Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
June 23, 2002 A.M.
The Joys Of Being Children Of God
Reading - Psalm 73.1-5; 12-14; 16-19 & 23-28
Go with me to the reading on the right side of your handout for a moment. In our reading, the Psalmist asked a question that we all have asked from time to time... Why do the wicked prosper?
Then in verse two... David admits... My feet almost slipped, I almost got carried away with envy for the arrogant and the wicked when I saw:
- Their prosperity and their lack of struggles in life...
- Their lack of burdens...
- Their seemingly carefree lifestyle...
- And their increased wealth.
Look at verse 13... He says... It seems that my religion is in vain... Is IT for nothing that I have washed myself and kept myself pure. Then he says in verse 17... I entered the sanctuary of God and learned the truth. In the sanctuary, the psalmist saw life as it really is. Note, beginning with verse 23:
- That God is always with us...
- He is our guide and counsel...
- That one day He will take us home to glory.
Then David says... Whom have I in heaven... But you?
In the first half of the psalm, David seems to be saying in Old Testament terminology... It's just not worth it to be a Christian -- a child of God. It's not worth it to try to maintain our faithfulness to a Sovereign Lord. Then, the Psalm ends with a declaration that...
1. He will be faithful to the Sovereign God as his refuge.
2. That he will continue to sing the praises of God's great deeds.
Question!... Have our feet almost slipped? Have we, like David, seen the prosperity, comfort and lack of struggles of the wicked and asked the question... Why do others prosper while living so wicked year after year?
Sure we have... We just sung that question a few moments ago in the song... Farther Along.
- Is it worth it to be a Child of God... A Christian?
- Is it worth it, to work so diligently in His Kingdom for a lifetime?
- Does it really pay to follow Jesus?
- Is it worth it to come to services like this 1, 2, 3 times a week?
Not only do non-Christians, who are seeking... Ask such questions, deep down many of us... wonder also... RIGHT? Such questions might be asked by:
- A wife and mother who has been thrown into a divorce through no fault of her own.
- A single parent who is struggling with raising her children.
- By a father who has just lost his job... And his family is on the brink of bankruptcy.
- Or a Christian brother or sister who has been diagnosed with cancer.
- By a spouse or parent who has just lost a loved one in death.
- Perhaps by a Christian who is dealing with depression.
Does it really pay to be a Child of God... a Christian?
Well... Most of us take our Christian Blessings for granted... Don't we?
So... The lesson this morning is applicable to all...
The first joy of Christianity is what it does to our past sins.
As I look out over this audience... I note that we all are different...
- We came from many different areas of the country.
- Many different backgrounds.
- Many different experiences.
But there is one thing that is common to each and every one of us... We are all sinners. Paul concludes in Romans 3 that all have sinned... There is none righteous... No not one. We can all look into our past and see some real ugliness that we wish was not there.
But... You see... As children of God... We have no past. God has forever forgiven us our past sins... Our past mistakes... All of them.
- Peter had a past... He denied Jesus... Not once but three time to save his own pride.
- Paul had a past... He had folks arrested... jailed... beaten... and killed for believing in Jesus.
- Many, if not all, of those in the Corinthian church had a past.
It's interesting to note what the Bible says God does with our past sins... If we are Christians... Children of God... Baptized believers... Look at them with me...
They are forgiven... Ephesians 1.7... In him we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.
They are washed away... Acts 22.16... And now what are you waiting for? Arise, and be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.
They are hurled into the sea... Micah 7.19... God will have compassion on us; and will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
They are wiped out... Acts 3.19... Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
They are remembered no more... Isaiah 43.25... I, am he who blots out your transgressions, and remembers your sins no more.
They are removed as far as the east is from the west... Psalm 103.12... As far as the
east is from the west... He removed our transgressions from us.
How far is the east from the west?... If you go east will there ever come a time when you would be going west?... NO!!... If he had said as far as the north is from the south, there would be a limit to how far our sins could be moved... East never meets west... Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!!
You see, when God forgives a sin, that means it will never come into play again... Not ever! They are purified... 1 John 1.9... If we confess... acknowledge... our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
The joy of Christianity is that we don't have to live with the sins of our past. The past is just that... The past. Sins that have been confessed... acknowledged... repented of are:
- Forgiven,
- Washed away,
- Hurled into the sea,
- Blotted out,
- Covered,
- Remembered no more,
- Removed as far as the east is from the west,
- Purified.
Let me show you something else here... Not only are our past sins forgiven... Our present and future sins are also dealt with by the blood of Jesus. John tells us that... If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, continues to cleanse us... Continues to purify us from all sin.
Good News!!... Good news we can use... This is why it is called the GOSPEL!! You see... It's not just our past sins... But our present failures are continually cleansed, if we are striving to be the people and person God has called us to be.
Church... We must know this morning that God does not... Did you hear me?... God does not demand that we live perfect lives. That's the reason Jesus came... To cleanse us from ALL sin. Did you catch that in 1 John 1.7: And the blood of Jesus purifies us from ALL sin.
Not just the past... But sins of our present and those we will commit in the future. Well... Randall... Just how long will His blood continue to do this?.
- Just as long as we will confess... acknowledge our sins.
- Just as long as we are striving to do our best to walk in the light of His truth.
I know some in the church... In this church who are miserable... And they make others miserable because they think they must be squeaky clean... Hoping that some day that they will squeak through the pearly gates. Well... Let me tell you something...
- You are not that clean NOW...
- Neither can you ever be...
Except for the awesome grace of God and His forgiveness of ALL our sins... through His blood. What a genuine JOY it is to be a Child of God... To realize that ALL our sins are forgiven.
The second joy is what it does to our present peace and purpose.
If I were to ask you this morning... What is our purpose on this earth... What would your answer be? How many of us really know our purpose here? We talked a little about this last Sunday... Didn't we?...
- Why are we here and not in heaven?
- Why didn't God just beam us up from the baptistery into heaven?
- What in the world are we still doing here??
I am convinced that, even though we have more, are more affluent than any other people ever on this planet... That...
- The unhappiness,
- The restlessness,
- The lack of peace and fulfillment
In our world is a direct result of our not knowing our purpose in life. How can we have more... And enjoy it less? The answer is... Because we are not fulfilling the purpose for which we were created.
It makes no difference this morning...
- How much we know,
- How much we have,
- Where we are on the socioeconomic ladder.
If we do not have a relationship with our creator... If we are not doing what He created us to do ... Then we're gonna be... Fearful... Anxious... Depressed... Unfulfilled people.
Solomon verifies this in the Book of Ecclesiastes. For instance:
Solomon tried to find peace and purpose in luxury. Ecclesiastes 2.7-9 says... I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well... Everything that delights the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me.
Yet in verse 11 he confesses... When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
Solomon tried every form of luxury... Yet he found emptiness of heart.
Folk, luxury... lands... cattle... cash... houses... automobiles... designer clothing will not bring peace... purpose... and fulfillment.
Solomon also tried lust. 1 Kings 11.1 & 3 tells us... King Solomon loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter... There were Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonites and Hittites... He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines. Solomon tried lust... Seemed to me that he tried a lot of it!... RIGHT?
Many in our world today are trying to find peace and fulfillment in lust. We only have to turn on the TV... Check out the internet... Or go to the movies to see this is true. Listen to Solomon's conclusion of trying to find purpose in lust from Ecclesiastes 2.1: I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless... vanity.
Solomon tried learning... Education. Scripture tells us he wrote 3000 proverbs and 1000 songs. Yet in Ecclesiastes 2.16 he writes... For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man... For just as with the fool, in the coming days, both will be forgotten... Both will die. Solomon is telling us we can have a full head and an empty heart. No... We're not against education, but if we do not have Jesus in our heart, we will neither have peace or purpose.
Solomon also tried to find peace and purpose in his career... In his work. But, listen to what he found... From Ecclesiastes chapter 2... I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless... Nothing was gained under the sun... It all was like a chasing after the wind. Jesus put it in these words... A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
Well... Where did Solomon find Peace... Fulfillment... Purpose... Meaning to life?
Listen to the conclusion to his search... Now that all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments... For this is the whole duty... The whole PURPOSE of man... TO FEAR GOD AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS!!
Church... PEACE and PURPOSE come in doing the will of God in this life. Doing the works that God has created... Foreordained that we do. Listen to Paul from Ephesians 2... For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
This is the reason we are here and not in heaven... To do good works!
QUESTION!!!... Will we find purpose in our lives this coming week?... Will we be found doing the works that God has providentially placed before us?... I pray we will!!
Being a child of God not only brings PURPOSE... It gives us PEACE.
In Romans chapter 3.17, Paul says... The wicked do not know the way of peace.
The idea is that God's children have peace... But the wicked do not. Listen to these facts from the American Medical Journal:
- The third best selling drug in America is a tranquilizer designed to bring peace... It doesn't.
- The fifth best selling drug in America is also a tranquilizer prescribed to bring peace... It doesn't.
- The eighth most prescribed drug in America is a sleeping pill dispensed to bring peace... It doesn't.
We need to understand that the Christian life will help us find peace in the present circumstances... Regardless of what they may be. Listen to Paul from Philippians chapter 4... Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And... (listen now!)... The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Peace is one of the fruits of living a Spirit-led life... The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy... peace... patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
If we will have peace... We must live by the SPIRIT... IN STEP WITH THE SPIRIT!!
Church... We must know that when Paul wrote to the Philippians he was in a dirty, dark... cold Roman prison cell. You see, regardless of the circumstances he still found JOY... PEACE & PURPOSE in life. What a genuine JOY it is to be a Christian.!!
Another joy is what it means to our future.
Two things I want to mention here... One is that our future here... In this life is certain.
Jesus says in John 10.10... I came that you might have life... And have it abundantly... To the fullest... Life at its best is IN JESUS... AS A CHILD OF GOD... A CHRISTIAN!!
Paul says the reason is this... Because we can rest assured that as a child of God... He will make all things work out for our good... For our benefit... Amazing grace... How sweet the sound!!
Then... In Ecclesiastes 3.11... The NIV says that... God has placed eternity in our hearts. You see... God made us to live forever.
- Job asked in rhetoric... If a man dies will he live again?
- David speaks frequently of everlasting life in Psalms 21... 23... 121... 123.
- Daniel 12.2 says... Those asleep in the earth will all awake, some to eternal life, some to
eternal contempt.
- In John 14... Jesus promised that... In the Father's house are many mansions.
- Paul says... If the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven.
- Peter speaks of... An inheritance that will never end, spoil or fade away... Reserved in heaven.
Heaven is a place of eternal joy and happiness.
Listen to Jesus in His parable of the talents... Well done, good and faithful servant!...
- COME share your master's happiness!...
- Come share in the JOYS of your Lord.
Perhaps heaven's JOY is best explained by those things that will not be there...
- No more tears...
- No more sorrow...
- No more sickness...
- No more pain...
- No more death...
Perhaps the greatest joy of Christianity is that our knowing that our future has been taken care of... That our future is certain... That this is best life God has to offer in the here and now... And that we have a home with Him... Eternal in the heavens.
Well... We are all like the psalmist... Aren't we?
From time to time we get to looking at the world and thinking... Why Do The Wicked Prosper?
But then... We come here... to His sanctuary... and understand the TRUE Joys of Being His Children... All our sins have been forgiven... We have peace and purpose in this present life... And we have hope for the future.
So... The question of the hour is this... Are you a Christian?... ARE YOU A child of God?
- You can be by... Faith in God... Repentance of all your sins... Confession of Jesus as the Son of God... and New Testament baptism, immersion in water for the forgiveness of all your sins.
- Perhaps this morning... We as His children have taken these JOYS for granted... Renew your JOY as we stand and sing this invitation song together...
Will you come!!
