempting to put one’s hope in riches when a person experiences a lot of earthly blessing.
1. Solomon is a good example of this.
2. E.g. my tendency to take pride in blessing, success
B. Suffering is important to keep the righteous humble, and keep them crying out to God.
C. Isn’t it obvious that God didn’t enjoy allowing Job’s suffering, but that He did enjoy restoring Job’s fortunes.
1. God loves to bless us, but doesn’t enjoy allowing us to suffer.
2. Just like Jesus. The Father didn’t enjoy His Son’s suffering on the cross, but He was happy about the wonderful results.
V. There are many earthly blessings in following Christ.
A. “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Ps.16:11)
B. He is a good father. He loves His children, and He give them good things.
C. Let us be like Job and seek Him first, and He will provide us with all things.
D. Do not seek the Lord in order to obtain the earthly blessings, for that’s not seeking the Lord at all. That’s seeking earthly blessings.

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8/26/12 Psalm 63:1-8 “Earthly Blessings 4: Thy Lovingkindness”
I. Introduction
A. Sept. 1 anniversary: September and October series
B. August: earthly blessings. I’ve saved the best for last.
II. Reflections on Psalm 63:1-8
A. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:1-8)
1. Let’s look at some of the phrases in this passage
a. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
(1) It is a relationship. David longs to get even closer, much like young lovers.
b. my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
(1) He feels drawn not only out of love, but out of need, a need that drives him to God like hunger drives a man to food.
c. I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
(1) He’s seen something that transformed him, that enchanted him, that captivated him
d. your steadfast love is better than life (Thy lovingkindness is better than life.)
(1) Let good and kindred go, this mortal life also. The body they may kill...
(2) All your stuff, all your relationships, all your talents/skills, add it all up.
(3) His love is better than the sum of it all.
e. I will lift up my hands
(1) joy
(2) reaching out
(3) need
(4) desire to hug
f. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food
(1) from hunger to fullness: fat and happy
(2) of the soul
(3) Some have never experienced this. They live in fear, in insecurity, in anger/bitterness.
g. in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
(1) That’s pretty close. Security and joy in being close to mother hen.
h. My soul clings to you.
(1) This is where I want to be.
(2) The one thing that scares me is letting go, losing Him.
2. This passage helps us to see that there is more to a relationship with God than
a. God out there taking notes and keeping a record
b. God who can intervene to help when there’s a special need, like 9-1-1.
c. God who forgives my sin.
d. God who invisibly governs everything that happens and makes sure that it works out for the best.
3. Now I’m not saying that these things are not true to some extent. I’m just saying that there is an aspect of God’s relationship with His children that is beyond any of these.
III. Marriage
A. The idolatry of romance
1. Can a love relationship make you happy?
a. It can definitely make you feel happy for a time.
2. No mere human can make you happy.
3. But the desire was given us for a reason.
4. Bride/bridegroom
B. There are many analogies in the Bible to our relationship with God.
1. He is our King, we are His subjects. He is our Shepherd, we are His sheep. He is our vine, we are His branches. He is our Father, we are His children. He is our leader, we are His followers. He is our teacher, we are His students.
2. And each one of these tells us things about our relationship with the Lord.
C. But when it comes to intimacy, there is one analogy that surpasses all the others. Jesus says to us, “You are my bride.”
1. Not just, “You are my wife,” implying personal relationship, profound knowledge of one another, commitment, companionship, permanence, affection, support
2. “You are my bride” is all that, with an infusion of thrill, exhilaration, freshness, newness, ecstasy, etc.
IV. We can see this in two passages in Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians.
A. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)
1. Paul is imprisoned. Yet he is so content — even under the threat of Roman execution.
2. And he is so happy about the spread of the gospel even while he is in chains.
3. We see here that Paul has a whole different way of looking at life. For him, Christ is everything.
4. This man is lovestruck. There’s no better way to describe it. This man has fallen head-over-heals in love with Jesus Christ. He can’t think about anything else. Christ’s lovingkindness is better to him than life itself. The thing about life that makes it worthwhile is Christ. His whole life is wrapped up in His relationship with His Beloved.
5. Paul is not hankering for anything else in this world. He’s not screaming for men’s praise. He’s not drooling for more possessions. He’s not lusting after power or position. He’s got all he wants; he’s got Jesus.
6. What a blessing from God we have been given — in being the recipients of Paul’s magnificent testimony! His words remind us that we have a Savior who is so wonderful that He is worthy of this kind of love and devotion.
7. If we really come to grips with who He is, we won’t need anything else in life either.
8. Christians have something so extraordinary, so marvelous so as to make nothing else matter.
a. We have all we need and it can’t be taken away from us!
B. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, (Phil.3:7-10)
1. Paul has just listed all the things about him which make others be impressed. And then he says, “I count them as loss for the sake of Christ.”
2. The reason Paul’s advantages could be seen in such a dim light is because he had seen the radiance of Christ (literally). He was transformed into a man who let go of all his human securities and reasons for boasting.
3. Those who still receive a lot of their identity from earthly characteristics or advantages (like looks, intelligence, position, popularity, connections, financial security, accomplishments, etc.) do so because they have not yet beheld the radiance of Christ.
a. Just as the sun makes other lights look dim, so when we see the glory of Christ, all human glory fades.
4. The only way the glamour and glitter of this world will grow dim in our eyes, the only way we will ever be willing to let go of our idols, is if the eyes of our hearts are opened to "the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus [our] Lord."
5. When He is left out of the picture, we grab hold of earthly securities and pleasures, because it seems like that’s the best stuff around. But when we see Christ for who He is, next to Him everything else looks mighty shabby and worthless. It is "in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus" that Paul can "count all things to be loss."
6. The way to cultivate an undivided heart which is satisfied in Christ alone and which doesn’t lust after other lovers is by seeking to behold the glory of Christ. Seek it in the Scriptures. Seek it in prayer. Seek it in corporate worship. Seek it through the example of brothers and sisters in Christ who have a heart for God.
7. Seek it in the morning. Seek it all day long. Seek it during your busiest days. Seek it while you’re on vacation. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Matt.7:7)
C. “For me to live is Christ” ought to be the unhesitating testimony of every one of us. To whatever extent it isn’t, to that extent we have failed to love what is truly lovely, we have exchanged the truth of God for a lie and we have loved the creature rather than the Creator.
1. Don’t you want to live this way? Don’t you want to think about life this way? I want nothing else to matter to me except Christ. I want to give Him the pure love and absolute devotion that He so richly deserves. I want to be swept off my feet by Jesus. I want to be so caught up in Him that I fear no man and covet no earthly treasure and lust for no one else’s approval. Don’t you?
2. However, I cannot honestly say that for me to live is Christ. Too often for me life is the approval of others, and the enjoyment of pleasures, and the avoidance of pain. And yet I know that REAL living is Christ. And that’s what I want.
3. I need the Lord to change me, rearrange me, disturb me, discipline me, to do whatever is necessary in me so that I can wholeheartedly say, "for me to live is Christ."