Living For God In The Midst Of The Evil Doers : Meditations On Psalm 37

LIVING FOR GOD IN THE MIDST OF THE EVIL DOERS : MEDITATIONS ON PSALM 37

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OUTLINE

1. DONT FRET ABOUT THE WICKED

2. TRUST IN THE LORD AND DO GOOD

3. DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD

4. COMMIT YOUR WAY TO THE LORD

5. REST IN THE LORD AND WAIT FOR HIM

6. SURELY THERE IS A REWARD FOR THE RIGHTEOUS

7. THE SAD END OF THE WICKED

THE MESSAGE

LIVING FOR GOD IN THE MIDST OF THE EVIL DOERS : MEDITATIONS ON PSALM 37

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1. DONT FRET ABOUT THE WICKED

While living in the midst of the evil doers and the wicked , we must not allow ourselves to fret and fume over their evil doings. We should not allow our hearts to be corrupted by anger and jealousy and hatred as it would lead us in the path of evil and destruction . We must keep our hearts pure and tender before the Lord . The Lord will deal with the wicked and cause them to wither away.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

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PSALM 37: 1-2, 8

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;

for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret�it leads only to evil.

2. TRUST IN THE LORD AND DO GOOD

While living in the midst of the evil doers and the wicked , we must continue to trust in the Lord and keep on doing good. We must not allow the wickedness of the evil doers to make us lose our faith in God. We must not lose faith in doing good to others because of the actions of the ungrateful and selfish people. The Lord would surely reward us for our faith and faithfulness. We must fix our eyes on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

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PSALM 37: 3, 19, 21,

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously;

GALATIANS 6:7-10

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

HEBREWS 12:2-3

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

3. DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD

While living in the midst of the evil doers and the wicked , we must delight ourselves in the Lord and be filled with the joy of the Lord. We should not allow the wickedness that we experience to make us lose our joy and happiness. We should not allow our hearts to filled with anger and bitterness against the Lord and the evil doers. We must continue to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth and delight ourselves in His presence. Our hearts must meditate on the greatness and awesome nature of our God and be filled with worship and adoration towards Him. We must remember with a grateful heart all the blessings we have received from the Lord and praise Him with our inmost being. Then we have the glorious experience of the Lord granting the desires of our heart. When we are full of the joy of the Lord , we will be filled with divine strength and then the burdens of life will be light and easy for us to handle.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

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PSALM 37: 4

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

PSALM 103:1-2

Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-

JOHN 4:23-24

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."