This psalm starts as many of the others have. David is crying out to the Lord in his distress. Consider his plea.

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, O Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
for he has been good to me.

What a great prayer from David. He wants to know where God is and how long his enemies will prosper. But his great hope comes in the final stanza. “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.” The truth is, God has not forgotten His children. David knew his Lord would provide. He did not live to see the day, but his heir would be the means of God’s salvation. In Jesus, God has remembered His children. In Christ’s afflictions, our sins were atoned. And in Christ’s victorious resurrection, our enemies have fallen. We sing to a great, mighty and victorious Lord so we declare along with David, “For he has been good to me.”

Key verse: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

As we saw last week, Jesus promised us his very presence with us with the words, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” That promise should be precious to us, bringing comfort in times of confusion and joy in times of trial. But Jesus did not speak them for our benefit alone. He spoke them as the foundation for the words that immediately preceded them, that is, to go and make disciples.

God’s presence with us should be sweet to us. But it should also break our hearts over the things that break God’s heart. And what breaks God’s heart? A lost world, dying because they do not know that only in Christ can they truly live.

Humans are different than all the rest of creation because, according to Genesis 1:27, only humans have been made in the image of God. Even more, Ephesians 2:10, we read that we are God’s workmanship – that is, we are His beautiful work of art, His masterpiece. How passionately He longs for His special creations to know and enjoy His presence. But how will they every know unless we go and tell them about Christ?

To long for God’s passion should call us to take the words of Matthew 28 seriously. We must go and make disciples. We must long to see our family, our neighbors, our friends and even those far off come to love Christ as we have. Then we can all, together, enjoy the sweetness of God’s presence.

Reflection: When was the last time you shared the love of Christ with someone?
Do you really long to reach the lost the way that God does?
Application: Tell one person this week about Christ’s love for him/her.

Wow. Look at the contrast between the words of the flatterers and the words of the Lord in this psalm. The flatterers declare, “We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips – who is our master?” They use their mouths to oppress the lowly and declare their own supremacy and sovereignty. Their boastful tongues seek to exalt themselves.

But look at the words of the Lord. “Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise… I will protect them from those who malign them.” The Lord uses His words to extend mercy and compassion. And, as verse 6 declares, “The words of the Lord are flawless.” They are trustworthy and they are true. The Lord will protect and care for the needy and oppressed.

The juxtaposition of the words of the flatterers and the words of the Lord should cause us to ask a question. Who am I more like? Are my words like those of the flatterers or the words of the Lord? Pray that today God would form in you words of compassion and tender mercy.

Key verse: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” We’ve all heard the expression and we’ve probably all doubted its wisdom. I have a friend whom we will call Charlie. Charlie moved from Texas to Maryland to start a new job, but his wife, Katherine, couldn’t follow for another two months as she finished grad school. Something tragic happened in those two months. By the time Katherine graduated and moved to Maryland, neither one wanted to be with the other. Absence certainly had not made the heart grow fonder. If anything, those two months sealed the fate of their marriage.

Likewise, absence from the presence of God does not make our heart grow fonder, but hardens our heart. Over the next couple of weeks as we, as a church, prepare to relaunch in January, we must start by seeking the presence of God. We can’t have God’s heart or experience His power at work through us if we do not have Him. We can’t make God known to the nations if we ourselves don’t know Him.

And therein lies the promise of Matthew 28:16-20. As we shall see in the coming weeks, Matthew 28 offers the power of God to fulfill the mission He has given His followers, but it all rests on the promise that closes the book of Matthew, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Never again do you need to experience absence from the presence of God because in Christ, God has made Himself present to us, promising to never leave us or forsake us. Since His presence is promised to us, let us walk in the joy of knowing Christ.

Reflection: When was the last time you experienced the presence of Christ in your life?
What obstacles in your life cause you to doubt Christ’s presence with you?
Application: Pray that you would see Christ at work in your life and then keep your eyes open so that you don’t miss it when it happens.

Without a doubt the biggest buzz in the Church (not to mention the secular media) in the US right now is the fall of Ted Haggard. It was revealed that the (now former) pastor of a 14000 member church and president of the National Association of Evangelicals had employed the services of a male prostitute for the three years. I can’t even begin to understand what is going on in his heart, his family and in the church, but I can tell you this – we shouldn’t really be surprised!

See, he’s a sinner! Maybe the particular sin of which he is guilty is shocking, but it shouldn’t shock us that he is a sinner. A while back I wrote an article on the heroes of the faith. If you look back at the lives of Augustine, Luther, Wesley or any of the great men that have walked before us you will find one major thing in common. They were all sinners. Vile wretched sinners.

It’s not a surprise that he is a sinner. It’s not a surprise that he messed up. It’s not even a surprise that he fell. It’s a shame, not a surprise.

Each of us that God has placed in positions of leadership in the church need to heed this warning. James 3:1 is clear in declaring that “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” If God has called you into spiritual leadership, you must find occasion all the more to reflect on the state of your heart. Because you are a sinner too! Spiritual leaders are in a public position. You can try and hide your sin, but it may (and probably will) be found out. Instead, find a couple of brothers or sisters that you trust dearly and confess to them.

Pray for Ted and his family. You can recover from a lot of sins in the church, but I’m not sure if you can recover from this. I don’t know if he could ever be restored to ministry, but pray that his family will experiencing healing and that he repentance will be genuine and real.
I hate when leaders in the church fall. I’m not surprised, but I still hate it. But thank God that His mercy and grace given to us in His Son on the cross is greater still.
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For more information on Ted Haggard and this whole situation, I’d recommend two resources for godly thoughts.
Gordon MacDonald has an article on LeadershipJournal.net responding to this. Few people understand falling from the heights in Christian leadership like Gordon.
Mark Driscoll on his blog reflects on the situation and provides a powerful challenge for leaders to reflect on their own hearts.