Our text this evening is the second half of Psalm 73:17-28 if you would like to find your place there…
Illustration:
(From Speaker’s Sourcebook II by Glenn Ven Eckeren)
Perhaps you heard about the church that planned to have the “No Excuse” Sunday Service….
Their advertisement for their “No Excuse Sunday” read as follows….
Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say "Sunday is my only day to sleep in."
There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who the pews are too hard.
Eye drops will be available for those who have “tired eyes” from watching TV too late Saturday night.
We will have steel helmets for those who say
"The roof would cave in if I ever went to church."
Blankets will be provided for those who think the
church is too cold and fans will be provided for those
who think the church is too hot.
Scorecards will be available for those who wish to
list the hypocrites present in church.
Relatives will be in attendance for those who
like to go visiting their family on Sundays.
There will be TV dinners for those who can’t go to
church because they have to cook dinner.
We will distribute “stamp out stewardship” buttons for those who feel the church is always asking for money.
One section will be devoted to trees and grass for
all those who like to see God in nature.
Doctors and Nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on Sunday.
Finally, the sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those
who have never seen the church without them.
We will have hearing aids for those who say the
preacher speaks too softly and cotton for those who
say he preaches too loudly.
I guess that particular church was doling out doses of spiritual medicine per say….
Well welcome back to our part two of our two-part message…
“Shaken Faith or Sure Faith?”
Last week’s message was a similar to taking spiritual medicine…
It was good for us…but was a little bit difficult to swallow…
Because the first half of Psalm 73 versus 1-16 is a bit depressing…
And stopping at verse 16 leaves one asking…
Where is the good part? ….
We looked at what the Psalm writer had to say…
Here are some selected verses…
Psalm 73…
3 For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
12 This is what the wicked are like—
always carefree, they increase in wealth.
13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been plagued;
I have been punished every morning.
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me
It is evident the author’s state of mind could be described as depressed, frustrated and possibly down right angry. The Psalm writer’s feelings could be interpreted as an indicator of a “Shaken Faith”.
And as God’s word always does…
Last week the scripture led us to examine ourselves…
And we took a mental self-test of sorts…
We asked ourselves the following questions…
Where is my faith today? …
(Shaken Faith or Sure Faith)
How did I get here? …
(If the answer was a Shaken Faith)
How do I avoid getting here again? …
(Looked at scripture to help us avoid doubting our faith)
And during our previous study, perhaps we were reminded of a time when we had the same attitude as the Psalm writer. Maybe we were even convicted that we were beginning to doubt our Faith, which possibly led us to ask, the question we did not address last week… “How do I get back to a “Sure Faith”?
Let’s look at this evening’s text together Psalm 73 stating with Verse 17
Psalm 73:17-28
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!
20 As a dream when one awakes,
so when you arise, O Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.
21 When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
27 Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.
It seems there is a “good” part in Psalm 73
And from last week’s study if we asked ourselves…
How do I get back to a “Sure Faith”?
Lets study together this evening to answer that question…
And using the word G.O.S.P.E.L. as an acrostic…
I believe a good place to start is to…
1. Get ourselves in God’s presence (Psalm 73:17)
You see in the Bible text the turning point comes when the Sanctuary of God is entered…
Verse 17 “Till I entered the Sanctuary of God…
And I believe a realization becomes evident to the Psalm writer…
And for us this evening…
That God will be the judge of who is wicked…
And perhaps our perceptions of others can be unjustified…
And in versus 18-20 where the scripture talks about God…
Casting them down to ruin…
Destroying and Sweeping them away…
Despising them as fantasies…
I believe in some cases the scripture is speaking about our possible unfair perceptions of others… that were never real, except in our own mind.
And when we come into the sanctuary of God He casts them down to ruin, sweeps them away and despises them as fantasies…
And He lets us know He loves us….
Perhaps we feel His love and forgiveness in Christ Jesus from a favorite worship song…
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after thee
You alone are my hearts desire
And I long to worship thee
You alone are my strength my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my hearts desire
And I long to worship thee
Or maybe in a classic Hymn…
I come to Garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear
Falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses
And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry the there
None other has ever known
Or perhaps a powerful scripture passage like…
Matthew 17:1-3
1After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Or maybe hearing the heart felt prayer in the worship service…
That speaks directly to our hearts….
Illustration from the book "When God Winks at You: How God Speaks Directly to You through the Power of Coincidence"
WHEN IT’S CRYSTAL CLEAR
In Anaheim, California, Mavis Jackson drove past the Crystal Cathedral. For twenty years, she said the same thing: "Someday I’m going to go there."
One Sunday morning, she did. Putting on her best outfit, she simply decided, "Today is the day."
Getting there early, Mavis took a seat in the middle and watched the huge three-thousand-seat mega-church fill with people. She was awed, as the majestic voices of the choir seemed to encircle her. She marveled at the manner in which a huge section of the glass ceiling slid open at the start of the service as if to invite even the birds to worship.
At the end of the service, Mavis stood up and waited for the aisle to clear. Trying not to sound too excited, she said to the young lady who’d been next to her, "I am so glad I came today. Wasn’t it wonderful?"
The young woman nodded.
"Are you from here?" asked Mavis.
"No, I’m from the Midwest," said the young woman, adding, "I’m actually here on a mission. To find my birth mother."
They sat down and begin to talk further.
The young woman introduced herself as Cheryl Wallace and explained that for years she had been haunted by the lingering uncertainty of not knowing who her birth mother was and, more important, why her mother had given her up.
In her small Midwest town, everyone was discouraging. "You’re looking for a needle in a haystack," counseled the town clerk.
"There’s no trace of her," said others.
Eventually, a suggestion came from someone who heard that Cheryl’s birth mother had moved to Orange County, California. led her to this time and place.
There was a pause.
"I know how you must feel," said Mavis. "A long time ago, I had to give up a little girl for adoption. I didn’t want to ... but ..."
Another pause.
The young woman looked deeply into Mavis’s eyes.
"Do you ... remember her birthday?"
"Yes," said Mavis cautiously. "October 30th."
"That’s my birthday," Cheryl gasped.
That’s right! A remarkable "coincidence"-a godwink-had reunited a long lost mother and daughter. What are the odds of that?
In the following days and weeks, they confirmed that their wonderful meeting was a miracle. It was true…they were long lost mother and daughter. They knew that Mother’s Day would never be the same again.
Even on her most optimistic days, Cheryl never could have forecast such a remarkable outcome, that such uncertainty would end with certainty, in a manner that only God could have made happen.
* * *
And it was made possible because her newfound Mother Mavis, decided to put herself in God’s Presence…
When we feel the Love of God, and His forgiveness from being in His presence…it is an excellent time to…
2. Open our hearts Him (Psalm 73:21-22)
Pray out loud to Him…
Be honest with God…He knows our true feelings anyway…
In versus 21-22 the Psalm writer is completely honest with God confessing that…
His heart was grieved…
His spirit was embittered….
He was a senseless, ignorant brute beast before God…
We can confess our shortcomings… and ask for forgiveness
Romans 3:23 says:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God”
We can ask Him to search our hearts when we say…
I want to draw closer to …and ask Him to draw closer to ourselves…
Psalm 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting
We can tell Jesus we want to Be in Him, and Remain in Him…
John 15:4 Says:
4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
We can tell Him of our Dreams…
Psalm 37:4 says:
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
When we truly open our hearts to God… We often feel led to…
3. Sing to the Lord (Psalm 73:23-24)
Worship in song privately as well as publically…
In our text in versus 23-24 the Psalm writer tells of His confidence…
That he is always with God…
That God is holding him in his right hand
That God will take that him into Glory…
What a great time to Sing to him…
Psalm 149:1 says:
Sing to the Lord a new song…
One of the praise songs I love to sing is….
“I waited…For the Lord on High…”
4. Praise out loud (Psalm 73:28)
Tell others of His Good Deeds
Psalm 73:28 says
But as for me, it is good to be near God.
That is a praise…and we should praise out loud…
Psalm 150 says:
1 Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.
5. Establish time with God (Psalm 73:28)
Verse 28 says
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
Purposely arrange time for God…
At home…with a personal devotion and prayer…
During the week…In corporate Bible Study
In Sunday Service Worship…
With other believers in a relaxed atmosphere…
6. Lead others to Christ (Matthew 28:18-20)
Matthew 28:18-20
18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Perhaps you will be the one who plants the Gospel seed…
Maybe you will be the one to add the water of encouragement…
Perhaps you will be the one to gently remove the weeds of discouragement…
You may be the one who helps gather the harvest…when a heart is ready to accept Christ…
You may be the one who helps a current believer come back to Christ….
Romans 1:16
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…
Illustration:
(From Speaker’s Sourcebook II by Glenn Ven Eckeren)
An Impressive Record
An anonymous author made this striking observation: Socrates taught for forty years, Plato for fifty, Aristotle for forty, and Jesus for only three. Yet the influence of Christ’s three-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity.
Jesus painted no pictures; yet some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from Him.
Jesus wrote no poetry; but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world’s greatest poets were inspired by Him.
Jesus composed no music; still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of melody in the hymns, symphonies, and oratorios they composed in His praise.
Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by the humble Carpenter of Nazareth. His unique contribution to the race of humans is the salvation of the soul!
Philosophy could not accomplish that. Nor art. Nor literature. Nor music. Only Jesus Christ can break the enslaving chains of sin and Satan.
He alone can speak peace to the human heart, strengthen the weak, and give life to those who are spiritually dead.
Jesus is a marvelous example and proven leader for Christians to emulate and serve.
The question for us tonight is…
Do I have a Shaken Faith or Sure Faith?
And if my faith has been shaken…
How do I know if I am getting back to a sure faith? …
We can ask ourselves….
Do I look forward to being in God’s presence in a worship service?
Do I truly open my heart to God?
Do I Sing to the Lord without reservation?
Do I praise God by telling others of His good deeds?
Do I establish time for God daily?
Do I help lead others to Christ?
If we can truly say yes to these questions, we can be assured we striving to maintain a Sure Faith and we are better prepared for the storms of life when they come our way!
