DON’T BE A HOARDER! Psalm 118:1; Ezra
3:11
Introduction: A
brother was helping me help someone in the church this week, and he made the
comment “I could easily be a hoarder, I don’t throw anything away!” I am the
same way – I don’t know the psychology, I guess I just think you never know
when you might need that box of left-over parts from past projects or whatever!
Hoarding isn’t a joking matter for some people, it can become a real problem,
but an even bigger problem is “hoarding” spiritual truths that God is teaching
us along the way. I read a short article this week that suggested, “We need to weaponize our quiet time.”
That means as soon as we learn something new, or when we see God’s “footprints
in the sand” in some situation in our life, we need to share the blessing by
telling someone else about it! Don’t hoard the blessing for yourself!
So, this is me telling you something from
the Word, I hope, but also an interesting confluence of details that, it seems
to me, have God’s fingerprints on it. On Sunday I preached on Mark 14, where
Jesus shared the Passover meal with His disciples, and they “sang a hymn” and
went out to the Mount of Olives. The reading I was doing suggested that Psalm
118 was the last of a group of Psalms that would traditionally have been sung
in connection with the feast. As I thought about a devotional for tonight, I
started to look at the verse that opens and closes that Psalm, “Give thanks to
the LORD for He is good, His steadfast endures forever!” Praise and thanksgiving
to God for who He is and for what He has done – that is the proper response of
faith. Well, I also started working on the Children’s Church lesson for this week,
and it is the story of Ezra, rebuilding the Temple. Then I looked up the key
verse for the lesson, Ezra 3:11…
And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD,
"For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever toward
Israel." And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised
the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
Essentially quoting the exact same phrase! That got my attention, it seems God wanted to make sure I didn't miss what He was saying!
There are a
couple of different ideas about “praise” in the Bible – but they are related.
There is descriptive praise, which focuses on our response to God for who He
is, and there is declarative praise, which is our response to God for what He
has done. GIVE THANKS TO…
The LORD…
Yahweh, the Great I AM, the God who is, has chosen to enter into a relationship
with humans… FOR HE IS GOOD…
Remember the Lion,
the witch and the wardrobe, Lucy asks Mrs. Beaver, when she learned that Aslan is
a Lion, if he was quite safe… No, but He is good! When the rich young ruler
called Jesus, “good teacher” Jesus asked Him, “Why do you call me good? There
is none good but God…” In other words, do you think I am just an engaging
teacher, or have you really recognized who I AM? God is good, and He does
good, always. It is His nature. In the original creation, step-by-step, He said,
“it is good.” And listen to this… the Bible promises that He causes all things
to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according
to His purpose. Give thanks to the LORD for He is good! And, …HIS STEADFAST LOVE…
We've seen that word recently in our study of Ruth, His “hesed,” His covenantal love… His “loyal
love,” or His “steadfast love.” He has committed Himself to us, in the most
amazing way… Not just with words, but by acting for our good... this is how God showed His love among us: He
gave the Son… (I John 4:9; Rom 5:8; John 3:16). That love endures
forever… Jesus said,
"I give to them eternal life, and they shall never
perish…"
Later we read in Psalm
118:14 The
LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
Is that your
experience? Then we can’t allow ourselves to become spiritual hoarders! Let the
redeemed of the Lord say so! Jesus told the disciples after the resurrection, “You will be my witnesses, starting in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the uttermost parts of the earth…” Give
thanks to the LORD, for He is good, and His steadfast love endures forever! AMEN.
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