Experiencing Our Belief
in God
Psalms
10:1-18
Jim
Davis
Israel’s faith was built upon God’s
intervention into their lives. The center of Old Testament teaching
is about God. Yet, the Old Testament makes no effort to prove the existence
of God. There is a good reason for this; the Old Testament teaching is
not based upon the speculation that there is a God, but upon Israel’s experience
of God. Today we derive our belief in God from speculation, but Israel
derived her faith in God from her experience of God. Israel’s faith in
God was based upon the fact that God played a part in Israel’s history
and God had chosen her for himself, and that he declared his will to her.
It is obvious that the key to Israel
believing in God was to understand and experience his nature as their lives
were surrendered to his purposes. "Elohim" was a Hebrew name for
God. The prefix "El" means "the strong and helping one." Obviously Israel’s
experience of God gave rise to their names for God. It was in Egypt that
Israel learned that God was the "strong and helping one" as God miraculously
led Israel out of bondage.
To Israel the proof of God’s existence
was not found in human reasoning, but rather in God’s own activity.
When Moses led the Israelites out of Egyptian, he made no effort to tell
them about the rationale for God, but he sought to reveal the nature of
the God that led Israel out of Egypt as he wrote the first five books of
the Old Testament. Israel had already experienced the presence of God in
their deliverance, but they did not have a clear understanding of his nature.
Israel’s understanding of the nature of God came as Israel experienced
the presence of God through obedience to his laws.
God was not only revealing himself to the
Israelites, he was revealing himself to the world, for the world had its
eye focused on Egypt.
Joshua 2:9-12
"I know that the LORD has given
this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that
all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We
have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when
you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings
of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 When
we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because
of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness
to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. NIV
When the incarnate Christ descended to this
world to reveal to us the very nature of God, he did it through his relationship
with those around him. Jesus told Philip, "If you have seen me, you have
seen the Father." Jesus didn’t come with a doctrinal discourse on the attributes
of God. He merely exemplified the attributes of God in his relationship
with those around him.
John 14:6-14
6 Jesus answered, "I am the
way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now
on, you do know him and have seen him."
8 Philip said, "Lord, show us
the Father and that will be enough for us."
9 Jesus answered: "Don't you
know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone
who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in
me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father,
living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am
in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence
of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith
in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than
these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you
ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may
ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. NIV
Today God wants us to experience him as he
reveals himself as Christ guides us in a very practical way to experience
him.
Israel’s
Impractical Faith
Atheism in the Old Testament was not
a denial of God; but it was the belief that God could be left out of their
lives with no consequence. It was a practical atheism that believed
in the existence of God, but it did not think that God was interested in
the affairs of humanity. This ancient atheism actually exists today.
How often have you heard someone speak
of a non-Christian religion saying, "Well we must be careful, after all
they also believe in God, don’t they?" The impractical atheists
believes in God, but believing in his existence is inconsequential to their
experiences in life.
The psalmist describes this type of
atheism that was prevalent in Israel.
Psalms 10:1-11
Why, O LORD, do you stand far
off?
Why do you hide yourself in
times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked
man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes
he devises.
3 He boasts of the cravings
of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles
the LORD.
4 In his pride the wicked does
not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is
no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws
are far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, "Nothing
will shake me;
I'll always be happy and never
have trouble."
7 His mouth is full of curses
and lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under
his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the
villages;
from ambush he murders the
innocent,
watching in secret for his
victims.
9 He lies in wait like a lion
in cover;
he lies in wait to catch the
helpless;
he catches the helpless and
drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed,
they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, "God
has forgotten;
he covers his face and never
sees." NIV
When the fear of God is gone, the decisions
of daily life are threatened. As the psalmist beholds the actions
of his enemies, he realizes that they believe in God but they have no fear
of God’s punishment for their evil. This type of atheism was born out of
the will rather than the mind. Their minds believed in God, but their wills
denied him as they refused to surrender their lives to his command.
Even the psalmist has doubting moments
when he thinks that believing in God has no blessing for the abused.
The psalmist asks God, "Why, O LORD, do you
stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" (v.
1.)
Psalms 10:12-18
12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your
hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man
revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
"He won't call me to account"?
14 But you, O God, do see trouble
and grief;
you consider it to take it
in hand.
The victim commits himself
to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked
and evil man;
call him to account for his
wickedness
that would not be found out.
16 The LORD is King for ever
and ever;
the nations will perish from
his land.
17 You hear, O LORD, the desire
of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you
listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless
and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of
the earth, may terrify no more. NIV
The psalmist reveals an element of doubt but
then he hastens to reveal that he believes those abused will experience
God’s deliverance.
The most interesting thing about the psalmist
is that he is looking for God in what he is experiencing in life; and in
times such as he describes in this psalm he is tempted to think that God’s
existence is inconsequential also.
Faith in God becomes impractical when
it fails to motivate us to experience the presence of God in our lives.
Christians have experienced God’s forgiveness, but we must go beyond
forgiveness if we wish to develop a faith based upon our experience of
God.
We Must
Experience God
Today faith has been reduced to an intellectual
pursuit of God as the church finds herself debating trivia. A faith
rooted in our experience of God goes beyond the religious intellectualism
of our time. So many Christians love
to argue about the Bible rather than take it seriously as a message that
is to be experienced in their own lives.
We are not here merely to be a copy
of the first century church. Many in the church today want to sort
of clone everything the first Christians did, including the customs of
those times. Our task is to find the relevance of the gospel in this age.
We are meant to be an original church of the 21st century as
we experience God for ourselves.
Our world doesn’t need a copy of the first
century church; they need to experience the real thing as the message of
Christ finds its application in our own hearts and lives. When this happens
the cultural differences would become insignificant.
God chose Israel to reveal his character.
Moses reminded Israel that God did not choose her because she was strong
and cultured or good; but because she was weak and helpless and downtrodden.
Her choosing was not an arbitrary decision. God’s
calling to Israel was a revelation of his character. Israel was chosen
because she was weak and helpless—it was God’s very nature and character
that drove him to deliver the Israelites. God’s call was a revelation of
his character which Israel experience as God led her out of Egypt.
It is God’s character that reveals his desire
to have a relationship with us. Only through a relation can we experience
God. Someone said, "Rules without a relationship lead to rebellion." God
knows this and desires to have a relationship with us.
Israel’s call was never to be a point
of pride and superiority, but rather a declaration of the very nature God.
It was their need rather than their worth that was at the very heart of
their call. God’s call wasn’t given to confer a favor upon those called;
it rather demanded a response to his compassion.
Exodus 19:5-6
5 Now if you obey me fully
and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured
possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom
of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to
the Israelites." NIV
God’s nature is such that his compassion
demands a response from us. When we speak of serving God we automatically
think of a slave and master relationship with God. If anyone is enslaved
in our relationship with God, it is God who is enslaved to us. His nature
compels him to act toward us in compassion.
Developing
a Faith Rooted in Your Experience of God
Experiencing God involves allowing your
life to become an extension of the personality of God as you allow God
to work through your personality to reach the world.
When God becomes so intertwined in our lives we become one with him. This
can only happen as we seek to experience God’s presence in our circumstances.
Our modern world equates spiritually with
spending time alone with God as we seek to experience tender moments in
the presence of God. However, you would get closer to God by embracing
the Cross in your life as it presents itself in your circumstances. Jesus
asks us to take up our cross daily and follow him. This means that our
cross is present in our daily experience, and we must take it up and carry
it if our experience of God is to become real. Allow your circumstances
to sweep you up into them knowing that it is there that you will discover
what the cross of Christ is about. It is only there that you will experience
the presence of God in your life. (Adapted from Fenelon, The Seeking
Heart, Library of Spiritual Classics, Vol. 4, p.22.)
Spiritual experiences surround us.
We fall over them dozens of times a day. We can't avoid them if we try.
A spiritual experience is simply
a matter of recognizing and acknowledging our relationship to God in whatever
is going on in our lives at the moment. God is involved
in all we do and does not pop in and out of our lives. We live surrounded
by God. We live and breathe God just as we live and breathe air. To know
that either air or God is present, we need only to pause and reflect for
an instant to see that we are immersed in them. (Adapted from Fr. Gerald
Weber in U.S. Catholic March 1992 as quoted in Christianity Today,
Vol. 36, no. 8.)
God comes only through doors that are
"purposely" opened for him. A person may live as near to God as
the bubble is to the ocean and yet not find him. He may be "closer than
breathing, nearer than hands or feet," and still be missed. (Citation:
Rufus M. Jones in The Double Search. Christianity Today,
Vol. 32, no. 6.)
Sin is against us experiencing God for
ourselves. The fundamental concept of sin is to isolate us from
God so that we cannot experience his presence in our experiences.
It is
obvious throughout the Bible that true belief in God is the result of one’s
experience of God rather than a mere knowledge of a correct theological
understanding of God.
Conclusion:
In the Old Testament God came to men
through the events of history to reveal his nature and his will.
I believe
that God still comes to us in the events of our lives to reveal himself
to us through life’s experiences. However, he can only come to us in our
circumstances if we allow him to be involved in our personal experiences.
He becomes involved in our personal experiences as we allow him to direct
our lives through personal obedience to his word.
Throughout the Old Testament we see how the
Israelites saw the hand of God as he used men and natural laws to accomplish
his will in their time of need.
God entered into battle with Joshua
as he led the Israelites into battle.
Joshua 10:9-13
9 After an all-night march
from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10 The LORD threw them into
confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon.
Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them
down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel
on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones
down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than
were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
12 On the day the LORD gave
the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of
Israel:
"O sun, stand still over Gibeon,
O moon, over the Valley of
Aijalon."
13 So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself
on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book
of Jashar. NIV
God thundered against the Philistines
as they sought to make war against Israel.
1 Samuel 7:10-11
10 While Samuel was sacrificing
the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle.
But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines
and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites.
11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines,
slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Car. NIV
If
we want to make a life for ourselves, we ought to consider serving a God
that is powerful enough to move the sun, moon and stars, as well as the
minds of men to accomplish his purpose in through our lives.
Today a powerful experience of God begins
with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as we are baptized
into Christ. It is followed by our resurrection to a new way of living
as we allow our lives to be directed by Christ into a powerful way of living.
