Psalm 34:8

Father, we thank you for your word. Lord, we thank you for this word that you've given us tonight. Psalm 34, eight. Lord, I just pray that you use me. I pray that you speak through me and I pray that you would be glorified in Jesus' name, amen. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that takes refuge in him. A.W. Tozer writes in his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, the goodness of God is that which disposes him to be kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of goodwill towards men. Let's take Crispin, for example, and his amazing recovery. He is tenderhearted and quick of sympathy, and his unfailing attitude toward all moral beings is open, frank, and friendly. By his nature, he is inclined to bestow blessedness and he takes holy pleasure in the happiness of his people. I would also add that God is so good that he sent his one and only son to die on a cross for our sin so that we could be made right with him and enjoy his goodness forever. His goodness encompasses everything he does from his marvelous work of redemption to individual blessings that are unique to us. God's goodness is infinite towards us, and because it's infinite, there is truly no end to tasting and seeing how good it really is, how good God really is. The more we see the goodness of God, the more we trust him, and the more we will seek refuge in him. So what does it mean to taste God's goodness? What does it mean to see it? And why are we blessed if we take refuge in the Lord? Tasting and seeing, the two are inextricably linked. Let's examine why. So what does it mean to taste? What does it mean to, what does it mean to taste? It is our God-given ability to perceive, to become aware of, to become conscious of, to realize or to understand. What does it mean to see? To see seems to have many possible meanings in Hebrew. I believe all of them apply to this verse. Some of them are to respect, to regard, to approve, to take heed, to gaze, to behold. The more we taste something, the more we are able to see what that something is. Clearly, the meaning of this verse is a positive one, but I would like to take a minute to examine how tasting and seeing can be dangerous. In Genesis chapter three, verses six through seven, we read, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate it. And the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew they were naked. So they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves. She was deceived by what she perceived to taste good. We always need to be aware that just because something appears to taste good, doesn't mean that it is good. does what we're considering past, excuse me, does what we're considering past the taste test. And this, I would draw our attention to 2 Corinthians 10, verse five, where the apostle Paul says, to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. If we don't do this, at some point, we will inevitably taste sin and fix our eyes on the things of this world, which will separate us from Christ. Now that we have an idea of what not to taste and see, let's examine what it means to taste and see that the Lord is good. I'd like all of you here to think for a few seconds back to right before the Lord saved you. Think about those rays of God's goodness shining into your own darkness, drawing you to come closer. For some of us, this could have happened in a few minutes. For some of us, this could have taken years. But each time you tasted, you saw how good he really was. And it brought you closer until the day you trusted in the Lord for his finished work for your salvation. It's almost like he was using his goodness to reason with us, saying to us what he spoke through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 1, verse 18. So do we stop experiencing the goodness of the Lord when he saves us? Of course not. The Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 2 through 3, like newborn babies crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. Now that you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. Peter makes it very clear here that because we know the Lord is good, we should desire more of him. that there is growing up to do. After milk, we should crave the deeper things of the faith. Paul refers to this as solid food in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 2. As we grow up in our salvation, the Lord takes the training wheels off and makes us realize that we need to trust him more than, we need to trust him for more than just our salvation. We quickly realize that after we get saved that there's Resistance. The enemy begins to wage war on us. The world system comes against us and that traitor within us always seems to rise up. We experience devastating loss. Even the Lord brings us through specific trials. And when we're in the thick of it, his loving kindness beckons us saying, remember, I was good when I saved you. I am good right now. Come to me, take refuge in me. This brings us to the second part of our verse. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. To take refuge means to confide in, to have hope in, and to put our trust in the Lord. Now, what's one of the reasons we should trust the Lord? Because he's good. I have a print on my wall that my lovely wife gave to me. She gave it to me on my birthday, the first year we were together. It is a dark wooded forest with a bright morning sun coming through the trees and over the tops of the trees. And on the bottom, there's a verse that reads like this. I will remember the deeds of the Lord. Yes, I will remember your wonders of old. Psalm 77, 11. Just like I asked you to pause and remember your salvation, now I'd like you to think back on the highlight reel of God's goodness in your own life. If I were a betting man, I'd bet that many of those times you were running into his opening, to his open, welcoming, protecting arms, taking refuge in him. It's interesting that the more we taste and see he is good, the more we are blessed. The more we trust him and the more we run to him in our time of need, the more we are blessed. And each time this cycle repeats itself, we are further away from the shore and in deeper waters where we will simply drown if we don't take refuge in him. In times like these with the coronavirus spreading, it is tempting to give into fear and take refuge in our own strength. We need to be continually reminded that God is good and that he is for us and not against us. Not just because his word says so, but because we are actually continually tasting and seeing his goodness for ourselves. These circumstances should cause us not only to press in and trust him more, but it should also drive us to share the only reason why we can say God is our refuge. And that reason is Jesus Christ, our rock and our redeemer. You pray with me. Father, we thank you for this time. Lord, we thank you for your word. And we pray that you just get everybody home safely tonight. In Jesus' name, amen.