Sermon Series: What Does it take to Follow Jesus in this Day and Time?
Sermon: To Follow Jesus, We Need to see the Very Good
Introduction:
Ms. Edna has been doing our birthday cards for some time. And she does an excellent job at that. On the bottom left-hand side of the card, Ms. Edna will usually write a short Scripture for our birthday person to encourage them. This past Sunday, she gave me several cards to mail out because for whatever reason they have been not coming. I opened one to write a personal note in it and I saw the Scripture Genesis 1:31. Let me read the Scripture to you. Genesis 1:31 (NKJV) 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good...
And it struck me, if you want to follow Jesus in this day and time, you need to be able to see the very good. You don't have to go looking for the junk of life, the nasty parts of life. the ugly things of life, it is all around us. It takes work to see the "very goods" of life but when you do, I believe that you are walking closer to Jesus. I can say that because the Scripture tells me that in Psalm 34:8 (NKJV) 8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Our psalmist says that the Lord is good, and so it makes sense to me if you are finding the good in the situation then you are moving closer to the Lord because where there is good, there is the Lord; and where there is the Lord there is good.
Let me ask you a question. Are you the type of person that can see the good in a situation or do you always see the negative? Today, after this sermon it in my hope that you can see the good in whatever situation that you are in. We will first begin by looking at several Scriptures from Proverbs.
Scriptures:
Proverbs 11:23 (NKJV) 23 The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
Proverbs 11:27 (NKJV) 27 He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, But trouble will come to him who seeks evil.
Proverbs 19:8 (NKJV) 8 He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good.
Background Information:
The word "good" appears over five hundred fifty (550) times in the Old Testament. And just so you know the Hebrew equivalent is used many times in the New Testament And in most cases when the word is used, it is the Hebrew word "tov". It is more than just good. It is something that is working the way that it is supposed to work. It is a thing of beauty to see how it works. And so, when Paul says in Romans 8:28 (NKJV) 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose, he is telling us to look for the good because God has crafted it in every situation even in the worst of times you can find the good, that thing of beauty.
So, what is going to take to sharpen us to see the "tov"- the very good.
Point #1
To see the "tov", the very good in a situation, we must remember that our God is the God of the Impossible.
Jeremiah 32:17 (NKJV) 17 'Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
If you read your Bible, you know that God makes it His business of doing the impossible. God is in the habit of turning things around. Things that are looking bad, God has a way of turning them around and making then look very good. Sarah was barren but God brought her a child in her old age. that would make her the mother of a great nation. The Israelites were trapped by the advancing army of the Egyptians on one side and the Red Sea on the other. But God made them a path by parting the Red Sea and then destroying that Egyptian army in the Red Sea. Goliath and the army of the Philistines were embarrassing the Israelite's army. But God turned the situation around with a young boy and his slingshot, and the Israelites defeated the Philistines that day.
Do you believe that God can do the impossible in your situation? There are Christians who believe every miracle that God performed in the Bible, but when it comes to their life, they tell themselves God would not do that for me. If you happen to be one of those Christians that can believe that God can do the impossible and will do the impossible in my life, that is a gamer changer. They no longer confined just to see the ugly of a situation; they can begin searching for the good that God interweaved into that situation.
So, do you get stuck looking at how bad things are, or can you look pass that to what God can do? Remember that our God is the God of the impossible.
Point #2
To see the "tov" the very good in a situation, we must remember that there is only one person in charge and His name is Jesus.
Colossians 1:18 (KJV) 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
If a church is to run well, there must be only one boss and that boss is not the deacon body or the pastors or the largest giver. It must be Jesus Christ.
The same is true for any business. You must have one boss.
Well, this world and all that is in has one boss and that is Jesus Christ. I know what you are thinking that Satan is the god of this world. But I need to remind you that is little "g" and Jesus as God of this universe is a big "g". Satan had to ask permission in the Old Testament to test Job. In the New Testament, Jesus told Peter that Satan asked permission to sift you like wheat. Satan is not able to do anything that God does not allow.
With Hurricane Ida and the flooding of the Northeast recently, you heard people talking about the power of Mother Nature. I need to remind you that Jesus on one occasion spoke to the winds and waves as He and his disciples were on the Sea of Galilee, and they quieted immediately. And the disciples said among themselves even the wind and waves obey His voice.
So, if God can do the impossible and He is in charge of everything so He can make it happen, you and I need to be looking for the very good in even the worst of situations.
Point #3
To see the "tov", the very good in a situation, we must remember truly how much Jesus loves us.
James 1:17 (NKJV) 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Last week, we talked about the king and Lazarus, the beggar. The King could do something about the beggar's situation; it was in his power. The king was in charge and could have gotten one of his servants to feed the beggar. It was in his authority to get something done. But the king did not do anything because he felt nothing for the man. There was nothing there to motivate the king to use his power and authority.
The difference between the king in our story and Jesus is striking. Jesus has the power to do something. He has the authority to have things done since He is in charge. But here is the difference. Whereas the king felt nothing for Lazarus; Jesus feels love toward His children. 1 John 4:10 (NKJV) 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Doesn't a mother make a better situation better for their child. If the child would fall and bruise his or her leg the child will run to momma crying. Momma will say something like let me kiss it and make it better.
Well, when a bad situation comes into our life, it is like God says let me make it better and suddenly you see some good come out of that bad situation.
Conclusion:
If we cannot see the good in every situation then it is not God's fault. He has power to turn the situation around; He has the authority to get it done. And Jesus is motivated to get it done because He loves you.
So, if you cannot see the good in a bad situation you lost sight of:
How powerful God is.
The Supreme authority that He has
Or the love that He shows toward us
