God Is Not Boring

Introduction

Well, Daniel, that’s one very effective means to discourage new granite countertops. That was very effective. Good to see all of you today. Appreciate our visitors coming our way. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anybody say this. I’m not sure that it would pass the lips of people, but they’ve thought it. And I’ve seen their body actions, their facial expressions seem to indicate it. In fact, some don’t show up who need to at occasions like this because they think it. And that is that God is boring. To be boring is the great sin of our culture. A Gallup poll several years ago among the unchurched revealed that church is the most boring place to be. And that’s why they are unchurched. Rick Warren in his purpose driven church says to the unchurch, dull preaching is unforgivable.

Truth poorly delivered is ignored. On the other hand, the unchurch will listen to absolute foolishness. If it’s interesting. To prove this, just turn on your television late at night, and you will see the assortment of psychic swackos and weirdos that dominate the airwaves. And people find that interesting. But Warren contends that worship and sermons don’t have to be dry to be spiritual. And I wonder how we can take the ultimate message that’s ever been delivered and make it boring. Shame on us for doing so. Warren concludes it’s a sin to bore people with the Bible. And I think that’s an interesting conclusion. But the real tragedy is that when God’s word is not taught in an interesting way, people don’t just think that the preacher is boring.

They think that God is boring. And so I want to take you to 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 7 through 9, as our text this morning as to the way believers ought to think, and how they ought to react to the things of God as he speaks of the proof of your faith, though tested by fire, that is suffering and persecution and trial may be found a result, he says in verse 7 in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And so we need to stay focused on that revelation of Christ that is coming when he will descend from heaven with a shout. And that will be a time of praise and honor and glory for him, and we should have lives and hearts and tongues consistent with that praise and honor and glory.

And then this, and though you have not seen him, and none in this audience have, and though you have not seen him, you love him. As he writes to these Christians, and he says, and though you do not see him now, but believe in him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. If this is not the result in our heart, if this is not our expression, then either we are not teaching it right or we’re not apprehending it. But these believers in the first century that Peter is addressing, he says, those who love him and believe in him, that they greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible or unspeakable and full of glory.

That needs to be where we are, and yet many are not.

It is so full of glory. The things of which we are involved. And that should say that worship is one of the most joy-filled events in our lives. And yet some are born to tears. Easily distracted, not excited about it all and ready to skip at any possible distraction or complication. Because to them, this is boring. But I’m here to tell you this morning that God is not boring. And the goal of this lesson is singular in nature. That we might discover the joy that is inexpressible and full of glory. That Peter talks about in 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 8. Assemblies of the Lord’s people, assemblies for worship should be should be approached with anticipation. With excitement, with eagerness, enthusiasm. I mean, this response is generated naturally for the things that we enjoy.

You’ve been planning this for a long time. Finally a getaway, no work. It’s vacation time. And I know how you approach that, right? Oh, I’ve got to get ready for vacation. Okay, here we go. Or young people, as they finally get to go to that amusement park. My daughter Shelley is working in Cleveland this summer. She’s got about three weeks left. She’s here right now. She’s going back home this afternoon. But she got to do something she has wanted to do all of her life. Since she is in Cleveland for the first time in her life, she is able to go to the amusement park called Cedar Point. Now, growing up in Southern Indiana, we went up to Cincinnati to King’s Island. And I know some of you back in the day went to Astro World, which is now parking lot.

I think it’s gone. But what a tragedy, right? But I’ve been to Astro World and I’ve been to King’s Island, but we’d always heard about the mega ultimate roller coasters of Cedar Point. And Chris went up there to visit her about a month ago, and they went to Cedar Point together. And I got texts as they were approached. Dad, I’m almost there. This is my lifelong dream of. I’m sure Shelley didn’t wake up and say, okay, let’s go to Cedar Point. She wanted those roller coasters, she was excited. And that’s the way we are about our trips and the things that we have planned to do that we think are fun. We get excited. This is great. Can’t wait.

1. Appreciate and Understand the Mighty Deeds of Our God

Oh, endure another 30 minutes from Tony. Another Bible class on Zachariah of all things. We are privileged by the grace of God to enter his presence together. Inexpressible. The only time this word is found in the New Testament, it means unutterable, unspeakable, inexpressible joy. It describes, as one author said, a joy so profound as to be beyond the power of words to express. And this joy escapes many people who claim to be Christians. So I tell you, God is not boring. And we need to change our ideas about God if that is what we think. The first point of this lesson is simple. I want us to appreciate, if we are going to have joy inexpressible and full of glory, we need to appreciate and understand the mighty deeds of our God.

I want to encourage you to use your imagination. I think that’s what many of the biblical stories are designed for us to do. To draw the pictures. How many times have you stood there with Moses and the Israelites as Pharaoh’s army has hemmed them in and has seen in your mind’s eye the Red Sea being parted and the dry ground in between, and the Israelites passing through, and Pharaoh’s army following after them and then being swallowed up by the sea. How many times have you pictured that? Awesome event in history. Naaman’s cleansing in the Jordan. Man, I pictured that. I can’t tell you how many times. Seven times, finally on the seventh times, as instructed by Elisha the prophet through his servant. On the seventh time, he’s cleansed and made whole.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.

Their trousers undamaged, their hairs unsinged. Though the people throwing them into the fire have perished. And one like a son of the gods walking amidst them in this fiery furnace, and they come out their trousers undamaged, their hair uncensed. And I love this part. I love this expression in Daniel 3.27. Not even the smell of smoke is on them. Have you ever been around the fire, the campfire? And you get in your car to leave, and you reek of smoke. You’ve been around the fire. Not even the smell of fire on them. This is our mighty God protecting them. And Daniel in the lion’s den in Daniel chapter 6 and verse 23. And when he comes out, it says, No injury whatsoever. In the midst of lions.

All the Genesis narratives. I picture these in my mind, and I need to be impressed with God who is working in the lives of his faithful people. And then again, how many times have I pictured one of my favorite events in the New Testament, one of my favorite miracles? As we studied in the study of the Gospel of John, the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed. John 20 and verse 29. One of my favorite text, young people of the Old Testament, is Psalm 147, 4 and 5. You need to let your mind run wild with this. Psalm 147 and verse 4. God, he counts the number of the stars, and he knows them all by name.

I really think one of our great problems is we don’t take the time to look up into the heavens and start counting the stars. God knows all of them by name. He is the creator of them all. He is greater than them all. His understanding is infinite. Great is our Lord and abundant in strength, and his understanding is infinite. I can’t wrap my mind around that. An understanding, a knowledge so great that I can’t know the links and the depths of it, just like I can’t understand the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge in Ephesians chapter 3, verses 17 through 19. Yes, I meant to get a little animated today. We’re talking about the one in whose presence we have come for worship. To whom then will you liken God?

What shall be his equal? Isaiah 40 and verse 18. There’s not anything on this world comparable to him. For lack of a better word, God’s impressive.

2. Things That Are Impressive Often Go Unappreciated

And not only is he impressive, but God incarnate. God in human flesh. Jesus is impressive to the extent that if everything that could have been written about the life and ministry of Jesus had been written, that the world could not contain the books that could be written. John 21 and verse 25.

No, Jesus isn’t boring either. Some things that are impressive often are unappreciated. God’s character is perfect. We take that for granted. God is holy. Who is like thee? A God who delights in unchanging love. Micah chapter 7 and verse 18. God’s character, his deeds, all of that is impressive. But things that are impressive often go unappreciated. I don’t think there’s anybody in our audience this morning that likes hockey. If you do, you’re the exception. My son-in-law likes hockey. Not many of us here. I guess you have to live up north to appreciate hockey. Even the NHO finals, we don’t tune in. It’s not football. And we all know that’s better. I grew up, though, in probably the era of the greatest hockey player ever. And I love to throw these things out and create debate.

The greatest of something. I won’t go to LeBron, but Wayne Gretzky. Probably the greatest hockey player. He was the magic Johnson of hockey. I mean, he had eyes in the back of his hand that he could pass it. He didn’t see that guy. He passes the guy wide open into that school. I mean, Wayne Gretzky was awesome. But you know what? If you didn’t watch hockey and you didn’t care about hockey, you’re not impressed. And there, God is impressive. That’s unquestionable. He is the most impressive person that exists. Father, son, and holy spirit. And yet, so often unappreciated. Many are just too busy, too in love with the world and its machinery to be impressed with God. Out of sight, out of mind.

3. The Place God Resides Is Not Boring Either

And furthermore, the place that God resides, and the place that we hope to be, is not boring either. I think one of the reasons why heaven is not as motivating to people as God designs it to be, as he says earlier in 1 Peter 1, our inheritance, which is incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. That’s to be a motivating influence in our life, and we hardly think about it. We’ll go weeks without thinking about heaven. We ought to think about heaven every time we come to this building. We ought to think about going to heaven every day of our lives. That is the motivating thing that’s out there for us. And because people think God is boring, they say, well, God is there, and all we’re going to do is worship.

I find worship boring, but it’s going to be boring. Nobody’s going to be born in heaven. It is ultimate thrill all the time. You don’t have to fight through things like we have to do in worship through fatigue. How many yawns that I see today? I don’t equate yawns with disinterest. It’s a physical reaction to a lack of rest. Perhaps we could have done more to rest better. Perhaps we couldn’t have. But it’s not yet necessarily an indication of a lack of interest. We have to fight through physical fatigue here, not in heaven. And those who are there are awed by the majesty and transcendent glory and beauty of God and everything that surrounds it. It will not be boring. And though our outer man is decaying, our inner man is being renewed day by day.

And it’s producing for us, our temporary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. To what then could I like in heaven? What’s even close? Not Cedar Point. Not any fun activity here. Not the best of circumstances on this earth. There’s nothing that can be compared with that. An eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. That’s heaven. And we need to stay focused on that. As he says, we do not look to the things which are seen, but to the things which are unseen. The things that are seen are temporal, and the things that are unseen are eternal. People that don’t appreciate God, that don’t appreciate Jesus, the Son of God, and don’t appreciate heaven are people who are focused on the scene.

4. Truth Is Relevant and It Is Practical

Period. That’s it. And because of that, they do not see the importance of spiritual truth. And how relevant and practical it is to their lives. Now, if I could talk to some of our young people this morning and ask them about algebra and some of the things they have to study in school, they’re going to tell you, I just don’t see the relevance. What relevance does algebra have to my life? Well, I think there’s some benefit. It gets your mind working, kids. And you need that. Or else your mind’s going to go to mush. But it helps you to do things in life. Though you might not use those formulas and equations in your vocation, it’s good for your brain, I think.

So it may have some relevance, but I’ll tell you this whatever you study in school, whatever subject it is, it has some benefit and some value, but it’s not as relevant as this. And not as practical for all that algebra and English and chemistry and all of those subjects, as valuable as they can be in our existence here, none of those things can prepare us for that.

Only this message does this. We do the Bible in disservice too, and we talked about sections and we do this in Ephesians that Jared is teaching on Wednesday night. Chapters 1 through 3 are doctrinal, explaining the nature of salvation, and chapters 4 through 6 are practical. And I’ve heard that distinction many times. First three chapters doctrinal, last three chapters practical. I really think that’s an arbitrary distinction. Because the things that grow out in regard to our response and behavior in the last three chapters are based on the foundation of what has happened to bring us into Christ. And our appreciation of that is going to fuel this. And so the doctrinal sections of Scripture, even such things in the Old Testament as sacrifices and what we learn about the sacrificial system in the Old Testament.

We get bored reading about all of that. What is all that? But I’ll tell you what we learn. God is holy. And he needs to be approached reverently and obediently. And if we get that, we’ve learned something very valuable about the right approach to God. All of this is helpful for us to regard God properly. To hold him in the kind of esteem and reverence that ends up in the right kinds of thoughts and actions. Truth is relevant and it is practical. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8, verse 32. If you abide in my word, then you are the disciples, you are my disciples. He says in the previous verse in John chapter 8 and verse 31. How practical is that?

It’s the truth that sets free. The problem is, we don’t think the truth is all that exciting and important and relevant to our life. And again, people don’t say, you know, truth is really irrelevant to my life. They’ve probably read enough Bible, those sitting in this audience, to know that it’s relevant. But we’re bored by it. It’s just not like a lot of the other things that occupy our hearts. The fun and games and entertainment to which we can become addicted.

Truth is what we need. The things of the Spirit are spiritually appraised. And I don’t know everything about that text in 1 Corinthians chapter 2. It’s a puzzling one to me. But to appreciate what Paul delivered from the Holy Spirit to those believers in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, he says, These things are spiritually appraised. These spiritual men revealed the words of the Spirit that are the words and thoughts of God to us. These things are spiritually appraised. And so I know this. If you don’t approach this with a spiritual mindset, you’re not going to get it. It’s not going to be relevant and practical to you. You’re going to think you don’t need it. And that’s why people don’t come. And that’s why they don’t come back tonight at 5 o’clock.

And that’s why they’re not dedicated to the local church. And that’s why they don’t make changes in their lives. Because they do not see relevant, practical. Truth.

5. Change the Way We Look at Things

We need truth more than we need television. Right? We need truth more than we need. Sports more than we need. Our electronic devices with all of their games. More than we need music. God’s word is what works. And we need it. So how can we have the right perspective? How can we get joy inexpressible and full of glory? Let’s fix the problem of boredom. We just have to change the way we look at things. It’s that simple. Philippians 2 and verse 14 says, do all things without murmuring and complaining. That’s been a particular challenge of mine. Still is. There seems to be a lot to complain about. The traffic and the weather at the top of the list.

Always something to complain about if you want to. Things that aren’t just exactly the way you’d want them. How can you do all things without murmuring and complaining? The only way is you’ve got to change the way you look at things. Again, look to the things which are unseen rather than the things that are seen. And that’s the only way to fix this problem.

To see the things of God as entertaining and intriguing and things that I should want to be involved in. You’ve got to change your perspective.

And so when you approach the next assembly time at 5 o’clock, you say, Well, I don’t want to go through that again. Or do you say, I’m going to learn something that’s going to help me in the inner man. Remember the outer man is decaying? I’m going to learn something that’s going to help me in the inner man. I’m going to engage, I’m going to sing thoughts to God as we have done. Scott has led us in songs pertaining to the thoughts of this lesson this morning. We have sung some wonderful things about what God has done. It encourages me. It helped me to be more godly. If I don’t come here tonight at 5 o’clock, I’m just going to be more worldly. That’s all it means.

I don’t need to be more worldly. I need to be more godly.

Conclusion

And the people of God need me to be committed to them. So I’ll tell you what we need to do as well. When we come to a place like this, we need to look beyond the flawed people with whom we are associated. And we all are. We need to look beyond the flawed people that we see and see the perfect God who has invited the likes of us into his presence. Again, what are you looking at? Perspective is everything. I want to conclude this morning in 1 Timothy chapter 4, verses 6 and follow. You know what’s almost cliche?

Some interview of an athlete or an actor, an actress. And they talk about their success. Oh, how they love to talk about their success. And the wonderful nature of their lives. And what do they say? The famous cliche, they all say it, follow your dreams. That’s what I followed my dreams. And so young people, I’m telling you, if you follow your dreams, you’re going to end up as the actor, athlete, or the important person that’s the world defines those things. That they are.

And everybody doesn’t end up the professional athlete. You realize how many few positions there really are for those things. Some people’s dreams get dashed. Some people’s dreams are disappointed. Even those who have realized their dream. I wonder if it’s all that it’s cracked up to be when the paparazzi is trying to chase you down. When you can’t go out in public without being hounded for autographs. When you have to live lives of isolation, and people, their relationships aren’t perfect. A lot of those fall apart. I wonder if it’s everything they imagined it would be. What are your dreams? I’m not saying it’s wrong to have dreams for where your life ought to go, but you ought to understand that it may not pan out like you imagined it to be.

And those dreams, whatever they are about employment or a certain economic status or wealth that you attain because of your employment, all of those dreams that you might have about the future all need to be secondary to the ultimate dream. The ultimate dream. I want to tell you about the ultimate dream this morning. And it’s not anything that an actor or an athlete is going to tell you about. You ready for this? I’m going to conclude with this. The ultimate dream.

And this is in the context of all that Paul is telling Timothy about things he needs to teach and how he needs to live. And pointing out these things to the brethren, he tells young Timothy.

Underlined. It’s the ultimate dream. Constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. Don’t get distracted with worldly fables fit for old women. Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. Bodily discipline is only a little profit. Those muscles you’re building won’t last permanently. And probably impress people for the wrong things. But godliness is profitable for all things. Since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things. Be an example, he says in verse 12. Give attention to the public reading of Scripture. Do not neglect Timothy and his time, your spiritual gift that you’ve been given. And then he says in verse 15, take pains with these things, be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching. Persevere in these things. For as you do this, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. Jesus is an awesome Savior. He is far from being boring.

The things that he did, the death that he died, his resurrection, they’re the ultimate events of all history. What is your dream? In the midst of all earthly goals and aspirations, may you remember that the ultimate dream is simply to be a good servant of Jesus Christ. And if you accomplish that, it doesn’t matter what happens to the other dreams. It doesn’t matter if the doors are closed in your face, if the job promotions never come, if the wealth you anticipated never arrives, or if the health that you treasure is lost, because you’ll have all that matters. You’ll have a relationship with God and the whole of immortality. And if you possess that, you can greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. Let us not allow this place to become a place of gloom.

May it always be a place of rejoicing. Because we’re the servants of Jesus Christ.

You’ve not turned from vain things and empty desires to serve a living and true God and to order your life after his righteousness. We encourage you. Take a step in the ultimate direction. Become a servant of Jesus Christ. Put him on in baptism. Rise to walk in newness of life. Learn with us, grow with us as we strive toward immortality and being with God, the ultimate being for all eternity. If you need to respond to the invitation of the living Savior Jesus Christ, come down while we stand and sing together.