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SERMON SERIES Psalms
SERMON TITLE The desire for only one me
SERMON DATE 01/22/2009
SPEAKER Jeff Paschall
TEXT Psalm 15
David Moore was a very successful pastor of the SW Community Church in Palm Dessert, CA. His church grew from 400 people in 1987 to over 7000 people. He erected a $36M, 300,000sqft complex set on 42 acres. (HUGE!) He had over 80 pastors and support people. He was a masterfully gifted speaker and writer and set up a non-profit organization called Moore on Life. He sold best selling books. He had a national radio ministry. He became an itinerant speaker. I actually heard him speak twice at Hume Lake Camp while his ministry was in its heyday! He was incredible… gifted… inspiring… likeable… and WILDLY influential.
In 2002… a former friend of his in child custody proceedings… what on the surface was leverage against his ex-wife… presented as evidence… 4 photos of David Moore… and David’s wife… and this MAN’s ex-wife… in a hot tub… without clothes…
As you expect, the pictures spread like a stream of lit gasoline over the internet… When confronted, David denied all wrong doing. Instead he confessed to having “made a mistake” (What a mistake! Forgot my trunks!). In his mind this was a fluke! It was a momentary lapse in discretion… There was no adultery! No sexual compromise. Just a stupid moment of silliness that had unfortunately been caught on camera.
In the following weeks the church went into a tailspin. Members… polarized. Some called for his resignation. Others said, “If David goes… I go!” 40 of 80 staff members… resigned. All but one elder… resigned. 2 of the 5 directors of Moore on Life… resigned. And finally… church attendance dwindling… David Moore… resigned. He lost his senior pastorate. His radio ministry was cancelled. His non-profit corporation was investigated by the IRS. And his church split.
It was so shocking an event that late night show-host Jay Leno… said in his monologue, “The reverend David Moore got caught on camera nude in a hot tub with his wife and his wife’s best friend. He said, ‘It was a baptism gone bad.’” (not funny) The place erupted… … …David Moore said that it was just four photographs… that’s it. …But I couldn’t help but feel… there was more to it than that. …I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
Another David… also an effective leader… who knew what it was like to have the foundations of his life… shaken… reveals the kind of a person that can survive it. And so he wrote Psalm 15. It begins with a probing question. It ends with a startling promise. And in between… describes the kind of a person… that can survive when the foundations of your life …shake. Q: When your personal… EARTHQUAKE happens… CAN YOU… SURVIVE?
The promise at the end says this: (v.5). He who does these things will never be shaken. The effect of “these things”… on the person living them out is… unshakability… ROCK SOLID STABILITY in life. That doesn’t mean your car won’t break down… or you’ll never have a relational problem come your way… or you’ll never get cancer… it doesn’t mean any of those things. What an “unshakable life” means… is that when the when world shaking crisis hits… you’ll be at peace. There’s a STABILITY that won’t go away. You’ll survive… it and flourish… despite it.
So what does it take? Well, it’s interesting… He doesn’t start with pursuing stability! Most people try to force stability into their life by ignoring problems… manipulating relationships and controlling outcomes. And you may conjure a false sense of stability that way… but it’s an illusion… But where David starts… is where stability flows out from… is packaged in a question. 1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? The “sanctuary”… the temple and the “holy hill”… the mount on which the temple stands… represents the presence of God. Now DON’T GET CONFUSED… Christians say… well, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.” So we say “That’s easy! Who can access God? Believers in Jesus can!” Well… yeees. Believing in Jesus gains access to God… There’s NO ACCESS TO GOD without acceptance of Christ… okay. But this really isn’t asking WHO CAN… approach God. Instead he’s asking… … “Who WANT’S to!” It’s NOT “how CAN” a person… enter God’s presence… it’s more about ”dwelling” and “living”… It’s more about “Who WANTS to enter God’s presence… and WHO WANT’S TO STAY THERE?”
In this question directed at God, David reveals the heart of a person who’s PRIMARY PASSION… is “dwelling”… is “living”… is at HOME… is at EASE… in the presence of God… Which is the starting point of an unshakable life! (If that motive is FOREIGN to you… You need to ask God the question!… … “What has to change… for my primary passion to be… being at HOME with God?”)
Usually, we say it’s the person who reads his Bible a lot… or… worships sincerely… or has made sturdy commitments to God… (and all those things are really good)… But it’s not what he describes. Up front I’ll tell you it’s a person of integrity that feels at home with God. But let me warn you… the word integrity conjures up a myriad of ideas… don’t to be too quick in firming up in your mind what that integrity looks like.
He starts in v.2 by saying exactly what integrity is… So… who is at home in God’s presence? 2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, A “walk” is a lifestyle – a person in daily life. And the mark of this person’s daily life is that he’s “blameless”. And you may be thinking, “Is this a person who never slips up?” NO! The opposite of the word “blameless…” you might be surprised… is hypocrite! It’s appearing to be… what under the surface you’re NOT! A “blameless” person… isn’t afraid to say what they are underneath. (Bad examples: ex-presidents… all-time home run leaders… televangelists) Being “blameless” isn’t so much being perfect… as it is being AUTHENTIC… or TRANSPARENT! And integrity also involves a second part, “who does what is righteous,”. So it’s not transparency without standards… like Charles Barkley - “I am not a role model”… Integrity is more than saying, “Look! I am what I am! Take me or leave me! If you don’t like it! Sue me!”… its more than transparency… it also includes AN ATTEMPT… at godliness.
So integrity in this sense is the marriage between AUTHENTICITY… and RIGHTEOUSNESS… And a “lack of integrity” isn’t about being perfect… its simply claiming to be… what under the surface… you’re not. And before we go any further, just understand, if you…, or I…, are not like this… if we are not… just one person under the surface… let me tell you straight… GOD… IS COMMITTED… TO MAKE YOU… a person of integrity! He’ll EXPOSE YOU… He WILL… make you… come to TERMS with who you are… He’s COMMITTED… (though the process is PAINFUL…) to having your INSIDES… and your OUTSIDES… MATCH! Because THAT’S a person… who is at home with God.
Now David presses the point of integrity… using specific examples… starting with… where we most often lack it… in our mouthes. who speaks the truth from his heart 3 and has no slander on his tongue, he says it positively “speak truth” and then negatively “no slander”. The trouble is… lying is the lubrication of life. We use words to control outcomes… cover our bases… or to grease the friction of tense situations. “Well, you know, I had to work late.” “I got held up by traffic.” “I - I lost that form, can I get another one?” Fibs… or lies… are not only destructive… they ERODE integrity. And… they’re habit forming! If it WORKS… you do it again… and again… and after a while… you’re MANAGING information… instead of TELLING the truth. (*10/16 truth week*) … … the person… who is at home with God… … is AWARE of the EVIL of their uncontrolled tongue… and is painfully scrupulous… in what he says. (challenge)
And who else feels at home with God? Well, in his RELATIONSHIPS… he who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, Generally, people who get close to this guy… don’t end up getting decimated. You brake a tool you borrow… and you replace it… cause that friend… is worth more than the tool! …You’re a faultfinder …you slur a person… then when you go to worship… God flips the light on… and you see God DEEPLY loves that person you slurred. And it’s pretty hard to be at rest in God’s presence… when a loose tongue… runs off and says… what God would NEVER say. And a person of integrity… says… the same thing… when the person’s THERE… as when they’re NOT THERE. …so they’re at home with God!
Look at v. 4 Integrity should permeate our values 4 who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, When I look at the description of a person with integrity as a person who “despises a vile man” That’s pretty stiff language! I ask… is there ANYBODY I would say… “Now THAT person’s values… are despicable!” Are there any boundaries… are there any lines… that when they’re crossed… you… you refuse! You retort! You wince? Where are the lines in your life? You know, the lines! I’m hope you have at least SOME. Those behaviors, those ideas, those deceptions and perversions of truth and morals… that when you see them… you… you have to SAY something! You have those lines… don’t you? (Jackass Movie… Hollywood pushes your boundaries! Push back! media addictions… “If it comes between loving God… loving family… … … it… loses! It’s GONE!”) Jesus… while loving the worst of sinners… sturdily hated the bad. And you can’t allow values to remain in your heads, but never infect your actions… Because if that’s the case… you’ll NEVER really feel… at home with God. You should at LEAST be able to say… “NO!” “That’s not right!”
v.4b who keeps his oath even when it hurts, Integrity means his word is good. We say, “Ehhh… I didn’t make it because something came up!” Well, you know what came up… what came up was… I didn’t want to do it anymore! We are a people who naturally collect reasons to get let off the hook for our WORD! That’s NOT RIGHT! Integrity demands WE make our WORDS… MATTER! Follow through! Integrity means being a person who keeps …FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS! APPOINTMENTS! AGREEMENTS TO PERFORM! …MARITAL COMMITMENTS! We should be good to our word… even if it becomes… inconvenient… expensive… or the circumstances under which we MADE the commitment… changes!… And the question Psalm 15 asks is: How can we EXPECT… to feel at home with God… when our word means… pretty much nothing. He who is PAINFULLY TRUSTWORTHY and true… who NEVER utters… an empty promise… how could that person feel anything but… at home with God…? That’s the point.
And in our finances. 5 who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. This final area David probes integrity is in our wallet. Naturally… a person is inclines to ask… “Does this use of my money… help… me?” and “Does my integrity have a price tag?” “Usury” is loaning money at anything over 0%. In other words, if you charged INTEREST… and called that HELPING a person… The Bible says… “Uh-uh! That’s not helping… that’s selfishness disguised as generosity. The Bible says, “Eh… Let’s just call it what it is… you’re making a buck.” I’m not saying don’t have loans or lend… I’m simply saying… don’t APPEAR to be generous… when in reality it’s something else. “Not accepting a bribe against the innocent” simply means can you be bought? Do you side with money… or who promises the greatest advantage? This is why at IC… I have no way of knowing how much you give… “well they don’t give anyway”… “well if that person leaves that’s $$$ gone!”… … …I’m not spiritual enough. GOD CAN HANDLE the information… I can’t.
(…BTW… at IC… we NEVER… harangue people to give… we just WON’T! And again… … I’ll never… know… And it should be no surprise if I let on… that giving to the church has spiraled… … … so all I’m going to say is… … … if for some reason you’ve stopped cold… or you’ve never started… today… is great a time to start… … … …it’s between you and God… … nuff said.)
I don’t think this list in Ps 15 is a recipe. You pour in THIS… you crack a couple of THESE… you mix in THIS… and you bake it and end up with this unshakable life. THIS IS THE KIND OF PERSON who is AT REST… AT HOME IN GOD’S PRESENCE. And INTEGRITY demands… something very simple… Micah, 6:8 says it this way. 8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly (in ALL of your life) and to love mercy (in ALL of your life) and to walk humbly with your God (in ALL of your life).” So there’s not TWO of you… there’s just ONE of you… JUST… ONE… … … that’s integrity!
As time passed, more about David Moore’s other life came to light. Somebody had donated a Mercedes 530SEL to the non-profit ministry… HE had it shipped to his condo in Hawaii… registered it in HIS name… … (there’s a problem with that)… and as the IRS looked further… apparently there were some… anomalies! (You know what anomalies are? Not good!)
It was as many had feared, the 4 pictures were just the tip of the iceberg. Steve Highfill, the denomination’s superintendent… when David’s shady past came more fully into the light, said this, “I still struggle trying to communicate just what the definitive issue was that broke the church’s back. The press had clearly made it the photos. Dave’s resignation letter went no further than acknowledging it was a solitary event three years ago in broken trust had made it impossible to continue as the senior pastor. But what Dave was either not WILLING to say or is actually unwilling to acknowledge is that enough of his staff team have concluded that a ‘compromised lifestyle in matters of alcohol, materialism, moral purity, and honesty, have rendered him unqualified, unfit to lead.’” What Steve is saying is… it wasn’t just the photos. It wasn’t this ONE THING that shook his life. It was the erosion of hundreds of small things …rationalized to become acceptable. But together… ate the guts out of his character. He was DIFFERENT underneath… than who he asid he was on the surface… He lacked… integrity. So when things shook <…> his life <…> fell apart.
(Well where is he today? History page of his new website. “In October 2002, Moore On Life made a radical shift in its approach to and the delivery of its ministry. Seeking to be become more efficient in achieving ministry goals, Moore on Life moved to the forefront of ministry innovators by creating one of the most significant Internet-focused and delivered ministries in the world.” …my heart sank… …no scandal?… no church split?… no resignation?… no controversy… nope! “I left the church to become more ‘efficient in achieving my ministry goals’.” You know what I wish he would have said? I just wished he would have said, “You know I made a series of STUPID, and HURTFUL decisions in my life that has meant untold PAIN to a lot of people… INCLUDING GOD… but through God’s GRACE… I’ve experienced FORGIVENESS and restoration… He’s chosen to allow me to be useful again.” (which is entirely possible)
You know what I want? I want… You know what God wants? For me just to be… ONE ME. I don’t want TWO ME’s… I want ONE ME… what you SEE… is what you GET… I want you to see me PURSUING GOD… (not perfectly)… but when I fail… I want you… TO KNOW that I FAIL!… How I talk… to you… is pretty much how I talk to anybody else!… If you get me in a coffee shop… is pretty much how I am behind closed doors… in my family… on the church staff… I want ONE… ME… JUST ONE! Not perfect… just REAL… and pursuing God with all my heart. That’s what I want.
Because DEEP DOWN inside I know, that if I’m THAT kind of a person… I’ll be at HOME WITH GOD… … … and my world… … … even if it shakes… … … it won’t shake me… The question is… what do you want? (stand and affirm in prayer those who desire “only one ME”)