Experiencing Our Belief in God
Psalms 10:1-18
Jim Davis
Israel’s faith was built upon God’s intervention into their lives. The center of Old Testament teaching is about God. Yet, the Old Testament makes no effort to prove the existence of God. There is a good reason for this; the Old Testament teaching is not based upon the speculation that there is a God, but upon Israel’s experience of God. Today we derive our belief in God from speculation, but Israel derived her faith in God from her experience of God. Israel’s faith in God was based upon the fact that God played a part in Israel’s history and God had chosen her for himself, and that he declared his will to her.
It is obvious that the key to Israel believing in God was to understand and experience his nature as their lives were surrendered to his purposes. "Elohim" was a Hebrew name for God. The prefix "El" means "the strong and helping one." Obviously Israel’s experience of God gave rise to their names for God. It was in Egypt that Israel learned that God was the "strong and helping one" as God miraculously led Israel out of bondage.
To Israel the proof of God’s existence was not found in human reasoning, but rather in God’s own activity. When Moses led the Israelites out of Egyptian, he made no effort to tell them about the rationale for God, but he sought to reveal the nature of the God that led Israel out of Egypt as he wrote the first five books of the Old Testament. Israel had already experienced the presence of God in their deliverance, but they did not have a clear understanding of his nature. Israel’s understanding of the nature of God came as Israel experienced the presence of God through obedience to his laws.
God was not only revealing himself to the Israelites, he was revealing himself to the world, for the world had its eye focused on Egypt.
Joshua 2:9-12
"I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. NIVWhen the incarnate Christ descended to this world to reveal to us the very nature of God, he did it through his relationship with those around him. Jesus told Philip, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." Jesus didn’t come with a doctrinal discourse on the attributes of God. He merely exemplified the attributes of God in his relationship with those around him.
John 14:6-14
6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. NIV
Today God wants us to experience him as he reveals himself as Christ guides us in a very practical way to experience him.
Israel’s Impractical Faith
Atheism in the Old Testament was not a denial of God; but it was the belief that God could be left out of their lives with no consequence. It was a practical atheism that believed in the existence of God, but it did not think that God was interested in the affairs of humanity. This ancient atheism actually exists today.
How often have you heard someone speak of a non-Christian religion saying, "Well we must be careful, after all they also believe in God, don’t they?" The impractical atheists believes in God, but believing in his existence is inconsequential to their experiences in life.
The psalmist describes this type of atheism that was prevalent in Israel.
Psalms 10:1-11
Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws are far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me;
I'll always be happy and never have trouble."
7 His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent,
watching in secret for his victims.
9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover;
he lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, "God has forgotten;
he covers his face and never sees." NIVWhen the fear of God is gone, the decisions of daily life are threatened. As the psalmist beholds the actions of his enemies, he realizes that they believe in God but they have no fear of God’s punishment for their evil. This type of atheism was born out of the will rather than the mind. Their minds believed in God, but their wills denied him as they refused to surrender their lives to his command.
Even the psalmist has doubting moments when he thinks that believing in God has no blessing for the abused. The psalmist asks God, "Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" (v. 1.)
Psalms 10:12-18
12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
"He won't call me to account"?
14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness
that would not be found out.16 The LORD is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more. NIVThe psalmist reveals an element of doubt but then he hastens to reveal that he believes those abused will experience God’s deliverance.
The most interesting thing about the psalmist is that he is looking for God in what he is experiencing in life; and in times such as he describes in this psalm he is tempted to think that God’s existence is inconsequential also.
Faith in God becomes impractical when it fails to motivate us to experience the presence of God in our lives. Christians have experienced God’s forgiveness, but we must go beyond forgiveness if we wish to develop a faith based upon our experience of God.
We Must Experience God
Today faith has been reduced to an intellectual pursuit of God as the church finds herself debating trivia. A faith rooted in our experience of God goes beyond the religious intellectualism of our time. So many Christians love to argue about the Bible rather than take it seriously as a message that is to be experienced in their own lives.
We are not here merely to be a copy of the first century church. Many in the church today want to sort of clone everything the first Christians did, including the customs of those times. Our task is to find the relevance of the gospel in this age. We are meant to be an original church of the 21st century as we experience God for ourselves.
Our world doesn’t need a copy of the first century church; they need to experience the real thing as the message of Christ finds its application in our own hearts and lives. When this happens the cultural differences would become insignificant.
God chose Israel to reveal his character. Moses reminded Israel that God did not choose her because she was strong and cultured or good; but because she was weak and helpless and downtrodden. Her choosing was not an arbitrary decision. God’s calling to Israel was a revelation of his character. Israel was chosen because she was weak and helpless—it was God’s very nature and character that drove him to deliver the Israelites. God’s call was a revelation of his character which Israel experience as God led her out of Egypt.
It is God’s character that reveals his desire to have a relationship with us. Only through a relation can we experience God. Someone said, "Rules without a relationship lead to rebellion." God knows this and desires to have a relationship with us.
Israel’s call was never to be a point of pride and superiority, but rather a declaration of the very nature God. It was their need rather than their worth that was at the very heart of their call. God’s call wasn’t given to confer a favor upon those called; it rather demanded a response to his compassion.
Exodus 19:5-6
5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." NIVGod’s nature is such that his compassion demands a response from us. When we speak of serving God we automatically think of a slave and master relationship with God. If anyone is enslaved in our relationship with God, it is God who is enslaved to us. His nature compels him to act toward us in compassion.
Developing a Faith Rooted in Your Experience of God
Experiencing God involves allowing your life to become an extension of the personality of God as you allow God to work through your personality to reach the world. When God becomes so intertwined in our lives we become one with him. This can only happen as we seek to experience God’s presence in our circumstances.
Our modern world equates spiritually with spending time alone with God as we seek to experience tender moments in the presence of God. However, you would get closer to God by embracing the Cross in your life as it presents itself in your circumstances. Jesus asks us to take up our cross daily and follow him. This means that our cross is present in our daily experience, and we must take it up and carry it if our experience of God is to become real. Allow your circumstances to sweep you up into them knowing that it is there that you will discover what the cross of Christ is about. It is only there that you will experience the presence of God in your life. (Adapted from Fenelon, The Seeking Heart, Library of Spiritual Classics, Vol. 4, p.22.)
Spiritual experiences surround us. We fall over them dozens of times a day. We can't avoid them if we try. A spiritual experience is simply a matter of recognizing and acknowledging our relationship to God in whatever is going on in our lives at the moment. God is involved in all we do and does not pop in and out of our lives. We live surrounded by God. We live and breathe God just as we live and breathe air. To know that either air or God is present, we need only to pause and reflect for an instant to see that we are immersed in them. (Adapted from Fr. Gerald Weber in U.S. Catholic March 1992 as quoted in Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 8.)
God comes only through doors that are "purposely" opened for him. A person may live as near to God as the bubble is to the ocean and yet not find him. He may be "closer than breathing, nearer than hands or feet," and still be missed. (Citation: Rufus M. Jones in The Double Search. Christianity Today, Vol. 32, no. 6.)
Sin is against us experiencing God for ourselves. The fundamental concept of sin is to isolate us from God so that we cannot experience his presence in our experiences.
It is obvious throughout the Bible that true belief in God is the result of one’s experience of God rather than a mere knowledge of a correct theological understanding of God.
Conclusion:
In the Old Testament God came to men through the events of history to reveal his nature and his will.
I believe that God still comes to us in the events of our lives to reveal himself to us through life’s experiences. However, he can only come to us in our circumstances if we allow him to be involved in our personal experiences. He becomes involved in our personal experiences as we allow him to direct our lives through personal obedience to his word.
Throughout the Old Testament we see how the Israelites saw the hand of God as he used men and natural laws to accomplish his will in their time of need.
God entered into battle with Joshua as he led the Israelites into battle.
Joshua 10:9-13
9 After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10 The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.12 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel:
"O sun, stand still over Gibeon,
O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."
13 So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar. NIVGod thundered against the Philistines as they sought to make war against Israel.
1 Samuel 7:10-11
10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Car. NIVIf we want to make a life for ourselves, we ought to consider serving a God that is powerful enough to move the sun, moon and stars, as well as the minds of men to accomplish his purpose in through our lives.
Today a powerful experience of God begins with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as we are baptized into Christ. It is followed by our resurrection to a new way of living as we allow our lives to be directed by Christ into a powerful way of living.