O Taste & See That The Lord Is Good

O TASTE & SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD

Ps. 34:8

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: IT’S BEEN TOO LONG

1. When a Lady asked her friend if she was planning to attend church, she just shook her head. "I haven't gone in a long time," she said.

2. "Besides, it's too late for me. I've probably already broken all seven commandments."

B. THE JOYS OF EATING

1. Food is a gift from God. Ps. 103:5 says, “Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

2. Q- “What is it that makes your mouth ‘water?’” I think of barbecue brisket, a good steak sizzling on the grill, real potato fries or onion rings, a good juicy hamburger, raw chocolate-chip cookie dough, sausage-biscuits & gravy, a good pork-chop, homemade yeast bread & honey, a pot-roast with potatoes & carrots in the crockpot...

3. Q- “Is there any food you never tried until you were older and wish you had tried it earlier?”

C. TEXT

“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. 4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Ps. 34:1-8 NKJV

I. DAVID USES THE LANGUAGE OF EXPERIENCE

A. SOUNDS LIKE A SENSE-TEST

1. David uses the language of experience; touch, taste, seeing, hearing, smelling. Of the 5 senses, taste is the most personal.

2. SIGHT can be used at great distance from the object it’s looking at; you can see stars hundreds of light-years away. With HEARING, we can hear thunder or explosions 20 miles away. We can SMELL cattle feedlots up to 10-15 miles away or more. With TOUCH, we have to actually come into contact with the thing we’re investigating. TASTE is even more personal -- you have to insert the food or drink INTO YOUR BODY in order to test it experimentally.

3. Our eyes and ears may deceive us, but seldom our taste. None of us distrust the evidence of our own senses.

4. Christians today are in three distinct classes; first, those who hear without seeing; those who both hear and see, without tasting; and those who do all three — to whom "faith comes by hearing," in whom faith grows by seeing, in whom faith is perfected and completed by tasting. (Thomas Dale)

B. WHAT ARE WE TASTING? THE GOODNESS OF GOD!

1. God’s goodness is best recognized by contrasting it with the character of supposed deities in the world. Think of the character depicted of the mythical gods.

2. Zeus & Hera of the Greeks were very immoral and vengeful. Odin, of the Germans/Vikings, was best known as a deceiver and murderer, even of his own family. Shiva, of the Hindu religion, is known as “The Destroyer.” Ogwugwu-Mmiri, an African deity, will never forgive you. Allah, of Islam, can love you today, but for no reason, if he chooses, he might decide to destroy you; he is capricious.

3. Aren’t you glad the True God of the Bible is a good God who is motivated by love for us, and His whole desire is to do us good? Wow! What an amazing thing!

4. OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!

a. He’s endowed with every positive trait; He is a beautiful Person.

b. He is GIVING (generous & sacrificial) , KIND (has our best in mind), & GRACIOUS (forgiving, loading us down with gifts).

c. We should be encouraged, in the worst of times, to trust in Him.

II. HOW CAN WE “TASTE” GOD?

A. THE SIXTH SENSE

1. The agnostic says that God cannot be known, because He is outside of the sphere of sense. But for 1,000s of years, people have been aware that there’s something beyond the physical realm.

2. It can’t be weighed on a scale, measured with a micrometer, or photographed with a camera, but the majority of people feel a reality beyond this world. We get revelations from nature, from concepts, glimpses of the nether world of angels/spirits, and of an all-pervasive Presence that exists throughout the universe.

3. The Apostle John says that we can actually recognize the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. 1 John 3:24 says, “And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us” (also 1 John 4:13; Rom. 8:16). Paul says, “For in Him we live and move and have our being” Acts 17:28. God’s presence and visible witness are so pervasive (“clearly seen”) throughout God’s creation that we are “without excuse” for not recognizing Him (Rom. 1:20).