He Knows Because He's Near

"Are they not in Your book?" Ps. 56:8

I know that God is all-knowing. The Scriptures testify of His omniscience. He knew me before the womb; He knows my coming and going; before a word can roll off my tongue, He knows it in full. So obviously, He has everything recorded in His book (Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:2-4, 16). 

Surely God keeps score of everything. Certainly He keeps track of all my mess-ups. He knows each of my failures, every one of my terribly bad decisions. Unfortunately, my wicked thoughts are not news to Him. And while this is an accurate assumption, it is not the complete picture, nor is it even what this verse is addressing. 

Let's start with some gospel clarification. For those hidden in Christ, we must remember that our sins, all of them - past, present, and future, have been atoned for through the precious blood of Jesus (Psalm 103:12, Romans 5:6-11). God does not have a set of heavenly scales for which we will be measured by. That is to say, we are not getting into heaven because our good deeds somehow outweigh our hideous sins. Truly, we are entering into the eternal presence of the Father through the perfect sacrifice of the Son or we're not entering His rest at all. We get in by way of the cross or we don’t get in. Christ absorbed the wrath of God, the due punishment for our sins, when He hung on Calvary's tree. There He took on our sin that we might be clothed in His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 61:10, Revelation 6:9-11).

So if God is not up in heaven's press box, negatively grading me for my on-field performance, what is exactly is He writing down in His book. Well, let's look at all of verse 8 together.

"You have kept count of my tossings;

put my tears in Your bottle.

Are they not in Your book?" Psalm 56:8

Now, it stinks that we even have tears to be caught. Yet, the fact is heartache, anxiety, and disappointment attacks us at every turn. This is the reality of fallen world living. But consider this: God sees; He knows; He is aware of our struggle! All our sleepless nights, every time we weep, when the burden is too great, He sees. He captures each drop we cry, records every agonizing hour we face.

But how can He do this if He is far removed from us? Friend, as you proceed through the rest of your week, know that He is near. He is not some distant deity. When the weight of life seems too much to bear, remind your heart that His omnipresence covers your city, office, neighborhood, and home. He is closer than you feel and writing in His book, much more than we might imagine. "Are these hard times not in His book?" They are. So let us rest in this truth, that we might trust Him more. May we find peace in His presence and be encouraged by the sweet thought that He knows because He's near.

Matt Fowler
Associate Pastor of Missions & Students
matt@nbchurch.info
@fattmowler

When Nearness is Needed

"Be not far from me..." Psalm 22:11

Our 20 week old, Charlotte, was aching from teething and it seemed like nothing would calm her. We had tried everything, but she was simply inconsolable. To make matters worse, my wife and I were on the road, still three hours from home.

Normally, a car ride puts our tiny one fast to sleep, but not on this occasion. We tried giving her a bottle; we offered her a pacifier and a chew toy; if it was in her diaper bag of tricks, we had given it a go. Brittany climbed into the backseat to attempt distracting Char with videos on her phone. I tried turning the radio up to draw her attention away from the pain, but nothing helped the situation. Charlotte's mouth was sore, and our little fussy girl was letting us know all about it.

Finally, after we were nearly to our wit's end, we discovered the one thing that brought her peace. My wife knelt down low and gently placed her head on Char's chest. As she did she began whispering sweet words of love to her. Our daughter then reached out and gripped B's hair, pulling her mama in even closer.

 

I glanced over my shoulder to see what had finally brought relief and the cessation of screams. A few moments later, Charlotte was asleep. The only thing that brought consolation was having mama come close – near enough to smell – tight enough to touch. By sensing her mother’s presence, Char found comfort.

As I considered this scene on the remainder of our drive, I was blown away by how similar it is to us. We have experienced God's gifts and blessings. We know that He exists. We may even see Him active in the lives of others, but sometimes we just long to know He is near to us.

Sometimes, it's not enough to think that He's in the vicinity or that He’s around inspiring others. We want to have Him close to us. We long for Him to be near; we desire to find intimacy in our fellowship. We sing songs about Jesus, read books about Him, listen to talks about Him and the power of His Spirit, but all of these things are an insufficient substitute for Him.

Here's the deal: He is near – always! For those in Christ have been given the Holy Spirit. Indeed, we have been transformed into temples of the living God. The Spirit has been granted us for our comfort, for guidance, for reminding us of the Word we've received. He is a deposit, guaranteeing our eternal inheritance.

Yet, honestly, sometimes it feels as though He has left us alone. We think that perhaps we've been abandoned to figure things out for ourselves. And we just need to know He is near.

Well, we've not been given tangible locks of Jesus' hair to grasp; Christ is not physically before us to reach after. However, we have been left with some sweet, sweet words of love. In the Gospels, we see that Jesus willingly took the cross in our place  (John 10:18). There He absorbed the wrath of God to atone for the sins of all who would trust upon Him. He faced Calvary alone, where He was mocked, scorned, and rejected by men. But worst than this, it was upon that old rugged cross that God the Father spiritually abandoned the Son that He might endure the wages of the world’s sin.

See, Jesus was forsaken and afflicted so that we never will be. He bore the cross, once and for all, so that we would never again be separated from the love and fellowship of God (Romans 6:10, Hebrews 9:28, Hebrews 10:10, 1 Peter 3:18, Romans 8:35-39). On that bloody tree, Jesus became the curse for us; He who knew no sin became sin for us; indeed, it was our sins that held Him there, for he was delivered up for trespasses (1 Peter 2:24, Galatians 3:13, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 4:25). But when it was finished, our ransom had been paid. We were reconciled to the Father through the perfect sacrifice of the Son.

And the same spirit that raised Christ on that first Easter Sunday now lives in those that He redeemed (Romans 8:11). He will stick closer than a brother, for He will never leave us nor forsake us (Proverbs 18:24, Hebrews 13:5, Deuteronomy 31:6). So, He is close - close as can be. I mean, He lives within us, right? Yet we still struggle to sense His nearness.

On the cross Jesus identified Himself as the fulfillment of what Psalm 22 prophesied beforehand (Psalm 22:1, Matthew 27:46). He came in the flesh, Immanuel, God with us. He came as the God-man; truly He was the Righteous King that came to suffer, to bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10). Therefore, the afflicted have not been forgotten, and despite how we may feel, we have never been nor ever will be forsaken! He has not hidden Himself from His beloved. He has heard and will hear our cries (Psalm 22:24)! Though our sin and doubt often overwhelms and clouds our vision, we have been forgiven and adopted as co-heirs with Christ!

Might we then fix the spiritual eyes of our heart upon the cross. May it be to our souls a symbol of that glorious transaction, where Christ took our sin and we gained His righteousness. If we could just lift our gaze to see the emblem of our Savior's love, I think we'd sense that He’s closer than we think. Let us not look at ourselves – our abilities and strengths; may we not get caught glancing at our circumstances. Rather, may we see Calvary and remember what it means, why it was necessary, and how it has abolished every charge the enemy could ever bring against God’s elect.

Let me close by sharing the third verse of Fanny Crosby’s classic hymn, “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross.” May this be our prayer today.

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,

bring its scenes before me;

help me walk from day to day

with its shadow o'er me.

Matt Fowler
Assoc. Pastor of Missions & Students
matt@nbchurch.info
@fattmowler

FYI - I covered this topic (the Father forsaking the Son) in greater detail yesterday in a sermon. You can access it by clicking on the link below. The teaching portion begins approximately at the 31:35 mark.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/83510297

No Laughing Matter

"But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting." Genesis 19:14

Are we too funny? This question may strike you as odd, but I believe it's worthy of our introspection. Sure, our friends are familiar with our sense of humor; it's no secret that we like to laugh and have a good time. For the most part, they know when we're kidding, right? They seem to genuinely like our jokes and find us enjoyable to be around. But are we too funny? Could we be described as predominantly humorous? Do we tease too much? Do we draw from the well of fun and games so often that we can't be taken seriously? If so, this is a problem.

Scripture doesn't give us a lot about Lot, at least concerning his sense of humor. And it would do us no good to force the text to say something it doesn't. So let's just look at what it does say. In Genesis 19 the angels asked Lot if he had any other family within the city. They warned him to gather all his loved ones so that they could leave immediately, for the Lord was about to destroy the place (Genesis 19:12-13). "So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting" (Genesis 19:14). Maybe the fault belongs solely to these would be sons-in-law. Perhaps they were in error of goofing too much. Maybe they struggled to believe that God would destroy the wicked city with fire.

But what if the message seemed incredible because of the messenger. After all, why would they think Lot was jesting? Was he in the habit of cracking similar one-liners? "Hey boys, have you heard the one about God Almighty bringing judgment upon the debauchery of Sodom and Gomorrah?" Did the words seem so uncharacteristic of Lot's ways that the warning was simply unbelievable? Again, we can't know for sure and it would be silly to speculate much further.

However, this does raise some important questions for us. Do we goof too much? Are we able to be taken seriously by our friends? Do our words align with the way in which we live? Can we warn of sin's wages and proclaim Jesus' cure, which comes through his gospel or would that topic be out of character with the rest of our life? Are we glib when we speak of His glory? Are we irreverent instead of in awe?

I'm convicted when I consider these questions. I love to laugh and have a good time, but I know our fullness of joy is found in Christ alone. And because of that awareness, I must admit that I'm guilty at times. I'm guilty of being flippant with matters of the faith. Maybe more accurately, I'm too careless in how my own faith is fleshed out. I can honestly say that I mean what I say; I don't speak of the gospel insincerely. Yet, if my pursuit of functional holiness is lax, I'm afraid it clouds the message.

For me personally, I've discovered the root to my temptation in this area. When it comes to softening the gospel message to make it more palatable, the root for me is found in my desire to be liked. I'm a people-pleaser by nature. I want people to be happy. I want them to like me. But is it more important for them to “like” me or for them to know and love God? Is it hard for folks to imagine that Jesus truly is my richest, most valuable treasure? If so, it might just be because I'm busy trying to be funny…and if this is true, well, it’s no laughing matter.

Matt Fowler
Associate Pastor of Missions & Students
matt@nbchurch.info
@fattmowler

When we can't move...

“…the Lord being merciful to him…” Genesis 19:16

How sweet is this phrase! How unlikely for us to discover it within this passage. While we later read in the same chapter of Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed with sulfur and fire from heaven, here we see that Lot and his family were graciously preserved, despite dragging their feet along the way. And it is the divine mercy displayed in this text that should serve as our encouragement this morning.

Lot was in shock. His hometown was about to be decimated. Everyone and everything was about to be destroyed. The angels sent for his rescue informed him that it was time to flee the city; in fact, there was not another minute left to spare. Yet even when confronted with the dire reality of the hour – that he must immediately go, he still failed to respond. Scripture says Lot hesitated; he lingered; he was resistant to move toward his only hope. Nevertheless, God was merciful; the angels grabbed Lot by the hand and maneuvered he and his family to safety.

And this should bring us comfort. For even when we are stuck – unable to move, powerless to change, incapable of doing that which must be done, we have God – One who is immeasurably rich in mercy. There have been times when I felt completely frozen. Paralyzed by fear and without clear direction, I was helpless to determine what to do. I’ve had many a tough days where my strength has failed me, innumerable moments when my faith has waned. I’ve been aware of my heart’s rebellion, but too weak to mortify my flesh. Like Lot, I hesitated; I lingered and moped; I sulked in my sin. But God was merciful.

He didn’t send visible angels to my aid, but He didn’t leave me alone either. He met me where I was. Like David describes in Psalm 40:2, God pulled me up from the miry bog (the pit where I had remained unmoved), and placed my feet upon the rock (back to solid footing in my faith). God has rescued me in more times and ways than I can detail in this blog, and here’s the point. This is who He is and how He works! He is extravagantly gracious and merciful in spite of us. When we can’t muster the words to say, He speaks gently to our spirit. The One, who raised us from death to life, restores and repairs our souls when they’ve grown tired and weary. He does this because of His love and abundance of grace.

And this is how He acts without any request or effort of our own. Sure, Abraham had prayed on behalf of his nephew (Genesis 18:22-33), and we know that other saints are surely interceding for us as well. Yet what if we were to ask? What if we were to cry out for Living Water? What if we were to make our requests known to Him? Why would He not come? Not that He has to, not that He is obligated in the least, but is that not His character? Lot, fully aware of impending doom, had to be seized and dragged to safety by the angels. Even with the knowledge he had obtained, if left alone, he too would have been burned with brimstone, for he would have never moved. Would our Good Shepherd not carry His sheep to safe pasture? Is it too daunting a task for Him? Are you really too much for the Savior – the One who has conquered sin and death? Can He not deliver you this day?

My hope is that we might evaluate today’s struggles in light of the hope we have in Christ. Let’s see how he has worked in our personal history. Let’s then observe how God has graciously dealt with His people through the ages. This will bring us confidence – not in ourselves, but in our merciful Lord. I’ll conclude with a line from one of our modern hymns of worship, “Lord, I Need You.” I pray we can each sing this in truth.

“And when I cannot stand, I’ll fall on You.

Jesus, You’re my hope and stay.”

Matt Fowler
Associate Pastor of Missions & Students
matt@nbchurch.info
@fattmowler