Introduction: Why Me Lord?
Background: One of the ways we can stand firm in the faith is to remember who it is we serve.
Purpose Statement: Christians have every reason to rejoice because…
I. The LORD is with you (v. 5)
A. Yahweh Shammah: The Lord is There
1. Context of Ezekiel 48:35
2. His Eyes Song
B. Do you look like this is true? (Look at verse)
1. What is the forbearing spirit?
2. Is it evident in you to all men?
C. Do you live like this is true?
1. If I went to your workplace, neighbors…
2. 7 Year old Boy Illustration
II. The Lord Provides (v. 6)
A. Yahweh Jireh – The Lord will provide
1. Genesis 22:13-14
2. Lucy the Dog Illustration
B. Anxiety serves no useful purpose
1. Matthew 6:24-34
2. It robs us of Joy
C. God wants you to lean upon Him
1. Prayer
2. Supplication
3. Thanksgiving
III. The Lord is Your Peace (v. 7a)
A. Yahweh Shalom – The Lord is peace
1. Judges 6:24
2. The close connection between joy and peace
B. It baffles the minds of the lost
1. How can one be joyous in bad circumstances?
2. DL Moody quote
C. Sometimes it can baffle your mind
1. Matthew Henry Story
2. The medicinal power of Joy
IV. The Lord is Your Helper (v. 7b)
A. Comforter, Counselor, Helper
1. John 14:16-17; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7-11
2. World Religions Illustration
B. For your heart
1. Daily meditation
2. Heart in Scripture Illustration
C. For your mind
1. That’s not Jade Illustration
2. You learn the Truth by handling the Truth
Conclusion: Don’t let distance from God rob you of your joy
WHY ME LORD?
Why Me Lord what have I ever done to deserve even one of the pleasures I’ve known
Why me Lord, what did I ever do to deserve loving You And the kindness You’ve shown
Lord help me Jesus I’ve wasted it...So help me Jesus, You know what I am
Now that I know that I’ve needed you...So help me Jesus my soul’s in Your hands
Try me Lord, if You think there’s a way I can ever repay, all I’ve taken from You
Maybe Lord, I can show someone else What I’ve been through myself, On my way back to You
Lord help me Jesus I’ve wasted it...So help me Jesus, You know what I am
Now that I know that I’ve needed you...So help me Jesus my soul’s in Your hands
WHY ASK WHY ME?
“In all fairness, if we ask the ‘Why me?’ question in regard to our burdens, we should also ask it in regard to our blessings.
“We take for granted 100 days of perfect health, and then grumble about one day of aches and pains.
“We drive the freeway hundreds of times without incident, and then ask, ‘Why me?’ the one time we have a flat tire or engine trouble.
“We casually accept the fact when our family is together for the holidays, but when we are separated, we dwell on our loneliness.
“How often do we say, ‘Why me?’ as we count our blessings?
“Rather than feeling sad about what we don’t have, doesn’t it make more sense to feel a kind of rollicking rejoicing over everything we do have?”
Dr. Dale Turner, quoted in MSC Health Action News, Vol. XVII, No. 11, Nov./Dec., 1997, p.
EZEKIEL 48:35
"{The city shall be} 18,000 {cubits} round about; and the name of the city from {that} day {shall be,} ’The LORD is there.’" (NAS)
HIS EYES
Sometimes I look above me when stars are shining, And I feel so small
How could the God of heaven and all creation, Know I’m here at all
But then in the silence He whispers, My child I created you too
And you’re my most precious creation, I even gave my Son for you
His eyes are always upon us, His eyes never close in sleep
And no matter where you go, You will always be in His eyes, In His eyes
7 YEAR OLD BOY
A seven-year-old boy approached his pastor one morning after the sermon. He said to the pastor, "Didn’t you say I have ask Jesus Christ into my heart in order to be a Christian?"
"That is what I said," replied the pastor.
"Well, how big is Jesus?" asked the boy.
"I’m not sure, but I bet He’s pretty big, because He was a carpenter," the pastor told him.
"That’s what I thought," said the little boy. "So as little as I am, and as big as Jesus is, wouldn’t He stick out if I asked Him into my heart?"
To this the pastor smiled, "He will stick out more than you think."
GENESIS 22:13-14
13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind {him} a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.
14 And Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided." (NAS)
LUCY THE DOG
My brother Ron had a dog named Lucy. She often would bury all the food Ron gave her, and one time buried the bowl along with the food. She didn’t realize that as long as she belonged to Ron, she would be fed. We often hoard what God gives us today because we don’t trust Him to provide for our needs tomorrow. John Underhill
MATTHEW 6:24-34
24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
25 "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, {as to} what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, {as to} what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?
26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and {yet} your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27 "And which of you by being anxious can add a {single} cubit to his life’s span?
28 "And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29 yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these.
30 "But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is {alive} today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, {will He} not much more {do so for} you, O men of little faith?
31 "Do not be anxious then, saying, ’What shall we eat?’ or ’What shall we drink?’ or ’With what shall we clothe ourselves?’
32 "For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.
34 "Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. {Each} day has enough trouble of its own. (NAS)
JUDGES 6:24
Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and named it The LORD is Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. (NAS)
D.L. MOODY QUOTE
Happiness is caused by things that happen around me, and circumstances will mar it; but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the dark; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows all through persecution and opposition. It is an unceasing fountain bubbling up in the heart; a secret spring the world can’t see and doesn’t know anything about. The Lord gives his people perpetual joy when they walk in obedience to him. DWIGHT LYMAN MOODY (1837-1899)
MATTHEW HENRY STORY
"Matthew Henry, the famous Bible scholar, was once mugged by thieves and robbed of his purse. He wrote these words in his diary about the incident: "Let me be thankful first because I never was robbed before; second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because, although they took my all, it was not much; fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed; and fifth, because it was I who was robbed, and not someone else."
JOHN 14:16-17
16 "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17 {that is} the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, {but} you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. (NAS)
JOHN 14:26
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (NAS)
JOHN 15:26
"When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, {that is} the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me, (NAS)
JOHN 16:7-11
7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
8 "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment;
9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me;
11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (NAS)
WORLD RELIGIONS ILLUSTRATION
For the Hindu, you don’t know if you will reincarnate into a nobler person or into livestock. For the Muslim, your only hope is "if Allah wills," but what if Allah does not will in your favor? For the atheist, the illusion of meaning and purpose in life come crashing down in the moments before your death. For the Christian, however, you have meaning, purpose, and a sure, unending, better destination beyond the grave.
HEART IN SCRIPTURE
Heart is used in Scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person. It is the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide. It has been described as “the place of conscious and decisive spiritual activity,” “the comprehensive term for a person as a whole; his feelings, desires, passions, thought, understanding and will,” and “the center of a person. The place to which God turns.”
Fan The Flame, J. Stowell, Moody, 1986, p. 13
THAT’S NOT JADE
A Chinese boy who wanted to learn about jade went to study with a talented old teacher. This gentleman put a piece of the stone into the youth’s hand and told him to hold it tight. Then he began to talk of philosophy, men, women, the sun, and almost everything under it. After an hour he took back the stone and sent the boy home. The procedure was repeated for weeks. The boy became frustrated—when would he be told about jade?—but he was too polite to interrupt his venerable teacher.
Then one day when the old man put a stone into his hands, the boy cried out instantly, “That’s not jade!”
Haddon Robinson, Biblical Preaching, p. 102
