Psalm 23:1, 4 & 5 (ESV) “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want…Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”

Temptation lies. Always. It is in believing its lies that we succumb. And 3 of Temptation’s most effective lies are undone in this most familiar of all the Psalms. In it, the Good Shepherd truly shepherds our souls.

Note first, that Temptation begins by asserting that whatever it is it is proposing – is something we NEED. “YOU NEED THIS.” The explanation as to why we “need” it, is never given. It is left for us to supply. It is implied that we’ll be missing something essential however if we do not give in to the desire. We’ll be less whole, less human, less of a man or woman – somehow less than we ought to be without it. And to this lie, Christ our Lord is proposed to us as our Shepherd – and because He cares for us, we “shall not want.” If He hasn’t supplied it, we do not “need” it. We won’t be bereft of something essential. He knows our true needs, and knows them better than we do – and especially more than Temptation does. NO! Christ is our Shepherd – He will not let us lack for anything truly essential.

The second lie Temptation uses to reason us into sin is: “Without it you’ll die.” The loss quotient is ramped up considerably. If I don’t have X, I’ll simply die! Life won’t be worth living! It will do true, irreparable harm to me as a human being. I’ll suffer a mortal wound. LIE! Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of “death” – we need not fear any evil. Christ is with us! His rod and staff guide and comfort and keep us from the real danger. Temptation has lied again. I won’t die, you won’t die if this particular desire isn’t met. We once again cast ourselves back on to trusting the Good Shepherd who has pledged His very life unto death – to keep us from harm.

The third lie seems ludicrous on the surface – and yet in the moment of temptation, it is most powerful. “You’ll miss out on what is best and be left lacking. And, everyone else will know it.” Temptation moves us with this argument with all of its subtleties. But once again – it is a lie. The truth is, Christ prepares a table – a feast – for us, right there in the presence of our enemies. If only we’ll open our eyes to see it. If only we’ll stop to satisfy our hunger on what He HAS provided, we’ll find no appetite for what He hasn’t. No, maybe our favorite “dessert” won’t be there – but what He has set out will be delicious, and healthful and satisfying. In fact, our cup is SO full, it runs over. But Temptation has convinced us the cup is empty – and will never be filled unless we pursue that which the Shepherd has warned us will kill us.

Trust the Shepherd beloved. He knows us and loves us best. In staying by His side, surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. And at last, we will dwell in His own house – forever.

Psalm 22:1 (ESV) “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?”

Matthew 27:46 has Jesus taking these words as His own upon the cross. Once more His substitutionary work – His acting in OUR place takes center stage. For, these are the words mankind ought to have been crying out to God all along. But we did not perceive how our sin had separated us from Him. In our darkness and hardness, we thought there was but a minor rift – if at all. Our own sense of the uncrossable chasm placed between God and ourselves due to our sin had little impact upon us. We have been so fallen for so long, that we have come to see the pain and sorrow of this present age is just the natural order of things. We do not take in the fact that every ache and pain, every sorrow and grief, every disaster, natural and man made – every tragedy and crime, every atrocity of man screams out to us that something is horribly, horribly wrong. But it did not escape our great Substitute. He fully grasped our dire estate. He groaned out what we were too dull to comprehend. He appeals to the God of Heaven on our behalf. Bids Him to take notice of our dread condition. And He was heard. He uttered these words on the Cross – even as His own blood was atoning for the sin that put Him there. What a marvelous Savior He is.

1 Corinthians 14:18–19 (ESV) “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.”

Once we’ve been a Christian for a while, we settle pretty easily into the Church culture in which we find ourselves. With that comes a familiarity with certain language – what some dub “Christianese.” Some of that lingo is ours because it is the language of the Bible – and some of it not. And, because many Evangelical Christians also identify strongly with our historical roots in the Reformation and the Puritans, a certain amount of exposure to dated (albeit poetic) phraseology is also included in our hymnody.

Not surprisingly then, some new Christians have a difficult time imbibing all of this and adjusting to it. While someone like myself loves the musicality and cadence of “King James” English, and the sheer beauty of the poetry of many of our hymns – at times, such usage may be inaccessible to our newer bothers and sisters. It may even be needlessly off-putting. After all, our goal is to bring men, women and children to be followers of Christ – not 19th century hymnophiles.

Let me be clear here. I am NOT suggesting we “dumb” anything down. Where Biblical truth is at stake, we must bring people up to it. In that respect, we must educate faithfully. At the same time, we also need to “translate”. We must – without one iota of compromise in terms of content – nevertheless make the eternal and unchangeable truths we preach and teach accessible and understandable to the widest possible spectrum of people who have come to Christ in faith.

Maybe we are not “Judaizers” doctrinally, but are some of us guilty of being “Victorianizers” culturally?

This came home to me very powerfully in a recent exchange. After a worship service, a wonderful new Believer queried – “what does “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing mean?” ‘ “

It never dawned on me that such phraseology might not be instantly understood – let alone appreciated.

Paul’s caution regarding the exercise of “tongues” in the Corinthian assembly can without damage (I think) be applied to the issue at hand. Do we sometimes “speak in tongues” that do not benefit our brothers and sisters who are either new to the faith, or have no Reformation-Puritan-Victorian reference point? It is worth considering.

In my own consideration of it – I launched out in an attempt to take the august and blessed hymn mentioned above, and translate it for one who may not have been initiated into my own personal preferences. I have no doubt the poetry suffers greatly. But if the germ of the messages meant is conveyed more clearly to some – is it not a sacrifice we may need to make in some cases?

I only ask us to think about it some.

Jesus, source of every blessing, help my heart to know your grace

May your never ending mercy overflow in joyful praise

Teach me how to sing your praises, just like the angels do above

Make your name most precious to me, high above all earthly loves

Up till now your love has blessed me, and you’ve brought me to this place

So I know you’ll bring me safely all the way by your good grace

I didn’t want you when you found me stumbling, lost, outside your love

But your grace broke through and won me, and you bought me with your blood

How I owe you all I am Lord, such a debt I cannot pay

Endless love and boundless mercy make me love you more each day

Still in my sin I fail to feel it, Spirit of God renew my eyes

Capture soul, and mind and body, be alone my highest prize

To your table we have come Lord, to your body and your blood

Symbols of your death at Calv’ry, where you took our place in love

Nailed to the Cross for all our sinfulness, carrying all our guilt and shame

Satisfying all God’s anger, that we might be free from blame

Nailed to the Cross for all my sinfulness, Burying me in your own grave

Rising up to justify me, doing all my soul to save.

Luke 17:11–19 (ESV) On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

1. How easily entreated our Christ is – even from a distance. Even on His way to somewhere else and about other business. He is never too busy,, distracted, uncaring or indifferent. What an impetus to prayer. He was “on His way”, and He “was met” – and instantly responded. What a great Savior He is.

2. How merciful He is to those who call upon Him. He did not deny them their greatest need. He never does. He knows the ravages of sin. He knows how “infected” we are, how inherent, systemic and pervasive our sin problem is – how defiled we are. But He is full of mercy – FULL!

3. How broad His love is – He does not inquire as to whether all are Jews or IF there is a Samaritan or even a Gentile among them. Such things are irrelevant to Him in such an hour. He does not worry about whether or not they are card-carrying Jews, or all complete Gentiles. They are in need of what only He can do. His love stretches past the boundaries we so often point to.

4. How graciously He gives even to those who will fail to give Him His proper honor for His great works. He is not stupid. He knows their hearts – our hearts – as well as He knows His own. He knows full well nine of these men will just walk away – more absorbed by what it meant to them in the moment, than what it MEANT. But He is so full of grace. He gives to the undeserving. This is what the Gospel is all about. And He gives anyway. He knew full well how badly you and I would mess it up after He saved us. And He wasn’t deterred by it one iota. He is a God of grace.

5. How truly touched by Him we may be, and still have no true love or even gratitude toward Him. Our being the recipient of a miracle, does not mean we are necessarily better people for it. Just because He has been merciful to us – says nothing about – us. It says everything about Him. We can put no trust in miracles – only in Him. Miracles don’t change us – only He does.

6. How easy it is to be more content with the healing, than the Healer – with the gifts above the Giver. Father forgive me, for this is so very often my own heart and mind. Cleanse me of such wicked thought patterns. Make me never to rest content with anything you do – above having who you are. Let YOU, be my highest joy, and my most precious treasure.

7. Saving faith leads us beyond the obtaining of mere external blessings however great they may be – to be pronounced “whole” by the Redeemer. When we’ve gone beyond being “touched” – to the point of being “made well” – what a work is truly done. One that survives the grave. One that turns us into Sons and Daughters of God in Christ, and not just externally “blessed” – but unchanged. Make me that 10th leper.

Luke 9:57–62 (ESV) “As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

When I read these words, I am reminded of those of Winston Churchill in his famous address to the British Parliament on the eve of entering the 2nd World War. In part he said: “I say to the House as I said to ministers who have joined this government, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering.

You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea, and air. War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.

You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs – Victory in spite of all terrors – Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.

Let that be realized.”

Now look back at Jesus’ words – in a day when being a Christian is to many a simple take-it-or-leave-it preference. His discussions with these three men seem strangely at odds with post-modern Christendom’s views, don’t they?

To the first, He made it clear that there is no PROMISE that in following Christ you will not be homeless. If you are looking to follow Jesus only if it means your earthly security remains intact – you may well be very sadly mistaken. He will make no promises of earthly comforts.

To the second He established that no PRIORITY can take precedence over following Jesus, no matter how personal or culturally pressing. Instead, He guarantees it will alter every normal relationship due to a complete re-prioritization of everything in light of the mission.

And from the last reply we learn that one cannot “try it out” – you commit for life – period. Nothing can be more PRECIOUS to us than following Jesus. We must make a clean break from the old life. If there is something back there that you still long for so much – you will constantly be distracted by what you miss. Trying to keep one eye longingly looking back will make a wreck of what you are doing. Either you follow Him, or you go home – but you cannot do both. Remember Lot’s wife.

Sobering words. But then again, He is leading us in the most glorious of all things. And as such, it does not admit of non-committal, self-indulgent, self-focus.

Heaven – HE – is that worth it.

Joshua 10:12–14 (ESV) “At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.”

The book of Joshua just may be my favorite Old Testament book. It is filled with so much practical wisdom for the Christian life, it is virtually inexhaustible.

The juxtaposition of 2 passages I find enormously helpful. In chapter 7, the Israelites face defeat at Ai because Achan had stolen what God had said was to be destroyed. It taught us that prayer is no substitute for action. When Joshua falls in his face before God because of the defeat – God says “Get up!” Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned.” (7:10-11) Conversely, in chapter 9 the Israelites are suckered by the Gibeonites into making a treaty with them because “the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord.” (9:14). This time, the problem was taking action – but without prayer. Great lessons to learn.

It is what grows out of this last, ill-conceived action on the part of Israel, that brings us to our text, and one of the most amazing displays of God’s power (if not THE greatest) in all of Scripture. But if all we see is the miracle, we miss the revelation.

Recap: The inhabitants of Gibeon, a large people group living in Canaan, heard what God had done in destroying Jericho, and then Ai, and decided they would NOT be next. They got a few guys together, put them in worn out clothes, gave the moldy bread, and sent them to the Israelites with the story that they were coming from WAY far away (their bread was hot from the oven when they left) and wanted to enter into a treaty with Israel. Since they weren’t near neighbors who God had said to vanquish – the Israelites (without asking God’s counsel) said “sure!” But shortly after, they found out they were hoodwinked. These guys were from the neighborhood.

Israel to its credit, though with mud on their faces, kept the treaty – even though it was obtained under false pretenses. However, that promise to honor the agreement soon gets put to test. Some of Gibeon’s neighbors weren’t happy about this treaty, and so they ganged up to wage war on Gibeon. Now that Gibeon had a treaty with Israel, what did they do? They got on the hotline and called for help. And Israel, still wanting to retain their integrity – says “we’re on the way.” It is in the ensuing battle that this miracle of the “sun standing still” takes place. While Israel is defending the people they had no business entering into a treaty with in the first place. Now – we know why the account is so important.

Here is the payoff. Think about this entire scene for one moment. Have you ever witnessed a more vivid or expansive vision of God’s unfathomable grace than this? God gives one of His most remarkable deliverances – if not THE most remarkable – while assisting Israel in defeating the foes of those Israel foolishly and sinfully bound themselves to. It is NO endorsement of their sin for sure. But it is, an inexplicable display of how much mercy and grace He extends to us – even in the aftermath of our own sin. WOW!

Deuteronomy 30:6 (ESV) “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.”

Some parts of our Bibles don’t get read quite as often or as in depth as some others. Deuteronomy usually falls within that category. Its not the first place we run to when looking for comfort, like the Psalms often are. And truth be told, Christians are members of the New Covenant, not the Old. It is fitting that we spend more time looking at things this side of the Cross. Nevertheless, because the realities of the New Covenant in Christ is given to us in the types and shadows of the Old – when the light of the Cross shines back over those passages, it brings to light manifold treasures. Treasures like the one in the passage under consideration today.

As Moses is preparing to depart this world, he is pressing home a series of crucial truths on the people of Israel. Among them comes a warning about deceiving oneself by saying inwardly “I’ve heard and assented to the Covenant, so I am safe, and now can live any way I please!” (Deut. 29:18-21). Moses tells them in no uncertain terms that God will not let that kind of thinking go. In fact, He doesn’t under the New Covenant either – despite what some may think.

Moses then goes on to describe the tragic results of such a mindset in God’s refusal to forgive such thinking, and the destruction it will bring upon both the individual, and the corporate group of God’s people. So drastic is God’s response, that one might even wonder “what will become of the God’s promises in the end?” The answer to which is given in 29:29 – and then later unpacked in detail by Paul in Romans 9-11.

What then is to be done? Should individuals go down this path, should God’s people as a whole suffer greatly as a result – what is the cure? How is it to be turned around? What is needed? And to the shock of many – God’s answer is NOT to be found in a re-commitment to being better law-keepers. No, the answer is found in a heart, circumcised by God – to love. Love. Law is not the answer. It never is. Love is the answer. For the heart and mind governed by an all consuming love of God – will bring us to a life that no law, or number of aggregate laws could ever produce. This, is our text. Love.

Beloved, maybe you’ve strayed from the Lord you God. Maybe you’ve been guilty of the very heart and mind Moses warned the Children of Israel about – presuming on God’s grace by refusing to deal with sin because you were “in.” And now, the results have seen your life turned upside down and the weight of your guilt is crushing the very life out of you. The answer is not to “get your act together” – it is to have your “love” restored. It is to go back to the Cross – to see Him there, dying for your sins – and to bathe in the glory of His love, until it washes, revitalizes, cleanses and renews your heart and mind. Until you are so enamored with His love, that you cannot help but love Him back. Go to Calvary again. Learn to love again, by seeking out the depths of His love for you. Nothing else will do.