Conditions for Answers

Berean Baptist on February 13, 2017

Psalm 77

Several times in preaching on the need for total dependence upon Christ, I have told the story of a dark period I went through about thirty years ago. This was during an economic downturn in our city when business was failing, and it seemed everything I worked for was ready to collapse. I won’t go into the details now, but that period spawned a real test of faith in which I seriously questioned if God had forgotten His promises.

When I was just a child, my dad taught me to be faithful to the Lord’s work and to always keep up with my tithes and offerings. My first job was working for him, and out of the $10 I received each week I always deducted the proper tithe along with a little extra for missions. I was faithful to do this and I believed if I did there would never be a time I was without.

Up until this difficult time in my life, I never had any serious troubles. Married life was good, finances were good, church was as usual, and faith was never severely tested. The brewing financial storm and prospects of failure changed all of that. Those were the most serious days of prayer in all my life. During this time, I sought solace in the pages of scripture trying to find any passage that would ease my anxiety. One day I was reading 1 John 3:22 for the nth time when the verse popped out on the page: “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” I took this as intended—an absolute promise.

As Christians, we are never in a bargaining position with God over our salvation. Salvation is an irrevocable gift purchased by the blood of Christ and given to us freely. The ability to keep the gift is neither ours as salvation is unconditional no matter how unfaithful at times we may be. However, the realization of peace, assurance, and loving companionship are conditioned upon how we respond in obedience to God’s commands. Please note I said realization of these not the reality of these. For a Christian, an unspiritual mind causes the perception to become perceived reality. John said that whatever we ask we receive with this condition—we must keep His commandments and do what pleases Him.

My determination was to stop the pity party and obey the verse. In fact, I had been obeying the verse, at least in part. I was doing but not asking, or should I say not doing and asking with faith believing. To make a long story short, God turned everything around. My fears were unfounded, and the next year was one of the most financially outstanding of my life.

I wrote this little essay in conjunction with Psalm 77. Note how the psalmist was overwhelmed at the beginning with his personal problem. He was at the point of giving up on God and believed God had given up on him. We don’t know what put him in such despair, but it hardly matters because there are numerous issues that park us beside the psalmist. The situation looked bleak, but as Charles Spurgeon said there would be a good outcome because the first verse starts with a prayer—“I cried unto God with my voice…”

It took ten verses for the psalmist to work through the emotions of his problem. Finally, he took the focus off self and put it on the Lord. He remembered in the worst of times God was always there. In verse 10, he said: “This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.”

Whatever you fear may make the way bleak and nigh impossible. The best course is not to focus on you and the problem, but to focus on God who solves problems. Always remember to keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight. These are the conditions to receive what you ask.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Faithful Friends

Berean Baptist on April 18, 2016

 

Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. (Psalms 41:9)

As I read the 41st Psalm, I am reminded of John’s words in 1 John 2:5-6: “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” Psalm 41 is another psalm that gives a glimpse into events in the last week of Jesus’ life. Perhaps we can call it coincidence that we would read so many psalms like this that so closely parallel our Sunday morning series in Matthew.

The connection between 1 John 2 and Psalm 41 becomes apparent to me as we see the integrity of Christ despite the false actions of His friends. In verse 7, there are whispers and plots of harm. In verse 9, a trusted friend who sat at Jesus’ table turned against Him and betrayed Him. This is an obvious reference to Judas who received only goodness and love from the Lord. Judas brought Him down, or so he thought. However, as we saw in Psalm 40 last week, the resurrection was Christ’s triumph. In this Psalm He says, “Mine enemy doth not triumph over me” (v. 11).

Where do we find the 1 John connection? In verse 12, Jesus said: “And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face forever.” Those that truly love the Lord have this same kind of integrity. As John said, we desire to walk as He walked. If we do, charges of evil against us are always false charges just as they were false when hurled at Him. When betrayed by a friend, which sometimes happens, it is not because we deserve it. We have kept God’s word by loving our brother as we do ourselves.

In the last week of Jesus’ life, He was set upon by those who had no real cause against Him. The constant questions intended to entrap Him, the denial of His authority and earlier claims that the good deeds He did were actually works of Satan, were so outside the pale of reason that the most skeptical should have said, “Look for something else. We know this cannot be true.” Nevertheless, the charges stuck in their mind and when the betrayal of the trusted friend came there was no doubt as to the outcome of His trial.

His integrity didn’t really matter to them. No matter how justly He walked they were going to crucify Him. This would be a major concern if it was the accusers that were the final judge. They were not. Jesus stood justified before God because of His perfect obedience to His Father. God would cause Him to triumph in that integrity.

This is what I am saying to you today. When you walk the way Christ walked and you know you have been obedient to His commands, how people judge you does not really matter. God will vindicate you at the last day because you stand in the perfect righteousness of Christ.

As a pastor that must preach on unpopular topics, I think about things like this. I will be accused by some who do not like what I preach. If I do not compromise the truth, I have no fear because God will stand by me. I do not want to be overly cryptic, so let me just conclude by saying, I hope faithful friends remain faithful friends even when telling them the truth is unpopular.

Pastor V. Mark Smith