"God is For Us!"


(I presented a version of this 9 July 2017 at Heritage Presbyterian Church; and again on 19 July 2017 at the Capitol Bible Forum, Oklahoma State Capitol)

God is For Us: Psalm 56 (Romans 8.31-39) 
I have often used this passage and these thoughts when talking about Baptism. Now that may startle you a bit since the only water mentioned are the tears of David. But if you’ll hold on tight I think you may see how I get there.

The Pressure is Constant (1, 2, and 5): “all day long”.

The Pressure is Fierce (1-2, 5-7): “tramples on me….an attacker oppresses me” (1); “My enemies trample on me….many attack me proudly” (2); “injure my cause….thoughts are against me for evil” (5); “stir up strife…lurk…watch my steps….waited for my life” (6). Fierce Response (7).

Faith-Filled Prayer in the Pressure (1a; 3-4, 8-11): “Faith is seen here as a deliberate act, in defiance of one’s emotional state” Derek Kidner; v. 8-11. ***v.9 “This I know that God is for me…” – and we have a more certain Word of Promise. How do I know God is for me? Christ crucified! That’s exactly what the New Testament is saying in many places, for example: Romans 5.8 and Romans 8.31-39.

In defiant faith, what do you believe? “God is for me!” How do you know? “Christ died for me!”

That’s one of the things your baptism preaches, proclaims and pronounces to you, to those watching, to the world, the flesh and the devil! Baptism is a portrayal and portrait of grace rather than faith. Believe all that your baptism is preaching!

Vows and Vow-keeping (12-13): The vows were made in the thick of it; the vows were made because of God’s promising word; and the vows will be kept in appreciation of God’s his rescuing David (“for“ of v.13). We keep the vows because “God is for me” (v.9c). This principle applies to our wedding vows as well as the vows some of us make when we baptize our children.

So in the end, if you get nothing else out of this presentation today, get this: In defiant faith, what do you believe? “God is for me!” How do you know? “Christ died for me!” And your baptism preaches it to you! Remember your baptism!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“The Shift” - 2023 Movie. A Review

Image
  What do you get when you cross a dark dystopian storyline with sci-fi, alternative dimensions, theological and philosophical questions, and the biblical book of Job? You get The Shift , written and directed by Brock Heasley, produced by Ken Carpenter, and distributed by Angel Studios. This roughly one hour and 45 minute tale swirls around Kevin (Kristoffer Polaha) as he moves from one realm of life, with it’s happiness and heartbreak, to another dimension that is a dismal existence clearly governed by The Benefactor (masterfully played by Neal McDonough). A viewer will be asking questions all the way through, and picking up clues and answers that pull the story together bit-by-bit. The story bumps up against an infinite set of alternative possibilities, of time, space, and versions of one’s self that will likely stoke a viewer’s imagination. But the heart of the narrative - besides love, grief, loss, trust/distrust - is around the place of evil, specifically, personal or human evil.
Read more

"On Getting Out of Bed" by Alan Noble. A Review

Image
  When it comes to family members or friends going through a significant mental crisis, or suffering, we often can feel like we’re fumbling about to help them. Sometimes, we can become like Job’s friends, whom he had to call “miserable comforters” (Job 16:2). But very recently Alan Noble, assistant professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee Oklahoma, and cofounder and editor-in-chief of “Christ and Pop Culture” penned a deeply beautiful 120-page hardback that addresses mental affliction. “On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living” is written for those who struggle with mental affliction, but also pastors, teachers, parents, and loved ones, to “help them understand their loved one’s suffering. It is for anyone who ever struggles to get out of bed” (3). I finished this book earlier this week, and kept finding myself saying, “Finally! Someone gets it!” Eight chapters fill up this handy manual. They run through several subjects, like not sounding like Job’s f
Read more

Community?

Image
  (This is from my letter to my congregation I sent out today, 30 August 2023) As one of my elders was leading us through Carl Trueman’s Strange New World in our adult class , I appreciated Trueman’s emphasis on community. And our discussions, especially the last two Sundays, were very fruitful as we thought out loud together about this subject. Therefore, I thought I would share something from David Brooks, an Op-ed columnist that leans into this discussion.   Brooks published a book in 2019 titled, “The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life”. In that work he was taking a gentle punch at destructive trends he has been seeing, and giving some helpful correctives. And so, he notes that “Individualism, taken too far, leads to tribalism” (34). He then shows how the loneliness and spiritual emptiness of individualism taken too far have become more prevalent in our time and the ways that they lead to very dark social consequences. These darker social consequences foster the need t
Read more