Last Words

Tonight we will conclude FPCC's 59th annual missions conference.  We have really enjoyed getting to know some of our international ministry partners, serving God all over the world.  Some of them are just heading out into the field for the first time in November, little ones in tow.  I feel a kinship with them; we have all been called to full-time ministry, we have the same passion for the gospel and for people knowing Christ and experiencing the gospel of grace.  We all depend on the same great God to make anything happen.

Our speaker last night was Mark Davids, the pastor of Park Cities church and a good friend of Tim's.  He taught us so clearly and faithfully from Psalm 145 and 1 Samuel 17: the first and last recorded words of David.  He began in Psalm 145, the fruit of a life lived with God:  "One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works." (4-5)

After a roller-coaster life, David could say with confidence, "Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.... They will tell of the power of your awesome works,  and I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.  The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love." (3,6-8)  The verses are almost too familiar, so I need to slow down: God's greatness no one can fathom.  I like the ESV better: his greatness is unsearchable.  It is beyond my comprehension.  Mark offered a helpful illustration: If you took a dixie cup and filled it with sand on the beach, and then extracted every grain of sand, and each grain represented an attribute of God, you would have a lot of attributes of God.  But it would only be a beginning.  God's greatness is unsearchable.  And we will have eternity to continue to discover his greatness, and majesty, and grace, and compassion, and abundant goodness, and love.  And, being finite, we will never comprehend the infinite in his entirety; there will always be infinitely more to know about God.

Mark then turned to the first recorded words of David: the story of David and Goliath.  Another passage in danger of becoming too familiar.  A real boy encountering a really monstrous warrior.  A real shepherd, who had trusted God to enable him to fight of real bears and wild animals who were after his sheep.  It's a remarkable story.  David's first words are indignant: "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Sam 17:26)  He comes to the army camp to bring food for his brothers.   He sees the giant, and all he sees is a disgrace.  Why should one man defy the armies of God?  As he explains to Saul, "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." (17:36-37)  The bottom line is that it's not about David or his strength or courage.  It's about the living God.  Delivering David from the Philistine would be no more difficult for God than delivering him from the bear or lion.  Deliverance is deliverance, and David knew God could do it.

Because David knew that God is a God who acts, he would not stand by and let God be shamed.  God delivers; David wanted God to use him to accomplish his work.  And seeing God's mercy, his faithfulness, his ability to deliver his people, David could not help but speak:  "I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever." (Ps 145:1-2)  After a lifetime of observing God's faithfulness, he pens this psalm of praise.  He is compelled by the love of God.

The question, then, is whether all of us who trust Christ for our salvation are similarly compelled to speak of the goodness and greatness of God.  I am reminded of A. W. Tozer's comment that no book should be written unless forced out through inward pressure.  Is the gospel forced out through inward pressure in my heart?  Do I share the marvel of what God has accomplished on my behalf out of obligation, or out of a burning love for Christ, a deep gratitude for what he has done for me?  I was lost and utterly incapable of reaching out to God; he rescued me.  He did for me what I could not do for myself.

Mark challenged us that, by and large, we are not very deep.  Sure, we may have taken our head-knowledge of the gospel and connected it to our hearts--which, for many, is the sign of depth.  But, he noted, that's not depth--it's only deep if that's how you define depth.  Connecting head and heart is not how scripture defines spiritual depth.  It becomes deep when the gospel proceeds from head and heart and is forced out through hands and feet by inward pressure--the love of Christ compels us.  We must speak.  We must declare--tell clearly--what God has done. We must act on the gospel.

I think this is part of what I have been trying to figure out for years now.  I have been deeply unsatisfied with the spiritual formation that I have studied and taught in the past.  Even though the focus is God, it seems inherently self-absorbed.  And yes, I know, one is to undertake a balance of inward and outward disciplines; but even this program begins to look like a simple exercise in saving myself.  I must position myself for spiritual growth--it is all up to me.  If you've read my article on the disciplines, you know that I struggle theologically with some of the underlying assumptions that a lot of writers in the spiritual disciplines make.  But I think that part of what I have been trying to see is that connecting the head and heart is not enough--and it's not even just about adding service.  It's about being compelled by the love of Christ to proclaim the gospel.  It is a deep knowledge and passion for God that is exhibited in what I do and say, and a life that finds its definition in expressing thanks to God for who he is and what he has done.  It is so easy to become self-absorbed, sometimes by problems, sometimes by joys, even by focus on spiritual growth.  What David reminds us is that it is completely not about us.  It's about God, his plans and purposes, the redemption of his people.  We get to be part of it.  And that's it.

I am looking forward to tonight.