TITLE: GOD HAS REASON NOT TO LIKE US
SCRIPTURE: PSALM 8 / JOB 7:17-18
I want to challenge us this morning with an unsettling statement as our thought for the morning – “God Has Reason Not To Like Us.” I will give you a moment to squirm in the pew. This Psalm of David begins and ends with the same phrase, “O LORD, OUR LORD, HOW EXCELLENT IS YOUR NAME IN ALL THE EARTH.” It frames the content of the Psalm in the praise of the majesty of God. The Psalm goes on to ask a penetrating question, “WHAT IS MAN THAT YOU ARE MINDFUL OF HIM, AND THE SON OF MAN THAT YOU CARE FOR HIM?”
In comparison to God’s grandeur, we are nothing.
• We are infinitesimal
• We are little specks of dust on a spinning ball
• Yet God grants us significance
• He takes of His grandeur and stamps some portion on us
• So David says He crowns us with Glory and Honor
Understand that Glory and Honor is from Him – it is derived; it is not intrinsic to us. We have no Glory, we have no status apart from what God has given us.
• What is a human being that God is mindful of him?
• How do we define humanity?
• This question has exercised the minds of men to our times
Mark Twain published a book in the year 1906 with the title - what is man? It is a dialogue between a Young Man and an Old Man regarding the nature of man. The Old Man asserts that the human being is merely a machine, and nothing more. The Young Man objects and asks him to furnish his reasons for his position. Twain appears to uphold the view of the Old Man.
Isaac Asimov wrote a short story entitled “…THAT THOU ART MINDFUL OF HIM.” Two robots debate the subject of what is man and conclude that they as robots are a superior form of being that should usurp the authority of their makers.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a sermon soon after his ordination entitled “WHAT IS MAN?” based on Psalm 8. He stated, “Although there is widespread agreement in asking the question, there is fantastic disagreement in answering it.”
• There are some people,” he continues, “that believe man is little more than an animal”
• There are those who would lift man almost to the position of a God
• There are then those who would combine the truths of both and see within man a strange dualism, something of a dichotomy
Both David and Job pondered why God, having such greater power and majesty, should take interest in the human race.
• The rhetorical question of Psalm 8:4 emphasizes that man is an insignificant creature in the universe
• Yet God cares for him immensely
• It amazed David that the Lord of the universe even thinks about man
I would suggest to us this morning that the question is not rhetorical at all. So many of us live our lives so far removed from God that we have forgotten that God made us “IN HIS IMAGE, IN HIS OWN IMAGE HE CREATED [US]; MALE AND FEMALE HE CREATED [US].” And so many of us haven’t the foggiest idea why it might be important that God made us according to his own likeness. We forget that our creation in God’s own image is an expression of God’s love for us, an embodiment of the goodness of creation, and an assurance of our own special place in terms of proximity to God’s heart, and not on the food chain, that the story of creation is meant to tell.
• Like all children, we have been free to take our parent’s love for granted
• And like all children, our propensity to do so has rendered us no less needful of that love
In the modern era, we have generally adopted an attitude of suspicion toward God. We suspect that God is possessed of a certain hardness of heart that causes Him and his church to treat the world and its people with a certain cruelty. And those of us who want to think better of God find ourselves constantly trying to make excuses for him. But Jesus knows that the hardness of heart is all ours.
I wonder at times what God must think of us with all of our faults and failures to live up to what He has designed for us. After all He started out by giving us some guidelines to live by just 10 of them. Not 20-25-50. Just 10 Commandments, and we could not even do that. Many of history’s greatest tragedies – such as american slavery - such as the holocaust – have come about because one category of mankind decided another category had -
• No such status
• No such glory
• No such honor
• They were subhuman
Can I tell you this morning – GOD HAS REASON NOT TO LIKE US. Scripture is clear, in this age, until Jesus returns, all humans have the status of image-bearers of God, no matter who they are or what they do. Every person you encounter has this status –
• Whatever their ethnicity
• Whatever their economic status
• Whatever their intelligence
• Whatever their education level
• Whether they live in utero or on a deathbed
I can understand why the Psalmist asks this question. THE PSALMIST, WHOSE PERSPECTIVE IS FUNDAMENTALLY RELIGIOUS, SEEMS TO HAVE WONDERED ABOUT THIS FEELING. “WHAT IS MAN,” HE ASKS OF GOD, “THAT THOU ART MINDFUL OF HIM; THE SON OF MAN, THAT THOU VISITEST HIM?” Or to put it in more modern language, “WHAT ARE HUMAN BEINGS THAT YOU ARE MINDFUL OF THEM, OR MORTALS, THAT YOU CARE FOR THEM?” More poignantly, the Psalmist marvels at the favor that God shows to us humans, “THE WORKS OF HIS FINGERS,” speaking with a notable but, I feel certain, unintentional lack of inclusivity - “YOU HAVE MADE HIM BUT LITTLE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; YOU ADORN HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR;... YOU PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET.” And he asked based upon our behavior….Why?
God has entrusted this earth to us, to care for it and to care for each other. But we have such hardships because we are not good stewards.
• Still debating about ‘Global Warming’
• Still fighting over ‘Emission Controls’
• Where are we dumping our ‘Plastics’
• Few weeks ago a bunch of entitled kids on a boat in Florida were video recorded throwing bags of trans in the Ocean
Studies show that today, younger people are saving much less of their income; oftentimes, they do not have enough when emergencies occur because they are not denying themselves the indulgences of life.
• Many in the consumer culture are overusing and overspending on things we think we need
• We are depleting the worlds resources
• Many in our consumer culture are overusing and overspending on things we think we need
• The wealthy cannot be satisfied
• The poor become even poorer
We are living in a day and age where it seems we always want more. We place ourselves in a bad position by living above means. Always buying things to impress people that don’t like us anyway. We see in the Bible how the greatest leaders learned how to do without or at least “delayed gratification.”
• MOSES fasted when he was seeking God’s will
• DANIEL refused to partake of the king’s luxuries when they were offered to him. Instead he prayed and sought God’s will, which gave him the strength to resist temptation later
• JOHN THE BAPTIST lived simply, and other people thought he was strange; but he was able to hear God’s voice more clearly
In our supersonic postmodern society, known for its busyness and its increasing ability to deliver instantaneously, we find ourselves hurried more than our ancestors ever could have imagined. We have come a long way from the horse-and-buggy days, and because of that, our twenty-four hour a day seem more and more restrictive. We never feel like we have enough time to accomplish everything we want or need to do, and the clock keeps ticking.
• Amid maintaining a 1,500-calorie diet
• Picking up the kids from practice
• Keeping our car insurance current
• We can somehow lose touch with what is really important
We become like robots rapidly moving from one task to the next. We are -
• Overworked
• Overstressed
• Spiritually undernourished
Our culture promotes “bigger and better” and subtly challenges us to keep up. Whew! Who made these rules anyway?
• Satan loves to keep us running in circles trying to beat the clock
• If he can distract us, he can minimize our usefulness to the Kingdom of God
• Satan may be the Prince of Darkness - but he is also the Duke of Distraction
As Christians, we cannot allow ourselves to be swept away in the undercurrent of the cultural stopwatch. ROMANS 12:2 says, “DO NOT CONFORM TO THE PATTERN OF THIS WORLD, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND. THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TEST AND APPROVE WHAT GOD’S WILL IS—HIS GOOD, PLEASING AND PERFECT WILL.” We will quote this scripture, but we sure don’t live it. Yes my brothers and sisters – GOD HAS REASON NOT TO LIKE US.
I recall a story I heard about a young man who was raised in a fundamentalist home. He had gone to his church one Sunday morning. The Youth Pastor passed out three-inch galvanized nails to all the students in his care. He instructed them to keep these in their pockets at all times.
• Whenever they had an impure thought or disrespected their parents or sinned in any way, he told them to place their hand into their pockets and poke the nail into their finger
• That way you will be reminded of the pain your causing God,” he said, “and you will know how disappointed He is with you in that moment
The spine-tingling actions of this minister raise an important question -- does God get disappointed with us? Is this the God we seek to serve? One who is sick of us and frustrated by us? Such a belief overlooks a critical aspect of the Christian Gospel — namely, the cross of Christ. All of God’s anger, wrath, and yes, frustration was emptied out on Christ in that moment. God’s primary emotion toward us today and each day is love, and we receive it knowing we have done nothing to deserve it. There is nothing we can do today to make Him love us more, and nothing we might devise to make Him love us less.
• He simply loves us because He loves us
• That’s just who He is
• And God does not dangle His love on conditional strings like a divine marionette
As the late Brennan Manning described God in his classic book -- The Ragamuffin Gospel –
• He is not moody or capricious
• He knows no seasons of change
• He has a single relentless stance toward us
• He loves us
• He is the only God man has ever heard of who loves sinners
• False gods — the gods of human manufacturing — despise sinners
• But God the Father loves all
• No matter what they do
• But of course, this almost too incredible for us to accept
I have discovered what G.K. Chesterton called “The Furious Love Of God,” I’ve accepted that God is never disappointed with us.
• But I think God may often get disappointed FOR us
• He wants the best for us—lives of joy and abundance and fulfillment
• But He recognizes that we often choose paths that lead us away from those gifts
God loves us and is waiting for us to give him our lives, to confess His darling Son Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. He is waiting for us to return and come back to Him.
• Confess our Sins
• Believe in our Hearts that Jesus Died for us
• On the third day morning rose with all power in His Hands
• Now seated at right hand of God the Father making intersession for each and everyone of us
Let me close by going back to the original question that was presented. “WHAT IS MAN THAT YOU, GOD ARE MINDFUL OF HIM?” I am sure the angels were confused, yes, the angels who were created higher than us humans. Angels have power with God and surround God’s Throne 24/7.
--REVELATION 18:1 -- AFTER THESE THINGS I SAW ANOTHER ANGEL COMING DOWN FROM HEAVEN, HAVING GREAT AUTHORITY, AND THE EARTH WAS ILLUMINED WITH HIS GLORY
--REVELATION 5:11 -- THEN I LOOKED, AND I HEARD AROUND THE THRONE AND THE LIVING CREATURES AND THE ELDERS THE VOICE OF MANY ANGELS, NUMBERING MYRIADS OF MYRIADS AND THOUSANDS OF THOUSANDS
--REVELATION 4:8 -- AND THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES, EACH OF THEM WITH SIX WINGS, ARE FULL OF EYES ALL AROUND AND WITHIN, AND DAY AND NIGHT THEY NEVER CEASE TO SAY, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND IS AND IS TO COME!
--REVELATION 10:1 -- THEN I SAW ANOTHER MIGHTY ANGEL COMING DOWN FROM HEAVEN, WRAPPED IN A CLOUD, WITH A RAINBOW OVER HIS HEAD, AND HIS FACE WAS LIKE THE SUN, AND HIS LEGS LIKE PILLARS OF FIRE
++++So even the Angels are confused as to why God loves us. I can hear the Angels saying – “WHAT IS MAN THAT YOU ARE MINDFUL OF THEM”
• They don’t want to go to Church half the time
• They don’t want to attend Sunday School, rather stay in bed
• They get mad and don’t Tithe
• They fail to thank you for their many blessings
• Don’t even ask them to come back at 3:00 on Sunday to continue to Worship you
• They ignore those in need
• They fight each other instead of pray for one another
• Why do you Love them so Much!
I can hear God respond to them and to us. You may not understand right now, but just wait with me for after awhile it will all make since, for I have a Master Plan – I can hear the Angels ask, What is your Plan Jehovah? If I could answer the question for the angels today, I would say --
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.
O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary.
--Yes God Loves Us
--With all of our Hang ups
--With all of our idiosyncrasies
--With all of our backage
--God Still Loves Each and Every One of Us
