WEBINAR 353 - Goodness

you can be turning to well you hardly need to um  psalm 23 and and of course if you were here last   week you know that i attempted to speak on  verse six but we got as far as surely and um   well i tried again and we got  as far as goodness this week   and so i i want to look at that surely goodness  and loving-kindness shall relentlessly pursue me   all the days of my life and that that's that  it's a massive statement when you consider   how david wrote it you remember i i said he wrote  it when he was being pursued by his son absalom   and he was literally within hours of death  unless there was divine intervention and   he writes that psalm and if you can feel that when  when death is literally breathing down his neck   and of all people his own son seeking to kill  him and and he writes you know yahweh i am is   my shepherd i shall not want and at the end he  sums it all up with this surely that oath of god   that that covenant oath that cannot  change by the very being of god surely   goodness loving kindness and as i said follow  is a ridiculous translation of that hebrew word   every other place in the entire new old testament  where that word is used it's it's a a relentless   pursuit it's um persons following you usually as  enemies but in this case it's used to describe   the pursuit of goodness and loving kindness and i  suppose the translators thought they couldn't use   relentlessly pursue and so they give us a nice  gentle religious word follow he didn't follow   it it's it's a focused pursuit standing between  him and absalom is the pursuit of god's goodness goodness the fact is i'm gonna be probably a bit  um extreme here but the modern believer does not   know the goodness of god the american christian  doesn't really believe the goodness of god   uh even though it dominates the scripture and  is presented to us you might say as the key   if you could use that term the key of the  very life in god is to know his goodness   if you don't know his goodness  you've got no foundation to stand on   and yet i find after decades of moving through  the us and the uk and english-speaking worlds um   we have been trained in doubt if if you  come from the regular religious background of our western world you have been subtly  trained in doubt to doubt the goodness of god   but we we find that we've  been trained in suspicion   we're very we're more than hesitant we're  terrified of saying anything that might suggest   that he is good and only good and can only be good  and is only pursuing us to do good there's some   sort of fear inside that would be going too far  we can't go that far with god so we're cautious   we back away we give ourselves a lot of wriggle  room and and certainly we try to give god some too   so that we we don't have to actually  say it that god is limitlessly good   uh we never have to say that he seeks only  our good under every circumstance every place   we don't have to say that that's too too that's  too dangerous that's getting too much like this   and we don't want to go there so we we bring in  these great religious phrases if it be your will   that that is you know i said this but i don't  you know i i can't believe your goodness would   go that far so i'm going to give you a way out and  say if it be your will you can get away with this   and i won't be offended i just feel very religious  and and so we we you think of the incidences in   life that we have separated out that that is too  much for the goodness of god to reach to now that   goodness doesn't go there and and so we have  been trained not to expect it we can't expect   the care of god for us to come to where we're  sitting right now and okay let me put it this way   i was going to say multitudes  it might be more than that   uh of people here in the west how can i say this  because i don't want to condemn you i really don't   what is is and we could start moving from there  without condemnation but there are multitudes   whose and i say faith began with fear that's  how it all started uh i find the multitudes i   i say came to christ because they were terrified  of hell and that's how they arrived at being a   christian because they have an innate terror of  the future and hell and others came i i remember   speaking with one who was a drug addict uh a very  bad drug addict and they had come with this fear   that if they ever ever touch drugs again then  god's wrath and anger would come against them   and when as i taught them with the love of god  and the goodness of god they put up their hands   they said don't tell me that i want to keep  my fears so that i will not go back to drugs   well you know that doesn't ring true in the bible  that's that's not christianity god bless you don't   get condemned it's okay you're here you're hearing  this and he's taking you from here but you see   um these last months i don't know if you've  heard it i've heard it over and over again well   you know now now it's the rapture is about to take  place we're out of here and their whole attitude   toward what's happening is fear we're afraid of  what's happening and we've got to get out of here   uh you try and find that in the scripture it's  not fear of getting out it's rather of goodness   leading me through it is goodness on either  side of me sustaining me upholding me not   let's get out of here but that's the fear and  i look at the american church and i say what on   earth have you got to offer to anybody in these  days nothing but the fear is all coming to an   end and we're getting out of here uh that  that's that's you say what i mean um it says   the goodness of god leads us to repentance and  you know that word repentance i think you've got   it i mean forever flush that down the toilet  the the word repentance is a hideous hideous   religious word the the greek word  metanoia means a radical exchange of mind   and that that's it's not talking about woe is  me i did wrong or poor me no uh it's a change   of mind metanoia and he says the goodness of god  leads to metanoia it leads you to a radical change   exchange of mind it's the goodness of god that  does that uh whereas what i hear in many places is   that repentance leads to goodness i heard a pastor  say it just the other day that he said well you   know now she's repented god can love her what  absolute damnable paganism that is not the case   it is god's love it's his goodness  it's his tenderness that leads us   to repentance but we've got it backwards and that  destroys all of our foundations of our assurance   assurance with with him and so um and you see if  you if your salvation if you want to call it that   if it began with fear it's got to be sustained  by fear you ever thought about that that's why   many times to go to sunday service is only to be  condemned all over again because that's the only   way to keep you straight you've always got to have  fear you'd always gotta wonder my next step could   damn me and i've got to keep on the street well  again that's nothing to do with the new testament   even the old testament which is indeed old  compared with the new the new is even better   than the the old and he says that goodness  and loving kindness is the very foundation   of my life and it pursues me and so what i'm  saying let's be frank about it is seeking to   destroy the entire religious system as it stands  because it's chaos absolute chaos of nonsense   and to bring us back to the faith in the  glorious goodness the limitless goodness of   god and to come back there brings us to a solid  foundation that you can never be moved from   and david let me come back to the text proper  that david reveals not only here but all the   psalms that he wrote at this time right i  you with me there was that this time being   absalom's seeking to kill his father well  during that time david wrote more than one psalm   and it's interesting many of them are the psalms  you never forget uh psalm 23 being the the leader   of the pack but also psalm 27 he wrote at that  time the lord is my light and my salvation   whom shall i fear though a host come against me  to eat up my flesh in this will i be confident   then at the end he tells you how he  could say that he said i would have   despaired unless i had believed to see the  goodness of god in the land of the living   he said that's how i could say that that's the  foundation it's the same thing he says in psalm 23   it's it comes all through this is his  key this is how he lives this is how he   can be confident this is his assurance in  the middle of the worst of circumstances   god is good now where have you heard that  before god is new testament says god is love   and i've told you many times before what is the  is we we would tend to say god has love or god is   loving uh no it doesn't say that he says he is and  when you say is it comes down to your very being   it's your essence my ears-ness it's in the  same verb conjugation as i am i am a and i   am being the very name of god but in that same  conjugation of verbs is is part of it and so   god is good god is love is not speaking about  an occasional attribute um i was in new orleans   one year around february you know the carnival  mardi gras and uh i wasn't even mardi gras but   they they were assembling and some dear people and  they i know they were doing their best as probably   new believers but a big sign up as they're  singing christian songs on the street corner   and the sign says god is in a good mood today  sort of coming you know while this offer lasts but they're saying what many  people think that god has a mood   there are no moods in god is forbids  a mood is means is and is is always is   and he is unchangeably who he is and so when the  scripture says god is good it means it's always   the way he is under all circumstances in all  places he is he is and therefore unchangeable   which means i can trust him without even  a thought i can jump in his arms without   wondering is he going to catch me uh we don't  have to ask him to be good in a situation   you don't have to have a prayer meeting that  simply recites to god everything he said he is   and then ask him to be it no we there's  a lot of things we just relax back into   he is and that's the end of the play it's the end  whatever i'm feeling right now my feelings have   got to bow to his ears whatever's out there right  now has got a bow to the fact of his ears this is   the foundation and i mean just let me throw a  few at you in chronicles one crown who was 16   and 34 oh give thanks to the lord for he is  good that means the foundation of all praise   and all thanks its foundation the stage on which  you play it out is that god is good deuteronomy   30 says then the lord your god will prosper  you abundantly in all the work of your hand   offspring your body and your cattle produce for  the lord will again rejoice over you for good   that is he the fact that you you know the term  rejoice means to leap in the air and spin around   that's what the word means um and so if you  can imagine the triune god spinning for sheer   delight that he's had opportunity to be to you  all he wants to be and has blessed you and notice   how materialistic that is he said prosper you and  then gives the list um in your in your family the   offspring of your body offering you your cattle  and then the the produce of your ground this he   said your whole business world i want to invade  with my goodness and rejoice as i see you rejoice   in my goodness psalm 27 that we have already  quoted i would have despaired it's a great verse   i would have despaired he said there's a limit i  i would i would have lost it i'm going down the   ship is sinking i would have despaired unless this  was the key unless i had believed that i would see   this isn't some in heaven when i die i would see  the goodness of the lord right now in the land   of the living not not in the land of the dead the  right here and now he said i'm that's what keeps   me he said i would have despaired if i looked here  or there but it was this that kept me and then   you know psalm 34 oh taste and see that the lord  is good now this is good again psalm 25 good   is the lord psalm 75 surely that word again god  is good psalm 106 give thanks to the lord he is   good and psalm 145 the lord is good to all which  is something else that is amazing in the scripture   that um his goodness is not limited to believers  now that's upsetting um but it says he pours   out his goodness upon the just and the unjust it  isn't that some fields get rain because god likes   them and so he's good to them and the others are  desert dried no he says a rain he pours out upon   the just and the unjust he's good get the feel  of it he's good but what does good mean that's   the trouble what does good mean i asked myself  that question and i felt like an idiot good means   good good means good i don't  know another word to say instead so we say it was a good day what do you mean  by that he's a good person have a good day   um that looks good on you you know what give me  what what is this we're talking about i kind of   know what you mean but you're talking about  a very nebulous idea and we're talking about   the very being and essence of father and son  and holy spirit i'd better know what this means   what is good well first of all it's relational  good is not to be understood as sort of a vague   niceness you know where god is  good you know he's he's he's good   no goodness israel goodness is something you do  to somebody and i mean if you're really going   to bring it down to what it means goodness is  something that you are to another it is something   that you actually minister to somebody this is a  connection here goodness is relational it's not a   concept it's not a virtue you know he's good and  so many times that means he's untouchable he's   unapproachable now if he's really good he'll be  in your face it will be a connection good and so   god is good maybe and i say maybe i i think it  is that god is good in the old testament is now   brought to his fullest expression as god is love  in the new testament because you'll hardly read   of love in that way in the old it took jesus  to reveal to us that love and to be that love   and in so doing he brought goodness everything  that goodness means under the greater umbrella   of agape the love of god which again is  relational you can't love somebody in a   vacuum love demands another person to be loved  it's relational that that's love and so love agape   uh goodness originates in the personal  relationships within the trinity   so to say what is good same as what is love  i can't go to the dictionary first of all   i have to go back to the holy trinity and  it is the way the father is to the son   it is the son's response to the father it is  that holy spirit in whom it all is it's the   relationships of god inside of god and and that  is relational to limitlessness and as we've said   before he opened the trinity open to us god opened  his love that he would create us in order to love   us and be good to us that is he would share  the relationships of the holy trinity with us   that's the beginning of goodness it's the ultimate  relationship and that opening was in jesus he is   god from god and from god means that everything  god is jesus is he didn't overhear it no one   taught him he is it and he is the goodness  of god he brings it right inside our humanity   now that's the beginning and of course that's a  wonder there's a part of me that could stop right   there and just enjoy it for the rest of it uh the  wonder of it that amazement you stand outside of   yourself quite mindless that god's goodness is  god being that to us to get it i'm trying to   i tell you it's it's not a vague disconnected  idea oh god is good oh god is good yeah i know   i know i know but that's going to happen at your  kitchen table that's gonna happen when you're   going to your office it's gonna happen when i'm  threatened all around me with plague it's gonna   happen when all hell seems to have broken loose  he is good to me he is good to mine he is good   to the human race he's good and it's spoken  of and you could miss it but it's spoken   of as an energy it's a personal energy  goodness where it says all things work   together for good that would work there in  the greek language is energia it's energy   goodness isn't just well i've got nice little  plans for you it is that there is released into   your life and work mind imagination  that is released a creative energy   that is goodness god's own goodness released  into you or what is it he who began a good   working work work work in you a good work work  energia he who began a good energy do you realize   well how can i put it you you you are we  are we is we an energy field of goodness see god isn't good god is inside every one of us  and in every one of us not sitting in an armchair   but the energy of goodness to bring to pass the  goals of goodness that's who god is if you if you   you live in a vast ocean if you prefer  that but what it is wherever we turn   inside outside underneath over above i am in this  energy field this vast ocean of gods and you see   goodness is not some sort of religious museum  again i i've been around it you know you go   into the museum and there it's in a case you know  this is good just for looking big sign don't touch   means it was for somebody long time ago it's  very interesting but don't touch it it's   disconnected to where you live you stand  on this side of the barrier and you look at   this thing in the museum and go home and talk  about it maybe it was a marvelous thing but   as best you can do i mean that isn't that  sunday service for many people go to museum   near observers move along please move along  please you know take a good look and move along   and come back next week don't forget the box of  the door it's hey that is a caricature but is it   no no no not at all um his goodness this energy  this personal energy with the face of jesus   in the holy spirit that this goodness causes  wonder that that is the wow of the gospel   that is as we talked before the amazement with the  greek word which means to stand outside your brain   and you've lost orientation you're overwhelmed wow   uh that's used over and over again in the gospels  that's that's what this is all about amazement   i mean are you amazed seriously you don't have  to put up your hand but are you amazed that   the triune god father and son and holy spirit  actually resides within you and you within him   right down to the minutest expressions of that  he describes his goodness what is it matthew 5   i think so where it describes the goodness  of god as a god like who is father   giving good gifts to his children now think  about that when you give gifts to children   you do so with an eye to seeing  the delight on their face   i i'm sure you had those christmases where  they gave you a much needed pair of jeans and   it was you know it was very necessary but  you don't give necessary things to children   that's cruel you know i know they needed socks but  you could have waited till january for that it's   no when you give to children your your delight  in giving reflected in the delight on their face   for something that in one sense is  not necessary but it brings delight   right that's i think that's true in all ages  he gives good gifts to his children and really   you know there's it's there why why did jesus feed  the five thousand they weren't dying they weren't   starving i've been there and some of you have  too up there in the hills overlooking the galilee   you can see capernaum across the lake you can see  bethsaida um yes it would be a bit tough you're   hungry go walking but i mean we're not talking  about worldwide starvation they were just in a fix   but jesus seems to have delight in in feeding them  shall i say a divine picnic it's do you follow me   don't get so religious in thinking that there's  some massive message here the message is he likes   you he wants to have a food with you and and so he  multiplied the loaves and again the water to wine   you you realize that the wedding feasts could  have gone on i mean we're not talking about   an absolute disaster in fact the disaster was in  superstition it was a again if you've been to cana   up there in the the hills around the galilee  and in cana it's it's off the track they were   a superstitious bunch it's something like bandera  yeah it was a hill country and canas up there and   a bunch of hillbillies and they had a superstition  that if you ran out of wine the marriage is dead   well so gotta get these people educated in more  spiritual things and to realize it's not so   now jesus joined them in the superstition  because he loved them this is no time for a   discussion on this he said no i know i know  the hell you're going through if you find   out you've run out of wine and so he dare i say  just for the heck of it he gave them 180 gallons   of the best cabinet you know yeah it it it was  but do you understand we're not dealing with   tremendous necessity that's going to move the  heavens and the earth yet it says that at that   point he showed forth his glory because that is  the glory of god that he loves us in the minuti   of life he loves us even when we're so stupid  as to have superstitions like that it's okay   i'll join you where you're at that's our god  that's our god that's that's the amazing thing   would my god do that is that my god that would  join me in my kitchen in my office when i'm facing   situations or otherwise would be anxiety this is  my god that just loves me so much he joins me and   goodness does things before i've even known  about it i they ate the meal and then it's   done where'd that come from it was that sort of  thing and and they didn't know that he turned   the water to wine he kept that a secret because  that's the way he works he's he doesn't have a   magazine to take pictures of all his miracles  he he just he just does it and that's goodness   kindness gentleness that's the way he  is and causes us to delight in that   and so he he reveals himself he reveals himself  right from the beginning as when i say reveals   you know what i mean he had to tell us who he is  because otherwise we never would have believed it you see um we would never  believe don't think about it   as a normal out there human being even religious  human being you'd never believe that god is good   if you ask the average religious person who  knows anything that they will say god is holy   but their idea of holy is based on their pagan  ideas of god because when they say holy they   bow their head and it is holy um because holy  means he's remote he's separated he's he's too   holy to look at me well that's pagan um but  that's their idea of god who is god that or   if you're not so religiously educated it will  be god is all power he's the ultimate superman   he's the ultimate spider-man he he can  dance from the stars and do his miracles   that's more like the god people believing sort  of but good that that almost seems wimpy you know   i i would god was tossing universes around that  seems like god but to say he's so good he makes   sure your wedding is okay um no he had to tell  me that he had to reveal to me the limitlessness   of the span of his goodness because  we would never have thought of that   and that is his glory it's amazing moses said to  god one day do you remember show me your glory   the radiance the very unspeakableness of  your essence who you really are show it to me   and god said yes i will i'll cause my goodness  to pass in front of you your goodness that's   who you are yeah we would never have thought  of that but god revealed it to us and i come   back to it again okay i still haven't said what  goodness is not really sorta but what is goodness it covers such a multitude of  expressions it's very hard to   put your finger on it like i've already  said you look good it's been a good day   it's been a good year uh we we mean  a lot of things behind that word good   but it's very nebulous because what you think  is good i'm on that thing is good at all someone looks out of the window and it's raining  and the sky is dark and this is a bad day that day   and the farmer down the road claps  his hands and it's a good day then okay i'm left with nothing now nothing i i  don't know what the word means what is goodness it's describing the very person and the  action of god father son and holy spirit   and describing that taking place inside  our lives and therefore what that is is the   highest and the best and most glorious  because it is god acting inside of us   but i need more than that i need more than  that god is good well it's the sum total if   it's his glory it's the sum of who god is  so it would include a lot of other words   and it would be very much like love remember love  is patient love is patient goodness is patient   impatience is because we're locked into time  don't you realize i i've only got another   half an hour to tell everything so i've got to  get on with this i'm going to get on with this   well with god there is no time he invented  time and so he's above time he's got   all the time in the world and and therefore if you  don't get what i'm talking about today it's okay   he's got all the time to love you  and show you his goodness until you   get it so so stop being impatient with  yourself because goodness is patient   goodness love is kind and do you  know what the word kind means   that's a good english word but we rarely know  what it means kindness is being useful that's the   meaning of the word to be kind is to be useful it  is love being just what i need it to be right now so when you're kind to the old person and help  them across the road that's exactly what they   needed right then that's what they needed you're  steadying arm you were kind you were useful   goodness is useful goodness comes just where  i need him to be and he is that he's not   jealous it says jealous have you thought of god  being jealous i would think to hear some people   they they speak as if god grudges us  having his blessings that he hands them out   very grudgingly because as if he's jealous that  you would get too much and be something like him   i'll leave that love does not brag that's  why we're having such a problem with this   because god never brags he reveals who he  is but you see it's the pagan god that says   grovel you piece of dirt come down there and  praise me because i'm so great god never says   that he comes down there with you and says would  you please get up so we can talk face to face   and and so god doesn't pray goodness is never  on show good goodness never makes a shazam   as i say he doesn't have a magazine with pictures  to say how good he is that is it's not arrogant   doesn't come boasting of what it's done you  look back and say where did that come from he   snuck into your life he was good and was pulling  back before you'd ever noticed what had happened   it doesn't act unbecomingly it's not rude he  doesn't make an idiot of you he never smiles   with a sneer he's not arrogant goodness is so  kind so gentle so patient always always surely   surely you can bank on that he will never  be any other than this he doesn't seek his   own that's amazing god doesn't seek his own  gotta glorify god well up to a point of course   but the fact is he's seeking to glorify you you  might go along with the plan it's he doesn't   act unbecoming he's not arrogant he doesn't seek  his own he's not provoked which in plain english   means he doesn't get pissed off at you he's not  forever annoyed with you he's never ever picking   he's not fussing over you in a negative way  no he's good you see that's he's good did   he get somewhat of a picture and then of course  he doesn't take into account a wrong suffered   have they ever read this out there i thought  he kept a book of everything i ever did wrong   and then he's going to read it to me one day isn't  he i thought that just before he well forget but   it says in the scripture love does not seek his  own does not take into account a wrong suffert   so he doesn't even remember what you did wrong  think about that that's goodness you see that's   goodness and you can say surely surely on  the oath of god this is who he is surely   well what about galatians the fruit of  the spirit the holy spirit brings with him   love and joy and peace and patience and kindness  and goodness and faithfulness gentleness that   means it's all part of that family where you have  goodness you have love you have joy you have peace kindness that's god kind gentle fullness of  compassion so when jesus described himself he said   he was the good shepherd good shepherd and then  went on to say what that good shepherd looked like   always associated with stupid lost sheep going  where the sheep was having compassion on the sheep   putting it around his neck and carrying  it home that's goodness that's goodness tender that would be a good word to describe the  shepherd side of good tender soft love tender love   do you know what i mean there were some  people you wish they'd stop loving you whenever they do they let you know please i i prefer the tender love  the gen the mother love of god and so   goodness what goodness has locked into it the  ideas are bountiful it was a it was a good harvest   it means there was an abundance uh it means  actually one way of translating it would be wealth   and it would mean richness and fullness  that that always goodness brings that   the religious world always thinks of  holiness and being right with god as poverty   poverty is part of what we were raised with and  i don't mean necessarily in poverty extremes of   clothes and food but we were raised with  a poverty mentality that god is not into   too much he'll never give you too much it's just  you know he had a hard job giving you that much   it's there's always the the feeling of not enough  is very good then you're you're holy if you get a   patch in your jeans because nowadays you'd pay  extra for that but in the old days it meant you   were you were repairing your jeans but uh that  was a sign of holiness you know the the store   where the good pentecostal shocked was you  know a salvation army because that's part of   you don't have a new car you don't have  anything new you don't have an experience   of god that makes you glow with glory not you  no no no no always just not enough not enough   that that's whereas the word good has written  into it ample supply it's written into it your   desire fulfilled god is not on a budget goodness  means extreme and he always gives more than enough   you know and some of us we were raised at the  end of the depression uh and during the war years   i remember my grandmother bending over me saying  you cleaned that plate remember all the poor   people dying in the go by desert and i said they  could have my platelets but but that's how we were   raised it was always that we don't have enough  here there's never enough you've got to eat what   you can jesus would have sent my grandmother  into the looney house i mean he fed 5 000 and   there were 12 enormous bread baskets left over  left over and i say it again 180 gallons of wine   he made that he says that gives them how much  water was in each of the um whatever they are now that's too much they're  going to have leftovers   you realize his blessings always are too much  you have leftovers to shower on other people   that's good that's the goodness his good  is wholeness do you remember at creation   he saw all that he had made and he done it every  day he says he saw and he said that is good   that is good that is good and then when  he saw all he has made is it's very good   what's he saying he means it's whole  it's everything i intended it to be   it is a cabbage that is according to the  blueprint there's no disease it's not twisted   and warped there's nothing wrong it is whole yeah  it you could say goodness is holistic it covers   everything in terms of wholeness and health so  jesus acts 10 38 jesus went about doing good   and healing all who were oppressed of the  devil that's a sum of the whole life of jesus that is good so there is a personal  force energy working in me and you now   that is always pro wholeness it's always to  bring your spirit to its fullest potential   to open your mind to receive the revelation of  god to send your emotions into joy unspeakable   and full of glory and to get into every cell  of your body and be your health and strength   it's nice goodness says create surely surely  that's your goodness if you wonder why i keep   saying that listen to last week it's um so  it includes this idea of prosperity well   and i i want to stay on that level  because sometimes you can make this so   ethereal that it's of no use that goodness shows  up it's got doing love for us in the oddest places   and there's a verse in in  the third epistle of john   and verse 2 where he says that he's praying  that you may prosper and be in health   even as your soul prospers that word prosper it  doesn't really mean what it means in english today   because english prosperity can mean  just having a good bank account   biblical prosperity and especially the word  used here it speaks of an inner prosperity   that comes up through your whole being and  then it affects every part of your life   and and so you are prosperous and it was  described by people in that day this word would   be prosperity on the road they used it to describe  traveling through life as on a journey and you're   on a road but you'll travel with success  you'll be prosperous as you move through life   and that means that the um it will be  unexpected goodness will unexpectedly   show up in your life as you travel our normal  mindset is i bet something's gonna go wrong   you know we've got to check all the possibles  because the way it is you know it's murphy's law   and well would you get rid of that it's no he  says on the road of life you will be successful   in your destinations all will go well it would  mean you have favor with customs you know you get   it's you look back and say boy that  was easy you you goodness was there   you think you're constantly attended by  goodness even in heb it's your attended   by goodness it isn't just certain holy places it's  you have success you have favor you have a life   where your hassles and your troubles you've  always got goodness there to walk you through   because it covers health it covers your  work whatever that is it covers your   family relationships and joy and pieces  that's where it shows up it covers money   yes it does it covers material stuff possessions  everything you put your hand to comes from this   inner place where you wand with father son and  holy spirit actually eat and taste of goodness   and then expect it and take it just  like picking right fruit of a tree good it means attractive again we use that you're  good looking you know boy she looks good it's   it's a way of saying attractiveness  but that is reflected in the scripture   and um goodness is pleasant it's a pleasantness  i have a good feeling about this place   it's it's got that pleasantness attached with  the senses it's something delightful something   beautiful something that is so harmonious it  actually produces a song inside of me goodness   produces melody in life and therefore be  filled with the spirit speaking to yourself   in songs and hymns and songs given by  the spirit in everything give thanks now there's a life and and you're not giving  thanks to god for something you're giving god   simply because god is god i hope i get there  i don't know if i will but we get there next   week if i don't because it's that there's what  were they doing in acts 16 when in the innermost   dungeon they were singing so loud that they were  not saying okay silas if you just sing a bit   louder we might get this thing done you know  we're confessing deliverance here and so let let's   sing so the walls were full they were singing  praise to god because god you're so good and i   don't know what aspect of his goodness they were  singing about because i'm on the outside of that   and it doesn't look good in there but  um they did they sang the the fact the   walls fell down would be the biggest surprise  they ever had they weren't doing it for that actually we use this term don't we for um aged  wine well i know some of you wouldn't know that   but um yeah aged wine is a good wine it's good  wine when you hear a wine connoisseur say it's   a good wine it means aged it means you're going  to remember this taste it it's it's a good wine   it means it's rich it's pleasant um on the tongue  it has a harmony of different tastes have you ever   heard one of those wine connoisseurs are like  there's a hint of this and a hint of that and   that's that's what they're talking about  there's no harshness there's no bitterness   it's a good aged wine and it's used in the  bible it's used good is used to describe it think about that goodness comes to you from the ages of ages of  ages this goodness wine has been in his wine   cellar since before time began it's aged rich it's  got the fullness of god in it it brings pleasure   and delight and there's no harshness and there's  no bitterness surely i say that this is your life why do we call it the good news because  this is what this news brings to us   and you see faith is waking up to this it's  an awakening to what i'm saying is true   um unbelief is contradicting this revelation  or putting the brakes on or putting limits   where there are no limits it's denying  his goodness it's holding him in suspicion   that i'm not sure that you're gonna be this i  can't rest my life on it you might let me down but faith is awakened awaken to the surely  the unchangeableness of this the impossibility   of unchangeable this is who god is and the  good news is that he has shared this with us   notice my past tense he has he  has brought this to us in jesus and so we have a metanoia a radical  change of mind that we now expect this in in the best sense of the word we now  take it for granted that's not always a   good expression but this time it is i can take  it for granted because it has been granted to us   in jesus so i can take what's been granted this  is so that's probably the hardest thing i've said   because all we want to do is present our alleged  goodness to him to kind of get him working but he is good which means he owns  his goodness he's not selling shares   there's nothing ever that you  or i can do to make god good   because he is unbeginning unlimitedly  unconditionally absolutely good   then all i can if i can make him good surely  if i do something bad he'll stop being good no the church takes a lot more  passion about sin than god does   that's going to get me into a lot of trouble you  know but we we i mean you said you're out finished   whereas if you're kicked out god comes with you  so i know the pastor can't stand your sin but   god doesn't seem to have a problem he's going to  come with you and redeem you and bring you back   yeah that's the way it is that's what it  is so we don't present our good he owns   his goodness he gives it to anyone he wants  and he's wanting to give it to all of us so and we know this we know this let me we always get to this don't we in a couple  of minutes and i've got 15 minutes to say but we we have reduced god's goodness to what he does  and we've forgotten god's goodness is who he is and we judge god we define his  goodness by what he does or doesn't do so you say i i wanted this whatever if  god was good he would have given it to me   you call god good when this is going on it that's no we've missed it mister god is good we  trust in his goodness and he will walk us through   whatever circumstance we are in and along the way  yes there will be the delight on his face as he   surprises you but we don't hold the cards we don't  say if you don't do this then you're not good   no he's good it's the same thing the devil did it  with jesus it's his favorite strategy and so many   people fall for it you know the father said to  jesus at the river jordan this is my beloved son six weeks later in the desert facing satan  satan says if if you're the son of god   i know what you heard i know what i heard  it's a bit much to believe in them if   if if if if you're the son of god do a trick or  two i i think i said the devil i think i could   believe you're the son of god if you turn those  stones into bread i mean that'd be very convincing   yeah yeah if you can turn stones into bread  you're the son of god and jesus says get lost   my father spoke and that's the end of it man shall   not live by bread alone but by every word  that comes out of the mouth of the father but i still hear it it's here today all  around us if god's good then why this   meaning if you're good do us a trick come on  come on they're not then i'll believe you're good i remember when i was in africa and we were pretty  out there in the bush and you know you might have   but there are no highways through the jungle  there there are no marked pathways really   not really uh not that i could see  anyway and of course there are no maps and siri doesn't work there it's what i mean is if  you're in the jungle out there you're pretty much   on your own you'd better know where you're going   and i asked the missionary  in this particular village   you know your your mission don't you have maps of  this place i mean don't you have a compass even and no no i said i've got to get to this  place so he called over this little kid   couldn't be more than 10 or 11 and you know just a   a torn pair of old shorts he picked up  somewhere and he said he'll take you the jungle is a big place and that kid doesn't  look like he's beyond playing with toys and   the kid picked it up and in the you know we  called it pigeon english it's the english   of the natives he came and he said which means  exalted father power i am the map i am the path   follow me and he went off and i followed him and  i could have looked at the jungle and be terrified   because there's no way through that i  could see just repetition of the same   and of course we confronted potential  dangers with animals and snakes and   that kid knew it was coming and would take us off  track we would point out after the fact this is   why we went here and he took me straight to the  destination i never forgot that never forgot that   and i had other experiences with guides not only  in africa but other parts of the world too and   you you are never thinking about what you're going  through nor do you ever give advice to the guide   and say now it looks pretty bad up there and  i think you should in fact i'm asking you   would you no you just hang in there behind the  guide and i was um in the mountains of oregon   cascade mountains and i don't know if  you've been there but there comes a point   on the road where it says no maps beyond this  point that is you're entering unmapped country   and we went in there and i had this is this is  in the states and i mean i had a guide with me   it's just a local pastor but he knew his way  around well i wouldn't like to be lost up there but my only thing was keep your eyes on  him what he says is not do i understand   it and never present a better idea never  say yes but you just keep in behind do you   realize in life there are no maps the only  map with god is jesus said i am the way   i am the way and the holy spirit is my immediate  guide and the goodness of god is that he walks me   through it it isn't that i throw out a challenge  and say if you do this then i'll say you're good   no goodness doesn't do stuff and say man are  you satisfied no goodness says come with me   we're gonna face this together david said it in  the psalm already this is a summation of the psalm   already he said even though i walk  through the valley of the shadow   of death i will fear no evil because you are with  me he didn't say if you don't deliver me from the   valley of the shadow of death i won't believe you  no he says we're going through we're going through   but i i've i'm i'm trusting you  and you are taking me through   goodness takes you through and on the way  does the most delightful unexpected things but i i'll tell you this probably edit it  out but um one thing i might have told you   well it's too long a story  i just start at the end um   i was we were deep in the zimbabwe jungle and i  had with me one of the wardens game wardens and   he was taking me back to camp and i could see the  smoke from the campfire we were ju i mean it was   there and as we emerged out of the jungle  there was this great plain you know grass   they called it elephant grass and there  were about 400 elephants there and over   there i could see i could see there there's the  smoke of the camp but there were 400 elephants so i said to him i said this is going to  take a long time to go all around this field   he said are we going through   i said how are we going through 400 elephants  african elephants not those nice indian ones   african they're all upset and and again he said  the words and the unrehearsed he said just follow   me he said whatever i do you do the same and i  crawled on my belly with elephant feet here and   elephant feet there and i got my eyes on that  warden where he did i did we're going through   and the only thought i had if ever i make it  alive through this it will be a jolly good story but i've never forgotten that us christians especially at this point in the  21st century we've been told now we address those   elephants that in the name of jesus they disappear  they go there and we just walk through the field   whereas in scripture yay though i walk  well go on my belly through a heard of   elephants i will fear no evil because you  are with me and you know what you're doing does that make any sense i because i hear it  all the time all the time if god is so good why   well that's not the point it's not the point  human life is a contingency you you never   know what's going to happen that's humanity  that's who he is but the fact is god became us   joined us at this flesh level this brain level he  joined us oned with us and brought with him the   fullness of god who is good so now at my human  level i can participate in the goodness of god   and we walk through and it's the valley of  the shadow of death and the valley of the   shadow of death is the valley of the shadow  of death but i'm different i fear no evil   why what's got into you because you are with  me and you being with me you are goodness and   you're ahead of me behind me under me in  me and i arrive the other side and realize   where did that peace come from where did and  and you know what i'm talking about i'm sure   you've had such experiences but it's afterwards  where did it come how did i know to do that and   of course if you're going to deny the goodness  of god you'll say what a coincidence you know   you know boy is a lucky day but and he will just  smile because he loves you enough he's patient   one day you'll realize it was all his goodness one  day you'll realize you were attended by an army of   good angels but if you don't get it he  sticks with you because you remember   he owns his goodness you can't buy it so  it's not your goodness that keeps it going   it's not even your realizing his goodness you  can act like an idiot and he still loves you   and and you go on through that's that's the way  it is um well there's quite a bit more to say but   time is gone so we bless you we praise you we're  amazed and we stand in wonder at your goodness what is there to say father you are the fount  of all goodness all goodness and that has been   revealed to us in jesus the word of your heart and  that is applied to us now through your holy spirit   open our eyes and bring us to live  and walk and move in your goodness surely surely your goodness relentlessly  pursues us and hugs us and embraces us   all the days of our life amen and amen

Channel: MalcolmSmithWebinars

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Length: 71min 25sec (4285 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 14 2020