From Where Does Love Come? 10/18/98
I Timothy 1:5
Page 1731 Come Alive Bible
JESUS CHRIST said, “…love one another…”
He also said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God…”
Some years later one of His immature young followers wrote to give insight as to the fountain head of love. As a refreshing fountain has to have a source so must love. Our text uses that principle to illustrate the origin of love in a life. The illustrative fountain has three heads:
THE HEART, THE CONSCIENCE, AND FAITH.
Once while flying out of Cairo I was impressed by a large dark area in that vast expanse of sandy desert. As we neared it I could tell it was vegetation. Upon inquiring, I learned the government had drilled for oil and had simply dug a very expensive water well. The water was conserved and used to irrigate this region of about one square mile in size. All they did was let the water be dispersed over the dry sand and vegetation sprung up. For centuries the seed had been collecting needing only water to grow. Perhaps the best seeds of love are yet to spring up in your life.
We live in a spiritually dry and thirsty world needing love. You can be that fountain of love. I beg you, don’t be a mirage.
The meaning of the word “love” needs to be established before considering its source. AGAPE is the Greek word translated love. It speaks of full loyalty to God and boundless good will to people. The Greeks had various words for love. PHILEO was one used for brotherly love. Combine it as a prefix to ANTHROPOS, the word for man and you have the word philanthropy, meaning the love of mankind. PHILEO combined with SOPIAS the Greek word for knowledge and you have the word philosophy, the love of knowledge. Combined with the Greek word for city, POLIS and you have Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love.
There was the Greek word EROS which spoke of physical or sensual love.
At the time of the New Testament there was no Greek word adequate to express the love of God. They took a little used word that appears only four times in classical Greek writings and gave it a new meaning, AGAPE. It is the selfless self-giving love of God. There is nothing physical or sensual about it. Love as used in this regard means to desire and devise the best for others.
Love for God prompts us to let go of whatever we are holding to and latching on to God. Let go and latch on. There is no good in holding on to anything in time of a storm if it isn’t tied down. In the storms of life the only real and sure anchor is Jesus Christ. To love Him means to let go of the unanchored objects offered by the world and latching on to Him.
Some of you I am reminding, others are perhaps gaining this perspective for the first time. A baby isn’t born knowing how to love. It is born with the capacity to love but learns to love or hate by the way the parent relates to it. Perhaps you were deprived of one or both parents who didn’t show you proper love as an infant and loving is difficult for you. There is good news. Along comes the Heavenly Father to show us love and thereby teach us to love.
“We love Him because He first loved us” (I John 4: 19).
Once we love Him and know how He loves us we are well on our way to knowing how to love one another. He loves us with all of our faults, frailties, and failures. How are we to love others? As He loved us.
Only in America has love become so mixed up.
Only in America have so many things become so mixed up. ONLY IN AMERICA – – – – –
Can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.
Only in America … are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink.
Only in America … do people order double cheese burgers, large fries, and a diet coke.
Only in America … do banks leave both doors open and chain the pen to the desk.
Only in America … do they put brail lettering on drive-in bank windows.
Only in America … do we leave expensive cars parked in the driveway and leave useless things and junk in boxes in the garage.
Only in America … do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won’t miss a call from someone we don’t want to talk to in the first place….
Only in America … do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.
Only in America … do we use the word “politics” to describe the process so well: “Poli” in Latin means “many” and “ticks” means blood-sucking creatures…”
Only in America … do we use the word “love” when we mean “lust.”
Satan subtly wants to divert our love if not deceive us into not loving. In the intriguing “Screwtape Letters” by C. S. Lewis Satan gives his servant Wormwood advice on how to reduce the effectiveness of Christian love. He suggests dividing a persons life into concentric circles. The inner circle represents a person’s will. Next is the intellect. Last is one’s fantasies. It is “out there” he suggests keeping a person’s love. The deceiver says to his disciple:
“Do what you will, there is going to be some benevolence, as well as some malice, in your patient’s soul. The great thing is to direct the malice to his immediate neighbors whom he meets and to thrust his benevolence out to the remote circumference, to people he does not know.”
In other words, it is easy to talk about loving people in other countries or different locales than we. That does little good. In doing so the deceiver channels our love into lakes of unfulfillment.
Jesus said, “Love your neighbor…”
Three characteristics of the foundation of love are mentioned. Explore this triad:
I. A PURE HEART (present motives)
HEART in the Hebrew language was used in the O.T. because there is not a word for mind or brain. To understand a word in the Hebrew it is proper to define it in association with words with which it is linked.
A “pure heart” belongs only to the person made right by the right relationship with Christ. Such a heart can then manifest the fruit of the Spirit, which involves love.
Psalms 139:23, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.” In this verse heart and thoughts are linked.
Satan subtly suggests sin is a better alternative than love for the Lord as the path to the good life. The wages of sin can be quite good in today’s competitive market, but there are no benefits and retirement is pure hell.
Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart proceedeth evil thoughts…” Thus, from Hebrew and Greek it is seen that heart and thoughts are equated. Therefore, Timothy is appealing for followers of Christ to have pure thoughts, the right motives.
This is needed for:
“Out of the heart are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23).
“Man looketh on the outward appearance but God looketh upon the heart” (I Samuel 16:7).
God alone cleanses the heart (Psalms 51: 10, 11).
PURE means not double minded. It was a word used to describe purging an army of all potential traitors. It described milk with no water added to dilute it.
If there is bacteria in a substance it will grow. If there is yeast in bread it will multiply. If there is impurity of thought in a life, it will grow. The mind must be cleansed. It must be cleansed from self-centeredness if it is to have love for Christ.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart.” Literally, He said HAPPY are the pure in heart. You will never find happiness apart from having an undivided mind, that is, God controlled thoughts. Only a pure heart produces love for Christ.
II. A CLEAR CONSCIENCE (past action)
Huck Finn said, “Sometimes a fellow’s conscience takes up more room than all the rest of his insides.”
The Greek word used in our text and translated “conscience” is SUNEIDESIS. It literally means “a knowing within.” How what is known within is programmed is the critical issue. To have a good conscience it must be programmed by God’s value standard, the Bible.
Our English word CONSCIENCE comes from the Latin CON-SCIENTA, meaning joint knowledge or co-knowledge, knowing together with. A conscience is a poor guide unless it knows the Word of God.
Hearts not informed and influenced by the Word of God can become insensitive. We are seeing this increasingly in America. An illustration of it comes from the Japanese conquest of China. Christians were herded into trenches, bound and put on their knees. Youth were forced to watch initially as soldiers shot them. The youthful response was one of abhorrence. Next the students were forced to do the shooting. Eventually students were forced to enter the trenches and complete the act with knives. They were then highly rewarded and bragged upon. Soon they began to relish the task in order to obtain the rewards.
In America youth watch violence while enjoying their favorite treats of candy, popcorn, and preferred beverage. Their conscience is dulled and has become insensitive. Then we wonder why there is so much violence by youth who seem to feel nothing. They have a conscience seared by a hot iron. A cauterized conscience is a non- feeling conscience. Once they enact violence and are shocked back into reality they have to live with the incubus of their act.
A clear conscience is one:
A. Guided by God’s special revelation as a norm.
B. Makes wise judgements and issues instructions which are obeyed.
C. Produces “Godly sorrow which works repentance unto salvation” (II Cor. 7:10).
D. Not only condemns the bad but commends the good. Hence the result is faith.
A guilt conscience motivated Swietzer to go to Africa and Bunyan to write “Pilgrim’s Progress.”
After all Paul had done how could he have a clear conscience? Verses 12-15 explain. The same principle applies today. In I Timothy 1: 12 – 15 Paul bursts into joyous celebration over what Christ had done in his life. His story is that if Christ could change him Christ can change anyone. Jesus Christ is the personification of the Christian gospel. The essence of a Christian witness is telling others what a change Christ has made in your life. Paul was a blasphemer, a persecutor of the followers of Christ, and a man of aggressive violence who enjoyed unleashing pain on others. He was a bad dude.
Even the best listeners have a tendency to fade out occasionally in following a thought. Fine tune your mind in order to retain what now comes.
In verse 13 Paul makes what appears to be a statement that conflicts with the idea of grace. He says, “I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly.”
Superficially that makes it appear ignorance was the basis of his forgiveness. That is never true.
In listening to persons give testimonies sometimes it appears they are glorifying their sinful past. Often this leaves the impression that the only way to have a good testimony is to go live a life of debauchery and drug abuse and then “get converted.” Not so.
What Paul was saying in this statement of his ignorance was there is nothing chic, cool, or glamorous about living in sin. As a matter of fact doing so is grounded in unbelief and is utterly stupid. Sin is always the product of conscious refusal to obey God. It is always the mark of ignorance.
How can a person with a carnally complicated and corrupt past gain a clear conscience? By having a cleansed life. How is it possible? “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).
Simple isn’t it? Yes, but not costless.
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom 5:6).
III. A GENUINE FAITH (projected goals)
GENUINE means without hypocrisy. Are you living on a pretend faith? Faith produces works. Faith is consistently expressive. Is your faith a mirage?
The test of your faith is does it prompt obedient action? If what you call faith doesn’t, it isn’t faith its froth. It is a religious front that is a fake.
There are some very special times that can be used to demonstrate faith. Use the difficult times in life as occasions to demonstrate your faith in the living Lord. Instead of complaining and whining use those difficult moments as meaningful times to exhibit your faith and thereby prove His faithfulness.
John Wesley was making his way to Georgia from England aboard the ship “Simmonds” in 1735. He watched in total amazement as a community of Moravian passengers continued to worship God and sing in the midst of a violent Atlantic storm as if nothing were happening. Wesley marveled at that kind of faith. It motivated him to ask God to help him develop that kind of faith for the big storms of life. If people see that kind of faith in you they too will be motivated to place their faith in our Lord.
In love our Lord has discretely established faith as the means by which we obtain life’s greatest blessings and numerous other valuable ones. We are saved by grace through faith. Faith is the positive means by which we respond to the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.
There are some things that we might like but can’t obtain on our own. For example, if there were a cube of pure gold measuring 13″ X 13″ offered to you would you accept it. If you were told that for it to be yours all you would have to do is come pick it up personally and take it with you, would you do it? A thirteen inch cube of pure gold! Would you like it? It is yours if you simply take it. Most persons would love to have such a quantity of gold. Regardless of how badly you would like it you could not meet the requirement for obtaining it. You could not pick it up for it would weigh one ton. You couldn’t meet the standard of picking it up.
For you to pick up the gift of salvation God has made it possible for the “whosoever” of John 3:16. All that is necessary is faith in Christ.
It can never be spelled out too simply or too frequently. There are four basics we do well to learn.
Use the personal pronoun “I” to refer to yourself and repeat within yourself the following:
1. I am not God.
2. God is God.
3. I sin when I get #1 and #2 reversed.
4. Jesus Christ came to help me get #1 and #2 in proper order and to forgive me of #3.
When we, by faith, put those four in proper perspective we are in position to obtain the wonderful gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
You will never truly live until you have established a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
When you have you shall never die.
Axioms for Life – Part Three
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (Phillipians 4: 8)
An axiom is a distillation of a greater truth. Next in this series is:
AXIOM FIVE
To live one must grow. Personal development usually falls in one of two categories: a wasp of a crocodile.
A wasp is as large as it will ever be the day it is born.
A crocodile grows every day of its life right up until the day of death. Wasps never grow. Some persons reach the point of their maturity socially, economically, and as a Christian. The sea of knowledge is so vast and the capacity of our boat so small to fail to grow is to fail to be fulfilled.
As applied to Christians so many have been born again, but have never grown beyond the most basics spiritually. “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (I Peter 2:2).
Crocodiles continue to ingest spiritual, educational, ethical, and moral nourishment and they grow. They confront the challenges of new horizons. Life continues to be an exciting adventure. For them growth is a way of life.
Grow in grace and in knowledge, and don’t confuse the two. Be prepared when God calls. He deals with each of us in a special way.
He had Abraham take a walk, Elijah take a nap, Joshua take a lap, and Adam take the rap.
He gave Moses a forty-year time out, he gave David a harp and a dance, and he gave Paul a pen and a scroll.
He wrestled with Jacob, argued with Job, whispered to Elijah, warned Cain, and comforted Hagar.
He gave Aaron an altar, Miriam a song, Gideon a fleece, Peter a name, and Elisha a mantle.
Jesus was stern with the rich young ruler, tender with the woman caught in adultery, patient with the disciples, blistering with the scribes, gentle with the children, and gracious with the thief on the cross.
God never grows two people the same way. God is a hand-crafter, not a mass-producer.
The Gathers had a song that speaks of God working on us:
“He’s still working on me
To make me what I need to be
It took him just a week to make the moon and stars
The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars
How loving and patient He must be
‘Cause He’s still workin’ on me.”
Indeed, He must be our Master, but as His students we must do our homework. Spiritual growth is a process so, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge.” (II Peter 1: 5)
Axioms for Life – Part Two
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (Phillipians 4: 8)
Axioms are distilled truths refined to make clear the understanding of principles worthy of incorporated in life.
AXIOM THREE
Each moment of life is a time of trial or temptation. Our responses are much more important than our circumstances.
A trial gives the opportunity to stand true to your convictions.
A temptation gives occasion for our weaknesses to be exploited.
In his epic poem “The Odyssey,” the poet Homer depicts his hero Ulysses leading his army toward Troy. Unexpectedly he came to a flooded river. In frustration Ulysses waded into the water waste deep and in his fury begin thrashing the water with a chain. Needless to say it was to no avail. This is a graphic of how some people respond to difficulty.
Another writer with a background in Greek gives a more stable reaction. He was the Apostle Paul, a thinker of the level of Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates. In Corinth he stood before his accusers, his would be executers, and addressed his taunters: “For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparisons. “ (II Corinthians 4: 17)
Don’t let the circumstances of life master you — you master them.
AXIOM FOUR
Don’t waste time. Benjamin Franklin called time”the substance life is made of.” Philip Dormer Stanhope, the Earl of Chesterfield, penned this wisdom: “Know the true value of time. Snatch it, seize it, enjoy every second of it. No laziness, no idleness, no procrastination, never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” It might be added, don’t put a thing off until tomorrow, you might enjoy it so much today you will want to do it again tomorrow.
In ancient Sanskrit the following was recorded.
“Look well to this day, for it, and it alone, is life. In the brief course of this one day, live all the verities and realities of your existence; the pride of growth, the glory of action, the splendor of beauty. Yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow a vision. Yet, each day, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and each tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this one day, for it alone is life.”
Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not guaranteed. So make every day your day. Make it the best day of your life — so far. Be kind to your tomorrow self. Your today’s self’s actions are being filed away as memories. Approach every day with the attitude, “I’m going to make a memory.”
BIblical encouragement stresses the importance of time management:
“So, then, be careful how you live. Do not be unwise but wise, making the best use of your time because the times are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17)
Axioms for Life – Part One
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (Phillipians 4: 8)
An axiom is a proposition regarded as self-evidently true. This and subsequent posts will be devoted to consideration of some axioms.
In all of life there are certain actions that will result in predictable results. The same is true in the spiritual realm.
It is still true —
We reap what we sow.
We reap later than we sow.
We reap more than we sow.
The person who is guided by God’s GPS is certain to reach His intended goal. Chisel these in the marble of your memory.
AXIOM ONE
Have an invisible means of support. Though there are times we may seem to be alone, we are not. On Christmas Eve 1944, Martin Niemoeller was in the Nazi prisoner of war camp Dachau. Amid the horror he wrote:
“We are not alone amidst the horror of these years, cut off though we are from the outside world. We are in the Hands of God. . . He is with us in this dismal and lonely place to hold and comfort us and keep hope alive in our hearts.”
Friends may forsake us. Circumstances may plot against us. Hope may be faint, but we are never alone in our hour of need. Some see only a hopeless end. The Christian sees endless hope.
Feeling is one antenna. Faith is another stronger and better tuned one. Tune it to hear Jesus say, “I will never leave you.” That is a forever never.
AXIOM TWO
God is a merciful God. There are many things that are difficult to understand in life, many puzzles that seem to have no solution. Riddles without answers abound in life. The loose end of some of life’s knottiest problems seems to reveal God’s mercy.
Governor Bradford of the struggling Plymouth Colony penned these words in his darkest hour: “Our fathers came over this ocean and were ready to perish in this wilderness but they cried out unto thee Lord and He heard their voices and had mercy on them in their adversities. Let us, therefore, praise Him because He is good and His mercies endure forever.”
Even when times aren’t good, God is, it is part of His unchanging nature.
The immediacy of God’s mercy is revealed in this couplet describing a rider thrown from his horse:
“Between the saddle and the ground mercy sought and mercy found.”
Scripture reassures us of God’s enduring grace.
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!’” (Lamentations 3:22-24)
Peace in the Valley of the Shadow of Death 5/31/98
Psalm 23
Page 813 Come Alive Bible
JESUS CHRIST said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
Nothing does more to increase your opinion of Christ as “the good shepherd” than a visit to the Bible Lands. Seeing the land that was the setting for shepherds makes one all the more appreciative of a good shepherd.
Knowing your own dry, arid wasteland, those barren badlands of your own experience, makes you aware of a need for a good shepherd in your daily affairs. It seems we live in the valley of the shadow. Life’s most ominous shadows loom on our path causing fear and apprehension. How can we live in such a foreboding valley?
Recently friends and I drove down the old Roman road from Jerusalem to Jericho. It was the same road traveled by Christ. Rounding one curve it seems the bottom drops out of the earth. A breathtaking narrow, craggy, deep valley suddenly appears. We were awestruck.
Running along the same route slightly below the road level is an aqueduct built by Herod the Great. Peering down into the valley we looked over the rim of the aqueduct. With no forewarning a small shepherd stepped from behind rocks and walked along the narrow rim of the aqueduct. To his left the valley dropped off immediately, the equivalent of a forty or fifty- story building. The young shepherd glanced up and walked on without fear. I leaned as far away from the valley as I could.
In observing some aspects of the shepherd’s life in light of the Twenty Third Psalm, I have been enabled to see how we can live on the rim of the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil. Consider with me the reasons:
I. A PROVISION “HE LEADS ME”
He who runs before the Shepherd is on a fool’s errand.
No longer do you need to live a life of “the blind leading the blind.” Many people develop a tolerance for living. They have simply learned to put up with life because the only option seems so undesirable. That needs not to be true with the offer of “abundant life” available to you.
Have you ever heard someone say, “I am hungry but I don’t know for what?” That is true of the spiritual appetite of many. Futile attempts are made to satisfy our spiritual appetites with things other than the one thing that will satisfy it. That is, a right relationship and reliance upon the Good Shepherd.
The matter of decision-making is a cause of much anxiety, frustration, fear, and uncertainty. Much of this is caused by a lack of confidence in God’s guidance. In considering His supernatural guidance, remember some basics.
One is He always guides us within the guidelines of the Holy Bible. Therefore, it is simply critical that we grow in our knowledge of the Scripture. The Lord will never guide you to do anything contrary to His Holy Book. NEVER!
He guides you by His Holy Spirit. Anything that would grieve the Spirit of Jesus Christ ought to grieve our spirit. Therefore, let the peace of God rule in your heart.
He will guide you within the guidelines of His Word and by His Spirit. Keeping these principles in mind, now consider some of your human dimensions He uses.
He will guide through circumstances. That’s odd — no that’s God.
He will guide through intuition and impulses. That’s odd — no that’s God.
He will guide through conscience. That’s odd — no that’s God.
He will guide through coincidence. That’s odd – no that’s God.
Samuel Shoemaker said, “I only know when I pray coincidences happen and when I don’t coincidences don’t happen.
He had rather lame us than lose us.
He will never lead you into a position from which you can’t advance and from which you must retreat.
II. A POWER “HE RESTORES MY SOUL”
When my soul is empty, He will restock, that is, restore it–give me a new supply
We with our limited ability know how to restore old cars, ancient art, paintings by the masters, furniture, and valuable antiques. He with His supernatural ability knows how to restore our soul.
I enjoy the seasons of the calendar. I like winter not so much for itself as for what it helps me envision. I know that no matter how bitter the season, it will have to sooner or later give way to spring. The bows and branches of the foliage may be barren and subjected to bitter cold but inevitably the Lord will restore nature with the refreshing breezes of spring.
In the winter times of your soul remember that.
“I shall not want” doesn’t mean we have every comfort, gadget, and trendy thing others have. It means I have resolved to be content with what I have because I have confidence in the providing Shepherd knowing He has given what is needed. I won’t long for what I don’t have because I know that what I have that is provided by the Lord is all I need.
III. A PREPARATION “MY CUP RUNS OVER”
The Psalmist’s expressions regarding “still water” and an over running cup are best interpreted in light of the circumstances still to be observed in the Bible Land today. In that vast dry desert water is a premium. It rains only three months a year and water is limited. Shepherds find small caves in the ground. We think of a cave as being in the wall of a hill. Most are but some go straight down in the ground. When a shepherd finds one of these he uses rocks on the hillside to form a large “V” to funnel the rain water into the cavity in the earth. This reserve water is called “still water.” A shepherd would then carve a large hole in a sizable rock which was called a “cup.” The shepherd draws the water from the “still water” supply and pours it into the cup. Thirsty sheep crowd around so closely that the shepherd has difficulty seeing the cup. As he keeps pouring one way he can tell it is full because it runs over and his feet get wet. Then he knows he has provided more than adequately. This watering process is a beautiful picture of our Lord providing for us.
In our spiritual desert He knows where there are blessings equivalents to “still water.” He provides these blessings to the point that our cup runs over. We tend to want to live at “the cup.” There are days in the desert for all of us however. While there keep in mind He has blessings in reserve for us at the proper moment. Wait on the Lord — run not before Him.
IV. A PRESENCE “THOU ART WITH ME”
This simple statement has calmed more troubled minds, stilled more disturbed hearts, given peace to more jangled nerves, and offered comfort to more perplexed persons than all the tranquilizers and psychiatrist in the world.
That little shepherd we saw in the valley of the shadow was calm and confident. Later from a different vantage point I saw the reason why. There across the valley where a massive spring rushed from the hot dry desert rocks and cascaded down the mountain there sat the good shepherd. The master shepherd was with the young shepherd. He was with the youth physically, but more importantly he was with the youth in attitude and action.
He is present with us to lead us through the valley. Even the valley of the shadow of death is not beyond the range of His leadership. The ultimate fear faced by most is the fear of dying and death. He even takes away the fear of death when it comes.
This is true because as Christ said, “the Good Shepherd gives His life for His sheep.”
On Calvary Christ cried “My God, My God why hast thou forsaken me?” The mystery of this cry is explained by the Psalms. In the era of Christ the Bible didn’t have chapter and verse. As parents taught their children the Scripture, they would identify major sections by the lead statement. Christ’s cry, “My God, My God…” introduces Psalm 22. His cry meant, “If you want to know what is happening here on Calvary, look it up in Psalm 22.” Psalm 22 is a prophecy of the crucifixion of Christ. It foretold the Good Shepherd giving His life for His sheep. Without the enactment of the truth of Psalms 22 there would be no comfort such as is promised in Psalms 23.