SOCIAL DISTANCING

Read Psalm 1

Until the coronavirus pandemic, I had never heard the term “social distancing.”  The government is calling upon us to distance ourselves from contact with others who might infect us and spread the deadly virus.

While the term may be new, the concept is not. The Psalmist is warning us about an even deadlier virus called sin. If we are intimate with those who have given themselves over to it—embrace their counsel, enter their course, and enjoy their company—the contagion will destroy us.

There is a vaccine for this sin virus.  A daily dose of God’s Word has a power to immunize us. Let Scripture be your counselor, chart your course, and its truths your companions. Delight in the Word and digest its message. 

The word “meditate,” is to ruminate, as a sheep chews its cud extracting all the nutrition from the meal. So, we read the Word, study it, memorize it, meditate on it, and apply it—which is transforming.

To change the metaphor, we will be like trees, with roots downward for stability and fruit outward for productivity.  Our branches will be growing and our foliage will be showing—all to the glory of God.  We will not fear death and judgment for we have life, abundant life, here and hereafter—real happiness and prosperity. COVID-19 cannot change that. What if we die?  We can’t really!  All we would do is leave behind the only part of us that gives us a problem and enter the wonder of heaven!

But, not the wicked.  They are not trees. They are tumbleweeds. No root, no fruit, blown along by culture and circumstances—the prevailing winds of the moment. Worse of all, death is a constant fear and judgment a dreadful fate.  They often deny the existence of God because they do not want to consider the consequences of their choice. They did not listen and “shelter in place,” seeking refuge in Christ who alone can save us.

What choice will you make?

THE HONOR OF SERVING GOD

There are times we as God’s leaders go to the House of God with dread and leave with discouragement.  We may know there are critical people who lie in wait to eviscerate us with the sharp sword of their tongue.  Pastors encounter vexing decisions where all options are painful.  You prepare a meal—a sermon you pour yourself into—and many choose to stay away, gorging themselves on the world’s candy.  Then, there are members you once counted on now counted among those who abandoned your flock for the mega-ministry down the road.  It is hard.  We are human.  God understands.  All that I have said is true, but it is not all the truth.

Psalm 84 reminds us that it is an honor to serve God in any capacity.  If our heart is on God, and worshipping Him, we can “have a spell,” in His house, whether anybody else is moved at all.  We can overcome the dread and discouragement with delight and have a passion for experiencing the presence of God among the people of God!

May God give us this perspective:

How lovely is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts! 

My soul longs, yes, even faints

For the courts of the LORD;

My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,

And the swallow a nest for herself,

Where she may lay her young—

 Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts,

My King and my God. 

Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;

They will still be praising You. Selah (Ps.84:1-4)

As a man of God, I am still a man—and so as not to give in to discouragement, I need the strength of the Lord—and it is available!  We may call on Him as these worship leaders:

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,

Whose heart is set on pilgrimage. 

 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,

They make it a spring;

The rain also covers it with pools. 

They go from strength to strength;

Each one appears before God in Zion. 

O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;

Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah 

O God, behold our shield,

And look upon the face of Your anointed.  ‎(Ps.84:5-9)

I am convinced that God gives grace and glory.  He has been faithful to me in nearly four decades of preaching the Gospel.  When I look beyond my circumstances to my God in faith, it makes all the difference in my service.

Make this your conviction:

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

The LORD will give grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold

From those who walk uprightly.

 O LORD of hosts,

Blessed is the man who trusts in You!  (Ps.84:10-12)

I count it an honor to be employed in the service of my Lord.  Can I get a witness?

MAXIMUM MINISTRY

“As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”  (John 17:18)

Christ’s prayer recorded in John 17 was for all His people (v.20).  His commission is for every disciple of all the ages.  Yet, I think as there was a direct application to those eleven disciples (plus one counterfeit), there is a practical dimension for God’s preacher today.  Imagine, man of God—the Lord of glory standing with eyes upraised to heaven, mere hours from the agony of the cross and He prays for you!

His heart was to glorify the Father and fulfill His mission.  “I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.”  (John 17:4)  Can we think of a greater goal—that in all our life and work we aim at the glory of God and faithfully finishing our assignment?

Eternal life can only be found in the Son of God (v.3).  Those the Father gives the Son in His sovereign grace will come to Him (v.2), but manifesting that salvation to sinners in view of their becoming saints is our duty (v.6).  Of the many good things I might do in ministry, I must not forget the worth of a soul.  Heaven is real and hell is also—and the proclamation of the life-changing Gospel is imperative and urgent.

God has entrusted us with the sacred message.  “ ‎For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.”  (v.8)  This is the treasure of truth contained in clay pots, and meant to be preserved in its purity—undiluted truth—and proclaimed in its power—unleashed truth.

Not all will be happy to hear the truth (v.14).  They will loathe the mirror of God’s Word in the manner in which the evil queen in the Snow White fairy tale hated to hear what the mirror on the wall honestly spoke.  There is a sanctifying power in the Word (v.17), and many would rather roll in the mud like an old hog—comfortable according to their nature.  To those who respond, however, the truth is transformative (v.19-20).  Should persecution arise, Christ will preserve us until our task is done (v.11-12), for we belong to Him and are loved by Him as the Father loves the Son (v.23-26).  When our mission is accomplished we are summoned to dwell in the eternal glory, face to face with Christ!

While the world hates us and the message is polarizing, let us seek to foster love and preserve unity among the people of God.  It was the earnest petition of Jesus and merits our deliberate effort (v.21-23).  A pugnacious preacher in spirit, always splitting theological hairs, and looking for a reason to cause strife is guilty of a severe sin.  To attack the Bride of Christ is an assault on Christ Himself who is one with her.  When the world sees our schisms, and hears venom more than grace from the pulpit, no wonder they scoff at our sermons!  There may come a time when truth, even spoken in love, angers church members who reject it—and reject us—let us love nonetheless.  If we part company may there be no bitterness on our part, only grief as a spurned lover.  This is maximum ministry—the mandate given by our Master, and His prayer for His men.