THE DIVINE PRESCRIPTION
Ps. 37:1-7
INTRO.- ILL.- A little boy went into a grocery store and asked the clerk for a box of Duz detergent. The clerk said, “What do you need the detergent for?” The little boy replied, “I want to wash my dog.” The clerk said, “Well, son, that Duz detergent is pretty strong for washing a little dog.”
The little boy said, “But that’s what I want.” The clerk said, “Well, okay, if you’re sure. But you need to be careful when you wash your dog in it. That Duz detergent is very strong. It might kill him.”
About a week later the little boy came back into the store and the clerk recognized him and asked, “Son, how’s your dog?” The little boy said, “He’s dead.” The clerk replied, “Oh, I’m sorry, but I told you that Duz detergent was awfully strong and that it might kill him.”
The little boy shook his head and said, “I don’t think it was the Duz detergent that killed him. I THINK IT WAS THE RINSE CYCLE THAT GOT HIM.”
Brethren, it may be that you feel as though you have been through the “rinse cycle” of life! You are burdened. You have a heavy heart. You feel as though little or nothing has gone right for you in life. Nothing but negative things have come your way.
Honestly, I think all of us go through the “rinse cycle” of life at some time or other. I’ve seen very few people in life who haven’t had something bad happen to them or some terribly negative thing.
ILL.- Here’s just one example. Dr. Leroy Lawson is an excellent preacher and writer. For many years he was the Senior Minister at the large Central Christian Church in Mesa, Arizona. He has written many books and has been a featured speaker at the North American Christian Convention.
Leroy Lawson has always been a faithful and dedicated preacher and teacher of God’s Word. Although I don’t know him personally I just figured that everything just had to be “hunky dory” for him in life. NOT SO! Several years ago I heard Leroy preach at the North American Christian Convention and he could hardly keep from crying. In that sermon he told how he had recently lost his 21-year-old son in death. HIS SON HAD COMMITTED SUICIDE.
Leroy and his wife and family had been through the “rinse cycle” of life. And no doubt, his son had experienced it too and found that he couldn’t cope with it and therefore, took his own life.
ILL.- One time a 30-year-old woman, an industrial designer, masqueraded as an elderly woman for three weeks. She said she wanted to see how it felt to be old in America. AND WHAT SHE LEARNED WAS HEARTBREAKING. She was robbed, insulted, and frightened by a world that isn’t easy on its elderly folks. Many elderly people are experiencing the “rinse cycle” of life.
BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE!
If you don’t believe me, go back read the story of Job again. There was not a better man than Job but he got “pooped on” big time. He experienced the “rinse cycle” in a big way.
And all through the Scripture we read about God’s people experiencing the “rinse cycle” in life.
Why do these things happen? They happen for several reasons:
1- Bad things happen to us in life because the devil is a real, evil spiritual being who is out to get us. He tried to get Job to curse God and die by dumping on him, but it didn’t work.
We all must be aware that the devil is real. He is evil. He is a spiritual being. He is powerful. And he is out to get us!
I Pet. 5:8-9 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around...looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in your faith...”
ILL.- There’s an old story of a cowboy who walked out of the saloon only to discover that someone had painted his horse’s tail red. As people looked with laughter, he was burning with rage. He asked, “Does anybody know who did this?”
“I saw who done it!” someone shouted. “He was wearin’ a vest but no hat. And he went straight from here to the hardware store over there.”
“I’ll tear him from limb to limb,” said the cowboy. And he stormed off in the direction of the store. He flung open the door and said, “Did somebody in here paint my horse’s tail red? If so, let him be a man about it and step forward.”
A huge blacksmith stepped out from behind a stack of barbed wire. His arms were big as posts, and he appeared to be chiseled from rock. Everyone in the store became silent as he snarled, “I did it. And just what do you have to say about it?”
The cowboy looked at the massive blacksmith and sized up his options and said, “It sure looks to me like the first coat is dry. Do you want to apply the second coat or should I?”
The point of my story is this: The devil is a lot bigger and a lot stronger than we think! And make no mistake about it: He is out to deceive us and destroy us and paint our tails red, so to speak!
Most people don’t have the foggiest idea of who the enemy is and what he can do. BUT WE CHRISTIANS SHOULD NOT BE IGNORANT OF SATAN NOR OF HIS SCHEMES!
Satan is powerful, but he is not all-powerful! Our God is all-powerful!
Bad things happen to us in life because the devil is out to get us. He loves to “dump” on the Lord’s people.
2- Bad things happen to us in life also because we live in an imperfect world where imperfect things happen all the time. Cars break down, our health goes bad, and money sometimes runs out. It just happens in life and to the best of people.
ILL.- One man said, “In the spring our family was driving from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa, Florida. As far as the eye could see, orange trees were loaded with fruit. When we stopped for breakfast, I ordered orange juice with my eggs. The waitress said, ‘I can’t bring you orange juice because our machine is broken.’”
He said, “At first, I was dumbfounded. We were surrounded by millions of oranges and thousands of gallons of juice. But the machine that delivered the good stuff was broken.”
Brethren, all I am saying is: machines break down. And so do human bodies because we live in an imperfect world.
ILL.- A few years ago I was running marathons. My doctor in southern Illinois said to me, “Steve, you’re the healthiest person I know.” Five years later he said, “You have osteoarthritis. Your hip is wearing out. You have to stop running.”
Hey! It’s a fact of life! Aging is a fact of life. Disease is a fact of life. And these things take their toll on our bodies and lives. WE EXPERIENCE SOME BAD THINGS IN LIFE BECAUSE WE LIVE IN AN IMPERFECT WORLD!
3- We also experience bad things in life because we sin. This is something that most of us don’t like to face up to or recognize, but it’s true!
Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap! WE ALWAYS REAP WHAT WE SOW! This is God’s ordained law in life. Gal. 6:7-8 If we sow good things, we will reap good things. If we sow bad, we will reap bad.
ILL.- Tiger Woods is probably one of the best golfers of all time and he’s only 24-years-old. But he’s apparently learned a valuable lesson that we need to learn.
As he began the final day of the British Open he had a six-stroke lead. He said, “I know what it takes to play in a final round of any tournament. You can’t let yourself look ahead to the final outcome, because if you don’t take care of the present, the final outcome may not be what you want.”
Did you hear that? IF YOU DON’T TAKE CARE OF THE PRESENT, THE FINAL OUTCOME MAY NOT BE WHAT YOU WANT.
Boy, do I wish people would pay attention to those words and put them into practice!
The future is dependent on the present! What may happen to you tomorrow could well be the result of what you did today! What you sow is what you reap!
And bad things sometimes come our way because we haven’t lived right! We are merely reaping what we have sown!
All right, all right already! We know that we have to go through the “rinse cycle” of life and sometimes get “pooped on” in a big way.
What we want to know is this: CAN LIFE GET BETTER? IF SO, HOW?
Nothing wrong with wanting a better life. At least, in the sense of less stress, more peace, greater joy, etc.
PROP.- God’s Word is always right. Here in Psalm 37, I believe we have been given the divine prescription for a better life here and now.
1- Trust in the Lord
2- Delight in the Lord
3- Commit to the Lord
Do you get the idea that the Psalmist is saying that for life to get better we must look to the Lord? That’s exactly what he is saying.
I. TRUST IN THE LORD
ILL.- Let’s talk money people. Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey and rapper Puff Daddy were among the 40 Highest-Paid Entertainers named by Forbes this year. Winfrey, whose top-rated talk show, "The Oprah Winfrey Show," recently celebrated its 13th season with a renewed mission, ranked 4th on the list by earning an estimated $125 million income.
Winfrey, who topped the list in 1996, ranked 3rd last year with an income of $150 million. Sean "Puffy" Combs, who goes by the stage name Puff Daddy, earned an estimated $53.5 million, which placed him 15th on Forbes’ list.
Famed female group the Spice Girls, who includes Black member Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown, came in at 20 on the list with estimated earnings of $49 million. Comedian-actor Eddie Murphy was listed 22nd, earning $47.5 million, while rapper-comedian-actor Will Smith, who earned $34 million, ranked 36 on the list. Also, actress Julia Roberts made $50 million last year. Tom Hanks made only $71.5 million. Michael Jordan raked in $40 million and he didn’t even do anything! Film-maker George Lucas topped them all
by making $400 million.
Brethren, these are some of the richest people in the entertainment industry. WHICH OF THESE WOULD YOU WANT TO BE? OR BE LIKE?
Many times in life we get all enamored in life over the rich and the famous and want to be like them! And I’ll admit that I’d like to have Michael Jordan’s good health and perhaps a little bit of his money. Just a little bit.
But the Psalmist says, “Don’t be envious of those who do wrong.” I’m not suggesting that any of people are evil or do wrong. But the point is this: Our trust should not be in money nor in money people, but in the Lord!
ILL.- Preacher Dwight L. Moody once said, “Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment. Trust in money and you may have it taken from you. Trust in your reputation and some slanderous tongue may blast it. BUT TRUST IN GOD AND YOU ARE NEVER TO BE CONFOUNDED IN TIME OR ETERNITY.”
The Psalmist is saying don’t put your trust in people, wealthy people, or people who seem to have it made in life. He says, “Put your trust in the Lord.” People will die, but not the Lord!
People come and go, but not the Lord! He is eternal, from everlasting to everlasting! He has no beginning and no end. Put your trust in Him.
Brothers and sisters, we need to stop teaching our children to look up to the rich and the famous. If we do this in any way, shape or form, we are just setting them up for a big fall in life!
And we often do this by putting entirely too much emphasis on making money and acquiring material things.
If we want to be like someone, let it be Jesus! We need to be teaching our children to to be like Jesus. For this to happen, they must see this desire in us.
Do you want a better life here and now? PUT YOUR TRUST IN THE LORD MOST OF ALL. He is the giver of all good gifts. He will take care of us. He will provide for us.
II. DELIGHT IN THE LORD
V. 4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Wow! What a verse of scripture!
We need to get delighted with the Lord and when this happens we will experience a delightful life! A better life!
Brethren, most good things don’t happen overnight!
ILL.- Olympic Gold medalists don’t win the gold as soon as they start competing in their particular sport. It takes years for most of them to be able to win the gold.
- Michael Jordan didn’t become a great basketball player in just a couple of years!
- Tiger Woods is only about 24 or 25 years old but he’s been playing the game ever since he was about 3 years old.
- Multi-billionaire Microsoft giant Bill Gates didn’t become a billionaire overnight!
Good things don’t happen quickly. Good spiritual things don’t happen quickly either.
ILL.- One of my professors in Bible College was Brother Don DeWelt. He is now at home with the Lord. He was a favorite professor with most of the students at OCC. It was obvious that Brother Don had found something that most of us hadn’t found.
Every time you would ask him, “How are you, Brother Don?” He would reply, “Happy, on the way to heaven.” And you could tell he was excited about it. In fact, I’ve got a copy of his funeral service and Don actually sang for his own funeral.
How’s that? Several weeks before he passed away he sang a special solo at the College Heights Christian Church in Joplin, MO, where he and his wife attended. He announced, “This song is going to be for my funeral since I won’t be here for it.”
You could also tell Don was excited about the Lord and delighted with the Lord in the way he taught and preached. If you ever heard Don DeWelt preach, you’d never forget him. He was on fire for the Lord. You could tell he believed everything he said by what he said and the way he said it. He was exciting!
I’ll never forget Don’s preaching. He would walk down the church aisle, get in your face, look you in the eye, tell a funny story and have you laughing one minute and the next minute he’d lower the boom on you. TALK ABOUT AN EXCITING PREACHER! Don was every bit of it.
Brethren, many of us students at OCC wanted what Brother Don DeWelt had. HE DELIGHTED HIMSELF IN THE LORD AND IT WAS QUITE EVIDENT. But it didn’t happen overnight.
No great accomplishment happens overnight. Don’s delight in the Lord came as a result of years of getting into God’s presence early, often and late. Don was known for his strong devotional life of prayer and Bible study.
LISTEN: You will never learn to delight yourself in the Lord until you get into His presence through prayer and Bible study!
And your life will never get better until you do!
The Psalmist said, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Some people think this Scripture is a blanket promise from God to get whatever we want. Just get close to God and He’ll give you whatever you want! NOT SO!
When we learn to delight in the Lord or get delighted and excited with the Lord, His wants will be our wants! His desires will be our desires!
This verse of Scripture does not give us a blank check for anything and everything we want just because we come to church! But if we truly learn to delight in the Lord and get excited about our relationship to Him, He will bless our lives with greater peace and joy, and less stress, worry and fear! I want it! Don’t you!
God’s prescription for a better life is:
1- Trust in the Lord
2- Delight in the Lord
III. COMMIT TO THE LORD
V. 5 “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this.”
Prov. 16:3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”
Phil. 4:6 “Do no be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
I believe that the Lord is saying in these verses of Scripture and others that if we will pray about everything that concerns us in life He will bless us! He will give us an answer and bless us in some form or another. And sometimes He will even bless us with success.
Isn’t that exciting? Doesn’t that light your fire? It should!
ILL.-—Christine Burke in Major League Dad wrote: Traded from the Montreal Expos to an AA team in Nashville, pitcher Tim Burke, in his worst starting inning, allowed Chattanooga to score 4 runs. His wife recalls:
"That evening Tim said, ’After tonight, there’s a strong chance I’ll be released. I could be out of baseball for good.’
"’Tim,’ I told him, ’maybe we need to turn your career over to the Lord.’
"Tim responded without hesitation, ’That’s a good idea.’
"On our knees by our kitchen table, Tim prayed: ’Lord, I never even thought about you caring about this stuff. If I’m holding on to baseball too much, help me to let it go. But if You want me to keep going, I’ll fight to make it. You know best.’
"Then I said, ’Lord, if You’ll give Tim the strength and opportunity, he’ll give it his all. But if it’s not Your will for us to stay in baseball, please show us what You have next for our lives.’
"When we finished, we still had no idea what lay ahead, but we had a new sense of peace"—and Tim didn’t lose another game all season.
Brethren, that sounds like their prayer was answered. Thank God for answered prayers!
There may be a couple of ways to look at this business of “committing everything to the Lord.”
ILL.- When I worked for Safeway Grocery store many years ago...in fact, in the early 1960’s, I worked with another Christian man who was also attending Ozark Christian College. I was a fairly new Christian at that time, and I got the impression from sermons I’ve heard that you should pray about everything.
And that’s still the impression I get from the Word of God! If it concerns us, then it concerns God! And He wants us to bring it before Him and talk it over with Him. He wants us to ask.
I don’t remember what the subject matter was, but my Christian friend, John Watson said, “I don’t evenhave to pray about some things. I simply trust the Lord that He will take care of it.”
I WAS SOMEWHAT ASTOUNDED! First, I thought he didn’t have enough faith to pray about some things. Secondly, I suddenly realized that perhaps he had more faith than most people because he believed the Lord was going to take care of his problem without even asking.
That is something to think about, isn’t it?
There are times when we must simply “trust the Lord” and believe what He has said in His Word. I’m saying that some of our prayers have probably already been answered in Scripture. It is as though God is saying to us, “Hey! Didn’t I already tell you that I would take care of that? What are you so worried about? WHY NOT TRY TRUSTING ME FOR A CHANGE?!”
Perhaps there are those who have so much trust in the Lord that they don’t have to pray about certain things. BUT BELIEVE ME, I’M NOT ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE! And you probably aren’t either.
So for us who are weaker in faith and don’t always trust the Lord in everything, we must go right on asking God to take care of us, to provide for us, to do this, to do that, etc. It’s almost humorous, isn’t it?
But God is our Heavenly Father. He does love us more than life itself. He is deeply concerned about everything in our lives. He is touched by our feelings of insecurity, our lack of faith, our worries and our cares. SO WE MUST GO RIGHT ON PRAYING, ASKING, AND SEEKING HIS WILL ABOUT EVERYTHING!
And the end result will be good. It will be very good. We will receive answers. We will receive direction for our lives. Some doors will be shut. Others will be opened. And God will provide for us and bring peace to our hearts and minds.
WE WILL BE BLESSED. WE WILL LIVE BETTER LIVES! Praise Him!
CONCLUSION----------------------------------------
ILL.- A well-paid young executive dreamed he died and stood at the Pearly Gates. Peter asks him, “Do you want to go to heaven or to hell?” “Let me know my options,” he says. “Show me hell.” And up pops a giant screen with a video playing. Girls in bikinis and well-built guys are playing volleyball on the beach. Coolers are iced down with beer. Everybody is wearing brand-name clothes and driving a BMW.
Then he asks for a glimpse of heaven, only to notice that the video is still running. It pans upward and shows a park filled with old people sitting on benches, feeding the birds and playing checkers - with angels in the background. “Uh, very nice,” the guy mutters, “but I think I prefer hell.”
And immediately, he is plunged into molten lava! In agonizing pain, he hollers at Peter, “Hey, where’s the beach and the babes? What about the beer and the cars?”
“Sorry,” Peter says, “WHAT YOU SAW WAS THE DEMO TAPES SENT UP BY SATAN.”
Brethren, that’s what you call “false advertising.” And that seems to be the devil’s specialty in life. People who fall for the devil’s demo tape will pay dearly.
The only “good life” that is truly good is to be found in trusting the Lord, committing one’s life to the Lord, and delighting in Him. Give your life to the Lord Jesus. That’s the best way to live life. It’s the best life. It’s the only life. It’s the kind of life that leads to eternal life.
