A Fantastic Pity Party | Psalm 23:6b

Have you ever been asked a strange question?

Lisa Gregory of the Carroll County Times notes that Chris Nusbaum has heard a lot of strange questions in his life. 

Chris is from Taneytown, Maryland, and he was born blind.

A kid on the school bus once asked him:

“Do blind people get married?”

Chris told him “of course they do” and went on to say that he knew blind people who were married and had kids.

Then the middle-schooler asked him a follow-up question:

“But how do you know if she’s pretty?”

Chris Nusbaum

I may not know what she looks like on the outside, but I do on the inside and that’s what really counts.

That answer is a good example of the kind of person Chris is.

He’s 19 now and among other things he is:

• A gifted musician and singer
• The host of an internet radio show called “The Blind Side”
• A talented writer
• A leader and advocate for the National Federation of the Blind
• He even made an appearance on a Nickelodeon TV show

And this Thursday he starts college. 

He will be only the second blind student in the history of Lynchburg College in Virginia. 

But perhaps the most impressive accomplishment in his life comes from someone that’s known him since the first grade.

Ari Lipka

Everyone should have a friend like Chris.

Helen Keller was struck with an acute illness when she was 19-months-old that left her blind and deaf. 

Helen Keller

I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.

• Do you feel alone today?
• Do you feel like no one knows what you are going through?
• Do you feel like no one really cares?

David was the King of Israel about 3000 years ago and he felt that way sometimes, too.

And he found a Friend that didn’t just walk with him in the dark. 

He found a Friend that never abandoned him and completely and constantly chased him with kindness and loyal love.

Who was that Friend?

Let’s find out. 

Listen to Psalm 23, verse 6:

5 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

The nuclear football is a large leather briefcase that weighs forty pounds and contains secure options and capabilities for launching nuclear strikes. 

Where the President goes, the nuclear football goes. 

And if the President is incapacitated there is an identical nuclear football assigned to the Vice President.

A designated military aide carries those nuclear footballs and they are always with the President and the Vice President. 

Journalist and author Ronald Kessler notes that if the President or the Vice President are in a hotel, the military aide stays in an adjoining room. 

If they are ever in an elevator, the military aide is with them.

If the President or Vice President are ever under attack, the Secret Service have standing orders to evacuate the military aide with them.

Retired Navy Vice Admiral John Stufflebeem

Whoever has the duty as the military aide to the president is responsible for physical custody of the football and ensuring its access to the President 24/7, within a matter of seconds.

Goodness and lovingkindness are like spiritual footballs. 

Where a Christian goes, goodness and lovingkindness go. 

They are available 24/7.

But unlike the nuclear football, they don’t need seconds.

They are instantly available.

So, where do goodness and lovingkindness come from?

They come from the Good Shepherd, the Good Friend. 

They come from the one, true God.

Goodness and lovingkindness have also been called sheepdogs that are always on duty and caring for the people of God.

We looked at the sheepdog of goodness last week.

So, now we turn our attention to lovingkindness.

Before we try to define lovingkindness, let’s catch how David kicks it off to us. 

5 Surely…

With great confidence and great hope and a great sense of authority behind his words he is saying:

• I am sure of this
• I am certain of this
• This is absolutely true
• There is absolutely no doubt

What is he so “surely” sure about?

5 Surely…lovingkindness

He is absolutely sure about the lovingkindness of God.

Some Bibles translate lovingkindness as “mercy”.

• Lovingkindness
• Mercy
• Steadfast love
• Loyal love
• Undeserved love
• Love that wasn’t sought
• Love that can’t be purchased

However, you say it, it sounds exceedingly beautiful!

Can you imagine someone saying:

“Naw, I don’t need any steadfast love in my life, I’d rather just be miserable.”

“Mercy? Naw, I don’t need any of that. I’m fine right here in my crockpot of stress and guilt and shame.”

Lovingkindness or mercy is undeserved favor designed to help us with misery, particularly and especially the misery of our sin. 

Have you ever experienced any sin or misery in your life?

• Bullies on the first week of school
• Financial expenses on the first week of school
• Eclipse traffic
• Rebellious kids or grandkids
• Stress-filled marriage
• Stress-filled job
• Stress-filled news feeds
• On-going health issues

Life is full of misery and life is full of sin.

And there is only one cure for the misery and sin that every person in this world experiences on any given day. 

And the cure is not:

• Better kids
• A better marriage
• A better job
• A better house
• A better car
• A better school system
• A better church
• A better government

The only mind-helping and heart-healing and soul-satisfying cure for sin and misery is mercy!

1 Peter 3:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again

The greatest mercy in the universe is to be born again!

What does it mean to be born again?

A nuclear football is designed to launch a strike. 

The spiritual football of mercy is designed to launch a rescue!

What do we need to be rescued from?

Sin and death!

This is what Paul wrote to the folks in a place called Ephesus:

Ephesians 2:1

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins…

Before a person is born again, they are spiritually dead. 

If you are not born again, you are hopeless and helpless and desperately in need of being rescued!

But here’s the thing:

We cannot make ourselves be born again.

So how does it happen?

Peter says a person can only be born again according to the great mercy of God. 

The rich and awesome and undeserved love of God invades the spiritually dead soul of a person and brings new life.

God quickens the heart and mind and soul of a dead sinner to the truth of the gospel!

And that dead sinner is born again and responds by putting their faith and trust in Christ and Christ alone. 

How does God do this?

How does God quicken a person’s heart to the gospel?

I don’t know! 

God does not give us a theoretical, cosmological, quantum mechanical theorem to satisfy a human answer to the specifics about how a person is born again. 

So, how does a person know if they have truly been born again?

I’ve shared this analogy with you before:

How do I know I’ve been born?

Well, it says on the front of my driver’s license that I was born.

No, I know that I’ve been born because I’m alive!

I’m breathing!

How do I know that I’ve been born again?

Well, I’m sure it is on the card down in the church office!

No, I know that I’m born again because I’m spiritually alive!

• I once was blind, but now I see!
• I once was lost, but now I’m found!

I once rightly saw the cross as the place Jesus was crucified.

But now I more deeply and joyfully and soberly see the cross as the place where the penalty of my sin was paid in full and completely satisfied.   

Counselor and author David Powlinson once wrote a letter to the 13-year-old son of a friend.

Here’s a portion of his letter:

David Powlinson

Don't ever forget: God is merciful to you. Mercy is who he is.

Mercy is what he does. Mercy is what you need.

David Powlinson

God's mercy is not a theory, a bunch of words, or stories from a long time ago. It is the reality upon which your life depends.

David Powlinson

Mercy is a reality that anchors you into the life and death of Jesus Christ. He has come for us. He has come for you. You need help from outside yourself. Ask for help.

If you have never asked for that help, then please ask!

If you are not a Christian, I know of at least 4 people who have prayed for you this morning.

They have prayed that God would quicken your heart and mind and soul to the gospel so that you will repent and be saved!

And if you ask for this mercy, if you plead for this mercy, what kind of benefits does this saving mercy provide?

This is what Jehovah God promises those that cry out and ask for help.

Psalm 91:14

Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

 

Psalm 91:15

He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.

Psalm 91:16

With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation.

Don’t miss those promises:

• Deliverance
• Security
• Response
• Rescue
• Honor
• Everlasting life
• Satisfaction
• Salvation

You cannot receive that astounding collection of promises from:

• Your spouse
• Your parents
• Your kids
• Your grandkids
• Your education
• Your career
• Your bank account
• Your body
• Your house
• Your car
• Your doctor
• Your government
• Your girlfriend
• Your boyfriend
• Your best friend
• Your retirement plan
• Your favorite restaurant
• Your favorite sport
• Your favorite team

Those promises can only come from the holy, holy, holy One who was and is and is to come, so…

• Love God!
• Call upon God!
• Ask God for help!

Someone might say:

“I did ask God for help and he didn’t answer my prayer!”

“I didn’t get any mercy.”

A distinct part of the idea of lovingkindness and mercy is pity. 

Now, this isn’t Clubber Lang pity that mocks someone’s status or feels sorry for someone.

No, this pity is wrapped up in the mercy of God. 

It is a merciful pity that holds back and refrains from applying the just and right punishment that is due.

It is a merciful pity that sees a dead, helpless, hopeless, miserable soul and says:

“No more misery. I’m going to give mercy.”

That’s what this mercy, this pity, does.

So, this is a seriously fantastic pity party we are talking about!

But how does it work?

How does this mercy erase a person’s deepest misery?

2 Corinthians 1:20

For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.

If you are in Christ, if you are true believer and follower of Jesus, and you find yourself saying or screaming or crying or murmuring to God that he did not answer your prayer and give you mercy for your situation please know that the beautiful voice of the gospel delights to say back to you:

• “Yes he did!”
• “Look at Jesus!”
• “Look to Jesus!”
• “Every promise of God is yes in Jesus!”

If you have Jesus, you have mercy!

Even if your prayer doesn’t get answered the way you want, you have mercy because you have:

• Unrequested love
• Undeserved love
• Unmerited love
• Unbreakable love
• Undeniable love

How?

I shared the words of a song last week that I think merit a few more seconds of marinating on:

Northpoint/Inside Out

Our Savior displayed on a criminal's cross
Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost
But then Jesus arose with our freedom in hand
That's when death was arrested and my life began

If you are a believer, you always, always, always have mercy because Jesus arose with your freedom in his hand!

And how and what and where can we feel that mercy?

James Hastings was a Scottish minister who died 95 years ago and had a pretty good grip on the way mercy shows up in the real moments of life.

James Hastings

She has a noiseless step, and a soft, gentle touch, and a voice that falls like music on the dull ear of sorrow…

James Hastings

her favorite haunts are chambers of sickness, or prison cells, or closets where souls groan in secret under heavy loads of sin and woe;

James Hastings

and there, in her mild accents, she bids the guilty be of good cheer because their sins are forgiven,

James Hastings

and with her strong though gentle hand lifts the burden from the heavy laden, and with her fragrant ointment tenderly heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds.

James Hastings

She is seen more frequently in the shade than in the sunshine, and exercises her ministry most when some darkly brooding sorrow hangs over the individual or the family or the nation’s heart.

In these dark days in our world and our nation, the mercy of God has not lost a single ounce of power. 

In fact, the voice of mercy is loud and clear.

To the believer, mercy is constantly cheering:

“Jesus arose with your freedom in his hand!”

And to the unbeliever, the non-Christian, mercy is constantly shouting to those who have ears to hear:

• “Here is love!”
• “Here is freedom!”
• “Here is salvation!”
• “Here is satisfaction!”
• “Look to Jesus and live!”

And just a quick challenge and reminder from Jesus:

Matthew 5:7

Blessed are the merciful

Blessed and happy are those who have received mercy from God and show mercy in return.

John MacArthur

If you are not merciful, there’s a good possibility that you are not a Christian. 

Listen, none of us are perfect, but according to the pages of the Bible, if the most consistent pattern of your life is:

• Hate
• Prejudice
• Criticism
• Complaining
• Grumbling
• Entitlement
• Demanding your way
• Expecting everyone but you to be perfect all the time

Then you are not associated with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Those who have been shown mercy, show mercy.

5 Surely… lovingkindness…will follow me all the days of my life,

David did not have just one run-in with mercy – he had seen mercy over and over again in his life.

The mercy of God is a pursuing mercy that never stops and never fails…especially when we lose things.

J.I. Packer has authored more than 300 books and penned numerous articles and reviews.

He is perhaps best recognized for his book “Knowing God”.

If you have not read it, let me strongly encourage you to make it a New Year’s in August resolution. 

Christmas before last, his macular degeneration struck a final blow and he has not been able to read or write for the last 20 months. 

He’s 91 now and this is what he said in an interview with Ivan Mesa just a few weeks after losing his sight:

J.I. Packer

God knows what he’s doing…God knows what he’s up to and I’ve had enough experiences of his goodness in all sorts of ways not to have any doubt about the present circumstances.

J.I. Packer

The author of Ecclesiastes has taught me that it is folly to suppose that you can plan life and master it, and you will get hurt if you try. You must acknowledge the sovereignty of God and leave the wisdom to him.

If you are over the age of 20, crank your ears up:

J.I. Packer

It tells me now what it told me 40 years ago…you get old, and getting old means the loss of faculties and powers you had when you were younger.

J.I. Packer

And that is the way God prepares us to leave this world for a better world to which he’s taking us.

If you are in middle school or high school, crank your ears up:

J.I. Packer

The message of Ecclesiastes 12 is “Get right with God as early in life as you can; ‘remember the creator in your days of youth”. Don’t leave it until some time in the future when you’re not likely to be able to handle it well at all.

J.I. Packer

When you walk with God there are moments when he gives you special delight, an especially deep sense of peace and pleasure in being his child – well, those things have happened to me…

Ivan Mesa asked him is there any sight that he thought would be the hardest to deal with if he completely lost all of his vision. 

J.I. Packer

…the answer for me would be no. I think I could learn to live without any of the sights I’ve ever seen.

Why would he say that?

J.I. Packer

I have nothing striking to report; steady advance, I believe, into the realization of the reality of all that the Bible talks about – all the realities, I mean, of the experience of communion with God…

J.I. Packer

…it’s been steady and I thank God for that.

In other words, at 91, losing his ability to read and write, Packer keeps reminding his heart and mind and soul that the great mercy of God has found him and caused him to be born again.

And that is all the mercy he really needs!

5 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

• Jesus is the ultimate goodness of God
• Jesus is the ultimate lovingkindness of God

So, dear Christian, surely, because of Jesus, goodness and lovingkindness will follow you all the days of your life!

Dow Welsh | August 20, 2017

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Sermon scriptures NASB unless otherwise noted

Lots of help from many pastors and theologians

Significant weekly help from Bruce Hurt at http://www.preceptaustin.org/