Rather than attempt to script out a draft for the website, here are the notes I preach from. While they in and of themselves are not the entirety of what we do on a Sunday morning; they will keep you up to speed if you missed, or help you review what you heard.
Psalm 106:1 – 48
Introduction
- Special Sunday
- Annual Sanctity of Life Sunday
- Before you think
- So what
- I’d like for you to hear why this Sunday is such a big deal
- Each and every year
- With that sound in your ears
- Let’s relate the condition of humanity now
- To the condition of humanity then
- Let’s relate the condition of humanity now
- And see if we can rightly apply the salve of the Gospel
- To the brokenness of the world
- And believe it or not
- The lessons we are gleaning from Galatians
- Will apply to this directly
- The lessons we are gleaning from Galatians
Outline & Body
1 Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. 2 Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord, Or can show forth all His praise? 3 How blessed are those who keep justice, Who practice righteousness at all times! 4 Remember me, O Lord, in Your favor toward Your people; Visit me with Your salvation, 5 That I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones, That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, That I may glory with Your inheritance.
We covered a lot of this on Thanksgiving
- This is the refrain of Psalm 136 (& others)
- God is worthy of praise because of
- Who He is (Creator, Sustainer, Provider) & What He has done
- God is worthy of praise because of
- Revelation 5:9 – 10
- And they *sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth
And this view of living for God was familiar to Israel
- Psalm 1:1 – 6
- How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish
- Joshua 1:8
- This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success
So what would you expect from this person who is asking this prayer?
- Remember the standard has never changed
- Psalm 51:1 – 4
- Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. 4 Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge
6 We have sinned like our fathers, We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.
Ouch—not the thing you’d expect
- If you want the blessing—keep the commandments
- Unless you are paying attention to what God declares
- Psalm 14:1 – 3
- The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. 2 The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one
- Isaiah 53:4 – 6
- Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him
- Hosea 6:4 – 6
- What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early. 5 Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. 6 For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings
- Psalm 51:14 – 17
- Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise. 16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise
So now begins the rundown of the faithless disobedience of Israel
- We will not go through every sin, but rather just highlight a few
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; They did not remember Your abundant kindnesses, But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. 8 Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name, That He might make His power known. 9 Thus He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up, And He led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness. 10 So He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them, And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 11 The waters covered their adversaries; Not one of them was left. 12 Then they believed His words; They sang His praise. 13 They quickly forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel, 14 But craved intensely in the wilderness, And tempted God in the desert. 15 So He gave them their request, But sent a wasting disease among them. 16 When they became envious of Moses in the camp, And of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord, 17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, And engulfed the company of Abiram. 18 And a fire blazed up in their company; The flame consumed the wicked. 19 They made a calf in Horeb And worshiped a molten image. 20 Thus they exchanged their glory For the image of an ox that eats grass. 21 They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt, 22 Wonders in the land of Ham And awesome things by the Red Sea. 23 Therefore He said that He would destroy them, Had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him, To turn away His wrath from destroying them. 24 Then they despised the pleasant land; They did not believe in His word, 25 But grumbled in their tents; They did not listen to the voice of the Lord. 26 Therefore He swore to them That He would cast them down in the wilderness, 27 And that He would cast their seed among the nations And scatter them in the lands. 28 They joined themselves also to Baal-peor, And ate sacrifices offered to the dead. 29 Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, And the plague broke out among them. 30 Then Phinehas stood up and interposed, And so the plague was stayed. 31 And it was reckoned to him for righteousness, To all generations forever. 32 They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah, So that it went hard with Moses on their account; 33 Because they were rebellious against His Spirit, He spoke rashly with his lips.
Realize how big this iniquity is
So this people who should have been crushed do what?
Because they have nothing in their history to remember
There are two things I want to directly highlight
- These are both great & noble things that saved the people from their sin
- Where are Moses & Phineas?
- Hebrews 7:23 – 25
- The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, 24 but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. 25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them
In spite of the mercy & grace that had been received
- They got worse
34 They did not destroy the peoples, As the Lord commanded them, 35 But they mingled with the nations And learned their practices, 36 And served their idols, Which became a snare to them. 37 They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, 38 And shed innocent blood, The blood of their sons and their daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with the blood. 39 Thus they became unclean in their practices, And played the harlot in their deeds.
Parents—can you imagine a worse idea
- Than giving your child as a sacrifice
- Usually a burnt offering
- Remember
- This is the choice the heart must make
- Galatians 4:8
- However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods.
- 1 Corinthians 10:19 – 20
- What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons
- Galatians 4:8
- This is the choice the heart must make
And the heart that continues to walk away
- Becomes calloused in its’ path
- Hebrews 10:26 – 27
- For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries
- Hebrews 10:26 – 27
- Now I have a question
- What has changed in humanity?
- This is why this old book
- With its’ old stories
- Still matter
- With its’ old stories
- Nothing has changed about people
- Or their needs
40 Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against His people And He abhorred His inheritance. 41 Then He gave them into the hand of the nations, And those who hated them ruled over them. 42 Their enemies also oppressed them, And they were subdued under their power. 43 Many times He would deliver them; They, however, were rebellious in their counsel, And so sank down in their iniquity. 44 Nevertheless He looked upon their distress When He heard their cry; 45 And He remembered His covenant for their sake, And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness. 46 He also made them objects of compassion In the presence of all their captors.
This is literally the recap of the book of Judges
- Which is really just a statement on the condition of humanity
- Judges 21:25
- In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes
- Judges 21:25
- The cycle of Judges is easily explained
- Israel sins
- God causes calamity/captivity to jolt them from their sin
- Israel repents
- God raises up a deliverer who saves them
- Israel has peace
- And promptly forgets all that has come before
- Israel sins
- God causes calamity/captivity to jolt them from their sin
- Israel repents
- God raises up a deliverer who saves them
- Israel has peace
- And promptly forgets all that has come before
- Israel sins
- This by the way is why our standard is what it is
- Matthew 18:21 – 22
- Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven
- Matthew 18:21 – 22
47 Save us, O Lord our God, And gather us from among the nations, To give thanks to Your holy name And glory in Your praise. 48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. And let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise the Lord!
This author understands Israel’s history better than any Pharisee
- Because he knows God’s character
- Jonah 4:1 – 2
- But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity
- Jonah 4:1 – 2
- 1 John 1:8 – 10
- If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us
Conclusion
- The cure for a world that does not value life
- Is the saving Gospel of Christ
- Our message to them
- Is our message to us
- What is in your past
- Hatred
- Stealing
- Adultery
- Murder
- Abortion (same thing)
- Colossians 2:13 – 14
- When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross
- Or to put it musically
- My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!— My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!