A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Galatians 6:8-10; Luke 19:32-46. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN!

1. When was it difficult for you to keep doing good? Think of other situations where it takes real effort to keep doing good?
2. What is the Greek word for "good" used in verse 9? What are some of its characteristics? Where else do we find this word used in the New Testament?
3. How does Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on a donkey illustrate 'good'? What surprising aspect of goodness does he display on this day?
4. For what good things was Jesus crucified?
5. Where do we find the 'inner resources' to persevere in doing good?
6. Paul uses a different word for good in verse 10. What does it add? Give some examples of doing good.

Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land. The Lord Almighty has declared, "Surely the great houses will become desolate, the fine mansions left without occupants. A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine; a homer of seed will yield only an ephah of grain" (Isaiah 5:8-10).

These ancient words judge our own culture. Whereas, our rural areas were once occupied by many small family farms, they are now littered with large houses surrounded by manicured lawns and gardens producing nothing of value. Many a retired couple lives in a house much larger than the one they raised their children in.

Our text speaks to greed for bigger houses and more land. The rich buy it, dispossessing the former owners one by one until at last the rich live alone on a vast estate, the former owners reduced to serfdom. This sin was particularly offensive to God because in the covenant the land is his. He gives it in the form of grants to his people, to be maintained in the respective families for all time. This reinforced the idea of dependence on God and a means of subsistence for the small landowner.

Such sins of greed are rooted in a failure to admit that God has the right to establish limits for us. The desire for more is coupled with the failure to recognize that our desires are insatiable and that the only way to control them is a conscious decision to stop. Self-indulgence is possible for all of us when my needs are all-important. Who has the right to tell me enough is enough? Soon, comfort, pleasure, and security become absolute goals, and whatever seems to increase them we seek to acquire.

But God announces a judgement that fits the crime. Just as the rich dispossessed others, they will be dispossessed, and all the land acquired will produce almost nothing. Would God say that same thing about rural displacement and urban gentrification that dislocates the poor and the vulnerable? Such extravagances are unsustainable. Many large and beautiful houses will be destroyed or vacated. The abandoned agricultural land will fail to produce.

What should we do when our own hearts move toward this sin of greed? The answer is simple, "Sabbath." Stop working. Only then do we have time to remember that we do not control our own destiny. During sabbath we learn to rely on God. While at rest, we have time to know that God is able to take care of us.

Today, Christian's need to reacquaint themselves with Sabbath. It's meant to be like a factory reset—putting us back in line with God. It is not a day of drudgery to be endured, but rather a day to celebrate our God who provides. God puts a stop sign before our desires to acquire and warns that ignoring that sign will have dire consequences.

Sabbath also gives us time to see our neighbour, to notice their needs. Then we realize that out our excess God desires to care for that neighbour. That is why an offering is taken during worship services. What will you bring to God this weekend, to bless your neighbour in need?

As you journey on, receive Jesus' invitation into this rest:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29).

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life. The Lord reigns forever, your God, O [church], for all generations. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 146:1, 2, 10).

When we think of spiritual disciplines, prayer, scripture reading, silence, retreats, often come to mind. But that's a rather narrow perspective. The Bible includes a more robust list. One of which is the discipline of praising God. "Praise the Lord," is the resounding call of many psalms. It's a discipline we ought to take up. Most often we only lift our praises when we feel like it. But these psalms do not ask us if we feel like it. They tell us to "Praise the Lord!" Just do it!

Notice how the Psalmist begins, "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!" Is it possible that the psalmist doesn't really feel like it? Thus, he must remind himself to get to it. Just to do it! And then he makes this commitment, "I will praise the Lord all my life." This is why I say that praising God is a spiritual discipline. We need to commit ourselves to doing it, whether we want to or not.

This Psalm leans toward evangelism. It's a word that unnerves many. We see it as something separate from the rest of our faith; something we will get to once we are ready or mature enough, or the Spirit has made us bold enough. It conjures up the image of trying to convince strangers to become Christians.

The Bible persistently gives a different slant to evangelism. The word means 'to tell a great story or news.' If our favourite sports team wins the championship, we like to tell stories of how it happened. And who hasn't heard the story of the fish that just keeps getting bigger?

The Hebrew verb for praise, HALAL, means to make a show, to boast, to rave, to celebrate, perhaps even to be clamorously foolish--an image that may offer a fair description of the exultant experience of the first Christian Pentecost. Add the Hebrew word for God to Halal and we get Hallelujah!

These psalms tell us to declare the things that God has done. That is how Israel used them. They were sung as expressions of the joy of the exiles coming home from Babylon. God had set them free. He had brought them home. The story needed to be told.

Likewise, evangelism is telling good news, stories of hope. Therefore, Psalm 146 gives helpful advice for us. Evangelism begins with a commitment to praise God. When our goal is to declare the praise of God every day, someone is bound to hear it.

What stories about God do you have? How will you tell them? Surely, if we have become children of God through faith in Jesus, we have some stories to tell. Remember that there is a larger story: God's story. Our stories are part of his story.

So, whatever happens, remember, "Praise the Lord, O my soul!"

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May your day end with rejoicing at the wonders he has shown you. May you rest in his provision as he brings night, and then new dawn.