Discussion on Man Pt 2

Brother Gary, we just come before you, Lord God, we thank you for this time that we get to spend in your

Word. You are our mind's Father, to your will, to your truth. I pray for Brother Andy as he teaches us today in Sunday School and then preaches to us.

And I just ask you that our affections will be towards you and nothing else. That's right. That's right.

Alright, so you remember I said that we would really deal with it from three different standpoints or ask three different questions and that man in and of himself, apart from God, cannot answer these questions rightly.

And the first one was, how did we get here? And then the second one was, why are we here?

And then the third was, what's next? And that, if you remember, we read in Psalm 14 that the fool has said in his heart, there is no

God. Now that doesn't mean that they're foolish in every way, but as far as the reality of those three questions, apart from being in Christ, it's impossible for a man to truly answer those three questions.

How did I get here? Why am I here? And where am I going? And if you remember, we read in Ecclesiastes 7 where it says that God made man upright and he has sought out many inventions.

And in other words, we talked about the garden and how the garden was a place of harmony and the garden was a place of fellowship and communion and that when sin entered in, it ruined and marred that whole reality of fellowship with God.

And so, brother, you've got to go find your

Bible. And that when it says that man, God made man upright and he has sought out many inventions, the different aspects of people, if you were to ask those three questions to the general public,

I mean, you would get a whole range of answers, right? It would go from, we got here by, we talked about serendipity or evolution or aliens or whatever it is, or some space gas or whatever, and that you and I really need to focus on those three questions and ask ourselves, do we really understand how we got here?

And so we dealt with the first one and so I'd rather not spend too much time on that, but rather move on to the second, which is, why are we here?

So let's think about that for a little bit. Why are we here? We agree that God made us, we agree that God created us, we agree that God made us in his image and after his likeness and that man ruined it when he rebelled against God and that God in his great mercy still allows man to come back into a relationship with him.

But that's a big question really is, why are we here? So if you were to ask the general population that question, what kind of answers do you think you would get?

You just walk up to someone and say, well you're in a conversation and start talking about life and then you ask that question, why are we here?

How would we answer that? What evidence could we give or what support could we have that there's a purpose to it?

Because there's a lot of people who think there is no purpose. You're basically, you're here, you do the best you can, you try to make it to the top.

You remember the bumper sticker, he who dies with the most toys wins? I mean, and many people have that very thought that as long as I can get to wherever I think

I should be, well, that's why I'm here. Or, and you can take it from a more negative standpoint, and some people will say that honestly they don't know why they're here.

Or they might even take it further from a downwards view and say, well,

I'm just here to suffer. And there are people that say that, I'm just here to kind of work through the mud, if you will.

And that they never really can come to the point where they can give an honest answer of why.

So, I'm going to ask this. Somebody say something because I'm not going to say anything until somebody says something.

We exist for God and not for ourselves. We're here to glorify him and all that he does.

To glorify God. You know how many people would say that's the most preposterous thing

I've ever heard? That we have, we've been created for no other purpose than to glorify

God. Is there another reason? Is there something along with that? And I don't disagree with you, brother, because I do think that's the purpose, is to glorify

God, but are there other things that we could include in that? We're here to know him.

Yeah, we're here to know him and we're here to learn.

We're here to learn who he is. We're here to learn about his, did

I spell something wrong? That's an N there. That's an N. Candy, that's a little N versus a big

N. Well, we're here to learn about him. We're here to grow in fellowship with him.

We're here to understand. Is there anything else? Why are we here?

To enjoy him. Ah, thank you. And you're right, sister, we're here to enjoy him and we're here to enjoy what he's created.

Right? We're here to enjoy the creation. Is that self -serving?

No, I don't think so, because God made the creation. If you think about it, when

God made Adam and put him in the garden, there was that great harmony, right, in the creation itself.

We talked about that even on Wednesday, about there was peace, there was tranquility, there was safety in the garden, and all those things.

And so when you think about it, how many people do you think would even begin to answer it that way?

That we are here to glorify God, we are here to know about him, we are here to learn, we are here to enjoy.

Not only the creation, but we're here to enjoy each other, in a sense.

Although it doesn't always seem that way. But, I mean, if you think about the relationships in life,

I mean, one of the greatest relationships is what? Marriage. To have that intimacy, to have that, if you will, that oneness.

And so there's many reasons why we are here.

And again, the most is, or the most important, or the most significant, if you will, is to glorify

God. You know, in Proverbs, I think it's Proverbs 16, 4,

I'm pretty sure it is. It says, oh yeah, there it is. Let's look at that real quick.

Proverbs 16, 4. Let me show you something. Because here we learn something about the purpose of, if you will, of why we're here.

Unfortunately, as we read it though, it has a negative aspect too.

So it says, let me just read it from verse 1. The preparations of the heart belong to man, on Proverbs 16.

But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. And all the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes.

Ain't that true? But the Lord weighs the spirits. Commit your works to the

Lord, and your thoughts will be established. Now look at verse 4. The Lord has made all things for himself.

Yes, even the wicked for the day of wrath. Now, when you begin to think about how many people would say, well that's really self -serving.

But yeah, we are here to serve God. We are here to, and we should add that to our list, right?

We're here to serve. So you were talking about Wednesday, Andy, a preacher that got kicked out of his congregation because he preached on the sovereignty of God.

And this is basically saying that he's sovereign. He's in charge of everything, no matter if the wicked or the righteous.

And why wouldn't we want to serve a God that's in control of everything? Well, I know why, but...

Yeah, but absolutely. And if you think about it, was

God under constraint to create us? No.

God was glorious in eternity past. There was communion, there was fellowship, there was companionship within the trinity of the

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So God wasn't compelled to create.

God desired to create man. And again, I'll go back to what it says in Ecclesiastes, that God created man upright.

It's man who sought out inventions. How many people would say that God is unfair?

How many people would say, I don't know why I'm here, I've not had a good life, and therefore, if there is a

God, he's messed things up. He's done things that don't fit into my life.

And you know what, there's a tendency, I think at times, you look at one person, and they seem to, what, prosper.

I never have. In the Psalms, it says, in Psalm 73, it says, basically, they die with a smile on their face.

And you know how many people have said that, right? As long as I die with a smile on my face. So you look at those people, and it says they have more than they need or more than they want, or you can never have more than you want, but they have more than what they need.

And then you look at someone else, and they struggle, and they stumble, and it never seems as if they can get off the ground.

And then you ask them, why are we here? And that causes people to say,

I don't know why I'm here. Because if you look at it from that standpoint, it doesn't seem equal.

It seems unbalanced, if you will. But the reality is that God is, you know how many people struggle with the second half of that verse?

The Lord has made all things for himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of wrath. And you know how many people have made that into a monster, and I don't really believe that that's the intent, but really it's just the intent that God is sovereign.

And he does whatever he pleases to do, like Nebuchadnezzar says, in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and there is none that could stay his hand or say unto him, what are you doing?

Back to knowing and learning, Andy. The most time that I have peace or I have confidence in my walk, not necessarily with the

Lord, but with the Lord, and also my walk at work and just everyday life is when

I'm in God's word more and studying God's word more. I have a lot more confidence, I don't fear stuff, that kind of thing.

Yeah, you know what, I think we could all, anybody that's in Christ can realize that to be in God's presence is our desires are fulfilled, right?

You know, it's interesting, because I'll go to it now, and then I'm going to go somewhere else.

But I want you to go into Psalm 84 for a second. And I've been thinking about this lately, now that you brought that up,

I think it would be fine to bring it into focus a little bit more,

Psalm 84, because I want you to see what the psalmist says and that very point, that being in the presence of God is of such worth that nothing else can compare to it.

So look what it says. I'm just going to read it, it's fairly short. It says,

How lovely is your tabernacle, Lord of hosts! In my soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of God, of the

Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young.

Even your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, my God, blessed are those who dwell in your house, and they will still be praising you.

Now, blessed is the man whose strength is in you, whose heart is set on pilgrimage as they pass through the valley of Baca, which is weeping.

They make it a spring, the rain covers them with pools, and they go from strength to strength.

Every one of them appears before God in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer.

Give ear, O God of Jacob. O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of your anointed.

Now, look at verse 10 and 11. For a day in your court is better than a thousand, and I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my

God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. Now, when you begin to think about that, how many...

I don't believe it's possible for a man outside of Christ to truly understand what that...

Absolutely not. Right? Because they don't have that fellowship. That fellowship is missing.

And the reason why it's missing is because they sought out many inventions, because they decided, well,

I came from some toad or something like that.

Therefore, if you think about it, I'm trying to stay in line, but if you think about it, what would be the purpose of us being here if we ascended from a frog?

To what end does that serve? To not only that, but then you get into...

Reincarnation. Yeah, because what's next? And how many people believe that?

I want to come back as a giraffe, or I want to come back as this, that, and the other, or I want to come back with this particular character.

And so you begin to think about it, and again, a day in your court is better than a thousand.

I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God. I'd rather be a servant.

I'd rather be one who is obscure to the world, yet known by God.

Right? Because that, in your presence, it says, is fullness of joy.

Right? And so again, when you ask this question to people, not only how do we get here, but why are we here?

They become caught up in a thousand different things. So, let me show you something, and maybe it will help us a little bit.

I want you to go to Jeremiah 9 for a minute. I want you to think about something that he says in Jeremiah 9.

Look at what he says in Jeremiah, in the 9th chapter, and I'll pick it up in verse 22.

Thus says the Lord, Even the caucuses of men shall fall as refuse on the open ground, like cuttings after the harvest, and no one shall gather them.

And thus says the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom.

So let's stop there for a second. Why are we here? How many people think that, in and of itself, wisdom is the principal thing?

How many people think the reason why I'm here is because I'm to see how much knowledge

I can gather in, not knowing or not thinking, and I'm kind of jumping into the next question, which is what's next.

How many wise people wind up being a fool? I mean, at a certain point, even the smartest person begins to what?

They begin to forget. They begin to lose wisdom. They begin to, I'm not just talking about wisdom from the standpoint of common sense or how to handle situations.

I'm just talking about knowledge, pure knowledge, and yet how many people will say that that's what it's all about, to glory in my wisdom, to glory in my education, to glory in my attainment.

Then it says this, Let not the mighty man glory in his might.

Well, now we've got another group who think that the reason why they're here is to see how much they can gather to themselves, or if you will, how much they can overpower other people.

You know, and I don't know if you would remember, there was a football player years and years ago.

His name was Lyle Alzado. Anybody ever hear of him? Okay. All right.

Lyle Alzado was one of the first ones to use steroids, and he was massive.

But at that time, they didn't really realize why he got so, I mean, the guy was just like, he was like the

Hulk. Did he play for the Raiders? Yeah, he played for the Raiders, Lyle Alzado. Well, here's what happened.

As he aged, his body began to disintegrate.

All that he was, now he wasn't. And he died a terrible, painful death by just, and his reason for being here was because he wanted to be the tip of the spear.

He wanted to be top of everything. He wanted to be the one that everybody looked to for strength and for power, and like I said, he wound up, he was one of the first that used the steroids, and it became much more well -known after he basically disintegrated as a human being.

But there are a lot of people who would say, that's why I'm here. I'm here to see how big

I can get, how strong I can get, how wise I can get. Now there's another group, right?

Nor let the rich man glory in his riches. Well, that's another group of people, right? Again, he who dies with the most toys win.

As long as I can get to the top, I'm satisfied. That's why I'm here, to see how much

I can attain. I've often said this, how the

Egyptians and those people, how much they gathered to themselves, right?

And we're still picking their graves. But they couldn't take a dime through the valley of the shadow of death.

But they lost sight of the whole fact that naked did I enter into this world, naked shall

I return. And so they built those structures, the pyramids, and they were buried with gold and silver.

And that's really, how many people will say, that's why they're here. They're here just to see how much they can gather to themselves.

And you'll see some of the things, like middle -class folks, man, and they live in these neighborhoods, and they try to buy houses, and they try to buy boats, they try to buy cars.

They try to attain, right? They really don't attain because they're getting so much debt, most of them. And they try to attain, and try to attain, and get the toys, like you're saying.

Yeah. And then they realize, well, what did I do? They're underwater.

And I think, I saw it yesterday, that the current average credit card interest is 24%.

Isn't that crazy? You're talking about usury, right? Yeah, you're talking about, and how they say, you know, have you seen those commercials where they say, if I were to pay my minimum, it would take me, you know, literally 40 years to pay my debt off because of the interest.

And yet, that drives man to, like you say, to gather.

And that's really why many people think they're here. And as long as I can get to that plateau, like watch, we watch

House Hunters sometimes, basically because there's not much else on TV. Anyway, and how people will come in and they'll say, they're looking for a house, and they'll say something to the effect of, well, we finally made it.

Now I want a house to show forth that we finally made it. And I got to have high ceilings and I got to have, you know, it's got to be, there's got to be a grandness about it and all those things.

And so again, how many people could not answer this question of why we're here?

Because we're really here to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. That's what the Westminster Confession says and even though the

Presbyterians, we would disagree with them on certain things, that's certainly true. We're here to glorify

God and we're here to enjoy Him forever. And so, then it says in the final verse 24,

But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the

Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth, for in these

I delight, says the Lord. That's it. That's why we're here. Glorify God, please

Him, serve Him, worship Him, and that you can't really do it unless you know

Him. There's a big difference, right, between knowing about God and knowing

God. And the difference is, what you, I think, what you were saying before. When you get into the presence of God, right, that's a place that no one but a

Christian can enter. And unfortunately, too often, feel a sense of it and then it's gone.

Right? Because we're pulled from so many different places and it becomes very difficult to find ourselves in a position.

But if you think about, remember what Jesus said in John 17? This is life eternal, to know you, the only true

God, and Jesus. And the blessings that we get from knowing

God when we're 25 years old, came to know the Lord, the testimonies of most people are,

I was a mess, we were a mess, me and Cindy. And just coming to know Him, how He blessed us in our relationship with each other, is amazing, right?

It's just like, so great. Because of Him.

I think one time there was, I don't know if I read it in a book or somebody had said it, he said that at times people get married three times.

He said once they get married once and they're both unbelievers. Then after that they're married basically again because one of them becomes a believer.

And then finally, they're both believers. There is nothing more precious than two people who try to become one, who seek to become one, and they're in the

Lord. And that's why, if you think about it, not to vary off the subject too much, why is

Paul warned about don't be unequally yoked together with an unbeliever? Because now you're coming from two different perspectives.

One knows why they're here. One knows how they got here, why they're here, and where they're going. The other one, as much as they might try to understand, can't.

And again, that's why the scriptures say that they're a fool. Not absolute fools, but fools because they can't.

Do you not think that this world would be so different if people could answer that question in truth? I'm not talking about being theologians.

I'm not talking about knowing all the doctrines in the scriptures. I'm not talking about being a

PhD or knowing Greek or knowing Hebrew. But I'll tell you this, if you know

God, then you know the meaning of life. And again, that's why

Jesus said, I'm the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me.

Alright, I want to try to look at a different one. I'll go here, if you will. Psalm 36.

You know, the more I move on in the faith, the more I rely on the Psalms. And there's a couple reasons.

One, I think it's full of doctrine, which a lot of people don't think. And two, because it really is the experience of people.

It's experimental, it's practical, it's... there's a substance to it as it works through the issues of life.

So, in Psalm 36, I'll just read from verse 5.

Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains.

Your judgments are a great deep. O Lord, you preserve man and beast.

Couldn't we spend a lot of time on that? How precious is your loving kindness,

O Lord. Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of your wings.

They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of your house, and you give them drink from the rivers of your pleasures.

Look at verse 9. For with you is the fountain of life. In your light, we see light.

That verse has always meant so much to me. That in God's light, and God's light is,

He created us. He sustains us. And ultimately, He will be our judge.

He will be the one to bring us to that point. So when you think about it, why are we here?

We're here to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever, and enjoy what He's given us. I mean, it'd be kind of boring if the creation was just black and white.

Just think about the spectacular majesty of it all, and the colors, and the design.

I was sitting in the backyard yesterday, and there was this little green hummingbird, because I live with someone who's got 42 hummingbird houses hanging from every position in the world.

But anyway, there's this little... I mean, this little dude was no bigger than that.

And he was just enjoying that sugar water, man. He just... Just sucking it up.

And you know what I said to myself? I said, Lord, You're great. You're just... It's amazing.

And why am I here? To enjoy what You've given us. And if you think about it, we live in a cursed world.

We live in a world that's been put under judgment. You imagine the splendor of the original creation.

Or, if you will, you imagine the splendor of the new heavens and new earth.

Right? It's just... Again, apart from knowing

God, you can't answer this question. Not in truth. You can come up with a whole bunch of reasons, but they're not really the answer.

All right. Two more on this, and then... One's in Romans chapter 15. Let me go there.

Romans chapter 15. In Romans chapter 15...

Okay. Let me just read it from verse 1.

We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

And he's talking about all the differences in the liberties that we have.

And it said, Let each one of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification for even

Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the

Scriptures might have hope. Now, may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like -minded towards one another according to Christ Jesus.

Now, look at verse 6. That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here it is. And then, therefore, verse 7, receive one another just as Christ received us to the glory of God.

Now, I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant of the circumcision for the truth of God, confirmed the promises made to the fathers, and that the

Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. For this reason,

I will confess to you and among the Gentiles and sing to your name.

And so, again, why are we here? We're here to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

If you and I can't answer that in truth, then we don't have a right relationship with God. And, of course, that relationship only comes through 1

Peter. 1 Peter chapter 2. And all

I'm doing is trying to show you that the real reason why we're here, the main reason why we're here, is to glorify

God and to enjoy him again forever.

1 Peter chapter 2. Verse 9 of 1

Peter 2. You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who once were not a people, but now are the people of God, who have not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts which war against your soul, having your conduct honorable among the

Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works, which they observe, glorify

God in the day of visitation. There it is again. That our purpose is to worship, obey, please glorify

God. And that if that's the reason why we consider ourselves to have been created, it will lead us to obedience, it will lead us to many things and again,

I'll go back to what you had said, Gary, that, you know, God has not only taken you and Cindy from not knowing

Him to knowing Him and to having a joyful relationship as a result.

In other words, that's the fruit that comes out of that. It's not like we don't want to take

God out of the equation, right? That you and I are those who can truly say why we're here.

Almost to what Paul says when he says, I know whom I believe in.

And I'm persuaded that he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day.

Isn't it great to know who God is? Alright.

I'm going to answer the last question next week of what comes next and that, again, is where so many people miss the forest for the trees.

Whether it be reincarnation, whether it be annihilation, whether it be...

I read an article this morning. I was reading some bishop in the Catholic Church and he was basically talking about the fact that Judas might have been saved.

That was his premise. That Judas, you can never tell what

God will do. And he said, I'm not trying to teach universalism. Universalism is really a teaching that no one goes to hell.

He said, I'm not trying to say that but at the same time, and then he quoted Pope, whatever,

Pope Joey or whoever he was at that time, and that how he thought that God's grace is so great that it's possible that Judas never fell.

And yet the scriptures are absolutely clear about that. But, nevertheless, we'll pick that up next week.

Alright. Hi, Brother Laugay. Would you focus on granting us this time, this privilege of coming into your word and in fellowship.

We ask, Lord, that you would now help us to apply these divine truths so that the image of Christ would be perfected in us each day.