My Tuesday evening message was intended to reflect the possibility that the “waves and breakers” that swept over the Psalmist in the 42nd Psalm, might be a combination of the crushing and energizing of the truth and the humbling and inspiration of grace.
As you read the concepts below, consider the glorious grace of the Loving Father in Luke 15, who, with glorious grace, celebrated the return of the wayward son.
The journey to consecrating our heart and our longings goes through the deeply emotional experience of lifting the veil to genuinely look at the truth of who we are.
Behind the veil we learn how much, like the Prodigal son, we have:
• Made our selves the center rather than God
• Drifted from Father’s House and into a distant land
• Lost awareness that our lives make sense and have a growing knowledge of the senselessness in which we live.
In the pursuit of “You desire truth in the inmost part” we see how brutal the truth can really be. Psalm 51
Maybe the challenging process of God working in our lives is what the Psalmist meant when he said, “all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” Psalm 42:7
John 8:36 Consecrating our heart and longings with truthfulness “sets us free indeed.”
Truth is designed to be accompanied by grace! John 1:14
As we consecrate our hearts and our longings by lifting the veil with truthfulness, we might expect similarities to the Prodigal son:
• I am embarrassed.
o I live among pigs
o I am senseless
o I am hungry
o I am not worthy
• I am afraid.
o The Father has every right to be angry with my behavior.
o The Father has every right to be filled with wrath toward me.
• I am guilty.
o I have sinned against heaven
o I have sinned against Father
Upon the truthfulness behind the veil we realize, I am embarrassed, I am afraid, I am guilty, BUT I have no other option but to head back to Father’s house. John 6:68
Father knows truth yet in His grace he has been scanning the horizon looking to show that He is full of grace and truth.
Maybe Psalm 42:7 isn’t just the brutal waves that break error from our lives, but swells of God’s grace. “All your waves and breakers swept over me.”
Let’s interview the Prodigal son who long ago returned to Father’s House. Long ago he lifted the veil in truthfulness, returned to Father’s House and consecrated his heart and his longings.
1. Prodigal son, was Father’s blessing a one time deal?
John 1:16 “From the fullness of his grace we have received one blessing after another.”
2. Prodigal son, does the weight of your past, the memories of “squandering your father’s wealth” knock you to the ground?
Romans 5:2 “through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God”
3. Prodigal, how did you find Father’s good favor? You didn’t have any money left to appease Him.
Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
4. I suppose that even in Father’s House you could find that you barely make it.
2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work”
5. What do you do when you feel the call of the past to return to living selfishly, in a distant land, and in a senseless manner? Do you ever run out of strength?
2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
6. With the power of memory, do you ever feel like that poor, pig slop eating prodigal son?
Ephesians 2:7 “in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”
7. Isn’t this too good to be true? Aren’t you afraid this will suddenly end?
2 Thessalonians 2:16 “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,”
My altar call tonight is Hebrews 4:16“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Acts 20:32 “Now I commit you to God and the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctif