RIGHTING THE RELIGIOUS RUT
Navigating the Bumps of Life - Week 5
PSALM 63:1-8
INTRODUCTION: (Faith Story - Beth Rampleberg)
Thank-you Beth. Did you catch the words and phrases in Beth’s faith story? “Obligation,” “knowledge in my head but not my heart,” “something was missing,” “emptiness,” “routine.” Those words and phrases depict unfortunately what many people fall into: a “religious rut.” A place where there is little life, no passion, and often results in a dead faith. Fortunately for Beth, she was able to climb out of her rut. How about you? Maybe you’re wondering if this whole Christianity thing is a boring rut - or- Maybe you’ve walked with God for a while and yet you find yourself in a dry place.
How do we climb out of a religious rut? -Or- How do we stay out of one? Well, Psalm 63, written by King David, is a song that can help us see how to leave the treadmill of ritualistic religion and walk hand in hand in a vital, fresh day-to-day relationship with the Creator of the Universe. So, let’s dig in.
I. SEEKNG HIS PRESENCE:
The way to navigate around this “bump” begins by actively seeking the presence of God. I believe the most important thing for us to understand is that God desires a deep, intimate, personal relationship with us. He does not want, in fact, he despises religion. Why? Because religion inspires no one, it changes no one. In the American Collegiate Dictionary, Religion is defined as “the practice of sacred rites, rules, or a set of beliefs generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects.” Now, look at that for a moment. Doesn’t that just make you want to stand up and cheer? Does that make you want to shout: “I want to give my life to that?” Of course not! What a dull, boring definition. What if your spouse asked you, “Honey how do you see our marriage?” And you replied, “Darling: Our marriage is the practice of rules and beliefs that are generally agreed upon by other couples or marriage gurus.” First, your spouse would say, “What?” and they’d probably want to smack you! They certainly wouldn’t feel any passion from your answer and your marriage would become a PG-13 marriage: strong language and violence, but no sexual content. Everyone knows that doing things just out of obligation or routine does not make a healthy relationship. The same thing is true of religion. Religion is dry, it’s simply “going through the motions,” living out obligations.
And that’s why, God, throughout scripture, has said he hates “religion” that it is useless. The people that Jesus Christ got the most upset with? The religious leaders. Why? Because they were interested more in their precious rules than in a personal relationship with God. Gal. 2:21- "Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in your relationship with God? If a living relationship with God could come by rule keeping then Jesus wouldn’t of had to die.”(MSG) God doesn’t want your religion He wants a living, daily, intimate relationship - with you.
David, the writer of this song understood that. As in many of the Psalms, the first verse sets the tone and its theme. "God, You are my God. I search for you. I thirst for you like someone in a dry, empty land where there is no water." David, at this time in his life is in the wilderness.. tired, hiding, hungry, thirsty. But even with that discomfort, it’s not the physical things that he needs the most. It’s not literal food, water, or rest that he seeks. He wants the Lord. Look at the intensity of his words: "search," "thirst." And this "dry and empty land" is a vivid picture of those who don’t know God or who only practice religion. So many in this life are captivated with their temporary existence, having no thought for the eternal. As a result, the inner barrenness of the soul is beyond belief. The land is indeed "dry and empty." And I see so many who try to parch their thirst by doing all the right things. As if to think that attending church, having a Bible on their coffee table or spiritual bumper stickers on their cars, will get them enough brownie points to quench their thirst for God. But notice David doesn’t say, “I search for more church services. I thirst for more rules or rituals to accomplish.” No, he says, “I search for you... talking about God... “I thirst for you.”
So here is our first clue in finding or having a vital & fresh walk with God: Focus on the person not a process. Now, something important here. You are not going to search for someone, you are not going to thirst for an intimate relationship if you don’t realize you need one. I want to say this as lovingly but truthfully as I can. Unless you have never sinned, (which I’m guessing doesn’t apply to anyone here) than no matter how good you are or have it here, when you die (and that does apply to everyone here) you will not go to heaven. (Repeat) Your sin, even one sin, has disqualified you from living with a perfect God. Rom. 3:20- “Now do you see it? No one can ever be right in God’s sight on their own. For the more we know of God’s rules, the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying them; his laws serve only to make us see that we are sinners.”(SEV) If you think that because you are “a pretty good person,” or because you keep certain rituals that you’ll make it to heaven, then you have been misguided. The only thing that gets you to heaven is placing your trust in Jesus because He was the only One who was ever perfect and He died for your and my sins. God wants so badly for you to be with Him forever that he created in you a spiritual vacuum that nothing else will fill.
Have you ever felt like Beth? Remember, she said, “I had an empty feeling as if something was missing.” Maybe that’s why you are here today. It’s nothing you can quite put your finger on, but you know something is just not right. Well, please listen: God has done that to you. He has put within every human being a need for something greater than the physical, something that will not be satisfied without Him. Why? Well, not because He’s mean, but because He wants to have a relationship with you. That was the purpose of God creating people.. From Adam & Eve, the first couple, to you and me, God has created a relationship factory! He wants to be close to you and when you don’t have that relationship something will be missing & no amount of church attendance or rituals are going to fill that emptiness.
Now, please don’t misunderstand. Don’t go home and say, “Pastor said I don’t have to go to church.” Spiritual disciplines, like church attendance, bible study, prayer, living life in community are important if not essential for your relationship with God to grow. But many fall into the erroneous thinking that you start and end there. No. It needs to start with a longing, in your heart and soul, for Him. A.W. Tozier, writes in The Pursuit of God, "We have almost forgotten that God is a Person and, as such, can be cultivated as any personal relationship can." How do you cultivate a relationship with someone? First there is a desire to have that association, that connection with them. So begin by focusing on your desire for God.
In light of that, ask yourself? “How do I think of God?” Do I think of him as a loved one? What if you treated the one you love.. your dearest friend, your mate.. the way you now treat God? How deep would your relationship be with them? You only make time for them once a week. When you do make time for them you act bored or inconvenienced. You never ask them if there is anything you could do for them and you never share with them unless you need something. We all know a relationship like that wouldn’t last very long? And it certainly wouldn’t be kept fresh and vital. May I suggest that the first step in building a dynamic relationship with the Lord is to seek His presence moment by moment. Lorraine Pintus says that she realized that her spiritual life was in the doldrums because she was not making Jesus a part of her daily life. She wrote: "When I started taking Him with me wherever I went, then I started relating to Him and enjoying Him in a deeper way. I would ask God: `Would you like to go with me for a walk? And then we would go and I would just converse with Him. I would ask: ‘Would you like go to the grocery store with me? And then to the hospital to see Sherry?’" That for Lorraine was the beginning of changing from religion to a relationship. She, like David, began to seek God’s presence.
II. HONORING HIS PERSON: Vss:2-6
Now, once you commit yourself to seeking Him, the next step is to honor Him, that is, give Him your priority, your worship. David honored God with great passion all of his life. David knew how to worship. Worship is simply giving honor to God. And in vss:2-6 are some characteristics of his worship that will enhance ours if we will but implement them into our lives.
(A.) Mentally picture what God has done for you. David said in vs:2- "I have seen You in the sanctuary and have seen your strength and glory." Now, how did David see God? He obviously is not talking about seeing Him physically. I believe that David probably took the Scriptures that he knew regarding God and allowed them to "sketch" in his mind a picture of God. Now, that means you need to read about what God has done in order to have a decent mental image of Him. If you need a Bible, we have free ones for you. Take one and read about how God delivered the nation of Israel from being slaves in Egypt. Read about the way Joseph, who was abused by his family, became great because he depended on God. Imagine the wonder on the faces of the religious teachers in the temple, when 12 year old Jesus explained the Bible to them. Kneel mentally before the cross understanding that when He cries, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!” that it is in that moment that your sin was placed upon Him and he paid for it. Be absolutely awed by placing yourself in that upper room and seeing the risen Jesus there, knowing the door never opened. David had gone to church (sanctuary) and had seen God but he had also seen him while shepherding his sheep, when he faced the giant, Goliath, when he needed forgiveness. David saw God by remembering all that He had done for others and for him.
(B.) Now, the second step in David’s honor of God is that after mentally picturing the Lord he took time to express praise to the Lord. Vss:3-6- "Because your love is better than life, I will praise you. 4 I will praise you as long as I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. 5 I will be content as if I had eaten the best foods. My lips will sing, and my mouth will praise you. 6 I remember you while I’m lying in bed; I think about you through the night." Now, I want you to see two facets of honor here that I think David refers to.
(1) Corporate worship. That is, honoring God in a church gathering or service. In vs:2 he refers to the times that he has seen the Lord "in the sanctuary." Heb. 10:25 tells us that we are expected to set aside a time to worship the Lord with others and we are not to forsake that. What are we to do when we come together? Well, David mentions several things here.
We are to praise or celebrate. David says, "I will praise You... my mouth will praise you..." Part of our time together should be celebration. Jesus has risen from the grave. We have hope after death. We have forgiveness of sins. We have a purpose for living. That’s reason to celebrate. Think of the things we celebrate! A baby is born, a sports team wins, a man and woman are introduced as “Mr. & Mrs. _________, a good report card, a career advancement. There are so many things in this life that we celebrate. Why? Because they are good things, they are “high five” moments. Well, how much more true when we think of what God has done. We have much to celebrate: Jesus’ resurrection, God’s goodness, love that never fails, promises that never fade. And David mentions here a couple of things that should be a part of our corporate celebration.
Audible praise. David says: "My lips will sing, and my mouth will praise you." God desires our audible praise. Here’s my encouragement in this area. Sing the songs! If you don’t know the song then listen for a few bars and when you are comfortable with how it goes, sing it. Now, I know if you are not all that familiar with church that this suggestion can be intimidating. But please believe me when I say this.. No one cares what you sound like! Really! You see, it’s not about what we like, it’s that God likes it when we sing.
There is also another type of praise that David mentions: "bodily praise." Vs:4 David says, "I lift up my hands in your name." Now, immediately some of you are uneasy. Some of you wonder.. "Oh, oh, is he going to tell us to whoop it up and dance in the aisles like some crazy person? I’ve heard about churches like that." While some others are thinking, "It’s about time he talked about being more expressive in worship." Now, three things I want to say about this and we’ll move on.
First, notice that raising hands is something David did. There was a time that I did not express myself in worship because I didn’t want to be thought of or looked as “one of those people.” But then someone challenged me to study the Scriptures on how many times the act of lifting hands is encouraged. Depending on what version you read there are about a dozen times it’s mentioned as something for believer’s to do. A half a dozen are right here in Psalms. Why? Well, let me ask you.. “What’s the universal expression of surrender?” “Stick ‘em up!” “Get your hands up where I can see them!” Lifting hands is just and act that says: “God, I honor you and surrender my will to you.” I began by lifting my hands in my personal quiet time to God. I can tell you that when I began doing that my worship was enhanced. Secondly, notice it’s not a command. There is no “Thou Shalt” here.. One of the “R’s” in our philosophy is to be relaxed. That certainly applies to our dress, but also in being comfortable in the way we honor God. So, we should not be critical of people who do this or don’t do this. Thirdly, notice the qualifier here in David’s raising of his hands. It’s to be done "in His name." In other words, it’s for His benefit, not ours. It is not to draw attention to ourselves, it is not to appear “religious.” It’s simply knowing that the God we love likes it. Don’t you try to do the things your spouse or your close friends like? We honor God when we celebrate him in corporate worship.
(2) But corporate worship isn’t all David is talking about here. He certainly speaks of his personal worship too. He says, "I remember you when I’m lying in bed; I think about you through the night." If you want your relationship with God to grow then honoring Him away from the corporate setting is important too. Now, I don’t think that this means that you are never to sleep. David is just saying that honoring God is a part of his everyday life. David thought of the Lord throughout his day. He did that by reading the Bible. In fact, the word "think" in vs:6 is the same one in Psa. 1, that we talked about in the first message of this series. In both places it is referring to meditating. Going over scripture like a cow that chews it’s cud. I suggest you just try 10-15 minutes at first. Just read the Bible or get the Bible on CD and listen to it as you drive to work. Just a regular time of honoring God by listening to him and then spend a couple of minutes asking God to be real in your life and help you honor Him.
C.) The last thing David would have us do in honoring him is to remember His rescue. David says in vs:7: "You are my help. Because of your protection, I sing. I stay close to you..." The core element in having an intimate relationship with God and not being in a religious rut is remembering that, by His life, He had protected you to. He gave up heaven, the hails of glory, for the nails of calvary. He died on the cross to make sure you had an opportunity to have the best life here and now and a perfect life in the hereafter. We say if often here.. “He’d rather die than live without you.” In your dry times think back on the fact that Jesus loves you so much that He did die, He did experience hell while on that cross, so you wouldn’t have to. Remembering God’s care for us is so important in maintaining a vibrant spiritual relationship. This is a consistent pattern throughout the Psalms; encouraging us to remember how God has helped others and us in the past.. Vs:7 tells us that David sings of God’s help. When you remember what Jesus has done for you in the private moments of your heart and you express your gratitude, it will recommit you to Him. In vs:8 David stays close to God as he remembers the times that God’s right hand supported him.
III. IGNITING OUR PASSION:
Now, to close I want to give you 3 practical suggestions to help you in righting the religious rut.
A. Diagnose the problem. Try to figure out why you are languishing spiritually or why you don’t have the kind of relationship with God that David did. Ask yourself...
(1) Have I really checked God out? -Or- “Have I checked in with God lately? How important is this to you? Are you saying you don’t believe, or are in a rut and yet refusing or neglecting to give God a thorough investigation? Is your Bible just collecting dust? Have you told God how you feel? Is the problem God or is it that you have just become so busy with all the “stuff” of life that you’ve not allowed God to show what life can really be with him? If it’s important... ask, seek help, investigate.
(2) Is there any unconfessed sin in my life? Remember what we learned last week from Psa. 32- Unconfessed sin and personal peace with God cannot co-exist.
(3) Am I engaged in activities that dull my spiritual sensitivities? What you put in your mind will have a great deal to do with your spiritual intensities. Psa. 101 talks about what you put before your eyes. In Luke 8 Jesus says that life’s worries, riches and pleasures choke out spiritual truth.
(4) Am I consistent with my spiritual disciplines? Consistency is jewel in this area. I encourage you to set up a consistent time and place.. a pattern so that you will not miss.
(5) Have I asked what God is trying to teach me? You know, instead of your spiritual life being wrong, maybe everything is right. God may be using this time to teach you something.
B. Deliberately add freshness to your relationship with God. Change some long-standing habits for the purpose of adding freshness to your relationship. Ask yourself, “What could I do differently?” We do that on a earthly level why not on a spiritual one? You know everything can grow stale if you do it exactly the same way every time. Here’s a couple of simple suggestions. (1) Drive to Church a different route. (2) Pray after a meal instead of before it. Here’s a way out suggestion: (3) Sit in a different place at church next Sunday. It might give you a different perspective. Try sitting up front for a change where you don’t have to look through all the turning heads and movement or sit on the other side. We are such creatures of habit and habits can cause rigidity and staleness.(4) Use another version of the Bible for your quiet time this week. (5) Call the office and ask: “Who could I encourage this week?”
C. Determine to find other spiritual partners. Ask: “Who am I doing life with?” I mean, outside your family, who are you celebrating with? Who are you weeping with? Who are you learning with? From the very beginning of Discovery we have been encouraging small groups. I have never been more convinced that the way to stay fresh and the way to stay connected is by being in a small group. Listen, I know you’re busy, I know life changes. But it’s amazing to me how many people get ruled by the urgent and miss out on the important! Being with a group will strengthen, sharpen and stabilize you. It will give you a group of people to care for you and for you to care for. And you can get into a small group at any time.
I’ve been told that Coca Cola’s most successful motto came out of a time of extreme competition. When the inferior Cola’s - Pepsi, RC, and their brothers came out in force, Coke looked for a new motto.. the motto? Coke is the real thing. The thought behind it, of course, was once you had the real thing, no other drink would do. Well, our world is competing for our affections and many are taking the inferior product it offers. But I promise you... if you will seek His presence, honor His person and look for way to ignite your passion, then you’ll find like Beth and hundreds of others: a personal, vibrant, fresh walk with God. And once you’ve tasted the real thing you’ll never be satisfied with anything else. "O God you are my God.. I will praise you as long as I live.."
{All scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New Century Version, unless otherwise noted.}
