Believe God is Good
01/20/08 PM
Reading: Psalm 23
Introduction
Ill: The story of Rick Burgess: http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=27230&ref=BPNews-RSSFeed0121
http://www.baptistpress.org/BPnews.asp?ID=27243
At some point in our childhood we all have dreams of what our lives should look like, based on our perceptions of where we’ve come from and our expectations on where we want to end up. Our plans come as much from our past as from our hopes of the future.
In western culture, particularly here in America, we are an independent lot, prideful in our abilities to “do for ourselves”, proud of our own accomplishments. This cultural attitude makes it difficult for us to acknowledge let alone accept a very important truth: We don’t have the slightest idea about what is best for ourselves. Apart from God we cannot say what is right and what is wrong. In order for us to receive God’s plan for our lives we must be convinced that His way is better and that means we must absolutely believe God is good, gives only good things to us, and does only good things for us.
I.Believing in God’s Goodness
A.Life and circumstances combine to shape our perception of what is good and what is not.
1.Culture attempts to define our idea of goodness but that definition is capricious and changes as often as the seasons.
2.Jesus attributed the title of good to God alone:
Mark 10:18 “And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.””
3.To accept God’s will and His purpose we must agree with Jesus and believe God is good. Believe in the unchanging goodness of God and the unquestionable goodness of everything He does and provides.
4.Goodness defines His unalterable nature and the quality of His being.
5.He is the source of every good thing, the constructor and completer of His good works.
B.But how does God define the word good?
1.To intentionally believe God is good requires a foundational concept of what good means.
2.Without this we might buy into the definition of good offered by the world or our own self-centered ideas only to discover God is not like any of those things.
a.If we choose to believe good means comfortable, easy, or trouble free then sooner or later we will discover that everything God gives us in this life doesn’t live up to those definitions.
b.Without a firm idea of what God considers good, then the first hard thing that happens to us can cause us to resent or reject God and the plans He has for our lives.
c.If we are to intentionally believe God is good we must first find out what good means.
II.The Goodness of Who God Is
A.Goodness is an attribute of God.
1.Scripture tells us that goodness is a part of the very nature of God and the standard of everything he does.
a.The book of Psalms contains the collection of poems and hymns that were read or sung aloud in worship and praise to God, declaring his nature and character.
b.Psalm 23, perhaps the best known psalm, gives us insight into God’s character by describing Him as our Shepherd.
B.The LORD is my shepherd.
1.The opening verses of this psalm establish God’s role as our Shepherd.
2.He is our provider:
“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.”
a.The shepherd supplies everything needed by the flock.
b.Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells us that our needs will be met if we seek His kingdom first.
c.Deuteronomy 8:3c “…man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.”
3.He is our guide:
“He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
a.The shepherd guides his sheep along the right and safe pathways.
b.Psalm 119 tells us that God’s word “is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
4.He is our protector:
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
a.God does not remove us from the realities of this world or all the difficulties of our lives but as our Shepherd He never leaves us to face them alone.
b.He will always be with us and we will not face our disasters and tragedies and heartaches alone if we walk with Him through our valleys.
c.And in the ultimate battle for eternity, the Good Shepherd will lay down His life for the flock: John 10:11-16.
d.But the goodness of God goes beyond shepherding us. Psalm 23 changes the analogy to include a personal relationship that is beyond shepherding.
C.The Lord as our host.
1.“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.”
2.Throughout the scriptures it is made clear that God will pour out His blessings upon His children.
3.Ephesians 3:20a “...able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think”
4.The gospels tell us that Heaven is like a wedding feast awaiting the arrival of the guests and that Jesus Himself has prepared a place for us in the Father’s house. (Matthew 22; John 14)
D.The Psalm ends assuring us of God’s goodness
1.“Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
2.We do not need to chase God’s goodness, it will pursue us!
3.When we choose to believe God is good, we choose a Shepherd who provides for us, guides us, and protects us.
[God is good and that goodness is the source of all that He gives to us.]
III.The Goodness of What God Gives
A.It is God’s nature to give and all he gives flows from His goodness.
1.Regardless of our circumstances God gives good things to His children. Jesus illustrates this in Matthew 7:7-11
2.God gives gifts that are beyond our comprehension and expectations, often beyond our notice.
a.Matthew 6:25-26 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”
b.All of nature trusts God to give them what they need, and so should we.
c.Luke 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”
d.Jesus tells us not to allow our needs in this world to distract us from the truly important (seeking God’s kingdom) and that we can trust God to give us what we need.
B.It gives God pleasure to provide for His children
1.But when we focus on the things the world promotes as “good” (possessions, prestige, power, prosperity) we miss the better things, the best things, offered by God (His presence, His provision, His power, His plans for our lives.)
a.We miss the power He gives us to endure hard times.
b.We miss the joy of His promises.
c.We miss the peace which may rule our hearts in the midst of a world which knows no peace.
2.James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
a.We can count on the consistency of God’s goodness.
b.He will never change His definition of what is good or disguise His good gifts as something they are not.
c.Our culture changes the definition of good with every new fashion season.
3.The world makes sin look good, it makes evil appear beneficial, it makes selfishness and self-centeredness look healthy and normal. The world lies.
4.Only the gifts of God are and remain truly good: His standards, His commands, His will, His plans for us, His precious and chosen children.
C.God has given us the right to be called His own children
1.John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,”
2.He gives us His own spirit as a seal of His promises to us:
Romans 5:5 “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
a.And from this spirit comes our spiritual gifts and within us is produced the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
3.But the most wonderful gift given by God is eternal life in Jesus Christ.
a.The world gives us only what we have earned: death
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
D.These are God’s definition of good things
1.To believe in the goodness of God means believing every thing from Him is good, no matter how we feel about it at the moment.
a.It means we can resist the temptation from the world because we know God offers something better.
b.It means we can withstand the difficult circumstances of living in a fallen world because we know He sustain us and provide for us during our hard times.
2.Not everything we experience in this life will be comfortable or pleasant or even safe but we can trust that God will give to us the good things we need to live lives which testify and give glory to His good name.
Philippians 2:12 “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
Beyond all the good things that He gives us, we also may see the goodness of God in all that He does.
IV.The Goodness of What God Does
A.In the beginning we find a description of what God sees as good
1.Genesis 1:1-25
a.He separated light from darkness as saw it was good. V4
b.He separated land from water and saw it was good. V10
c.He brought forth all vegetation and saw it was good. V12
d.He created the sun and moon and stars and saw it was good. V18
e.He created all sea life and birds and saw it was good. V21
f.He created all land animals and saw it was good. V25
2.Genesis 1:27-31
a.He created man in His own image so that He might have a relationship with us.
b.He also created every form of sustenance and provision needed for His creation to survive.
B.Every thing which flows from God is good
1.From His creation, to His plan of redemption, to His eventual total reconciliation of His creation to Himself, everything God does represents His goodness.
2.Although it was man who broke the relationship with God, it was God who planned and provided the way of redemption and reconciliation. Romans 5:8-11
3.By God’s goodness we are restored to a relationship with Him in this life and spared His judgment in the next!
4.Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
5.Restoration, reconciliation, transformation: the goodness that God does!
Conclusion:
Jesus tells us that the first commandment is to love God with all our heart, and all our mind, and all our soul, and all our strength. Believe God is good, recognize the goodness in all He is, and the goodness of all He gives, and the goodness of all He does and follow that great commandment, seeking first His kingdom and His plan for our lives.
Knowing His way is best in all ways.
Believe God is Good.
Invitation
