Tasting of the Goodness of God
by Pastor Jim May
Has anyone here ever tasted Castor Oil? Good “stuff”, isn’t it? Well, it was good for what ailed you anyway! No one takes this wonderful medicine anymore because through the miracles of modern science we have discovered far more effective medicines to treat the same symptoms that Castor Oil would treat, but the new ones taste so much better.
Sometimes the taste of something belies its real value. In our modern society we see every kind of diet that you can imagine.
· South Beach Diet
· The Zone Diet
· Low Carb Atkins Diet
· Negative Calorie Diet
· Cabbage Soup Diet
· Mayo Clinic Diet
· Mediterranean Diet
· Diabetic Diet
The problem with all these diets is that we are all subject to eat what tastes good and leave what tastes bad on the plate. And, everyone’s sense of taste is different. Cabbage, spinach and broccoli might taste great to some of us, but to the rest of you, I can already see you gagging.
Down through the years there have been a lot of changes in what people were eating. Some things that we considered as taboo in the past have become acceptable and even desirable today. I wonder what everyone else thought when the first person to eat and egg said, “The next thing that comes out of that chicken, I’m going to eat.” I think he must have been pretty hungry at the time. But there are other examples of eating, and tasting of different foods that have changed the way we eat forever.
Let me give you an example as we talk about “Love Apples”.
In the year 1820, a crowd of curious people gathered around the county courthouse in Salem, New Jersey. The county fair was in progress, and the people massed around the stage, pushing and shoving to get a good place to see what was going to happen. The crowd was filled with anticipation because they were about to witness a daring feat.
Soon a man appeared on the steps, holding in one hand a beautiful red-ripe fruit which had been part of the fair’s decorations. Members of the crowd whispered excitedly to one another as he held it up for them to see.
"Is he really going to eat it?" some asked, as though they expected the answer to be absolutely not.
The man on the stage was Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson and the fruit was - a tomato. Tomatoes were called love apples in those days and they were considered to be deadly poison. Love apples were tokens of courtship or lawn decorations. Young men gave them to their girl friends, who would afterward wear the seeds in sachets around their necks. The fruit was admired for its beauty, but no one would dream of eating it.
The crowd gasped in horror as the colonel deliberately placed the tomato in his mouth, and ate it as though it was better than candy. They waited breathlessly, expecting to see him writhing in agony, dying on the stage.
But nothing like that happened. Instead - he ate a second tomato, explaining that tomatoes were delicious either cooked or raw. He praised their color and texture. Then he invited the onlookers to join him in his meal, and a few of the braver ones went forward. Soon they too were pronouncing the tomatoes good.
The news spread rapidly, and eventually tomatoes graced most of the tables of the world, an accepted article of diet everywhere.
If Colonel Johnson had not eaten that tomato, it is possible that people would still be admiring "love apples" and shrinking with horror from the thought of tasting how good they are.
Living a Christian life is much the same. We seem to take what tastes good to us, such as the Love, Grace, Mercy and Provision of God, and then leave that which tastes bitter, such as Discipline, Commitment, Obedience and being a Servant to our neighbor. The fact is that many Christians spend all their lives claiming to love Jesus, admiring his life, accepting his work, but never really tasting of Christ personally. David, in Psalms challenged us all to "taste and see that the Lord is good."
Psalms 34:8, "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
It seems to me that David is standing there saying, “Just go ahead and prove me wrong. God is a loving, gracious and wonderful God and all of His ways, and all of His words, are sweet to the soul and spirit.”
Psalms 119:103, "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"
How great is the Lord in us! He has taken that old sinful rotten stinking heart and made it brand new. He has taken away the load of smelly sin that held us chained in a prison of death and lifted that sin off of us. He lifted us out of the miry clay where we were stuck fast and sucked in by the power of the devil over our lives, and He has planted our feet on the Solid Rock. How wonderful is the life of the Redeemed and we should shout it from the housetop.
David said in Psalms 107:1-2, "O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy…"
That’s why we sing songs like, “I’m Redeemed by love divine, glory, glory, Christ is mine” – yes I have been redeemed by the Blood of Lamb.
His precious child I am. I am the “apple of his eye” and his “chosen one”; a royal priest and part of a holy nation and I have to show forth the praises of Him who has brought me out of darkness into His marvelous light!
I have tasted of His goodness, tasted of his grace, tasted of his mercy, tasted of His Word, tasted of his sacrifice upon the cross for my sin, tasted of His many blessings that have been poured out on me and continue to flow from the Cross of Calvary!
Psalms 19:8-10, "The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."
The fact is that a lot of people tend to shy away from the Word of God, making very little effort to learn of the law of God. It’s as though they are convinced that God will not hold them accountable for what they don’t know. How foolish can we be to think like that? Does not that same Word of God that they attempt to avoid, especially when it comes to learning of sanctification and holiness, tell us in James 4:17, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin?"
In Acts 17:30-31 Paul is preaching to the Greeks at Areopagus. These were highly educated people but they didn’t want to hear about the “One True God” because it required them to change their ways. Here’s what Paul said about those who thought that remaining ignorant to the Truth would excuse them from judgment to come, "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."
The fact is that the statutes of the Lord will lead to a perfect life in Christ. The heart will leap for joy at the knowledge that it is pleasing the Creator, the Lord God Almighty. While all of humanity cowers in fear at those things that coming on the earth, those whose heart and mind are tasting of the goodness of the Lord and staying in close relationship with Jesus, are actually looking forward with great hope of His soon coming. For us it is a day of victory, a day of glory, a day of beauty, a day of new beginnings in a new life, and a day of peace, not a day of fear, sorrow and death.
God’s commandments are not there for God to use them like a whip upon the soul of the sinner. They are there as a teacher to tell us what and who we already are. We aren’t guilty “because” we know them, we are guilty before we know them. Therefore, the commandments are sweet to those who will hear and obey them; who will fall on their face before the Lord and repent of our sin; and then the real sweet taste of salvation will replace that bitter taste of sin.
The fear of the Lord that David speaks about is not a fear of being squashed like a bug by a Holy and Righteous Judge in Heaven. That fear is a reverence and a high respect for Almighty God just because He is God and for no other reason. That awesome respect and reverence is the same as our worship for worship can only be the outpouring of our love, admiration, respect and reverence of the King of King and Lord of Lords. It’s a “clean fear” that tastes so good to the spirit, soul and heart of man. It’s a “clean fear” that doesn’t leave us cowering in the corner, waiting in the shadows for God to leave us alone. Instead it’s a “fear” that draws us closer to God, desiring to know Him as He is. The more I am exposed to the “clean fear” of the Lord, the more I want to be near Him and to be like Him!
And what about tasting of the goodness of God’s judgment? His judgment is not a hammer to destroy those who love Him and taste of Him. His judgment is in our favor. He judges sin at Calvary for us. He judges our lives and sees only His robes of white as we are made pure and holy by the Blood of the Lamb. His judgment is against all people, all nations, and all the powers of hell that would come against us.
Yes we will stand before the Judgment Seat, the BEMA of Christ, and be judged, but judgment will already have been passed for sin. There we will only be judged and rewarded according to our faithfulness. We will never have to face an angry God whose intent is to cast us into outer darkness. The judgment that we shall face as a Child of God is a judgment that is sweet to the taste and much to be desired for it is the final step before our Coronation Day and the beginning of that eternal day with the Savior.
If only we will taste and see that everything about the Lord is good; even His judgment, His commandments, the fear we have for Him, all of it will cause us only to desire more of Jesus. All that He is and all that He gives to His children is richer than all the gold in the world, and has a greater and sweeter taste than even the purest of honey straight from the honeycomb.
My heart’s desire is for more of Jesus, more of his Love, more of His mercy, more of His grace, more of His presence in my life and in your lives as we come together to form this church in His honor and for His glory.
Can there be any doubt in your heart that everything about Jesus is sweeter as the days go by?
I remember that old gospel song that says,
The more I trust Him, the more I love Him
Nothing good for me He’ll deny
The longer I know Him, the better I can show Him
I couldn’t stop now if I tried
It gets sweeter as the days go by
It gets sweeter as the moments fly
His love is richer, deeper, fuller, sweeter
Sweeter, sweeter, sweeter as the days go by
Oh, the moment He saved me, His good grace He gave me
He placed His love down deep in my heart
There’s great joy in knowing, with Him I am going
And never more from Him to depart
It gets sweeter as the days go by
It gets sweeter as the moments fly
His love is richer, deeper, fuller, sweeter
Sweeter, sweeter, sweeter as the days go by
I want to join David in saying, “…O taste and see that the LORD is good…”
His love tastes so good
His mercy tastes so good
His salvation tastes so good
The Holy Ghost in my life tastes so good
His provision for my life and my soul tastes so good
His forgiveness for my sin tastes so good
His grace for all my shortcomings tastes so good
His Word that teaches me to battle against the flesh and devil tastes so good
His many great and precious promises taste so good
His healing of my body tastes so good
His blessings that have been poured out upon me taste so good
“O taste and see that the Lord is good”
If you know Jesus, you already know how sweet it is to be loved Him! If you don’t know Jesus, then now is the time to taste of the goodness of his mercy and grace. Give your life to Him and let Jesus begin to sweeten up your life. There is no better life you can live than the life that you can have in Christ. I guarantee that if taste of the goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ, your life will be sweeter and sweeter as the days go by.
