Sunday
April 6, 2008 River of Life Ministries Pastor Michael West
Series: His majesty, His Names pt 4 — Jehovah Tsidkenu
Sermon: The Other Side of God Scripture: Romans 11:22
"Then note and appreciate the gracious kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s gracious kindness to you—provided you continue in His grace and abide in His kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off (pruned away)." (AMP)
"Make sure you stay alert to these qualities of gentle kindness and ruthless severity that exist side by side in God—ruthless with the deadwood, gentle with the grafted shoot. But don’t presume on this gentleness. The moment you become deadwood, you’re out of there." (MSG)
Jehovah Tsidkenu: The Lord our righteousness—Jesus is the King who would come from David’s line and would be the only One who could impart His righteousness to us—
Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:16;
"Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.
Ezekiel 36:26-27—I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
All people, not one excluded, fall short of the glory of God, but God through His Son has made us righteous by our faith in Him. God had promised that a righteous King who would reign with wisdom would come and do what is right and just in the sight of the Lord and all of the people would dwell in safety—Jehovah Tsidkenu.
As I said in part three, God is a good God...all the time, but let’s not get all mushy-mooshy. There is the other side of God. There is the flip side to His infinite goodness and it’s found in His righteousness.
God is not only good, but He is severe: Romans 11:22: “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness,…”
God is good toward all who will accept His goodness and severe to those who reject it. Because of man’s freewill, there isn’t much God will be able to do for those who refuse Him. That freewill was given as a gift to us and we can use it for righteous purposes or we can abuse it for evil’s sake. It is up to us as individuals to choose heaven or hell and to live on the paths that lead us there.
If a person chooses the path of rebellion, to not follow through with God’s plan of salvation and go it their own way, then they will be partaking in the severity of God which, could wind them up in hell.
God is bound by His righteous virtues, commands and laws to follow through in their judgments. There is nothing God can do as His justice dispenses the ramifications of rebellion.
For those who have surrender to God’s love, He being holy as well as good and kind and yet righteous, what do we have to cling to as being sinners just as well?
That’s where Jesus fits in. He who became flesh, a man, who did take the sins of this world upon Himself has made a way to save us. God came down to where we were, and in so doing, He understands us by sympathy and empathy.
Sympathy. Pathy the “feeling or suffering often”; Sym means “together,” like in symphony, playing together in harmony. Therefore, Jesus, feeling and suffering along with us.
Empathy. The ability to project yourself into somebody else and feel as they feel. Now lets look at the Bible’s description—
Hebrews 2:17-18:
17) So it is evident that it was essential that He be made like His brethren in every respect, in order that He might become a merciful (sympathetic) and faithful High Priest in the things related to God, to make atonement and propitiation for the people’s sins.
18) For because He Himself [in His humanity] has suffered in being tempted (tested and tried), He is able [immediately] [7] Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies in the New Testament. to run to the cry of (assist, relieve) those who are being tempted and tested and tried [and who therefore are being exposed to suffering]. (Amplified)
Hebrews 4:15-16
15) For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.
16) Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]. (Amplified)
Jesus knows how we feel and how we can feel.
Many say God “has to” or “it’s required of God to do it.” Listen, God does what He does because of Who He is and what He is. If you haven’t noticed, God can do anything He wants. There is nothing outside of Him requiring Him to do anything. God does what He does out of His own heart.
How often have you gone to God in prayer a little too bold? How often do any of us go to God so brazen, we sound demanding? Like God You just have to do this because no one else can. The audacity.
The more I began to understand His Majesty, the more I realize that I am not all that. I am not a good man and by nature I came that way, but Jesus came to save sinners. I can’t stand and say, “Lord, I sure am glad I haven’t done what that man did.” No, because in deed or thought, I have sinned as much or more.
Paul says it best in Timothy;
I Timothy 1:15-16; “Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One—of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy…” (the Message)
I can name many good men and women in my prayers that are far better than I, but I don’t believe that they can love Jesus as much as I do. Why? Because “...he who has been forgiven much loves much...”
Luke 7:47 “...her sins are forgiven, so she showed great love. But the person who is forgiven only a little will love only a little.“ (NCV)
Let’s bring it home. If a doctor saves a man who only has a runny nose, you wouldn’t write a book about it. Not much was done. But, if a doctor develops a device that can replace the heart, he has done something large and is worth notoriety.
“I once was lost, but now am found...He saved a wretch like me.” Jesus “turned all our blame into endless worship.”
God is kind and good to infinity and beyond. Jesus is God and, is the kindest man to ever live on this planet. It is His kindness, goodness, and mercy that we must reflect.
President Lincoln was know to be a kind man. One day while starring out the window someone asked him why he was so serious. Lincoln’s reply, “today is butcher day.’ They’re going to shot a lot of boys today in the army for retreating under fire or doing something else in wartime. I don’t blame them, they weren’t cowards. Their legs did it.” With tears he said, “I’m going over the list, and I’m going to save every one that I can.”
Jesus went to the cross to save every person that He could, but the final decision has been left to us.
God is not revolted by our wretchedness. He is not revolted by anything about you. In fact, He wills that you joy with Him. Even though we are not perfect, the irresistible love of God, out of His goodness, sees you perfect. Though we are not perfect at this time, He most definitely wants us to be glad in Him.
God so wants to please you and do great and mighty things for you. He takes no pleasure in human tears. Jesus wept, not for Himself, but for us hoping that what He would do might dry up the fountain of human tears. He came and broke His mother’s heart that He might heal all the broken hearted and the wounds we have inflicted upon one another.
God wants fill us with joy and peace. When you surrender your will to His, when you aren’t in rebellion, God loves to please His people. Like a father who gives good gifts. Like a groom for His Bride. The idea that God wants to make us miserable is not Biblical. Jesus came and suffered the bitterness of polluted hearts and God said, “this is My beloved Son in Whom I Am well pleased…” Matthew 3:17
God is not pleased when you are miserable and hurting. He wants to answer our prayers, but if we rebel, we will force His hand for He is a Righteous God. Let’s stay in His good grace and praise His loving kindness together.
