210515 - Too Much-Too Little-Just Right - Haggett

The main ideas from this information are: - The speaker discusses a prayer from Proverbs 30, focusing on the themes of falsehood and lies and the desire for neither poverty nor riches. - The speaker emphasizes the importance of approaching God in a humble and submissive way. - The speaker talks about the dangers of extremes, both having too much and too little. - The speaker highlights the need for humility and dependence on God in order to pursue opportunities to reflect God's character. - The speaker references Moses' warning to the Israelites about forgetting God in times of abundance. - The speaker concludes by discussing the distractions and dangers of a life of abundance. Proverbs 30. Not watching what I'm supposed to be doing. I was too interested in knowing about Cody getting lost. Proverbs chapter 30. You know, in the recovery, depression recovery seminars, Dr. Nedley said all of us should read one of the chapters in Proverbs every day. And by reading those Proverbs, it seems to help alleviate some of the despair that we may have been feeling within our depression. Proverbs 30, verses 7 through 9. Two things I request of you, deprive me not before I die, remove falsehood and lies from me, give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with the food allotted to me, lest I be full, and deny you, and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor, and steal, and pervade the name of the Lord. May the Lord add His blessing as Ken Haggett brings us the sermon this morning. Okay, well, thank you for the invitation, Stephen. Okay. All right. That's true. That is true. That is true. All right, so there's some new masks here that I've never met before, so welcome. Welcome. And in case you don't know me, I come from Concord direction. And I have a wife, two sons in the Walla Walla college area. And one of them is supposed to be getting married October 10. I shouldn't say supposed to be, is getting married October 10. And the other one, Trevor, the younger one, is going to be a senior next year. So that's my life story. How many dogs do you have? I counted up the other day that currently I think we have 24 dogs. My wife raises them for litters for puppies, you know. Some of them are babies and hopefully will be going. But I know that they'll be. For every one that goes, it seems like there's three more to replace it. The sayings of Augur is how Proverbs 30 begins. And we don't really know much about Augur, who he is, other than he is the son of Jekah. And we don't know much about him either, other than he is the father of Augur. And among the sayings of Augur in Proverbs 30 is a prayer recorded in verses 7-9 that Dan just read. And at first glance, it's a simple prayer, really. And you might not think much about it. But if you look deep into that prayer, you might see your own reflection. So the focus for today is pretty much that prayer. He starts out with, The sayings I ask you, Lord, do not refuse me before I die. Keep falsehood and lies far from me. Falsehood and lies. They are twins, just not identical twins, says Pastor H.B. Charles. I got that from him. Falsehood is the state of being untrue, and lies is intentionally false statements. So they are closely related. When I decided to focus on Augur's prayer this morning, I listened to not many, but a few sermons to get a few pastors' views about that sermon, because I was curious about it. Some pastors felt that the falsehood and lies that Augur wanted God to keep him from were his own. In other words, Augur was petitioning God to keep him from telling falsehood and lies. Other pastors felt that Augur was petitioning God to keep him from falsehood and lies of others. And then at least one other pastor felt that the petition from Augur was for God to keep him, Augur, from telling falsehood and lies, as well as keeping the falsehood and lies of others from him. So, is it behind door number one, door number two, or door number three? Now that's going back a little ways, isn't it? Which one is correct really doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that verse seven teaches us to approach God in a humble, submissive way. Not arrogant presumption. Augur doesn't open his prayer asking for vain, superficial, trivial things. The words, before I die, to me indicate that perhaps his prayer is weighted down with something. Now get the impression from that statement that Augur may be entering the twilight years of his life, and his prayer is weighted down with the seriousness of facing eternity. He recognized that it is appointed unto man to die once, and then stand before the judgment of God. And I think we should pray then, like Augur, recognizing that life is short, death is sure, and eternity is coming. And on that happy note, let's continue the sermon. Just a little side note, however. What you see around you, this is not our eternity. We may have our name etched on a piece of stone for decades, but neither is that our eternity. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, the voice of the archangel. The trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. That is when our eternity begins. May God keep falsehood and lies far from us so that we never lose hope in that promise. Perhaps from time to time we should spend a few moments thinking about seriousness of standing before the judgment of God in eternity. Because doing so just might help us set a meaningful course for our life here and now. By doing so, just might help us keep the trivial, superficial, and meaningless life at bay. And just might help us set guidelines and standards to live by. Thank you. Thank you very much. Augur sees the seriousness of his situation as he continues with his prayer. Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise I may have too much and disown you and say, who is the Lord? Or I may become poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God. He recognizes that by nature we humans have a better chance of pursuing opportunities of reflecting God's character if we're comfortable. Did you catch that? I'll do that again. He recognizes that by nature we humans have a better chance of pursuing opportunities of reflecting God's character if we're comfortable. This prayer, it's almost a Goldilocks prayer, isn't it? Not too much, not too little, just right. This prayer, I think, teaches us to petition God to keep the extremes of life from us. And those extremes, too much or too little, block or deter our pursuit of reflecting God's character. They can. One extreme, of course, is a life of too much. The other is a life of too little. So let's deal with the extreme of too much first. Society tells us to be independent, to stand on our own two feet. As a child, we're taught to do things for ourselves. We are considered mature grownups once we reach the place where and when we can care for ourselves and make decisions for ourselves. However, when it comes to God, this way of thinking is the polar opposite. God wants us to remain just a little bit dependent on him. He wants us to realize our need for him in every area of our lives. There's wisdom in Augur's request. If we seek a life of pursuing opportunities to reflect God's character, then we, like Augur, must recognize that our dependence on the Most High is crucial. He knows this about himself, that if at any point he feels he could do it himself without any help, then pride would certainly cause him to fall. Augur's desire to live in a state of humble reliance on God, Lord, give me just enough in this life so that my dependence on you will remain strong. Humility, defined, is a modest or low view of one's own importance. It's the place of entire dependence on God, the first duty of the highest virtue of the creature, and the root of every virtue, humility. And so pride, or the loss of humility, is the root of every sin and evil. That comes from a man by the name of Andrew Murray. Moses warned the Israelites that they would forget God once they were settled and happy in their new land. He told them, when the food is plentiful and the herds grow large, you will ask yourself, who needs God? Deuteronomy 8, starting with verse 11. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commandments, his laws, his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of a hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors never had known, to humble you and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, my power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me. But remember, the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant which he swore to your ancestors as it is today. Here's another way of putting a couple of those verses. Make sure you don't become so full of yourself and your things that you forget God. If you start thinking to yourself, I did all this and all by myself, I'm rich and it's mine, well, think again. Remember that God gave you the strength to produce all this wealth. So Augur realizes that the extreme of having too much of this world's wealth can deter us from our earthly path to our heavenly Father. I just made that up, you know, a little while ago. That's not bad, is it? I mean, you think about it, that's pretty good. That was worth the drive right there. I'm going to do that one again because I like it so much. Augur recognizes that the extreme of having too much of this world's wealth can deter us from our earthly path to our heavenly Father. 1 Timothy 6, 9-10 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. I dare say, however, that if given the choice between a life of too much or a life of too little, I would probably choose to go with the life of too much. Augur agreed with Moses, however, that a life of abundance has its distractions. It's better to live humbly among the poor than to live it up among the rich and famous. It pays to take life seriously. Things work out when you trust in God. Proverbs 16, 17 Well, the other extreme is a life of poverty. And it brings its own issues which can block or deter us from our pursuit of reflecting God's character. Hungry people are desperate people. And desperate people act in ways that they probably would not if living from day to day was a little easier. Europe was devastated by years of conflict during World War II. Millions of people had been killed or wounded. Industrial and residential centers in England, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Belgium and elsewhere lay in ruins. Much of Europe was on the brink of famine as agricultural production had been disrupted by war. Transportation infrastructures was in shambles. The only major power in the world that was not significantly damaged was the United States. And so, in January 1947, President Harry Truman appointed George Marshall to be Secretary of State. And in just a few months, the State Department leadership under Marshall crafted the Marshall Plan. Officially known as the European Recovery Program, the Marshall Plan was intended to rebuild the economies and spirits of Western Europe, primarily Western Europe. Marshall was convinced the key to restoration of political stability lay in the revitalization of national economies. Further, he saw political stability in Western Europe as the key to blunting the advances of communism in that region. People were desperate in Europe. And it could have been much worse had the United States not sought to rebuild. Desperate people have a difficult time focusing on things outside of meeting their own needs. And sometimes the method of meeting their needs resort to by any means possible. Auger did not want to live with such an abundance as to distract his life or with too little which would misdirect his life. He knew that either would prevent him from the pursuit of reflecting God's character. Could we expand Auger's prayer to include more than just his socio-economic standing? I think we can. Too much or too little of anything may not necessarily be the best thing. Give me neither poor health nor Superman's body. It's pretty obvious which one I didn't get, right? Give me neither rags nor the finest clothes from Gucci. Okay? I think it's fair to extend Auger's prayer to anything that would distract or misdirect our ability to reflect God's character. So you fill in the blanks in your own pew privately to yourself. Give me neither nor. Auger knew it is hard enough keeping a godly focus on days when we're not stuck in the extremes of too little. This world, however, is not always sympathetic to what we may be going through. And on days when we may be struggling to meet the demands of sheer existence, the one-two punch gets delivered and our ability to reflect God's character is swept away. Now, what I'm about to say I want you to think of carefully. Okay? You may be thinking right now to yourself, well, this is all easy for him to say. He's not facing something, you know, some terminal illness. He's not hungry. He's not struggling financially, thanks to the dogs. He's male. He's got a college degree and a good job. Why is he telling me all this? Well, let me add. Our relationship to God and our commitment to him may from time to time fall into either of the extremes. And it's during those times that our true character of commitment, relationship with God is revealed. Augur included in his prayer this, or I may become poor and steel and so dishonor the name of my God. Was he reflecting on himself as he, you know, included that in his prayer? Earlier I made a statement that if you look deep into this prayer, you may see your own reflection. And so here's the confession part. I know what I am personally, and what I am is a just right Christian. It doesn't take many steps toward the extreme of too little before my true character is revealed. And I'm not even talking about the extreme of monetary poverty. I'm talking about the extreme of too little patience. Too little energy. Too little time. And then my true character gets revealed. Don't ever think of me as having everything all lined up perfectly. There's less to me than meets the eye. Three biblical characters. I just admire these guys. Job, Daniel, and Joseph. Each had the extremes of abundance and poverty. You think of it. Job had abundance and then poverty. Daniel had poverty. He was taken as a captive. And he worked his way up through government, so obviously he had abundance. And Joseph, sold as a slave by his own brothers. What is that brothers thing again? Whatever. Sold by his own brothers as a slave. Spent years in a prison for something he didn't do. But then gets elevated in a position of abundance. Having said all that, each of them are examples whether in poverty or in abundance, they had a commitment to rely on God. Each would say, I think in today's terms, if I get a promotion or a pink slip, God is still in control of every detail of my life. Second Timothy 2, 10 through 12. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, and with it eternal glory. It is a trustworthy statement. For if we died with him, we will live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us. Proverbs 3, 5 through 8. Place your trust in the eternal. Rely on him completely. Never depend upon your own ideas and inventions. Give him the credit for everything you accomplish, and he will smooth out and straighten the road that lies ahead. And don't think you can decide on your own what is right and what is wrong. Respect the eternal. Turn and run from evil. If you depend on him, your body and mind will be free from strain and of a sinful life, will experience healing and health, and will be strengthened at their core. And this from C.S. Lewis. The thing is to rely on God. The time will come when you will regard all this misery as a small price to pay for having been brought to that dependence. Meanwhile, the trouble is that relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing has yet been done. It's a daily thing. I was going through Augur's prayer. I thought to myself, something sounds familiar. I've got the wrong glasses on so I can't see the clock. Something sounds familiar. Well, if you look at Matthew 6, it's the Lord's Prayer. This then is how you should pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Is that kind of a little humble beginning? Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Oh, here's one. Give us today our daily bread. Isn't that what Augur said? Don't you think Jesus and him are on the same page? And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. Keep the falsehood and lies far from me. Don't lead me into temptation. I think there's a connection there. But deliver us from the evil one. I think Jesus would agree with Augur. The great danger in wealth is that it tends to make man feel independent of God's goodness and thus separate him from the only source of true riches. Poverty, on the other hand, tempts a man to feel that God has ceased to care for him and may lead him to use sinful means to provide for his own needs. All men, rich and poor alike, must maintain the feeling of dependence upon their Heavenly Father. We are all that little boy at the campground running this way and that, searching, searching. When I feel afraid, think I've lost my way, still you're right there beside me and nothing will I fear as long as you are near. Please be near me to the end. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Just as my words to Cody, Are you lost? Brought instant relief. God's word can do the same. Our job is to rely on him, not allowing either extreme to deter or misdirect that path to him and keep us from reflecting his character on earth. Our closing song, 569. God's word can do the same. Our job is to rely on him, not allowing either extreme to deter or misdirect that path to him. God's word can do the same. Our closing song, 569. Senor, Senor, hear my humble cry. Thou, O Mother of our God, do not pass me by. Let me at thy throne of mercy find a sweet relief. In their deep affliction help my unbelief. Senor, Senor, hear my humble cry. Thou, O Mother of our God, do not pass me by. Touch me not with thy hand, nor I seek thy face. Heal my wounded, broken spirit. Save me by thy grace. Senor, Senor, hear my humble cry. Thou, O Mother of our God, do not pass me by. Thou, the grain of my comfort, Lord, and life for me. Who have I on earth beside thee? Who am I beneath thee? Senor, Senor, hear my humble cry. Thou, O Mother of our God, do not pass me by. May I hunger and thirst for more and more of you. Remind me that I need to equally rely on you through the extremes of too little or too much, when things are difficult and when they are easy. Our prayer echoes Augur's. Give me just enough in this life, Lord, so that I always remain dependent on you and honor you and remain an unobstructed channel of your grace. Amen. Amen. . .