SERMONIC / WORSHIP THEME
Opening Statement: It’s Thanksgiving Day and the aroma of roast turkey fills Charlie Brown’s house. Snoopy, outside, lying on top of his doghouse, smells that aroma, and he is thinking, “It’s Thanksgiving Day. Everybody eats turkey on Thanksgiving Day.” So he lies on top of his house, watching the back door, eagerly waiting for his Thanksgiving dinner. Finally, the door opens and here comes Charlie Brown with a bowl of dog food, and he puts it on the ground. Snoopy gets off his house and just stares at the dog food with a forlorn look on his face. And he thinks, “Just because I’m a dog, I have to eat dog food on Thanksgiving Day.” Then the next square of the comic strip shows him looking at the dog food more intently, only this time he is thinking, “It could be worse. I could be the turkey.”
Application: As you look around you this time of year, just remember along with Snoopy, you could be the turkey. Do not concern yourself with inner thoughts like “I have not been very blessed this year.” “I did not get as much as they got this year.” “Why can’t my ‘thanksgiving experience’ be like their ‘thanksgiving experience’?” Wait! Stop! Stand down for a moment! If you’re going that direction, you’re loosing perspective. Snoopy was discouraged because he compared his thanksgiving experience with everybody else’s thanksgiving experience and that’s where we, like Snoopy, go awry. Thanksgiving is a time when instead of looking down at our archetypal “bowl of dog food” in disgust or looking around at how everyone else is eating on this day; instead of these things, we look up to God and we say “Thank you God.”
Transition: Thanksgiving is a time for all of us to get perspective and perhaps the one book in the Bible that’s dedicated to gaining and maintaining a proper perspective is the Book of Psalms in general and the 73rd Psalm in particular.
Title: Getting Perspective from Psalm 73
Text: Psalm 73:1-28
Background: In Psalms of Lament, there is a three-fold emphasis: I am hurting; You are not helping; They are winning. Psalm 73 focuses on the third statement of this three-fold pattern - “They are winning.” Everybody else seems to be eating turkey and I’ve got this bowl of dog food. Even the “anti-God” people are doing better than I’m doing. Does a godly lifestyle really pay off? In the midst of the writers’ discouragement, he attended church, sanctuary, and there he regained perspective.
Key Word: There are two ASPECTS to this “they are winning” song. First, there’s life and perspective before going into the Sanctuary. Second, there’s life and perspective after going into the Sanctuary.
- Sermonic / Worship Theme Complete -
INTRODUCTION
Opening Statement: Not long ago Missionary Veronica ``Roni’’ Bowers, 35, and her 7-month-old daughter, Charity, seated in her lap, were killed by a single bullet when a defense jet fired on the Cessna plane they were riding in. The Peruvian Air-force had shot at the plane because it mistakenly thought that it was carrying drugs and drug dealers. Bowers’ husband, Jim, 38, and their 6-year-old son, Cory, survived the attack without serious injury. The pilot, missionary Kevin Donaldson, 42, was seriously injured by gunfire to his legs, but was able to crash-land the plane in the Amazon. The Bower’s family had been faithful missionaries to the area for over a dozen years. It is hard to understand why things like this happen especially when you consider that in all likelihood many drug dealers and criminals flew that night without a problem. It makes you wonder: "If God Is Good, Why Is Life So Unfair?"
Transition: This question is not new. Asaph was a spiritual leader in his day who authored 12 worship Psalms. But he was a spiritual leader with some doubts and concerns. In this Psalm Asaph tells us that he had the same dilemma and the same questions about the goodness of God, the fairness of life, and the value of serving God that we often face. In isolation, his heart grew bitter and disoriented. But as he moved into new community, perspective returned.
Life and Perspective Before Entering the Sanctuary
73:1 Certainly God is good to Israel, and to those whose motives are pure!
Comment: That God is good is one of the basic principles of theology. This was Asaph’s creed. He had been taught well. But there’s a problem. Our head knows that He’s good but our experiences can cause us to question that goodness. A bowl of dog food on the ground is OK unless everyone else is eating turkey.
73:2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped, my feet almost slid out from under me.
Comment: As he began to question God’s justice, he came close to abandoning his faith.
73:3 For I envied those who are proud, as I observed the prosperity [shalom] of the wicked. 73:4 For they suffer no pain, their bodies are strong and well-fed.
Comment: He compared his life with others, allowed envy to set up in his heart, and this led to an overstatement. The proud and prosperous do suffer. But when you’re discouraged and bitter, it’s hard to see it.
73:5 They are immune to the trouble common to men, they do not suffer as other men do.
Comment: Asaph was struggling with this lie: "Be an unbeliever and have it all, or be a Christian and live a life of regret." Time and time again the enemy of our souls will come and whisper in our ear, "Is it worth while? You are getting nothing out of living right. There’s nothing in it for you. Look around you and see those who prosper!"
Illustration: Most of you have heard of Ted Turner. He is the founder of CNN, TNT, TBS, etc. He is a very successful businessman, a billionaire and a well known critic of Christianity. In fact he has publicly stated "Christianity is for losers." What is not so well known is how Mr. Turner became so anti-Christian. According to numerous newspaper articles as a teenager, Mr. Turner aspired to become a missionary but lost his faith when his younger sister, Mary Jane, contracted an immune system disease that eventually killed her. "I was taught that God was love and God was powerful and I couldn’t understand how someone so innocent should be made or allowed to suffer so," he says.
73:6 Arrogance is their necklace, and violence their clothing. 73:7 Their prosperity causes them to do wrong, their thoughts are sinful. 73:8 They mock and say evil things, they proudly threaten violence. 73:9 They speak as if they rule in heaven, and lay claim to the earth. 73:10 Therefore they have more than enough food to eat, and even suck up the water of the sea. 73:11 They say, “How does God know what we do? Is the sovereign one aware of what goes on?” 73:12 Take a good look! This is what the wicked are like, those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer. 73:13 I concluded, “Surely in vain I have kept my motives pure, and maintained a pure lifestyle. 73:14 I suffer all day long, and am punished every morning.” 73:15 If I had publicized these thoughts, I would have betrayed your loyal followers. 73:16 When I tried to make sense of this, it was troubling to me.
Comment: After observing the wicked, Asaph felt his commitment to follow God faithfully was a mistake. Instead of prospering he experienced more problems. God seemed to be punishing the pure in heart and prospering the proud. He wanted to say bad things about God! Like all of us, when Asaph evaluated his experience with life in isolation, he became unsettled and almost lost his faith. Fortunately, Asaph’s crisis of faith did not drive him further into isolation, but instead, he seeks sanctuary in worship. Worship for him becomes a pivotal act in changing his perspective on life.
Life and Perspective After Entering the Sanctuary
73:17 Then I entered the precincts of God’s temple, and understood the destiny of the wicked.
Comment: By going into the sanctuary he means he came before the presence of God. He actually went into the temple where God had made provision to meet with his people. When he did that, he began to see things from God’s point of view. This is where he began to change. He had gotten himself worked up into a terrible state of frenzy. Now, in the sanctuary, he begins to think from God’s point of view. When a person avoids the sanctuary and community of God, it’s hard to make sense of our world. But in sanctuary, blessings are realized and life can be explained from a Biblical perspective. The Psalmist begins to work his way back to God’s goodness.
73:18 Surely you put them in slippery places, you bring them down to ruin. 73:19 How desolate they become in a mere moment! Terrifying judgments make their demise complete! 73:20 They are like a dream after one wakes up. O sovereign Master, when you awake you will despise them. 73:21 Yes, my spirit was bitter, and my insides felt sharp pain. 73:22 I was ignorant and lacked insight, I was as senseless as an animal before you. 73:23 But I am continually with you, you hold my right hand. 73:24 You guide me by your wise advice, and then you will lead me to a position of honor. 73:25 Whom do I have in heaven but you? I desire no one but you on earth.
Comment: His problem had been thinking that he needed other things other than God. But now he comes to realize that all he needs is God himself. If he has God, and the fellowship of God, then he has all that he needs.
73:26 My flesh and my heart may grow weak, but God always protects my heart and gives me stability. 73:27 Yes, look! Those far from you die; you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you.
Comment: Asaph’s resolution to the problem of injustice is eschatological. Justice will come, but not yet. That belongs to God. What should my concern be? What is my conclusion?
73:28 But as for me, God’s presence is all I need. I have made the sovereign LORD my shelter, as I declare all the things you have done.
Comment: I’m going to stick with you God. I may not understand your ways altogether, but I trust you. We will all have perplexing times and will need to regain perspective.
APPLICATION
After visiting the sanctuary and regaining a proper perspective, the Psalmist was now ready to give thanks and to declare all the things that God had done for him. He regained a proper perspective and he was reoriented in the following areas:
God’s presence. Give thanks for God’s presence. But as for me, God’s presence is all I need... He provides an opportunity to think things over.
God’s people. Give thanks for God’s people. … I declare all the things you have done...
God’s provisions. Give thanks for God’s provisions. I have made the sovereign LORD my shelter…
God has met your needs. When you go home this afternoon, will you find running water and indoor plumbing? Will you go home to a cardboard box? Or a shack built from salvaged pieces of wood? Will there be livestock in the house with you? Will there be electricity? Heat? When you go home this afternoon and walk into your kitchen and you open the refrigerator, will there be food? When you open the freezer will you find food ready to be thawed? When you open the cupboard, will there be cans of vegetables or boxes of prepared food? When you go into your bedroom, will you find a dresser or a closet filled with clothes? Do you have extra shirts, pants, and sweaters and a jacket for when it’s cool or a coat for when it’s cold? And if you become ill this evening, would you take some cough syrup? If you had a headache, would you take some aspirin or Tylenol? If you got really ill, would you see a doctor? Could you call 9-1-1 to request an ambulance to rush you to the emergency room? Do you live in a country where you are free to live pretty much as you want? Can you speak your mind freely? Do you live in fear of a police force that could arrest you without cause at any give moment or are you protected by government limitations? Can you worship God in a fashion of your own choosing? Has the bible been banned as an illegal book, or can you freely read the scriptures? Are you taxed for being a follower of Jesus? Are you restricted from employment because of your faith? Are you restricted from land ownership because of your love for God?
INVITATION
Invite congregation to give thanks.
CONCLUSION
Lift Your Empty Hands to Me
One by one he took them from me,
All the things I valued most,
Until I was empty-handed;
Every glittering toy was lost.
And I walked earth’s highway grieving,
In my rags and poverty,
Till I heard His voice inviting,
“Lift your empty hands to me.”
So I turned my hands toward heaven,
And He filled them with a store
Of His own transcendent riches,
Till they could contain no more,
Then at last I comprehended,
With my stupored mind and dull,
That God could not pour His riches
Into hands already full. Author unknown
