A Most Generous God #2

What a wonderful Savior.

What a magnificent Lord and to realize that he is the most generous God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. This is featuring the Bible teaching of John Green, founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I will write today as Don continues teaching God's people. God's word will resume his luck at the proper heart attitude and mindset that Christians must have as we approach the Lords communion table. So if you're ready, let's get stuck here is part two of the message called a most generous God here on the pulpit. So God initiated this forgiveness of sin. Don't think for a moment to put it this way on social media today. God does not love you because you had faith you have faith because God set his love upon you. All of this was God's idea, the prompting initiating movement was from God to you, not from you to God first John 419 says we love because he first loved us. God was the one who loved us, not vice versa. God initiated all of this wonderful goodness to us and so David response in worship and notice how he emphasizes what I just said about God being the initiator of it verse four. He says how blessed is the one whom you choose and bring near to you. God does the choosing. God reached out, God drew us to him, God brought us near Christ brought us near so he gets all of the glory.

He gets all the worship that's why we respond to him in a spirit of thanksgiving. He's been so generous to us. He saved us when we want even looking for it and so we respond in the spirit of worship to him.

David goes on he moves beyond the fact that God is one who forgives sin and he praises them. Secondly, in Psalm 65 because he is the God who rules nature.

He is the God who rules nature and if you think of the horrific forces that nature can sometime unleash on a sin in F5 tornadoes in category five hurricanes and and 7.0 earthquakes and all of those kinds of things and you realize the great vast power that is present in nature. You and and that God rules over that with a greater power those and if you head if you know if you've ever lived through a serious earthquake and you felt the ground tremble under your feet and toss you back and forth tossing you from wall-to-wall. I have it's a frightening display of the power that is resident in creation, then you realize income to this text and you realize that God's superintendent rules over all of that God. God rules over the storm God rides on the wind of the hurricane.

See more reason to praise him to give him to give him glory. Look at verses five and six by awesome deeds you answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation, you who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the far the sea who establishes the mountains by his strength being girded with my David calls God the trust of all the ends of the earth.

In other words, God has a universal claim on the trust and obedience of all men everywhere, even if they don't respond. The fact that they deny him, ignore him, make false gods and makeup, false religion, in order to do something of their own making and worship the works of their own hands in the work of their own minds. Doesn't change the fact that God reigns overall and that God has a claim on the trust and obedience of all of them and every one of you in here speaking to Christian and non-Christian alike.

Jesus Christ is Lord and Jesus Christ therefore has full authority over your soul, and he calls on you and he commands you to repent and to come to him.

He does not give you the option of choosing differently. You are commanded by Christ to repent and believe in the gospel for the salvation of your soul, and those who reject that and refuse that bring upon themselves the greatest kind of judgment to hear the gospel of Christ to hear the shed blood presented to you and to turn away from that Scripture says how much severe punishment does one like that deserve than anyone else you've heard the most sacred things. My friend, you have heard even tonight. The most sacred things about Christ and his shed blood. And if you judge yourself unworthy of them. If you judge yourself not not interested in the and you condemn the shed blood of Christ by your indifference. All what an awful fate awaits you if you do not repent of that coldhearted rejection of this most generous God who sent his son to be the Savior of everyone who would believe in him. The we are dealing with matters of great import of great sobriety. As Christians we deal with them with a sense of sober joy and we rejoice in these things, but there is a time and a place, especially as we come to communion, to recognize that these are matters of serious import that require our wholehearted response of worship will David points out in verse six. How how God displayed his power when he created mountains by his word that power calls forth praise his power over nature points to his power to forgive sin. And here's the thing. He is such a good God that anyone on earth.

No matter how guilty, no matter how sinful anyone on earth can come to Christ and find him to be a willing Savior. Jesus said in John chapter 6, he said the one who comes to me. I certainly will not cast out. And that isn't that remarkable that even after a life of rebellion, a life of gross sin that a man a woman a boy, a girl could come to Christ. Then in finding Christ the Savior. That's willing to receive him receive her. Forgive her and cleanse her and welcome her into the family of God. This is amazing this is amazing that God would have the God would have mercy on on chronic fornicators, the God would have mercy on chronic homosexuals. The God would have mercy on chronic drunkards, chronic blasphemers who come to him in a spirit of of repentance and sandals, have mercy on me, the center as a tax collector did in Luke 18 and to realize that this gracious God receives sinners just like you and just like me.

Well, might our lips fall silent to realize that such guilty men and women could come and find this God gracious and willing to receive them. This God who rules over creation is a God who is willing to forgive David goes on and points out in verse seven and expands on the theme in nature.

Here he says who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their ways and the tumult of the People's they who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of your signs. You make the dawn in the sunset shout for joy. See see proof of this power in the morning in the evening at sunrise and at sunset. You see is his glory painted on the skies. You look out over the clouds of the lake on a morning sunrise, and you see those those gorgeous pinks and blues and all of the other colors that come in and you realize that you're just seeing you're just seeing the tip of the finger of the of his creative Majesty and something like that. That's overwhelming in its own self.

Is he rules over nature. He's a great God. He's a generous God, the God who forgives sin. The God who rules over nature. And then thirdly, David closes in the final section of Psalm verses nine through 13 praising him as the God who provides food God's generosity is particularly seen at harvest time limit.

Verses nine through 11, and notices I read this the repetition of the pronoun you he is setting God apart with an emphatic use of the pronoun, repeating it rip over and over again repeatedly emphasizing God it's you that does this.

You and you alone you and no one else. You are the one through which we have our daily bread. So in verses nine through 11.

He says you visit the earth and cause it to overflow you greatly enrich it. The stream of God is full of water. You prepare their grain for. Thus you prepare the earth you water it's for rose abundantly. You settle its riches. You soften it with showers. You bless its growth you have crowned the year with your bounty and your paths dripped with fatness you know in the area in which we live here in the Midwest. It's easy for us to to take water and rain for granted now because we get so much of it well in it's not like that everywhere. I remember being with a friend in South Africa and I was doing something like letting the water run while I was brushing my teeth. The lady of the house rebuked me of how how can you rebuke me over this.

Just brushing my teeth, set all don't waste water.

Water is precious we don't get much of it around here and so we have to conserve it with everything that we that we have shouldn't take water for granted and the people in in the land of Israel. They didn't take water for granted either either in that land, and in that day the matter water was a matter of life and death and here David gives thanks to God and he says your generous in providing us with what we need, without you, none before the days of the sophisticated irrigation that we have today. All the blessings of of rain on them and that time was was a matter for profound thanks and so David said and just notice that report.

Repetition of view you visit verse nine.

You greatly enrich it.

You prepare their grain you water it's for rose you settle its riches. You soften it with showers. You bless its growth you have crowned the year your paths dripped with fatness.

God I'm recognizing that you are the one who has done this is not enough form to say it wants or twice.

David is so filled with praise so filled with gratitude that he just says it over and over, God, you have done this you have done this you have done this, you have blessed and given to us in so many ways David's thanking them for water.

How much more as we come to the communion table should there be an exclusivity of the glory of Christ in our minds we say Lord it's you that's done this, you are the one Lord Jesus. Praise be to your name. You are the one who came from heaven, you are the one who lived a perfect life.

You are the one who offered it at on the cross as a sacrifice to God. It was your blood that was shed. It was you that was put in the grave, it was you that was raised from the dead. He was you that ascended on high is you that intercedes for me at the right hand of God is use coming again you are coming back to receive me so that I can be where you are, John 14, 1 to 3.

It's you it's you that you oh Christ there's no one else my mind, my heart, my strength, my love is consumed with you.

It's who you are and the resulting abundance going back to Psalm 65 when the communion tables in front of me. It's hard to get very far from the cross and use cut keep coming keep coming back to it.

At the end of Psalm 65.

He describes the bounty further verse 12 he says the pastors of the wilderness dripped in the hills.

Gird themselves with rejoicing. Normally the wilderness would be Brown and Berenson desert over there.

Much of the time the David's describing a land it's bright and fruitful. It's a cheerful scene. It's a beautiful scene God the your bounty is all around us.

This is your your your so good in his his description of the of the abundance earlier in the Psalm it. It's a picture of that of an overloaded farm card so filled with the produce of the harvest that the as the car goes along. It's just the produce is just falling off is because the bounty is so great in the farm card is so full. David closes the Psalm. David was quite the man.

It's his greater sign that we worship it was such a magnificent poet. He ends the Psalm on this this great poetic notice. He personifies the beauty of the earth joining in the songs of praise with the people of God.

Verse 13 the Meadows are clothed with flocks in other words, there's there's abundant abundant flocks covering the Meadows.

They're all out there eating and that our prosperity is assured. There the valleys are covered with grain, he says, and he personifies me says they shout for joy. Yes, they saying so much goodness revealed the David says it's as though creation itself was joining in responding to honor your great name of God, a beloved I want to take an extra moment here to help you see that this Psalm points beyond the earthly blessings of which it focuses on the last two sections. There, but when you realize what the Psalm is saying is that speaking before the time of Christ speaking about how God forgives sin. God rules over nature.

God provides food you realize when you come to the New Testament that it has laid the groundwork for us to recognize Christ and recognize the deity of Christ that he is God in human form does God forgive sin well so does Jesus Christ turn to the gospel of Mark with me were just going to look and read a couple of extended passages again just just culminating our focus on Christ as we prepare our hearts for the communion table.

Mark chapter 2 we asked the question, does God forgive sin will so does Jesus Christ in chapter 2, verse five, you remember, they brought a paralytic to Jesus Lord and through the roof so that Jesus could see him in the paralytic could be near him. In verse five Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic son, your sins are forgiven. Some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts. Why does this man speak that way he is blaspheming who can forgive sins but God alone. Immediately Jesus aware in his spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves said to them, wiry reasoning about these things in your heart, which is easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven, or to say get up and pick up your pallet and walk. Those words are equally easy to say proof is in the power that is behind them so he says in verse 10, but so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. He said to the paralytic, I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home and he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the side of everyone so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God saying we have never seen anything like this is power to cure a paralyzed man illustrated and verified and vindicated his power to forgive sin. That's the key issue will does God rule over nature, so does Christ go to chapter 4 of Mark in verse 37, actually just let's start in verse 35 just to set the context on that day when evening came, he said to them let us go over to the other side leaving the crowd. They took him along with them in the boat. Just as he was in other boats were with him there arose a fierce gale of wind and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up Jesus himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion and they woke him and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing, and he got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea – be still in the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. He spoke into the wind of a hurricane and it stopped. He spoke into surging waves were about to sink the boat and they flattened out instantly illustrating the control of Jesus Christ over nature, the one who has power over nature is God the one who has power over nature has power to forgive sin well thirdly and finally, in following the sequence of Psalm 65 does God provide food know what, so does Jesus Christ look at Mark chapter 6 verse 34.

As you're turning their understand that when we enter into the presence of Christ. When we contemplate him when he comes to us in the gospel when he comes to us by his Holy Spirit when he saves us.

We are in the presence of deity. We are in the presence of God Almighty.

In this should call forth the deepest response of adoration and worship. Chapter 6, verse 34. When Jesus went ashore, he saw a large crowd and he felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things. When it was already quite late, his disciples came to him and said this place is desolate and it is already quite late, send them away so that we may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat but he answered them, you give them something to eat and they said to him shall he go and spend 200 and their ion bread and give them something to eat and he said to them, how many loaves do you have go look when they found out they said five and two fish and he commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. I sat down in groups of hundreds and the 50s and he took the five loaves and the two fish and looking up toward heaven, he blessed the food and broke the loaves and he kept giving them to the disciples to set before them, and he divided up the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied and they picked up 12 full baskets of the broken pieces and also of the fish. There were 5000 men who ate the loaves Christ miraculously exercising his control over creation over bread over fish multiplying it effortlessly in order to lead the crowd of many thousand that were in front of him from such a small visible provision.

What a wonderful Savior. What a magnificent Lord and to realize that he is the most generous God, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ that he loved us before the foundation of the world that he chose us before the foundation of the world. And when Christ was hanging on the cross for those of you that are in Christ, he was thinking of you. Had you in mind, because he was dying as a direct substitute for your sins. He was there bearing God's wrath against your sin.

So somehow in the greatness of his infinite mind. He was conscious of view as he suffered on the cross. Without question Jesus displayed the greatest act of generosity. The world has ever seen. By giving his life for us upon the cross of Calvary will that's going to bring our time to a close for today here on the truth pulpit.

Don will continue in his series called reflections on our Lord. Next time, and if you'd like a copy of today's lesson. Just go to the truth. Pulpit.com. While you're there you'll find all of Don's lessons as well as other great free resources.

That's all it the truth. Pulpit.com now just before we go here again is done with the closing thought done well my friend. I know that it's easy to get discouraged.

As you walk through this life.

It's a fallen world and that makes things difficult for so often. Let me just encourage you as we close today to take hard as you remember the eternal purpose of God. Scripture says that momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. Look to your heavenly reward and being with Christ, my friend and all will ultimately be what thanks God and thank you dear friend for being with us today ideal right will see you next time on the truth pulpit were done green continues teaching God's people.

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