America is the land of envy, people from all over the world desire to live here. Other nations are jealous of the wealth God has blessed this nation with. Even the poorest people in this country are envied.
Illus: The Census Bureau tells us that in 2003, a family of four is considered to be living in poverty if they make as low as $18,400 a year.
While that may seem like poverty, can you imagine how much that would be to people in other countries who have incomes of one thousand to three thousand dollars a year?
When we look at other countries, we recognize that the poorest of this nation are better off than some of the richest in other nations.
Have you noticed, while some may complain that according to the Census Bureau they are living in poverty, they are not making any plans to move elsewhere.
We are a blessed people! Some are blessed in such a way that it staggers our imagination trying to comprehend their wealth.
Illus: For example, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, has had his personal net worth soar to over 40 billion dollars. (You heard me correctly, I did not say million, I said billion)
• Listen, he made this money in the 22 years or so since Microsoft was founded in 1975.
• If you presume that he has worked 14 hours a day on every business day of the year since then, that means he's been making money at a staggering half-million dollars per hour, which is around $150 per second.
• That means that if, on his way into the office, he should see or drop a $500 bill on the ground, it's just not worth his time to bend over and pick it up. He would make more just heading off to work. We're assuming about 4 seconds to bend down and pocket the bill. Of course he can afford to hire people to follow him and pick up any $500 bills he may drop.
• Consider the average American of reasonable but modest wealth. Perhaps he has a net worth of $100,000. Mr. Gates' worth is 400,000 times larger. Which means that if something costs $100,000 to him, to Bill Gates it's as though it costs 25 cents.
• You can work out the right multiplier for your own net worth. To you, a new Lambourghini or Diablo would cost $250,000, but in Bill Gates dollars that's 63 cents.
• Consider this, you might buy a plane ticket on a Boeing 747 for $1200 at full-fare coach. In Bill Gates dollars, he could buy *three 747’s*. One for him, one for Melinda and one for young Jennifer Katherine, for the same price.
But as we consider the wealth that has been bestowed upon some, we see they are blessed people. But thinking of blessings, THE GREATEST BLESSING that any of us can have is TO BE A CHILD OF GOD. When we get to heaven, we are going to see how blessed we are to be a child of God.
At the present time it is hard for us to comprehend the greatness of heaven, because the devil is so busy trying to make the life of sin look desirable to everyone. And he has been very successful in convincing some that he offers the best that life has to offer. The only way he can do this is to DECEIVE people into believing it.
Illus: One day while walking down the street, a highly successful lawyer was tragically hit by a bus and was killed on the spot. His soul arrived up in heaven where he was met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter himself. "Welcome to Heaven," said St. Peter. "Before you get settled in though, it seems we have a problem. You see, strangely enough, we've never once had a lawyer make it this far, and we're not really sure what to do with you."
The lawyer said, "No problem, just let me in."
Saint Peter said, "Well, I'd like to, but I have higher orders. What we're going to do is let you have a day in Hell and a day in Heaven, and then you can choose whichever one you want to spend an eternity in."
The lawyer said, "Actually, I think I've made up my mind...I prefer to stay in Heaven!”
St. Peter said, "Sorry, we have rules..." And with that, St. Peter put the lawyer in an elevator and it went down-down-down to Hell.
The doors opened and he found Himself stepping out onto the putting green of a beautiful golf course. In the distance was a country club. Standing in front of the country club were all his lawyer friends.
They ran up and shook his hand, and some of them gave him a big hug as they talked about old times. They played an excellent round of golf, and at night they went to the country club where they enjoyed an excellent steak and lobster dinner.
He actually met the Devil, who was really a nice guy, and was not as bad as his preacher said he was.
He was having such a good time that before he knew it, it was time to leave. Everybody shook his hand and waved goodbye as he got on the elevator.
The elevator went up, up, up and opened back up at the Pearly Gates, where St. Peter was waiting for him. He said to him, "Now it's time to spend a day in Heaven,"
So he went up, up, up and spent the next 24 hours lounging around on clouds, playing the harp, and singing. He had a great time, and before he knew it his 24 hours were up and St. Peter came and got him.
He said to him, "So, you've spent a day in Hell and you've spent a day in Heaven. Now you must choose your eternity."
The Lawyer paused for a second and then replied, "Well, I never thought I'd say this. Both places are wonderful, but all my friends are in Hell, so I choose Hell.”
So St. Peter escorted him to the elevator and again he went down, down, down back to Hell. When the doors of the elevator opened he found himself standing in a desolate wasteland covered with garbage and filth.
He saw his friends were dressed in rags, and were picking up the garbage and putting it in sacks.
The Devil came up to him and put his arm around him. The lawyer said, "I don't understand, yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a country club, and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time. Now it is all a wasteland of garbage, and all my friends look miserable."
The Devil smiled and looked at him and said. "YESTERDAY WE WERE RECRUITING YOU; TODAY YOU HAVE BEEN RECRUITED."
• The Devil does everything he can do to make the life of sin look enticing, but one day when sinners arrive in Hell, they are going to recognized that they have been part of the world’s greatest deception.
• When the Christians get to Heaven as children of God, they are going to see how fortunate they really are.
Let’s look at some of the things we see about the Christian life in Psalm 64. Such as:
I. HIS REQUEST
Being a child of God is the greatest blessing an individual can have in THIS LIFE and the LIFE TO COME.
Does it mean that after we accept the Lord we live happily ever after? No, when we get to heaven we will enjoy the PERFECT LIFE, BUT NOT UNTIL THEN!
But both SAINTS and SINNERS have personal problems in this life.
Illus: Did you hear about the young couple that decided to get married? As the big day approached, they grew apprehensive. Each had personal problems they had never before shared with anyone, not even each other.
• The Groom-to-be, overcoming his fear, decided to ask his father for advice. "Father," he said, "I am deeply concerned about the success of my marriage."
• His father replied, "Don't you love this girl?" "Oh yes, very much," he said, “But you see, I have very smelly feet, and I'm afraid that my wife to be will be put off by them." "No problem," said dad, "All you have to do is wash your feet as often as possible, and always wear socks, even to bed." Well, to him this seemed a workable solution.
• The bride-to-be, overcoming her fear, decided to take her problem up with her mom. “Mom," she said, "When I wake up in the morning my breath is truly awful." "Honey," her mother consoled, "Everyone has bad breath in the morning." "No, you don't understand, my morning breath is so bad, I'm afraid that my fiancé will not want to sleep in the same room with me." Her mother said simply, "Try this. In the morning, get straight out of bed, and head for the kitchen and make breakfast. While the family is busy eating, move on to the bathroom and brush your teeth. The key is, not to say a word until you've brushed your teeth." "I shouldn't say good morning or anything?" the daughter asked. "Not a word," her mother affirmed. "Well, it's certainly worth a try," she thought.
The loving couple were finally married. Not forgetting the advice each had received, he with his perpetual socks and she with her morning silence, they managed quite well. That is, until about six months later. Shortly before dawn one morning, the husband wakes to find that one of his socks had come off. Fearful of the consequences, he frantically searches the bed. This, of course, wakes his wife and without thinking, she looks him in the face and says with her bad breath, "What on earth are you doing?" After she breathed in his face he said, "Oh no! You've swallowed my sock!"
We all have personal problems, but even with them, the Christian life is the best life on this earth.
WHAT WAS HIS REQUEST?
Look at verses 1-2, David said, “Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity.”
David said, “Hear my voice”. You see, David recognized something that many folks do not recognize, that is, we can pray and God will not hear our prayers.
The Bible says in Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” David knew this, and He was in trouble, and He wanted God to hear His prayer.
Illus: Listen, if you fell into a hole and you could not get out, you would recognize how important it is that someone hear your desperate cry for help.
And if you knew that someone were capable of helping you out of a tight situation, you would want someone to hear you.
Illus: The President of the United States is the most powerful man on the face of this earth. Suppose you had a problem that was severe, and the only one who could help you was the President. Would you not feel honored if he took time from his busy schedule to hear what was bothering you? Sure you would!
• When God hears us, we should never take that lightly. We are talking to ALMIGHTY GOD!
• But more than that, we are talking to our HEAVENLY FATHER!
When you consider that we are no more than a “Speck of dust” on this earth, it is astounding that He would have time to talk with us. One of the greatest blessings in this life is the privilege we Christians have of talking to Almighty God.
Illus: Helen Poole said, “I was tucking our preschooler in for the night when she asked if she could pray. Delighted, I told her it was a great idea to talk to Jesus. As she began praying, her words kept getting softer and softer until only her lips were moving. Then she said ‘Amen.’”
"Honey," I said, giving her a hug, "I didn't hear a word you said."
"That's okay, Mama," she responded. "I wasn't talking to you." (Helen B. Poole, Canon City, Colorado. Christian Reader, "Kids of the Kingdom.")
David wanted God to hear him. He had wanted to talk to God about some very important things in his life. As he prayed, he asked God, “Preserve my life from fear of the enemy”. He was being threatened by his enemies, and he wanted God to protect him from their threats.
Illus: In this age of terrorism, we know a great deal about threats. Today, Al Qaeda is threatening to destroy us, but we all can be thankful that we have people in this country that are not bowing down to these threats, but instead they are threatening the “terrorists” with a stronger force.
Look what else he asked God for. He said, “Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity.” They were conspiring in secrecy about how they could destroy him, and he wanted God to hide him from these evildoers.
We have looked at HIS REQUEST. Now let’s look at-
II. HIS RECOGNITION
He RECOGNIZED THEY WERE ATTACKING HIM! Look at verses 3-6, we read, “Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them? They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.”
Notice in verse 3, he said, “Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words….”
Look at the word “Whet”, this is the word “Shanan” (Pronounced as “Shaw-nan”) which means to point, to pierce, to sharpen.
• The WEAPON OF WORDS has been used to destroy more lives than probably any other tool Satan has.
• The WEAPON OF WORDS has been used to cause more misery in the life of others than any other tool Satan has.
David’s enemies are literally trying to destroy this great man of God by using the most EVIL WORDS they were capable of uttering.
There are many false things said about words, such as:
• We all have heard that “Talk is cheap.” This phrase gives us the impression that words have little or no value, and are relatively harmless. Talk is not cheap, it has cost some their jobs, homes, and their lives!
• They are perceived to be even more harmless when the subject or “victim” is not present. Some will say, “What they don’t hear won’t hurt them.”
Words can be CONSTRUCTIVE or DESTRUCTIVE.
Illus: A group of frogs were hopping contentedly through the woods, going about their froggy business, when two of them fell into a deep pit. All of the other frogs gathered around the pit to see what could be done to help their companions. When they saw how deep the pit was, the rest of the dismayed group agreed that it was hopeless, and told the two frogs in the pit that they should prepare themselves for their fate, because they were as good as dead.
Unwilling to accept this terrible fate, the two frogs began to jump with all of their might.
• Some of the frogs shouted into the pit that it was hopeless, and that the two frogs wouldn't be in that situation if they had been more careful, more obedient to the froggy rules, and more responsible.
• The other frogs continued sorrowfully shouting that they should save their energy and give up, since they were already as good as dead. The two frogs continued jumping as hard as they could, and after several hours of desperate effort were quite weary.
Finally, one of the frogs took heed to the calls of his fellows. Spent and disheartened, he quietly resolved himself to his fate, lay down at the bottom of the pit, and died as the others looked on in helpless grief.
The other frog continued to jump with every ounce of energy he had, although his body was racked with pain and he was completely exhausted. His companions began anew, yelling for him to accept his fate, stop the pain and just die. The weary frog jumped harder and harder and - wonder of wonders! He finally leaped so high that he sprang from the pit.
Amazed, the other frogs celebrated his miraculous freedom, and then gathering around him asked, "Why did you continue jumping when we told you it was impossible?" Reading their lips, the astonished frog explained to them that he was deaf, and that when he saw their gestures and shouting, he thought they were cheering him on. What he had perceived as encouragement inspired him to try harder and to succeed against all odds.
The book of Proverbs says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue:…."
Destructive words can DESTROY PEOPLE, and David recognized that his enemies were using this powerful weapon to try to destroy him. No Wonder David is REQUESTING that God hear him. He is in a mess.
We have looked at HIS REQUEST, and HIS RECOGNITION, but also let’s look at -
III. HIS REMEDY
What is HIS REMEDY? Look at verses 7-9, we read, “But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away. And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.”
They shoot these bitter, destructive words at him, but He recognized that HIS REMEDY was God.
Look at verse 7, “But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.” When we are in the WILL OF GOD, people can use all kinds of weapons against us, but the Word of God says in Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper….”
No weapon that is used against those who are in the will of God will prosper, because when we are in the will of God, they are not fighting us, they are FIGHTING ALMIGHTY GOD, and they are going to lose that battle, no matter who they are.
David talks about them shooting at him in verses 3-6, but in verses 7 he talks about God coming to his defense and SHOOTING AT THEM.
In verse 8 He says that this thing is going to backfire on them. We read, “So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.”
David is ecstatic that God comes to our rescue.
Look at verses 9-10, we read, “And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing. The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.”
Conclusion: I want to say again that I deeply appreciate “The Greatness Of Having God On Our Side!”
I. HIS REQUEST
II. HIS RECOGNITION
III. HIS REMEDY
