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When Sally saw the title to this message, she wondered why I was preaching about myself….. Pure honey is considered the standard of sweetness by which all other sweetness is measured… What is more perfectly sweet? The word of God, the hope of Christ. I am thankful on this Sunday before Thanksgiving for the revelation of Jesus Christ who has revealed Himself to those who have eyes to see. The message is shouted in the skies, deposited in our hearts, written in God’s Word. As we look at Psalm 19, may the Revelation of God cause you to see with greater clarity the Glory of God. Ps. 19 can be divided into four parts:
  Living in the already not yet of Gods kingdom…
In order to understand our text today we need to begin with a brief history of the Jewish understanding of the Kingdom of God at the time of Christ. We heard last week the Pharisees asking Jesus “when the kingdom of God was coming” This was a question that was in the minds of many Jews at the time of Christ for good reason. The Hebrew Scriptures predict the coming Rule of God in the world. If you bear with me I’ll read a couple passages to you. In Isaiah 2… “the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”  The Genius vs. the Simpleton. A proud and confident genius makes a bet with a simpleton: “Hey Simpleton, every question I ask you that you don’t know the answer, you have to give me $5. And if you ask me a question and I can’t answer yours I will give you $5000.” The simpleton agrees. The genius asks, “How many continents are there in the world?” The simpleton doesn’t know and hands over $5. “My turn,” says the simpleton, “what animal stands with two legs but sleeps with three?” The genius thinks hard for the answer but at last gives up and hands over $5000. “Dang it,” he says, “I lost. By the way, what was the answer to your question?” The simpleton hands over $5.
The story of the genius and the simpleton may not be exactly like the Kingdom of God question, but there are similarities. The Kingdom of God is a mystery to those who don’t understand/those that don’t see it; for those who get it they may not fully see. The answer to the simpleton’s question is that there is no answer, which is an answer. As I tackle this scripture, my great desire is to try and understand the practical application of this passage ~ what difference does it make in daily life. Jesus is inviting His disciples to live with a Kingdom mentality. Kingdom of God means God is King, ruler, the one in charge. |
 
Carl Crouse, Pastor
At SACC we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Every Sunday the worship service includes a message from the Bible. My words are an attempt to understand and apply the Bible to our daily living. I post weekly sermons and other biblical messages on this page. May you find meaning and hope as you read through each message and seek to hear God's voice. Leave a comment to ask questions or inspire others with your insights. Categories
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