REJOICING IN THE GOODNESS OF GOD

REJOICING IN THE GOODNESS OF GOD

LECTURESHIP FOR PINELLAS PARK

(ROMANS 11: 22)



Intro:

There was once a missionary who made an evangelistic trip to a leper colony. While there, he saw suffering on top of suffering. He saw men, women, and children who were literally rotting away.

As his time there was coming to an end, he was leading the people in some songs. As he was about to close with prayer, a small voice from the back called out: “Will you please sing Count Your Blessings?” The missionary glanced up and found himself looking into the eyes of a woman who was obviously near the end of her life. Most of her nose was gone, as was much of the rest of the skin on her four head. This lady might have been the picture next to the word suffering in the dictionary.

The missionary sang the song and then led a prayer. Before he left, he searched out the lady who had made the request. When he found her, he asked, “Madam, I hope you aren’t offended, but how could you possibly sing that song?” With tears in her eyes, the dying woman responded, “I can sing that song because no matter my suffering, God is till filled with goodness, and in his goodness will I rejoice.”

What an amazing attitude! So often, we are blinded to the goodness of God because of our own suffering. “God isn’t good, because if God were good he wouldn’t allow me to suffer like this!” However, men and women, brothers and sisters: I want to assure you today that God is good, and that we should follow the example of the woman in the leper colony, and rejoice in his goodness evermore!

The question which we must ask is, how do we know that God is good? In Romans 11: 22, we find Paul building a case for both the goodness as well as the severity of God. The word which I want to draw your attention to is, “BEHOLD.” In lamens terms, this word means to see, to notice, to bring to ones attention. This indicates to us that God’s goodness is something that can be viewed. It is on display for all to see if they take the time to look.

Once we understand how it is that we can see the goodness of God, then we next need to establish what it is that we are seeing. What is it that makes God so good? This morning, I want to present you with the idea that we should rejoice in God’s N.A.T.U.R.E. It is in the very nature of God where we see his true and unadulterated goodness. Join me as we delve into God’s amazing nature and discover what it is that makes him so good that we should want to rejoice.

I. HIS NURTURING WAY



In Romans 8: 15, we read, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear: but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba Father.” In this verse, Paul reveals that we who are Christians share a unique relationship with our maker. Thanks to his sacrifices, we are now able to acknowledge him as our Father!

What is the roll of a parent? The primary purpose of a parent is to nurture. Simply defined, nurture is: To care for, feed, to nourish.” Brethren, this is exactly what God has done for you and I. He has met each of these requirements many times over.

When you consider the many ways in which God has shown that he cares for us, you will be amazed. Stop and think about the avenue of prayer. God, the creator of all things, the builder, designer, and originator of all that exist, wants to hear from you. He wants to know when you are happy as well as when you are sad. He wants to know when you win as well as when you lose. God wants us to come to him in prayer. (Phil 4: 6) Why does he do it? He wants us to come to him, “For he careth for you.” (1Pet 5: 7)

Also, in terms of his nurturing way, God has fed us. He has offered us the “bread of life” in the personage of his only son. That bread, who if we partake of it, will both fulfill our hunger and slake our thirst! (John 6: 35)

Finally, God’s nurturing way has led him to nourish us. Many hear the word nourish, and they automatically think of food. However, the literal definition of the word nourish is: “To cause to grow and develop.” Brethren, God has given us all that we need to grow and develop. He has provided his word that we might study. We study that we might, “show ourselves approved.” (2Tim 2: 15)

Make sure to take the time to rejoice in God’s nurturing way!



II. HIS ATTITUDE TOWARD HIS CREATION



There is a popular expression which states: “Attitude is everything.” The idea behind this statement is that your state of mind has a lot to do with way in which you are perceived. If I had shown up here this morning with a frown upon my face and an angry glare in my eyes, you would have noticed that, and formed your opinion based upon that impression.

This same thing is true of God. If he approached you and me with hatred, aggression, and spite, we would conclude that there is no goodness in him. However, that isn’t the way he deals with us. Oh sure, there have been times of punishment, anger, and disappointment. But God has always loved and longed to have us near. We have remained closest to his heart throughout time. God’s attitude toward us is amazing.

Consider the fact that God contemplates and plans for us even before our birth. (Jer 1: 5. What about the way in which he watches and waits for us to return when we venture into the world? Consider the fact that lowly as we are, as unworthy as we are, as in perfect as we are God never leaves us. (Rom 8: 39)

Brethren, we should rejoice in the shear goodness of God, because his attitude is such that he pulls us in, and lets us know how much he cares!



III. HIS TEMPERANCE CONCERNING OUR SHORTCOMINGS



Parents, I want to ask you to do me a favor. I want you to think back on the last time your children did something that you didn’t want them to do. Those of you, who are not parents, think about some moment in your past when someone acted in some way that was contrary to what you wanted them to do.

Now, let me ask you: “How did you react?” Did you scream and yell? Did you walk away? Did you perhaps resolve to never see that individual again?

How many relationships are ended because we are unable to accept the faults of another? How many families and friendships have you heard of that were destroyed because people didn’t have the patients necessary to deal with one another?

Brethren, we ought to rejoice in the fact that the God we serve has a temperament which exemplifies longsuffering! Allow me to present to you what I believe to be a horrible idea. What if you only had one chance? What if after the first time you committed a sin, what if that was it? Suppose you commit a sin, and then discover that because you have fallen, you will spend eternity in Hell.

The goodness of God which is seen in his nature reveals to us that he doesn’t deal with us in this manor. In fact, according to 2Pet 3: 9, God is giving us chance on top of chance. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

You see, God understands that when dealing with mankind, patients are a virtue. He doesn’t want to throw us away, but instead desires to draw us near. It is in this fact that we can see his wonderful temperament, which is indeed another reason to rejoice.



IV. HIS UNBELIEVABLE FORGIVENESS



What is forgiveness? When you peel away the layers, what do you really have? I’d like to suggest to you that true forgiveness, is an agreement to settle your differences. If you look at it through this spectrum, I think you will agree that authentic forgiveness is hard.

However, as hard as it is, it is the forgiveness practiced by our God. Just consider the examples which we have been given in scripture.

Think about the parable of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15: 11-32. There we see a son, representative of you and I, choosing to leave the safety of his father, representative of God. In this earthly story with a heavenly meaning, we see a son whose father could have chosen to completely disinherit him, but instead he chose to forgive and welcome him back.

While that is simply a parable which illustrates a Godly characteristic, in John 21: 15-21 we see a real-life example.

There we find Christ once again in the presents of his disciples. Actually, in the context, we find him confronting the apostle Peter. You will recall that it was this same Peter who was told that before the cock crowed, that he would deny his savior three times. (Jn 13: 38) In Luke 22: 60-62, we see that Peter did indeed deny Jesus, and in point of fact Christ overheard his final denial.

What’s amazing is that in John 21, we see Christ forgiving all. He reminds Peter what the goal is, and refocuses him not upon his past, but on both the present and future.

The good news for you and I is that God’s forgiveness didn’t end with the ascension of Christ. Actually, he was just getting started. One of my favorite verses in all of scripture concerns this forgiveness.

In Hebrews 8: 12, we read: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Did you hear that? The God of Heaven has just agreed to give me a clean slate when I ask for his forgiveness. Without question, we should rejoice in the unbelievable forgiveness of our God!



V. HIS RENEWING POWER



In Psalm 23, we are given a magnificent look at the renewing power of God. Beginning in verse 1 we read: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he ledeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he ledeth me in the paths of righteousness for his names sake.”

In order to understand this idea of a shepherd assisting his sheep in finding renewal, you need to know something about the sheep of the Middle East. According to Easton’s Bible Dictionary: “The sheep of Palestine are longer in the head than ours, and have tails from 5 inches broad at the narrowest part to 15 inches at the widest, the weight being in proportion, and ranging generally from 10 to 14 lbs., but sometimes extending to 30 lbs. The tails are indeed huge masses of fat.” In other words, these sheep are frequently carrying a great deal of extra weight behind them. This would, by necessity, require them to rest more, or find nourishment to keep them going.

I am going to assume that we all see the similarities between those sheep and the modern day Christian. We to carry around extra baggage behind us. We drag along the problems of our past, the concerns of our present, and the worries over our future. The good news is that from what we read here in Psalm 23, God will provide renewal for our weary spirits in those times when life tries to tare us down. He will provide rest to those who need to unburden themselves. (Mt 11: 28) He will provide renewal through the peace which he has sent through his son and our savior! (Jn 14: 27)

Brethren, make sure that today and every day you rejoice in the renewing power of our God!



VI. HIS ETERNAL PRESENTS



If you will, I would like to ask you to keep your Bibles open to Psalm 23. In order to help you see this final quality of God, I would like to direct your attention to verse 6. There we are told: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” David has a plan. His plan is to spend eternity in the presents of his God.

I love the image which this verse brings to my mind. David walking up a path to a beautiful home, a father standing on the porch, waiting to welcome his child.

The wonderful part is not necessarily in the home, but in the father’s presents. I always loved going to my mom’s house. They had a big home, a beautiful home, a place where I felt comfortable and had many great memories. However, the best part of going to their house was getting to be with my mom. I loved to be around her, and I knew that she loved to be with me.

The same thing is true of God. There is a mansion which is prepared for us, a place where we can live forever. (Jn 14: 1-3) As beautiful, as breathe taking, as wonderful as that home will be: the best part will be that we get to spend eternity with the one who loves us! Notice what Christ says there in John 14: 3. “I go and prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto my self: that where I am, there you mayh be also.” Jesus doesn’t indicate that there will come a day when the Father no longer wants us around. Instead, he wants us near at hand for ever!