Transcript

Misguided But Confident-Part One

Psalms 25:1-22
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Pastor Randy Smith

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Remember the old days when you needed to find a location? Perhaps you were only given an address. Maybe someone recited some directions that you wrote on the back of a napkin. If you were really advanced, possibly your computer spit out some directions on MapQuest. Nevertheless, even with the best directions, finding the desired destination was never a simple process. Remember the days when you had to read the poorly written directions as you were driving at night? How about the slowing down, despite the aggravation to all the motorists behind you, to read the street signs at every intersection? How about knocking on the wrong door because the houses are all without posted numbers?

Well, those days are over now with the advent of the GPS. Last week after Thanksgiving, Kayla and I took a trip up to Boston for two days. Minuteman National Park - right to the parking lot. Gloucester - The clam chowder was waiting. Freedom Trail - A parking spot feet from the Bunker Hill Memorial. The Mayflower and Plymouth Rock. And then as the sun was setting on Saturday evening, the best feature, "Home," and from the most famous stone in America the GPS effortlessly navigated us to our home.

It's too bad life could not be navigated this easily. I mean, after all, we need to make hundreds of decisions each day. Some are easy and trivial, but others are complex and often quite serious. The Bible of course provides some general guidance, but what about all the other issues that aren't spoken of in chapter and verse? Where do we go for guidance during these difficult times in life? How do we make the right decision? And most of all, how does God help us in the process so we can decide with confidence knowing that we are in the center of His will.

This morning as we prepare our hearts for the Lord's Table we'll see what the Bible has to say about this matter.

1. Living in a Real World

"Living in a Real World" - our first point.

King David was the author of Psalm 25 and as we have learned the past few weeks, King David was no stranger to hardship. Sure his situations might be different than yours, but the pain in this world that he experienced is one that we all know too well. And when we find ourselves in these situations, it is common that we are searching for answers. We need guidance. Perhaps you are there right now. A burden on your heart and you are just not sure what to do or what to say. In Psalm 25, David is candid with us. Let's look at the issues that were burdening his heart. I am sure you will be able to identify with him. Let's look at four of his burdens in this first point before we get to the remedy.

First, in verse 19 David tells us that he had "enemies," "for they are many" he says. He says they hated him "with violent hatred." Enemies can make our lives really difficult, can't they - especially when their hatred toward us is unreasonable and unjust. Of course if we are unreasonable or unjust ourselves, we will create our own enemies, but even amongst the godliest out there, enemies are inevitable. I mean, did anybody have more enemies than Jesus? Aren't we warned that all who desire to live godly will be persecuted?" (2 Tim. 3:12). Could I venture to say that possibly some of us are not where we need to be spiritually simply because of our lack of spiritual enemies? Maybe we fear man instead of God and simply want to be loved and accepted by everybody?

I think we can learn a lesson from David. He was the man after God's heart, and a world after Satan's heart has no place for a man like that. It's painful when we put it all out on the line for God only to have others mock us, exclude us, and in many places of the world beat us simply because we want to honor Jesus Christ. And while this is happening, so often it just seems that God is silent. Don't we wish at times that God would immediately intervene in the situation like a big brother and come to our defense? The Bible promises that the day will come just before our Savior's return when He will both "give [us] relief and "deal out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus" (2 Thes. 1:7-8).

So where did David go for help with his problem with spiritual enemies? We will cover that later.

For now let's look at another one of David's issues. In addition to the burden of fear, David also struggled with the burden of loneliness. In verse 16 he said, "Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted."

Again, I go the spiritual route and take this to be spiritual loneliness. How much of this did our Lord experience when even his family and closest friends wanted nothing to do with Him. John 6:66 says, "As a result of [His teaching] many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore" (Jn. 6:66). Peter had the audacity to say, "Go away from me Lord." Peter sent away the Son of God and only Savior of the world! And why? The rest of the verse tells us in Peter's own words: "For I am a sinful man" (Lk. 5:8).

We know the darkness hates the light, but what we possibly need to learn is that sometimes those who claim to be in the light also hate the light as well. As he lay in a dark and disease-ridden underground prison, the Apostle Paul awaiting his execution spoke of his friends. "At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me" (2 Rom. 4:16).

In Luke 18 Jesus speaks of the justice He will bring for His people when He returns, but He also adds these chilling words: "However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" (Lk. 18:8). Are we living in these final days? How many of us work in an office as the only professing Christian or go to school and share a classroom with all unbelievers or exist among a family where no one is living for Christ? Blend in with the world and you'll have plenty of friends. Live sold out for Jesus and while you are surrounded by hundreds you can feel very lonely in your heart.

What other life situations for the Christian can bring pain that requires the guidance of God? Let's move on to David's third burden. How about the internal struggles that we bear? As David said in verse 17, "The troubles of my heart are enlarged."

Now I believe we need to stop right here for a moment. Everybody that has ever walked the planet can identify with internal struggles. All of us have dealt with heartbreak - getting dumped, betrayal, dysfunctional parents, a failed test, physical aging, getting cut from a team, a regretted purchase, financial concerns, being misunderstood and the list continues for pages! All of these bring agony that is undeniable, but what should bring the greatest agony to a believer? What should bring the greatest pain to our hearts?

Let's see what David mentioned in this Psalm more than anything else. What primarily burdened his heart? Verse 7, "Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions." Verse 11, "Pardon my iniquity, for it is great." Verse 18, "Look upon my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins." Nothing bothered David more than his sin and the wall of separation that it erected between himself and his God.

You see, the more we gaze upon the greatness of our God, the more we will see His majestic holiness. And the more we see His majestic holiness, the more we see our utter sinfulness. As a matter of fact, I would submit to you that the more we grow in holiness, ironically, the more we will become aware of our sinfulness. And the more we see our sinfulness, the more we will grieve over the offense we bring to our Savior. This is the only acceptable heart of those on a journey to heaven. As Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." You see, Satan uses revealed sin to lead us to despair. Our God uses revealed sin to help us grow in Christlikeness and be ever more grateful for His abundant forgiveness. So not only does our sin bring many consequences that are obvious to even the world, but what I am saying here is that it also brings additional grief to the heart that really loves God.

Think of it this way. After wanting to honor the Lord and being personally convicted of wanting to do the right thing, another motivation for children to obey, especially as they enter their teen years, is the pain that they know their disobedience will bring to their parents. They know they have the deepest love of their parents and they know their poor decision on a particular matter will bring the deepest pain to those parents. This is a good reaction and safeguard, but it only comes if the parents and the children have spent years nurturing a relationship that is built on trust and affection and respect and love.

Likewise, when we give in to sin far too often and even unknowingly at times it reveals that we do not have this type of intimacy in our relationship with our heavenly Father. We are not aware of what breaks His heart, and amongst the things of which we are aware, we could care less if His heart is indeed broken. We may claim to be in God's family, but we are displaying an attitude that shows little about a relationship that has been cultivated over time.

So if the contrite and broken heart over sin that characterized the life of David is not there, where have we gone wrong in the process?

There are only two simple answers. First, there is a possibility that we are not God's children. The Bible teaches that the only way into His family is through Jesus Christ. And it is only when we become aware of our sin that we will run to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of that sin. Despite all the upstanding morals and self-reformation and religious pursuits and good deeds, sin cannot coexist in God's presence. Only Jesus died to take away our sin. Only those who have received Jesus Christ by faith have forgiveness and the Father's love and the Holy Spirit. And without the Holy Spirit there will be no burden over our unholiness.

And another reason we might not feel the pain of personal sin and be personally grieved at the pain it brings God is because though we may be saved, we are presently not walking in the Spirit. You see, when we walk in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, He will produce within us an increasing desire for holiness. We will want righteous living. We will want to be found pleasing to our heavenly Father. And this spiritual walk will only happen when we by His grace cooperate with His power and dedicate ourselves to His disciplines. And that is what is missing in our culture - a dedication to the disciplines of God.

Let me put it like this: when writing this sermon the music video entitled "Gangnam Style," which by the way I don't suggest you watch, has set a record with over 8.5 million hits. And this video, if you were to watch it which I suggest you don't, will offend you and will be the biggest waste of exactly 4 minutes and 13 seconds of your life. So why is this video so popular? It makes no sense. The words are limited. And the words are sung in a different language.

Here is my belief, we simply do not want to use our brains, which is indicative of our culture that simply wants to be entertained and mesmerized with meaningless activities that stimulate our senses with trivial sound bites, but empty our souls of all their substance. Cultivating a relationship with God requires time in the Word, dedication to prayer, commitment to our church, worship in our homes and fellowship with believers. Unfortunately these just don't carry the same attractiveness as the feel-good mindless activities of a good diet of You-Tube videos, Facebook nonsense and surfing through 400 channels of cable television. My friends, there are a lot of great things that are offered to us in this technological age, but too often they crowd out the priority and dedication that God requires to maintain and strengthen our relationship with Him. And without that relationship we will not understand David's burden over his sin.

Let me give you one more spiritual struggle that David experienced before we partake in Communion. Even three-thousand years ago, David knew that he lived in a fallen world that would forever challenge and confuse his walk with the Lord.

We will all live by a worldview. We all have beliefs that dictate the way we choose to live our lives. Too often we find the answers we need in the wrong sources. Probe someone deep enough and you will see that their convictions for life come from Hollywood, popular opinion and gut feelings. As Christians, it is our job to see the error of a worldly worldview and forever seek to grow in a God-centered worldview. So how do we do that when in many ways the perspective from God in this world seems so poorly represented? This is what grieved David's soul. While living in this world he felt lost. Where did David go for guidance?

What we see in this Psalm is a man who loved the Lord and beyond all the struggles that everybody deals with in a fallen world was the pain of following after God in this fallen world. It is a world where people don't like God's people. It is a world where we are lonely for spiritual comrades. It is a world where we still struggle with sin. And it is a world where we are confused because we are bombarded with views that are contrary to God.

David, like us, dealt with struggles. That is all we really covered today. So what does David do? What confidence does he have that God will be of any assistance? Is there guidance for his broken heart? Is there a spiritual GPS to help navigate through the heartaches of this world? As God permits we'll finish this Psalm next week and provide answers to those questions.