Psalm 36

In a recent issue of CT (Christianity Today) magazine, Carrie Sheffield tells us her story as she shares how politics had become an idol to her and how she discovered a deeper source of purpose and meaning in Christ.

Carrie Sheffield was raised in extreme religious trauma in an offshoot Mormon cult. Her father believed that he was a Mormon prophet and was eventually excommunicated by the LDS church for heresy. She grew up with seven siblings in various motor homes, tents, houses, and sheds. Carrie attended 17 different public schools and when she took the ACT test, the family lived in a shed with no running water in the Ozarks.

All the children inherited trauma from their tumultuous family life. Two of her siblings have schizophrenia, including one brother who tried to rape her. Carrie has been hospitalized nine times for depression, fibromyalgia, suicidal ideation, and PTSD.

When she left home to attend Brigham Young University, her dad declared that she was satanic and therefore disowned her. As a student, she felt disillusioned by a growing list of unanswered questions about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the prospect of polygamy in the afterlife. After receiving her journalism degree, she stopped practicing Mormonism, formally renouncing it in 2010. For years she assumed she would never return to belief in God or organized religion. She writes:

To fill the void, I threw myself into work, schooling, dating, friends, and travel as ultimate sources of meaning. I worked as an analyst for major Wall Street firms, earning unthinkable sums for a girl from a motor home. I launched a career in political journalism at outlets like Politico, The Hill, and The Washington Times.

But ultimately her career goals left her unfilled. It was during the 2016 election that she felt an existential crisis. She realized that when she’d lost faith in God, she had allowed politics to become a substitute religion. She had built her career toward working on a [political] campaign or in the White House. She had appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Fox Business, and other networks, even sparring on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. She says:

During this crisis of meaning, I felt distraught and adrift. So, I turned to church, first to Redeemer Presbyterian, founded by the late Tim Keller, and later to Saint Thomas Episcopal. It was during a service that I encountered Scripture’s answer to career and political idolatry in passages like Mark 8:36–37, which asks, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Studying Christianity felt like uncovering buried treasure discarded by intellectuals who had discounted its scientific and philosophical heft.

I joined the [Christian] [C]hurch.  My baptism day—December 3, 2017—was the happiest of my life. A group of about 30 family and friends watched me vow to “serve Christ in all persons, loving my neighbor as myself” and “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.”

More than six years since my baptism, I enjoy a healthier relationship to politics. I still have strong convictions, which I don’t hesitate to share in columns, speeches, or TV appearances, but I know God is far bigger than any puny manmade system. As I returned to a walk with God, I felt enveloped with a sense of peace that surpassed understanding.

Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end (whether you like it or not).

Carrie Sheffield’s story began with spiritual abuse and political idolatry.

In the middle, Carrie Sheffield’s story had her meeting the loving Creator and Redeeming God revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Now, Carrie Sheffield’s story will end with her loving God and loving others all the way into the glory of eternity.

This morning, tell me your story.

Whether you have 10 or 20 years under your belt, or 50, 60, or 70 years of life on this earth, tell me you story.

What were you like in the past?

What happened to you along the way to influence and/or change the way you think, speak, and act?

And, what are you like today?

We all have a personal story that contains many subtitles, chapters, footnotes, and appendices.

In the AA, or Alcoholics Anonymous, program, we have a three strep process for speaking and giving our testimony of how we recovered and are staying sober 1 day at a time. And, as we also say, this is how we share our strength and hope.

Those three steps of testimony telling are:

1. Where I was.
2. What happened.
3. What I am like now.

This is one of many things in the AA program that I believe relate to and can help us in our daily life as we walk as Christians with faith in Jesus Christ.  This overlap is no surprise as the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous were personally familiar with the Christian faith and quote the Bible directly and indirectly throughout the entire Big Book that is used as the guide for the actions that lead one to becoming and staying sober.

In this Biblical text for this morning, from Psalm 36, King David shares the beginning, the middle, and the end, the “Where I was,” the “What happened,” and the, “Where I am now,” of every person who has the blessed assurance of God’s forgiveness as found and received only in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Let’s hear from Psalm 36 now.

In Psalm 36, King David says this:

[1] Transgression speaks to the wicked

deep in his heart;

there is no fear of God

before his eyes.

[2] For he flatters himself in his own eyes

that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

[3] The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;

he has ceased to act wisely and do good.

[4] He plots trouble while on his bed;

he sets himself in a way that is not good;

he does not reject evil.

[5] Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

[6] Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

your judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you save, O LORD.

[7] How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

[8] They feast on the abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

[9] For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light do we see light.

[10] Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,

and your righteousness to the upright of heart!

[11] Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

[12] There the evildoers lie fallen;

they are thrust down, unable to rise. (ESV)

It is in these 12 verses that King David describes the 3 phases or our life.

Verses 1-4 tell the story of what we were like without God.

Before we had faith in the Creating and Redeeming God, revealed to us only in the Bible, we did not fear (or stand in awe) of God; we thought better of ourselves than we should have—thinking we could do no wrong and were never guilty; we used our words to lie and deceive; we acted in selfishness and did unGodly things; and we created trouble for ourselves and others.

Verses 5-9 tell the story of what happened to us.

God was loving and faithful to us.  He came to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ, living a perfectly righteous and innocent life when measured against God’s commands for life and love, dying on the cross to forgive us by using his life to pay the debt that our sin created, and rising from the dead to defeat the power of sin and death which separated us from God.

In the person and work of Jesus Christ, God saves us, God loves us, God protects us, God provides for us, God makes us joyful, and God brings us out of the darkness and into the light.

And, verses 10-12 tell the story of what we are like now.

We live everyday with God’s love leading us and guiding us.

God continues to forgive us and make us righteous—we are always ready for His Kingdom of Heaven.

God daily empowers us to choose right over wrong and love over hate.

And, God daily lifts us up from the low places we often find ourselves. 

We have many examples in the Bible of people telling the story of how they moved from wickedness to righteousness and from condemnation to salvation.

The author of our Psalm for this morning, King David, has his story told throughout the book of 1 Samuel but he tells us his story personally, over and over again, in the songs and poetry that he wrote and are now contained in the book of Psalms for us.

David was the youngest and least impressive of many siblings.  However, God chose him at a young age to be the next king of Israel.

Although David had an impressive start—being the only one in the entire nation of Israel brave enough to defend God’s name and honor by fighting and killing the giant Philistine solider, Goliath, his journey was not all up hill.  David spent many years in the dark valleys of life, so dark that he, in Psalm 23 called them the valleys of the shadow of death.  

David’s initial success at a young age caused the sitting King of Israel, Saul, to become jealous to the point of misusing all of his power and resources to attempt to have David killed.

David spent many years on the run and in hiding from the King and his armies.

Once David because King, he too misused his power and resources to steal another man’s wife, Bathsheba, and ended up getting her pregnant.  To cover his tracks and guilt, David sent her husband to the front lines of battle to ensure he would die.

But, God in his grace and mercy, sent a friend to show David his Sin against God and the people he was supposed to protect, so that David could repent and be forgiven.

In this meeting, after recognizing his Sin and disobedience to God the Father in Heaven, David cries out:

[13] … “I have sinned against the LORD.” (2 Samuel 12:13, ESV)

And Nathan [whom God sent to David to show him his sin] said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. (2 Samuel 12:13, ESV)

Where did David start?

David started out living his life not fully devoted to God.  When the rubber met the road of daily life, David chose to follow his own passions and desires for worldly unGodly pleasure.

What happened?  

God lovingly visited and spoke to David so that he could repent from his sin, receive God’s forgiveness, and have a new life devoted to loving God and loving others.

Where did David end up?

After encountering God’s grace and mercy and love, despite his record of wrong doing, David lived his life devoted to God and in service to others to the point that we hear this about King David:

[22] [God] raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ (Acts 13:22, ESV)

God wants you to have the same story as King David.

God comes to you in the person and work of Jesus Christ, to meet you where you are at, even in the midst of Sin against him, so that you can repent, believe, and be called “one after God’s own heart who will do His will.”

We hear this desire of God laid out in 1 Timothy 2:1–6.

1 Timothy 2.1-6 says this:

[1] … I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, [2] for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. [3] This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, [4] who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. [5] For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, [6] who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. (ESV)

In 1980, the year I was born, Eugene Peterson, an American Presbyterian minister, scholar, theologian, author, and poet, said, 

“There is a general assumption prevalent in the world that it is extremely difficult to be a Christian. But this is as far from the truth as the east is from the west. The easiest thing in the world is to be a Christian. What is hard is to be a sinner. Being a Christian is what we were created for. . . . In the course of Christian discipleship we discover that without Christ we were doing it the hard way and that with Christ we are doing it the easy way. It is not Christians who have it hard, but non-Christians.”

Without Jesus, you do not have the strength or hope you need to face life 1 day at a time.

But, with Jesus, you are given the strength and hope you to need to make it to the end of each 24 hour period that God blesses you with on this earth.

Jesus didn’t die on the cross for you to keep you story of his grace,  mercy, and love to yourself.

Your story of Jesus’ sacrifice for you, Jesus’ forgiveness of your sins, and Jesus’ giving you his righteousness, is meant to help others find hope in God’s love for them.

If you don’t know where to start in telling your story, just begin by sharing the lyrics from the song we sang a few minutes ago, Blessed Assurance.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.   

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,

I in my Savior am happy and blest;

Watching and waiting, looking above,

Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

September 29, 2024.

Prayer:

Almighty God, 

You never change. From age to age you are faithful to your promises, and you love to pour out generous blessings on your children. Like a good earthly father, you enjoy giving good gifts to those you love, and we have so much to be thankful for. We know that we are safe in your love, because your kindness to us does not depend on our faithfulness to you. We praise you, Lord, because you raise up the poor and needy; and, as spiritually poor and needy people, we need your constant care and attention. 

Father, we should be filled with gratitude to you every minute of every day. We owe you everything, so our lives should be devoted to acts of generosity to you, to your church, and your family. We ought to give the very best that we have of our gifts, time, and material possessions to you, with glad and joyful hearts. Yet we confess that we don’t even come close to honoring you in this way, Lord. We are often stingy in our giving to you and resentful of the demands that church and people place on our time. We are generous to ourselves and to those whom we love or wish to impress, but we rob you frequently by not giving to you in proportion to our great debt. Father, forgive us. 

Jesus, thank you for giving your life and yourself so generously for us. You lived each day in perfect gratitude to your Father, giving thanks for your daily bread and giving your mind, heart, soul, and strength to serving us. In the end, you even gave your body as a sacrificial offering on the cross. How can we repay such amazing love? 

Holy Spirit, teach us to excel in the grace of giving. Help our hearts to overflow with generosity to others in response to the outpouring of grace that we have received. Make us quick to identify and meet the needs around us, whether they are the needs of our church or the needs of one another. And, when we have done all that we can do, help us not to take pride in our giving, but to recognize that it is only a small return for your great generosity to us in Christ. In Jesus’ precious name, amen.

Go in peace and share your strength and hope.

Benediction:

Go, tell it on the mountain

Over the hills and everywhere

Go, tell it on the mountain

That Jesus Christ is born