Series: Building Blocks of Community
Title: To Know God, Love People
Text: Psalm 15:1-5
Truth: How can I have a genuinely intimate relationship with God? Love my neighbor.
Aim: To strengthen church fellowship.
Life Question: How does building community with others strengthen my relationship with God?
INTRODUCTION
Many years ago Queen Elizabeth came to the United States. She visited Los Angeles. As you can imagine she had an entourage of cars, but she wanted to see what common life in American looked like. The Queen was being driven through a neighborhood that was showing some signs of poverty. It intrigued her. To everyone’s surprise she had the driver stop the car. She got out of her large, luxury automobile and walked up to a house at random. Standing at the door, she knocked. A woman was home. When the woman opened the door she recognized that standing on her doorstep, face-to-face, was the Queen of England surrounded by her security detail and royal entourage!
Being a typical American, she had no knowledge or understanding of royal protocol. She did not know how to act in the presence of royalty. In her surprised joy that the Queen of England was at her home, she threw her arms around the Queen and gave her a good American bear hug! The security detail and royal entourage gasped, but she was not rebuked because of the obvious joy demonstrated by her appearance and actions.
Suppose there is a God who is completely holy, totally good, and all powerful and wise. He is so large He fills the universe. He is majestic and glorious. With a simple word He speaks and 100 million galaxies leap into existence. Maybe the most wondrous of all His characteristics is that He wants you to know Him as much as possible for a finite human being. Would that not be the most radical, life transforming truth any person could experience? How would small, sinful men approach such a God so as to know Him? What kind of people would we have to be to have a genuinely intimate relationship with God? This is the question David proposes in Psalm 15.
King David is the author of this particular psalm. By his life and his words David demonstrated a consuming zeal for God. Both the Old Testament and New Testament describe David as a man after the heart of God. But we know that he sinned enormously when he committed adultery with married Bathsheba, then conspired to cover up his sin instead of confessing it, and, finally, orchestrated the death of her husband Uriah, a faithful soldier in David’s army. That may explain why David says in this psalm if you want to really be close to God you must treat people right. If you want communion with God then do not harm your communion with people. If you want to love God then you must love people too. How can I have a genuinely intimate relationship with God? Love my neighbor.
Bible expositors break this psalm into three parts: question (v. 1), answer (vv. 2-5a), and assurance (v. 5c). Let us begin with the question in verse one.
I. THE QUESTION (PS. 15:1)
“Lord, who can dwell in Your tent? Who can live on Your holy mountain?”
The above is one question asked two ways. This is called Hebrew parallelism. The second line restates the first line. Sometimes it advances the thought. Sometimes it restates the thought by way of contrast. Here David is asking, “How must I live so that I enjoy the fullness of fellowship with God?” He is not asking for a clarification of justification: “What must I do to be saved?” He is not asking, “How does a sinner become right with a holy God?” (The answer, of course, is to repent of sin and surrender your life to Jesus Christ as your God.) Instead, this is a question of sanctification. How does a saved sinner stay in close fellowship with a holy God?
The tent refers to the sanctuary Israel built for God in the wilderness. The tent housed the Ark of the Covenant. The holy mountain refers to the hill in Jerusalem where later David moved the Ark, and afterward his son, Solomon, built the temple upon the hill.
Notice that David wants to stay or dwell in the tent. We know from the Bible and the custom of that day that guests were protected and their needs were provided for when they dwelt with people in the community. Dwell also reminds us that God’s presence dwelt in the tent in the midst of His people in the wilderness.
David is asking for more than protection and provision from God; he wants to be in the very presence of God. But David’s longing goes beyond the impermanence of a tent. He wants to live with God. The question is, “What is required for me to remain in a close relationship with this magnificent, awe-inspiring God?”
A few years ago in February, Carol and I were with our friends David and Phyllis Neely visiting Southern Baptist churches and pastors in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. The Kansas-Nebraska Baptist Convention had asked David to take a pastor with him and determine the needs of these churches for the Convention to be of help to them. For two weeks we stayed in the homes of either a pastor or a member of the different churches we visited.
In Canada, when you enter a home, you remove your shoes and walk around in your sock feet. In Oklahoma you wipe your shoes off on the entrance mat and leave your shoes on. The constant snow makes it cleaner for the Canadians to remove their shoes. The first pastor’s home we visited we left our shoes on like we were in Oklahoma. The next day our sponsor told us of our social faux pas. We did not know what was expected to enter into their homes, but once we learned we changed our behavior.
“What is the protocol in order to dwell with the Lord?” This is what David is asking. Walking through this sinful world he struggled with a natural bent in the direction of sin, but God’s Spirit gave him this longing for God. He questions, as a sinner what is the proper response for him to come into the presence of God?
John Newton, the author of the hymn Amazing Grace, told the story of a man who was on his way to receive a great inheritance of money, land, and mansion. He had traveled a long distance and was within one mile of the great estate, which would be his new dwelling, when his carriage broke down. For the remaining one mile he had to walk before he received an inheritance that would exceed his imagination he kept blubbering over and over, “My carriage is broken. My carriage is broken.” Newton’s point is if we saw ourselves as on our way to dwell with God our present attitudes and actions in this life would be very different. Loving God and loving people would truly be our greatest commitment. This more than anything else determines if we enjoy the presence of God.
We have established the question; next is the answer.
II. THE ANSWER (PS. 15:2-5a)
(2) The one who lives honestly, practices righteousness, and acknowledges the truth in his heart— (3) who does not slander with his tongue, who does not harm his friend or discredit his neighbor, (4) who despises the one rejected by the Lord, but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his word whatever the cost, (5) who does not lend his money at interest or take a bribe against the innocent—
David gives four characteristics of a person who dwells with God. First, his life is characterized by integrity. Notice the verbs: lives, practices, and acknowledges.
Lives speak of his daily conduct. This is the pattern of his life. He consistently lives honestly. The word means “wholeness” or “sound.” All the areas of life are the same. Who he is on Sunday is who he is on Monday. All are sinners, but this person’s life has a consistency to it in public and private that does not give people a reason to find fault with him. Have you known someone who acted like a saint on Sunday but they were as mean as the devil on Monday? They did not live honestly.
This person practices righteousness. Like an athlete who practices and disciplines his life to improve his performance, this person gives effort to live like Jesus. He is not apathetic and lazy about living a holy life that obeys the commands of Christ. This person is mindful and intentional about conforming to God’s holy character as set forth in the Word. His life overflows with doing good and right actions. He practices righteousness.
Where does the motivation and will come from? It comes from his heart. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus spoke a great deal about the heart. He said that those with pure hearts will see God, that murder and adultery start in the heart, and that you can tell what is in a person’s heart by looking at what they truly treasure. Proverbs 4 reminds you to guard your heart above all else for out of it flows life. This person’s heart is filled with God and His truth. The result is a life of consistency and an absence of duplicity.
This brings to mind the word integrity. To state it simply, integrity is doing what you said you would do. Married couples promised to be faithful, citizens promised to pay their legal obligation in taxes, employees promised not to steal from their employer, and Christians promised to be followers of Jesus Christ.
In the movie Liar, Liar the lawyer Fletcher Reede, played by Jim Carrey, is forced to tell the truth for 24-hours. He learns in one day what others have not learned in their lifetimes. He learns that in our relationships integrity is the only guarantee of true happiness.
What kind of person will enjoy the presence of God? The person who will enjoy the presence of God is consistently honest and fair with people. What you see on the outside is what is on the inside.
Second, a person who enjoys the presence of God is characterized by a love for others: “…who does not slander with his tongue, who does not harm his friend or discredit his neighbor...” His love for his neighbor is seen in his words. His love for his neighbor is seen in the way that he does not repeat gossip or take unfair advantage of him or her. He does not slander. To slander is to attack the reputation of another. The word “devil” means “slanderer.” You are never more like the devil than when you are using your words to harm the reputation of another. This person does not belong in the presence of a holy, truthful God. James 3 says a person who can control his tongue is very mature.
Do you have filters on your computer to protect them from what comes in? How about putting up a love filter for what comes out your mouth and life? When someone disagrees with your opinion respond with respect and kindness. Before you offer a word of criticism or respond negatively, say something that blesses and encourages. When someone speaks to you about the bad behavior of another try to discover the bigger picture of why that person would act and speak that way. In other words, give people the benefit of the doubt before you judge them.
We are not usually interested in what comes in second. Who was number two in the football polls last year? Who came in second in the Heisman vote? Maybe you can name the Presidents of the United States, but it is rare to find someone who could name the Vice Presidents.
A man asked Jesus what is the greatest commandment. Jesus said it is to love God with everything you have and the second… “Wait a minute Jesus; he didn’t ask you what was second,” you may be thinking. No one asked Jesus what was the second most important commandment. It is as if the first and second commandments are so close that you cannot have one without the other. A person who enjoys the presence of God is characterized by a love for others.
A third characteristic of a person who enjoys the presence of God is they fear God (v. 4): “…who despises the one rejected by the Lord, but honors those who fear the Lord…” Our attitude toward people is a key for living in fellowship with others. Obviously we are not to hate people but to love them. But there are things in people’s lives that we cannot approve. We must reject.
Asaph tells us in Psalm 73 that he was jealous of the godless. They appeared to enjoy the best of this life. They had plenty to eat, died without pain, and received a great funeral service. Then he comes into God’s presence and he sees the outcome of a life of rejecting God. He completely reverses his attitude toward the comfortable life of the wicked. He no longer envied or admired them but rejected their life choices. This is the idea of despise. We reject the things we see in those who reject God.
We admire the skill of the professional athlete but reject his womanizing lifestyle. There is the actress who can bring us to tears but we reject her irrational promotion of abortion. You have family members and co-workers who have admirable qualities but you also recognize they are rejecting the Lord’s authority over their lives. That is what is despised.
On the other hand there are those who live lives that honor God. The fear of the Lord means a person takes God seriously. This person obeys God when it is convenient or inconvenient, when it pays and when it costs. The person who takes God seriously keeps working at being consistent in reading the Bible. Their respect for God is seen in their church attendance, their effort to be a loving person, and speech that is wholesome and edifying. This is the person whom God welcomes into His presence.
The fourth characteristic in answer to who can dwell in the presence of the Lord is a person characterized by mercy and justice: “…who keeps his word whatever the cost, (5) who does not lend his money at interest or take a bribe against the innocent—…” This person makes a commitment, and keeps it even when the circumstances change. Instead of him turning a profit or it being convenient, it results in him losing money or being inconvenient. This person keeps his commitment, and that is a rare quality.
How many times have you seen a Western movie, (okay, how many times have I seen a Western movie,) in which the sheriff needed some men to back him up? The town’s men all promised they would be there for him. Then they learn the bad guy has six other bad guys. Only an old guy with one arm and one good eye comes. When this type of man says that he will pray for you, he does. When he says, “You can count on me to be there” he is. The man who takes God seriously does not exploit the poor or oppress the innocent.
This is not referring to our practice of loans. They made loans in those days. This speaks of one Israelite loaning money to another Israelite. This is your brother. You have an opportunity to help him improve his life. Do not take advantage of that. Help your brother. A bribe reveals you are influenced by something other than the Lord. The reason this man can be found in the presence of the Lord is he trusts God more than he trusts money.
Step back from these characteristics and hold them up like a mirror to your life. Does this reflect your life perfectly? Do you sometimes struggle to be consistent in your public and private life? We all do. How are you doing in loving your neighbor? Anybody you slight or reject or fail in some way to love like Jesus? Of course this is true. Sometimes you do not take God seriously. Look at your language or use of time or thoughts. And how many times have you neglected a commitment because it was not convenient or you simply did not feel like doing it? We are in big trouble, if we think this way.
But every one of these characteristics is perfectly demonstrated in the Lord Jesus Christ. Each one is found fully in Him. He has already done it perfectly. I look to Him to give me the power and the passion to live in such a way that I might live in fellowship in the presence of God.
Ravi Zacharias tells a story which involves several of these characteristics and how it made him aware of the Lord:
Some years ago, we were spending Christmas in the home of my wife’s parents. It was not a happy day in the household. Much had gone wrong during the preceding weeks and the weight of sadness was felt in the home. Yet, in the midst of all that, my mother-in-law kept her routine habit of asking people who would likely have no place to go at Christmas to share Christmas dinner with us.
That year she invited a man who was, by everyone’s estimate, somewhat of an odd person, quite eccentric in his demeanor. Not much was known about him at the church except that he came regularly, sat alone, and left without much conversation. He obviously lived alone and was quite a sorry looking, solitary figure. He was our Christmas guest.
As it happened, because of other happenings in the house, not the least of which was that one daughter was taken to the hospital for the birth of her first child, everything was confusion. All of our emotions were on edge. It fell upon me, in turn, to entertain this gentleman. I must confess that I did not appreciate it. Owing to a heavy life of travel year-round, I have jealously guarded my Christmases to be with my family. This was not going to be such a privilege and I was not happy. As I sat in the living room entertaining him while others were busy I thought to myself, “This is going to go down as one of the most miserable Christmases of my life.”
But somehow we got through the evening. He evidently loved the meal, the fire crackling in the background, the snow outside, the Christmas carols playing, and a rather weighty theological discussion in which he and I were engaged—at his instigation, I might add. He was a very well-read man and as I found out, loved to grapple with heavy theological themes. I do too, but frankly, not during an evening when you wish to enjoy life’s quiet moments, not someone’s polemical mind.
At the end of the night when he bade us all goodbye, he reached out and took the hand of each of us, one by one, and said, “Thank you for the best Christmas of my life. I will never forget it.” He walked out into the dark, snowy night, back into his solitary existence.
My heart sank in self-indictment at those tender words of his. I had to draw on every nerve in my being to keep from breaking down with tears. Just a few short years later, relatively young, and therefore to our surprise, he passed away. I have relived that Christmas many times in my memory.
The Lord taught me a lesson. The primary purpose of a home is to reflect and distribute the love of Christ. Anything that usurps that is idolatrous .
These characteristics describe a person who knows fellowship with God. Lastly, we have the assurance.
III. THE ASSURANCE (PS. 15:5c)
“…The one who does these things will never be moved.” This assurance does not come to the person who thinks these things or values these things or teaches these things. The assurance comes to the person who acts on these things; who applies these things or implements these things.
Notice the strength of this assurance. This person will never be moved. Psalm 1 speaks of a person who delights in God’s instruction as being planted by streams of water. He is rooted and grounded in an underground source which never diminishes despite the conditions above ground. Jesus said in Matthew 7 at the end of that magnificent teaching in the Sermon on the Mount that if a person builds their life on obedience to God they will be like the man who built his house upon the rock: when the storms of life beat on that house it will survive.
None of us can live like this; we are too weak. But we have the assurance of God’s grace to sustain us. Because we are united to Christ this is our destiny. Nothing can separate us from the grace of God.
CONCLUSION
Recently something happened in our church family that I do not think has ever happened in my ministry or this church. On Monday, September 15, 2014, our beloved Wilbert Adleman ended his race on this earth. He left his cancerous body behind and went to be with his Lord. That day around the same time of morning, Reed Babcock, the son of Shane & Kim, began his journey.
On Tuesday morning, September 16, I met with Janell, Wilbert’s widow, to plan his funeral service. That afternoon I met Reed Babcock on his second day of life outside his mother’s womb. One man ended his race and another was just beginning.
I have wondered what the conversation would have been about if the man who ended his race could have spoken to the little man just starting his journey. I suggest that one thing Wilbert would have told Reed is that one day Reed will have to decide what constitutes winning and losing in life. Many will try to convince him it is earning lots of money or having a good family. But should God let Reed live to Wilbert’s age and he is wise, he will come to the same conclusion as Wilbert: the only thing that really matters is what God thinks about you. “Reed,” would say Wilbert, “you cannot fail in this life if you spend your whole life loving God and loving others. Then like me, Reed, you will know the indescribable joy of dwelling with God for now and in eternity.”
How can I have a genuinely intimate relationship with God? Love my neighbor.
Resources:
1. Sermon by Geoff Chang.
2. LifeWay Sunday School lesson, May 16, 1999.
3. Favorite Psalms, John Stott.
4. Psalms 1-41, John Goldingay
5. Sermon by Dr. Steven Lawson
6. (www.rzim.org, Where do you live?)
