How God Keeps Us From Evil Series

How God Keeps Us From Evil

Griffith Baptist Church – 12/30/07

P.M. Service

Text: Psalm 28

Introduction

The story is told of a farmer in a Midwestern state who had a strong disdain for “religious” things. As he plowed his field on Sunday morning, he would shake his fist at the church people who passed by on their way to worship. October came and the farmer had his finest crop ever—the best in the entire county. When the harvest was complete, he placed an advertisement in the local paper which belittled the Christians for their faith in God. Near the end of his diatribe he wrote, “Faith in God must not mean much if someone like me can prosper.”

The response from the Christians in the community was quiet and polite. In the next edition of the town paper, a small ad appeared. It read simply, “God doesn’t always settle His accounts in October.”

William E. Brown in Making Sense of Your Faith

Sometimes, it looks like evil gets away with being evil. That is not really the case.

Just because the judge postpones the court date does not mean that the crime will go unnoticed and unpunished.

Someday, there is a reserved judgment for evil and it will all come to light in the court of God’s opinion.

In the meantime, God does His share of protecting us from that which seeks to destroy us; EVIL!

1. It is an eternal promise from God - Psalms 121:7 – The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul

2. Christ prayed for this - John 17:15 – I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

3. It is a product of the faithfulness of God - 2 Thessalonians 3:3 – But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

4. Christ prayed, “Deliver us from evil.” (Luke 11:4) He would not have prayed that way if we did not need His protection and deliverance from evil and its influence.

Psalm 28: Outline

1. A Hope To Be Close to God – 28:1-2

2. A Hatred To Be Associated With Evil– 28:3-5

3. A Heart To Be Trusting In the Lord – 28:6-9

Assuming you are an obedient and faithful Christian, how does God keep you from evil?

God Keeps Us From Evil By . . .

Body

1. Producing a Stable, Spiritual Environment – 1-2, 6-8

A. A firm foundation (rock) – 1

i. the immovable foundation of all our hopes and our refuge in time of trouble: (Spurgeon)

ii. Psalms 18:2 - The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tow

B. Good communication (prayer) – 2, 6

i. Access to the presence of God

ii. Unending and wanted by God

iii. Hebrews 4:16 - Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

iv. No excuses for not praying, not even sin, because we can confess that (1 John 1:9) and still enter.

C. Spiritual Power (strength) – 7-8

i. This is strength drawn from God

ii. It is a mystery and yet given to us every day

iii. Strength to:

a. Temptation

b. Sin

c. Serve

d. Give

iv. Ephesians 6:10 - Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

2. Revealing Evil So We can Be Repulsed By Its Presence – 3-5

A. Hypocrisy - 3 (they speak peace with the neighbors)

i. There are very few honest sinners

ii. They all say they will probably end up in heaven for whatever reason except Jesus Christ.

iii. Psalms 12:2 - They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

iv. The world is one big hypocritical circus

v. An honest person admits they are tainted and destroyed by sin

B. Cunning – 3 (mischief is in their hearts)

i. You can’t see what is in the heart unless it is revealed in the actions

ii. Did you ever see mischief in a child’s eye, you know they are up to something but you don’t know what it is? Where does that come from, as if I have to ask?

iii. Proverbs 26:23-26 - 23Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross. 24He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; 25When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. 26Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be showed before the whole congregation.