Sermon 50, Job 13:11-15
I have to make some changes. Today’s sermon was top notch, one of the best and will get a post it note.
I am impressed by three things:
- There are no coincidences.
- God is God.
- The Bible is true.
All three of these statements can be completed with “whether we like it or not”.
Calvin covers a lot of ground in this sermon. He may not have come up with TULIP but it is accurate. The sermon explains the total depravity that is our wickedness and complete helplessness. Then goes on to unconditional election and limited atonement.
It is true that I am struggling today. I am injured (butt bruise) and very tired. This morning is the first morning that I haven’t worked out in over a month. My weight has jumped almost 8 lbs since yesterday! 8 lbs!! I am very, very disheartened.
Calvin says this today: “What then is necessary? That we walk in uprightness and simplicity, that we keep our mouths shut, and that when he speaks, we adhere to what proceeds from his mouth without making any response.”
He talks persuasively about how we can’t know ourselves without knowing God and vice versa. This is covered in his Institutes, at the very beginning no less. Knowing God means we realize how wretched we are. Knowing how wretched we are helps us know God. Job says “Does his majesty not astonish you?” I note the relation of “his” and “you”.
I think that a problem I may have is too much time on my hands, and that that time is misspent. I shouldn’t have to workout two hours a day and fixate on my diet to be happy and healthy. That isn’t what normal people do. Why am I so extreme? I am clearly not focusing on God and things that are correctly important. Time for changes. I need to get to know God better. Like really know him, and Calvin believes and I agree that that means getting to know myself better also.