A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

Psalm 116:17 - "To Thee I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the Lord."

In select portions throughout the Bible we read of a "sacrifice of thanksgiving." In the verse above the psalmists says that he will offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, but what does that look like? How do we offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving? Sure, we're thankful to God, and we give Him thanks often for the many blessings that He has given us, but is that really a sacrifice? Sacrifice, the very word, implies giving up something completely. It implies cost. You'll remember that near the end of the reign of king David, the Lord was disciplining Israel on account of David’s sin. And at the command of the Lord, David went up to the threshing floor of a man by the name of Ornan the Jebusite, in order that he might offer a sacrifice to God. And as the king approached Ornan and asked to buy his threshing floor and the oxen for the burnt offering Ornan said, basically, “It’s yours. I’ll give it to you. Take the threshing floor, and take the oxen too. After all, you are the king.” But we read in 1 Chronicles 21:24 - "But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, or offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.”" David wasn't going to offer God something that cost him nothing. If there is no personal cost than you're not really making a sacrifice. With that in mind, what does it mean to offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving? The Bible talks a lot about thanksgiving, and perhaps as we travel to many of these different passages of Scripture we will discover what it truly means to offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving in order that we may be sure not to offer to God that which costs us nothing. 
In Psalm chapter 50 the Lord is talking about how He owns everything. He doesn’t require the animals out of our flocks, He doesn’t ask for burnt offerings because He’s hungry and needs something to satisfy His appetite, if that were the case, He says, He wouldn’t even tell us, because He already owns everything, the cattle on a thousand hills. So what does He want from us? He says in verse 14 - "Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High.” And there are numerous verses throughout the Scripture that make it pretty clear that God wants us to come before Him with thanksgiving for who He is and for what He has done. But when someone does something for us we often say something like "How can I show you my appreciation?" We don't just want to say "thank you" because talk is cheap, it costs us nothing. But we really want them to know that we're thankful and so we want to show it to them in some way. We don’t want to offer a “thank you” that costs us nothing. How much more should we desire to show God our appreciation for all that He is and for all that He has done. In Him we live and move and exist, He has called us to Himself with a holy calling, He paid our debt which we could never pay and He paid it with His own blood. He rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His dear Son. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ, and He has done so much more for us than we could ever understand. We shouldn't be content to simply say "thank You" for all that He has done for us, but we should desire to show Him our appreciation and offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and that's exactly what Scripture tells us.

In Psalm chapter 100 we’re instructed to, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.” Where’s the cost there? Time, I guess. In order to enter His gates and His courts it’s going to take time, time which we could be devoting to something else.
In Hebrews chapter 12 the writer is talking about what we have in Christ and how it's far better than the things of this world because it's eternal rather than temporary, and he says in verse 28 - "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and godly fear." What’s the cost here? Effort. Energy. Strength. In order to demonstrate our gratitude we offer ourselves to Him in order to be used by Him. That ties in to what Romans 12 talks about, presenting our bodies to God as a living sacrifice, a sacrifice of thanksgiving. The proper response to all that Christ is and all that He has done is to offer ourselves to serve Him. That's a sacrifice of thanksgiving because it costs something. It costs us our lives. Giving all that we have and all that we are, unreservedly to Him to use for His own purpose is costly.

In Hebrews 13:15-16 we read - "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." So here are a few ways that a sacrifice of thanksgiving will manifest itself. It manifests itself in praise and thanksgiving to God out of our lips, that’s certainly part of it. But it also manifests itself in doing good and sharing. What’s that gonna cost? Well, that might cost me going against what I want to do. Doing good and sharing are often inconvenient. I don’t often feel like doing good. So a sacrifice of thanksgiving involves denying myself. Sharing obviously involves giving up something that I have, so it’s going to cost my possessions.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 we're instructed - "In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." Gods will for us is that we give thanks to Him in everything, or in all circumstances. In Ephesians 5:20 we read - "always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father." What is the cost of giving thanks for everything and in all circumstances? In order for us to be able to do this we need to deny ourselves. We will often need to give up our natural, negative reaction when things are tough. We may even need to sacrifice our own logic and understanding. What do I mean by that? Well, I want to quote for you a section of Corrie Ten Boom’s "the hiding place." Because in this particular account she tells of a time in her life when she had to deny her own logic and understanding in order to thank God for something that she saw no use for. She and her family were imprisoned by Nazi Germany during the Second World War for hiding Jews in their home. In the following account she tells of a time when she and her sister Betsie were moved from the local prison and into a concentration camp.
"Betsie and I followed a prisoner-guide through the door at the right. Because of the broken windows, the vast room was in semi-twilight. Our noses told us, first, that the place was filthy: somewhere, plumbing had backed up, the bedding was soiled and rancid. Then as our eyes adjusted to the gloom we saw that there were no individual beds at all, but great square tiers stacked three high, and wedged side by side and end to end with only an occasional narrow aisle slicing through. We followed our guide single file--the aisle was not wide enough for two--fighting back the claustrophobia of these platforms rising everywhere above us...At last she pointed to a second tier in the center of a large block. To reach it, we had to stand on the bottom level, haul ourselves up, and then crawl across three other straw-covered platforms to reach the one that we would share with--how many? The deck above us was too close to let us sit up. We lay back, struggling against the nausea that swept over us from the reeking straw...Suddenly I sat up, striking my head on the cross-slats above. Something had pinched my leg. 'Fleas!' I cried. 'Betsie, the place is swarming with them!' We scrambled across the intervening platforms, heads low to avoid another bump, dropped down to the aisle and hedged our way to a patch of light. 'Here! And here another one!' I wailed. 'Betsie, how can we live in such a place!' 'Show us. Show us how.' It was said so matter of factly it took me a second to realize she was praying. More and more the distinction between prayer and the rest of life seemed to be vanishing for Betsie. 'Corrie!' she said excitedly. 'He's given us the answer! Before we asked, as He always does! In the Bible this morning. Where was it? Read that part again!' I glanced down the long dim aisle to make sure no guard was in sight, then drew the Bible from its pouch. 'It was in First Thessalonians,' I said. In the feeble light I turned the pages. 'Here it is: "Comfort the frightened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.'" 'That's it, Corrie! That's His answer. "Give thanks in all circumstances!" That's what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!' I stared at her; then around me at the dark, foul-aired room. 'Such as?' I said. 'Such as being assigned here together.' I bit my lip. 'Oh yes, Lord Jesus!' 'Such as what you're holding in your hands.' I looked down at the Bible. 'Yes! Thank You, dear Lord, that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank You for all these women, here in this room, who will meet You in these pages.' 'Yes,' said Betsie, 'Thank You for the very crowding here. Since we're packed so close, that many more will hear!' She looked at me expectantly. 'Corrie!' she prodded. 'Oh, all right. Thank You for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed suffocating crowds.' 'Thank You,' Betsie went on serenely, 'for the fleas and for--' The fleas! This was too much. 'Betsie, there's no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.' 'Give thanks in all circumstances,' she quoted. It doesn't say, 'in pleasant circumstances.' Fleas are part of this place where God has put us. And so we stood between tiers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong."
She continues further on in the chapter - "Betsie and I made our way to the rear of the dormitory room where we held our worship "service." Around our own platform area there was not enough light to read the Bible, but back here a small light bulb cast a wan yellow circle on the wall, and here an ever larger group of women gathered. They were services like no others, these times in Barracks 28. At first Betsie and I called these meetings with great timidity. But as night after night went by and no guard ever came near us, we grew bolder. So many now wanted to join us that we held a second service after evening roll call. There on the camp street we were under rigid surveillance, guards in their warm wool capes marching constantly up and down. It was the same in the center room of the barracks: half a dozen guards or camp police always present. Yet in the large dormitory room there was almost no supervision at all. We did not understand it. One evening I got back to the barracks late from a wood-gathering foray outside the walls. A light snow lay on the ground and it was hard to find the sticks and twigs with which a small stove was kept going in each room. Betsie was waiting for me, as always, so that we could wait through the food line together. Her eyes were twinkling. 'You're looking extraordinarily pleased with yourself,' I told her. 'You know, we've never understood why we had so much freedom in the big room,' she said. 'Well--I've found out.' That afternoon, she said, there'd been confusion in her knitting group about sock sizes and they'd asked the supervisor to come and settle it. But she wouldn't. She wouldn't step through the door and neither would the guards. And you know why? Betsie could not keep the triumph from her voice: 'Because of the fleas! That's what she said, "That place is crawling with fleas!'" My mind rushed back to our first hour in this place. I remembered Betsie's bowed head, remembered her thanks to God for creatures I could see no use for."

That's an amazing illustration of these verses. God expects our sacrifice of thanksgiving in every circumstance, even when we don't understand why. It wasn't easy for these women to thank God for their extremely hard circumstances, but by faith they did what Gods word says and later God showed them His reason, at least in part. They were willing to sacrifice their own logic and understanding in order to thank God for fleas. They could have sat back and wallowed in self-pity, that would have been the natural thing to do. But they were willing to sacrifice their own self-pity in order to thank God. That is truly a sacrifice of thanksgiving and it puts me to shame. How often do I hold on to my self-pity because something didn't go my way? How often do I resort to grumbling and complaining because I was a little inconvenienced? Wouldn't it be far better to deny ourselves, deny our feelings and emotions, and instead offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God? Can we really live this way? With God's help we can. We need to ask God to give us the proper perspective, and the faith to recognize that God can even use fleas for His glory and our good. We need to deny ourselves and recognize that life isn't about our comfort or pleasure, there's a bigger picture. Who knows how many women will be in heaven simply because that barracks was infested with fleas. And how rewarding must it have been to know that they were willing to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving even when they didn't see the bigger picture. Lord, increase our faith.

Colossians 3:15-17 - "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."

God's Authority as Creator

Revelation 4:11 - "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created."

God is in charge, not only because of who He is, but also because of what He has done. When you open the Word of God the first words you read are "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." God is introduced to us as the Creator. If God is the Creator then that has huge implications.

Psalm 24:1 says - "The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it." God claims ownership on the world. Why does the earth belong to Him? How can He claim ownership? Verse 2 goes on to say "For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers." Simply put, the world and everything in it belong to Him because He is the Creator. And it follows that the one who created the universe has the right to make the rules.

Suppose that I make up a board game, I draw up a board, carve out some pieces, make up some cards, and make some rules for playing and winning, and we sit down together to play my game. Now, as we go along you start to do something that is against my rules, so I say to you, “You can’t do that.” You say, “Why not?” And I say, “Because it’s against my rules.” “Well why do you get to make the rules?” “Because I made the game.” Makes sense, right? If you want to make the rules then you need to make your own game. And it works the same way in the universe. God made the universe so He gets to make the rules. If you want to make the rules then you need to make your own universe and then you can be in charge. But as long as you live in God’s universe you need to play by God’s rules. Oh, you can choose to break the rules if you want, but there are always consequences for breaking the rules. In playing a sport you can be disqualified for breaking the rules. In the universe the consequences for breaking God’s rules are much more serious. God is in charge and He makes the rules.

Back in the book of Deuteronomy the Lord told His people that His expectation for them was that they would obey Him. In fact, it was more than an expectation, it was a requirement. In Deuteronomy 10:12-13 we read - "Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?" How is it that God could require such a thing? Verse 14 tells us - "Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it." He can require us to keep His commandments because we're living on His property. Anyone who has ever rented an apartment understands this logic. The renter will lay down certain rules that you have to follow in order to live on his property. Now, he's not going to be living in the apartment with you, he's not going to be constantly looking over your shoulder to make sure you're keeping your end of the deal, but there is a day of reckoning coming. And if you break his rules he has the right to evict you or fine you, why? Because you're living on his property.

And not only are we living in a world that belongs to Him, but we ourselves are His by dint of creation. Colossians 1:16 - "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him."

God emphasizes His ownership again in Psalm 50:9-12 Where He says - "I shall take no young bull out of your house nor male goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all it contains." God owns everything. Wouldn’t it be kind of silly for Him to ask for anything? God has no need of anything. He is completely self-sufficient in and of Himself. But in order to emphasize a point here He brings up a scenario where God is hungry. Does God get hungry? Of course not. But even if He did He wouldn't tell us about it. He wouldn't ask us for some money to pick up some groceries, or ask us to sacrifice some animal in order that He might eat. Why not? Because He owns everything. If He were hungry He could take His pick of the cattle on a thousand hills without asking for permission from anyone. Can you imagine the owner of a Golden Corral, he’s in his office at his restaurant and suddenly he starts to get really hungry. So he comes out of his office into his restaurant and starts going up to the different tables and asking for a bite. “Oh, could I have a bite of that sandwich, it looks really good!” “Those chicken fingers look good, mind if I take one?” “Could you spoon off some of that macaroni onto my plate please?” No, of course he wouldn’t do that. Why not? He owns the whole restaurant! Everything in it is his! He could go down to the salad bar and fill up his plate with anything he wanted without paying! He could go back into the kitchen where the food is being prepared and take as much as he wanted without asking anybody. It’s all his. And that’s how it works in the universe. God made it all, so God owns it all. We need to recognize that we don't really own anything. As the hymn writer put it -

"If Thou should'st call me to resign

What most I prize, it ne'er was mine;

I only yield Thee what is Thine;

Thy will be done."

What you have has been entrusted to you by God. And He reserves the right to take it away at any time. Job found that out, and he recognized God's ownership. After he lost everything he was able to say, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

God owns everything because He created everything.

The world considers it to be completely ridiculous and utterly foolish for us to believe that God created everything. There is perhaps no doctrine that we hold to that the world despises more than the teaching of God as Creator. Why is that? I believe it's because it naturally follows that if God created everything then He owns everything. If God created us then He owns us. And if He owns us then He gets to make the rules and we are obligated to follow them, or else. So what is mankind to do about this? Either we can submit to Him as the Creator, or we can reject Him. And the majority of the world has chosen option number two. Romans chapter 1 gives us a commentary on what happens in a person, a society, a culture and mankind in general when we reject our Creator. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness," God's wrath is revealed. Why? "Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them." So God has made Himself known. How? "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." Through the creation itself God has given ample proof that there is a Creator. We can learn some things about the invisible God through His visible creation. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." Rather than responding to the light that they had, they chose to suppress it. "Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures." Now their thinking is completely upside-down. In the highest centers of learning and science you're considered foolish if you believe in God and wise if you reject Him. Rather than worshiping God we've rejected Him and put His creation on a pedestal. We worship our own intellect and set ourselves up as the ultimate authority. We worship the earth and the creatures on it. We give more protection to trees and animals than to a baby in its mother's womb. So what does God do about it? "Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." He lets us reap the consequences of our actions. If that's the road we want to go down He'll let us. "For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error." When we as a society, as a culture reject the Creator then He gives us over to our sin, and everything gets turned on its head. Homosexuality is embraced and applauded. "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful." Sound familiar? We wonder at the moral decline in our country. What does it all stem from? This passage says it again and again, "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator." A rejection of God as Creator. This passage ends by saying, "and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." Does that not sound like our tolerance saturated culture? You can believe and do whatever you want and no one will judge you for it. "I would never be in a homosexual relationship, but I'm not gonna say it's wrong for others. Why can't we just let people love who they want? I would never get an abortion, but I'm not going to limit others with my beliefs. After all, it's her body, let her do to it what she wants..." And on it goes. We've come to a place in our nation where heterosexual people will literally applaud and celebrate the homosexual lifestyle of those around them. "They not only practice such things, but also give hearty approve to those who practice them."

As Creator, God has all authority. And when we reject Him and His authority He will deliver us over to our sinful lifestyles and let us reap the consequences. Some might think that they can do whatever they want and get through this life untouched, and they may be right. But ultimately we're all going to stand before our Creator and be judged according to His standard.

Job 41:11 - "Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine."

Because I Said So

Exodus 20:1-2 - "Then God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”"
In Exodus chapter 20 the Lord gives Moses the Ten Commandments, He lays down the law. But before He gets to the law itself He begins by declaring who He is and what He has done. "I am the Lord your God," who He is, "who brought you out of the land of Egypt." What He has done. It makes sense that He would begin in this way. Instead of jumping right into the commands the Lord begins by stating the basis for the commands. In other words, our obligation to obey the commands of God is predicated on who God is and what He has done. These commandments are binding because they have the weight of God's eternal character behind them. So when God says "You shall have no other Gods before Me." Or, "You shall not steal." And we ask the question, "Who says?" He responds with the foundational statement of the ten commandments, "I am the Lord your God." He doesn't try and explain why these things would be good for a society, although they are. He doesn't talk about the benefits of obeying His commandments, He simply says "You shall..." or "You shall not..." Why? "Because I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt." He makes no theological argument for why they should buy into believing in Him, and doesn't try to prove His existence, He simply says "this is who I am." This is similar to the way the Bible starts. "In the beginning God..." There is no trying to prove His existence, it plainly says "In the beginning God." He needs no explanation or introduction, He is who He is. And He says “I am… therefore, you shall…”

God has all authority and He makes the rules because of who He is in His essential nature and character. In Leviticus chapter 18 the Lord continues to give commands to His people Israel, and He says to Moses in verses 2-5 - "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘I am the Lord your God. You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the Lord your God. So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord.'" He tells them that they are to differ from the nations around them. It's easy to conform to what everyone else is doing, but God tells them that they are to be different, and three times in these verses He makes this statement, "I am the Lord." That's enough reason to obey.

From Leviticus chapter 18 through to the end of the book we have God giving the people command after command, one after the other. And it’s as if God anticipates that after He tells His people to do something they’re going to ask “Why?” So God is essentially saying what your parents probably said to you a time or two, "Because I said so." Occasionally you'll hear a parent tell their child to do something and the child will respond with the question, "Why?" Nine times out of ten, the next words out of the parents mouth are "Because I said so." Most parents don't try to explain the benefits of cleaning your room or finishing your dinner, they simply say "Do it because I said so." If they were to put it into Bible terms it might sound something like, "I am your father, you shall clean your room." Or "I am your mother, you shall not throw your food on the floor." God has set up the authority structure in the home and He requires children to obey their parents simply because they are their parents. And God has set up the universe in the same way. He is the ultimate Authority, and so when He tells us to do something that we don’t understand or don't want to do, and we ask the question, “Why?” He responds with by saying, "Because I said so."

From Leviticus 18 to Leviticus 26 God gives His people one command after another, and over and over again He gives this one premise for their obedience, "I am the Lord." 18:6 - "I am the Lord." 18:21 - "I am the Lord." 18:30 - "I am the Lord." 19:3 - "I am the Lord." 19:4 - "I am the Lord." And on it goes. In fact in these nine chapters the Lord makes this statement 47 times! 47 times in nine chapters God gives His people instructions and then essentially says "Because I said so."

There may be competing voices around us, but God is the only one who can back up His instructions with absolute authority. He has exclusive rights as God. No one else can claim that. The Lord makes this clear in Isaiah 43:10-13 - ""You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and there is no savior besides Me. It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, and there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “And I am God. Even from eternity I am He, and there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”" The Lord really emphasizes His exclusivity a lot in the section of Isaiah. We read in Isaiah 44:6-8 - "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me. Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, from the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place. Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’"God challenges everyone who thinks that they're god, who thinks they have a right to determine what is and what should be, to declare what has happened in the past. We can't even do this perfectly, we're always guessing at the past, but even if we could, He goes on to give the challenge, "let them declare to them the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place." God has really proved His exclusivity by predicting the future. No other god of any other religion would dare do that, because they might get it wrong. God is the only one and the Bible is the only book that declares the future with absolute accuracy. He even goes so far, in some instances, to give the order in which nations would set themselves up as supreme authority on the earth, and He gives the name of the person that would be ruling hundreds of years before they were even born. He says in Isaiah 45:5 - "I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God." In verses 6 and 7 He says - "That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these." In verse 18 He says - "I am the Lord, and there is none else." At the end of verse 21 He says - "there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me." In verse 22 He says - "For I am God, and there is no other." In chapter 46 and verse 9 He says - "For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me." Do you think that God's trying to emphasize a point here? And yet people think that they have the right to determine what is right and what is wrong. They think that they have the right to determine truth. In the middle of all this discussion on God's exclusivity, the Lord gives us a word picture to show the stupidity of people who think that they know better than God. In Isaiah 45:9 the Lord says - "Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker— An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?" A potter has absolute authority over a lump of clay, and the clay isn't going to rebel against that authority or speak out against the one who forms it. And yet we as human beings have the audacity to disregard what God has said, deny His existence and set ourselves up as the standard of authority and truth. 

Simply because of who God is in His nature and character means that He is in charge. Because He is God is enough reason for us to obey.

This was illustrated to me not too long ago in a story that I heard a man tell about when he was a boy growing up in England. He talked about being at a great big festival that was going on in the city of London. And he got up on the top of a wall to get a better view of everything that was going on. As he was up there looking over the crowds he heard a voice behind him say, “Get off the wall.” He thought it was one of his friends shouting at him, so he spun around and demanded, “Who says?” When he turned around he saw a police officer standing there. The man said, “I am a police man. You shall get off the wall.” And he got off.

See, the very fact of the identity of the one who was speaking was enough reason for him to obey. And the very fact of God's identity is enough reason for us to listen to what He says and then hold to it as the ultimate standard."I am the Lord your God, therefore you shall..."

God's Foundational Authority

Job 34:13 - "Who gave Him authority over the earth? And who has laid on Him the whole world?"

Job's friends reached a lot of wrong conclusions and they made a lot of statements that simply are not true. But in Job chapter 34 a young man by the name of Elihu begins to speak to Job and his three friends, and during his discourse he asks some very important questions, "Who gave God authority over the earth? And who has laid on Him the whole world?" The question of authority, namely, whose in charge, is a foundational one. Our belief on this topic is really going to affect everything that we believe and do.

The issue of authority is the basis on which our lives our built. So as we dig down deep to lay a foundation upon which we are going to build everything else, we need to make sure that we're building on a solid rock and not upon shifting sand. And in inspecting our foundations we are going to find ourselves asking the questions, “Who says?” And “Who’s in charge?” These are questions of authority and they’re very important. As children we employed these questions all the time. If my older brother told me that I needed to do something my response would often be, "who says?" See, the issue of authority was very important to me, particularly if I was being told to do something that I didn't want to do. And if he was coming to me on his own authority, I might respond by saying something along the lines of, "You're not the boss of me. You're not in charge." So as children the questions of "who says?" and "who's in charge?" Were very important to us. But as adults these questions should be no less important. Because it doesn't matter what issue you're talking about, there are all sorts of different people with all sorts of different opinions on how things ought to be done. If you want to talk about ways to God or family structure, the definition of marriage or the topic of abortion, you’re going to get any number of opinions on the way things ought to be. There are any number of truth claims and we have to be able to distinguish between what is actually true and what is not. So when someone says, "This is the way things are..." or "This is the way things ought to be..." We need to respond with the questions, "Who says?" and "Who's in charge?"

The topic of authority is not one that is very popular in our day. Naturally, we don’t like authority. We squirm at the idea of somebody else being in charge of us. When we were kids we sometimes thought it unfair that our parents were in charge. Or when your parents went out and left you under the authority of an older sibling or a babysitter, we really thought that was an injustice. But this dislike of authority isn’t just a problem for kids and teenagers, adults struggle with authorities as well. Whether it’s your boss at work, local law enforcement or other parts government, we just naturally don’t like someone else being in charge of us. We have the mentality of “I’m the boss and no one’s gonna tell me what to do!” Though we may squirm under it, authority structure is actually very important. And I think to some extent we recognize the importance of authority. Think about a company or a business, who's in charge? The person who owns it. Whether they started it, inherited it or bought it, they own the company and therefore they make the rules, they decide how things are going to be run.

Who's in charge of a country or nation? The government. Whether it's Kings and Queens, Presidents or Prime Ministers, Dictators, Senate, Parliament, or whatever else, every nation has some form of authority structure. And the men and women who are in these positions are given the right to govern.

We realize that a company without a head is going to fail. A society without leaders is going to fall. Oh, you can have your opinions about how the company ought to be run, but when the boss speaks the issue is settled. And if you decide to go against his rules then your going to suffer the consequences, you'll lose your job. You can decide how you think the country ought to be governed, but once the authorities lay down the law, you might disagree with it, but if you do not conform your life to their rules then you're going to suffer the consequences. You can end up being fined or imprisoned. And the universe works the same way. We can go around with our opinions on how life should work, but we need to come back to the One who is in charge of this universe and find out what He says about it. And once we hear what He says then we need to conform our lives to His standard. And if we don't, if we choose to reject His authority and His rules then we are going to suffer the consequences.

This is one reason why some people will reject the idea of God all together. We recognize that if God is in charge then we have to do what He says. And if we break His rules then there are going to be consequences. And when we look in the Bible and see what He says, our sinful nature says, “I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to do what God wants me to do. I don’t want to listen to what He says. I want to do what I want to do.” And this attitude is reflected in a lot of songs and poems in our day. In that famous poem, Invictus, the poet writes four stanzas about being in charge of his own life, and finally ends with the words -

"It matters not how strait the gate,

      How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
      I am the captain of my soul."
And the world applauds that unyielding attitude. To bow beneath the authority of another is considered weakness. It's no wonder that one of the most requested songs to be played at funerals is the song made famous by Sinatra, "My way." In which the theme is repeated again and again, "I did it my way." Again, the world sees this as some great accomplishment. But if the Word of God is true and God is the ultimate authority, then everyone who goes to their grave with their life echoing the sentiment, "I did it my way." will find themselves in a place of eternal torment and separation from God. The Bible declares in Proverbs 14:12 - "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." The only way of true life is to forsake our own way and to embrace Him who said "I am the way." But that is foolishness to the world. And so the battle of authority rages on.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 1 the apostle Paul is writing to the Corinthians about the message of the cross, that message on which our salvation hangs. He's talking about the central theme of the Bible and he writes in verse 18 - "The word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." When you go out into the world and tell people that your hope is pinned on a cross outside Jerusalem 2000 years ago, the world thinks that's foolish. And yet if God says that this is the one and only way of salvation then who cares what everybody else thinks? "That sounds awfully narrow." Yeah, it is. Christ Himself said in Matthew chapter 7 - "the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it." Call me narrow minded if you want, but if God is in charge and He says that this is the way it is then I'm sticking to it. When the world is debating about ways to get off the airplane, and they don't like the color or size of my parachute, whatever. I'm putting it on anyway.

I realize that this may seem harsh, but this is the logic you use with your kids because it works. When your kid comes and complains about the way things are, "Why do I have to clean my room? Why do I have to go to bed so early?" You sit them down and say, "When you get your own house you can do things the way you want. But this is my house, we play by my rules." And it works the same way in the universe. You don't like the fact that there is one way of salvation? You want multiple roads to heaven? Great! When you get your own universe you can set it up however you want. But as long as we live in God's universe we had better conform to His rules. 

The point is, when God speaks to an issue the issue is settled. It doesn't matter if it makes sense to me or not, it doesn't matter if it sounds foolish, it doesn't matter if the majority are holding to a different opinion. When God speaks the issue is settled.

Foundations

Psalm 11:3 - "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

The foundations of our faith are under attack. Whether we think about the origins of the universe, the first eleven chapters of Genesis, the authority of the Bible, the roles in the home, the definition of marriage or the exclusivity of Jesus Christ, there is no shortage of people who would have us compromise on the things that Scripture teaches. It seems that we've come to a place in our society where it's okay to believe anything you want as long as it's not based on any ultimate standard. I was reading a poll recently that had something to do with roles in the home, and different people were commenting on how they thought things ought to be done. As I scanned through the comments I was surprised by one of them that said something along the lines of, “There is no 100% correct blueprint for how these things ought to be done.” Now, that caught my attention because at that time I was preparing a series of lessons entitled "God's blueprint for right relationships." And I was approaching the subject with the belief that there is a 100% correct blueprint that God has given us on how these things ought to be done. It's called the Bible. And yet we hear these kind of statements all the time. Everyone has their own standard of truth, and the overwhelming thought is that what works for you might not work for me and vise versa. By and large, this is the point that we've come to in our society. It's okay to believe that something is true as long as you don't suggest that it's true for everyone. We've made truth into something relative.

It's important for us as believers to go back every once in a while and reinspect our foundations. Why do we believe what we do? Is the foundation on which we are building our lives something that is really solid? And are we able to clearly articulate what we believe and why?

The fundamental difference between us as Christians and the world around us is not the structures which we're building, but the foundation on which we're building them. In other words, just because someone is an unbeliever does not necessarily mean that they're living an immoral life. Your neighbors may be teaching their children about the importance of good morals. They may come over and help you work on your car when it breaks down. They may give money to charity. In fact, their lives may outwardly look very similar to yours. So what's the difference? The difference is the foundation on which we are building our lives. The Lord Jesus put it this way in Luke 6:47-49 - “Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.” In this passage we see the Lord Jesus talking about two men building houses. One man dug down deep and laid a foundation on the rock, the other man did not. So when the storms and strong winds came one house stood firm and the other collapsed. These houses may have looked exactly the same. From all outward appearance there may have been no difference, and yet one of these structures had a major problem. A foundation is often an unseen part of a building. It’s underground. From our vantage point we only see the houses and they look exactly the same but one of them has a solid foundation and the other does not. And in this particular passage the Lord Jesus says that these houses are a picture of something. He says this not only works in the building of a house but also in the building of a life. A person who hears what God says and does it, that’s the house with a foundation. But the one who hears His words and does not do them, he is pictured by the house with no foundation which will eventually fall.

Foundation problems are not always readily apparent. You may talk to your neighbors about the importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ, but they say that though that may be well and good for you, they're going to try to get to God their own way. They're not trusting in what Christ has said, they're trusting in their own ideas. And though they have a pretty nice looking house, one day it will fall because it's not built on a solid foundation.

We're given a similar illustration in Proverbs 10:25 which says - “When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation.” Here we have the same picture once again contrasting the lives of the wicked and the righteous. The wicked are completely wiped out by a whirlwind but the righteous has an everlasting foundation, a foundation which can never be destroyed. The foundation on which God wants us to build our lives is one that is going to last forever. Nothing will be able to destroy it. We don’t want to build our lives on something that is going to wash away, we want something solid. Something that will last forever. So we would do well to rediscover the foundations of truth.

Proverbs 10:25 which says - “When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation.”