{"id":829,"date":"2021-10-04T06:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-04T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=829"},"modified":"2021-10-03T12:06:33","modified_gmt":"2021-10-03T19:06:33","slug":"always","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=829","title":{"rendered":"Always"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Psalm 34:1-18)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does she order the same entree every time at this restaurant? Why is that the same beverage I see in his hand every time I see him? Why does he always want the same type of cake for his birthday every year? The answer to all of these is the same: they\u2019ve tasted something that\u2019s good, they like it, and so they don\u2019t waver from it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That also explains where David was coming from. Why would he write, \u201cI will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips\u201d (v.1)? <\/em><\/strong>The answer is in the final verse: \u201cTaste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him\u201d (v.8). <\/em><\/strong>David had acquired a taste for the Lord. He knew from firsthand experience how good the Lord was, he liked it, and so he didn\u2019t waver from him. He extolled him and praised him\u2026 always.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will state it plainly: there will be no \u201calways\u201d to your witness without first acquiring a taste for the Lord, as David did. Until that happens, evangelism will be anything but simple. It will be infrequent – if it even takes place at all – and it will be perceived as something we are required to do rather than something that flows from our lips at all times, always.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, it is possible to know a lot about the Bible without ever having tasted how good the Lord is. Many an academic, a scholar, and a skeptic know the Bible quite well – without ever having tasted how good the Lord is. Sadly, the same can be said of many Christians. We can know the Bible quite well – without really tasting how good the Lord is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story has been told some time ago a dinner social gathering brought a number of people together. Among them were an actor and a pastor. The host invited the actor to recite the well-known psalm 23. He agreed. As was expected, he read it beautifully, with clear articulation and at the perfect pace, raising and lowering his tone to properly reflect all the meaningful words and phrases. When he finished, many felt it may have been the finest reading of the psalm they had ever heard.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the actor had finished, the pastor was also invited to read the psalm. At first, he declined, knowing himself well enough to realize that his recitation of the psalm would not be on nearly the same level as the actor\u2019s. Somewhat reluctantly, however, he did finally agree to read through it, on the condition that he was permitted to provide some commentary on the beloved psalm. After he had finished, the guests agreed that they had been treated to quite a gift to be able not only to hear the psalm, but to hear it explained in such a profound way. Later, as the guests discussed the unique characteristics that the actor and the pastor each brought to the psalm, they finally agreed on this noticeable distinction: the actor showed how well he knew the psalm; the pastor how well he knew the Shepherd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the secret to simple evangelism: knowing the Good Shepherd well, knowing Jesus. What does that look like? It looks a lot like what David describes in Psalm 34 for us this morning. \u201cI will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips\u201d (v.1).<\/em><\/strong> David writes that he will extol the Lord \u201cat all times\u201d and his praise for the Lord would \u201calways\u201d be on his lips. Those phrases indicate a full-time thing. Exalting the Lord was not a part-time job for David. It wasn\u2019t a hobby he putzed with on the weekends. It was an all-the-time thing. It was always.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the introductory description at the beginning of the psalm provides the backdrop for us to believe that was true for David – all times, good and <\/em>bad. At the time described, David was not at a high point in his life. He was not only on the run from Saul, who was trying to hunt him down and kill him, but he was also seeking refuge in enemy territory – the territory of the Philistines. Remember them – the ones David had embarrassed when he, the little shepherd boy, took down their mighty towering giant, Goliath? Not only was David willing to hide out in enemy territory, but he had to play the part of a man who had lost his marbles, an insane man drooling on himself and marking up doors and gates. Yet even during this time – not his finest moment by a long shot! – David penned the words of this psalm that expressed the ongoing confidence he had in the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christian friends, as you picture a person who fits the descriptions given in this psalm, do you imagine that many in the world might just be attracted to that type? What\u2019s more, if the world notices this consistent upbeat optimism at all times – in both good and bad – isn\u2019t it even more likely to make an impression on others? It is surely one thing for a person to have a cheerful disposition when everything is going his way, but others really take note when that cheerful disposition is still there even when the wheels have come off and everything in life is falling apart. That\u2019s why it always matters that we\u2019re always radiating God\u2019s radical grace! Doing so in the tough times is when it comes across as something real to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we all appreciate when others are real with us. Unless you are someone who appreciates the craft of sales, most of us don\u2019t really like being marketed to and can tell when someone is pitching something or trying to sell us some good or service. In sales and network marketing, the distinction is made between selling and sharing. We can tell the difference, can\u2019t we? We\u2019re pretty good at being able to tell when someone just sees potential dollar signs when they look at us and when someone shares something that they not only feel passionately about but also genuinely feel could benefit us. There\u2019s a big difference between the two approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same is true of simple evangelism. If you\u2019re trying to \u201cpitch\u201d Jesus, others will see right through you. So how do you avoid coming across as \u201csalesy\u201d when it comes to evangelism? It has to be genuine, and it\u2019s genuine for them when it\u2019s genuine for you. And it\u2019s genuine for you when the words before us from Psalm 34 are not just nice-sounding platitudes, but personal experience. So are they descriptive of your personal experience? Have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good (v.8)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have to think about the answer to that question, that\u2019s probably not a great sign. If you answer yes right away, but can\u2019t describe or explain what it means that you\u2019ve tasted and seen that the Lord is good, that\u2019s probably not a great sign, either. When getting up for church on Sunday morning is routinely a drag rather than a delight, not a good sign. When Bible reading and devotions are deferred daily in favor of every other important task and then subsequently forgotten, not a good sign. When I am disinterested in Bible study opportunities that are offered, not a good sign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because think of it, when you experience something good, no one has to coax you to experience it again. You don\u2019t find a great show to stream and then watch just one episode. You don\u2019t find a good place to eat and then never dine there again. You don\u2019t drink a great cup of coffee one time. You don\u2019t find a great outfit and wear it just once. When you experience something good, you want <\/em>to return to it again and again. If that isn\u2019t the case when it comes to your relationship with God, one has to ask if you\u2019ve really tasted and seen how good he is, if you\u2019ve really acquired a taste for the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David shared a number of different ways we taste and see how good the Lord is. There are many! The Lord provides the afflicted with reason to rejoice (v.2). Exalting his name provides a reason to gather together with others (v.3). The Lord delivers from fears (v.4). The ones looking to the Lord are radiant because he has removed their shame (v.5). He saves those who are down and out (v.6). He protects those who are his and delivers them (v.7). Any who take refuge in him are blessed – they need only try him out and they\u2019ll find it to be the case (v.8)! See all the reasons David had to always praise the Lord? See all the reasons you have to always praise the Lord?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If simple evangelism is to be an \u201calways\u201d thing, then my time with Jesus will first be an \u201calways\u201d thing. When that isn\u2019t the case, we are more likely to view evangelism as a program or an event rather than a lifestyle if we don\u2019t regularly taste and see how good the Lord is. But the more of Jesus we have in our own lives, the more we want more Jesus in the lives of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So do you get it yet? The key to being an exceptional evangelist is not making sure you\u2019re thinking about evangelism all the time, that every time you leave the house or every time you\u2019re engaging online your thoughts are 100% focused on telling others about Jesus. No, the key to being an exceptional evangelist is making sure that you yourself are always filled up with Jesus and his forgiveness, always tasting and seeing how good the Lord is. When that happens, we acquire a taste for the Lord, and the first verse of this psalm will be descriptive of each of us as well: \u201cI will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips\u201d (v.1).<\/em><\/strong> When that happens, evangelism will naturally follow. It\u2019s that simple. Always. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Psalm 34:1-18) Why does she order the same entree every time at this restaurant? Why is that the same beverage I see in his hand every time I see him? Why does he always want the same type of cake for his birthday every year? The answer to all of these is the same: they\u2019ve… Continue reading Always<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[170,65],"tags":[173,42,5,36,171,108,99],"class_list":["post-829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-simple-evangelism-series","category-sermons","tag-always","tag-evangelism","tag-jesus","tag-sermon","tag-simpleevangelism","tag-teaching","tag-witness"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s842FN-always","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=829"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":830,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829\/revisions\/830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}