Saturday, April 28, 2012

10:50 P.M. and I'm getting old in my young age

[33] Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
[34] “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
[35] “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
[36] For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
(Romans 11:33-36 ESV)

Can't Sleep...

Seeing as how I'm getting old in my young age (22), I'm usually in bed and asleep by 9:30. But not tonight. Why? Well here's the deal:

My wife and I enjoyed a nice evening out in Little Rock. We are simple people. Let us go to Mardel, the mall, grab a bite to eat, and then Barnes & Noble and we are satisfied. We often enjoy more of the conversations we have than the things we do, so it's best to do things that don't require a lot of our attention. I love my wife and I hang on every word coming out of her mouth when we get into discussions concerning anything that she's passionate about. She amazes me because behind that quiet, sweet demeanor is a woman who is more than capable of holding her own in a tough conversation. We arrived back to our humble abode at about 9:30 (please note that this is usually when we would both already be asleep). We put away our findings from our journey, then laid down for the night. But I couldn't even get close to sleep.

Why?

Because I preach tomorrow. I always get jittery the night before a Sunday when I'm preaching. I love the Word of God so much! And I love His Church so much! My deepest desire in life is to know God more and make Him better known to those I have the opportunity of knowing. We are currently journeying through Romans in our local assembly. The book of Romans is heavy. And here's what's funny; it's not the text that I'm preaching tomorrow that is keeping me awake. Not that it's not a huge text. And not at all that I'm not trembling at the fact that somehow God is going to use (or not if He so decides) to help His people better understand Romans 4:13-25. It is no doubt a weighty text and one that should bring us great joy and hope. But the text that is keeping me up is still MONTHS away. It is the text quoted above.

This night I am in awe of God! This night I marvel at how He decides to work and how in His working He tells me to either speak highly of Him or to SHUT UP! If the words that flow from our mouths do not proclaim God's excellence, then we are wasting perfectly good air that someone else could be using to speak highly of the Most High. God's ways are so deep! So rich! So wise! He knows ALL! But yet, we sometimes think that we have things to add to His perfect articulation of what He purposes to accomplish and how. We are such fools!!!

His judgments (what He decides to do and how) are so unsearchable! We could spend eternity trying to figure out what in the world God is doing and why and how but we would still only scratch the surface of the tip of the great iceberg that is God.

His ways are INSCRUTABLE. If the human race could only begin to understand what this word means when it is used to describe God's ways. Literally it means that His ways are IMPOSSIBLE to UNDERSTAND. Oh how joyous! That all of us arrogant, pompous fools have met the great impossibility of being able to understand what God is doing. All of you who "disprove" God with you logic and your scientific or philosophical arguments are left completely and utterly stupefied by Him.

No one knows God's mind. Nobody gives Him counsel. And no one has a gift to offer Him that He should owe anyone anything! Because, from Him and through Him and to Him is everything! Surely to God be the glory alone!

So in the morning, when you wake up and have your morning routine (or lack thereof for some of you) whatever that looks like: consider this passage of Scripture from Romans 11:33-36. Consider what this means. Consider how it should shape your worship. Let it move you to earnestly desire to feel His presence in your Sunday gathering. Let it move you to use your spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ. Let it cause you to be humbled before the God of Heaven crying out "Holy! Holy! Holy! is the LORD, God Almighty!". When the music director leads in song, SING at the top of your lungs, regardless of your "musical abilities" (whatever that is suppose to mean anyway!). When your pastor stands up to bring the book (hoping for his and the churches sake that he does so), seek to actually follow along in your Bible and seek to understand the passage of Scripture laid before you. Seek to actually WORSHIP during your "worship" service. If these things don't happen, I'm sorry to say that you most likely have a jacked up view of God and who He is, and what His Church is purposed to do and how and you need to seek Him out in the Scriptures, get on your knees and trust Him to teach you because you are in great peril!

So to God, maker of Heaven and Earth, sovereign over all things, be all the glory, all the power, and all the honor forever and ever! Amen.

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